Bring us to Bethlehem, House of Bread

/ Eric Mathews / 3 Comments
Manger, by ​Greyson Joralemon via Unsplash
 
Thank you,
Scandalous God,
For giving yourself to the world,
Not in the powerful and extraordinary,
But in weakness and the familiar:
In a baby; in bread and wine.

Thank you
For offering, at journey’s end, a new beginning;
For setting, in the poverty of a stable,
The richest jewel of your love;
For revealing, in a particular place,
Your light for all nations.

Thank you
For bringing us to Bethlehem, House of Bread,
Where the empty are filled,
And the filled are emptied;
Where the poor find riches,
And the rich recognize their poverty;
Where all who kneel and hold out their hands
Are unstintingly fed.

Kate Compston, English author
 
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John 7:42

Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants
    and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?
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Why do you think God chose the insignificant town of Bethlehem to be the birthplace of his only begotten son?
How does the humble beginning of the Son of God relate to your own story?

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It is your home

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Bright moon, scattered stars; so solitary is creation.
The universe which God has created is especially
   silent on this night.
It waits with bated breath
   for the Lord of Creation to return.
The universe belongs to God,
   it is his home.

Silence reigns supreme.
The flowers of the field sway gently
   in the moonlight.
This night, the vast earth awaits
   the homecoming of our Creator God.
The vast earth and open fields belong to God,
   they are his home.

Bethlehem lies dreaming.
In his gentle mother’s arms,
   the babe sleeps peacefully this night.
The City of David awaits
   the homecoming of David’s descendant.
The town of Bethlehem belongs to him,
   it is his home.

My bones, my flesh, my blood, my lungs and my heart,
   were all made by his hand.
This night, my heart is at peace,
   awaiting my Creator’s return.
My heart belongs to him,
   it is his home.

Advent prayer from China
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Micah 5:2

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
 
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How do you recognize God’s presence in creation?
How do you see God’s presence in Jesus? Within yourself?

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Today I sing the song of Mary

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​The Virgin in Prayer, Albrecht Dürer, 1518, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Today I look into my own heart
and all around me, and I sing the song of Mary.

My life praises the Lord my God,
  who is setting me free.
He has remembered me, in my humiliation and distress!
From now on, those who rejected and ignored me
  will see me and call me happy,
  because of the great things he is doing
  in my humble life.
His name is completely different from the other names in this world;
  from one generation to another
  he was on the side of the oppressed.
As on the day of the Exodus, he is stretching out
  his mighty arm to scatter the oppressors
  with all their evil plans.
He has brought down mighty kings
  from their thrones
  and he has lifted up the despised;
  and so he will do today.
He has filled the exploited with good things,
And sent the exploiters away with empty hands;
  and so he will do today.
His promise to our mothers and fathers remains new and fresh to this day.
Therefore the hope for liberation
  which is burning in me
  will not be extinguished.
He will remember me, here now and beyond the grave.

Zephania Kameeta, 1945- , Namibian Lutheran minister and political leader
Bread of Tomorrow: Praying with the World’s Poor

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Luke 1:46-49

 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.”
 
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How can you pray for God’s righteousness to reshape your neighborhood?

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visit with us, too

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​The Meeting of Mary and Elisabeth, Bloch 1866, wikimedia commons
 
Lord Jesus, this advent season we remember
  the visitation of Mary and Elizabeth
    both women miraculously pregnant.
We delight as we recall John the Baptist leaping for joy
    inside Elizabeth’s womb!

Make plans to visit with us too,
   that we might be filled with joyful expressions!
Impart within us the same awareness that John had
    that we might always sense your presence.
Bless us with the same knowledge
    that you are truly the lamb of God
        who takes away the sin of the world;
    that you are the Messiah, and we are not;
    and that you must increase, and we must decrease.

Invite us to join with John and prepare for your coming.

Eric Mathews
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Luke 1:41-44

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
    the baby leaped in her womb,
    and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
In a loud voice she exclaimed:
    Blessed are you among women,
        and blessed is the child you will bear!
    But why am I so favored,
        that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
    As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
        the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

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When have you rejoiced in God’s presence most vividly?
What aspect of your life needs to decrease 
    so that the influence of Jesus can increase?

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help us walk with Joseph

/ Eric Mathews / 1 Comment
The Dream of Saint Joseph, Champaigne, c.1642, The National Gallery UK
 
Help us to walk with Joseph
   into the darkness,
   the not knowing.
Having to marry the mystery
   before everything else.
Surrendering all claim
   to outcomes or knowledge of them,
committing to the love at hand,
   and it was enough.
The very undoing that confounded him
   was the love that found him.
The answer he sought was no answer,
   but only presence,
this woman who also could not be afraid,
this child who could not be revealed
   until after he said yes,
this God, who was not at the end of the journey
   but his companion on the journey
   and the dark road itself, Emmanuel.

We have to say yes
   before anything, don’t we?
Joseph, walk with me.

Steve Garnaas-Holmes, American Methodist pastor
unfoldinglight.net
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Matthew 1:20

But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
    because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
 
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When has God brought you to a place that was unknown to you?  
Looking back, how did God shape you on the journey?

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Let the Word be conceived in me

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The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898, via Wikimedia Commons
 
​Let the Word, I pray, be to me,
   not as a word spoken only to pass away,
   but conceived and clothed in flesh, not in air,
   that he may remain with us.
Let him be, not only heard with the ears,
   but to be seen with the eyes,
   touched by the hands and borne on the shoulders.
Let the Word be to me,
   not as a word written and silent,
   but incarnate and living.
That is, not traced with dead signs upon dead parchments
   but living impressed in human form
   upon my chaste womb;
   not by the tracing of a pen of lifeless reed,
   but by the operation of the Holy Spirit.
Let it thus be to me,
   as was never done to anyone before me,
   not after me shall be done.

Bernard of Clairvaux 1090-1153 French Benedictine abbot
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1 John 1:1-2

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
    which we have seen with our eyes,
    which we have looked at and our hands have touched—
    this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it,
    and we proclaim to you the eternal life,
    which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
 
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When has the presence of Jesus been offered to you?
When have you offered the presence of Jesus to someone else?

Create in me an empty space

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mosaic by Christ City Church, Memphis, TN
 
 
With prayerful pleas
   and Advent songs of longing,
   I await the birth of God’s Anointing One.
Come, O Gift of heaven’s harmony,
   and attune my third ear,
   the ear of my heart,
   so that I may hear,
   just as Mary, faithful woman of Israel, heard.
O God, the time is short,
   these days are too few,
   as I prepare for the feast
   of the birth of Mary’s son.
Busy days, crowded to the brim,
   with long lists of gifts to buy,
   and things that must be done.
Show to me, also your highly favored child,
   how to guard my heart
   from noise and hurry’s whirl,
   so that I might hear your voice
   calling my heart to create an empty space
   that might be pregnant with heaven’s fire.
Quiet me within,
   clothe my body in peacefulness,
   that your Word
   once again may take flesh-
   this time, with me-
   as once it did in holy Mary,
   long Advent days ago.

Edward Hays 1931-2016 American Catholic Priest
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Luke 1:34-35

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered,
The Holy Spirit will come on you,
    and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
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How do you quiet your heart to hear God’s voice this advent season?
Plan a time this week to pray and listen for God to speak to you.

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Give us faith to believe what is true

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The Annunciation, Caravaggio, via Wikimedia Commons
 
O Holy God of Promise,
    we so often place our trust in the things we can see,
    and touch, and easily believe.
But you did not ask us to believe what is easy,
    you have asked us to believe what is true!
Forgive us, Holy One, when we doubt the ways you work.
Forgive us when we find it hard to believe an ancient story.
Forgive us when we question how you chose to enter the world,
    born as one of us.
Forgive our lack of faith and belief
    in ways which seem so impossible to believe.
Help us to look in faith, open our belief, and set aside our doubts
    that you sent your Son, born of a virgin –
        the one who has come to set us all free.
We offer these prayers in the name of your Son,
Emmanuel, God with us.  
Amen.

Jan Brooks, Presbyterian Pastor in Kansas
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Luke 1:26-29
 
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 
    to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, 
    a descendant of David. 
The virgin’s name was Mary. 
The angel went to her and said, 
    “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words 
    and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 
 
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What part of the Christmas story is the most difficult for you to believe?
Share this with God, and perhaps a trusted friend.

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bring Life and Peace to us

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O King of the nations,
You are the headstone of the glorious hall of creation.
You are the firm mortar which holds the building together.
Throughout the earth people marvel at your works.
But now the building is being reduced to a ruin by greed and fear:
 
Reveal yourself to mankind, 
    show yourself as the ruler of the world,
    demonstrate the power of your love.
 
O just and faithful King,
    you can unlock the prison-house of sin,
    and let us out into the glorious freedom of love.
Now we sit in darkness,
    grieving over the wrongs we have committed.
We long for the sun,
    we yearn for the warmth and brightness of your truth.
Open the gate of this prison, and lead us to your kingdom,
    which is our true home.
 
Come now, high king of heaven.  
Come to us in flesh and bone.  
Bring life to us who are weary with misery.  
Bring peace to us who are overcome with weeping,
    whose cheeks are covered with bitter salt tears.  
Seek us out, who are lost in the darkness of depression.  
Do not forget us, but show mercy to us.  
Impart to us your everlasting joy,
    so that we, who are fashioned by your hands,
    may praise your glory.
 
Exeter Book, c.960,  codex of Old English poetry
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Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
     and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
 
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Where is God’s life and peace most needed in your community?
Pray that the power of Christ’s love would be revealed in this situation.

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Come Thou long expected Jesus

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Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Charles Wesley 1707 – 1788 English hymn writer and Methodist
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Haggai 2:6-7 

This is what the Lord Almighty says:
‘In a little while I will once more shake
    the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come,
    and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.

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What are some of the desires of the nations that only God can fulfill?
How can you be praying for your country this season?

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