Posts Tagged ‘church calendar’

Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas: O Rex Gentium

December 22nd, 2008

The O Antiphons are a set of liturgical prayers prayed during evening prayers over the last few days of Advent. They are a beautiful way to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, so I’m sharing them with you each day for the next week, along with some scripture verses and my own short prayer for each day.

Read this post to learn more about the O Antiphons.

December 22nd: O Rex Gentium

“O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.”

Click here to hear this antiphon in Latin.

“For a child has been born for us, a son given us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

“He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

May the King of ALL, Christ Jesus, who alone has been given authority over all, the bearer of power and the bringer of peace, come to each of us this day.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Never Miss A Post – Receive free updates via RSS or Email

If you like this post please consider buying me a cup of tea (Suggested: $3 a cup)



Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas: O Oriens

December 21st, 2008

The O Antiphons are a set of liturgical prayers prayed during evening prayers over the last few days of Advent. They are a beautiful way to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, so I’m sharing them with you each day for the next week, along with some scripture verses and my own short prayer for each day.

Read this post to learn more about the O Antiphons.

This antiphon is particularly meaningful for me right now as the motif of light and darkness have been playing around in my head a lot this Advent. You can read some of my thoughts about this Here.

December 21st: O Oriens

“O Morning Star,
splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

Click here to hear this antiphon in Latin.

“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.” (Isaiah 9:2)

May the Morning Star, the “Life-Light”, Jesus, the light of the world, come to each of us this day and pierce our darkness.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany

EDIT: I just realized that today is the Winter Solstice and that this antiphon about light falls exactly on the shortest day of the year – so appropriate. I pray that even though this day is short and filled with physical darkness that it would be filled with spiritual light for each of you.

Photograph by Beth Stedman

Never Miss A Post – Receive free updates via RSS or Email

If you like this post please consider buying me a cup of tea (Suggested: $3 a cup)



Preparing Our Hearts for Christmas: O Clavis David

December 20th, 2008

The O Antiphons are a set of liturgical prayers prayed during evening prayers over the last few days of Advent. They are a beautiful way to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming, so I’m sharing them with you each day for the next week, along with some scripture verses and my own short prayer for each day.

Read this post to learn more about the O Antiphons.

December 20th: O Clavis David

“O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.”

Click here to hear this antiphon in Latin.

“I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open.” (Isaiah 22:22)

“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 onwards and for evermore.” (Isaiah 9:7)

May the Key of David, He who came to “proclaim freedom for the prisoners and… to release the oppressed”, come to each of us this day and bring freedom to all.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Never Miss A Post – Receive free updates via RSS or Email

If you like this post please consider buying me a cup of tea (Suggested: $3 a cup)



Can’t I just skip Advent?

December 3rd, 2008

We are now part way through the first week of Advent, and I’ve decided I don’t like Advent. Not really…but sort of. I had all my ideas for how I wanted to enter into Advent and then God decided to pull me into Advent in a whole different way…

One of the things that I had wanted to do this Advent was focus on the idea of Jesus being the light of the world and take time to anticipate His true Light coming into the world. Part of the way I envisioned doing that was by starting Advent in complete darkness and meditating and praying in darkness for a while so as to experience the need for light. Then lighting a candle and in doing so look forward to the coming of light. I wasn’t able to do that on the first day of Advent like I had hoped. I had wanted to experience the symbolism of darkness so that I could experience the symbolism of Christ as light, but instead I feel like God has taken me into real tangible darkness. I didn’t turn off all the lights and pray in darkness like I had planned, but I did take a plane back to Prague and as we drove home in complete darkness I felt the darkness of Prague and the darkness of my own life like never before. Things have felt sort of dark for a while now, or maybe more accurately I’ve felt this rumbling of darkness coming, and right before we left for Prague I started to really feel that darkness, but last night when we got back to Prague I felt darkness pressing in all around me in a way I never have before – heavy darkness, tangible darkness, spiritual and emotional darkness.

I realized today also that even though I had all these readings and stories and symbols that I wanted to draw me into Advent, Jesus chose to drew me in by taking me to a place where I feel like I have to wait, where things feel really unclear and really “icky”. But, isn’t that really the heart of Advent? Advent is about waiting, it’s a time when we enter into the experience that Israel had of waiting for a messiah. It’s a time when we realize that we also are in ways still waiting for and needing a messiah. I have known that’s what Advent is about, but lately I have really experienced that. I have really felt and experienced being stuck in ways and situations that I can’t get out of, stuck in waiting, stuck in darkness, and I deeply long for relief, for a break, for rest and redemption and restoration. I long for a messiah. I long for Christmas.

I wanted to really enter into Advent and God answered that and took me to a place where I really do long and desire and wait, even with a ting of desperation… but, now that I’m in that place, I don’t want to be. I want to skip Advent. I want to skip the waiting. I want Christmas.

Lord, help me to rest in the place that you have me, and accept it for your place for me.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Never Miss A Post – Receive free updates via RSS or Email

If you like this post please consider buying me a cup of tea (Suggested: $3 a cup)



Advent is Coming

November 1st, 2008

Today is the 1st of November and that means that Advent is just around the corner. I’ve been looking forward to this Advent ever since last Easter. And now it is almost here, just a few weeks away.

Last year I decided to learn more about the seasons of the church calendar and during each season I took some time to think and read what that season was really about. This year I want to start to reconfigure my life to fit and connect with each of the church seasons as they happen.

One of the first steps I’m taking towards that is the art exhibit I am putting together for Advent. Each of the artists will be creating art work that portrays Light in some way as a means for us to tangibly anticipate and celebrate the “light coming back.”

Under communism the Czech people weren’t suppose to celebrate Christmas. Christmas was down played, while the winter solstice was emphasized. They celebrated the fact that in December the light started to change and light started to come back into the world. But, that is also what we celebrate with Christmas and look forward to over Advent – the “Life-Light”, as Peterson calls Jesus in The Message, is coming into the world. Jesus himself says in John 8, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This year I want to enter Advent as a season of Light – remembering and anticipating at the same time that Jesus, the Life-Light, has come and is coming and will come again.

I plan on focusing and carrying this theme of light out throughout Advent. I would like to have a time of silent, dark prayer on November 30th – really engaging in and recognizing the feeling of being in complete darkness and what it means to have light come into the world. I will also be lighting an advent wreath this year and witnessing with each passing week the lighting of an additional candle and experiencing tangibly a growing light as I anticipate the celebration of Jesus birth.

These are just a few ways that I plan on entering into  the anticipation of the Life-Light, Jesus, coming into the world. These are ways that I plan on engaging in Advent. I would love to hear how you and your family are going to engage in Advent this year. Please feel free to tell me about your advent traditions (old and new) in the comments.

Rejoicing in the journey -
Bethany Stedman

Photograph by Beth Stedman

Never Miss A Post – Receive free updates via RSS or Email

If you like this post please consider buying me a cup of tea (Suggested: $3 a cup)