Day 4 of Advent - "open my eyes"

Day 4 - "open my eyes"

Psalm 119:1-24
Old Testament Lesson
1 Thess. 2:13-20
Luke 20:19-26

When we enter a season such as Advent, and I hear admonitions to be more holy, I sometimes get frozen with the sense that this is just above my power.  There are those people who we have met who embody holiness, who seem to listen to the "better angels of their natures" at all times, and who seem to walk in the ways of the Lord without any stumbling at all.  If you are one of those people, blessings!  I, for one, am not.  I strive to do good, but fail as often as not, and the entering of Advent can remind me just how much work is still to be done.

The Psalmist reflects on the "blameless" ones in psalm 119, saying:

1	Happy are they whose way is blameless, * who walk in the law of the LORD!
2	Happy are they who observe his decrees * and seek him with all their hearts!
3	Who never do any wrong, * but always walk in his ways.
4	You laid down your commandments, * that we should fully keep them.

This vision of the ones whose way is blameless is a vision that the Psalmist is also praying to one day live out in his own life.  You see, God is with us, even if we stumble.  Actually, God is with us especially when we stumble and strive to do the good, to live a blameless way.  Look to the scripture, King David is by no means a blameless figure, yet continues to return to the Lord.  And what of these figures such as Zacchaeus, hated tax collector, and then there is Jesus staying at his house, and enacting Zacchaeus's tranformation and conversion.  So too for us, we strive to be good, to walk in the law of the Lord, but God is with us even when we stumble, and is there to help us along the way.

5	Oh, that my ways were made so direct * that I might keep your statutes!
6	Then I should not be put to shame, * when I regard all your commandments.
7	I will thank you with an unfeigned heart, * when I have learned your righteous judgments.
8	I will keep your statutes; * do not utterly forsake me.

And the Lord does not forsake us, but is carrying us all along, and loves us though we stumble and trip along the journey of Christ.

May your ways be blameless today, and, if not, know that God will deal bountifully with us!

17	Deal bountifully with your servant, * that I may live and keep your word.
18	Open my eyes, that I may see * the wonders of your law.

Blessings and Peace,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Day 3 of Advent "give ear to my words"

Readings for Day 3 of Advent

Psalm 5

Isaiah 1:21-31

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Luke 20:9-18

"give ear to my words"

From Psalm 5

¹ Give ear to my words, O LORD; *

consider my meditation.

² Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, *

for I make my prayer to you.

The psalmist calls out a rather modern prayer, "give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation," and prays that God might listen to his prayers.  Praying about praying.  As we move into the season of Advent, we might turn to God in prayer and prayer can take many forms.  There are the prayers that we issue in the form of words, such as the Psalmist often does.  "God give me grace!" "God give me patience!"  "God help me!"  "God, I am thankful for all that I have and all that I have."  Words are important, and when we can vocalize our prayers in words, our words become a part of us, and also can become praise and also hope for others.  Prayers of grace and thanksgiving before meals, prayers before a potentially difficult meeting, prayers for safety and a good effort before an athletic competition.  Do we have the courage to offer words of prayer?  Do we have the courage to offer prayers in a variety of contexts?  Do we have the courage to give word to our faith?  Do we have the courage to live out our faith in this way?  St. Francis is reported to have said, "Preach the gospel always, when necessary, use words." Absolutely, I agree.  It can be rather more difficult to live out a theology or a spirituality than it is to write or say a creed.  However, there are also times to speak words of prayer.  

Advent and Christmas can be opportunities for us to give voice to our faith, to actually speak up for "the reason for the season," and to remind people that Christmas is "Christ's Mass" and that it is a recognition of the Incarnation of God becoming Human in the person of Jesus, and also the way this Incarnation lives on today.

Do we have the courage to give voice to prayers that might offer thanksgiving and praise for the "reason for the season"?  I hope and pray that we do.

May Advent continue to offer you blessings,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Day 2 of Advent - "A shield about me"

Day 2 of Advent

Readings from the Daily Office

Isaiah 1:10-20
Psalm 1
Psalm 2
Psalm 3
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Luke 20:1-8

"a shield about me"

In Psalm 3, we hear the cry of one who has "many adversaries," but who also turns to the Lord, who abides in the Lord. The Lord is a shield around the psalmist, though surrounded by many adversaries.  The collect in the service of Eucharist for the first Sunday in Advent Sunday had that wonderful line, "cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light," and here, today, in Psalm 3 we hear of the shield that the Lord provides.  Who are these adversaries?  Are they real, or metaphorical?  Are they under the powers of "darkness" or are they psychological projections from within us?

For those of us living rather comfortable lives, the notion that there are "many adversaries" surrounding us may move us to consider the metaphorical, or psychological aspects of this Psalm.  However, there are many in the world who live in the midst of enemies, and as we journey on the way of Christ, we may find ourselves doing ministry and presence among adversaries.  As we journey along the adventure of following Jesus, it is likely that we will be standing among those who are encountering injustice, oppression, and even the threat of death.

