Readings and Reflections 20 December 2024 St Mary's Church
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Welcome
Opening Prayer Creator God we ask that you will show us how to see and celebrate your gifts in all areas of our lives, even though each day, each hour and each minute may be different …. May we hold faithful gentleness and compassion in our hearts, and renew our hope in your love for us, each day. Amen Readings and Reflections Judy “How did I get to the thought to reflect on today you might ask? “God so loved the world …” Well the title which had originally popped into my head, when I began to ponder - way back in the summer, was “God’s Hospitality” … and gradually over the weeks and months, as I became involved in the prospect of moving house, (and the roller-coaster that has turned out to be) – the subject matter, as I reflected on God’s hospitality in the light of his incarnation, gradually morphed into something not unrelated, … just these words – “God so loved the world …” |
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There seemed to me, to be something about the wideness of God’s gifts of hospitality - which in the end, are all wrapped up in the gift of himself, as a baby in a manger … on so many different levels and in so many different ways. Wrapped up in the love God has for the world. Yes, Love is at the centre of all he gives to us, of his hospitality to humankind as a whole, and to us as individuals.
Being in the season of Advent, this thought led me to consider the candles we light, often around a wreath, representing also, Joy, Hope and Peace – and, on Christmas Day, of course, the Light of Christ.
All amazing gifts from God, because he loved the world so much.
God so loved the world – John 3:16’s well known verse – carries on ….
‘That … he gave his only begotten Son …’
So perhaps today we might like to ponder what follows the word ‘that’ – for us
God so loved the world … that ‘dot, dot, dot …’
(and the next couple of words need not be ‘that he gave … they can be anything – as always, just as you feel led.)
… I am certain that the number of thoughts, feelings, and ponderings, is endless … yet somehow –
each one is somehow tied up in the incarnation – the gift of God himself, in the birth of Jesus.
Our Thoughts to Ponder this month are quite varied, and will hopefully aid and prompt your thoughts during the stillness. They include parts of Luke’s account of Mary, and her cousin Elizabeth, meeting in beautiful Ein Karem, when they were pregnant, and some of the words they shared. It was a meeting which always, to me, feels so significant in the lead up to the story of Jesus’ birth.
So, before we enter the stillness, I’d just like to share a small part of that with you;
in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1 – (The Message version) – we read
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped.
She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And, in the NRSVA version of the same chapter,
Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.(part of the Magnificat)
As we have our time of stillness, please use the Thoughts to Ponder, as you wish, and do take them home to reflect on whenever the moment is right … Please also feel free to walk or sit quietly, maybe sharing something on your mind with God … or just waiting – and listening for him to guide or prompt you.
Stillness and Quiet
Group Sharing
Blessing
May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds,
the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ Child, be ours this Christmas; and may God’s blessings,
of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us all and those we love, now and always Amen
Being in the season of Advent, this thought led me to consider the candles we light, often around a wreath, representing also, Joy, Hope and Peace – and, on Christmas Day, of course, the Light of Christ.
All amazing gifts from God, because he loved the world so much.
God so loved the world – John 3:16’s well known verse – carries on ….
‘That … he gave his only begotten Son …’
So perhaps today we might like to ponder what follows the word ‘that’ – for us
God so loved the world … that ‘dot, dot, dot …’
(and the next couple of words need not be ‘that he gave … they can be anything – as always, just as you feel led.)
… I am certain that the number of thoughts, feelings, and ponderings, is endless … yet somehow –
each one is somehow tied up in the incarnation – the gift of God himself, in the birth of Jesus.
Our Thoughts to Ponder this month are quite varied, and will hopefully aid and prompt your thoughts during the stillness. They include parts of Luke’s account of Mary, and her cousin Elizabeth, meeting in beautiful Ein Karem, when they were pregnant, and some of the words they shared. It was a meeting which always, to me, feels so significant in the lead up to the story of Jesus’ birth.
So, before we enter the stillness, I’d just like to share a small part of that with you;
in Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1 – (The Message version) – we read
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped.
She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And, in the NRSVA version of the same chapter,
Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.(part of the Magnificat)
As we have our time of stillness, please use the Thoughts to Ponder, as you wish, and do take them home to reflect on whenever the moment is right … Please also feel free to walk or sit quietly, maybe sharing something on your mind with God … or just waiting – and listening for him to guide or prompt you.
