7th December 2018

I've had a pretty chilled Advent so far, off work last week, working from home and in the office this week. Tomorrow all that changes; back to work, back to shifts and I'm worried the stress and anxiety are going to creep back in, even though I feel kind of on top of things- even the tree is up. I need to keep things manageable, take it a day at a time, and remember what the focus of my Advent is.

I'm not sure if the topic of Richard Rohr's reflections will change on Sunday, he can be in equal parts utterly engaging and completely baffling! Here's what struck me from today's:

Loss precedes all renewal; emptiness makes way for every new infilling... but every time you and I hate, fear, compete, attack, judge, separate—thus avoiding the necessary letting go—we are resisting the full flow of Love, the energy which is driving the universe forward.

Today I felt joyful decorating the Christmas tree, thankful for some good financial news and helpless over what I couldn't achieve with my time off.

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me
Psalm 25.20a

6th December 2018

I presided at communion this morning and gave a two minute talk based on last Sunday's readings, Jeremiah 33.14-16 & Luke 21.25-36:

I feel like there’s been some kind of mix-up in today’s readings, Jeramiah is usually so doom-laden, but in amongst it is this moment of beauty. On the flip-side of that there’s Jesus sounding like an old testament prophet- we’re all doomed! And it’s in Luke, who normally brings to mind tales of women, children and sheep. Why do we have this gospel of doom as our first Advent reading?

It’s sounds really chaotic, and that’s sometimes the reality of the world we’re in, we’d need to be living under a rock to not see the world is in flux at the moment, and we don’t know which way things are going to go.

What Jesus is advising his listeners to do is to be prepared, no matter what’s to come if we get ourselves properly ready we can face what’s ahead, and that’s essentially what Advent is, a time of preparation, but it’s also a time of hope. Advent is waiting, preparing and hoping for what’s to come.

Jesus warns that things are going to get a little crazy, but that’s ok because it’s what’s waiting on the other side of it that matters. After the tumult comes liberation; Jesus has shown us in his own story that pain, despair and misery never have the last word.

Through Advent we prepare, we remember, and we retell Jesus’ story as a way to remind ourselves of the hope he brings us, the liberation we find in him and that, as ever, he will deliver us through whatever we’re facing. Last week’s reading from Revelation reminded us that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, before all things, within all things and after all things. No matter what our experiences, the good and the bad, Jesus is with us before them, during them, and after them.

Through Advent we sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, Emmanuel meaning “God is with us”. The ancient hymn reminds us that Jesus overcomes all the darkness in the world. We travel in Advent towards the light, yet carrying the light with us.

Today I was joyful sharing a dog walk with my husband and hearing about his new job, I was thankful for his new job and I (superficially) felt helpless that my mobile network is down- no data and no Google maps!!

5th December 2018

Today's Richard Rohr reflection is so phenomenal I'm going to share a huge chunk of it:

Outpouring Love

Francis of Assisi understood that the entire circle of life had a Great Lover at the center. For Franciscan John Duns Scotus, before God is the divine Logos (rational pattern), God is Infinite and Absolute Friendship (Trinity), that is, Eternal Outpouring (Love). Love is the very nature of Being itself. God is not a being who occasionally decides to love. God is “the one in whom we live, move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God is Being Itself, and by reason of the Trinity, Being operates as Infinite Love, emptying and out-pouring like an eternal water wheel—in one positive direction.

For us, the Trinity must be the absolute beginning point—and ending point, too. Outpouring Love is the inherent shape of the universe, and only when we love do we fully and truthfully exist in this universe and move toward our full purpose. The Christ who comes forth from the Trinity is both the Alpha and the Omega point of all history (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13). This metaphysical and cosmic statement gives the whole universe meaning, direction, and goal! God’s purposes are social, cosmic, and universal, not just to hold together a small group of so-called insiders.

Love is the very meaning of Creation. Many of the Fathers and Mothers of the Church, along with saints and mystics throughout history, said that God created because, frankly, God needed something to love and something that could love God freely in return. Parents’ fondest desire, perhaps unconsciously, is to love their little ones in every way. Hidden behind that is the hope that someday their children will love them back. The very way we love our children becomes their empowerment to love us.

