The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Expectancy" for Sunday, 4 December 2016

The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Expectancy" for Sunday, 4 December 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
O EXPECTANCY,
born of fertile wonder,
belabored by narrowed hope;
craning curious lives forward,
drawing in the lonely and longing.
You are imagination’s sister
and the brother of holy surprise.Come, startle awake
our dozing apathy, our complacent dreams,
that we may behold your borning Advent cry.
Amen.[Prayer by Pam Hawkins, Behold!: Cultivating Attentiveness in the Season of Advent, Pamela C. Hawkins, Behold!]
From page 25 of Behold!: Cultivating Attentiveness in the Season of Advent. Copyright © 2011 by Pamela C. Hawkins. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. O EXPECTANCY,
born of fertile wonder,
belabored by narrowed hope;
craning curious lives forward,
drawing in the lonely and longing.
You are imagination’s sister
and the brother of holy surprise.Come, startle awake
our dozing apathy, our complacent dreams,
that we may behold your borning Advent cry.
Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
“I baptize you with 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 the Holy Spirit and fire. …”[Matthew 3:11, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely.
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The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "The Peace of God" for Saturday, 3 December 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
IN GOD’S PEACE, power and vulnerability lie together. This peace does not ignore conflict or difference; rather, in this peace the vulnerability in power and the power of vulnerability become companions. Neither threatens the other; instead, the friendship of power and vulnerability transforms expected hostilities into deep, deep peace. When we read these ancient words, we can feel it: This peace is what God means for our lives.
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Spirit of the Lord, disciple us in the ways that lead to your holy mountain. We pray now for our enemies, whom we name in our hearts. We pray for ourselves, that we may transform our hostilities and fears into an openness to your possibilities. Where there seems to be no way, help us find the way. Amen.[Pamela D. Couture, Disciplines]
From a devotion by Pamela D. Couture in The Upper Room Disciplines 2007: A Book of Daily Devotions. Copyright © 2008 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. Spirit of the Lord, disciple us in the ways that lead to your holy mountain. We pray now for our enemies, whom we name in our hearts. We pray for ourselves, that we may transform our hostilities and fears into an openness to your possibilities. Where there seems to be no way, help us find the way. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”[Matthew 3:1-2, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely. -------

The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Anticipation" for Friday, 2 December 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
DO OUR ADVENT LIVES stand up against the ways of the world? Are we already so consumed with Christmas, even now in the first week of Advent, that we neglect taking time to live fully into the meaning and experience of the coming of Christ?
It is not yet Christmas but Advent. This is a season in which we have time to anticipate the full story and meaning of Immanuel – God-with-Us – if we will take that time and use it well.
Take a walk through your home, room by room, and say an Advent blessing in each space, something simple like “O come, O come, Immanuel” or “Come, Lord Jesus.” Take your time, imagining how you will live in this time and place over the next few weeks in ways that could help you not hurry to Christmas.[Pamela C. Hawkins, Simply Wait]
From page 29 of Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent by Pamela C. Hawkins. Copyright © 2007 by Pamela C. Hawkins. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question"
Engage in the prayer exercise described above.
Today’s Scripture:
…and again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope.”[Romans 15:12, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely. 

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The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Advent Prayer" for Thursday, 1 December 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
Advent Prayer of Intercession
I WANT TO BE AT PEACE, O God,
protector of the frightened,
refuge for the wandering.
I want to speak for peace, O Christ,
hope whispered to the bruised,
we come sung to the embattled.
I want to live in peace, O Spirit,
forgiveness in my heart,
kindness in my hands;
trusting, trustworthy;
loving, beloved.
I want to be at peace, O God
with you,
with me,
with others.
This is my Advent prayer. Amen.[Pamela C. Hawkins, Prepare the Way]
From page 24 of Prepare the Way: Cultivating a Heart for God in Advent by Pamela C. Hawkins. Copyright © 2016 by Pamela C. Hawkins. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. Advent Prayer of Intercession
I WANT TO BE AT PEACE, O God,
protector of the frightened,
refuge for the wandering.
I want to speak for peace, O Christ,
hope whispered to the bruised,
we come sung to the embattled.
I want to live in peace, O Spirit,
forgiveness in my heart,
kindness in my hands;
trusting, trustworthy;
loving, beloved.
I want to be at peace, O God
with you,
with me,
with others.
This is my Advent prayer. Amen.
Today’s Scripture:
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.[Romans 15:5-6, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely. -------

