Posts Tagged ‘Advent’

22 Dec

Advent Day 25: Leaping for Joy

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , , .

Advent Day 25

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?  For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”  (Luke 1:39-45)

The high school I attended offered plenty of advanced classes:  college-level math, foreign languages no other high school offered, and so on.  I think the best class in the entire school was the one taught on the Vietnam War.   In that class, a veteran-turned-teacher took us out to interview parents whose children had died in that conflict.  I had the privilege of interviewing a couple who had never received their son’s body.  All they had was a photo of medics helping a wounded man whom they believed to be their son.

A few weeks afterwards, I interviewed my uncle, who served in Vietnam, and talked to other family members with military experience.  This subject had never come up before.  Previously, we had only seen one another at family gatherings, where we made small talk.  That uncle attended my graduation from seminary, and I’ll always treasure the interview he granted me.

I wonder what Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was thinking as Mary approached the house.  What we get in Scripture is the happy ending to the story.  Did Elizabeth have doubts about Mary’s mysterious pregnancy?  Did she ever doubt her own?  What was the relationship between the two women like before Mary showed up for this long visit?  Whatever Elizabeth was thinking, she was joyfully interrupted by her own unborn child jumping and dancing in her womb.  Then she knew something spectacular was happening.

Will you attend a family gathering this year, or host one?  What will your reaction be as the guests assemble?  Are you looking forward to getting together with everyone?

If you’re a young adult reading this blog, try this:   get to know another family member better during your holiday gathering.  Chances are you have been sitting at the children’s table for years (literally or symbolically), never involved in adult conversation.  So claim your place!  Be the young Mary who visits her older cousin Elizabeth.  There may be undiscovered joy in this family connection. 

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/22/

21 Dec

Advent Day 24: In Your Own Words

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , , .

Advent Day 24

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”  (Luke 1:38)

Today’s spiritual practice is another way of reading and studying Scripture:  rewrite a passage in your own words.

Earlier I gave you a study method that works better with narrative passages (like the story of the birth of Jesus), and this re-writing exercise works better with poetry and songs.

Try today’s reading from Isaiah, or Isaiah 9:2-7 (a traditional Christmas Eve reading.)

I love doing this exercise with two types of people:  those who excel at poetry and song-writing, and those who absolutely believe they don’t have that gift.  (I think everyone can use their imagination, and everyone enjoys beauty.)  It’s great to hear what the poets come up with; they can come up with something I’d like to frame and put on the wall.  It’s also beautiful to watch when the scientific, technical people begin to let their imagination out.   Technical folks write beautiful poetry!  They make sure it has rhyme and rhythm, they search for the perfect words, and in general they work really hard to make it right. 

Keep your re-written passage in your pocket or on your computer somewhere in a place where you can look at it from time to time.  Use it as a prayer.

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/21/

20 Dec

Advent Day 23: Hope

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , .

Advent Day 23

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13)

The timing on this post couldn’t be better.  Yesterday Bill (senior pastor at the church where I serve) gave some examples of people who had hope despite terrible odds.  I had already planned this post:  so for today, think and pray about hope.  What keeps you going?  What are your deepest longings, as opposed to temporary wishes?  Where do you notice examples of hope, or things that make you hopeful?

I love this verse from 1 Corinthians, not only because it sounds good, but because it presents a particular challenge to me as a Christian and a pastor in America in 2010.  You see, the frightening situations Americans have experienced in the past 10 years or so have pushed many people against an emotional and spiritual wall.  When we get pushed like that, our deeply held fears and beliefs have nowhere to hide.  I’ve heard people in the last ten years call for more “love” (in the form of tolerance, reaching out to those in need, etc.) and for more “faith” (or truth, or righteousness, or right and wrong.)  Sometimes the “love” people and the “faith” people find themselves at odds with one another.

