Advent II 12/08/2024
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
Second Sunday of Advent
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...
T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Opening Prayer
Come, O come, Emmanuel; you are the way, the truth, and the life; Come, living Savior, come to your world which waits for you. Hear this prayer for your love’s sake. Amen.
Scripture Reading Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town of Galilee, Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came to Mary and said, “Rejoice, favored one! The Most High God is with you.” Now, she was troubled by the angel's words and pondered what sort of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Fear not, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Sovereign God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his sovereignty there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be since I have not known a man intimately?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, She will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be holy. He will be called Son of God. And now, Elizabeth, your kinswoman, has even conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for she who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the woman-slave of God; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Poem: “The Annunciation” by John Donne
Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is all everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Lo, faithful virgin, yields Himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He will wear,
Taken from thence, flesh, which death's force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in His mind, who is thy Son and Brother;
Whom thou conceivst, conceived; yea thou art now
Thy Maker's maker, and thy Father's mother;
Thou hast light in dark, and shutst in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.
Meditation
If you haven’t visited the desert, I highly recommend making a trip to experience it at some point in your life. It is one of the most profound places in the world to experience utter silence. Because it is so dry, there is therefore little moisture in the air to help keep sound waves moving. If you sit for a while, eventually all you hear is the blood pumping through the veins in your head…your own heartbeat. The only other place we might have experienced such silence, with heart beats our only sound, is in the womb of our mother.
It is the Second Sunday of Advent, and the word we bring to God in prayer, as we light the second candle of the wreath, is Peace. It is also the Sunday we remember the profound moment when the Word came to Mary through God’s messenger Gabriel. Mary’s first response to Gabriel’s message was not necessarily peaceful, but then…she listened. Her listening settled into the silence of her being. And from that immense silence where only a heart beat could be heard, there came total peace in her final “yes”.
Questions for Reflection
-Here is an invitation to try a spiritual practice: to imagine a vast wilderness inside yourself. What is this environment like? What sorts of living things make their home there? What is the character of the terrain- rocky, flat and sweeping, forested, mountainous? What are the sights, sounds and scents you encounter?
-Do you have a place in your life where you are able to experience silence? Imagine that place. What happens for you when you bring it to mind? Does it make you feel peaceful just to think about it?
-Mary’s first response was not necessarily totally peaceful, and not silent either. When and where are you able to access the sense of peace right away? When and where in you life do you find that you have to listen for a bit before you can access peace? What happens when, like Mary, you respond, and then try again?
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt
