Advent 2017
‘The Tao’ of Advent
FOLLOWING ‘THE WAY’
Tao means The Way. It can be used to mean the “natural law”, or the WAY of right and wrong that everyone knows, more or less—not just Christians. It is basic truth that has been revealed to everybody, not just Christians. Christian theologians call it “general revelation” (see Romans 1-2).
Historically Christians believed that blind and tyrannical self-preservation, a constant pursuit of general self-happiness and a pervasive dread of self-misery is the result of people ignoring the Way (the “Tao”) basic truth and the virtues. Ignoring the basics of goodness and truth, or forgetting virtues like self-control, honesty, courage, wisdom, or respect for authority will lead to terrible events, such as Herod and the Magi, Friedrich Nietzsche and the Nazis, and our more recent examples of Rodney King and the L.A. riots.
Christians and noble pagans (Plato) also believed that living according to virtue and teaching appropriate responses to the “Tao” is basic to character formation and living as humans with integrity, whether in children, in Christians, or in anyone else, even pagans or Magi.
WHAT IS THE WAY?
The full practice of Advent is to remember and teach how one should live a life guided by, filled with, in harmony with: truth, beauty and justice. This three-ness (truth, beauty and justice) is really one whole, Tao or ‘Way’. This Way runs through all nature, including human nature.
The Tao, in nature and humans, is like a small window through which we can see God: God who is truth, God who is full of Awe or Beauty, and God who is fair and just. The liturgy of Advent teaches us “a new way of life”. We find our new way of life in Christ. This new way of life, the virtuous life, nurtures us and within the similar moral framework that holds and informs the Tao, this new life is also a re-newed life or renewing life.
WHAT IS MYTH? WHY DOES MYTH MATTER?
Advent lessons are usually taught by using story, or characters within a story. The story is supposed to ‘grab’ us with a sense of significance, and then inspires us to identify in some way with what the story or people in the story show us.
The Advent story is like the god-stories of Viking and Greek mythology. The myth-story that most connects to Christianity is a story found worldwide. This is the myth-story of a dying and rising deity; whose struggle and suffering brings good to others. This myth-story, like the Tao, is found in almost every culture. In the advent story, astonishingly, we see this myth-story become true-story or REAL-STORY because of what God has done through the Jesus event.
Advent stories, and even many pre-Christian pagan myths, can be seen as ‘good dreams’, dreams that have real significance. They inspire visions of wholeness restored through divine action. Myths can make honest hearts wish that something of this sort might actually be true in our world. More than simple wishful thinking, myths prepare us to discover that something of this sort is true, is a matter of fact, and from that we can hear more clearly the call: ‘Hark’ the Herald Angels sing.
As we listen more carefully during Advent this year, we may find that what we now know as the fact of Christ, a story set forth in the Scriptures, inspires in our imagination new myths of Gospel living, stories renewing, representing or “re-presenting” divine mercy in our world.
The Great Litany
Crying out to God this Advent
O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth,
*Have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
*Have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, holiness in the faithful,
*Have mercy upon us.
O holy, blessed, and glorious Three, one God,
*Have mercy upon us.
O Jesus, Holy and Merciful, Just and Kind, don’t remember our worst behavior, and don’t punish us according to our sins. Give us a chance, O Lord, give your people a break, because you have restored us through your most precious suffering and by your mercy, protect us forever,
*Give us a chance, O Lord!
Neighbourhood Issues, Community Problems,
Temptations and Personal Brokenness
(dealing with the proud and those who think they are in charge,
which is to say…dealing with each other and ourselves)
Lord have mercy!
In all our:
suffering
agony
sickness
broken institutions
endless bureaucracy
constant stress and pain
*Help us O Lord.
For all our:
blindness to our own faults
looking down on others
thinking we are better than others
preaching to others without living it
feeling overlooked when others are praised
anger at everyone else and wanting others to suffer
*Help us O Lord.
From all our:
lack of true love
unhealthy desires
sinful longings
lies from the television
needing to buy to feel happy
crazy ideas
prejudice
cliques
divisiveness
hardness of heart
not listening to what God is saying and wanting
*Help us O Lord.
With all our:
poverty
hunger
homelessness
unemployment
high rents
addiction
loneliness
bed bugs and cockroaches
*Help us O Lord.