But who’s talking about hope?  I’d like to hear more about that.  I want to preach more about it.  (If you’re reading this, I’d love to hear a story of hope from you!)  Even though Paul writes that love is the greatest, here at the end of 2010 I think we need a little more hope to bind us together.  Considering hope is not an “official” spiritual practice, like many of the others I’ve described in this blog, but I consider it a very worthy subject for our prayers. 

What can you say about hope?

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/20/

19 Dec

Advent Day 22: Confession

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , .

Advent Day 22

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
   and put a new and right spirit within me.  (Psalm 51:10)

I heard about a website on which you can unload all your dirty secrets anonymously.  Someone else in the room, when we heard about the website, protested that confession to some unknown person is a cop-out.  You need to acknowledge what you did wrong to real people, especially anyone you wronged, the argument went. 

How to say “I’m sorry” is huge debate within Christianity.  Should we confess our sins to a priest?  Should we say a group prayer of confession on Sundays?  Should it all be private?  And hey, why do we concentrate on sin so much?  We look like the monks beating themselves on the head in “Monty Python and The Holy Grail” …

I agree with what the wise person in the room said when we heard about the confession website:  bring it back to real people.  It’s a beautiful thing when one person sincerely says “I’m sorry,” the person who was wronged sincerely says, “I forgive you,” and they both work at getting back on track.  The whole process may take a while but when it goes right, it simply overflows with grace.

Even though this is a joyful season, you may have a strained relationship with a family member or hometown friend this year.  Go ahead and confess!  You may not be the only one at fault, but you can begin a process of making it right.

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/19/

18 Dec

Advent Day 21: Forgiveness

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , .

Advent Day 21

Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’  Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.  (Matthew 18:21-22)

Today, work on forgiving someone.  If you are new at this, start small.  Begin with something that has had a very minor impact on you, not a major wound that has changed the direction of your life.

Here’s an example.  My office is off-campus, so at least once a week I go on campus to spend time with students.  Often I’ll see undergraduates handing out flyers or advertisements as I go to the lunch spot.  One day a student was handing out flyers for a religious event sponsored by another campus ministry.  I read the flyer and thought, “Arrgh!  Why didn’t I think of this?  This sounds great!”  For a moment, I was jealous and angry that someone else had this good idea first.

Well, I thought about it, considered some ways I could improve on the idea if our group ever did it, and let it go.  Now, what happened here wasn’t much of a sin, if at all.  No one set out to hurt me on purpose.  I chose to be jealous.  Still, I felt a need to forgive myself, and to “forgive” the other person for being so smart.

The questions I asked myself that day can be used for many of the “small” sins and hurts that we inflict on one another.  Give these questions some thought.  (Again, if you have a huge wound in your life, you may want to take a different direction; get some help from a trusted wise person if you want to begin the process of forgiving someone who severely wounded you.)

  • Who hurt me?  Was it really intentional?
  • Have I really been insulted or disgraced, or is my feeling of hurt something more like jealousy?  It could be a combination:  for example, feeling insulted when a respected professor doesn’t like your idea, and being jealous of that professor’s power.
  • Does it do me any good to hold on to the hurt feelings?
  • Next time a similar situation happens, could I choose to react differently?  (In the case of the professor, I could choose to bolster my next idea with more references.)

I think all these questions can go “up the ladder” to more difficult situations as well, but again, I recommend starting small.  Most of us have a tough time forgiving others, which is why Jesus preached about it so much!

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/18/

17 Dec

Advent Day 20: I Believe

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , , .

Advent Day 20

I believe; help my unbelief!  (Mark 9:24)

Generations ago, there was a big fight among Protestant Christians.  Should worshipers recite any creeds during the worship service?  (A creed is a written statement of religious belief.)  Some thought the creeds were essential for helping everyone stay on track.  Others thought that reciting a creed compromised their freedom.

I find that everyone has a personal creed, regardless of what kind of church service they attend.  Over a lifetime, each of us develops, challenges, changes, and reinforces our beliefs.

