Tag: Advent Meditation

Advent Meditation–Great Shepherd

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photo by Graham Hobbs in Dorset, U.K.

We’ve never owned sheep in over 25 years of living on the farm, although we have considered it, even bought a book or two on sheep raising, and looked at a few heritage breeds.  We haven’t bought one (yet).  The downside of sheep is they are high-maintenance with a tendency to easily get into trouble , often have difficulty lambing so need to be watched and assisted if necessary, must have regular hoof and health care and most of all,  are defenseless against predators.    In other words, they require stewardship that we couldn’t commit to providing.  Cows, horses, goats, chickens, geese, and ducks seemed like commitment enough.

The sheep herds of Bible times (and even these days in sheep country) have full time shepherds moving with the flocks, using dogs for predator control and flock management.  The shepherd is essential for the survival of the sheep, as well as the well being of the entire flock.

Jesus is called the Great Shepherd not just because of his leadership, but because he is also the Lamb.  He knows the vulnerability of having no means to defend oneself, being completely submissive to a greater will and plan than one’s own, having experienced the pain of sacrifice, and the rescue into the loving arms of the Lord after death.  Knowing our weakness, Jesus carries us, his sheep, gently and lovingly on his shoulders, guiding us to the pathways where we will be safest, searching for us if we are lost, protecting us if we are threatened.

The shepherd, knowing the sheep, promises to be there, no matter what, no matter where. We who have gone astray, every one to his own way, will return to the fold, knowing he calls to us out of love.

Advent Meditation–First Fruits

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http://www.keithv.com/blog/index.php?m=09&y=96

In the summer, I watch for that first swelling peapod, that first berry that is exactly the right red, the cherry that glistens just so, the tomato that has a bit of give when touched gently.  It is the anticipation of something long waited for, now in our grasp.

That which is most precious to us, that which we cling to most tightly,  is what we are least likely to let go or give away.  Giving the first and best of our harvest, whether it is our material possessions, or our own souls,  was historically considered the greatest sacrifice, signifying an acknowledgment that all we have and all we are comes from the Lord himself.  Even Israel itself is portrayed in Jeremiah 2:3 as set apart for God as the “firstfruits of his harvest.”

Jesus is the ultimate “first fruits”, having become a sacrifice for the sake of mankind’s salvation, and the first to be raised from the dead.  Because he is First, we “each in his own turn”,  follow him.  He has given himself to us, once long awaited, now in our grasp.

1 Corinthians 15: 20, 23

Advent Meditation–Everlasting Father

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photo of sunset on the farm by Nate Gibson

Hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah announced several names for the Deliverer to come.   In addition to Wonderful,  Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, somehow  “Everlasting Father” doesn’t quite seem to describe a newborn baby who we, first and foremost,  understand to be God’s Son.

Yet He is our “parent for eternity”– the reason for our existence and the father of our faith.  He always was, and has been, and will forever be.

And so, ironically and fortunately, we are lovingly cradled, protected and loved by the helpless baby in the manger.

Evermore and evermore.

Isaiah 9:6

Advent Meditation–Dayspring

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It never fails to surprise and amaze: the sunrise seems to come from nowhere.  There is bleak dark, then a hint of light over the foothills in a long thin line, and the appearance of subtle dawn shadows as if the night needs to cling to the ground a little while longer, not wanting to relent and let us go.  Color appears, erasing all doubt: the hills begin to glow orange along their crest, as if a flame is ignited and is spreading down a wick.  Ultimately the explosion occurs, spreading the orange pink palette unto the clouds, climbing high to bathe the glaciers of Mount Baker and onto the peaks of the Twin Sisters.

Dayspring. From dark to light, ordinary to extraordinary. This gift is from the tender mercy of our God, now glowing in the light of the new Day, guiding our feet on the pathway of peace.  We no longer must stumble in the shadows.

Luke 1:78-79

Advent Meditation–Carpenter’s Son

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The Carpenter's Son; Artist: Edward Emerson Simmons 1888-1889.

Born of the Holy Spirit, but raised by a simple man who knew a common trade.  Subjected to derision because he was only a “carpenter’s son” highlights the arrogance and ignorance of his townspeople who resented his bold teaching.  To learn at the hands of a man who could design in his head, then draw out the plan, then put together the materials, and create, construct, frame and finish using only his muscles and innate knowledge:  this was the best education possible for a child meant to teach the people of the world to build His Kingdom on earth.   As a child of a carpenter myself, and knowing scores of carpenters’ children, I share the wonder of watching something be built from an idea, then shaped and formed by expert hands from an amorphous block of wood.   Without the carpenter, I remain undefined, formless, purposeless.  It is time for the cuts to be made, the hammer and nails that connect me to something larger than myself, and finally the sanding and refining that finishes me.

Matthew 13:55

Advent Meditation–Bright and Morning Star

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There are a few moments between the blackness of a long dark night–something we have plenty of this time of year–and the renewal of the sunrise splash of color that spreads across the sky like spilled paint jars of pink and orange.   Illuminated in those few moments is a transitional dawn-light or daybreak rather than the evening transition of twilight, and that is when the morning “stars” of Mercury and Venus become most visible.  They don’t “twinkle” or appear effervescent like the night stars.  They are solid radiant globes heralding the Sun to come.

The “star” that guides and leads, that points to home, that illuminates the birth of God come to earth as man, that presages the New Day to come.  We are witnesses if we arise early enough, peering through the clouds of everyday troubles, and prepare, ready for the dawning to come.

 

Revelation 22:16

Advent Meditation–Jesus as Author

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I know all too well the difficulty of looking at a blank page (or a blank screen) waiting for words to fill it up.  An author is tasked with “originating” something from nothing, creating and constructing a story where none existed before.

So Jesus as Author takes us back to the origin, which is the Word, and the Word became flesh.

Our story is in the hands of the Author: the prologue, the characters, the climax and denouement.  Each page, each ink stroke, every nuance of dialogue and action.   As the finisher of our faith and storyteller of our salvation, no matter what the plot twist or crisis, nor even if pages are yellowed, the cover torn off and the binding broken from overuse, we are preserved and treasured, everlasting.

Hebrews 12:2 and 5:9