Advent week 1

Signs of Christmas

An Advent Devotional

Celebrating Chrismons

During Advent we will post a short devotional for each day. Each one will have information about one of the Chrismons on the Church's Advent tree, a scripture and sometimes a reading or prayer. 

     A chrismon is a Christian symbol representing Jesus Christ. The symbols have been used since the earliest days of Christianity. The Jesse tree decorated with symbols of Old Testament stories was a teaching tool in the Middle Ages. In 1957 Frances Kipps Spencer, a Lutheran from Virginia, thought of using Chrismons as ornaments for her church’s Christmas tree. The ornaments used at First United Methodist Church of Corvallis were created by Lena Proebsting

December 2  The First Sunday in Advent -                      The Branch

 Jesse was the father of King David (Ancient Israel's great king. When the people of Israel were  defeated by the Babylonians and    carried away into exile the king’s   family was destroyed. God had   promised that a son of David would rule as king forever but there were no more kings. The prophets promised that the stump would produce new life. A new king would some day come from David’s lineage; a king who would rule with justice. This symbol is like the stump of those pesky bushes in my yard. No matter how often I cut them back new life appears. 

Text: Isaiah 11:1-6

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.
  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;
    but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

In the Bible, the anticipated end of all things is followed by God's newness. Death precedes new beginnings. Every new beginning involves leaving and dying.Do you fear letting go? God can grasp an open hand.

We light the first Advent candle to remind ourselves to watch.

We wait for the coming of Immanuel.

We watch for something new to be born.

We expect something to be born in us.

We watch for God’s face to be revealed.

We look for the times and places we are able to be God’s hands

We watch and wait and pray:  Lord, show us the way.

December 3                                               The Alpha and Omega

 The alpha which looks like the letter “A” in our alphabet is the first letter in the Greek alphabet. The upside down horse shoe is the letter “Omega.” It is the last letter in the Greek alphabet. It is like “Z”. The Alpha and Omega are a symbol for God who is the first and the last, the beginning and the end, the “A” and “Z”

     God was before anything was made. God is what got everything started. God will be when the universe ends. God made you the special person you are and when life is over God will welcome you home. God is the alpha and the omega. 

Text: Revelation 1:4-7

     “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and   Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen... ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

How does the God, who was and is and is to come, who loves and frees us, who offers grace and peace, help you let go? Allow yourself to rest in God today. 

Advent has begun, if you do not have a wreath, just light a candle. Watch the flame and pray with your eyes open:  Pray-  I am watching, Lord, show me the way.

December 4                                                            The Jerusalem Cross

  The Jerusalem cross is actually 4 “T” crosses joined together in the center to make 1 big cross.

   Around the center cross are 4 other crosses. One is a Native American symbol called an eye of God.” Another is an Celtic cross with a circle in the center. There is a wooden cross (notice the foot rest). The four  star cross  is the Southern  Cross constellation (right) which can only be seen below the equator.

  

The Jerusalem Cross can be a symbol of God’s love found in the four corners of the world. Originally, The Jerusalem Cross was the coat-of-arms of the Crusaders so perhaps it warns of the danger of not seeing Christ already present in those we go to serve. Can we speak with respect of Christ as we have known him even as we are open to Christ in the life of a stranger?

Text: Isaiah 40:3-4, 9-11

   A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

     Get you up to a high mountain, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings;lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’ See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and the healing of what was lost goes before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his arms, and gently lead the mother sheep.

    May Emmanuel find welcome in our hearts, take flesh in our lives, and be for all peoples the welcome advent of redemption and grace. Amen.

December 5                                          The Bronze Serpent and Cross

 This is a strange symbol. It is a snake wrapped around a T cross.  A story in the Old Testament speaks about a time when the people of Israel were dying  of snake bites.

 God told Moses to put a snake on a pole. Everyone who looked at it would be made well (Numbers 21:9). The people looked at  the snake they feared, the source of pain and death, but trusted God who healed them. 

     The cross is a fearful instrument of torture and death. But, if we trust God’s love visible in Jesus on the cross, God can release power to heal us; freeing us from our past and giving us hope for new life. (Doctors use a symbol like this as a sign that they are healers).

Text: John 3:14-16

   And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,  so must the Son of Man be lifted up (on the cross, from the grave, into heaven), that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

     Advent is a purple season in which sorrow and joy both have a place. Our faith does run look away from the darkness but sees the love of Christ with us in the pain. In our hope lies the seeds of our healing.

