Advent Reflections: December 7

Peace

“For as the soil makes the sprout come up
   and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness
   and praise spring up before all nations.”

Isaiah 61:11

Reflection

Peace is often a perplexing and often misunderstood state of mind. Unlike hope, peace is not a result of external circumstances. In fact, peace has very little to do with anything that occurs beyond our inner selves. Our lives may outwardly appear to be the picture of contentment and tranquility, but in reality we may fell as void of peace as a dessert barren of water. Our paths may cross others whose lives appear to be in complete chaos from an outward perspective, but inwardly they posses more peace than can be imagined. Either way, if we're honest with ourselves, most of us need much more peace in life; especially as we come to the ending of 2020.  

Peace can come in the simplest and most unexpected places. In the midst of facing difficult obstacles and walking through the most challenging of times, the light of peace can break through and overshadow even the most impossible of situations. Be it a cup of coffee, an embrace from a friend, the laughter of a baby, the silence of a morning sunrise or the reflective presence of an evening sunset, peace can transcend our circumstances and elevate us to a divine place where we can say to ourselves, “It’s going to be OK.” 

Advent reminds us to be prepared for peace. If the soil of our lives is ready to receive the seeds that God provides, the sprouts of peace will eventually grow uncontrollably and without effort. Sometimes all that is needed is soil. Even in the most unfavorable conditions, a sprout can rise up with peace and transcend our circumstances. Peace multiplies and creates more peace if we allow it to grow. 

Advent is about finding peace, even in the dark places of life. Peace transforms us, changes our perspective and restores hope that once seemed lost. Peace brings new life. Peace opens doors. Peace renews our spirit and encourages us to see life in a different way. 

As we begin the second week of Advent, let us prepare ourselves for peace. It may come in the most unlikely places, at the strangest of times and from the most unusual sources. But is that not what Advent is all about? Doesn't that encapsulate the essential and transformative meaning of Christmas? Is that not the mystery of our Christ nature?     

Prayer

God of peace, as we spend this time with you, let us remember that your peace is always available. As we begin this second week of Advent, let us see life as new and fresh. Grant us new life and let peace overwhelm us with each new day.

Amen.

 

May Peace, Shalom, Shanti, be with you always. 

  

Advent Reflections - December 5

 Hope

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” 

Isaiah 9:6-7

Reflection

There is nothing in life more cathartic than when hope is finally fulfilled. A dream is realized. A goal has been met. A vision comes to fruition. A life passion fully comes becomes attained. A love is returned. A new day begins, and a day comes to an end. Hope is the impetus that keeps us grounded and balanced with the contentment of the present moment. 

“A child is born” 

In the birth of Jesus, our Christ nature and hope came to a divine completion that can only come through a loving God that set the universe and all of creation into motion. And it is in his birth that we can still find and cling to hope today.

As we end this first week of Advent together, we reflect on the theme of hope. We remember that hope is sometimes not easy to come by. We remember that hope requires patience, trust and faith. We see that hope is often a journey, and journeys are not always without obstacles. The journey often takes time. Sometimes days. Sometimes weeks. And sometimes thousands of years. We see that it begins with a people living in a very different time and land, and ends with common people like you and me. But in the midst of waiting, hope is always fulfilled through a God who broke into history and made all things new.

End this week with the peace of knowing that God is a God who encourages hope. He joins us as we wait. He walks with us through our journey. He mourns with us in our sadness. He rejoices with us in our pleasures. He calms us in our fears. He rests with us in our peace. And He stands with us in our hope.

The divine is within us all! Immanuel!      

       

Prayer

God of all creation, we end this first week of Advent holding on to hope, knowing and accepting that hope is not always easy. We give thanks to you for fulfilling all hope; past, present and future. It is in this hope that we trust in you, and it is in this hope that we find our peace. 

Amen. Shalom. Shanti. Haribol.

 

Advent Reflections - December 3: Hope

Hope 

“Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and
give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14 

Reflection

It's cold this morning. As I sat on my patio, enjoying my first cup of coffee, the chill cut through me, almost as a physical entity that invaded my spirit. I gazed upon the dark clouds that billowed above, seemingly like a warm blanket that descended and cloaked me with comfort and warmth, and the chill suddenly dissipated. Peace and tranquility overwhelmed me, as I meditated on the beauty of the changing of the season. I felt the presence of the divine, and felt a union with nature and humanity. I experienced the revelation that I am not alone. God dwells within me.        

"Immanuel, God with us." To read and meditate on these words is to know the quintessential truth of Advent. To believe in a God that is not far off and aloof but literally within us all, is to rest in the fact that we are never alone. In the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah the Prophet, God conceived a son from a young woman in little obscure town in ancient Palestine. Christ would be born into the world through the vessel of a human being, just as each and every one of us. God is truly with us, within us and the Christ nature now resides in us all. And yet, why is it then that we often feel alone during the holidays?

It's no secret that the Christmas holidays are not always an easy time for many of us. It’s common for feelings of loneliness, depression and isolation to increase during this time of year, causing many of us to feel anything but “joyful and triumphant”. When family gatherings, parties and festivities increase, unfortunately so do painful emotions. Even while surrounded by people we love the most, the stressful pace of the holidays can make any of us feel disconnected, alone and unbalanced.  

    

These are the times that we must reach for and cling to the inner most truth of Advent: Through the birth of Christ, his divine nature lives and dwells with all of us today. The sign was given over 2000 years ago, we have seen it come to pass, and we rejoice in the reality of knowing that it is divinely true. Immanuel!  God with us! 

