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Lord let us accept, you are leading us into places unknown –
places in ourselves, and in our lives with the other.
Lord you remind us… “Be not afraid”
And so we ask for Your help dear God.
Help us to let go…
Of our defences that protect us, yet isolate us
Help us to let go…
Of our past failures, of shame & guilt
Help us to let go…
Of our resentments and compulsions that we feed
Help us to let go…
Of our romantic notions that lead to false expectations of others, of our world, of You.
Help us to let go…
Of the burden of others’ expectations when our resources run dry
Lord let us accept, you are leading us into places unknown –
places in ourselves, and in our lives with the other.
Lord you remind us… “Be not afraid”
And so we ask for Your help dear God.
Help us to embrace…
The courage we need to grow close to one another
Help us to embrace…
A spirit of forgiveness and hope
Help us to embrace…
The liberation of our salvation
Help us to embrace…
The time we need for renewal and transformation
Help us to embrace…
The One who knows us and loves us without end.
[Hand out both bread and wine so that they are in our hands]
Yesterday I was in my car and had a little Christmas tantrum “I HATE Christmas!” thumped the steering wheel… “I can’t wait for it to be over…”
Every day I feel like I’m running from thing to thing and doing them all badly, traffic’s terrible – don’t get me started on Highpoint and there’s so many social things to do, I’m barely overlapping with my housemates… I’m stressed out. Yesterday in my car I asked myself the question, “Where is God in this?” How can I engage with the deeper meaning of Christmas when I get swept up in the commercialness and busyness of it?
I’m going to read a poem by Peter Rollins called “In the name…” in an attempt to answer that – invite you to hold the elements and reflect on where you yourself are at at this point of the season… and where God is in the mix. Some of the language may be a bit confronting but it captures some of the missed feelings I have around this time of year and I trust that while we won’t identify with all of it, we will all identify with some of it.
The Lord be with you… and also with you.
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
In the name of goodness and love and broken community.
In the name of meaning and feeling and I hope you don’t screw me…
In the name of darkness and light and ungraspable twilight
In the name of meal times and sharing and caring by firelight
In the name of action and peace and human redemption
In the name of eating, and drinking and table confession
In the name of sadness, regret, and holy obsession, the holy name of anger, the spirit of aggression…
In the name of forgive and forget and I hope I get over this…
In the name of the Father, and Son and the Holy Spirit
In the name of beauty and beaten and broken down daily.
In the name of seeing our creeds and believing in maybe, we gather here, a table of strangers, and speak of our hopeland and talk of our danger…
to make sense of our thinking to authenticate lives to humanise feeling and stop telling lies.
In the name of philosophy, theology and who gives a damn?
In the name of employment and study and finding new family.
In the name of our passion, our loving and indecent obsessions
In the name of prayer and of worship and of demon possession.
In the name of solitude, and quiet and holy reflection.
In the name of the lost, and the lonely and the withered direction
In the name of efficiency, stupidity and the wholly ineffectual
In the name of the straight, the queer, transgender and bisexual
In the name of boot clogs, and boob jobs and erectile dysfunction. Schizophrenia, hysteria and obsessive compulsion.
In the name of Mary and Jesus and the mostly silent Joseph.
In the name of speaking to ourselves, saying this is more than I can cope with…
In the name of touch up and break up, and break down and weeping
In the name of therapy, and prozac and full-hearted breathing.
In the name of sadness and madness and years since I’ve smiled.
In the name of the unknown, alien and the holy in exile
In the name of goodness and kindness and intentionality.
In the name of harbor and shelter and family.
(like telling an exciting secret…)
Christ is coming!
Christ is coming!
Christ is coming!
The Lord be with you… and also with you.
Let’s eat and drink.
This week, the second of advent, we light the candle of peace. We light it knowing full well that peace is elusive, and in some parts of the world almost completely absent – but God is never absent from us. God is always preparing something new. And even where there is war and discord, whether between countries, within families or within our own hearts, God is present, leading us to new possibilities. Loving God, in this time of preparation and planning, we thank you for the hope and peace you unfailingly offer us. Show us the creative power of hope. The us the peace that comes from justice. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by You – that we might walk in Your light. Amen.
Wonder and devastation
A magic that alters
The landscape forever
To never be the same again
Wisdom of the snow globe:
- Sometimes everything is all up in the air but eventually they settle down
- Some things change, some stay the same
- Things changing, and settling, changing and settling will happen again and again. You can rely on the rhythm but not rely on them always staying the same or always changing but the rhythm.
- Wild vs. domesticated, good to have both (not just a house or snow in a bubble but both – dynamic)
- Can’t see during the flurry but you can when they settle down, therefore wait. It’ll be ok.
Today is one of those days with so many things to do I’m not really sure where to start and here I lie in the sun by the duck pond with You.
You make sense of everything, so I know if I bring them here before You, You can sort the wheat form the chaff, by Your grace I achieve all or none of it. I offer these tasks, my time like a sacrifice on an altar before You in the hope it pleases You and fear it will not.
It is not about volume or perfection in the sacrifice but the renewed commitment to be Your servant in all things. Help me not to hold things tightly, not to imagine I have plans, the means of achieving them or really any measure of control – only give me willing, resiliency and openness to change. Where Your will moves things get done and I want to be there to bear witness to Your power.
How often are Your gifts held out to us freely
And we do not recognise they are gifts,
Or we recognise but do not claim,
Or we claim but do not use,
Or we use but do not share
with others as You have with us?
itellyouarise 