Advent Week One
Meditation image
Below is an image and an audio file for a daily guided meditation. You can play the file each time you meditate, which includes relaxation prompts and beautiful music that will assist in your meditation. The image below is your starting point: the desert with a bright star in the distance. You can continue to look at the image during your meditation or close your eyes. Begin with a cleansing prayer and some deep breaths before beginning. Feel free to stop back during your hectic day to calm your mind.
We would like to thank Christopher Saint Booth for giving us permission to use the second track from his amazing meditative CD, Elysium.
Click here to purchase the entire CD.
Please help us thank Christopher for generously giving his music to this spiritual exercise. He is a great supporter of our church and we thank him.
We would like to thank Christopher Saint Booth for giving us permission to use the second track from his amazing meditative CD, Elysium.
Click here to purchase the entire CD.
Please help us thank Christopher for generously giving his music to this spiritual exercise. He is a great supporter of our church and we thank him.
Week One: we are Promised
The Patriarchs & the promise of the eternal son
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Monday
Reading: Genesis 12:1-9
Abram’s Call and Migration. 1 The Lord said to Abram: Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you.
4 Abram went as the Lord directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. 9 Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.
4 Abram went as the Lord directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother’s son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the oak of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said: To your descendants I will give this land. So Abram built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the Lord and invoked the Lord by name. 9 Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.
Meditation
Imagine Abram old and at the end of a successful life. He loves his wife, is rich and well-respected. He has lived much longer than most of his time. He owns land, animals, slaves, and servants. He is sitting at the door of his hut, greeted by passersby as a sage because of his advanced age. His wife is busy within their home. Imagine yourself as Abram, enjoying the fruits of your hard work and success--a pleasant retirement. You take pride in all you have done. However, your nephew will inherit everything, because you have had no children. You have prospered the work of your hands. However, what you truly wanted your entire life is beyond your grasp.
Suddenly, an irresistible force speaks to you. It wants you to abandon everything and everyone you know. This God wants you to uproot your entire family, herds, servants, slaves, and your household, and rush towards a place you don't know. You simply must move your caravan in the direction you "feel" is right.
We don't know if Abraham knew YHWH, if he knew this God. Noah had known Him. But had Abraham?
It isn't until after you have said yes that this voice, this force, tells you that you will have children who will become a nation unto themselves. It is not the promise of children that lures Abram away from his retirement. You can become a great nation in other ways, through land and power and wealth and followers. Once Abram left all and began his journey, then God promised Abram immortality--in a future son.
Suddenly, an irresistible force speaks to you. It wants you to abandon everything and everyone you know. This God wants you to uproot your entire family, herds, servants, slaves, and your household, and rush towards a place you don't know. You simply must move your caravan in the direction you "feel" is right.
We don't know if Abraham knew YHWH, if he knew this God. Noah had known Him. But had Abraham?
It isn't until after you have said yes that this voice, this force, tells you that you will have children who will become a nation unto themselves. It is not the promise of children that lures Abram away from his retirement. You can become a great nation in other ways, through land and power and wealth and followers. Once Abram left all and began his journey, then God promised Abram immortality--in a future son.
Reflection
Abram had a sudden prompting from God to start something new; to start out instead of ending up. In your eyes, is this Faith or Foolishness. Boredom? Desperation?
Take a sheet of paper. Close your eyes and relax your mind. See Abram in his home, hearing this voice and immediately calling his wife to begin packing.
Now, make a list of both positive and negative words that describe Abram's decision. Do this first before reading onward.
Look at your list. Did you write more positive descriptions than negative, or vice versa? Look at the words you used one-by-one. Reflect on why you used that word to describe Abram's response. Was it an event in your life? Fear? Excitement? Try to hone in on your feelings about each word.
Take a sheet of paper. Close your eyes and relax your mind. See Abram in his home, hearing this voice and immediately calling his wife to begin packing.
Now, make a list of both positive and negative words that describe Abram's decision. Do this first before reading onward.
Look at your list. Did you write more positive descriptions than negative, or vice versa? Look at the words you used one-by-one. Reflect on why you used that word to describe Abram's response. Was it an event in your life? Fear? Excitement? Try to hone in on your feelings about each word.
Thoughts for the Day
Sometimes God's commands are clear, but His promises are vague. We can feel as though there are people, relationships, and duties that keep us from surrendering all to God. However, just as Abram brings every relationship, work duty, and family responsibility with him as he obeys the call of God, so too we must realize that even when we give our time and energy to our work, family, and other responsibilities, we are also surrendering totally to God. Fulfilling the demands relationships and work place on us does not detract from our abandonment to God. It is a part of it.
Prayer
Lord, help me to lay down all to you. Help me to truly hope in all you have promised to those who love you and remove from me all fear and all grumbling about those duties you have given me along my journey to you. In Christ Jesus, Amen.
