Advent 2015 | Prepare the Way of the Lord

ADVENT 2015
One of my many roles at Bangsar Lutheran Church 
this year was to plan the theme and preaching series for Advent 2015.  Below is the outline of texts and themes, as well as a description of each week's theme.  I chose the theme: Prepare The Way of The Lord.  As part of my preparations for Advent I created 4 banners to be hung in connection with each week's theme.   

OVERVIEW:

As Christians we live in a time of now and not yet.  Living as witnesses of the resurrection, we eagerly await the second coming of Christ by living a life worthy of the Gospel message.  However, we often find ourselves impatient and exhausted by the call to share the good news of Christ.  Advent, the first season of the Christian church year, is a season full of anticipation and preparation.  Advent helps us align our impatience, not with each other or the stumbling blocks of God's mission, but with the long awaited Messiah, both now and not yet.  This Advent we will talk about 'Preparing the Way of the Lord' within our community and our own lives by remembering the age-old story of God's love and giving praise and thanks to God for God's fulfilled promises.  

WEEK-BY-WEEK:

Advent 1 | In community

      Jeremiah 33:14-16  |  1 Thessalonians 3:9-13  |  Luke 21:25-36

Since the birth of Christ, communities have formed around the Gospel message.  Some communities form for the purpose of persecuting Christ and Christians.  Some communities form as disciples, followers, early churches, and converts.  Again and again God shows us through history that the Gospel message is one that tears down walls and unites community.  We are united not as a community of small distinctive groups, but as a community of individuals – forming the body of Christ.  The message of the promised Messiah was and is meant for all people, and although there weren’t many people present that first Christmas day God intended for all people to hear the Good News, from wise men in the East to shepherds of the fields.  As we ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord’ this Advent, we do so in community, knowing that we are stronger together (as we are meant to be) than we are apart.  Together we wait in hope and faith for the promised Messiah and the long-awaited return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Advent 2 | Remembering the old, old story

       Festival of the 9 Lessons and Carols  |  Luke 3:1-6

The death and resurrection of Christ is intricately connected to the birth of the promised Messiah.  It is because we know the outcome of Jesus’ life and ministry that we are able to understand the significance of his birth; therefore, we observe, remember, and celebrate the birth of Christ through the lens of the cross.  As Christians we acknowledge that the birth of the promised Messiah and redemption of God’s people through death and resurrection is not the first of God’s salvific work, but a continuation of God’s promise.  Scripture invites us into the history of God’s redeeming work then, now, and always.  As we ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord” this Advent, we do so by remembering the old, old story of God’s love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and promise.  Together we join the whole hosts of heaven and the company of the saints proclaiming what God has done through history, is doing through the promised Messiah, and will continue to do in the final days.

Advent 3 | In our heart, soul, & mind

       Micah 5:1-5  | Hebrews 10:5-10  |  Luke 3:7-16       

In antiquity, God’s people longed for a Messiah to bring about the kingdom of God.  The prophets repeatedly spoke of a Messiah who would reign as king of kings, wonderful counselor, and prince of peace.  People were desperate for this Lord.  In the birth of Jesus Christ, the prophecies were fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near.  However, 2000 years later we remain desperate for the Messiah.  We are in continuous need of God’s redemption and salvation, gifted through grace.  We are a broken people longing for our Messiah.  As we ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord’ this Advent, we do so by preparing our heart, soul, & mind for the way of the Lord, realigning our desires, fears, hopes, and our very selves with the way of the Lord.  Together we hear the voice in the wilderness crying, ‘repent, and make straight the paths of the Lord’ because one who is more powerful is coming, and he will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and make us a new creation.

Advent 4 | Giving praise

     Zephaniah 3:14-20  |  Philippians 4:4-13  |  Luke 1:39-56

After receiving word that she is pregnant with the Son of God Mary sings praise to God.  She proclaims, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”  Mary’s delight is in God and God’s faithfulness as she recounts God’s steadfast mercy from generation to generation.  Her song is known as the ‘magnificat’.  In the season of Advent, as we anticipate the long expected Messiah, we are invited into Mary’s song of praise.  We rejoice in God’s steadfast mercy and faithfulness.  As we ‘Prepare the Way of the Lord’ this Advent, we do so by praising God for God’s faithfulness through the generations.  Together we lift our hearts to the Lord because the “Mighty One has done great things for” us and will continue to do great things.

