Send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations

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Savault Chapel, France, Benh LIEU SONG, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
 
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness,
    send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do
    seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things
    look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
    long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy
    seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people,
    walking in darkness,
    yet seeking the light.
To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!”

Henri Nouwen 1932 – 1996 Dutch Catholic priest and author
source
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Isaiah 42:6, 16

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
    and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake them.
 
_____________________
 
What is one way that you can prepare your heart this Advent season? 

Be with us in our darkness

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Journey of the Three Magi to Bethlehem, Leonaert Bramer, via Wikimedia Commons
 
 
We wait in the darkness,
expectantly, longingly, anxiously, thoughtfully.
 
The darkness is our friend.
 
In the darkness of the womb,
we have all been nurtured and protected.
 
In the darkness of the womb
the Christ-child was made ready for the journey into light.
 
It is only in the darkness
that we can see the splendour of the universe –
blankets of stars, the solitary glowings of the planets.
 
It was the darkness that allowed the Magi to find the star
that guided them to where the Christ-child lay.
 
In the darkness of the night,
desert people find relief from the cruel relentless heat of the sun.
 
In the blessed desert darkness
Mary and Joseph were able to flee with the infant Jesus
to safety in Egypt.
 
In the darkness of sleep,
we are soothed and restored, healed and renewed.
 
In the darkness of sleep, dreams rise up.
God spoke to Joseph and the wise men through dreams.
God is speaking still.
 
Sometimes in the solitude of the darkness
our fears and concerns, our hopes and visions
rise to the surface.
We come face to face with ourselves
and with the road that lies ahead of us.
And in that same darkness
we find companionship for the journey.
 
In that same darkness
we sometimes allow ourselves to wonder and worry
whether the human race is going to survive.
 
And then, in the darkness
we know that you are with us, O God,
yet still we await your coming.
 
In the darkness that contains both our hopelessness and our hope,
we watch for a sign of God’s hope.
 
For you are with us, O God,
in darkness and in light.
 
James Hawes, Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand 
_____________________
 
 
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.
 
_____________________
 
Where is the darkest place that you have seen God move?
What did God do?

search for your tired sheep

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Christ as the good shepherd, Lucas Cranach the Younger, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Come therefore, Lord Jesus, to look for your servants,
   to search for the tired sheep.
Come, O Shepherd, and look for me as Joseph sought his brethren.
Your sheep has gone astray, while you dwelt in the mountains.
Leave there the ninety-nine other sheep,
    and come after the one which strayed away.
Come without dogs, without the bad workers,
    without the hirelings too uncouth to enter through the door.
Come without seeking help or being announced:
    long have I waited for your arrival.
I know you will come,
    “because I have not forgotten your commandments.”
Come, not with a whip, but with charity and gentleness of heart . . .
Come to me, for I am disturbed by the incursions of the ravening wolves . . .
Come to look for me, for I too am seeking you.
Search for me, gather me to you, carry me.
You can find the one you seek: deign to welcome the one you find,
    and to place him on your shoulders . . .

Ambrose of Milan c.339-397 Bishop of Milan
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Isaiah 40:10-11

Behold, the Lord God comes with might,
    and his arm rules for him;
behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him.
He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.
 
_________________________

When have you felt like a lost sheep?
How did God lead you back to safety?

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Waiting in the Wilderness

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment
 
 
​Wilderness is the place of Moses,

    a place of no longer captive and not yet free,
    of letting go and learning new living.
Wilderness is the place of Elijah,
    a place of silence and loneliness,
    of awaiting the voice of God and finding clarity.
 Wilderness is the place of John,
    a place of repenting,
    of taking first steps on the path of peace.
Wilderness is the place of Jesus,
    a place of preparation,
    of getting ready for the reckless life of faith.

We thank you, God, for the wilderness.
Wilderness is our place.
As we wait for the land of promise,
    teach us the ways of new living,
    lead us to where we hear your word most clearly,
    renew us and clear out the wastelands of our lives,
    prepare us for life in the awareness of Christ’s coming
        when the desert will sing
        and the wilderness will blossom as the rose.

Francis Brienen, United Reformed Church, UK
The Complete Book of Christian Prayers

__________________________________________

Isaiah 40:3-5

A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
    and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
    and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
    and all flesh shall see it together,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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Come Lord Jesus

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Lindisfarne Island, Chris Combe from York, UK, CC BY 2.0  Wikimedia Commons 
 
Come, Lord Jesus,
Come as King.
Rule in our hearts,
Come as love.
Rule in our minds,
Come as peace.
Rule in our actions,
Come as power.
Rule in our days,
Come as joy.
Rule in our darkness,
Come as light.
Rule in our bodies,
Come as health.
Rule in our labors,
Come as hope.
Thy Kingdom come
Among us.

David Adam 1936-2020 British Anglican priest, served at Lindisfarne
 
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The people who walked in darkness
    have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
    on them has light shone.

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yearning for your Coming

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​Redentor Over Clouds, Donatas Dabravolskas, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
 
In our secret yearnings
   we wait for your coming,
   and in our grinding despair
   we doubt that you will.

