Walking Through Advent , livre ebook

Wild Goose Publications - Sutch Pickard Jan

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

53 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Advent is a time of wonder and waiting - but that's not a passive thing. We need to walk into Advent with our eyes open. We walk through a world where wars are being waged and babies are being born. We are humbled by our inability to do much about what is wrong. But we do our best: to be kind, caring, to understand the meaning of mercy. We do our best to be even-handed, to act justly. Words from the prophet Micah inspired this book. But it also reflects the words of a later prophet, George Fox: 'Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.' Join us on a cheerful, thoughtful, justice-seeking journey towards Bethlehem, a journey day by day through Advent.

Sujets

Christian mysticism

Informations

Publié par	Wild Goose Publications
Date de parution	18 octobre 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781849523141
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

‘Walk humbly with God …’
Advent is a time of wonder and waiting – but that’s not a passive thing. We need to walk into Advent with our eyes open.
We walk through a world where wars are being waged and babies are being born. We are humbled by our inability to do much about what is wrong. But we do our best: to be kind, caring, to understand the meaning of mercy. We do our best to be even-handed, to act justly.
Words from the prophet Micah inspired this book. But it also reflects the words of a later prophet, George Fox: ‘Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.’ Join us on a cheerful, thoughtful, justice-seeking journey towards Bethlehem, a journey day by day through Advent.
Jan Sutch Pickard is a poet, preacher and storyteller living on Mull. She is former Warden of Iona Abbey, Vice President of the Methodist Conference, and Ecumenical Accompanier. Her books and many resources include Out of Iona: Words from a Crossroads of the World and Between High and Low Water: Sojourner Songs (Wild Goose). She is also a frequent contributor to IBRA’s Fresh from the Word daily reading series.
www.ionabooks.com

Walking through Advent
Daily readings

Jan Sutch Pickard

www.ionabooks.com

© 2014 Jan Sutch Pickard
First published 2014 by Wild Goose Publications, Fourth Floor, Savoy House, 140 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3DH, UK, the publishing division of the Iona Community. Scottish Charity No. SC003794. Limited Company Reg. No. SC096243.
PDF: ISBN 978-1-84952-312-7 Mobipocket: ISBN 978-1-84952-313-4 ePub: ISBN 978-1-84952-314-1
Cover calligraphy © Stephen Raw | www.stephenraw.com Cover background image © Midosemsem | Dreamstime.com
All rights reserved. Apart from reasonable personal use on the purchaser’s own system and related devices, no part of this document or file(s) may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Non-commercial use: The material in this book may be used non-commercially for worship and group work without written permission from the publisher. Small sections of the book may be printed out and in such cases please make full acknowledgement of the source, and report usage to the CCLI or other copyright organisation.
For any commercial use , permission in writing must be obtained in advance from the publisher.
Jan Sutch Pickard has asserted her right in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work.

Contents
Introduction
November 27: You trace my journeying
November 28: Flying with crutches
November 29: God who walks with us
November 30: A child, bringing bread
December 1: The Visitation
December 2: Pink knitting
December 3: On pilgrimage
December 4: ‘Yes, I sing to my sheep’
December 5: Learning to walk again
December 6: On the shore
December 7: At the Bethlehem checkpoint
December 8: Beautiful feet
December 9: Travels with a donkey
December 10: At the roadside
December 11: Zahra
December 12: Feet on the ground
December 13: Reflection in a garden
December 14: Justice and peace embrace
December 15: A highway … a causeway
December 16: Wildflower wander
December 17: Through the borderlands
December 18: Stand fast
December 19: Watchful waiting
December 20: Under the tree
December 21: Weeping for her children
December 22: Called by name
December 23: Advent expectancy
December 24: Christmas Eve in the city

