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| Image by Caroline Johnston |
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A GREETING
I will praise you, O God, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your marvelous works!
(Psalm 9:1)
A READING
Love one another with the affection of siblings. Try to outdo one another in showing respect. Don’t grow slack, but be fervent in spirit: the One you serve is Christ. Rejoice in hope; be patient under trial; persevere in prayer. Look on the needs of God’s holy people as your own; be generous in offering hospitality.
(Romans 13:10-13)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
For who is the greater?
The one who reclines at a meal, or the one who serves it?
(Luke 22:27)
A POEM BLESSING
I bless myself in the name
of the deer and ox,
the heron and the hare,
evangelists of land and wood
and air. The fox as well, that red
predator of chickens, prey of cars.
And the salmon and the trout
sleeping in the reeds.
When the wren wakes, I’ll ask
her blessing, and if she comes out
she’ll bring it. The squirrel buries
when she thinks no one else can
see. I bless myself in her secrecy.
There’s a fieldmouse I’ve seen
scampering at dusk, picking up the seeds
dropped by the finches and the tits
throughout the day. Some nest of frenzy
waits her kindness and her pluck.
I go in the name of all of them,
their chaos and their industry,
their replacements, their population,
their forgettable ways, their untame natures,
their ignorance of why,
or how, or who.
- "[untitled/missæ]" from Kitchen Hymns: Poems by Pádraig Ó Tuama
VERSE OF THE DAY
So many are asking, “Does good even exist anymore?”
Let the light of your face, O God, shine on us!
(Psalm 4:6)
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| "Strait of Juan de Fuca," (1936) by Emily Carr |
Come Away In!
Welcome to Celtic Advent. Over the next nearly six weeks, we will journey through a time of holy darkness and light, waiting and mystery, threshold and passage, as we prepare for and anticipate the Christ child. Celtic Advent holds joy, peace, hope and love alongside themes of creation, incarnation, and community. At its very heart, the Celtic practice of observing forty days before the nativity is an expression of hospitality. In laying to one side the obssessions of our own lives to focus on others, we encounter what we are most able to offer the world. In Advent we make a little more space for the light, while holding and loving what the darkness reveals.
Hope is our thread. Hope is sometimes as tenuous, thin and flimsy as a fraying piece of yarn. It can also be tight and strong like twine. In Celtic Advent, we deepen our commitment to hope as a covenant with God, a commitment to the renewal in all things that the coming of Jesus signifies. During the coming days, we will hold vigil in hope --- for the world, and for hope itself.
Hope dwells in the thin places, the thresholds. When we feel most lost, most at odds with our realities, most discouraged -- we turn to a hope through action to reorient ourselves. Hope comes through doing: as we see the kindom of God emerge, our hope is strengthened.
Who are the saints, past and present -- Celtic Christian, inter-religious or secular -- who have demonstrated their deep commitment to hope through their life's work?
How can they inspire us today?
To begin the journey, over the next few days we will turn to the Celtic wheel of the year and roll the calendar back two weeks to the festival of Samhain ("Sow-when"). How can our ancestors in faith help us find our footing for the future? How will you prepare yourself to journey toward Jesus with your whole heart?
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| Image by Giuseppe Milo |
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Today's scripture passages are taken from The Inclusive Bible.
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LC† Vigil in Hope is a devotional series of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!