An (un)Common Book of Hours - Advent Christmas Epiphany Year A

By Peter Watkins

Advent, Christmas and Epiphany are important seasons in the Church’s Liturgical Year. An (un)Common Book of Hours brings together differing voices to help the reader reflect on the Daily Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary and prepare for these seasons of the Church.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peter Watkins
• Release date: Nov 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311254788

Book preview

An (un)Common Book of Hours

Advent, Christmas, Epiphany - Year A

Compiled by Peter Watkins

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Peter John Watkins

Copyright 2013 The reflections and prayers belongs to the relevant contributor

See appropriate section for other copyright and permissions

License Notes: This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Week 1

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

First Sunday of Advent

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Week 2

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Second Sunday of Advent

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Week 3

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Third Sunday of Advent

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Week 4

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

December 22

December 23

December 24 (morning)

December 54 Nativity of the Lord I

December 25 Nativity of the Lord II

December 25 Nativity of the Lord III

First Sunday after Christmas Day, December 26-31

December 26

December 27

December 28

December 29

December 30

December 31

January 1 Holy Name of Jesus (Mary, Mother of God)

January 1 New Year’s Day

Second Sunday after Christmas Day, January 2-5

January 2

Days around Epiphany

January 3

January 4

January 5

January 6 Epiphany of the Lord

January 7

January 8

January 9

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday Baptism of the Lord

Monday

Afterword

Copyrights and permissions

List of contributors

Preface - Gregory C. Jenks

What word of grace can a preface add to this collection of spiritual wisdom?

Having accepted the invitation to prepare this element of the digital volume you now hold in your hands, or least display on your mobile device, I am immediately put into a different position than almost every other reader.

Not for me the diurnal cycle of reading and reflection in the context of an actual life, experienced in sync with whatever unknown events are happening in the news cycle some weeks and months away from this Spring afternoon in the Antipodes. G*d knows what will have happened between when I craft these words and when you read them; and maybe not even she knows. Like us, perhaps G*d has to wait to see what happens before developing a truly creative and loving response to that ‘new thing’ which is being brought forth among us.

For me—but hopefully not for you—the words gathered up in this small volume are experienced in one sitting. There is not the opportunity for me to reach out for each day’s bread, and consume it slowly and thoughtfully as earth makes its 365 day journey around its star and our moon dances around us in a mere 24 hours. My experience of this book is thus different from yours; as it would have been in any case, and must always be.

So I read through the drafts with a haste that feels unseemly. These are sacred words. People are opening their souls in these sentences. Holy ground stretches out in all directions, and I have my eyes fixed on the task. Forget the journey; I need to reach the destination! But even in these less than satisfactory conditions, the quality of the spiritual wisdom catches my heart.

The power of these pages derives in part from the spiritual qualities of the liturgical season: Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. Even in an increasingly secular post-Christian world these are special times: moments for family, moments for ourselves, and maybe even moments for G*d.

Where Christmas often seeps into Advent, in these pages we find Advent leaking into Christmas and Epiphany. And that is surely how it should be. The G*d for whose coming we prepare in Advent is the sacred Other whose surprising presence among us is celebrated at Christmas, as well as the One who continues to come to us in unexpected and surprising ways through Epiphany and beyond.

Wherever you are as you read these words, and whatever circumstances are unfolding around you at that time, I am confident that the words gathered here constitute a rich feast of spiritual wisdom. Take the time to savor the delicacies, and may we each find food for the journey in these pages.

Brisbane, Australia

Introduction

From Wikipedia:

Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday.

Christmas is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by millions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide, which ends after the twelfth night.

Epiphany, which traditionally falls on January 6, is a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Western Christians commemorate principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles.

Elsewhere, I asked the question: "Why an (un)Common Book of Hours"? and responded with the following answer: My motivation for this booklet was to compile a set of reflections and prayers drawn from a group of Christians which reflects, to what seems to me, the great diversity which exists within Christianity, something that is not often acknowledged nor sufficiently celebrated. This represents the (un) component of the title. The Common is derived from the use of the Daily Readings of the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), a three year table of readings from the Bible which is in widespread use around the world (see commontexts.org for further details on the RCL) and thus is common to many of those who offer homilies each week, and the Book of Hours refers to the devotional content of this booklet.