Introduction
What does the Lord ask of you?
To love mercy, act justly
and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
Advent is a time of wonder and waiting. Wonder at the mystery of Incarnation: the Maker of the universe born as a helpless child. Wondering what on earth God is going to do next. And – in this time of expectancy – reflecting on what is expected of us, as God’s family. Advent is a time of waiting – but that’s not a passive thing. We need to walk into Advent with our eyes open.
We walk through wintery weather, festive preparations, stressful busyness, expectations that can’t easily be met: common experiences, these. We walk through memories of other Decembers, of happy and hard times with our own families. We walk through whatever is happening in the communities of which we are part – whether that’s conflict or celebration. We walk through a world where wars are being waged and babies are being born. We are humbled by our inability to do much about what is wrong. But we do our best: to be kind, caring, to understand the meaning of mercy. We do our best to be even-handed, to act justly. We are helped in this by walking with other people, friends and strangers – we learn from them. Most of all we are helped by the knowledge that God walks with us.
That is why this book is called Walking through Advent .
Some of the daily reflections here came into my mind while I walked along the roads or the shoreline of the Isle of Mull, where I live. Others were inspired by watching people on pilgrimage, arriving in Iona. In the course of writing this, I spent time with friends whose great delight is to cover wilderness miles – stravaiging – and others for whom taking even a few steps across a room is an achievement. They share this Advent journey. So do men and women I met when I set my feet on the ground in Palestine. I was serving as an Ecumenical Accompanier in a World Council of Churches programme ( www.eappi.org ) which supports the presence of international peace observers in a situation of conflict – where Palestinians in the land that we call ‘holy’ live under occupation. God is there too and in other conflict situations – ‘God-with-us’ – a guide, protector and companion on the road.
Sometimes (wherever you are) it is hard going – and sometimes there are bursts of sunlight and moments of joy. To remind me of what’s really important I have the words from Micah on the wall in my home. But it’s another quotation, from George Fox (below), painted in dancing calligraphy, that’s the first thing I see when I wake each morning. Valuing solitude, and the reflection to which we’re called in Advent, I know too that encounters with other people – different from me and each unique and precious in the eyes of God – can be surprising, challenging, sustaining. To live this way is a blessing:
‘Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.’

November 27: You trace my journeying
Lord, you have examined me and you know me .
You know me at rest and in action;
you discern my thoughts from afar .
You trace my journeying and my resting places ,
and are familiar with all the paths I take …(Psalm 139:1–4)
Read the whole of Psalm 139.
Reflect on God’s deep knowledge of us, our actions and our thoughts:
It encompasses us – inescapable, and also protective.
From our beginnings in the womb – in our DNA – shaping us and determining much that happens in our lives.
We have free will, and can make wrong choices; yet Christians believe that God’s love is unconditional. It is a mystery that is beyond us. Yet it contains us.
The outburst of anger and hatred in verses 19-22 is an example of the way that the psalms reflect human nature, human brokenness. God, who ‘discerns our thoughts from afar’ , knows that we aren’t always tolerant or generous in spirit.
The psalm ends with a plea: know my mind … understand my anxious thoughts .
Blessing
May God, who is present in sunrise and nightfall ,
and in the crossing of the sea ,
guide your feet as you go .
May God, who is with you
when you sit and when you stand ,
encompass you with love
and lead you by the hand .
May God, who knows your path
and the places where you rest ,
be with you in your waiting ,
be your good news for sharing ,
and lead you in the way that is everlasting. Amen

November 28: Flying with crutches
We were like people renewed in health .
Our mouths were full of laughter
and our tongues sang aloud for joy. (Psalm 126:1,2a)
This psalm reminds me of the story in Acts 3 of the man who, begging at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem, was healed by Peter, who said, ‘ I have no silver or gold; but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk.’ The story goes on: ‘Then, grasping him by the right hand, he helped the man up; and at once his feet and ankles grew strong; he sprang to his feet and started to walk. He entered the Temple with them, leaping and praising God as he went. Everyone saw him walking and praising God and … they were filled with wonder …’
This story is about the coming-into-being of the early Church.