December 1 Advent 1 “Prepare Him Room: Hopeful Joy”
O sing to the Beloved a new song,
for Love has done marvelous things!
By the strength of your Indwelling Presence,
we, too, are called to do great things;
we are set free through Love’s
forgiveness and truth.
Yes, your steadfast Love and faithfulness
are ever-present gifts in our lives.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the glory of Love’s Eternal Flame. - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation. Salvation is near, says the scripture, when we wake up, when we prepare room in our lives for new Light, new insight, new hope to enter.
O sing to the Beloved a new song,
for Love has done marvelous things!
By the strength of your Indwelling Presence,
we, too, are called to do great things;
we are set free through Love’s
forgiveness and truth.
Yes, your steadfast Love and faithfulness
are ever-present gifts in our lives.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the glory of Love’s Eternal Flame. - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
The season of Advent is a time of anticipation. Salvation is near, says the scripture, when we wake up, when we prepare room in our lives for new Light, new insight, new hope to enter.
December 8 Advent 2 “Repeat the Sounding Joy: Loving Joy”
Make a joyful noise to the Beloved all the earth;
break forth into grateful song and sing praises!
Yes, sing songs of praise extolling Love’s way;
lift up your hearts with gratitude and joy! - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Research shows that our very state of being can be transformed by music that resonates in our soul so powerfully that we can’t help but join in. This is the vision of “Joy to the World” as the reverberating phrase urges us to “repeat the sounding joy” of the good news of Love.
Make a joyful noise to the Beloved all the earth;
break forth into grateful song and sing praises!
Yes, sing songs of praise extolling Love’s way;
lift up your hearts with gratitude and joy! - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Research shows that our very state of being can be transformed by music that resonates in our soul so powerfully that we can’t help but join in. This is the vision of “Joy to the World” as the reverberating phrase urges us to “repeat the sounding joy” of the good news of Love.
December 15 Advent 3 “Make the Blessings Known: Unabashed Joy”
Let the voices of all people blend in harmony,
in unison let the people magnify the Beloved! - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Joy doesn’t wait for struggle to be over. As we join in a prophetic chorus of joy together, we are more deeply bonded as a whole, multiplying and magnifying the exuberance to all
Let the voices of all people blend in harmony,
in unison let the people magnify the Beloved! - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Joy doesn’t wait for struggle to be over. As we join in a prophetic chorus of joy together, we are more deeply bonded as a whole, multiplying and magnifying the exuberance to all
December 22 Advent 4 “Make the Nations Prove: Peaceful Joy”
Let the sea laugh, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the waters clap their hands;
let the hills ring out with joy before the Beloved,
who radiates Love to all the earth.
For Love reigns over the world
with truth and justice
bringing order and balance to
all of Creation. - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Our Psalm in this series names the joyful expression of all creation as the response to the news that the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, is coming at long last.
Let the sea laugh, and all that fills it;
the world and those who dwell in it!
Let the waters clap their hands;
let the hills ring out with joy before the Beloved,
who radiates Love to all the earth.
For Love reigns over the world
with truth and justice
bringing order and balance to
all of Creation. - Psalm 98 (translation, Nan C. Merrill)
Our Psalm in this series names the joyful expression of all creation as the response to the news that the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, is coming at long last.
December 24 Christmas Eve “The Lord is Come: Incarnate Joy” 7:00 pm
…the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2: 1-20
“Joy to the World, the Lord is come!” On this Christmas Eve we celebrate the world-altering narrative of the inbreaking, indwelling, incarnation of the Holy among us. Do you remember the feeling you may have had in moments, events or revelations that changed your life, your outlook, your trajectory forever? The depth of that feeling is what “deep joy” is about. Not simply happiness, that can be fleeting, but the idea that no matter what, there is something living within you that can sustain you for the long haul. God is birthing this within us again and again.
…the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. - Luke 2: 1-20
“Joy to the World, the Lord is come!” On this Christmas Eve we celebrate the world-altering narrative of the inbreaking, indwelling, incarnation of the Holy among us. Do you remember the feeling you may have had in moments, events or revelations that changed your life, your outlook, your trajectory forever? The depth of that feeling is what “deep joy” is about. Not simply happiness, that can be fleeting, but the idea that no matter what, there is something living within you that can sustain you for the long haul. God is birthing this within us again and again.
December 29 Sunday After Christmas “Wonders of His Love: Compassionate Joy”
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” - Matthew 2: 13-23
On this last week of our series about joy, we encounter a narrative text about a fearful and vengeful ruler who has it out for the newborn “King” Jesus and takes it out on the children of the land. The cruelty of the story is hard to fathom, as is the situation at the borders of so many refugees around the world today. What’s joy got to do with it? The Hebrew root for “joy” used 54 times in the Hebrew scriptures–ranan (pronounced raw-nan’)–means “to shout, to cry out” and to “overcome.” Our shouting for joy trains the lungs and the courage to shout aloud for the overcoming of injustice. How will we use our exuberance for the righting of wrongs for the sake of the wonders of God’s love to come upon the earth?
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” - Matthew 2: 13-23
On this last week of our series about joy, we encounter a narrative text about a fearful and vengeful ruler who has it out for the newborn “King” Jesus and takes it out on the children of the land. The cruelty of the story is hard to fathom, as is the situation at the borders of so many refugees around the world today. What’s joy got to do with it? The Hebrew root for “joy” used 54 times in the Hebrew scriptures–ranan (pronounced raw-nan’)–means “to shout, to cry out” and to “overcome.” Our shouting for joy trains the lungs and the courage to shout aloud for the overcoming of injustice. How will we use our exuberance for the righting of wrongs for the sake of the wonders of God’s love to come upon the earth?
