Joy of Our Desiring: Advent Daybook 3
Happy New Year, Church! I’m so grateful to have you joining me for the prayerful expectation of Advent and the festive celebration of Christmas! For the first few days, I’ve included a “how-to” guide at the bottom of each post just to help you get oriented to the format we’re using each day. Please feel free to reach out with your questions!
And now, 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: Christians hold lit candles during a Christmas Eve prayer at a church in Surabaya, East Java, on December 24, 2019. Juni Kriswanto / AFP / Getty - Source
Listen: Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach), Future of Forestry - Spotify | YouTube
Read: Psalm 5-6, 10-11; Isaiah 1:21-31; 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12; Luke 20:9-18
Excerpts:
"Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness. But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together, and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed. For you shall be ashamed of the oaks in which you delighted, and you shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen. For you shall be like an oak whose leaf withers and like a garden without water. The strong shall become like tinder and their work like a spark; they and their work shall burn together, with no one to quench them."
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"Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed. Why do the wicked renounce God and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
But you do see! Indeed, you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none. The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.
O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more."
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"For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face."
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"But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
You remember our labor and toil, brothers and sisters; we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, how pure, upright, and blameless our conduct was toward you believers. As you know, we dealt with each one of you like a father with his children,"
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"But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you."
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"He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants and went away for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard, but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent still a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’"
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"O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror. My soul also is struck with terror, while you, O Lord—how long?
Turn, O Lord, save my life; deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love."
- Isaiah 1:27-31 * Psalm 10:12-18 *Psalm 11:7 *1 Thessalonians 2:7-11 *Psalm 5:7 * Luke 20:9-13 *Psalm 6:1-4 *(NRSVUE)
Pray: Psalm 5:1-3 (CEV)
Listen, Lord, as I pray! Pay attention when I groan. You are my King and my God. Answer my cry for help because I pray to you. Each morning you listen to my prayer, as I bring my requests to you and wait for your reply.
Tell God what you are desiring today and then listen for God's reply. Take this practice of prayerful listening with you throughout the day and week.
Do: Gather your nativity pieces --minus the manger--and place them where you'll see them each day during your meditation. If you own more than one nativity set, consider combining them all into a caravan.
(Thanks to the author and advocate Sarah Quezada for sharing this idea and photo from her friend as a "glimpse of my friend Katie's mantel, where she's combined her nativity sets to create a caravan, similar to the one Mary and Joseph would have likely traveled with to Bethlehem.”)
"Did Mary and Joseph walk alone (and pregnant) to Bethlehem? Would no one really make space for them once they arrived? How did they respond when their child's life was in danger? I was blown away the first time I learned that the idea of Mary and Joseph walking alone to Bethlehem is a distinctively Western way of reading the Bible. It would have made sense at the time to be traveling in a large caravan of family members. It would've been safer.” (From Sarah Quezada's series, "Advent Refuge: Seeking Safety With the Holy Family”)
*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).
Why Advent?
Advent is a season of invitation for the feast that is coming. Practicing Advent for over a decade has formed me spiritually, emotionally, and relationally in ways that are hard to quantify. It’s a little bit of growth year after year that adds up to a quieter soul and a sturdier hope. Each year, the prophets, psalm singers, and gospel writers invite me to see with a clearer lens the mystery of God’s miraculous arrival. The same mystery shapes our entire lives, the waiting for Christ’s next and final arrival. The arrival that we expect is the one that will never end with another goodbye. Oh, mysterious hope!
While Advent trains me to embrace mystery, it also requires me not to look away from the inherent tension of acknowledging that, yes, all shall be well, and all is not yet well. Every year, I sort of hope the prophets' words will be cozier. Why must there be so much talk about God’s justice wiping out man’s evil? Why so many flaming arrows and toppling earth?
The reality of arrival is not a cozy scene, but a cosmic, unstoppable disruption of the kingdom of men by the reigning God and His Son, Jesus. Advent is the invitation to walk the pathway of this eternal kingdom. The reign of Christ that’s already here, but not yet fully arrived shines the light for us as we walk. We live in this stretched out parentheses and Advent kindly welcomes our weary souls to contemplate the visible reality of our lives and the world in contrast to the invisible reality of the Christ who came, is with us now, and will most assuredly come again.
In the spirit of Advent’s invitation, I welcome you to walk through the days - one by one - quietly, slowly, and contemplatively. If this all sounds impractically holy, I assure you the best sort of contemplation is what happens when we carry a quiet heart through all the noisy celebrations or the sorrowful absences of December.
