Category: Christmas

Advent Day 6 Sitting in the Dark of Advent

Dr. Wil Gaffney “I have come to appreciate Advent so much more without the light/dark binary. Rather, I see darkness as the generative space in which the light is conceived and form which it is born. Both holy, both life-giving.”

Out of the Deep
the dark
the womb
…….

Out of the Silence
the non-speaking
the I-don’t know what to say

I have so many things to say
but I know nothing will fix this
………………
………………
………………

When I sit in the Dark…..
………………
………………

When I have no words….
………………
………………

When I cannot generate anything else…
………………
………………

(the Nothingness)

………………

………………

I remember…

Jesus came from this

Light,
Word,
Hope

Created from the Holy Rest,
Sabbath

………………

………………
In the midst of like circumstances
………………

………………

This is how God Conceives
a Savior for us

Holy
able to sit
in the dark
silence
nothingness
war….chaos….loneliness

And be unproductive

With us…..

holy, holy, holy
Amen

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Dr. Wil Gaffney and Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Day 5 Advent Alternative: We 3 Kings

We Magi from Eastern Lands are
Following Heaven’s wisdom Afar
Valley, Fountain, Desert, Mountain
Following Yonder Star

O Star of Wonder, Star of Night
Star with Humble, Beauty Bright
Westward leading, Still Proceeding
Guide us to thy Perfect Light

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold, a crown for kin-dom come
King forever, ceasing never
Humbly born of grace

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense Trin’ty, Deity nigh
Prayer and Praising
We are raising
Worship them, God most high

Myrrh is mine
It’s bitter perfume breathes
A Life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in a stone cold tomb

Glorious, now, behold Him arise
King and God, Sav’r on High (Sacrifice)*
Alleluia, Alleluia
Heaven to earth replies

Feel free to use/share/adapt with Credit to Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”

Explanations for some changes: 1. We don’t know how many “kings” there were, and if they were kings. 2. Orient is an out of date and racially charged term lumping a lot of groups together in an uneducated way. 3. Moor carries with it radicalized meanings and Valley/desert/mountain are straight out of scripture 4. I emphasized a little more of Jesus’s humble status 5. Men is changed to more inclusive language 6. God’s Trinity status and Jesus’s status in the Trinity is emphasized

*I am not sure how I feel about this line and substitutionary atonement theory. I waver, and I am definitely behind Jesus as Savior. On the other hand, we do not always have to be comfortable with everything, so I have offered two options.



Advent Day 4: Prepare ye…

Ah God
Lord Almighty
Creator of all things

I love the art of an unspecified pronoun
When it is said
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord
the implication is perhaps us

But, maybe not–maybe it is you who is preparing
Or maybe it is a Ye/We kind of thing
A royal you, an authorial you
One where the narrator says Ye–but means everyone

Because you know, I know. God
Not how to straighten paths, knock down mountain
or exalt any mountains
And though accessibility is totally my thing
literally, physically and spiritually
(Prepare Ye, can you hear the echo in your soul?)

I have a feeling the Kin-dom will
change the landscapes in ways I’ve not yet dreamed

All I know God is that I am not prepared
We think preparations are one thing
(money, power, war)
And from the way you entered the world
and the way I feel the echoes of Preparation in my heart..

You are the one who is going to have to lay the groundwork
Prepare Ye
the way
of the
Lord

Love in the Rubble

Jesus Christ,
I think it’s much easier to picture you
in a stable, cozy among the hay–
Then in the cave that they showed me
in Palestine, where all the animals are stabled.

I remember, when I toured Bethlehem
among the Christians
hearing talk of building permits
and dirt roads
the lack of permits
and that a lot of the fighting
was really about water access
“Is it like Syria?” I asked?

Aware, that
Syria was
is turning into a desert
before our eyes

“Exactly” they answered
Like a deer thirsts
for water
So our soul longs for God
“But I never hear that people are fighting
over water?” I wondered

Christmas Day
Eastern Orthodox
Christmas
we went to the tomb
of Jesus
Where seven (the holy number)
crowded in

Each with clear
ropes
labels
and signs claiming
this piece of the Savior
is mine.

“Merry Christmas!”
Our Eastern Orthodox Brethren Proclaimed
“Here touch the head of the tomb,
Normally, it is not allowed,
But today is a merry day”

I do not know, if I wanted
To feel so closely
the desperation
Of occupied
wartorn Gaza
must have
felt like
at your birth Jesus

But when I visited
Lo those 13 years ago

I remember–too
The hope of
Love among the
rubble.

Jesus in a Nativity scene among rocks and rubble in Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem this year

The joy of “Merry Christmas”
amongst many faith
The sharing of a meal
with Muslims, Christians, Jews and Druze

Love among the rubble
As real as a Savior
born in a cave–
as real as a glimpse of peace,
in war.
As real as hope,
in a capitalistic, political scape.
As real as joy,
in the midst of weariness.

As real as faith,
in the midst of doubt.

As real as Christmas,
in the midst of the Advent of Life.

That’s my God
the one who shows up in the rubble of life.
Amen, Alleluia, Amen.

Jesus in. Nativity scene among rocks and rubble in Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem this year. Photos originate from the Church here

Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Katy Stenta “Katyandtheword”

Advent Candles RCL Year B

Week 1

Mark 13:24-37
Isaiah 64:1-9
Psalm 80
1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Hope
Our Hope lies in the Lord
The waiting seems long, but we wait together
God you shape us into your people
Prepare our hearts for Hope
Uncover hope, Holy Spirit
Stir the Hope in us Today

Hymn Suggestions: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, Taize: Wait for the Lord (Taize could be done throughout the candle lighting liturgy)

Week 2:

Mark 1:1-8
Isaiah 40:1-11
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
2 Peter 3:8-15a

Love
We are preparing for the Love of the Lord
We are all baptized with the same water
God speaks tender words of love to us
Comfort, Comfort my people. The way will be made clear
Every mountain and hill be low, and even ground shall be made even, when all is eased and leveled, then the glory of God shall be revealed in love.
Uncover the love of God in us Today.

Hymn Suggestions: Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Taize: Prepare the Way of the Lord, There is One Lord (Taize could be done throughout the candle lighting liturgy)

Week 3

John 1:6-8, 19-28
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11
Psalm 126
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

Joy
Let us shout with Joy about the coming of the Lord
Our God is the God of restoration
God promises to turn tears into joy, protect the weak, and overturn the structures of injustice
Preparing for Jesus, means preparing for power structures to be turned upside-down
Mary shouted with joy in the Magnificat, that true justice will come
Let joy unfold from God in us today.

Hymn Suggestions: Taize: in the Lord I’ll be ever Thankful, (Taize could be done throughout the candle lighting liturgy)

Week 4
Luke 2:1-14 [15-20]
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14

Peace
Let us come together, for God is calling us towards peace
God promises us that Jesus will be named Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace
And even angels will sing of God’s peace
Let the Glory of Peace spill out Today.

Hymn Suggestions: Away in a Manger, Taize: Song of Simeon, Laudates Omnes Gentes (Peace on all the Earth)

For more ideas check out Advent Resources page

Jesus Christmas Eve

Christ won’t be in Church
This Christmas
He is too busy
To go to Washington

He never had $7 to spare
Anyway

You’ll catch him
Catching rainwater
For those trapped in Gaza

Healing the sick flocks to feed up Pakistan

He won’t be singing hymns

Except maybe in respite in Syria, Cambodia, Sudan;

Tucked into the corner of a charity school in the Philippines

Cradling people
Under his wings

He’ll be lying on the floor of echoing, ancient churches of Armenia—unconcerned by their unadorned emptiness

He is in the shadows of the room
Where one sits weeping, in grief

I know where Jesus will be
In
the food pantries
After
The
Holidays

Bare

You know…

Jesus never did
like crowds

anyway

Feel Free to Use/Share/Adapt with Credit to Katy Stenta Katyandtheword)

Support my Work https://gofund.me/554d36e3

Advent Candles Narrative Lectionary Year 2

Promise of the Messiah
Hope
Jeremiah 33:[10-11], 14-18
Mark 8:27-29

Jesus there is hope in every promise of peace
Holy Spirit there is hope in every act of love
God there is hope in every shout of joy
Here, we light this candle, reaching for hope
We hear the promise, and reach for it, even when we cannot believe it
Plant the seeds of Jesse, to grow here today, we pray.