So here’s a challenge for today:  write a statement of faith.

Make your statement as long as you want.  To get started, use these questions:

  • What do you believe about God, Jesus,and  the Holy Spirit?
  • What happens after death?
  • How we should live our lives?
  • What is sin, what is forgiveness, and how do they relate to one another?
  • Why do we have evil?  Or why do we bother being good? 

Look back over your statement from time to time. 

  • Has writing helped you make sense of anything?
  • What “unbelief” do you still have? 
  • Does your statement of faith make sense?  (For example, did you write in one place that people are basically good, and in another place that people are basically evil?  You can say both, but you need to know why.)
  • Compare your real life and real actions against the statement:  are you practicing what you preach? 
  • Which needs to change:  your beliefs or your actions?  Or both?

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/17/

16 Dec

Advent Day 19: Fasting Again?

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , .

Advent Day 19

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
   make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  (Isaiah 40:3)

I’m smiling as I post another idea about fasting.  As I mentioned in the last post about this, fasting is not an idea that I relish.  However, I’m still intrigued by the idea of fasting from something.

As best I can understand it, part of the art of fasting is to get us out of routines that are at best dull, and at worst destructive.  It seems that if we have more than enough of anything (food, time) we somehow find a way to misuse the excess, often in a botched attempt to fill some kind of emotional void. 

Marjorie Thompson writes in Soul Feast about a wise old monk who advised a younger one about fasting.   Take in your daily bread, said the old monk, and fast from excess.  The older monk knew that an abundance of food could lead to a spiritual desert.

I remember a college friend who was having a rough semester and sought comfort in ice cream and soap operas.  She often invited me to join her.  I remember feeling a little stress that semester, but maybe I looked worse than I felt!  Looking back, I wish I had suggested that we just talk, or even take a joint trip to the campus counseling center.  Her little dorm room, with its free cable and mini-fridge, became a desert instead of a place of solace and refreshment.

I also remember a couple from my high school who found themselves in a desert.  Both high achievers, they sought relief in one another’s arms during those few hours between the end of the school day and their parents’ arrival home from work.  They conceived a child, and the girl was promptly whisked away to an abortion clinic.  I never knew the story until it was all over, and it made me stop and think.  What looked like every teenage girl’s fantasy (a boyfriend, attention, “practicing” marriage) was nothing more than a dry place of pain.  I became thankful for my “daily bread” of an after-dinner walk with a boy I was dating in the neighborhood.  That was all we could get away with!  But it was a refreshing break and never got us in trouble.

Today, practice having your daily bread, and break daily bread with a friend.  Think about what you really need to sustain you for today.   Try fasting from anything beyond that daily bread, as abundant as it may seem.

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/16/

15 Dec

Advent Day 18: Kindness

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , , .

Advent Day 18

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.  (Isaiah 2:4)

A while back a student taught me a meditation method that helps you imagine more kindness in your life.  More kindness coming from you, that is.  Perhaps it seems a little simplistic … but within the Christian tradition there is a great emphasis on allowing your actions to be determined by your spirit, which is in turn fed and directed by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, someone who doesn’t really care about turning swords into plowshares will never attempt to do it.   So try this and let God direct you toward a kind action.

 Imagine the warm feeling flowing from you toward someone you love.  Next, imagine that warm feeling flowing toward the following people:

  • Someone who seems nice, but is not close to you
  • A stranger who you saw earlier in the day
  • Someone who slightly bothers you
  • Someone who really bothers you
  • Someone you could not imagine loving at all.

Finally, imagine all the warmth circling around back to you.  This exercise probably won’t produce any instant results, but over time, it could change how you interact with others.

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/15/

14 Dec

Advent Day 17: Generosity

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , , .

Advent Day 17

Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.  (2 Corinthians 9:13-14)

The LORD watches over the strangers … (Psalm 146:9)

Once a man proudly announced to me, “I take care of my own!”  He meant that he took care of his family, and he was proud of that.  Part of me could understand what he meant.  He came from a rural area where people struggled to earn a living, and some had given up trying. 