The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Grant Us Wisdom" for Wednesday, 30 November 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
GRANT US WISDOM and courage this week:
to be open to your surprises, O God;
to taste and see your presence in new ways;
to trust that you will do good and joyful things in our lives
and in the world.[Jan Johnson, Taste and See]
From page 19 of Taste and See: Experiencing the Stories of Advent and Christmas by Jan Johnson. Copyright © 2014 by Jan Johnson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Upper Room Books. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
Pray today’s prayer. GRANT US WISDOM and courage this week:
to be open to your surprises, O God;
to taste and see your presence in new ways;
to trust that you will do good and joyful things in our lives
and in the world.
Today’s Scripture:
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.[Psalm 72:18, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely. -------

The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Advent Practice" for Tuesday, 29 November 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
IN THE SEASON of Advent, we are called to share the hope that we have in Christ with a hope-famished world. …
Prepare your heart to be open to this season before you, a season full of sights and sounds and needs. Commit to setting aside a brief time every day to read [a] scripture and meditation for the day. Pause and breathe. God is near.[Robin Pippin, Light of Lights]
From page 9 of Light of Lights: Advent Devotions from The Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide, compiled and edited by Robin Pippin. Copyright © 2014 by Upper Room Books. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://bookstore.upperroom.org/ Learn more about or purchase this book.
Today’s Question:
How will you observe Advent this year?
Today’s Scripture:
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.[Isaiah 11:6, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely.

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The Upper Room Daily Reflections, daily words of wisdom and faith in Nashville, Tennessee, United States "Wait in Confidence" for Monday, 28 November 2016

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Today’s Reflection:
WAITING IS DIFFICULT business. Sometimes the hardest work is staying still and trusting that God works even in silence. We want the confirmation of burning bushes, pillars of fire, and visiting angels. That is not the stuff of ordinary life, but it does not mean that miracles are outdated or that we cannot expect God to speak new and even unbelievable possibility into our individual and collective lives. …
We wait in confidence and hope not because of who we are but because of whom we trust and believe God is: faithful, steadfast, full of loving-kindness, true to God’s word, and present with us.[Enuma Okoro, Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent]
From pages 57-58 of Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent by Enuma Okoro. Copyright © 2012 by Enuma Okoro. 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 does “waiting in confidence” mean to you?
Today’s Scripture:
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.[Isaiah 11:1, NRSV]
This Week: pray for people who feel lonely. -------

Did You Know?
In need of prayer? The Upper Room Living Prayer Center is a 7-day-a-week intercessory prayer ministry staffed by trained volunteers. Call 1-800-251-2468 or visit The Living Prayer Center website.
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This week we remember: Sister Dorothy Kazel (December 2).

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)

