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Advent Devotional 2022
for the week of December 11
Throughout this holiday season of scurry, we are likely to welcome help as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, to seek that light amidst darkness. We will need to slow down occasionally, to reflect on the miracles surrounding us and the Miracle that will occur again this year, in just a few weeks.
Ann Weems (1934-2016), a Presbyterian elder, writer, speaker, and liturgist, raised her hand to volunteer to help us by composing a series of poems about Advent, Kneeling in Bethlehem (Westminster Press, 1980). She wrote those poems out of the conviction that “each of us awaits expectantly the birth of Christ in this place, this time. We will not give Christmas away to commercialism or to the past. For Christians, the Advent is now and here.”
Each week during Advent you will find one of Weems’ poems here in our newsletter, accompanied by a brief commentary by me and some Scripture and reflection questions by one of our pastors.
Preparing to Kneel in Bethlehem
I wonder if God comes to the edge of heaven each Advent
and flings the Star into the December sky,
laughing with joy as it lights the darkness of the earth…
Who is the CEO of Christmas at your house? Who makes things happen? Who makes decisions, assigns tasks, and heads up quality control? Who counts down the days and watches the clock?
By this time, perhaps you know where and when Christmas dinner will be served—even who will bring the green bean casserole and who the ambrosia; who will address and mail the Christmas cards; by what date gifts will be purchased, wrapped, and mailed; and where out-of-town guests will sleep.
We think we know Who the CEO of Christmas in heaven is, don’t we? We think we know Who makes the commands that will assure us that Advent will end happily every Christmas Eve. Surely God is in command!
But poet Ann Weems wonders…
- Does God delight in flinging the Star into the winter sky, “laughing with joy,” thus launching the Advent season?
- Hearing His laughter, do angels know that it is time “to practice their alleluias”?
- Do the seraphim and the cherubim struggle to assert their respective powers?
- Do the newbies lurk in the corners, wondering what to do?
Or…
When God calls, do the angels, both veterans and newbies, just do what needs to be done, hoping that (perhaps) this year the earth will fall to its knees, whispering “Peace”?
Perhaps at least one angel will whisper “Shalom” in your ear this year!
Watch. Listen.
Terry Ley
This Year
Ann Weems
I wonder if God comes to the edge of heaven each Advent
and flings the Star into the December sky,
laughing with joy as it lights the darkness of the earth;
and the angels, hearing the laughter of God,
begin to congregate in some celestial chamber
to practice their alleluias.
I wonder if there’s some ordering of rank among the angels
as they move into procession,
the seraphim bumping the cherubim from top spot,
the new inhabitants of heaven standing in the back
until they get the knack of it.
(After all, treading air over a stable and annunciating at the
same time can’t be all that easy!)
Or is everybody—that is, every “soul”—free to fly
wherever the spirit moves?
Or do they even think about it?
Perhaps when God calls, perhaps they just come,
this multitude of heavenly hosts.
Perhaps they come,
winging through the winds of time
full of expectancy
full of hope
that this year
perhaps this year
(perhaps)
the earth will fall to its knees
in a whisper of “Peace.”
For Reflection:
Scripture Psalm 42:7-8
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.
Questions
- How is God calling to you this Advent season? How can you respond?
- As we prepare for Christmas, where might you find a place and time to rest and “fall to your knees in a whisper ‘Peace’”?
Prayer
Holy God, as we prepare for Christmas, with song and laughter, plans and programs, may we also make room to hear your call for peace and stillness. May all our shouts of joy be followed by whispers of “peace.” In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
A downloadable copy of this devotional can be found here.
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