"Look Up" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 I'm back from a flood of papers and projects. Now back to Advent. The third week: Peace.

Here's a poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I've been wanting to include his writings for a while.

  "Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, 

who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth.  

Look up, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed.  

Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears 

and who are heavy and who are crying...

Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes.  

Look up, your redemption is drawing near.

Something from what you see daily will happen.  

Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment.  

Wait and something quite new will break over you: 

God will come."

 

---Dietrich Bonhoeffer (God is in the Manger: Reflections of Advent and Christmas)

The Second Week of Advent

 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, 

"when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, 

and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, 

and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  

In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.

 And this is the name by which he will be called: 

‘The Lord is our righteousness.'"

-Jeremiah 23:5-6  

[Note: The Advent blog will be sparse this week while I finish up school work for the semester. A normal pace will return on Monday, December 16th.]

Magnum Mysterium (Great Mystery)

 Shared from Christ Yokel's blog, "Go to Bethlehem and See"

a Majestic Humility

Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of blogs and articles about making Christmas simpler. I think the idea is well intended—this desire to soak in the season and focus on Christ. But I wonder if simplicity isn’t the answer. To slow down, yes. But as we try to push aside consumerism, social stress, and busyness, what will takes its place?  More things, probably.

Centuries ago, as the ancient prophets spoke of the Messiah to come, the world was far from calm. Under the oppression of Roman rule, Israel was full of worry and fear. When Caesar Augustus made a census decree, cities and towns swelled and swarmed with travelers. It was not a simple time.

Yet, in humility Mary and Joseph obeyed the mighty and mysterious hand of God, packed up their belongings and traveled across the country to be counted. The birth of Christ was “simple” not because Mary and Joseph chose it to be so. The birth of Christ was lowly and poor because God willed it so. He chose to shrink His majesty and be born as a baby so that we might know Him more. Far from simple, the Incarnation is majestic humility.

Philippians 2:5-11

Some more Advent resources

If these posts have piqued your interest, check out some other Advent resources:

On Biblegateway.com you can subscribe to a variety of Christmas and Advent newsletters and devotionals.

Biola University's Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts is working on a website called The Advent Project.

To combat consumerism, The Advent Conspiracy promotes various programs and resources to help you focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Every year John Piper and DesiringGod.org release an Advent devotional, Good News of Great Joy. This can be purchased online, or downloaded as a free PDF.

Check out desiringod.org for other Advent blogs and writings.

A poem of the Incarnation by Luci Shaw

Luci Shaw, ‘Virgin’ in Accompanied By Angels: Poems of the Incarnation (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2006), 15.

"Let us View with Joy and Mirth" by Madeleine L'Engle

Back in January I began reading Madeleine L’Engle’s Crosswicks Journals. They are a beautiful mix of sacred and vulgar—an honest reflection of the things going on around her and the things she learns about God along the way. It has been slow going, but this weekend I finished The Irrational Season. This particular volume is divided by the church-year calendar, and begins at Advent time. When I began (back in April), it seemed a little absurd to be preparing for Winter, but I diligently marked the pages nonetheless. Madeleine’s poetry is peppered throughout the book, and as soon as I read this poem, I knew it would have to make an appearance:

Let us View with Joy and Mirth

Let us view with joy and mirth
All the clocks upon the earth
            Holding time with busy tocking
            Ticking booming clanking clocking
                        Anxiously unraveling
                        Time's traveling
Through the stars and winds and tides
Who can tell where time abides?

Foolish clocks, all time was broken
When that first great Word was spoken.
            Cease we now this silly fleeing
            From earth's time, for time's a being
                        And adoring
                        Bows before him
Who upon the throne is seated.
Time, defeated, wins, is greeted.

Clocks know not time's loving wonder
Day above as night swings under,
            Turning always to the Son
            Times begun, is done, does run
                        Singing warning

            Of the morning
Time, mass, space, a mystery
Of eternal trinity.

Time needs make no poor apology
For bursting forth from man's chronology
Laughs in glee as human hours
Dance before the heavenly powers.
            Time's undone
            Because the Son
Swiftly calls the coming light
That will end the far-spent night.

from The Irrational Season, chapter 1

Madeleine L’Engle

A Song, When Your Present Joy Eludes You

This weekend I was home for Thanksgiving, so for the first day of Advent I was at the church I grew up in. A guest pastor preached this morning, and like most times, God used the unexpected to speak a loud truth into my ears.

The passage wasn’t anything very Adventy (Zephaniah 3:8, 14-20), but the message was a direct call as we enter this expectant season. Zephaniah 3:17 says, 

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

This is one of only two instances in the Bible where we see God singing. I immediately pictured C.S. Lewis’ depiction of creation with Aslan singing Narnia into being (a beautiful thing to behold). The other time God sings is when Jesus sings a hymn with his disciples after the Last Supper.

Reading this verse literally is a comfort and an assurance. However this morning we were encouraged to see it as a metaphor for our life with God. If God is singing, we (His children and creation) are called to be in tune with His harmonies and in time with His rhythms. This is about learning to listen for the strong voices of those who know the Leader well, and about learning to wait—to patiently hear the pauses and rests, which make the song all the more unique and beautiful.

When Israel was under the hand of the Romans (right before God was getting ready to release the most wonderful Song of all), the tune was carried by the Prophets. They were the mouth-pieces of God, revealing His melodies to all creation. They brought messages of hope; encouragement for the waiting.

“When?” cried the people. And the prophets sung in return, “Your God will save you. In His time, He will save you. If you run ahead, you will not hear the Song. Know this and remember this, dear flock, when your present joy eludes you.”

Hope.

The Apostle John knew this Song, and the Word it contained:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. -John 1: 1-3