Lectio Divina
Meditate on the following scripture verse throughout your day. Say it to yourself, both quietly and out loud, and reflect on its layers of meaning.
"Abram journeyed on by stages"
"Abram journeyed on by stages"
Tuesday
Reading: Genesis 13:1-18
Abram and Lot Part. 1 From Egypt Abram went up to the Negeb with his wife and all that belonged to him, and Lot went with him. 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 From the Negeb he traveled by stages toward Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly stood, 4 the site where he had first built the altar; and there Abram invoked the Lord by name.
5 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not live together. 7 There were quarrels between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred. 9 Is not the whole land available? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” 10 Lot looked about and saw how abundantly watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord’s own garden, or like Egypt. This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
14 After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; 15 all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. 17 Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. 18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.
5 Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not live together. 7 There were quarrels between the herders of Abram’s livestock and the herders of Lot’s livestock. At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.
8 So Abram said to Lot: “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herders and my herders, for we are kindred. 9 Is not the whole land available? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” 10 Lot looked about and saw how abundantly watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the Lord’s own garden, or like Egypt. This was before the Lord had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. 11 Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the inhabitants of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
14 After Lot had parted from him, the Lord said to Abram: Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; 15 all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. 16 I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. 17 Get up and walk through the land, across its length and breadth, for I give it to you. 18 Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the oak of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Meditation
Imagine Abraham, having just left Egypt while a famine is striking the land. Your servants and your nephew's are getting into fights over the scant patches of grass in the desert. Your animals and Lot's animals will starve because there is not enough grazing for both. Even though you are old and childless and Lot is young and strong, God has chosen you to become a great nation rather than Lot, who is a more logical choice. You may even be thinking this to yourself, that helping Lot is how you will become a great nation.
You approach your nephew and discuss the lack of resources of the land in which you are currently encamped. You give your nephew his choice of land. Lot raises his eyes and sees the choicest land for herding and takes the best land, leaving you the lesser choice. However, you wanted to be generous and Lot takes his home near a town known for its wickedness.
After Lot leaves, God comes to you. Just as you told Lot to look at the land and choose first, God has you now look at the land and tells you that, because you are God's choice, you will inherit even the land Lot has claimed. Abram is God's choice. Even though Abram may give his choices away out of generosity, God will not change his choice of Abram over Lot.
You approach your nephew and discuss the lack of resources of the land in which you are currently encamped. You give your nephew his choice of land. Lot raises his eyes and sees the choicest land for herding and takes the best land, leaving you the lesser choice. However, you wanted to be generous and Lot takes his home near a town known for its wickedness.
After Lot leaves, God comes to you. Just as you told Lot to look at the land and choose first, God has you now look at the land and tells you that, because you are God's choice, you will inherit even the land Lot has claimed. Abram is God's choice. Even though Abram may give his choices away out of generosity, God will not change his choice of Abram over Lot.
Reflection
Sometimes we feel as though we have total freedom to choose our path and other times we feel as though our path is chosen for us. Choice, Free Will, is one of the greatest stumbling blocks to religion. How much is God's will and how much is our own?
Choose 1-2 positive turning points in your life. They can be anything: a career move, meeting your spouse, your children, moving to a new place. Re-live the moments leading up to each event. Focus on the different details that had to take place in order for that turning point to occur for you. Write down a list of each detail that contributed to the whole situation. With each detail, try to assign a percentage of the mixture of God (coincidence), your personal choices, and the choices of others. For example, perhaps you had to miss a train to meet your spouse. Think about what happened: you overslept because of a power outage (%50 you, %50 God) and your friend refused to drive you (%100 another person), so you ran to the bus stop (100% your choice) and missed the bus anyway (70% coincidence and %30 you). A woman came up to the platform (%100 another's choice or God). She had missed the bus, too, etc).
How much of the major events in your life are a mixture of fate and free will? Does this make you feel as if your life is in your control, God's control, or is it a joint effort?
Choose 1-2 positive turning points in your life. They can be anything: a career move, meeting your spouse, your children, moving to a new place. Re-live the moments leading up to each event. Focus on the different details that had to take place in order for that turning point to occur for you. Write down a list of each detail that contributed to the whole situation. With each detail, try to assign a percentage of the mixture of God (coincidence), your personal choices, and the choices of others. For example, perhaps you had to miss a train to meet your spouse. Think about what happened: you overslept because of a power outage (%50 you, %50 God) and your friend refused to drive you (%100 another person), so you ran to the bus stop (100% your choice) and missed the bus anyway (70% coincidence and %30 you). A woman came up to the platform (%100 another's choice or God). She had missed the bus, too, etc).
How much of the major events in your life are a mixture of fate and free will? Does this make you feel as if your life is in your control, God's control, or is it a joint effort?
