The Season of Advent is one of the highlights of the Christian Year. With this season, we launch another cycle of living into the story of Jesus and the church that emerges—of which we are a part. We sometimes think we need to find a new way of telling this story and do something fresh and unique. There is certainly space for that, but tradition and remembering the songs and stories from our beginnings can be a powerful invitation to grow as disciples as we grow closer to Christ. So, we invite your church community to consider the Preparations and the Passion of Advent so that we might embrace the Presence and Promise of the Christ who comes. And through it all, we will gather to worship. So, come, let us adore him.
Preparations
When I was growing up, the cartoons I watched taught me that dynamite and quicksand were going to be pretty constant concerns in adult life. You don’t want to get blown up? Know what TNT stands for, keep an eye on the fuse at all times, and don’t let any sparks near the fuse or the TNT box. Don’t want to drown in quicksand? Read the signs, watch where you’re going, and know where the large branches and/or vines are nearby. Piece of cake. Yet, in all these cartoon-based life lessons, no one warned me about laundry and dishes. They’re relentless! You eat, then you have more dirty dishes to wash. You get dressed in the morning, and by the end of the day, you have more dirty clothes to wash. It’s a never-ending cycle! And if you’re like me, it took a while to figure out how to prepare for and manage the cycle of laundry and dishes, in part because several someones—real and cartoon—taught me life was about preparing for the extraordinary while living in the drudgery of the ordinary. Learn more
Passion
If you’re reading this week’s texts and thinking, “Wait, I thought preparation was last week?” don’t worry. You’re right where you need to be. Yes, Luke and Malachi both call us to watch for and notice the ones who “prepare the way” for the coming Messiah. We may even notice in their words a call to us to be the ones who answer the call to prepare the way. But Malachi and John the Baptist (via Luke) share something else—passion. Now, passion may feel like a dangerous word in the context of worship. We may be okay with strong feelings in worship, but passion? Passion sounds like something combustible, easily out of control, and uncontainable. How do you make passion fit in a well-ordered plan of worship? Learn more
Presence
Gaudete Sunday holds a special place in many congregations with a gathering full of music, joy, and light as we get closer and closer to the darkest night of the year. Whether your choir will sing a cantata, or your children will perform a pageant, or all the music ensembles will offer special music—let the joy ring forth! Embrace the traditions in your community for this Sunday. That is part of what presence is about—being in the moment together and honoring who we are past, present, and future. Learn more
Promise
There’s a particular feeling evoked by the word almost. We’re almost on vacation. Dinner is almost done. Christmas is almost here. For me, almost brings this sense of leaning in, straining forward, holding out just a little longer. Depending on what I’m waiting for, almost can make me lean in with anxiety or hope or a mix of both. What is it about almost that makes us lean in? What’s on the other side that makes us hold out a little longer? More often than not, it’s the promise that what we’ve been waiting on will come to fruition. Learn more
Joy
Friends, we made it! Through the preparations and the passion, our presence with another as we receive God’s promise—we made it! We have arrived at Christmas, the arrival of the Light of the world who brings joy to the people living in great darkness. Do you identify with those people? On this eve of the birth of the Savior, do you feel like the people living in great darkness? Do your congregants? Learn more
Home
“I’ll be home for Christmas…” Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. Here we are on the Fifth Day of Christmas and the First Sunday of Christmastide, and you’re probably either tired of being home or loving it. Or both. The idea of home conjures immediate feelings in each of us, whether those feelings are warm and comforting or anxious and uncertain. So, the first question this Sunday raises for us is: “What kind of home do we want church to feel like?” Learn more
Dr. Lisa Hancock, Director of Worship Arts Ministries, served as an organist and music minister in United Methodist congregations in the Northwest Texas and North Texas Annual Conferences, as well as the New Day Amani/Upendo house churches in Dallas. After receiving her Master of Sacred Music and Master of Theological Studies from Perkins School of Theology, Lisa earned her PhD in Religious Studies from Southern Methodist University wherein she researched and wrote on the doctrine of Christ, disability, and atonement. Originally published by Discipleship Ministries. Republished with permission by ResourceUMC.