Advent Devotions
All are invited as we Make Room this Advent season.
God’s Gracious Invitation
Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Carol Swanson.
Read Psalm 104: 1-13.
In the Epilogue of In God’s Presence, Marjorie Suchocki’s writes:
“God creates and works within an interdependent universe, both interdependent within itself and with God. The universe is not ‘finished’; God’s creativity cannot be so easily stilled! Stars are yet born and race toward unfathomable reaches of space. Suns yet burst in fireballs of energy, spawning yet new planets and who knows, what forms of new life. In our own small portion of this universe, generation yet follows generation, and we turn life into story, and yet again into history. In such a teeming universe, what is prayer but God’s gracious invitation to us to participate in the continuing work of creation? If prayer constitutes our openness to God’s own purposes of increasing communal well-being, then prayer is God’s creation with us of this very well-being! Prayer is central to the how of God’s continuing work in our world (p 126).”
Let us pray in adoration the words of Brian Wren, “Come And Meet Us” from Piece Together Praise: A Theological Journey, by Brian Wren, p 8:
God of many Names
gathered into One,
in your glory come and meet us,
Moving, endlessly Becoming;
God of Hovering Wings,
Womb and Birth of time,
joyfully we sing your praises,
Breath of life in every people––
Hush, hush, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Shout, shout, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, sing, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, God is love, God is love!
God of Jewish faith,
Exodus and Law,
in your glory come and meet us,
joy of Miriam and Moses;
God of Jesus Christ,
Rabbi of the poor,
joyfully we sing your praises,
crucified, alive for ever––
Hush, hush, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Shout, shout, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, sing, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, God is love, God is love!
God of Wounded Hands,
Web and Loom of love,
in your glory come and meet us,
Carpenter of new creation;
God of many Names
gathered into One,
joyfully we sing your praises,
Moving, endlessly Becoming––
Hush, hush, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Shout, shout, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, sing, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Sing, God is love, God is love!
(These books are in our Prince of Peace library.)
Previously…
Turn the Tables
Today's author is Prince of Peace's Intentional Interim, Pr. Steve Sylvester. “Jesus Cleanses the Temple,” which is the common heading for yesterday’s Scripture passage, is FAR too weak. In observance of The Passover, Jewish pilgrims travelled to Jerusalem to...
Powerful Disciples
Today's author is Prince of Peace member, Paul Sponheim. For this second devotion on the Wedding in Cana, we are still focused on the final verse in John 2: "This the first of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and his disciples believed in him." We notice that...
The Wedding at Cana
Today's author is Prince of Peace member, Paul Sponheim. The emphasis in this beautiful passage falls on the last verse, "Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him." (NRSV John 2:12)...
Signs
Today's author is Prince of Peace's Intentional Interim, Pr. Steve Sylvester. “What’s your sign?” she asked in a breathy early-detective-novel voice. He raised an eyebrow, tipped his glass toward her and said, “I turn water into wine.” St. John’s Jesus doesn’t do...