Thoughts for the Day
It's hard to imagine what God is thinking when He chooses the people He does, especially as recorded in scripture. How many times these chosen ones disappointed--yet, how many times they rose to the occasion. Ultimately, all of them recognized that they had some control over their decisions, but that God had control, as well. They recognized that surrender to God means cooperation & co-creation, not a complete loss of agency.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, You give us so much power in our lives. Yet, we can only control so much of our daily life because we live in a society of other people who are also trying to control their own lives. Do not allow the difficulties, and even pain, of living among others cause us to feel helpless or hopeless. Instead, remind us always that we are cooperating with you and learning to be saints in the mystical body of Christ. Amen.
Lectio Divina
Meditate on the following scripture verse throughout your day. Say it to yourself, both quietly and out loud, and reflect on its layers of meaning.
"The Lord said to Abram: Look about you"
"The Lord said to Abram: Look about you"
Wednesday 12/1
Reading: Genesis 32:23-33
Jacob’s New Name. 23 That night, however, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 24 After he got them and brought them across the wadi and brought over what belonged to him, 25 Jacob was left there alone. Then a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. 26 When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that Jacob’s socket was dislocated as he wrestled with him. 27 The man then said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.” 28 “What is your name?” the man asked. He answered, “Jacob.” 29 Then the man said, “You shall no longer be named Jacob, but Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed.” 30 Jacob then asked him, “Please tell me your name.” He answered, “Why do you ask for my name?” With that, he blessed him. 31 Jacob named the place Peniel, “because I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.”
32 At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip. 33 That is why, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket, because he had struck Jacob’s hip socket at the sciatic muscle.
32 At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip. 33 That is why, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket, because he had struck Jacob’s hip socket at the sciatic muscle.
Meditation
Imagine you awaken in the middle of the night to see a strange man standing in your yard. Something about the man seems strange, disturbing you to the core. Your wife and many children are asleep inside. So you rush the stranger, who wrestles with you as if to get through you. Hours go by as you try to stop this man from moving on towards your family. He does not relent, but neither do you, finding renewed energy every time you are ready to give up. Just as you begin to gain the upper hand in this fight, the man hits your hip with tremendous force. The pain rushes up from your heel to your shoulder. It is a searing pain like none you have ever felt before. How did he do that?
Still, though you are in pain and now lame, unable to put weight on one leg, you continue to wrestle the man, preventing him from moving toward your tent where your family rests.
As you hold the man down, tears stinging your eyes from pain, he motions toward the sky, which is growing lighter, and tells you to let him go. Something about daybreak has him wishing to give up. You refuse to let go. Something inside of you not only wants to hold the man down, but wants you to make peace with him. Your emotions make no sense. You don't understand this desire to reconcile with this person. Why do you want a truce? Why wouldn't you seek to completely overcome him? Is this real or is it some dream?
As you continue to hold him in place and demand his blessing, a promise of peace, the man seems bemused. He asks you name with respect. You release your hold and tell him your name firmly, without fear but with those same strange feelings inside of you. The man stands, a wry smile on his strange face. He renames you. You are now Israel, for you have wrestled with God and humanity and have prevailed.
A cold dread washes through you. Who was this person? An angel? A god? It couldn't possibly be THE God, the God of your grandfather and father, who worked miracles for your family and rescued you all time and again? The God who made your barren wife fertile? The God who would, through your twelve children, raise up the Twelve Tribes of Israel?
Your fear and confusion turn to wonder. What is this person's name? Elohim? Is it the True God?
The man smiles mysteriously. Why would you want to know his name? He says this as if he knows why you asked. However, God is not ready to reveal his nature to you.
You move along, naming the place "Face of God", for you have seen the very face of God and lived.
Still, though you are in pain and now lame, unable to put weight on one leg, you continue to wrestle the man, preventing him from moving toward your tent where your family rests.
As you hold the man down, tears stinging your eyes from pain, he motions toward the sky, which is growing lighter, and tells you to let him go. Something about daybreak has him wishing to give up. You refuse to let go. Something inside of you not only wants to hold the man down, but wants you to make peace with him. Your emotions make no sense. You don't understand this desire to reconcile with this person. Why do you want a truce? Why wouldn't you seek to completely overcome him? Is this real or is it some dream?
As you continue to hold him in place and demand his blessing, a promise of peace, the man seems bemused. He asks you name with respect. You release your hold and tell him your name firmly, without fear but with those same strange feelings inside of you. The man stands, a wry smile on his strange face. He renames you. You are now Israel, for you have wrestled with God and humanity and have prevailed.
A cold dread washes through you. Who was this person? An angel? A god? It couldn't possibly be THE God, the God of your grandfather and father, who worked miracles for your family and rescued you all time and again? The God who made your barren wife fertile? The God who would, through your twelve children, raise up the Twelve Tribes of Israel?