And in this privileged place
   we are surrounded by witnesses
      who yearn more than do we
    and by those
      who despair more deeply than do we.
Look upon your church and its pastors
    in this season of hope
    which runs so quickly to fatigue
    and this season of yearning
    which becomes so easily quarrelsome.
Give us the grace and the impatience
    to wait for you coming to the bottom of our toes,
    to the edges of our finger tips.
We do not want our several worlds to end.

Come in your power
    and come in your weakness
    in any case
    and make all things new.
Amen.

Walter Brueggemann 1933-2025 American Old Testament theologian
 
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I saw in the night visions,
    and behold, with the clouds of heaven
        there came one like a son of man,
    and he came to the Ancient of Days
        and was presented before him.
    And to him was given dominion
        and glory and a kingdom,
    that all peoples, nations, and languages
        should serve him;
    his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
        which shall not pass away,
    and his kingdom one
        that shall not be destroyed.

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O come, O come, Emmanuel

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O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
   Rejoice! Rejoice!
   Emmanuel
   shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
who orderest all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.  

O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free
thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
from depths of hell thy people save,
and give them victory over the grave.

O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
our spirits by thine advent here;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
and death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Latin hymn from the 12th century

Isaiah 7:14 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and shall call his name Immanuel.
 

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my words can’t carry all the praise

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The Thankful Poor, H.O. Tanner, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Glorious God,
how curious
    and what a confession
        that we should set aside one day a year
             and call it Thanksgiving.
I smile at the presumption,
    and hope you smile, too.
The the truth is,
    Holy Friend,
    that my words can’t carry all the praise
          I want them to,
              of that they should,
                  no matter how many trips they make.
So this day,
    all is praise and thanks
        for all my days.
 
I breathe and it is your breath that fills me.
    I look and it is your light by which I see.
        I move and it is your energy moving in me.
I listen and even stones speak of you.
    I touch and you are between finger and skin.
        I think and the thoughts are but sparks
             from the fire of your truth.
I love and the throb is your presence.
    I laugh and it is the rustle of your passing.
        I weep and your Spirit broods over me.
            I long and it is the tug of your kingdom.
 
I praise you, Glorious One,
for what has been, and is and will ever be:
for galaxy upon galaxy, mass and energy,
    earth and air, sun and night,
        sea and shore, mountain and valley,
            root and branch, male and female,
creature upon creature in a thousand ingenious ways,
    two-legged, hundred legged, smooth, furry, and feathery,
        bull-frogs and platypuses, peacocks and preachers,
and turkeys (especially the roasted kind)
    and families gathered, and the thanking;
        the brave, lonely one, and the asking;
            the growling, hungry ones, and the sharing.
 
O Glorious One,
for this curious day,
    for the impulses that have designated it,
        for the gifts that grace it,
            for the gladness that accompanies it,
for my life,
    for those through whom I came to be,
        for friends though whom I hear and see
            greater worlds than otherwise I would,
for all the doors of words and music and worship
    through which I pass to larger worlds,
        and for the One who brought a kingdom to me,
I pause to praise and thank you
    with this one more trip of words
        which leaves too much uncarried,
            but not unfelt,
                unlived,
                    unloved,
                        Thank you!
 
Ted Loder, 1930-2021, American Methodist minister
 
________________________
 
 
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

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Blessing for the day’s work

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Security of the People, ​Seymour Fogel, Wikimedia Commons

 
I will not let you go, O Lord, until you bless me;
    so bless me this day, this hour, this moment:
 
Bless my mind to discern the one thing that this day requires;
Bless my heart to remain at peace in the face of fear;
Bless my will to resist all needless distractions;
Bless my hands to do the work that you have entrusted to me;
Bless my ears to be attuned to your voice;
Bless my eyes to see the signs of your presence;
Bless my feet to go wherever you would lead me.
 
I pray this so that I might be
    like the birds of the air
    and the lilies of the field,
    free of worry and secure
    in the enfolding care
    of my Father in heaven.
I pray this in your name.
Amen.
 
Prayers for the Pilgrimage
W. David O. Taylor, American theologian and Anglican priest
 
_________________________
 
 
Blessed are all who fear the Lord,
    who walk in obedience to him.
You will eat the fruit of your labor;
    blessings and prosperity will be yours.
 

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Veterans Day prayer

/ Eric Mathews / Leave a comment

image

Lord, You know how deep a warrior’s wounds go.
You know the loss that many of our veterans in body and soul.
You know the memories that haunt them
   and the scars that many of them continue to carry.
Please bring healing to those veterans who still hurt.
Please grant patience and wisdom to those around them
   who cannot understand
   but can sometimes help the healing process.
Please apply both natural and supernatural medicine to their wounds.
 
Bob Hostetler, Pastor and author from Ohio
__________________
 
 
I will exalt you, Lord,
because you have lifted me up
and have not allowed my enemies
to triumph over me.
Lord my God,
I cried to you for help, and you healed me.
 
 
reposted from 2017