Advent Breath Prayer: Pondering Hearts

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 25

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. - Luke 2: 15-20

Inhale: " My pondering"
Exhale: "Heart"

Breathe in and breathe out God's Word throughout the day in short pauses.

Dear God, as we gather around family, friends, and cherished memories surround us with the fullness of your hope, peace, joy, and love. Thank you for the greatest gift of all that comes to us this day. The cries of a sweet child laying in a manger enter into the chaos of a weary world and gives us reason to rejoice for your Love indeed lives among us. O come, o come Emmanuel - the Word of God that we treasure and ponder in our hearts. Amen.

Advent Breath Prayer: Making Room

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 24

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. - Luke 2:7

Inhale: "Making"
Exhale: "Room."

Breathe in and breathe out God's Word throughout the day in short pauses.

Each year on Christmas Eve we gather around God's story of the Christ Child coming into the world. We have journeyed through the season of Advent anticipating the light of God's hope, peace, joy, and love to shine brightly into the darkness.

As we peer into the manger, it is quite an ordinary scene. A threadbare wooden manger - a feeding trough - for there was no room in the inn when Mary began to labor and deliver God's greatest gift into the world. Can you imagine not making room for a weary world to rejoice in this holy night?

On this Christmas Eve reflect upon the meaning of Christ's birth in your journey of faith. Where have you experienced God's hope in your fears; God's peace in your chaos; God's joy in your grief; God's love in your brokenness? How will you make room for the Christ Child to nurture your spirit - not just this Christmas - but through the coming New Year?

Dear God, thank you for the gift of salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Open my heart and mind to make room to rejoice in Your ordinary holiness. Amen.

*"O Holy Night" painting by Carson Overstreet

Advent Breath Prayer: Let Your Heart be Light

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 23

Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her. - Luke 1:38

Inhale: "Let"
Exhale: "It be."

Breathe in and breathe out God's Word throughout the day in short pauses.

Mary was letting the angel's words settle into her being. God was planning to work through Mary in an amazing way to carry the promise of God's eternal love that would birth divine hope, peace, joy, and love into a broken world. At such a tender age, how could she fully understand the weight of God's call in her life? The same grace that her womb would embrace would give Mary the courage and conviction to trust God and proclaim "Here I am, a servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

As the journey of Advent comes to a close, how have you allowed God's Word and unfolding story of grace to settle into your being? Have you heard the whispers of God's Spirit leading you to sense God's direction? How might God's eternal promises of hope, peace, joy, and love enfold you in new life? In what ways do you hear God's desire to work through your time, talents, and treasures so that others might see God's Love breaking in?

Let your heart be light today. Be intentional to pause and let God's unfolding story of grace settle into your being. Pray for the humility to serve the Lord and let it be according to God's Word that became flesh and lived among us in faithful obedience.

Dear God, thank you for your unfolding story of grace. Give me discernment to serve you and others as Mary and Jesus did in humble obedience. Amen.

Advnet Breath Prayer: Christmas Roller Coaster

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 22

For nothing will be impossible with God. - Luke 1:37

Inhale: "God's"
Exhale: "Possibility"

Breathe in and breathe out God's Word throughout the day in short pauses.

When Gabriel shared the news with Mary that she would bear the Holy Child, I can imagine her emotions were like a roller coaster. She was a young teenage girl and not married. She even questioned Gabriel on how this could be true. His words continue to ring with God's power today: For nothing will be impossible with God.

You may be on your own roller coaster of emotions today regarding news that you are carrying. Many of us are rushing up and down and all around in the busyness of the Christmas preparations. Maybe you are taking one step at a time to walk in God's faithfulness as God leads you through uncertainty. Perhaps life has changed at a moment's notice and you are waiting to sense God's calm presence and direction in the chaos of life.

Listen for the still small voice of God. Lift your questions, confusion, doubt, and pain to God. As you pray trust that nothing is impossible for God. Faith breaks the logic of rational possibility for God came down to live in the thin skin of humanity as a vulnerable Child. This Holy Child delivers humanity into the possibility of God's hope, peace, joy, and love. God is with us on the roller coaster of life and is working to bring us home for we belong to a God who will never leave us or forsake us.

Dear God, thank you for the mystery of your presence and love. Speak into my questions and help me to see your possibility through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Advent Breath Prayer: Do You Sense It?

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 21

And Gabriel came to Mary and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. - Luke 1:28-30

Inhale: "The Lord"
Exhale: "Is with me."

Breathe in and breathe put God's Word throughout the day in short pauses.

How do you sense God's presence in your life? You may not have had an encounter with an angel like Mary did, but God speaks to us through many ways. We are awed by God's presence in the glory of nature's beauty. We listen for God's voice in our quiet time through meditation of Scripture and prayer. We hear God speak through conversations of trusted friends, family, and mentors of faith. We are moved by God's presence in music's proclamation of grace.

Look and listen for God's presence today. How do you sense the Lord is with you? Listen for God's favor in your life...God calls you and I beloved. Make room for God's Spirit to fill your heart and mind today so that you may extend God's welcome to others.

Dear God, thank you for the gift of your grace that shows your love. Remind me today that you are with me. Empower me to help others see your presence today through my words and actions. Amen.

Sermon: A Song of Love

Luke 1: 39-55, by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
December 20, 2015
Fourth Sunday of Advent

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.’ – Luke 1: 39-55

Many of us have a favorite Christmas carol or Christmas hymn. In the Christian tradition music is a proclamation of God’s grace. It enfolds us in the mystery of God in powerful ways that transcends ordinary words. We felt this joyful mystery last Sunday from our own choir singing such a beautiful Christmas medley and at The Lighting of the Way; a movable feast of worship and praise among our sister churches in the Van Wyck community. We all got caught up in the joy of worship and even your pastor was clapping and swaying with the choir at White Oak A.M.E. Church! It was a good Sunday!

