Light of the World

Daily readings for Advent

,

• Publisher: Wild Goose Publications
• Year: 2009
• ISBN:
  9781849521352
• Topic: Teología y religión

Daily readings for Advent from Iona Community members, associates and friends: Peter Millar, John Harvey, Kathy Galloway, Ian M Fraser, David Rhodes, Jan Sutch Pickard and others.

DECEMBER 1

A counter-cultural vision for our times

The Shoot of Jesse will judge the poor with justice, the meek with equity, and the wolf will lie down with the lamb.

Isaiah 11:5–6

What a counter-cultural vision in our times! As we come to Advent and to this vision of Isaiah, we can look back over the past year in our interconnected world, and be reminded of the trillions of pounds and dollars which have floated away, through human greed, in the financial crisis. Of bankers and others earning sums of money beyond the dreams of avarice: of our leaders desperately trying to create visions of justice while themselves constantly at the service of the powerful. No wonder millions everywhere are disillusioned. Are we surprised that cynicism abounds?

In this passage (Isaiah 11:1–11) we are reminded of the coming of a scion of the line of David (The Shoot of Jesse) who would exhibit all the qualities a king was ideally supposed to have. Propelled by God’s spirit, this leader would hold in himself wisdom, right resolution (and the ability to act upon it) and practical piety. Such a leader would not be relying on outward appear -ances, but would espouse the cause of the weak and confront those who oppressed them. And it was in this tenacious hope, often not realised, that the Messianic expectations of Israel had its roots.

And as we read our daily papers many of us must say: ‘Does not our world desperately need such leaders who speak from the heart, who listen to the oppressed and who are humble enough to admit to their own failings?’ And we need such women and men not just in politics but across the board – offering a new vision of what it means to be human in a world which, despite all the technological advances, often feels a very uncertain and scary place.

Yet the text also addresses us as individuals. These powerful words frame a communal vision while at the same time calling us to carry within our own lives that combination of integrity, resolution and hope. Inviting us always to be listeners of the world. The question which always returns to us concerns our hearts and minds being alive to what is going on around us in God’s world. And for those who claim to be trying to follow the way of the Gospel, withdrawal is not an option.

The Australian theologian Dorothy McRae-McMahon, who constantly inspires my own spiritual journey, once wrote:

We believe in the Holy Spirit who waits on our moments of openness and springs into the unknowns with joy and delight, that we might be called on beyond where we thought we could go, where every step is walked on holy ground.

Powerful words, and ones which for me mirror something of that age-old vision of the prophet Isaiah.

Peter Millar

DECEMBER 2

A pair of secateurs

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

Isaiah 53:2

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches.

John 15:1–4

The Pilsdon Community in Dorset, inspired by the 17th-century community of Little Gidding, welcomes people to a working household based on worship and shared meals. Many guests have been bruised and broken by 21stcentury society, and find Pilsdon a safe place where healing can happen. I went there for a time of reflection at the beginning of Advent, and to learn more about its hands-on ministry. After a mug of tea, the first thing I was given was a pair of secateurs: the espalier trees in the old walled garden needed pruning. So, for a whole winter afternoon, that is what I did. It’s a good way to reflect on what needs attention in your own life!

Espalier

Stretched across the wall,
tied on wires,
pruned back hard,
as the year
shrinks to the shortest day:
this apple tree
seems barely alive –
a thing of no beauty, a travesty.

But believe me
there is more to this story,
these bare bones:
one spring day
these knuckles will flex,
and send out shoots,
form buds, open green leaves
against the red brick wall;
flowers will beckon the bees,
and fruit ripen
on a tree stretched to its limits now –
but still fully alive.

Pilsdon Manor, 1.12.08

Jan Sutch Pickard

DECEMBER 3

Creatively surviving

For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18

When I was employed as a mental health support worker, I used to visit a young man who lived in a tower block in a rough area of Edinburgh. I’d visit and see how his week went, find out if he had enough groceries, what bills needed to be paid … and we’d just sit and drink tea and talk. His flat had been broken into three times. He’d been jumped down at the shops and beaten up by a gang who said he was a gay … Every day was hard for him.

