GOD COMES NEAR IN SURPRISING WAYS
Dear Friends in the Lord,
Advent is a time we set aside to rediscover a fundamental truth of our faith: God is always going out to find us, looking for us, coming near to us. God in Jesus and through the Spirit comes to us in surprising ways, always doing something new, creating life anew.
Let us respond to this divine initiative. Every 2 days, let us pray & journal using the following prompts or recordings listed on those dates.
Let these two questions guide our Advent journey together as friends in the Lord:
How am I finding God? (or struggling to find God?)
How is God finding me?
DEC 2-3
How to Recognize Grace
by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
It takes you by surprise
It comes in odd packages
It sometimes looks like loss
Or mistakes
It acts like rain
Or like a seed
It’s both reliable and unpredictable
It’s not what you were aiming at
Or what you thought you deserved
It supplies what you need
Not necessarily what you want
It grows you up
And lets you be a child
It reminds you you’re not in control
And that not being in control
is a form of freedom.
Journaling Prompt:
What 1-2 phrases or images struck you as you read the poem & how so?
What surprises you today or recently? How so?
How might God look for you or trying to find you through these surprising moments?
DEC 4-5: Befriending FEAR & difficult feelings
Read slowly the passage on the Annunciation below.
Pray 10-15’ by clicking on the guided meditation below.
Use the journaling prompts below the guided meditation to reflect over your experience of prayer.
The Annunciation to Mary (Lk 1:26-38)
The angel Gabriel was sent from God
to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph,
of the house of David,
and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And coming to her, he said,
“Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”
But she was greatly troubled at what was said
and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
Then the angel said to her,
“Do not be afraid, Mary,
for you have found favor with God.
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his Kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
Mary receives a surprising visit from the angel Gabriel, which initially causes her to be “greatly troubled.” Getting caught off-guard can elicit many feelings, especially fear or anxiety. Notice how Mary honestly names her struggle to the angel Gabriel. This process is part of her YES to the unforeseeable faithfulness of God.
Journaling Prompt:
What happens as I tried to identify or sit with fear or a difficult feeling?
What surprised me during the prayer?
Did anything come up that I’m drawn to savor or remain with?
DEC 6-7
To be uploaded soon.