Sunday, 4 December 2016
Second Sunday of Advent: Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44
Scripture Texts: Isaiah 11:1 But a branch will emerge from the trunk of Yishai,
a shoot will grow from his roots.
2 The Spirit of Adonai will rest on him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fearing Adonai —
3 he will be inspired by fearing Adonai.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,
4 but he will judge the impoverished justly;
he will decide fairly for the humble of the land.
He will strike the land with a rod from his mouth
and slay the wicked with a breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist,
faithfulness the sash around his hips.
6 The wolf will live with the lamb;
the leopard lie down with the kid;
calf, young lion and fattened lamb together,
with a little child to lead them.
7 Cow and bear will feed together,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 An infant will play on a cobra’s hole,
a toddler put his hand in a viper’s nest.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
anywhere on my holy mountain,
for the earth will be as full
of the knowledge of Adonai
as water covering the sea.
10 On that day the root of Yishai,
which stands as a banner for the peoples —
the Goyim will seek him out,
and the place where he rests will be glorious.
Psalm 72:(0) By Shlomo:
(1) God, give the king your fairness in judgment,
endow this son of kings with your righteousness,
2 so that he can govern your people rightly
and your poor with justice.
3 May mountains and hills provide your people
with peace through righteousness.
4 May he defend the oppressed among the people,
save the needy and crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures
and as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass,
like showers watering the land.
7 In his days, let the righteous flourish
and peace abound, till the moon is no more.
18 Blessed be Adonai, God,
the God of Isra’el,
who alone works wonders.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
Romans 13:11 Besides all this, you know at what point of history we stand; so it is high time for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; for the final deliverance is nearer than when we first came to trust. 12 The night is almost over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and arm ourselves with the weapons of light. 13 Let us live properly, as people do in the daytime — not partying and getting drunk, not engaging in sexual immorality and other excesses, not quarrelling and being jealous. 14 Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Yeshua the Messiah; and don’t waste your time thinking about how to provide for the sinful desires of your old nature.
Matthew 24:36 “But when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels in heaven, not the Son, only the Father. 37 For the Son of Man’s coming will be just as it was in the days of Noach. 38 Back then, before the Flood, people went on eating and drinking, taking wives and becoming wives, right up till the day Noach entered the ark; 39 and they didn’t know what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be just like that when the Son of Man comes. 40 Then there will be two men in a field — one will be taken and the other left behind. 41 There will be two women grinding flour at the mill — one will be taken and the other left behind. 42 So stay alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But you do know this: had the owner of the house known when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you too must always be ready, for the Son of Man will come when you are not expecting him.
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary: Isaiah 11:1-10
Verse 1
[1] And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
And — And having said that the Assyrian yoke should be destroyed because of the anointing, he now explains who that anointed person was.
The stem — Or, stump: for the word signifies properly a trunk cut off from the root. By which he clearly implies, that the Messiah should be born of the royal house of David, at that time when it was in a most forlorn condition, like a tree cut down, and whereof nothing is left but a stump or root under ground.
Of Jesse — He doth not say of David, but of Jesse, who was a private and mean person, to intimate, that at the time of Christ's birth the royal family should be reduced to its primitive obscurity.
Verse 2
[2] And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Wisdom — It is not needful, exactly to distinguish these two gifts; it is sufficient that they are necessary qualifications for a governor, and a teacher, and it is evident they signify perfect knowledge of all things necessary for his own and peoples good, and a sound judgment, to distinguish between things that differ.
Counsel — Of prudence, to give good counsel; and of might and courage, to execute it.
Knowledge — Of the perfect knowledge of the whole will and counsel of God, as also of all secret things, yea of the hearts of men.
Fear — A fear of reverence, a care to please him, and lothness to offend him.
Verse 3
[3] And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
In the fear — He shall not judge rashly and partially, but considerately and justly, as the fear of God obliges all judges to do.
Judge — Of persons or causes.
After the sight — According to outward appearance, as men do, because they cannot search mens hearts.
Reprove — Condemn or pass sentence against a person.
His ears — By uncertain rumours or suggestions.
Verse 4
[4] But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Judge — Defend and deliver them.
Reprove — Or condemn their malicious enemies.
