Thursday the Third Week of Advent
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"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and make good your vows to the Most High. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor me." -Psalm 50:14-15
Prayer
Joy shattered the night of gloom
and pieced the shadow of despair
in the first Advent of Christ.
Empower us out of joy, to be seekers of the light,
as we are fomented in the darkness,
and wait patiently the second coming of Jesus Messiah. Amen.
Reflection: SING
My grandmother loved to sing. She sang beautifully. She stopped going to school when she was about 14 and went to work to help support her family. She was a pretty ordinary woman, the granddaughter of enslaved persons, who knew hardship and pain, but also knew celebration and joy. She would sing when things were good and she would sing when things were bad. My grandmother patterned her life in taking care of others, always with a song on her lips. There were two things you could always expect from her: she knew her bible and she knew the songs of her soul.
Singing for my grandmother and for so many others was liberation for the soul. When we sing, we join God in the divine song of creation. When we sing we become a part of the hopes and fears of all the years.
As we turn our gaze eastward towards the coming Messiah, we join in singing the songs of freedom, liberation, and expectation. We join God in singing a new song into the world and calling others to join us in the singing.
Mary sang. Elizabeth sang. Simeon Sang. My grandmother sang. God sang and sings again and again. This Advent may we join in lending our voice to the harmony.
Action
Play the music. Find a piece of music that lifts your spirit and makes you smile. Play the music, turn up the volume, and imagine the lyrics as God's love washing over you.