FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Meeting date: November 21, 2005
I OPENING PRAYER
Side A: God, you are everything to me. You shepherd me and keep me safe. Keep me awakened to everything in my life Keep my eyes fresh and my energy strong. Keep me aroused with your power, a power that sings within me, a power that continually proclaims hope in the midst of hopelessness.
Side B: Your word is strong, stronger than any weapon that can rule against me. Help me to listen well to your word to stay awake and be on, watch for you. May I look to see the many signs of your coming among us. May I respond joyfully to the call to be a voice for all those who seek justice.
Side A: You give me time of waiting and hoping amid the craziness and falsehoods of the season.
You call me to keep Advent holy, even though everything around screams Christmas- Here! Now! Help me remain patient when it is difficult to see you,
Side B: May I be your song, and may I journey well with my brothers and sisters who long to see your face.
All: I will wait for you. Amen
II REVIEW OF LIFE Partners: Rosemarie & Theresa, Jane&Judy, Pam&Fran, Ann & Noranne
1. Have I been able to find time each day for some prayer and reflection? If not, what are the barriers?
2. Name an experience of the Lord- or of his absence- in these last two weeks. What did I hear?
3.What do I need most to persevere?
4. What challenges am I experiencing in carrying my prayer/reflection into my family, work, society?
5. How is my attitude changing toward the most forgotten people in our society? What am I doing about them?
6. In what ways am I growing closer to church, the Body of Christ?
7. For the next 2 weeks, what will be my one, clear-cut & simple plan or resolve? Who will I ask to pray for me in this regard?
8. How have you seen God in your life since we last met?
III Readings: READING 1: Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7 READING 2: 1 Cor 1:3-9 GOSPEL: Mk 13:33-37
VI TIME FOR QUIET REFLECTION ON THE READINGS, COMMENTARY AND QUESTIONS
VI COMMENTARY: Quest
There is a lot of weight to waiting. It can be a burden for many. Take, for example, the many young adults who live together before marriage. Unwilling to wait, they live as if they are already in a life-long relationship with one another without actually making any formal commitment. Studies are showing that such behavior leads to attitudes which hinder long-term commitment. Are they alone at fault? With the insistence on instant gratification in our society, a lot of us just hate to wait.
Advent is the season of waiting. As Christians, we wait between the first coming of Jesus at his birth - and all that it led to in his dying and rising for us - and his final coming when all that he established and initiated in his first coming will be fulfilled and completed. As Paul says, we "wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We need Advent because sometimes our waiting for Christ weakens under the weight of time. Busy and distracted, we often fail to watch for the comings of Christ in our daily lives that will lead to the fullness of the final coming. The instant but temporary fulfillment around us can distract us and make us think we have already arrived and that there is no need to wait any longer. We may become discouraged that Christ takes too long to reveal himself. Some may wonder if that Jesus will ever come again.
God, however, does great deeds for those who wait for the final coming. God rends open the heavens for us and pours out on us the gifts we need to help us in our life of waiting. Two such gifts are hope and patience. They support us and give meaning to the waiting for Christ's coming in our lives.
Hope assures us of a future, even beyond our death, a future that makes our lives worth living. We may not know the exact time of its coming, nor precisely what the reign of God will look like, but hope guarantees us that when Christ finally comes all that is hidden will be revealed. For those who hope in him, guilt will be forgiven, and what is still broken will be healed. With hope in God, we become watchful for present and future opportunities of revelation, reconciliation, and restoration. These opportunities will point us more and more in the direction of Christ's final coming.
Patience is an active endurance that compels us to persevere in the Lord to the end. We must strive to seek and reveal God, to forgive and be forgiven, and to heal and be healed. We suffer when this process of growth seems too slow or painful. However, like a patient waiting to be healed, we need to allow for the time the Spirit needs to restore us and our world fully to the Father through Christ Jesus. Advent, then, is our annual waiting room where the spiritual gifts of hope and patience strengthen us to make the burden of waiting for the final coming of Christ a little lighter.
VIII REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
1. How does the word, phrase or image that struck you from this week's scriptures speak to your life or the life of the community, your family or your world these days?
2. How heavy a burden is the weight of waiting for you?
3. How well do you wait for Christmas? How early do you put up Christmas decorations? How do you respond to invitations to Christmas parties during Advent?
4. When have you needed patience with others? When have others needed to be patient with you?
5. In what part of your life are you waiting for God to be revealed?
6. What gifts do you hope God would pour down from heaven on you this Advent?
7. What gifts has God given you that help you wait?
IX LG GROUP INSIGHTS ON SM GROUP SHARING:(What have I discovered that I can bring back to my life?)
X RESPONSE IN ACTION "What does God ask of you/us in light of our sharing of life and
* Create/write a spiritual will for your beloveds (spouse, children, grandchildren, dear friends, religious community). Intentionally bequeath to them those life values and experiences that you have come to claim as your own.
* What will be your Christmas gift to Jesus this year?
XI SHARED PRAYER -“Discover the Treasures” Gleaned from “Out of the Ordinary” & “Circle of Life” Joyce Rupp
One August when I was in Alaska, I traveled to HatcherPass in the Talkeetna mountain range to visit the old Independence gold mine. There are many buildings at this historical site that are being restored so visitors can glimpse the miners' adventurous and challenging life. The following week I toured the Anchorage museum and looked at more photos and stories about the miners. As I walked through both places I was amazed at how tough their life was. Their rugged life demanded a tremendous endurance as they searched for the treasure of gold.
