Like Many Waters: Advent Daybook 7

Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Look: The Annunciation, Jay De Feo - Source

Listen: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, Salt of the Sound - Lyrics | Spotify | YouTube

Read: Psalm 20, 21; Amos 5:18-27; Jude 17-25; Matthew 22:15-22

Excerpts:

“The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion!

… Give victory to the king, O Lord; answer us when we call.”

*

“In thy strength the king rejoices, O Lord; and in thy help how greatly he exults! Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withheld the request of his lips.

Selah

... For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved."

*

“Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.”

*

“Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you without blemish before the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.”

*

“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

- Psalm 20:1-2, 9 * Psalm 21:1-2,7 * Amos 5:20-24 * Jude 24-25 * Matthew 22:17-21 (NRSV)

Pray & Do: On Saturdays during Advent, we’ll spend about 15 minutes practicing a devotional exercise known as an examen. This is a spiritual discipline of prayer first modeled by St. Ignatius of Loyola. The prayer practice has remained a dynamic, deeply-meaningful way to develop our capacity to hear God and our own hearts as well.   

Start with silence. Take some time to be silent, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the first few days of Advent. I’ve come to call this time a selah pause. The Hebrew word selah (see-lah) is repeated throughout the Psalms. The definition of this word is probably a musical reference, calling for a break in the singing of the Psalm. The Amplified Bible (AMP) adds the explanatory phrase "pause, and calmly think of that!" each time the word selah shows up in the Psalms.

There’s no need to strive for a profound insight during this time. Just be still. If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze. You might breathe a prayer each time you're tempted to become distracted. When you feel distracted or anxious breathe in “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and exhale “have mercy on me the sinner”. Another option is to echo the psalmist: "Selah, pause and calmly think of that”.

After about 5 minutes of silence, pray through the questions listed here:

  1. Ask God for light.

    I want to look at my week with God’s eyes, not merely my own.

  2. Give thanks.

    The week I’ve just lived is a gift from God. I give thanks.

  3. Review the week.

    I calmly think back on the week just completed, trusting the Holy Spirit to help me recall whatever’s helpful. I notice the places I felt most connected to the love of God and others.

  4. Notice places you distanced yourself from God.

    I acknowledge what I’ve done or left undone that made it difficult for me to connect with the love of God and others. I pay special attention to areas I notice unrest or anxiety.

  5. Look forward to the week to come.

    I ask God where I need help and a greater connection with love for the coming week. I ask for the grace to honestly bring my hopes and desires to stay present to God in quiet and rest this Advent. Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by his Spirit.

  6. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus. Go about your day and into the weekend with peace.

You might also enjoy: Examen For The End of the Week via Pray-As-You-Go

These daily devotional posts are available to those who subscribe at the Daybook ($5 a month) level. You can also purchase a one-time .pdf download of all 40 meditations for Advent & Christmastide in my Shop. You can see the entire Advent archive here.

* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify: Make A Way: Advent 2021 .

** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 2).


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As always, please feel free to email me your questions.

Thank you for keeping me company during these prayerful, expectant days. May we be reminded in our deepest hearts that we do not wait without hope!

Peace,

Tamara

p.s., Whether your friend joins us as a Daybook member to receive daily meditations in their inbox or purchases a one-time digital download of all 40 meditations + retreat guide, they’ll be able to jump in at any time while having access to previous posts from this year!