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Faith United Methodist Church December 4, 2016 Second Sunday of Advent Rev. Kristabeth Atwood Scripture:  Isaiah 11:1-10, Matthew 3:1-12 Prayer of Illumination: God of peace, may these words of prophesy, promise and preparation encourage us to steadfast love and action. And may the words that I say and the thoughts that we form be acceptable […]

Faith United Methodist Church December 20, 2015 Fourth Sunday of Advent Rev. Kristabeth E. Atwood Scripture: Luke 1:46b-55, Luke 1:39-45 Prayer for Illumination: O God, slow us down. Help us center our thoughts and restore in us a childlike wonder. Open your word to us that we may hear your message for our lives as […]

Faith United Methodist Church December 21, 2014 Fourth Sunday of Advent Rev. Krista Beth Atwood Scripture: Luke 1:26-38, Luke 1:46b-55 Prayer of Illumination:         We come to you, O God, ready to be bearers of Christ to the world. Send your Spirit into our very lives, that we may be your servants of love. Scatter the […]

I don’t remember much about Advent as a child, but I do remember always having an Advent calendar. Not the fancy kind with chocolates, or anything, but just a simple one we would buy at the Hallmark Store with windows to open each day telling the story of Jesus’ birth. Every morning, at breakfast, we would open the next little window. One window at a time, it would seem like forever until Christmas arrived. Today we still open our Advent Calendar at breakfast ~ Gary and I take turns ~ but I have the opposite problem. The little windows fly open too fast and before I know it Christmas is here with not enough time to prepare.

We might think that on this First Sunday of Advent we would have a more uplifting reading. I mean, we know (or at least I hope we know) that we won’t find Santa in the stable with the Baby Jesus, but something with angels and shepherds and the heavenly host might be more appropriate than this morning’s reading from Isaiah. Instead of joy and rejoicing we find ourselves mired in weeping and lament. Isaiah tells us that God may have forgotten us altogether.