He’d had a job long ago, ‘in another life’, in a museum, but had a nervous breakdown, and with no support – no family or friends – ended up homeless; then ‘trapped in the social work system’.

He did a lot (on top of the list of all the plain, everyday things) just to survive. One thing he’d do was go to charity shops like Oxfam and Save the Children, and buy cheap reproductions of paintings with a portion of his giro money. His flat was full of masterpieces – Monets, Van Goghs, Michelangelos, Seurats, Chagalls, Vermeers, Rembrandts … Underneath, the walls were peeling and water-marked; punched and kicked in by previous tenants. The walls out in the corridor were all graffitied, and echoed when you walked in them: like the building was vacant of soul; there were needles and syringes and empty bottles lying in corners. He’d burn incense in winter to cover up the mouldy-damp smell in his flat. The smell of incense helped ‘put him in a better place’, he said.

Another thing he’d do to survive was go to the Hermitage, a woods nearby. He explained that some days he felt ‘too surrounded by concrete and greyness’. He’d go sit under the trees for a few hours. Walk the quiet paths. Look at the wild flowers.

When I asked him why he collected paintings, and took walks in the Hermitage, he thought a moment, and said: ‘… It’s the way I keep hope alive.’

He was always waiting: waiting to get money from social work to get his broken glasses fixed; waiting for Council Tax to forgive him; waiting to get to the top of the housing list; waiting to win the lottery. Waiting …

One day, in passing, he mentioned that he used to go to church once, years ago. He didn’t now. ‘Church is for rich people,’ he said. His church was his paintings, and walking in the woods at the Hermitage.

He was an artist in creative survival. That’s what I loved and appreciated about him – the way he could creatively survive.

Prayer

God of the cathedral of trees;
Creative Christ of the tower block;
help us to give support and to bring some understanding and gentleness
to people living in areas where life is hard:

People waiting to be delivered,
from poor housing, intimidation, violence, Council tax bills, loan sharks,
depression …
Amen

Neil Paynter

DECEMBER 4

Taming the Gospel

They will know that they have a prophet among them, whether they listen or
whether in their rebelliousness they refuse to listen.

Ezekiel 2:5

By and large, prophets are uncomfortable people to be around. They confront and disrupt our comfort zones. Unsettle us. Challenge our assumptions. Renew our vision or take it in another direction. Vincent Van Gogh ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• November 27. In the messiness and beauty of the here and now
• November 28. All things are possible
• November 29. Signs of peace and life-giving joy
• November 30. The Word
• December 1. A counter-cultural vision for our times
• December 2. A pair of secateurs
• December 3. Creatively surviving
• December 4. Taming the Gospel
• December 5. A letter to a dying child from a church minister
• December 6. Take light, give light
• December 7. Birthed in places of human violence and oppression
• December 8. The Second Coming
• December 9. An Ecumenical Accompanier in East Jerusalem
• December 10. Being on the watchtower
• December 11. The heartbeat of the gospel
• December 12. A few reflections to keep us awake
• December 13. Five and five
• December 14. Not merely about fine words
• December 15. Signs of hope
• December 16. The pig ankle jig
• December 17. Enlightenment and not explosion
• December 18. The map of non-violence, from a talk
• December 19. Child at heart
• December 20. Snow scene
• December 21. That place where we are truly ourselves
• December 22. David’s conversion
• December 23. Timeless and completely contemporary
• December 24. Keep on dancing the samba
• Christmas Eve. Across this beautiful and complex world
• Christmas Day. With the bullocks close by and the chickens running in and out
• A Chain Reaction Out into all the World
• Magnificat in blonze: The story of the statue in the Cloisters of Iona Abbey
• Light of the world
• Bright and amazing God
• Sources and Acknowledgements
• Contributors