After I returned home from Alaska, I began thinking about how easy it is to gather certain treasures and how difficult it is to collect others. We can readily gather the things in our life that we enjoy: people, events, and situations that give us pleasure and satisfaction. For instance, it is natural to give thanks for "good health" but it's rare to hear someone give thanks for "bad health." Yet, there may well be a treasure in poor health if we look more closely. Perhaps such things as the kindness of others, certain insights about ourselves, or the strengthening of a relationship would not be known without the bad health situation..
here are some gifts we will only find when we dig deeply into our life, when we endure the hardship and the struggle as did the early gold miners, of Alaska. Like some of the miners, it is possible that we will not find treasures even though we go deep, far, and long into our search. But most of the time it is possible to glean something of value, some gift that helps us to grow or brings a return of meaning and joy to our life.
Recently, I found whining and complaining about the continual packing and emptying of my suitcase, the irritation of airlines that either do not fly on time or never take off, the ceaseless stacks of mail, and the pressure of deadlines for writing assignments. Then I had the graced insight to see how I was focusing only on what I did not want in my life. I was failing to appreciate the blessing of each of those irritating things: my travel takes me to new people and allows me to invite them to spiritual growth; letters from both friends and strangers alike often affirm my life or expand my compassion; being able to write is a gift I dearly value and I love to see how words come together in spite of the crunch of deadlines. I thought of others who also need to ask if there is any gold beneath their problems or irritations. Do parents who give their all to children forget the treasure that these children are? Do older people struggling with the waning of their bodily and mental energies remember the jewel of their wisdom and faith? Do younger people who grow weary and worn our from work realize the gift of having a job and of being . able to use their talents? Do those who struggle with depression or other illnesses notice the kindness and care of counselors, physicians, and other medical personnel?
As each of us gathers our treasures into our Thanksgiving baskets, let us not only find the obvious gifts but also look more deeply. Let us look in the struggles, the weariness, the toil, the heartaches, the frustrations and irritations, and mine the gold that lies hidden deep within each of them.
If you look at a sunset, you might see only the disappearance of daylight. If you look beneath, you may see darkness opening the splendor of stars.
If you look at illness and disease, you might see only physical diminishment. If you look beneath, you may see it as a teacher brings you vital wisdom.
If you look at a broken relationship, you might see only a harsh ending. If you look beneath, you may see the courageous seeds of new growth.
If you look at lost dreams, you might see only disappointment and doubt. If you look beneath, you may see the stuff that new dreams contain.
If you look at the death of a 1oved one, you might see only pervasive sorrow. If you look beneath, you may see that love lives on forever in the heart.
If you look at the planet's pain and creatures' woe, you might see only despair. If you look beneath, you may see hope woven in the compassionate care of many.
If you look at yourself, you might see only tarnished unfinishedness. If you look beneath, you may see your basic goodness shining there.
If you look for the divine being, you might see mostly unresolved questions. If you look beneath, you may be astounded at the availability of divine love.
Thanksgiving is a time to look beneath our external lives for the unwavering love, the ceaseless peace, and the enduring strength that lie in the deep waters of our soul. The more we trust the unknowable depths of our existence, the more the power of gratitude becomes a song we daily sing. With what do you struggle today? What might lie beneath that struggle for which you can give thanks? Joyce Rupp
.XII BUSINESS: Meetings: 11/21, 12/5
•Will we put the money we spend on gifts for each other in the poor box again this Christmas?
•Meeting Dates
•What do we as a church want to do for Judy?
Birthdays: Frances Feb 17 Theresa Feb 18 Jane April 1 Ann June 1 Eileen July 25 MASSES FOR EILEEN Rosemarie Nov 30 Pam Dec 28. Noranne April 17 Judy 7/15 Theresa: Rosemarie: Pam: Ann: Noranne: Judy: mailto:
XIII CLOSING :WE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING: Church Good Shepherd Eileen Chang All of Our Small Church Pam John McGinn Bea & Stacy (lost husb/father JohnF. (Cancer ) Jerry (cancer) Kristine (mastectomy) Joyce Zahn Nick V Greg Marilyn Jeanine & Darren Eddie E (bone disease) Ted (anxiety) Doris (mental illness) Laura C Jennifer Pat (mastectomy) Sister Marge’s nephew Joseph spinal cord injury Antoinette (knee surgery) Robert (cancer) Jodi (prison) Dolly (cancer) Arlene (radiation treatments for cancer) James (possible 3-bypass) Molly Linda Paul Arline (breast cancer treatments) Mike Latore (backpain, cancer) Margie (back pain) All those on our internet prayer request list Dolores Madigan Aunt Di (Theresa) Jennifer Sean Suzanne (Hodgekins) Susan Latore (hosp) Our Judy- heart attack Theresa’s sister-in-law
SENDING FORTH AND CLOSING PRAYER: Let the Star of Morning Rise
SIDE 1: Lord God, in the deepest night there rises the star of morning, of birth, the herald of a new day you are making, a day of great joy dawning in yet faint shafts of light and love.
SIDE 2: We hear whispers of peace in the stillness, fresh breezes of promise stirring, winter sparrows chirping of life, a baby's cry of need and hope Christmas!
ALL: In the darkness I see the light and find in it comfort, confidence, cause for celebration, for the darkness cannot overcome it; and I rejoice to nourish it in myself, in other people, in the world for the sake of Him in whom it was born and shines forever, Jesus the Christ. Guerrillas of Grace by Ted Loder
November 27, 2005 First Sunday of Advent
Reading I Is 63:16b-17, 19b; 64:2-7
You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old. No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people, all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves, and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.
Reading II 1 Cor 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Mk 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: (Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: Watch!