Fulfillment: Advent Daybook, 14
Take a few deep breaths, settle your body, mind, and heart into a quiet space and let’s begin with prayer.
Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: Jesus Reading from Isaiah ... "he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised" (Reconciliation Stained Glass Window in St. John’s Church, Tralee, Ireland), Thomas Denny - Source
Listen: The Trumpet Child, Over the Rhine - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube
Read: Psalm 30, 32, 42-43; Isaiah 8:1-15; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-18; Luke 22:31-38
Excerpts:
"O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.”
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"The Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken."
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“Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but admonish them as brothers and sisters.”
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“Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail, and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day until you have denied three times that you know me.
For I tell you, this scripture must be fulfilled in me, ‘And he was counted among the lawless,’ and indeed what is written about me is being fulfilled.”
- Psalm 43:3; Isaiah 8:11-15; 2 Thessalonians 3:13-15; Luke 22:31-34, 37
Pray & Do: Selah pause
On Saturdays during Advent, we'll spend about 15 minutes practicing a devotional exercise known as an examen. The Examen is a spiritual discipline of prayer first modeled by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The prayer practice has remained a dynamic, deeply-meaningful way to develop our capacity to hear God and our hearts.
Start with silence. Take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first few days of Lent. I’ve come to call this time a selah pause.
The Hebrew word selah (see-lah) is repeated throughout the Psalms. The definition of this word is probably a musical reference, calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm. The Amplified Bible (AMP) adds the explanatory phrase "pause, and calmly think of that!" each time the word selah shows up in the Psalms.
There’s no need to strive for profound insight during this time. Just be still. If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze them. You might breathe a simple prayer each time you're tempted to become distracted. For example, when you feel distracted or anxious breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “have mercy on me the sinner.” Another option is to echo the psalmist: "Selah, pause and calmly think of that.”
After about 5 minutes of silence, pray through the questions listed here:
Ask God for light. I want to look at my week with God’s eyes, not merely my own.
Give thanks. The week I’ve just lived is a gift from God. I give thanks.
Review the week. I calmly think back on the week just completed, trusting the Holy Spirit to help me recall whatever’s helpful. I notice the places I felt most connected to the love of God and others.
Notice places you distanced yourself from God. I acknowledge what I’ve done or left undone that made it difficult for me to connect with the love of God and others. I pay special attention to areas I notice unresolved grief.
Look forward to the week to come. I ask God where I need help and a greater connection with love for the coming week. I ask for the grace to honestly bring my complaint, petition, and resolve to stay present to God in lament this Lent.
Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by his Spirit. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus. Go about your day and into the weekend with peace.
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*Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 1).