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Advent Word Day #12 – “Smooth”

An allure exists around all things smooth. The high gloss of a finished piece of wood. Buttery leather seats. The skin of an infant whose mother still measure time in weeks rather than years.

Humanity can appreciate those things, but my interest is in the bubbles, bumps, and curves that make things less homogenous and somehow more real. I wish every prayer I offered in public sounded as smooth as a televangelist’s benediction at the Super Bowl, but if I were to make God human in my mind, she might chuckle and say, “D’awww, that’s sweet. Very good” much as I do when I see an entertaining video of a child.

Luckily I don’t have to make God human in my mind.

God became human, and we know about historical Jesus. Not everything because even that would be too smooth. But as we wait for a star to soar in the sky and herald a newborn’s birth, we’re reminded today that smooth can be a pleasant sensation, but not the only one we should strive for.

Almighty God, heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the
joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient
wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love
whatever is just and true and good, following the example of
our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

#AdventWord2018 #AdventWord #stannesreston #smooth

Advent 2018 Day 11, – “Rough”

We’re reminded today that the rough ways will be made smooth. And while I complain a lot about vehicle traffic in my area, I don’t think enough about how life must have been for a pregnant woman traveling to deliver her child. The 200 bed hospital near my home where my son was born is a magical place compared to a barn and a manger. How much must a woman have hurt and ached throughout her pregnancy two thousand years ago? A labor of love in any era is even more poignant without modern conveniences.

Mary, the mother of God, is often pictured in clean robes in good repair. When shown, the face below her perfectly coiffed hair or scarf is unblemished. That’s a little too much smoothing in portraying what must have been a remarkable childbirth, as they all are, but more so because of the conditions.

What must it be like to walk hundreds of miles while pregnant or with a child in the hopes that the next place will be more welcoming? And then arriving only to learn that there is no room at the inn, no welcome at the border, only barbed wire and soldiers keeping you out?

Traffic isn’t so bad when I realize that I go to a church, a job, stores, and visit friends of my own choosing while traveling in comfort.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

#AdventWord2018 #AdventWord #stannesreston #rough

Advent Day #11 – “Go”

Don’t keep calm. Be the one. Change the world. Make a difference. Help everyone always. Give of yourself. Love one another. Go to Bethlehem. Taste and see. Feed the hungry. House the homeless. Write the words. Teach your children. Educate the people. Free the oppressed. Follow that star.

Do what’s right.

Don’t be afraid.

Go and do.

You are loved.

Now, go. Go.

#AdventWord2018 #AdventWord #stannesreston #go

Advent Day #9 – “Cry”

We cry in relief, sadness, pain, and many other reasons. Our tears relieve stress and release important chemicals in our body that help us feel better. A crying baby creates a different response than someone crying while grieving or with relief.

One baby crying in a manger would become the Messiah. By choosing to be born human, God allows us to choose to follow since God manifested as human to encourage understanding and facilitate choice.

May God the Father, who by Baptism adopts us as his children, grant us grace, fill us with love, and keep us in peace.

#AdventWord2018 #AdventWord #stannesreston #cry