Thy rod — With his word, which is his scepter, and the rod of his power, Psalms 110:2, which is sharper than a sword, Hebrews 4:12, by the preaching whereof he subdued the world to himself, and will destroy his enemies, 2 Thessalonians 2:8. This he adds farther, to declare the nature of Christ's kingdom, that it is not of this world.
Verse 5
[5] And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The girdle — It shall adorn him, and be the glory of his government, as a girdle was used for an ornament, Isaiah 3:24, and as an ensign of power, Job 12:18, and it shall constantly cleave to him in all his administrations, as a girdle cleaveth to a man's loins.
Verse 6
[6] The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
The wolf — The creatures shall be restored to that state of innocency in which they were before the fall of man. Men of fierce, and cruel dispositions, shall be so transformed by the grace of Christ, that they shall become gentle, and tractable.
A child — They will submit their rebellious wills to the conduct of the meanest persons that speak to them in Christ's name.
Verse 7
[7] And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Feed — Together, without any danger or fear.
Straw — The grass of the earth, as they did at first, and shall not devour other living creatures.
Verse 9
[9] They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
My holy mountain — In Zion, in my church.
The sea — The channel of the sea.
Verse 10
[10] And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
A root — A branch growing upon the root.
Ensign — Shall grow up into a great tree, shall become an eminent ensign.
The people — Which not only the Jews, but all nations, may discern, and to which they shall resort.
Rest — His resting-place, his temple or church, the place of his presence and abode.
Glorious — Shall be filled with greater glory than the Jewish tabernacle and temple were; only this glory shall be spiritual, consisting in the plentiful effusions of the gifts, and graces, of the Holy Spirit.
Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19
Verse 1
[1] Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.
Judgments — He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.
Verse 2
[2] He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
Thy afflicted ones — For such are thine in a special manner, thou art their judge and patron.
Verse 3
[3] The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.
The mountains — Which are so dangerous to passengers, in regard of robbers and wild beasts. Hereby it is implied, that other places should do so too, and that it should be common and universal.
Verse 4
[4] He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
Judge — Vindicate them from their oppressors.
Verse 5
[5] They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.
Thee — Thee, O God, this shall be another blessed fruit of this righteous government, that together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, which was begun in Solomon's days, but not fully accomplished 'till Christ came.
Verse 6
[6] He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
He shall come — Christ did come down from heaven, and brought or sent down from heaven his doctrine, (which is often compared to rain) and the sweet and powerful influences of his spirit.
Romans 13:11-14
Verse 11
[11] And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
And do this — Fulfil the law of love in all the instances above mentioned.
Knowing the season — Full of grace, but hasting away.
That it is high time to awake out of sleep — How beautifully is the metaphor carried on! This life, a night; the resurrection, the day; the gospel shining on the heart, the dawn of this day; we are to awake out of sleep; to rise up and throw away our night-clothes, fit only for darkness, and put on new; and, being soldiers, we are to arm, and prepare for fight, who are encompassed with so many enemies. The day dawns when we receive faith, and then sleep gives place. Then it is time to rise, to arm, to walk, to work, lest sleep steal upon us again. Final salvation, glory, is nearer to us now, than when we first believed - It is continually advancing, flying forward upon the swiftest wings of time. And that which remains between the present hour and eternity is comparatively but a moment.
Verse 13
[13] Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Banqueting — Luxurious, elegant feasts.
Verse 14
[14] But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ — Herein is contained the whole of our salvation. It is a strong and beautiful expression for the most intimate union with him, and being clothed with all the graces which were in him. The apostle does not say, Put on purity and sobriety, peacefulness and benevolence; but he says all this and a thousand times more at once, in saying, Put on Christ. And make not provision - To raise foolish desires, or, when they are raised already, to satisfy them.
Matthew 24:36-44
Verse 36
[36] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
But of that day — The day of judgment; Knoweth no man - Not while our Lord was on earth. Yet it might be afterward revealed to St. John consistently with this.
Verse 37
[37] But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Luke 17:26.
Verse 40
[40] Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
One is taken — Into God's immediate protection: and one is left - To share the common calamities. Our Lord speaks as having the whole transaction present before his eyes.
Verse 41
[41] Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding — Which was then a common employment of women.
Verse 42
[42] Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
Ye know not what hour your Lord cometh — Either to require your soul of you, or to avenge himself of this nation. Mark 13:33; Luke 12:35; 21:34.
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