Upper Room Daily Reflections - daily
words of wisdom and faith “Advent” Sunday, 1 December 2013
Today’s Reflection:
ADVENT MARKS the beginning of the church
year and lays before us the pathway of faith for the year ahead. Advent
initiates once again remembering, retelling, and celebrating the whole drama of
God’s revelation. Four weeks is the limit to this season that declares the
truth about a God whose love and resourcefulness have no limits.
“Advent” has its roots in the Latin word
adventus, or coming. This season proclaims the coming of Christ in the birth of
Jesus, in the Word and Spirit, and in the final victory when God’s kingdom
shall be complete.
Our privilege as Christians is to receive
the gracious gifts of God’s presence in Christ. Our task is to prepare for his
coming so that we will not miss life’s greatest gift.(Norman Shawchuck and
Rueben P. Job-A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God)
From page 20 of A Guide to Prayer for All
Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job. Copyright © 2003 by Norman
Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper
Room Books.
http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
What Advent tradition(s) do you begin
today?
Today’s Scripture:
A shoot shall come out from the stump of
Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the LORD shall
rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.(Isaiah 11:1-2, NRSV)
This Week: find ways to watch eagerly for
Christ.
---
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It’s finally here – the fourth book in
the Guide to Prayer series. Includes excerpts from classic to contemporary
spiritual writers, including Julian of Norwich, Thomas Kelly, Sue Monk Kidd,
Thomas à Kempis, Evelyn Underhill, Trevor Hudson, Francis of Assisi, Henri
Nouwen, Jan Richardson, Bernard of Clairvaux, Catherine of Siena, Wendy M.
Wright, and many more. Don’t miss the limited edition with the leather cover!---
Saints, Inc.:
This week we remember: Sister Dorothy Kazel
December 02
Sister Dorothy Kazel was born in
Cleveland in 1939. From the time she entered the Ursuline Sisters in 1960 she
reached out to disadvantaged and marginalized populations as a teacher to
hearing impaired children. Papago Indians, and troubled girls.
Dorothy began her service in El Salvador
in 1974, traveling to remote villages to develop lay leadership, teach reading
and writing and nutrition. After El Salvador's civil war broke out in 1977
Dorothy gave support and counsel to people whose loved ones had been butchered
by death squads and whose villages had been destroyed. "I am committed to
the persecuted Church here," Dorothy said.
Other church workers made similar
commitments, including Maryknoll sisters Maura Clarke and Ita Ford, and lay
missionary Jean Donovan, who refused to return to the safety of the United
States despite the dangers they faced as they worked with refugees of the war.
On December 2, 1980, Sisters Dorothy,
Maura, and Ita, and Jean Donovan (who was only twenty-seven) were abducted,
interrogated, raped, and murdered by five National Guardsmen, then thrown into
a shallow grave. Their savage deaths resulted in international investigation
into El Salvador's death squads.
If Sister Dorothy Kazel had taken the
Spiritual Types Test, she probably would have been a Lover. Sister Dorothy
Kazel is remembered on December 2.
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Lectionary Readings
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Isaiah 11: The
Peaceful Kingdom
1 A shoot shall come out from the stump
of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on
him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the
Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge
the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around
his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling
together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the
hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah
10 On that day the root of Jesse shall
stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his
dwelling shall be glorious.(NRSV)
Psalm 72: Prayer
for Guidance and Support for the King
Of Solomon.
1 Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with
righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for
the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of
the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live[a] while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the
mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of
Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.
Footnotes:
Psalm 72:5 Gk: Heb may they fear you(NRSV)
Romans 15: 4 For
whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by
steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. 5
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony
with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may
with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel for Jews and Gentiles Alike
7 Welcome one another, therefore, just as
Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has
become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that
he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will confess[a] you among
the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name”;
10 and again he says,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;
11 and again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;
12 and again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse shall come,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Footnotes:
Romans 15:9 Or thank(NRSV)
Matthew 3: The
Proclamation of John the Baptist
1 In those days John the Baptist appeared
in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
has come near.”[a] 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he
said,
“The voice of one crying out in the
wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair
with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the
region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan,
confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9 Do not
presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell
you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now
the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with[b] water for
repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not
worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and
fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing
floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn
with unquenchable fire.”
Footnotes:
Matthew 3:2 Or is at hand
Matthew 3:11 Or in
Matthew 3:11 Or in(NRSV)
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Upper Room Ministries
a
ministry of GBODPO Box 340004
Nashville, TN 37203-0004 USA
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