How to enjoy Advent Daybook posts: Look, Listen, Read, Pray, & Do
Each day of Advent (November 27 - December 24) I’ll share a devotional post that includes a work of art, a song, daily Scripture passages, a short prayer, and a simple action to help you practice the waiting days of Advent.
Look
Some might call this devotional practice of visual contemplation Visio Divina or a divine looking. It’s not the actual work of art that is divine, but the Holy Spirit’s invitation to encounter Christ through nonverbal reflection. Throughout the year I collect digital images that I think will enhance the Scriptural themes of Advent. You’ll notice that some of the images evoke traditional Christmas scenes while others seem to have nothing to do with the holiday season at all. The images rotate through classic and contemporary art of all media. Each week I include an image (usually a photograph) from news headlines of the year. My hope is that the Scripture passages for each day orient the visual art selection and sometimes, honestly, that’s a difficult task. The prophets don’t make cozy, holiday scenes a priority in their descriptive language!
Listen
December is prime time for music lovers! One of my earliest concerns about practicing a slow entry into the Christmas feast was that I’d miss all of the beautiful carols and Christmas songs I’d been singing at the top of my lungs since childhood. And, it’s true - I do miss singing along with most of the world (although, I’ve come to appreciate the store soundtracks as a perk of shopping in December!) What I didn’t know until I’d lived Advent for a few years is that I’d grow the same attachment to the old hymns and carols of Advent.
While I could never get tired of the quintessential Advent hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” there are so many more to enjoy. The theologically rich, melodically beautiful lyrics of Advent have formed me almost as much as the Scripture we soak in each year. Thankfully, as the Church has become increasingly reacquainted with the historic liturgical calendar, there’s been a lovely renaissance of new and retuned music allowing us to raise our voices every season.
Most of the songs I share each day are contemporary versions of old classics or new tunes written for Advent, but each week I try to mix in a choral or traditional arrangement. I try to select quality recordings and include a Spotify, YouTube, and when available, a Bandcamp version for your convenience. Since the music is chosen to enhance the visual art, my family chooses to play the music as a backdrop for contemplating the image. You might choose to do each separately. I also include a link to the lyrics for each song so you can sing along if you’d like!
Read
Oh my goodness, I love the lectionary. I’ve always been intrigued by the interweaving of the Old and New Testaments for the beauty of the various literary rhythms as well as the deep satisfaction of experiencing the living, breathing word of God that looks backward and forward at the same time. It’s so rich.
If you don’t do anything else with the posts, read the Scripture passages. I include a link for the complete lectionary passages each day and then excerpt the portions that particularly spoke to me as I was preparing the post. This year I’ve switched to the New Revised Standard Version most often, but if you click through the link to the Biblegateway page, you can adjust the version to your preference. 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).
This year, I’ll be starting the “O Antiphons” (an ancient liturgy that is the root of the beloved “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” hymn) on December 19. The Scripture portion of each post will focus on one of the O Antiphons and will help us center ourselves in worship and adoration in the final week of Advent. We continue to be inspired by Malcolm Guite’s sonnets and a prayer service our church holds during this week. I look forward to sharing the beauty here with you, too.
Pray
Each week the prayers are formed around the Sunday collect (a prayer of collected words said by the collected congregation in Sunday worship). While you could pray directly from the daily Scripture (especially the Psalms) or the hymn lyrics, I include a guided prayer for each day. Once a week, I invite you to a form of intercessory prayer termed “Prayers of the People” in the Book of Common Prayer. This allows us to set aside at least one day to remember each sphere of our world with specific prayer.
Do
The spiritual practice of contemplation, at its best, moves from reflective stillness to thoughtful action. We were made by a Creator to love Him, our neighbors, and ourselves with heart, mind, soul, and strength. I’m delighted to invite you to join me in simple, daily actions to demonstrate God’s love to our neighbors, ourselves, and the world. Some of the activities will feel familiar to the traditional customs of Christmas time, and some will feel new and counterintuitive. It’s all good.
If you enjoy what I’ve been curating and creating here, please invite your friends to subscribe to a Daybook membership or to purchase their own one-time digital download. The Daybook devotional posts provide a beautiful experience to be able to share and talk about together.
As always, please feel free to email me your questions.
Thank you for keeping me company during these prayerful, expectant days. May we be reminded in our deepest hearts that we do not wait without hope!
Peace,
Tamara
p.s., Whether your friend joins us as a Daybook member to receive daily meditations in their inbox or purchases a one-time digital download of all 29 meditations, they’ll be able to jump in at any time while having access to previous posts from this year!