The motivation remains unchanged. It remains my hope that the voices expressed in this booklet still represent the diversity that exists within Christianity but I also recognise that there are other voices that speak on behalf of the Other. My thanks goes to each contributor for bringing their voice to this volume.

As you read the devotionals within this volume, you may find that there may be what seems to be some confusion with the seasons (specifically, themes of Advent within Christmas and Epiphany). This is not the fault of the contributor but rather mine. I sent each set of readings to contributors without indicating the context, and some may not seem suitable for the season. In these cases, please forgive me in advance.

I hope this little volume proves to be a suitable companion as you prepare for the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. May you encounter the Divine and the Transcendent that surrounds us. May it be so.

Week 1

Thursday

O Lord, open our lips,

And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.

Still our minds and hearts

So that we may be open to your Word.

Let your Spirit speak to us.

Readings

Psalm 122

Daniel 9:15-19

James 4:1-10

Reflection Jeff Nelson

While on a mission trip to Philadelphia, the group I was working with was assigned to help clean up a former convent in a poorer neighborhood. The long-term plan was to convert the building into a shelter for the homeless, but the interior would need a lot of work. Paint was peeling and plaster was crumbling from the walls and ceiling, abandoned furniture and expired dry food, a good portion of both damaged by flooding, needed to be thrown out. There was a distinct aroma of mold and damp from the water as well. This was going to take a while.

Early in the week while we were on break for lunch, a few of us decided to go exploring. As we passed through one room to another, we eventually discovered the convent’s sanctuary, a massive sprawling room of stone and concrete with a high ceiling and ornate statues and dark wooden furniture in the chancel and naves. This room suffered from its own lack of upkeep, with plaster dust littering the floor and some of the statues missing limbs. But it was easy to imagine what this place probably looked like when it was being tended. Again, repair and restoration was going to take a while.

It has been a time of despair and destruction in the land of Judah. The Babylonians have laid waste to the nation, including the capital city of Jerusalem and its magnificent temple. The nation—along with its people’s spirits—has crumbled. Look upon your desolated sanctuary, rings out the prophet’s plea to God. Look upon what remains of your great nation and your house in the midst of it. It was disobedience and an attempt at self-sufficiency that had brought them to this point, and yet there is already the beginning of a difference in this prayer: save us not by our own righteousness, but by your mercies. Here is the acknowledgement that the people’s attempt to go it alone has failed; they need something greater in order for restoration to come.

The thing is, it’s going to take a while. To restore a nation, both in physical structure and inner focus, is going to entail a lot of patience and attentiveness.

There is a reason why Advent is as long as it is. We don’t just rush to celebration. It takes a while to arrive at that joyful culmination; a time that includes some inner renovation, some acknowledgement that it is not by our own righteousness that God With Us arrives, but by a mercy that we cannot generate on our own.

Prayers for others

The Lord’s Prayer

Merciful One, grant me patience for this journey. Look upon my own inner sanctuary and renovate my spirit. Grant me new awareness of the ways you work beyond my capabilities, and bring me along to a new way of being. Amen.

May God bless us, and keep us.

May God’s face shine upon us, and be gracious to us.

May God’s face toward us, and give us peace.

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Friday

O Lord, open our lips,

And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.

Still our minds and hearts

So that we may be open to your Word.

Let your Spirit speak to us.

Readings

Psalm 122

Genesis 6:1-10

Hebrews 11:1-7

Reflection Kerri Parker

Peace and prosperity are what we pray. But we cannot guarantee security for ourselves, no matter how hard we labor, no matter how great our effort.

Progress is an appealing notion. It’s a lovely idea - that by perfecting our faith and our life in accordance with a simple plan we found in the self-help section, we’ll be assured of a nice, steady, upward trajectory. Maybe you started reading a seasonal devotional with