Your fear and confusion turn to wonder. What is this person's name? Elohim? Is it the True God?
The man smiles mysteriously. Why would you want to know his name? He says this as if he knows why you asked. However, God is not ready to reveal his nature to you.
You move along, naming the place "Face of God", for you have seen the very face of God and lived.
Reflection
Who among us has not felt as though we are fighting against God? More importantly, who has never felt as if God were fighting against THEM?
Our lives often seem like more strife and struggle than joy and love. Yet, as Christians, we are the new Israel, the church that continues to wrestle with the deep issues of pain and suffering amid the promises of God.
Spend some time with this scripture and this meditation. First, who was the man? Did Jacob believe the man was actually God the Creator or did he mean something different?
What significance does Jacob's injury have for your understanding of the Church? For your understanding of your own life? Do you sometimes feel there are things about you that hinder your sense of God's love for you? List events, qualities, or emotions that you think may cause you to run from God or feel as if He doesn't care for you.
How would your faith life be different without those items, events, traits, or feelings? How have those traits and emotions HELPED you move through the suffering of life?
Our lives often seem like more strife and struggle than joy and love. Yet, as Christians, we are the new Israel, the church that continues to wrestle with the deep issues of pain and suffering amid the promises of God.
Spend some time with this scripture and this meditation. First, who was the man? Did Jacob believe the man was actually God the Creator or did he mean something different?
What significance does Jacob's injury have for your understanding of the Church? For your understanding of your own life? Do you sometimes feel there are things about you that hinder your sense of God's love for you? List events, qualities, or emotions that you think may cause you to run from God or feel as if He doesn't care for you.
How would your faith life be different without those items, events, traits, or feelings? How have those traits and emotions HELPED you move through the suffering of life?
Thoughts for the Day
Christians move forward boldly, but with a limp. We are hindered by our lack of understanding, but we are helped with the grace God gives us. We are hindered by our weak flesh and the demands it makes of us, but we are also given beautiful sensations that only a body can feel. We are hindered by impatience and a lack of trust in God, but we are bolstered by the promises of Revelation 21:3: 3 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people[d] and God himself will always be with them [as their God]. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” Advent is a time of wrestling: with our doubts, fears, anxieties, and distrust of God. We may never prevail against these things because we are hampered by our material existence mired in a state of original sin, but the more we wrestle, the stronger we become and the more we trust in the outcome.
Prayer
Mysterious God, creator of both light and darkness, we contend with our inability to truly know you as you deserve to be known. Give us the wisdom to love our longing for you and give us the patience to wrestle with life until we are victorious in heaven. Amen.
Lectio Divina
Meditate on the following scripture verse throughout your day. Say it to yourself, both quietly and out loud, and reflect on its layers of meaning.
"Why do you ask my name?"
"Why do you ask my name?"
THURSDAY, December 3rd
Reading: Genesis 3:1-15
1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 There the angel of the Lord[c] appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3 So Moses decided, “I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, “Here I am.” 5 God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
The Call and Commission of Moses. 7 But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down[e] to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I[f] that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. 13 “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.
15 God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.
The Call and Commission of Moses. 7 But the Lord said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down[e] to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I[f] that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. 13 “But,” said Moses to God, “if I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what do I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.
15 God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.
This is my name forever;
this is my title for all generations.
Meditation
You are working hard, taking care of your wife's family's business. Your father-in-law is a priest at a very important holy sight, so your life is surrounded by devotion and prayer. However, your past is plaguing you. You killed a man because you caught him beating on one of your people--a descendant of the three great ancestors you all share: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It has been 400 years since Jacob passed away and his 12 sons because the leaders of the hundreds of thousands of Jews. Out of fear of their numbers, Pharaoh in Egypt demanded all male children be killed. You were spared and raised in the royal palace as the brother of the new Pharaoh. You know you can never return to the country because you will be arrested and tried for murder.
With all of this turmoil still on your heart, you are walking the herd of sheep into a plateau in the plains at night. You look far off to your side and there is a light. It's too bright to be a campfire. It's the kind of sight that compels you to draw closer. You walk towards the light and its size grows. The colors are strange. It isn't the flames of a usual fire. It is far to bright, too pure.
There is some kind of plant or tree that is the source of this light. As you approach, suddenly a dark silhouette appears in front of the flames. This man came from nowhere and the holiness and power he exudes makes you certain he is an angel.
As you draw nearer, a booming voice comes from the light, calling your name. You stutter your response: "I'm here."
The voice tells you it is God and that you must stop moving toward it. It tells you to remove your shoes because you have already trespassed on God's space. You immediately cover your face from the light, terrified.
God tells the last thing you want to hear: you have to go back to the country you have fled. You must go to the people you tried to defend and rescue them from the man you knew as a brother--a man so powerful, the people must worship him as a god. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt.