Because of all our:
oppression
slum lords
evictions
violence
assaults
murder
suicide
dying too soon and unprepared
*Help us O Lord.
Through the mystery of your holy ‘Coming’, as a true and full human; by your holy birth as a frail and vulnerable part of the human community and by your showing us an example of a righteous life; by your Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation,
*Help us O Lord.
By your Agony and Bloody Sweat; by your Cross and Suffering; by your sacrificial Death and Burial; by your coming to life again and your life up in heaven; and by the Coming of your Holy Spirit,
*Help us O Lord.
In times when we are beaten down; in times when we seem to be getting somewhere; in the hour of debt and the day we get paid,
*Help us O Lord.
We loners and rebels are asking you to hear us, O Lord God; and if possible that it may bring you some small pleasure to lead and guide your holy community everywhere so that we may learn to live with each other in the right way,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to shine in mutual respect and understanding for what you have said and what you want from all our house mates, volunteers, and staff; and that in word and deed, by walking the talk, we may live honestly and openly,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to hold and love all of us,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
If possible that it may bring you some small pleasure to send us more friends and volunteers, and to make more room for everyone at our meal times,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give to our neighbourhood more willingness to listen and do the right thing, and so bring real heart-felt community from the Spirit,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to bring sanity and humility to all our misguided and crazy ideas,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give us a heart to love and respect you, and gladly to live according to what you want,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
And even though it seems impossible, that it may possibly bring you some small pleasure to get what you want from the hearts of those people who think they are in charge of everything and everyone else who is following in their footsteps, that they might treat people fairly, and really care for people, and practice leadership that is open and honest,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure that all the crooked cops, stabbings, fighting, drug dealing, gangs and turf wars would stop in every neighbourhood; to help everybody to get along, find solutions, and find ways to work things out; so that we can all live freely with each other,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure if we would really remember to do something for all convicts and criminals, the homeless and the hungry, and all who are totally broken and oppressed,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure in the give and take, sharing from all the extra stuff we have, that now and for today everyone may enjoy them,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to shine in us, through our different callings, to do the work which you give us to do, to do it with a good attitude like we are your small partners, and for everyone’s benefit,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to protect everyone who is in danger because of their type of work or while they are on the road,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to help, and support crisis centers, all women during childbirth, street kids, foster kids, single mom’s, and all whose homes are broken, without fathers or torn by strife,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure if we were to sit for a bit with the lonely in the park; to encourage everyone who suffers on the street, mentally ill, screaming when no ones around, who feel like throwing up, and are so far down they don’t even bother looking up at people anymore; and to bring them something to make them know your love and your presence, our friends and neighbours who are sick and tired from being sick and tired,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give a hand, help out, and be there, for everyone who is threatened, desperate, and struggling,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give a break to everybody,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give us true repentance; to forgive us all our sins, what we refused to do, and what we forgot to do; and to endue us with the grace of thy Holy Spirit to amend our lives according to thy holy Word,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to give another chance to people who hurt us, people out to get us, and even those who lie and say really mean things about us, and because of the second chance, they might change a little for the better,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to shout “Cheers” for people who make it; to be there and help those who aren’t making it; to give a hand to those who can’t; and finally, once and for all get rid of the big red ‘L’ on our foreheads and cast out Satan, the Big Shot Liar, who keeps putting it there.
We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to grant to all the faithful departed eternal life and peace,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
That it may bring you some small pleasure to grant that, within the fellowship of Saint Chiara and all the saints, we may join in your Wonderful Community,
*We ask you to hear us, O Lord.
Son of God, we ask you to hear us.
*Son of God, we ask you to hear us.
O Lamb of God, who takes away all the problems of the world,
*Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God, who takes away all the problems of the world,
*Have mercy upon us.
O Lamb of God, who takes away all the problems of the world,
*Grant us your peace.
O Christ, hear us.
*O Christ, hear us.
Advent Chant (taize)
Lord Jesus Christ your light shines within me
Gospel Reading
What is coming? The Mighty works of God
Blue text = Hope/anticipation
Purple text = Repentance
Luke 1:46-55
46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
- Light a Candle -
Next week…
Moses and Jesus The Exodus/Flight from Egypt (getting free from sin and oppression)
Comments