    

Prayer

God of all creation, may our hope lie in the truth that we are never alone. Let us rest and find hope in the knowledge that you are with us. You dwell within us. You have been. You are. You forever will be.

 

Amen. Shalom. Shanti. Haribol.   

Advent Reflections - December 2: Hope

Hope

"Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,

   “Clear the way through the wilderness
      for the Lord!
   Make a straight highway through the wasteland
      for our God!”

Isaiah 40:3

Reflection

As I settle into the flow of this morning, the rain is gently falling from the heavens and a cool breeze is flowing through my patio door, filling my soul with peace and hope. There is something about the rain that calms the spirit, as it cleanses the earth and the mind. I feel a sense of hope. Hope that the coming year will bring much needed change and encouragement for my self and our country and the earth. I feel hope.  

It's no secret that 2020 has been a difficult and challenging year for all of us. As we begin the Christmas season, many of us feel the bitter chill of isolation, loneliness and depression. Our emotions lay scattered, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that seem to have no connection. A few sections fall into place, but hope can seem to be that one segment of the puzzle that has no connection to the whole. 

 Each year I reflect on how the Christmas marketing onslaught seems begins earlier and earlier. Practically from the moment that the last Trick or Treater beckons at our doorsteps, we are inundated with an instantaneous assault of advertising and commercialism that can cause the person of strongest resolve to submit to the temptation of over consumption. Before we know it, we realize that our journey to Christmas has become a hectic blur through a wilderness of activity, shopping, spending and stress that leaves us exhausted and unfulfilled. If we're honest, many of us find ourselves longing for the Christmas season to quickly just pass us by. We may cling to hope, but in reality, we may realize that we've obtained very little. That's simple the reality of the times that we live in today. I feel overwhelming blessed that for this moment, I feel hope. And for the present moment, I feel grateful.       

Despite the struggles that we've faced in 2020, both individually and collectively, let us take a few moments in silence and meditation this morning. What are some of the things that you hope for today? This Christmas? This year? Close you eyes, take a few deep breaths and contemplate what hope means to you. In the quiet of this moment, as the rest of the world may seem to be rushing towards Christmas at full speed, let us commit ourselves to just slow down. Despite the pressure of things that we feel need to be accomplished and the places that we may need to be, let us allow ourselves to slow our pace in life. Let us find a fresh grounding of our spirits and obtain balance. 

Advent is a journey, but not all journeys require expediency. Hope may seem illusive, but hope often takes a great amount of time to come to fruition. But there also times when hope immediately and mysteriously out of nowhere. In the recess of our souls, let us imagine ourselves moving into the slow lane of seasonal traffic. See the road ahead of you. It’s clear, straight and illuminated with the universal light. The voice of the divine calls to us, far beyond all distractions saying, "Make a straight highway through the wasteland..."

Prayer

Most divine God of hope, in the stillness of this moment, grant peace to us in our minds, bodies and spirits. Let us feel the pace of life slow down, despite the rush of the Christmas Season. As we focus on you and you alone, enable us to keep the hope of our Christ nature alive in our hearts, and let it shine forth in infinite light for all to see. We all need illumination for the journeys that we face. Allow that light to shine for all to see, offering much needed hope for ourselves and the world around us.       

Peace. Shalom. Shanti. Hope.

Advent Reflections - December 1: Hope

Hope 

“The days are coming, ”declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” 

Jeremiah 23:5

Reflection 

We all long for political leaders that will govern with wisdom, peace, strive for justice and lead with freedom at the forefront of their political policies. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Some of us witness freedom while others suffer the pain of injustice and oppression. Some live in peace, while others face the agony of death on a daily basis. 

Many of our hopes and dreams rest on the decisions that our leaders implement. And those decisions are more than often not for our highest good. The people of ancient Israel hoped for many of the same things that we do. They had hope in the promise that God would one day send a savior into the world that would “reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” They longed for a leader that would grant freedom for their people that would last for all eternity. With the birth of Jesus, their hope finally came to fruition. But he was something different, and not quite what they expected. They expected a political, military and religious leader that would physically reign, physically save their nation and literally build a great Kingdom of God’s chosen people.

The people of Israel lived in fear for quite a while. Violence was a daily reality that they had been conditioned to live with. They prayed and expected a leader that would lead with a sword and defeat their enemies with military might. Sound familiar? But God had a different plan. Jesus came to reign within the spiritual realms, spiritually save and inaugurate a spiritual Kingdom that would overshadow all that we know on earth.

The Kingdom of God is very different than the earthly kingdoms that govern planet earth. Within the kingdom of God, there is no reason for fear. In God's kingdom there is no reason to arm ourselves with weapons of defense. There is no need to kill. Through the Christ nature within us all, and living as citizens of his kingdom, we are set apart to live differently. We follow a spiritual king that transcends the governments of earth and satisfies all hopes and dreams more than any earthly leader could ever accomplish. Through the kingdom of God, we begin to comprehend what God longs for all of us to have, and through our Christ nature, we see it inaugurated. We see the divine dwelling within us all.    

           

Prayer 

God, as we join together in celebration of Advent, we give you praise and thanks because you are our king; our divine guidance that leads us to our highest good. We thank you because all of our dreams, hopes and desires are in you, and in you alone. Despite the violence, death and instability that we have witnessed in our world this year, enable us to remember that through your divine presence, and through your kingdom, all is calm and all is bright.

Amen