You don't want to question God, but you also think this has to be a mistake. You're a wanted criminal.
God, however, has chosen you and explains that He, too, is distressed over the plight of the Israelites. What drove you to murder one man has caused God to choose one man as a savior.
However, while you, too, are an Israelite, you were raised Egyptian royalty. The Israelites will not trust you and the Egyptians will not listen to you. How can you perform such a mission?
God explains He will perform the mission and He will confirm to the people that you are His chosen. God will perform miracles to attest to your anointing as shepherd of Israel.
You realize that telling the Israelites that their personal, national God has sent you may not be enough. There are many gods in Egypt and all around you. No nation has just one god as the Israelites do. What if they ask for a name to call upon, pray to, worship? Should you continue to identify this god by His relationship to your ancestors?
That is when a momentous event occurs. The God over all gods and creator of all things reveals His very nature to you, His intimate, inexpressable, and holy existence. "I AM".
This God is eternal. There is no beginning or end. You cannot trace the Lord to His beginning with a people's worship, like other gods. He is existence itself. The very thought is stunning to you. Your national god is THE God. And THE God is sending you to perform an impossible task: rescue half a million people from the most powerful military power on the planet.
It has been 400 years since Jacob passed away and his 12 sons because the leaders of the hundreds of thousands of Jews. Out of fear of their numbers, Pharaoh in Egypt demanded all male children be killed. You were spared and raised in the royal palace as the brother of the new Pharaoh. You know you can never return to the country because you will be arrested and tried for murder.
With all of this turmoil still on your heart, you are walking the herd of sheep into a plateau in the plains at night. You look far off to your side and there is a light. It's too bright to be a campfire. It's the kind of sight that compels you to draw closer. You walk towards the light and its size grows. The colors are strange. It isn't the flames of a usual fire. It is far to bright, too pure.
There is some kind of plant or tree that is the source of this light. As you approach, suddenly a dark silhouette appears in front of the flames. This man came from nowhere and the holiness and power he exudes makes you certain he is an angel.
As you draw nearer, a booming voice comes from the light, calling your name. You stutter your response: "I'm here."
The voice tells you it is God and that you must stop moving toward it. It tells you to remove your shoes because you have already trespassed on God's space. You immediately cover your face from the light, terrified.
God tells the last thing you want to hear: you have to go back to the country you have fled. You must go to the people you tried to defend and rescue them from the man you knew as a brother--a man so powerful, the people must worship him as a god. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt.
You don't want to question God, but you also think this has to be a mistake. You're a wanted criminal.
God, however, has chosen you and explains that He, too, is distressed over the plight of the Israelites. What drove you to murder one man has caused God to choose one man as a savior.
However, while you, too, are an Israelite, you were raised Egyptian royalty. The Israelites will not trust you and the Egyptians will not listen to you. How can you perform such a mission?
God explains He will perform the mission and He will confirm to the people that you are His chosen. God will perform miracles to attest to your anointing as shepherd of Israel.
You realize that telling the Israelites that their personal, national God has sent you may not be enough. There are many gods in Egypt and all around you. No nation has just one god as the Israelites do. What if they ask for a name to call upon, pray to, worship? Should you continue to identify this god by His relationship to your ancestors?
That is when a momentous event occurs. The God over all gods and creator of all things reveals His very nature to you, His intimate, inexpressable, and holy existence. "I AM".
This God is eternal. There is no beginning or end. You cannot trace the Lord to His beginning with a people's worship, like other gods. He is existence itself. The very thought is stunning to you. Your national god is THE God. And THE God is sending you to perform an impossible task: rescue half a million people from the most powerful military power on the planet.
Reflections
Has God every revealed something to you that seemed impossible?
Many people believe that God has never spoken to them at all. However, God doesn't always talk to us through an angel or a burning light from heaven. God most often speaks to us in a still, small whisper. We get an "intuition", a feeling, that we should act in a certain way. We suddenly have an impulse to call a friend only to learn they have had an accident. We feel like we must turn to left when we were planning to go right. We miss the gas pedal in our car only to then avoid an accident by 2 seconds.
Think of one or two times when you felt compelled to do something out of character for you or something that had nothing to do with your plans. Put yourself back in that place and try to remember the feeling of that "push" to act. Did you hear something or was it simply a strong feeling? What might have prevented you from acting on this feeling? Did you decide not to act? Would things have turned out differently?
Many people believe that God has never spoken to them at all. However, God doesn't always talk to us through an angel or a burning light from heaven. God most often speaks to us in a still, small whisper. We get an "intuition", a feeling, that we should act in a certain way. We suddenly have an impulse to call a friend only to learn they have had an accident. We feel like we must turn to left when we were planning to go right. We miss the gas pedal in our car only to then avoid an accident by 2 seconds.
Think of one or two times when you felt compelled to do something out of character for you or something that had nothing to do with your plans. Put yourself back in that place and try to remember the feeling of that "push" to act. Did you hear something or was it simply a strong feeling? What might have prevented you from acting on this feeling? Did you decide not to act? Would things have turned out differently?
Thoughts of the Day
When Moses was called by God, a murderer became a rescuer. A criminal became a legendary spiritual leader whose life still resonates today. What God asked Moses to do required complete trust. Had God not been with Moses to perform various miracles and send various signs, Moses would have been arrested, tried, and executed. We, too, are asked to do difficult things daily, but on a smaller scale. We are asked to love people we do not like. We are asked to give generously when we do not receive back. We are asked to give of our time freely when all we get in return are further demands for our time. These demands Jesus has placed on us are as painful to us as Moses' call to face his past and rescue an entire nation of people. Silent, unseen acts of courage--of selfless giving--are as visible and important to God's plan as grandiose actions. We must never lose sight of the fact that buying a meal for a homeless woman may begin a chain of events that, one day, changes the world.
Prayer
Dearest Lord, you call to us from the light and ask us to face the darkness. However, you never ask us to do this alone. Help us to remember that you are always with us, guiding us and calling us to deepen our trust and dependence upon you. May we always desire to do your will. Or, at the very least, may we always desire to desire to do your will. Through Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
Lectio Divina
Meditate on the following scripture verse throughout your day. Say it to yourself, both quietly and out loud, and reflect on its layers of meaning.
"Tell them I AM sent you."
"Tell them I AM sent you."
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4th
10 Now Pharaoh was near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians had set out after them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 To Moses they said, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses answered the people, “Do not fear! Stand your ground and see the victory the Lord will win for you today. For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. 17 But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
19 The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, 20 so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, 22 so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.
23 The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. 24 But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; 25 and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
15 Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. 16 And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. 17 But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
19 The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, 20 so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long. 21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, 22 so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.
23 The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. 24 But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; 25 and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Meditation
It made no sense. For the past 10 days, you have seen plagues moving through Egypt. Word has spread to all of the homes of the Jewish people that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has come to free you. At first, you laughed. You knew the history of your tribe in this land. Israel, your ancestor, Isaac, his father, and Abraham, Isaac's father, had all worshiped a God named Elohim or Adonai. He was supposed to be the God above all gods. Joseph, the twelfth and youngest son of Israel, had moved his 11 brothers during a famine. When the original 13 Israelites, Jacob and his sons and their families, had first moved to Egypt, Joseph had been second in power only to Pharaoh. However, it was at least 10 generations later and this Pharaoh and his predecessor were careful to keep the Israelites oppressed because there were more of you in the land of Egypt than Egyptians.
You had never seen the power of this Lord your people spoke of. All you knew were really stories, old men's tales of a future nation, a future land. It was nonsense--fairy tales to make life seem easier, to give slaves hope. However, the past 10 days have excited old men and women while they have confounded and terrified the young. What in the world was going on?! Moishe, the Jew raised in Pharaoh's court, the hope that some of your yoke would be eased, had run away a coward. However, here he was, boldly facing Pharaoh and his court. The eunuchs in the court had told the stable hands and maids who had told their families and the tales of what was happening had spread. People spoke excitedly around their fires at night: Was this it? Was this the deliverance the religious prayed for and the cynical scoffed at?
Then, yesterday afternoon, a large group had gone through the tents and clay huts, banging on doors. "Get a lamb, quickly! One without a blemish. Cook it with certain herbs and eat it. Then, take the blood of its body, which you drained before consuming it, and paint your doorposts with it. The Lord was marching through the entire land of Egypt. He was going to do something that would terrify the Egyptians. You had no idea what they meant, but after the blood rains and the locusts and the boils, you were not taking chances. You weren't a superstitious person, but there was no reason not to have a nice lamb dinner. And, really, what harm was there in putting blood on the doorposts if everyone else was doing it.
The rumors of what the Lord would do were disturbing. It was probably going to be another inconvenient plague.
You do as you were told and you go to bed with your spouse and children.
Very early the next morning, you hear noise. Screaming outside the camp of the Israelites. Fights. Horns being blown. Officers marching. After the past week, what new hell was this?
Then someone runs through the narrow space between your tent and your neighbors'. The first son of every Egyptian mother was dead, including Pharaoh's sons.
The news does not sink in properly. Wait, what? You hear the chatter among your neighbors and realize what was said to you. Frantic, you rush into your entry way and violently shake your children awake, scaring them. However, their cries are such a sweet relief. They are fine. The Lamb, you think. Then someone rattles the bell at your tent entry way. You call to them and they stick their head in.
"Pharaoh has demanded we leave. We have until sundown. We leave at dusk. Pack only what you can carry. Hurry!"