What is your favorite Christmas carol or Christmas hymn?

My favorite Christmas song is “Mary Did You Know.” I love the words of the first and third verses:

Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you…
Mary…
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I Am.

Those words always bring tears to my eyes because we know Mary’s story from this side of the cross. This baby boy is the great I Am and is the One who will grow to understand the depths of our humanity. This Son will empower us to feel the strength of God in the midst of our limitations. This holy Child that Mary is carrying bears the fullness of God’s love to rewrite our broken past into the hope of God’s new creation. The Son of God will bear the joy of God’s salvation from a threadbare wooden manger to a rugged wooden cross.

The words of “Mary Did You Know” point back to today’s text. Luke’s story captures an incredible shift we see in this young teenage girl. Mary is moved from initial fear and shock with Gabriel’s presence and news to an urgent need to share what is happening with her relative Elizabeth. As it all settles in, Mary cannot contain herself any longer. She lifts her voice in a song of love, praising and magnifying the Lord.

Mary’s spirit is empowered by the news of Jesus Christ. And I think this empowerment gave Mary the conviction to know in part that this holy Child would indeed deliver her, the people of God, and all generations to follow. Mary rejoiced in God her Savior without fully knowing how God’s plan would play out. She had a sense that the Mighty One has done and will continue to do great things to bring about God’s divine purposes.

Think back to the time that you encountered the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It may have been a defining moment in your life. Or maybe Christ's spiritual presence took hold of you through gentle taps through the years. However you have encountered Christ in your life, it certainly brings some clarity, for we only know in part. Jesus Christ ultimately reveals to us the joy of salvation, for God so loved the world that God sent Emmanuel to reveal God is with us every step along this journey of life and faith. God comes alongside us and enters into the fullness of our humanity.

Encountering Christ also brings some clarity to the way we should live our lives. God's steadfast love, grace, and forgiveness change the way we see the world and ourselves. That love, grace and forgiveness bring a new found joy – a spiritual empowerment - that nothing in the world can provide apart from God.

As we go through life we continue to seek the joy of God's salvation. It is a journey of looking for God's presence in the ordinary moments of life. We encounter the sacred in these ordinary moments as we listen and look for God’s presence. God's holiness continues to reveal God's actions to deliver us and shape us to be the people God desires us to be. It moves us to magnify the Lord in our own songs of praise.

You and I are here today because we have heard a portion of God’s song of love in our lives. The Christ Child takes up residence in the spiritual womb of our hearts through God’s Spirit. The fullness of God’s love and promises have caused some sort of shift in our lives. In some way we have experienced the spiritual empowerment of Jesus Christ. The hope of being delivered by Christ is that our story bears witness to a life that is changed by the grace of God.

I love the way poet Ann Weems says it in her book, “Kneeling in Bethlehem:”

Each year the Child is born again.
Each year some new heart
finally hears
finally sees
finally knows love.
And in heaven
there is great rejoicing!
There is a festival of stars!
There is celebration among the angels!
For in the finding of one lost sheep,
the heart of the Shepherd is glad, and
Christmas has happened once more.
The Child is born anew
and one more knee has bowed!

As we draw ever closer to the Christ Child’s birth on Christmas Eve and listen for the familiar songs of God’s love, I ask you this: What are you seeking? What situation are you holding that needs to move from fear or brokenness to being empowered by God’s love? In what are you waiting for God’s deliverance?

Remember your past experiences of knowing the joy of God’s salvation. Hold onto the conviction that the Christ Child, the great I Am, bears the fullness of God’s love and divine promises. You may not fully know what will happen in the situation you are holding. But trust that the Mighty One will do great things to bring about God’s presence, hope, peace, and joy.

Listen to the song of God’s love through you favorite Christmas hymns and let God’s mysterious presence embrace you. Listen for the song of God’s love through the support of family and friends who reveal that God comes alongside us in the messiness of our humanity.

As you listen and look for God’s presence, lean a little deeper into trusting the strength of God’s grace as you draw near to that threadbare manger. Let the spiritual womb of your heart praise God for all God has done and will do - not just in your individual life but in our collective stories - in the empowering and strong name of Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources:

Ann Weems, "Kneeling in Bethlehem" (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1987), p. 26.

Advent Breath Prayer: Trusting Great Things

Advent Breath Prayer: Dec 20

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name. - Luke 1: 46-49

Inhale: "He's done"
Exhale: "great things."

Breathe in and breathe out God's Word in short pauses throughout the day.

Light the four candles of the Advent wreath and let the light of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love captivate you. Think back to the time that you encountered the joy of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It may have been a defining moment in your life. Or maybe Christ's spiritual presence took hold of you through gentle taps over the years.

As we go through life we continue to seek the joy of God's salvation. It is a journey of looking for God's presence in the ordinary moments of life. We encounter the sacred in these ordinary moments as we listen and look for God’s presence. God's holiness continues to reveal God's actions to deliver us and shape us to be the people God desires us to be. It moves us to magnify the Lord in our own songs of praise.

As we draw ever closer to the Christ Child’s birth on Christmas Eve, what are you seeking? What situation are you praying God would act and deliver you from? Remember your past experiences of knowing the joy of God's salvation. Place your trust in God's ability to work again. This Advent we are waiting for Emmanuel, God with us, to enter the messiness of humanity. This Holy Child will bear the fullness of God's Love to rewrite our broken past into the hope of God's new creation.

Dear God, You have done great things for your people and for me. Let my heart trust your ability to continue working and let me praise You for who You are revealed in Jesus Chris. Amen.