2024 Sun Dec 1

Advent in 2 minutes Check out this Youtube video

Advent in 1 minute– A 2015 video from St. Mary’s Cypress

Explore Advent, Part 1– Over the next 4 Sundays there will be a presentation each week focusing on that week’s scriptures, art and commentary and how they demonstrate the themes of advent. Let’s get started with Advent 1.

Advent is the time when we change to a different year in the Lectionary. This year we move from Year A to B and from a concentration on the Gospel of Mark to Luke.

Here is an introduction to the Gospel of Luke. Here is a shorter one “Living the Good News” There are several articles which are a general introduction to Luke on the web: 1. Shortest from christianity.about.com 2. Longer from the Catholic Bishops 3. Longest from a Catholic portal. Each of the readings is covered separately

Interested in the Church calendar ? Matthew’s interest about time in First Advent lends itself to understand how we measure time.

There are several articles/presentations about the infancy narratives 1. Brief summary between Matthew and Luke  2. Longer comparison

The Season of Advent is alive with colors, candles, wreaths and song. David Bratcher has written a wonderful article on Advent traditions.

The Lectionary, made up of the appointed readings for each Sunday, covers a three- year cycle, beginning each year on the first Sunday of Advent.  Year A uses readings from the Gospel according to Matthew, Year B from the Gospel according to Mark, and Year C from the Gospel according to Luke.  Readings from the Gospel according to John are woven throughout all three years. 

The yearly lectionary readings begin the new cycle of readings on the first Sunday of Advent.   This year we move from Year A to b and from a concentration on the Gospel of Matthew to Mark.   It all happens on Advent 1, Nov. 29

Mark is one of the Synoptic Gospels which means that Matthew, Mark and Luke present similar narratives of the life and death of Jesus Christ. It is the shortest of the four Gospels and likely the first, or earliest to be written. It was written Circa 55-65 A.D. This was probably the first Gospel to be written since all but 31 verses of Mark are found in the other three Gospels.

The Gospel of Mark was written to prove that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Mark records more miracles of Christ than any of the other Gospels. Jesus proves his divinity in Mark by the demonstration of miracles. The Gospel of Mark was written to encourage the Christians in Rome as well as the wider church.

The Gospel of Mark also reveals Jesus the Servant. The overriding theme of the Gospel of Mark is to show that Jesus came to serve. Mark 10:44-45 …”and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

He gave his life in service to mankind. He lived out his message through service, therefore, we can follow his actions and learn by his example. The ultimate purpose of the book is to reveal Jesus’ call to personal fellowship with him through daily discipleship.

The first Sunday of Advent is one of change. A change to the altar in color; a change in the year – Advent is the first Sunday in the church year where this year we shift in the lectionary from Year A (Matthew) to Year B (Mark). A change in focus since Advent means to come:

The Coming of God to the world as a human baby
The Coming of God to the world in His glory at the end of time where God’s purposes will be fulfilled
The Coming of God into the world today. Jesus comes to us now in word and sacrament, in prayer and praise, in his Body, the Church. By the work of the Holy Spirit, the Jesus who was born in the past in Bethlehem and who will come in the future is present to us and in us now.

The altar colors changed to blue, the altar flowers were green

In a timing of coming, the Gospel emphasizes the need to prepared for future events. Isaiah envisions a time of full justice when all nations honor God and live in peace. In Romans, Paul reminds us that the nearness of our salvation enables us to love selflessly and live honorably. Paul asserts that the greatest motivation for the Christian’s moral life lies in the future–the Christ’s second coming. The end of time is near at hand. The great day of salvation is coming–sleep/night/darkness will give way to waking/day/light.

Read more

His Gospel is Peace: The Advent of Christ and the End of Fear

For this Advent Sermon series, Pastor Matt Popovits focuses on five places in Scripture whereGod addresses our fears and proclaims his peace. Despite your worries, anxieties, and veryreal suffering, we have a God who stands resolute to give us his “peace which surpasses allunderstanding” (Phil. 4:7).

The season of Advent helps us long for a different reality: one ruled by peace ratherthan fear. For the Son of God was born into our tribulation, despair, and fear not just tocomfort us but to bring about an end to whatever terrifies us most.This is why the psalmist can assert, “We will not fear, though the earth gives way.”It’s why one of Jesus’ common refrains is “Fear not.”It’s why Paul proclaims that the peace of God guards and rules over the hearts of hispeople.

For this Advent Sermon series, Pastor Matt Popovits focuses on five places in Scripture whereGod addresses our fears and proclaims his peace. Despite your worries, anxieties, and veryreal suffering, we have a God who stands resolute to give us his “peace which surpasses allunderstanding” (Phil. 4:7).

Links to the 5 sections:

PSALM 112:6-8 – NO Fear of the future

MATTHEW 17:6-8 – No Fear of Failure

LUKE 12:32 – No Fear of Lack

ISAIAH 9:6-7 – No Fear of Man

COLOSSIANS 3:15 – No Fear

Living Compass produces a book of daily meditations for Advent- “Living Well through Advent which begins Dec. 1

https://shop.livingcompass.org/collections/advent-and-lent-resources   The printed copy is $1 and the download is free. 

The Living Compass Model for Well-Being offers us guidance in four dimensions of our being: heart, soul, strength, and mind and focus on how they are interconnected. The goal is wellness and wholeness

The theme this year is “Practicing Peace with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind”  “The seasons of Advent and Christmas are filled with the presence of peace, if only we remember to pause and open ourselves to receiving this gift.” “Peace on earth” is at the heart of the Christmas story.

Week 1 Peace like a river – Deepening Our Understanding of Peace

“The peace of God is transformative. It changes us from those who would use oppressive power to a people who nurture and tend. The peace of Christ moves us into new places. This holy peace requires that we change and move, not stay stagnant.”

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the trust that God can trans-form conflict into reconciliation. Peace is not calm because the disparate voices are silenced, but the courage to stand within the waters of righteous anger, hear the wails of suffering, and work for change. Peace is crossing from the bank of oppression to the side of justice, and having the faith to walk in the shifting sands and strong current that would make us turn back, except that God call us to cross to the side of love … every single time.”

Week 2 Making Peace with Ourselves. Audrey Scanlan reminds us that seeking a deeper peace within ourselves requires honest, soul-searching self-reflection. It is a road less traveled. So much so that Audrey, a person who takes practicing peace seriously, concludes her reflection with the unexpected words, “It was, perhaps, the first time that I had ever practiced making peace with myself

Week 3 Becoming Instruments of God’s Peace. For people of faith, making peace with ourselves is not an end in and of itself, but a necessary step toward our being able to be instruments of peace for others.

Week 4 Practicing Peace as a “Holy Yes”. Responding “yes” to the Spirit is contagious—it goes viral! Mary’s “yes” to carry the Christ child precipitated Joseph’s “yes” to protect and care for them. And their “yeses” led to millions more, thus transforming the world. For Mary it meant bearing the Christ Child under less-than-ideal circumstances and witnessing his crucifixion. Joseph took on the shame of Mary’s unwed pregnancy. Thankfully, our yeses are not carried out alone. Emmanuel—God with us—gives us the grace not only to bear the cost, but also to experience the new life that can only come from accepting divine invitation.