Stillness and Quiet
Group Sharing
Blessing
May the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds,
the perseverance of the wise men, the obedience of Joseph and Mary, and the peace of the Christ Child, be ours this Christmas; and may God’s blessings,
of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit be with us all and those we love, now and always Amen
Thoughts to Ponder
Richard Carter – Letters from Nazareth
Letter 57
‘Advent waiting is not a passive, lackadaisical thing. It is a finding – finding your centre.
It is knowing where you stand. It is recognising that even in the midst of the struggle and uncertainty, God’s grace is here and now”
“The stable is in our midst. The incarnation of God’s love is now. Don’t miss it.”
Mary and Elizabeth – St Luke chapter 1
The Message Version
39-45 “Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and travelled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”
NRSVA
“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
“Blessings in the Chaos” by Jan Richardson
To all that is chaotic in you, let there come silence.
Let there be a calming of the clamouring, a stilling of the voices that have laid their claim on you, that have made their home in you, that go with you even to the holy places but will not let you rest, will not let you hear your life with wholeness or feel the grace that fashioned you. Let what distracts you cease. Let what divides you cease.
Let there come an end to what diminishes and demeans, and let depart all that keeps you in its cage.
Let there be an opening into the quiet that lies beneath the chaos,
where you find the peace you did not think possible and see what shimmers within the storm
© Jan Richardson Blessing in the Chaos
1 John 4:16
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God,
and God abides in him.
ADVENT COMING
Close your eyes, meditate upon how complex it is really, this coming of Christ?
Advent, which is a welcome, not an expectation, is an open door, a touch where there had been no touch.
It is, at our year's end, a reminder of the eternal beginnings, which are ever ripening, blossoming and fruiting at arm's reach. Advent received asks nothing, except that we remember Hope's provisioning, it's armfuls of bushels. And Joy's remembrance, it's crowning, an infant's painful passage to sweet relief.
And the promises of Peace, which are ever being seeded, scattered in fallow ground by generous open palmed hands. Meditate on the one who is ever pointing to our places in the story. Are we loving, and toiling without recompense? Or are we lost, or grieving, or anticipating what may turn to grief?
Advent is a blessed break in the monotony, the bright burst of sun through rain clouds.
Did we not think there was blue beyond the cloud's frazzled edge?
Advent is a remembrance. The kingdom, where the sun need not rise or set, is already established.
Close your eyes, imagine the coming as this: Your own presence at Christ's becoming, when he laid out the earth in colours, when he arrived in the midst of civilisation's travail, it's unravelling and rebuilding,
as it's infant prince. When he reclaimed his rightful place, the risen lamb, and when at time's conclusion, which is really just it's redeeming, he comes again to a chorus of Amen.
This Advent, imagine your weariness replaced by consolation, your pain comforted by the ever soothing balm, your questions answered by the promised restoration. Advent is the gift ever giving, given, received, claimed and reclaimed. The anointed one throned again in receptive hearts. How complicated really is this Advent season, when we remember the one in whom we live replete.
Ana Lisa de Jong - Living Tree Poetry
Hebrews 13:1-3 (MSG)
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
The Benedictine Rule gives this understanding:
“All guests who arrive should be received as if they were Christ … Special care and attention should be shown in the reception of the poor and pilgrims, because in such people Christ is more truly welcomed.”
Matthew 10:40 (NIVUK)
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me,
welcomes the one who sent me”
Christine Sine from ‘Celtic Advent’…
God of every beautiful thing, give us eyes to see the wonder of your world.
Let it disrupt our days with sacred pauses, so that we marvel not just at majestic mountains and sweeping vistas, but at the sparks of mystery carved into every ordinary thing,
that fills this earth with your glory. Let our hearts swell with delight, at every wrinkled face made in God’s image. Let us glory in the divine light enlivening every humdrum moment, with the joy of your presence.
and a prayer - inspired by her reading of John O’Donohue
Drink in the light of the world, let it fill you with joy. Breathe in the wonder of the way it dances across the landscape, anointing each tree, each plant, each field, with the spirit’s blessed touch.
Watch it caress the leaves and flowers, with its gentleness. See it kiss the heads of children as they laugh and play. Look up at the sky above, touched by the morning sun, lacy clouds hang so high, they dwarf the ‘planes that fly beneath. God’s delight whispers through its rays. Holy love, glorious joy unbounded.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer letter to his parents from prison 17/12/43 -https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Letters_and_Papers_from_Prison/i_Uw29O_DLgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR3&printsec=frontcover
Richard Carter – Letters from Nazareth
Letter 57
‘Advent waiting is not a passive, lackadaisical thing. It is a finding – finding your centre.
It is knowing where you stand. It is recognising that even in the midst of the struggle and uncertainty, God’s grace is here and now”
“The stable is in our midst. The incarnation of God’s love is now. Don’t miss it.”
Mary and Elizabeth – St Luke chapter 1
The Message Version
39-45 “Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and travelled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, the babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!”
NRSVA
“And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”
“Blessings in the Chaos” by Jan Richardson
To all that is chaotic in you, let there come silence.
Let there be a calming of the clamouring, a stilling of the voices that have laid their claim on you, that have made their home in you, that go with you even to the holy places but will not let you rest, will not let you hear your life with wholeness or feel the grace that fashioned you. Let what distracts you cease. Let what divides you cease.
Let there come an end to what diminishes and demeans, and let depart all that keeps you in its cage.
Let there be an opening into the quiet that lies beneath the chaos,
where you find the peace you did not think possible and see what shimmers within the storm
© Jan Richardson Blessing in the Chaos
1 John 4:16
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God,
and God abides in him.
ADVENT COMING
Close your eyes, meditate upon how complex it is really, this coming of Christ?
Advent, which is a welcome, not an expectation, is an open door, a touch where there had been no touch.
It is, at our year's end, a reminder of the eternal beginnings, which are ever ripening, blossoming and fruiting at arm's reach. Advent received asks nothing, except that we remember Hope's provisioning, it's armfuls of bushels. And Joy's remembrance, it's crowning, an infant's painful passage to sweet relief.
And the promises of Peace, which are ever being seeded, scattered in fallow ground by generous open palmed hands. Meditate on the one who is ever pointing to our places in the story. Are we loving, and toiling without recompense? Or are we lost, or grieving, or anticipating what may turn to grief?
Advent is a blessed break in the monotony, the bright burst of sun through rain clouds.
Did we not think there was blue beyond the cloud's frazzled edge?
Advent is a remembrance. The kingdom, where the sun need not rise or set, is already established.
Close your eyes, imagine the coming as this: Your own presence at Christ's becoming, when he laid out the earth in colours, when he arrived in the midst of civilisation's travail, it's unravelling and rebuilding,
as it's infant prince. When he reclaimed his rightful place, the risen lamb, and when at time's conclusion, which is really just it's redeeming, he comes again to a chorus of Amen.
This Advent, imagine your weariness replaced by consolation, your pain comforted by the ever soothing balm, your questions answered by the promised restoration. Advent is the gift ever giving, given, received, claimed and reclaimed. The anointed one throned again in receptive hearts. How complicated really is this Advent season, when we remember the one in whom we live replete.
Ana Lisa de Jong - Living Tree Poetry
Hebrews 13:1-3 (MSG)
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
The Benedictine Rule gives this understanding:
“All guests who arrive should be received as if they were Christ … Special care and attention should be shown in the reception of the poor and pilgrims, because in such people Christ is more truly welcomed.”
Matthew 10:40 (NIVUK)
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me,
welcomes the one who sent me”
Christine Sine from ‘Celtic Advent’…
God of every beautiful thing, give us eyes to see the wonder of your world.
Let it disrupt our days with sacred pauses, so that we marvel not just at majestic mountains and sweeping vistas, but at the sparks of mystery carved into every ordinary thing,
that fills this earth with your glory. Let our hearts swell with delight, at every wrinkled face made in God’s image. Let us glory in the divine light enlivening every humdrum moment, with the joy of your presence.
and a prayer - inspired by her reading of John O’Donohue
Drink in the light of the world, let it fill you with joy. Breathe in the wonder of the way it dances across the landscape, anointing each tree, each plant, each field, with the spirit’s blessed touch.
Watch it caress the leaves and flowers, with its gentleness. See it kiss the heads of children as they laugh and play. Look up at the sky above, touched by the morning sun, lacy clouds hang so high, they dwarf the ‘planes that fly beneath. God’s delight whispers through its rays. Holy love, glorious joy unbounded.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer letter to his parents from prison 17/12/43 -https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Letters_and_Papers_from_Prison/i_Uw29O_DLgC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR3&printsec=frontcover
Our next meeting will be 10.30am on Friday 24 November at St Anne’s Church with a theme of 'Sacred Spaces'