Now, you have walked along with half a million other people, joyous and perhaps still in shocked. You have marched through the night with two pillars that begin on the ground and go up into the sky farther than your eyes can see. Each lights the entire train of people walking. You are near the middle of the long train. Then you hear shouting. First, it is a dozen voices. Then it grows in volume and number. Screams pierce the air and swell and swirl.
The Egyptians. They are coming....fast.
You turn your head for a moment and, for a fraction of a second, you see the torches that are mounted on both sides of each of Egypt's chariots. They span the entire horizon.
Pharaoh hasn't sent a few chariots after you. He has sent all of them. His entire army is cresting over the hills behind you.
That's when someone hits you. You're knocked to the sand. Two more knees hit your head. An arm reaches down and pulls you up. You spin, grabbing your two children and you and your spouse begin to run, as well. The Red Sea is now your doom.
That's when the pillars move. They go past each side of the swell of people on the shore and stand between the end of the line and the army fast approaching. You try to see above the heads of the people in front of you. Perhaps you can let your children run off? Rescue them, at least?
But there is no way they could hide. Dawn is breaking.
That's when the wind hits you. It is coming from directly above you at first, then it whooshes just above your head, like a stream. If you raise your hand above your head, your fingers enter into the fierce wind. As you look up at the sound of the wind, a massive noise from in front of you. It sounds like a series of boulders are being dropped into water. The noise builds and the ground shivers and fear moves through your blood like frozen ice, threatening to tear your heart apart. The wall of people in front of you goes silent. Screams have dissipated. Only the splashing noises and horns of the Egyptians echo in the night. The all of people in front of you begins to shuffle forward. They, too, are quiet and confused. As you move behind them, herding your family ahead of you, you hear gasp after gasp, oath after oath. People are craning their necks upward.
You look down when you hear a squishing sound and feel wet on your feet. You don't know why, but you half expect to see blood on your toes and sandals. Instead, you see only wet beach sand. Then a small minnow, thrashing. Now you snap your head up as the realization of what is happening dawns on you.
There, almost as high as the two columns, you see the darkened silhouette of water. Every now and then, a fish jumps from the wall and flaps onto the sand. People walking as if in a dream numbly pick the fish up and toss them toward the wall. The fish enter, then disappear. Your toddler reaches her hand toward the water and he rush to prevent her, but her hand goes in and comes out wet. Still, no water falls to the ground. You look at your spouse, who looks at you dumbly. That's when your confusion and fear turn to utter awe.
You look straight up to the heavens, the stars above you in the desert sky, now disappearing into the grey dawn.
"It's all real," you whisper. "Elohim is real."
You had never seen the power of this Lord your people spoke of. All you knew were really stories, old men's tales of a future nation, a future land. It was nonsense--fairy tales to make life seem easier, to give slaves hope. However, the past 10 days have excited old men and women while they have confounded and terrified the young. What in the world was going on?! Moishe, the Jew raised in Pharaoh's court, the hope that some of your yoke would be eased, had run away a coward. However, here he was, boldly facing Pharaoh and his court. The eunuchs in the court had told the stable hands and maids who had told their families and the tales of what was happening had spread. People spoke excitedly around their fires at night: Was this it? Was this the deliverance the religious prayed for and the cynical scoffed at?
Then, yesterday afternoon, a large group had gone through the tents and clay huts, banging on doors. "Get a lamb, quickly! One without a blemish. Cook it with certain herbs and eat it. Then, take the blood of its body, which you drained before consuming it, and paint your doorposts with it. The Lord was marching through the entire land of Egypt. He was going to do something that would terrify the Egyptians. You had no idea what they meant, but after the blood rains and the locusts and the boils, you were not taking chances. You weren't a superstitious person, but there was no reason not to have a nice lamb dinner. And, really, what harm was there in putting blood on the doorposts if everyone else was doing it.
The rumors of what the Lord would do were disturbing. It was probably going to be another inconvenient plague.
You do as you were told and you go to bed with your spouse and children.
Very early the next morning, you hear noise. Screaming outside the camp of the Israelites. Fights. Horns being blown. Officers marching. After the past week, what new hell was this?
Then someone runs through the narrow space between your tent and your neighbors'. The first son of every Egyptian mother was dead, including Pharaoh's sons.
The news does not sink in properly. Wait, what? You hear the chatter among your neighbors and realize what was said to you. Frantic, you rush into your entry way and violently shake your children awake, scaring them. However, their cries are such a sweet relief. They are fine. The Lamb, you think. Then someone rattles the bell at your tent entry way. You call to them and they stick their head in.
"Pharaoh has demanded we leave. We have until sundown. We leave at dusk. Pack only what you can carry. Hurry!"