Yet a little voice in my head said, “So?  Why should you go around announcing that you did your duty?  Do you expect a gold star?”  (I think I said the same thing out loud, but with a little more good Southern manners.)

Jesus wasn’t too pleased with the so-called faithful people he encountered whose concern for others never left the front door.  (see Luke 6)  Giving something away, and trusting that God will do the right thing with it, is an act of faith.  God has enough faith in us, after all, to entrust the care of others to us!

So, today’s spiritual practice is a combination of genrerosity and trust.  Set out a jar or dish for loose change and “lost” money, like bills that end up in the washing machine.  Don’t touch it until it reaches $5 or $10, and then give it away.  As the change accumulates, pray for whoever will receive the money.  If you feel weird about giving away a ton of change, look for places that purposefully collect loose change.  Our church collects “Pennies for Hunger” in addition to our regular offerings– part of the fun is listening to the change clang around in the bucket.  This offering raises so much money, you’d be surprised. 

To be sure, what I’m proposing does not top the charts in terms of generosity.  I’m simply offering this to you as a starting point.  Try praying every day for whoever will receive this gift.  Try giving without hiding behind excuses, such as “What if the recipient wastes my money?”  Read more of Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, in which he reminds the givers that the recipients are praying for them.  Who might be praying for you to be generous?

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/14/

13 Dec

Advent Day 16: Being Present

Posted by Kerri Hefner in devotional. Tagged: , , .

Advent Day 16

…on your wondrous works, I will meditate.  (Psalm 145)

Do you know anyone who will drop everything to be “in the moment” with a friend in need?  Or anyone who is easygoing, willing to change if the needs of the moment change?  Those are great attributes to have in a friend, and many times, in a supervisor.  Yet I know many young adults struggling to change their easygoing, in-the-moment nature, because that way of being gets them in trouble at work. 

What kind of friend would we like God to be?  The friend who goes with the flow, or the friend who keeps us on schedule?  I think the answer to that question depends on the individual.  However, I do have a thought about our side of the relationship with our Creator.  Regardless of our personalities, we could benefit from being in the moment with the One who loves us.

Our lack of attention to the present is both a symptom and a cause of our disconnected relationship with God.  How do we start paying attention?  It would be great to have hours for quiet prayer each day, but for your average young adult, taking that much time would only result in feeling further behind.   Try one of these two options as a different way of using the moments you are given.

  1. Take a break from the clock.  Some people are always worried about their next appointment, or traffic, or being late.   If you are one of those people, scheduling time for prayer or meditation will be tough, because you will be worried about ending on time.  Try this instead:   go to a church service or holiday choir concert, and show up really early.  Sit and listen to the choir practice before worship, or sit quietly in the sanctuary.  You’ll get a good parking space (hey – I know your type!), and you’ll feel secure, knowing that even if you lose yourself in prayer you won’t be late for the main event.
  2.  Take a break from tasks.  Some people are not so worried about time, but are concerned about getting everything done.  If this applies to you, prayer may feel like another chore on your long to-do list.  Here’s an idea for you:  say you wake up on a Saturday and have a big pile of dirty clothes.  Do laundry for exactly 30 minutes or 1 hour, and then stop.  Take a 30-minute break to do something completely different, such as reading or going for a run.  (Exercise and reading are probably on your to-do list anyway!)  Then go back to your laundry for a set period of time.  This is how some monasteries are run:  each monk does a task for a certain period of time, and leaves when the time is up.  The next monk picks up where the last one left off, and somehow it all gets done.

Finally, regardless of what you do for your prayer time, try to share the wealth and be fully present in the moment with a friend.

Today’s daily Scripture reading from the PC(USA):  http://gamc.pcusa.org/devotion/daily/2010/12/13/

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