A Prayerful Advent

November 29th is the first Sunday in a brand new church year and the first Sunday of Advent. It's a time to celebrate the sacredness of new beginnings, the innocence of new life and the profound Source of all our trust. This year, we will celebrate the traditional words of Advent in our Advent wreath liturgies: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ. Maybe these prayers can help to walk us through the season.


Hopeful God, when we listen too much to the news, when we fear too much for the earth, when we hurt from words or are bruised by loneliness, bring us into your hope. Remind us to see as you see. Invite us to think like stars. We will share the hope of your Spirit and live confidently in you.


Peaceful God, in these days of long nights, we seek your peace. Others may say we live in paradise, but we know there is no such thing as paradise. We know that many of our streets are not safe after dark. We know that many of our youth are not safe in their neighborhoods. We know that the generosity and compassion of our older folk are victimized by predators. We know that . . . , we know many things. And yet, we also claim your peace. In our most courageous moments, we can hold the reality of our world in one hand, and your perfect peace in the other hand, and we can say both are true. And we can say, God's peace will win. Please God, send us out to serve your peace.


Joyful God, take us to the ocean to see the light play on the waves. Take us to the park to watch the dogs play. Take us to first grade to remind us of unfettered curiosity of children. Give us colors and clay to play with so that we may rediscover the playfulness of creativity and creation. Surround us with symphony and jazz and rhythm and sound to let us float in overwhelming beauty. Remind us of the eyes of our beloveds and tell us again that all creation rests in your delight. And we will practice your joy.


Loving God . . . Loving God . . . Loving God . . . Loving God . . . Loving God . . . Loving God . . . Help us to discover what might happen within us if we truly lived with only these words . . . Loving God.


Mothering, Fathering, Anointing God, we thank you. We thank you for Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One, Divine Son, Brother, Teacher, Healer, Activist, Human. We thank you not just for him, but for how we have come to understand him, for how we have come to know him. In this Advent Season, on this threshold of Christmas, may his birth be a part of who we are becoming. May his innocence be a part of our hope. May his trust be a part of our peace. May his vision for life be a part of our joy. May his compassion be a part of our love. May his Spirit be a part of our own connection to you.