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In Preparation - A New Liturgical Year

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Dear Friends in Christ,

I know that one gift of the liturgical year is that it starts new each year—worship invites me into the current season, not the season I need. And yet, this year, it seems that Advent and Christmas are coming right when I need them most. I’m not referring to the hustle and bustle or the deluge of advertising. I am ready for the cast of characters from the beginning of Matthew and Luke’s gospels. I am ready for the music. I am ready for the stillness. I am ready for the old, old story. It does not matter that I have heard this story, sung this story, seen this story portrayed by artists from across the globe, or told this story countless times. Jesus, Son of God, will be born in Bethlehem and visited first by shepherds, far from the halls of power. He is coming soon, already here among us, and will come again, bringing the shalom that only God can bring.

Thank you for sharing this story for those who have heard it many times and thank you for sharing it with those who have never heard it before. Thank you for singing new songs so that the story can come alive in fresh ways and thank you for singing ancient hymns that have told this remarkable story for centuries. Thank you also for embodying the Advent and Christmas stories in your own ministries for your specific contexts—giving sanctuary and shelter, welcoming the outcast, making sure the stranger is truly seen.

In a recent article, Yolanda Pierce wrote, “The Avent story, in all its complicated history, points us to the miracle of the incarnation, embodied by a tiny bundle of humanity cradled in the arms of a loving mother. Perhaps when we examine our own histories, even the parts we would rather forget, we’ll also see the ways that God has walked with us and cradled us, through trials and terrors and through powers and principalities. Perhaps we’ll see that God is walking with us still.” O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Peace,

Bishop Meggan

PS Still looking for Advent devotions?