Franciscan Philippe Yates puts this in cosmic terms:

At the heart of Scotus’ theology was the doctrine of the primacy of Christ. God is absolutely free and therefore if he [sic] creates it is because he wants to create. He wants to create in order to reveal and communicate his goodness and love to another. Because God loves, he wills that his creation should also be infused by love.

Today I was joyful at making my daughter happy, thankful that I could make the work rotas better than they looked yesterday and felt helpless over an untruth I couldn't avoid without causing misery- that's probably a sermon within itself!! (I took my 14year and 11month daughter to see a 15 certificate film...it was pre booked and I didn't notice the rating until we got there).

Revelation 21.3-4a

See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.

4th December 2018

I'm still getting my head around Richard Rohr's daily reflections upon the nature of the cosmic or universal Christ, of the mixture of Christology and cosmology. I'm trying to figure out how this is preparing me spiritually for Christmas. This is what stood out to me today:

Somehow the universe is an interplay between light and darkness...
...we fell in love with the symbol instead of what Jesus fully represented. To love “Jesus, the Christ” is to love both the symbol and everything that he stands for—which is precisely everything.

Precisely everything. Before all things, after all things, for all things. A creative, divine force, present in all things throughout the whole of time. It's hard to get stressed about Christmas shopping and writing cards whilst contemplating the enormity of that!

Today I was joyful at seeing my friends and fellow curates, I was thankful for the education and training opportunities I've had and I felt helpless drawing up the work rotas that I can't give everyone amazing shifts.

Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you.
Isaiah 43.4

3rd December 2018

So you may have gathered from the pictures in the blog that I'm doing a daily colouring. This is to get me engaging in some mindfulness, setting that time aside when I do nothing else. This is a big deal when I usually have every minute filled with something.
I'm in the process, yet again, of trying to remove the clutter from my life, this includes the way I clutter my time. I need to decide what things really matter, both material and immaterial.
I'm also following Richard Rohr's daily reflections, which I dip in and out of most of the time. The current theme is the concept of "the universal Christ", making the distinction between the historical Jesus, the man, and The Christ, word of God, present before all things and in all things; the Christ who sustains the universe (Heb 1.3).
It's all a bit clever for me, but this I can get on board with:
Whenever the material and the spiritual coincide, there is the Christ. Jesus fully accepted that human-divine identity and walked it into history. Henceforth, the Christ “comes again” whenever we are able to see the spiritual and the material coexisting, in any moment, in any event, and in any person.

Today I felt joyful making chutney. Again. I was thankful for the online community I'm part of and I felt helpless over my husband being anxious over starting a new job.

Christ is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of God’s nature, sustaining the universe by God’s powerful command.
Hebrews 1:3

2nd December 2018

I love Advent Sunday, it's officially the third best day of the liturgical year after Easter Day and Christmas day. It's the church's new year and as someone of an Anglo-catholic leaning has a Wonderful mix of ritual, mystery and some cracking hymns, chants and anthems. I've been at three services today; parish communion, family praise and the Advent Carol service (very different from a Christmas carol service and the highlight of Advent Sunday). Normally I'd be wiped out but I'm completely energised- anticipating what this Advent will bring, anticipating meeting Christ on Christmas morning, contemplating the enormity of what that means. Christ comes to us again each Christmas, but also daily in the continuing unfolding of creation, present in each moment.

Today I found joy in Advent hymns and liturgy, was thankful for my church family and felt helpless about not being able to help my work colleagues.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
John 1.14

1st December 2018

It's Advent Sunday tomorrow so that can mean only one thing- daily blogging! 

Even now I'm not entirely sure what my daily pattern will be this Advent but I will carry on last year's ritual of each day writing down something that makes me joyful, something which I'm thankful for and something which l feel helpless about. Whatever your belief system this is a useful way to evaluate and reflect upon your day.

Today I felt joyful making chutney, I'm thankful two members of my family made up after an argument and I felt helpless that as my kids grow up I can't solve their problems any more.

Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll know what my Advent journey might look like!

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43.4