Naming Homesickness

Sto·ic

ˈstōik/

noun

noun: stoic; plural noun: stoics
        
      1.  a person who can endure pain or hardship without 

      showing their feelings or complaining.

I'm stoic.  I know it.
My family probably knows it.
My CPE supervisor certainly knows it (she regularly told me so).
In the fullest definition of the word, I am stoic.  And that's ok.

But it's because of my incredible stoicism that I have a hard time admitting it.
(pause for a deep breath and an induced suspense-filled anticipatory moment)

I am homesick.  (Take that stoicism)

It's true. I do miss home. And because I hesitate to admit it out loud to anyone who asks, I confide in the secrecy of my online diary journal blog.  Let me be clear up front, Malaysia (the people, culture, friends, housing, weather, etc.) is not to be blamed for me feeling homesick.

When I was a kid (sometime during elementary school), I had a good friend named Justin.  One weekend I was invited to Justin's house for a sleep over.  To my recollection, it was my first sleep-over at a house that wasn't mine or a family member's.  I was excited, I think.  I remember playing Ninja Turtles in the basement, both action figure and nintendo.  Cowabunga!  I vaguely remember having a snack of some sort and perhaps pizza for dinner.  I remember it was time to go to bed.  Twenty-years-ago-Daniel thinks he laid in bed for hours before admitting he was homesick and wanting to go home, but present-day-Daniel knows it was most likely less than 10 minutes.

It wasn't Justin's fault.  It wasn't his parents' fault.  It wasn't the bed, pillow, or lighting.  It had nothing to do with their house at all.

In my own, uneducated, opinion I think my homesickness was fueled by the absence of 'normals' - routines.  It was the first time being away from everything comfortable, and there is nothing stronger than the silence of a pillow in a strange place to remind you that you're away from your 'normal.'

It wasn't my bed or my pillow.  It wasn't my room or my house.  It wasn't my parents down the hall.  It wasn't my bathroom sink I brushed my teeth in and it wasn't my 'normal'.  I missed the familiar, the routine.

The majority of my conversations thus far with people in Malaysia consist of weather and food, but for the first time a parishioner asked me if I was missing home and if that was hard.  Stoic-Daniel paused and started to shake his head no.  But honest-and-relieved-Daniel interrupted and said, "Yes, actually I am missing home.  Thank you for asking."

He doesn't know it, but it was the exact question I needed him to ask. It was such a relief to be able to say, "Yes, I am missing home" and not feel vulnerable or weak.  Stoic-Daniel would rarely tell someone I barely knew the truth in how I'm feeling, but in that moment it was comforting to know that someone cared enough to create a safe space for me to be honest.

Listen, Malaysia is incredible.  The people are awesome.  Our parishioners are genuine and passionate and caring.  Our housing is more than we could have asked for or expected.  There is food everywhere. Always.  And best of all, I'm with my wife (24/7).  But I can't deny that I, at times, feel homesick, especially this time of year.  And that is no one's fault.

A colleague reminded us this week that the typical period of time for culture shock to set in is 3-4 months.  Well, conveniently for us, 3-4 months coincides with the holidays.

I am missing the normal.  I miss my bed and my pillow.  I miss my family and my dog.  I miss my friends and my things.  I miss the traditions of thanksgiving meals and Christmas gatherings.  I miss getting a tree from the mountains on the Friday after Thanksgiving.   I miss the normalcies and routines of the holidays that I've known for 28 years.  It's no one's fault, and it's ok that I miss them.

I'm not seeking comfort or words of encouragement.  I'm not seeking gifts or packages or things from home.  I'm not (honestly) even writing this for you.  I'm doing this for me.  Naming my feelings (Yes, CPE feeling wheel, I know homesickness is not a feeling).

Home·sick

/'hōm,sik/

adjective

        
      1.  experiencing a longing for one's home during a period of absence from it.

I may be a stoic (and a good one at that), but I am a homesick stoic.  It's no one's fault.  I am simply naming it in the secrecy of my online diary journal blog for myself.

"Miss you too, dad!"