Now, you have walked along with half a million other people, joyous and perhaps still in shocked. You have marched through the night with two pillars that begin on the ground and go up into the sky farther than your eyes can see. Each lights the entire train of people walking. You are near the middle of the long train. Then you hear shouting. First, it is a dozen voices. Then it grows in volume and number. Screams pierce the air and swell and swirl.
The Egyptians. They are coming....fast.
You turn your head for a moment and, for a fraction of a second, you see the torches that are mounted on both sides of each of Egypt's chariots. They span the entire horizon.
Pharaoh hasn't sent a few chariots after you. He has sent all of them. His entire army is cresting over the hills behind you.
That's when someone hits you. You're knocked to the sand. Two more knees hit your head. An arm reaches down and pulls you up. You spin, grabbing your two children and you and your spouse begin to run, as well. The Red Sea is now your doom.
That's when the pillars move. They go past each side of the swell of people on the shore and stand between the end of the line and the army fast approaching. You try to see above the heads of the people in front of you. Perhaps you can let your children run off? Rescue them, at least?
But there is no way they could hide. Dawn is breaking.
That's when the wind hits you. It is coming from directly above you at first, then it whooshes just above your head, like a stream. If you raise your hand above your head, your fingers enter into the fierce wind. As you look up at the sound of the wind, a massive noise from in front of you. It sounds like a series of boulders are being dropped into water. The noise builds and the ground shivers and fear moves through your blood like frozen ice, threatening to tear your heart apart. The wall of people in front of you goes silent. Screams have dissipated. Only the splashing noises and horns of the Egyptians echo in the night. The all of people in front of you begins to shuffle forward. They, too, are quiet and confused. As you move behind them, herding your family ahead of you, you hear gasp after gasp, oath after oath. People are craning their necks upward.
You look down when you hear a squishing sound and feel wet on your feet. You don't know why, but you half expect to see blood on your toes and sandals. Instead, you see only wet beach sand. Then a small minnow, thrashing. Now you snap your head up as the realization of what is happening dawns on you.
There, almost as high as the two columns, you see the darkened silhouette of water. Every now and then, a fish jumps from the wall and flaps onto the sand. People walking as if in a dream numbly pick the fish up and toss them toward the wall. The fish enter, then disappear. Your toddler reaches her hand toward the water and he rush to prevent her, but her hand goes in and comes out wet. Still, no water falls to the ground. You look at your spouse, who looks at you dumbly. That's when your confusion and fear turn to utter awe.
You look straight up to the heavens, the stars above you in the desert sky, now disappearing into the grey dawn.
"It's all real," you whisper. "Elohim is real."
Reflection
Think back through your life as a believer. Choose a moment when you seemed sure that God was not real or, if real, then not concerned with your life. Choose a different moment when you were overwhelmed with certainty that God was real and very concerned with your life.
Look at each moment as if they were snapshot and write down as much as you can remember about those moments. What had happened right before? Right after? During? Think about your interior life at each time. Were you more or less aware of spirituality at each time? Were you feeling vulnerable? On guard? Had you recently been betrayed or praised?
Try to pain a complete picture of each moment as objectively as possible. Now compare. What was most similar about each moment, both inside of you and around you? What was most dissimilar about each moment? What do you see that might have affected your sense of God at those two different moments?
Look at each moment as if they were snapshot and write down as much as you can remember about those moments. What had happened right before? Right after? During? Think about your interior life at each time. Were you more or less aware of spirituality at each time? Were you feeling vulnerable? On guard? Had you recently been betrayed or praised?
Try to pain a complete picture of each moment as objectively as possible. Now compare. What was most similar about each moment, both inside of you and around you? What was most dissimilar about each moment? What do you see that might have affected your sense of God at those two different moments?
Thoughts for the Day
It is very easy for our faith to seem like distant stories told to make life easier. In fact, even Christian scholars declare publicly that this is all the Bible is: unreliable accounts, short on facts and long on commentary. While such statements can make our longing for God more poignant, they can also cause confusion and dispair. As we walk through the desert toward the Incarnation, we need to reflect on those qualities in our own lives and in the world around us that help our spirituality and detract from it. Some of these things we cannot control. Still, whatever control we have over what helps and hinders our faith is powerful. We must be both open-minded and kind to ourselves. It can be a difficult balance to be a believer in a time of disbelief. However, if we always remember that God exists, God is, regardless of what anyone else believes, it can comfort us. When humanity says, "I don't believe in God," God responds, "I don't need your permission to exist. And, silly as it seems to you, I still believe in you."
Prayer
Lord, as human beings, we sometimes feel far away from you. We feel as if you've left and haven't returned. Help us to always remember that you are with us even when we are not with you. Even through our suffering, remind us that you have not caused our suffering nor abandoned us to face it alone. Amen.
Lectio Divina
Meditate on the following scripture verse throughout your day. Say it to yourself, both quietly and out loud, and reflect on its layers of meaning.
"The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
"The Lord will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”