Week 2 (December 9 - Second Sunday of Advent – December 15)
An Advent Reflection:
Feasts and Fasts:
“Advent is marked by a spirit of expectation, of anticipation, of preparation, of longing. There is a yearning for deliverance from the evils of the world, first expressed by Israelite slaves in Egypt as they cried out from their bitter oppression. It is the cry of those who have experienced the tyranny of injustice in a world under the curse of sin, and yet who have hope of deliverance by a God who has heard the cries of oppressed slaves and brought deliverance! It is that hope, however faint at times, and that God, however distant He sometimes seems, which brings to the world the anticipation of a King who will rule with truth and justice and righteousness over His people and in His creation. It is that hope that once anticipated, and now anticipates anew, the reign of an Anointed One, a Messiah, who will bring peace and justice and righteousness to the world.” - Dennis Bratcher
We see oppression and injustice here are the Mustard Seed every day. We see the members of our community struggle to get enough hours at their jobs, to save enough money to get an apartment, to resist addiction, to make ends meet, to find food and shelter, to find a place where they feel like they belong. We often see cycles that echo the waiting of advent; there is a spirit of expectation and anticipation as our friends wait to hear back from a job interview or a rental application, there is a longing for a change for the better, a yearning for a new opportunity. Sometimes the employer or the landlord phones back, a bed opens up, a spot on the waitlist becomes available. But sometimes, too often it seems, the employer doesn’t phone back, the landlord chooses another tenant, and the waitlist stays full. And so we continue to wait. We wait for new opportunities each day, for doors to open, and lives to be changed, but more than that, we wait for The Kingdom to come here on Earth as it is in Heaven. We wait for the day when no one will go hungry, when everyone will have a home and a place where they feel like they belong.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Advent has been a season of celebration, but also a season of fasting. The Coming of the Messiah throughout the Old Testament and Judaism was often in connection with themes of oppression and injustice, the longing for redemption from the systemic evils of the world (Rom 8:18-25). Of course, there is the problem of longing for vindication from an evil world when we are contributors to that evil; we long for freedom from oppression but we so easily buy into the consumerism of the holiday season, a systemic form of oppression that contributes to economic injustice all over the world. This is the power of the images of Amos when he warns about longing for the "Day of the Lord" that will really be a day of darkness (Amos 5:18-20). Still, even with Amos’ warning the time of Advent is one of expectation and anticipation, a longing for God's actions to restore all things. Advent becomes a season of both joyous expectancy but also perhaps a time for fasting as well.
Excerpts and Ideas from Dennis Bratcher, read more here: http://www.cresourcei.org/cyadvent.html
An Advent Invitation: (an idea for getting active during the advent season)
We invite you to join the hungry in solidarity and spend some time this advent season fasting to remember those who continue to hunger while we sit down for our holiday feasts. Maybe it’s fasting from one meal a day for a week and spending the meal hour praying instead, or maybe its fasting from buying fast food for the advent season, and spending the money on meals for the less fortunate instead. Whatever it is for you, we invite you to fast with us this advent season in anticipation for a day when the Kingdom will come here on Earth, and all will have enough according to their need.
Perhaps you will have thoughts about fasting that you would like to share? Write a blog for us and submit it to: JenniferFast@theseed.ca to be posted on our blog.
Prayers for Advent:
This week, please pray for those that are hungry, that they would have enough to eat not only today, but every day.
Please pray for our meal program at the Mustard Seed, that our meals would be tasty, healthy, and good for our community, that our volunteers and the people coming to eat dinner would experience the joy of community through the experience of dinner at the Mustard Seed.
A Prayer Excerpt from Common Book of Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals:
Praise to you who lift up the poor: and fill the hungry with good things.
Read Psalm 22:22-25
Lord, when we strive after healing in the world and nourishment for those who hunger, we find you at our side. Whenever we long to see your face, help us not to avoid the corners of our communities where you most often dwell. Stir our hearts that we might seek and find you today in those places where you have promised to be. Amen.
Looking for an advent calendar this year? Have a look at this one:
a little holiday tune to kick things off!
Sign up for our advent email list (paulacornell@theseed.ca) or follow our twitter feed (@mustardseedyeg) and our blog to receive a weekly Advent reflection focused on Justice, Poverty, and the reason for the season; Christ.
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