     As a bird struggles through a storm, then soars on calmer breezes, so joy can come to us from sorrow given to our God.

     Not surface skimming happiness vanishing in the gloom,   not a rigid explanation of the dark, joy rests deep within as we sense Christ travels through the tumult with us, holds up our weary wings and rejoices with us as we rise toward home. (Roberta Potter)

December 6                                                  The Star of David (six points)

 This star has six points. It is a symbol of the Jewish faith used since the 17th century. It reminds us that God chose the Jewish people as his own to help the world to learn God’s ways. Jesus was a Jew from the family of King David. Think of the endless sorrow that has come from forgetting that fact.

   The six-pointed star is sometimes called the Star of Creation. Its six points stand for the six days of creation, and also represent the six attributes of God: power, wisdom, majesty, love,  mercy and justice.

Text: Isaiah 60:1-3

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

This dying season distances the soul from summertime,

   gentles the way ahead toward fierce winter’s blast,

Restores the faculty of memory to bear the gift of thankfulness

   which, given time, can lead across the ice cap, sorrow,

To the infant birth of faith and even hope.  (J. Barrie Shepherd)

When tragedy strikes, when trouble comes, when life disappoints us, we stand at the crossroads between hope and despair, torn and hurting . Despair cements us in the present. Hope sends us dancing around dark corners trusting in a tomorrow we cannot see because of the multiple pasts of life we cannot forget. (Joan Chittister)

 December 7                                                                     The Fish

 The fish was a secret symbol for Jesus for the early Christians. The letters written on it are from  the Greek language. They spell the Greek word “Ichthus” which means fish.  I or iota is the first letter in  Jesus's name which Greek is  “Iaysus”. The X is Chi used in the  word Christ.  The circle with a line in it is  Theta and is the first letter in"Theou" or God’s. The letter that looks like Y is upsilon and is the first letter in "uios" or Son. The C is a way to write sigma or S the first  letter in Savior. The fish’s name communicates the confession of faith: Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior. This fish is leaping perhaps a reference to the resurrection. 

Text: Colossians 1:11-20

  
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have               redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 
¹⁵Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. Christ himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 
¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits you have won for me, for all the pains and insults, you have borne for me. 

O merciful, redeemer, friend and brother, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly: day by day.  (Richard of Chichester 1197-1253) 

December 8                                         The Cross and CHI

This is a special cross. The cross is a symbol of God’s love for us. This cross has the Greek letter “Chi” which                  

 looks like an “X” behind it. The “Chi” is like “CH” in English. It is the first letter of the word “Christ.”  “Christ” was not                                                

 Jesus’ last name. It is a title it means some one who was marked with  special oils on the head. Anointing was done for one who became a king. “Christ means king; Jesus, the king.   But Jesus was not a king who lived in a palace and used an army to make people obey. He was a king whose power was love; love made visible on the cross.

Text Isaiah 9:1-7

   But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. ..  The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.(Judges 7:15 ff)  For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
⁶For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The World Peace Prayer
Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth. Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust. Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace. Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe. Amen.

December 9 The Second Sunday in Advent

                                                 The Star and Shell

The eight-pointed star is the Star of

 Redemption (grace for a new start) or Regeneration ( new birth) and represents baptism. eight is traditionally the number of regeneration, and thus many baptismal fonts have an octagonal base. Providing added

 significance is the assumption that  Jesus was circumcised and named according to Jewish tradition (Luke 2:21) when he was eight days old. Baptism is seen as the New Testament  equivalent of circumcision. It is given by the Lord so that both men and women and all people are equally related to Christ. 

   The shell is a symbol of Jesus’ baptism . Notice the three pearls. They stand for the water dripping. Water washes us clean. We need water to live. Baptism is a sign that we  belong to God and have a place with God’s people in the Church. The Second Sunday in Advent we remember John the Baptist’s cry, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

Text: Mark 1:2-8

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,                                       

    “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will

   prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

   Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,

⁴John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a  baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of           Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate         locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

People look east the time is near of the crowning of the year. Make your house fair as you are able, trim the hearth and set the table. People look east: Love the Guest is on the way. 

Furrows be glad. Though earth is bare, one more seed is planted there. Give up your strength the seed to nourish, that in the course the flower may flourish. People look east Love the Rose is on the way. 

Stars keep watch. When night is dim, one more light the bowl shall brim, shining beyond the frosty weather, bright as sun and moon together. people look east: Love the Star is on the way. 

                                                                                                             (Elanor Farjeon, 1928)