Advent Daybook, 6: Fill the malls with cries of doom!
My Advent daybook for these 24 days of waiting. Join me, won't you? (see previous Advent daybook 2017 posts here)
*Note: If you're reading this in email, the formatting usually looks much better at the website. Just click the post title to get there.*
(after) The Virgin Martyr Saint Cecilia by Kehinde Wiley (source)
h/t Art & Theology blog by Victoria Emily Jones
music for today: "Poor Little Jesus", Odetta (YouTube)
all readings for today: Amos 5:1-17, Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13, Jude 1-16, Matthew 22:1-14
excerpts:
“God’s Message to the family of Israel:
“Seek me and live. ...
People hate this kind of talk. Raw truth is never popular. But here it is, bluntly spoken: Because you run roughshod over the poor and take the bread right out of their mouths, You’re never going to move into the luxury homes you have built. You’re never going to drink wine from the expensive vineyards you’ve planted. I know precisely the extent of your violations, the enormity of your sins. Appalling! You bully right-living people, taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down.
Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic. Decent people throw up their hands. Protest and rebuke are useless, a waste of breath.
Seek good and not evil— and live! You talk about God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, being your best friend. Well, live like it, and maybe it will happen.
Hate evil and love good, then work it out in the public square. Maybe God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, will notice your remnant and be gracious.
Now again, my Master’s Message, God, God-of-the-Angel-Armies:
“Go out into the streets and lament loudly!
Fill the malls and shops with cries of doom!
Weep loudly, ‘Not me! Not us, Not now!’
Empty offices, stores, factories, workplaces.
Enlist everyone in the general lament.
I want to hear it loud and clear when I make my visit.”
God’s Decree.
——-
Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting—begging!—that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license—which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.
These people are warts on your love feasts as you worship and eat together. They’re giving you a black eye—carousing shamelessly, grabbing anything that isn’t nailed down. They’re—
Puffs of smoke pushed by gusts of wind;
late autumn trees stripped clean of leaf and fruit,
Doubly dead, pulled up by the roots;
wild ocean waves leaving nothing on the beach
but the foam of their shame;
Lost stars in outer space
on their way to the black hole.
——-
“Then he told his servants, ‘We have a wedding banquet all prepared but no guests. The ones I invited weren’t up to it. Go out into the busiest intersections in town and invite anyone you find to the banquet.’ The servants went out on the streets and rounded up everyone they laid eyes on, good and bad, regardless. And so the banquet was on—every place filled.
“That’s what I mean when I say, ‘Many get invited; only a few make it.’”
* Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year B). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 2).
prayer for today:
On Fridays during Advent, I'll add one of the Prayers of the People forms found in the Book of Common Prayer. Use this form as a guide for your own list of concerns and needs. After you've concluded each section, after the phrase "We pray to you, O Lord" respond with , "Lord, have mercy" (or "Kyrie eleison").
“For the holy Church of God, that it may be filled with truth and love, and be found without fault at the day of your coming, we pray to you, O Lord. [Here and after every petition the People respond “Kyrie eleison” or “Lord, have mercy”.]
For all ministers, and for all the holy people of God, we pray to you, O Lord.
For all who fear God and believe in you, Lord Christ, that our divisions may cease, and that all may be one as you and the Father are one, we pray to you, O Lord.
For the mission of the Church, that in faithful witness it may preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we pray to you, O Lord.
For those who do not yet believe, and for those who have lost their faith, that they may receive the light of the Gospel, we pray to you, O Lord.
For the peace of the world, that a spirit of respect and forbearance may grow among nations and peoples, we pray to you, O Lord.
For those in positions of public trust [especially __________], that they may serve justice, and promote the dignity and freedom of every person, we pray to you, O Lord.
For all who live and work in this community [especially ________], we pray to you, O Lord.
For a blessing upon all human labor, and for the right use of the riches of creation, that the world may be freed from poverty, famine, and disaster, we pray to you, O Lord.
For the poor, the persecuted, the sick, and all who suffer; for refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger; that they may be relieved and protected, we pray to you, O Lord.
For our congregation, that we may be delivered from hardness of heart, and show forth your glory in all that we do, we pray to you, O Lord.
For our enemies and those who wish us harm, and for all whom we have injured or offended, we pray to you, O Lord.
For ourselves; for the forgiveness of our sins, and for the grace of the Holy Spirit to amend our lives, we pray to you, O Lord.
For all who have commended themselves to our prayers; for our families, friends, and neighbors; that being freed from anxiety, they may live in joy, peace, and health, we pray to you, O Lord.
For other concerns on our mind, especially _______, we pray to you, O Lord.
For yours is the majesty, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, now and for ever. Amen.”
(see all Advent daybook posts from 2016 here)