Long Way Here

The Sacrament of Christmas 

I make an act of faith toward all mankind,

    Where doubts would linger and suspicions brood. 

I make an act of joy toward all sad hearts,

    Where laughter pales and tears abound. 

I make an act of strength toward feeble things,

    Where life grows dim and death draws near. 

I make an act of trust toward all of life,

    Where fears preside and distrusts keep watch. 

I make an act of love toward friend and foe,

    Where trust is weak and hate burns bright. 

I make a deed to God of all my days—

    And look out in life with quiet eyes. 

~ From Howard Thurman’s The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations, p. 33. 

PRAYER

To you O Lord we bring our lives,
Troubled, broken or at ease,
A sacrificial offering
For you to use.
Take away our selfishness,
And teach us to love as you loved.
Take away our sense of pride,
And show us the meaning of humility.
Take away our blindness,
And show us the world through your eyes.
Take away our greed,
And teach us how to give as you gave.
Show us your ways,
Teach us your paths,
That we might walk with you more closely,
Our hand in your hand,
Our feet in your footsteps,
From the baby in a stable,
To eternity, Amen.

Source and Author Unknown

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the Children of
God.’ The followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found their peace, for he is their peace. But now they are told that they must not only have peace but make it. And to that end they renounce all violence and tumult. In the cause of Christ nothing is to be gained by such methods. His kingdom is one of peace, and the mutual greeting of his flock is a greeting of peace. His disciples keep the peace by choosing to endure suffering themselves rather than inflict it on others. They maintain fellowship where others would break it off. They renounce all self-assertion, and quietly suffer in the face of hatred and wrong. In so doing they overcome evil with good, and establish the peace of God in the midst of a world of war and hate. But nowhere will that peace be more manifest than where they meet the wicked in peace and are ready to suffer at their hands. The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord, for it was on the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in Christ’s work of reconciliation, they are called the sons of God as he is the Son of God.”

~ from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, p. 126.

PRAYER

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.”
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.
Amen.

~ St. Francis of Assisi, “Christ Our Life.” Peace Prayer of Saint Francis,
http://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/prayer/traditional-catholic-
prayers/saints-prayers/peace-prayer-of-saint-francis.

7 The voice of the Lord flashes flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the woodlands bare.
In his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned, King forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 29:7-11

If we are honest, the Lord’s voice is competing with other voices in our lives. The voices of success, of getting, of blaming, of labelling, of trying to look better than we really are. It is the negative voices that are always the loudest. From the political places of power in Washington D.C., to the quiet streets of our neighborhood, we hear the voices echoing in our minds and hearts. We hear the voices shouting at us that tell us we are not good enough, not rich enough, not important enough, not influential enough. It is the language of not-enough—the language of scarcity and begins with how we see ourselves, but doesn’t stop there. It extends to how we see our neighbors.

These are the voices that shout out labels and lies given to us in the language of deceit and division. It is the language of confusion and chaos, of anxiety and fear, of false freedoms and false prophets, of injustice and ignorance, of pride and arrogance. It is the voice of the land of broken promises and it has a way of drowning out the voice of the Lord. Yet, there is beauty in our land of broken promises because the Lord’s voice is still heard. If the Lord is still heard, then the Lord is still near.

We know that the Lord’s voice is heard in the hymn of praise and the heart of prayer. We know that the Lord’s voice is heard in the guidance of the Holy Spirit within us and discernment of the Spirit’s voice in the community of God’s people. We know that the Lord’s voice is heard in the reading, meditation, and study of the sacred Scriptures and guidance by the Holy Spirit in the community of God’s people. We know the Lord’s voice in these ways. But do we know that the Lord’s voice is heard in the beauty of creation, in the changing of the leaves or the bird that sings? Do we know that the Lord’s voice is heard in the giving and receiving of words that encourage us and others, like telling those working the front lines of COVID “thank you”? Do we know that the Lord’s voice is heard in an act of kindness and compassion extended to a neighbor in need, like in the giving and receiving of a box of food? Do we know that the Lord’s voice is heard when the marginalized have voices that are no longer muted, the hurting and suffering of our neighbors is seen, and those who are weary are welcomed into our presence so they can find rest?

The Psalmist reminds us in this hymn of praise that the Lord still speaks, and when the Lord speaks it has the strength to cancel all others voices that tell us peace is not possible.

In this season of Advent we remember that it was the Lord’s voice coming to us in the cry of the Christ child that fulfilled the promises God made to God’s people, like the psalmist, and made to us new promises God intends to keep.

The peace of God is possible because the promises of God are faithful. 

PRAYER

Holy Lord who still speaks, thank you for speaking to us. Thank you for your gentle whisper and when needed, your powerful shout. Open my ears that I may hear your voice. Open my eyes that I may follow where your voice leads. Yes Lord, may my eyes be your eyes, my ears be your ears, my mind be your mind, my mouth be your mouth, and my hands and feet be yours. In the name of the Christ who is our King, Amen.

“Our spiritual life depends on his perpetual coming to us, far more than on our going to him. Every time a channel is made for him he comes; every time our hearts are open to him he enters, bringing a fresh gift of his very life, and on that life we depend. We should think of the whole power and splendor of God as always pressing in upon our small souls. ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’ But that power and splendor mostly reach us in homely and inconspicuous ways; in the sacraments, and in our prayers, joys and sorrows and in all opportunities of loving service. This means that one of the most important things in our prayer is the eagerness and confidence with which we throw ourselves open to His perpetual coming. There should always be more waiting than striving in the Christian’s prayer–an absolute dependance on the self-giving love of God.”

~ from Evelyn Underhill’s Advent with Evelyn Underhill written with Christopher Webber, p. 2-3.

PRAYER

God of all grace, Lord of self-giving love, O’ Spirit of God who is always present, bless us and keep us. Cause God’s face to shine upon us from this day on and forevermore. Teach us stillness when we must be still. Teach us to rest when we must rest. Teach us to wait when we must wait. And as we learn to be still, to rest, and to wait, give us the strength to carry on with our days trusting that wherever we go You are with us. In the name of Jesus the Lord, amen.

“Keep your eyes on the prince of peace, the one who doesn’t cling to his divine power; the one who refuses to turn stones into bread, jump from great heights, and rule with great power…’ the one who touches the lame, the crippled, and the blind, the one who speaks words of forgiveness and encouragement…Keep your eyes on him who becomes poor with the poor, weak with the weak. He is the source of all peace.

Where is this peace to be found? The answer is clear. In weakness. First of all, in our own weakness, in those places of our hearts where we feel most broken, most insecure, most in agony, most afraid. Why there? Because there our familiar ways of controlling our world are being stripped away; there we are called to let go from doing much, thinking much, and relying on our self-sufficiency. Right there where we are weakest the peace which is not of this world is hidden.” 

~ From Henri Nouwen’s Adam’s Story: The Peace That Is Not Of This World

PRAYER (by Henri Nouwen)

Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, 
send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say,
 ‘Come Lord Jesus!’ 

Amen.