Taize Option (always fun to sing during the whole candle liturgy)

Hymn Options: O Come, O Come Emmanuel or Rewritten Version, Taize : Nada the turbo, Wait for the Lord

Isaiah of the Exile
Love
Isaiah 40:1-11
Mark 1:1-4

Jesus, you clear to way for love
Holy Spirit, you make the path, even when the way seems rocky
I lift mine eyes to the hills, from where my help comes, my help comes from the Lord my God, who loves me as God’s own Beloved.
We hear the promise, and reach for it, even when we cannot believe it.
Come, let us Prepare the way of the Lord
Come, let us light the path together, with love.

Taize Option (always fun to sing during the whole candle liturgy)

Hymns: Magnify the Lord (to the Tune of O Come All Ye Faithful), It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (an Advent Song In My Opinion), Taize Option: Bless the Lord or Magnificat

Rebuilding the Temple
Joy
Ezra 1:1-4; 3:1-4, 10:13
Luke 2:25-32

Jesus, you will rebuild the world into your kindom
Holy Spirit, the waiting is hard
God cradle us in your arms, for we feel like we are not yet ready for the joy of Christmas.
We hear the promise, and reach for it, even when we cannot believe it.
God we long for your child of promise
We light the way, awaiting your joy to the world.

Taize Option (always fun to sing during the whole candle liturgy)

Hymn Options : God the Weaver (to the Tune of Away in the the Manger), Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Zechariah’s Song
Peace
Luke 1:5-13 [14-25], 57-80
Psalm 113

Jesus there is the peace of quiet, and then there is the peace of dreams fulfilled
Holy Spirit, fill our souls with peace
God we long for the song Zechariah to make our hearts ready for Jesus
We hear the promise, and reach for it, even when we cannot believe it.
Fill us with what we need, so that we can be a people of peace
Let us light the candle, and prepare for the Prince of Peace

Taize Option (always fun to sing during the whole candle liturgy)

Hymn Options: God of Peace (to the Tune of Silent Night), Still Still Still, Taize Option: Laudate Dominum, Wait for the Lord

Advent Resources

Under Construction

Advent Candles: Narrative Lectionary

Advent Candles: RCL

Blue Christmas

Magnificat Advent Worship

Narrative Lectionary Daily Calendar

Writing Advent Candle Liturgy Workshops

Advent Hymns to Christmas Carol Tunes

Alternative (Update) to We 3 Kings

Write an Advent Wreath Liturgy in a small personalized environment
Limit 10 people per workshop

This Zoom Workshop is designed for all levels and experiences for people to engage in prayer writing–using the scripture as your guide. This will be an instructional, small group (limit 10) and experiential workshop.

Mon Nov 27th 6-8pm (Eastern) $50 Per Person Tues Dec 5th 12:30-2:30pm

(As Advent will have already started, Katy will have an Advent Candle Liturgy for use, she will send you)

Led by Katy Stenta, Pastor, Writer and Educator

For more information to sign up, email Katyandtheword at gmail.com. Titled “Liturgy”

Katy Stenta is a regular contributor to Sermonsuite, (formerly) RevGalBlogPals, and is published in Enfleshed, Presbyterian’s Today and Outlook. She received her undergraduate in English and History and Minor on Philosophy at Oberlin, her M. Div. and MA in Christian Formation at Princeton Theological Seminary. She is currently pursuing her D. Min. in Creative Writing as a Public Theologian at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She also writes personal prayers regularly at katyandtheword.com.

(Min. 3 People to run)