Even if we don't find ourselves there, we will find ourselves encountering adversaries in our lives, adversaries that may lead us to forget our ethical principles, adversaries that may move us off our moorings.  Where will we turn in these moments?  The collect advises us to "cast away the works of darkness"...and "put on the armor of light."  And the psalmist prays with audacious hope:

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me; *

                                               you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

We hope, not because our surroundings give us signs that things will get better.  Rather, we pray and live with audacious, courageous, and stupendous hope that comes from God, that comes through our faith in things that we can't quite grasp. God provides for us, even when we are walking though the darkness, even when we are surrounded by adversaries of various stripes.  God provides a shield for us, God provides an armor of light.  God, in Christ, provides for us - and we are to live audacious, courageous and stupendous lives because of it.  

So, put on your armor of light, consider the shield that the Lord provides.  

Have a Blessed Advent,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

...on Advent

It is the last day of the Christian Year today, and the beginning of the Christian Year begins tomorrow with Advent I, when we begin the season of expectation, of waiting for Christmas - for the coming of Jesus.  The readings of the next four weeks will bring us into the heart of the prophetic vision from the Hebrew Scriptures of awaiting the Messiah and also the stories that preceded Jesus' Birth.

For us, this season of Advent is all to easily eclipsed by the rush to Christmas in the culture all around us.  Where we live, if you don't buy your Christmas tree in the next week or so, there won't be any left, but if you buy it now, the needles may not last until Christmas.  As a child, we would usually buy our Christmas tree just before Christmas, and we spent time in Advent lighting the four candles of the Advent Wreath.  As a child, the waiting was, of course, for the gifts and magic of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but the waiting did move us into a mindset of expectation of the "not yet" of waiting for Jesus' coming.

This mindset of expectation is one that we can cultivate as we move into the season of Advent.  Considering the figures of Mary, as she lived in the tangible expectation of a child to be born, and the figure of John the Baptist who lived in tangible expectation for the Messiah who would baptize with fire, not with water.  I wish you a "Happy New Years Eve" tonight and a blessed Advent, may you take the time to consider, ponder, and sit deeply in the mindset of expectation.

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Advent Reflections ~ Descriptions

Advent Reflections

Each day of Advent, beginning November 30th, I will post an Advent Reflection based on the appointed lessons in the Daily Office (daily Morning and Evening Prayer) or on the Sunday Eucharistic lectionary (the lessons appointed for Sundays).  Come back and visit!  Consider this an Advent Calendar of Theological Reflections!

In God's Peace,

The Rev. Peter M. Carey
Chaplain
Berkeley Preparatory School
Tampa, Florida

Advent - Day 1 "leaning into Advent"

First Sunday in Advent, and First Day of Advent

Daily Readings

Psalm 146    Isaiah 1: 1-9    2 Peter 3: 1-10    Matthew 25: 1-13

Sunday Readings

Isaiah 2:1-5   Romans 13:11-14   Matthew 24:36-44   Psalm 122

Leaning into Advent

When we read the lessons for this first day of Advent in the Daily Office, we see that they each describe a state of leaning.  The image for me is one of leaning forward, leaning into the future, leaning towards something that we might not quite see or know just yet, but leaning nonetheless.  The lesson from Isaiah (1: 1-9) describes the beginning of his vision which describes the destruction of his time - "cities burned with fire; in your very presence aliens devour your land" - but which also names the fact that God has left "a few survivors," there in that desolate place.  Even in the midst of turmoil and destruction, God has left a green shoot which will grow and thrive.  The image also points to our own time, time of trouble, time of turmoil, time of dissention, time of dividing differences.  But we should be reminded that God has provided a green shoot, a bit of hope even in the midst of chaos and change - and a bit of hope is all that is needed.  A bit of faith is all that is needed.

Also in the 2nd letter of Peter we hear words that offer the image of leaning, a leaning forward to a time when Christ will return.  The feet are firmly planted, but the body leans forward in hope and faith to a time of judgment, a time of reckoning, when God will return.  And this time will come "like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire."  All things will change, something new will happen, gloriously new, and we shall be filled with awe.  Our leaning forward in this time of Advent leads us into the deep understanding that God will break in upon this world in a new way, and also, incredibly, that God is always breaking into this world in a new way.

This new way of God breaking into the world should put us into a state of wakefulness, of mindfulness, of deep awareness.  The gospel of Matthew tells the story of the 10 wise bridesmaids who are ready, and are leaning forward into the future, they are ready for the groom who will return at any minute. The sense of waiting in anticipation, with expectation, is charged with the knowledge that God is always becoming known to us in new ways, are we really ready?  "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

These Advent readings help us to lean forward into a state of eager anticipation and expectation.  Get ready!

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey