Download - Week Beginning November 29 - Agape Class · The Lord and His Prayer by N. T. Wright Week Beginning November 29 Each day begins with atheme phrase as breath prayer. For at least ten

Advent Daily Devotional Guide for

The Lord and His Prayerby N. T. Wright

Week Beginning November 29

Each day begins with a theme phrase as a breath prayer. For at least ten breaths, say the phrase in your mind onboth inhalation and exhalation. Be sure and take deep breaths and make both inhalation and exhalation very slowand relaxed. At the end of your prayer time, repeat the same breath prayer five times, then, for at least fiveminutes, remain quiet and just be with God, Be open to all the possibilities of God’s communication with you fromsilence to the song of a bird or the laughter of a child. Be open to the needs of others that may come to you. Becomfortable with the silence. Remember that many times the most loving response to someone is not words but ahug. Whatever you feel, know that God’s loving arms enfold you.

DAVI

Breath Prayer: “Our Father”

Words of Comfort:Old Testament Scripture:

As a father has compassion for his children, so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.— Psalms 103:13

New Testament Scripture:

Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father,give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A fewdays later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squanderedhis property in dissolute living.

When he had spent everything, a severefamine took place throughout that country, and he began to bein need. So he went and hired himselfout to one ofthe citizens ofthat country, who sent him to hisfields tofeed the pigs. He would gladly havefilled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gavehim anything. But when he came to himselfhe said, ‘How many ofmyfather’s hired hands have breadenough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to myfather. and I will say to him,‘Father I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no knger worty to be called your son; treat melike one of your hired hands.

so he set qJf and went to h.is father. But i’hiie he was stilifor: off, his father sow hirri end ‘os f,Tied vithcompassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I havesinned against heaven and before you; 1 am no longer worthy to be called your son. ‘ But the father said to hisslaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—andput it on him; put a ring on hisfinger andsandals on hisfeet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is aliveagain; he was lost and isfound!’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:1124

Advent Devotionals FIJMC 2009

“God is generous in all people, generous (in the ees ofthe stingy) tn a fault: he provides good things for all

to enjoy. the undeserving as vell as the desering. lie is astonishingly merciful (anone ho knows their oxn heart

truk. and still goes on e\pcriencing Gods grace and lose. will agree with this); how can e. his forgiven children. be

an less? Onh when people discover that this is the sort of God they are dealing ‘ itli ill thc\ have an) chance of

making this way of life their own.

. . This God is different. lfyou liked in a society here everyone believed in this God. there ouldni he an

violence. There wouldnt be any revenge. There would&t be any diisions ofclass or caste. Property and possessions

wouldnt be nearly as important as making sure our neighbour xas all right. Imagine ifeen a few people around

ou took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant. different. astonishing. People would stare.

And ofcourse people did stare hen Jesus did ii himself The reason why crowds gathered. as Iuke told us

earlier, was that power as flowing out ofJesus, and people ere being healed. His whole life as one of exuberant

generosity. giing all hed got to give to everone who needed it. He was speaking ofwhat he knew: the extraagant

love ofhis Father, and the call to live a lavish human life in response.

— N. I. Wright. Lukefor Everyone. p. 74

One of the most comforting ideas throughout scripture is that of God as a loving parent, father and mother

to us, who understands, nurtures and empowers us to grow up to be loving parents as well. In this time of silence

envision yourself wrapped in the loving arms of this divine parent. Hear God say to you in the words of Isaiah 43,

“you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you.” Know that as Saint Paul writes in Romans 8, “neither

death, nor life,... nor things present, nor things to come, ... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate

us from the love of God.”

Words of Challenge:

Old Testament Scripture:

Have we not all onefather? Has not one God created us? Why then are wefoithiess to one another,

profaning the covenant ofour ancestors?— Malachi2:1O


But I say to you, Love your enemies and prayfor those who persecute you, so that you may be children of

your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous

and on the unrighteous. — Luke 6:44-45

“When we call God ‘Father’, we are called to step out as apprentice children. into a world ofpain and

darkness. We will find that darkness all around us: it will terrif3 us. precisely because it will remind us ofthe darkness

inside our own selves The temptation then is to sxitch offthe news. to shut out the pain ofthe vorld, to create a

fattkT

I ‘ Ike I ord and His Fra)e

Advent Deotionals F[JMC 2009

To call anyone a father or mother implies not just a privilege but a responsibility, a responsibility to returnthe love given to you, to love your brothers and sisters, and to grow up to be the best adult you can possibly be.What does a life lived out of such responsibility look like? It looks like the life of Christ Jesus did his best tounderstand, nurture and empower all his brothers and sisters, in spite ofthe oppression of an evil empire, in spite ofthe terrorists who called him to join in fighting that empire, in spite of those whose indifference allowed poverty,disease and injustice to flourish, in spite of all those who sought to kill him for the crime of not agreeing with them.In this time of prayer, picture those around you who are in need of understanding, nurture and empowerment. AskGod to show you how you might make a difference In their lives. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirft to strengthenyou for these tasks.

Repeat the Breath Prayer “Our Father”

DAYZBreath Prayer: “Our Father in heaven”

Words of Comfort:Old Testament Scdptum:The LORD existsforever; your word isflrmlyfixed in beaten. Yourfaithfulness endures to all generations;

you have established the earth, and It standsfast. — flolnu 119:899O

New resament ScrIpture:And I saw the holy dty the newJerusalem, coming down out ofheavenfrom 604 prepared as a brideadornedfor her husband. And I heard a loud voicefrom the throne saying, “See, the home ofGod is amongmortals. He willdwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himseffwillbe with them; hewill wipe every tearfrom their eyes. Death wilibe no more; mourning and crying andpain willbe no more,for theflrst things have passed away.”

- Revelation 21:24

“‘Have’ and ‘earth’ are the two interlocking arenas of God’s good world. Have. is God’s space, whereGod’s writ runs and God’s future purposes are waiting in the wings. Earth is our world, our space. Think ofthe visionat the end ofRevelation. It isn’t about humans being snatched up from earth to haven. The holy city, new Jerusalem,comes down from heaven to earth. God’s space and ours are finally manied, integrated at last”

—N. t Wright TheLoMaadHbPlwyer, p. 24 ..

Heaven is not just some “place” where good people go when they die. Heaven is that part of God’s creationwhere God’s will is done, where justice, compassion, nurture and power to grow up into God’s image are fullypresent. Whereas Christ is the image of God that we, as humans, are growing toward, heaven is the image of Godthat the whole creation is growing toward. To pray, “Our Father in heaven” is to affirm that God has a dream for thecreation and we wish to be part of it Saint Paul writes in Romans 8 that, “the creation itself will be set free from Itsbondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” In this time of prayer, envisionthe new creation, the world which God is creating even now, the world where justice, compassion, nurture and thestriving to be what God dreams, are finally realized. Imagine Christ embracing you with the words, “Come, you thatare blessed by my Father, Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the woridl”

Advent Devotlonals FUMC 2009

Words of challenge:

Old Testament ScrIpture:

The LORD looks downfrom heaven on humankind to see sfthere are any who are wise, who seek after God.

— Psalm 14:2

New TmeS ScrIpture:

Do not store upfor yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in

andsteal; but store upfor yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where

thieves do not break in andsteaL For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

— Matthew 6:19-21

“When human beings give their heartfek allegiance to and worship that which is not God, they progressively

cease to reflect the image ofGod. One ofthe primary laws ofhuman life is that you become like what you worship;

what’s more, you reflect what you worship not only back to the object itselfbut also outward to the world around.

Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms ofit and increasingly treat other people as

creditors, debtors, partners, or customers rather than as human beings. Those who worship sex define themselves in

terms ofit (their preferences, their practices, their past histories) and increasingly treat other people as actual or

potential sexual objects. Those who worship power define themselves in terms of it and treat other people as either

collaborators, competitors, or pawns. These and many other forms ofidolatiy combine in a thousand ways, all ofthem

damaging to the image-bearing quality ofthe people concerned and ofthose whose lives they touch. My suggestion is

that it is possible for human beings so to continue down this road, so to refuse all whisperings ofgood news, all

glimmers ofthe true light all promptings to turn and go the other way, all signposts to the love ofGod, that after

death they become at last, by their own effective choice, beings that once were human but now are not, creatures that

have ceased to bear the divine image at alL”

-N. t Wright,Swprbedbysqe, p. 182

In Plato’s philosophy God’s realm was where the perfect forms of all things were contained. The things of

earth were only imperfect copies of these eternal forms. Modern process philosophers speak of God providing

“lure? for us, visions of what more perfect decisions, creations and lives might be. Verna J. Dozier calls the sum

total of these visions, the dream of God. To partidpate in God’s dream is to participate in what John’s gospel calls

eternal life. But so often we choose lesser dreams, choose to worship lesser gods. Saint Paul writes in 1 CorInthians

15:49, “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” If

we insist on worshipping weafth, power, fame or pleasure, transient things, things of the dust, which are consumed

by time and stolen by mortality, then we will never participate in the eternal life God calls us to. We will never bear

the image of the man of heaven. What Is God’s dream? It is a dream of love, joy and peace for all. We participate in

it only as long as we seek truth, goodness and beauty for all. In this time of prayer, ask yourself where your priorities

are. Are they with the dreams of the man of dust, or the dreams of the man of heaven? Ask God to give you the

grace to dream God’s dream, to see your neighbor’s needs, to nurture them as God has nurtured you, and to

empower them to grow in God’s image and find God’s dream for them. Pause a moment to envision God’s dream

for those around you.

Repeat the Breath Prayer “Our Father in heaven”

Advent Devotionals FUMC 2009

DAY3Breath Prayer: “Hallowed be your name”


“The LORD wIll become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one.”— Zechariah 14:9


“and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”— Matthew 1:23

Jews, Christians and Muslims shy away from pronouncing God’s name. When the ancient name YHWHappears in the text of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jew will substitute the phrase “ha shem” which means “the name”or the word “Adonal” which means “The LORD”. Christian Bibles follows that last custom and insert the word LORDwherever YHWH appears. Muslims refer to God as “Allah”, which is simply Arabic for “The God”. Part of the reasonfor these customs is an understanding ofthe Holiness of God, but more importantly is the understanding that thereis only one God, therefore there is no need to distinguish our God from the others by a proper name. There are noothers.

The promise of the coming of the Messiah foretold in Zechariah, is the promise that someday all the worldwill recognize that there is but one God, and this is the God of Moses and the Exodus, ofiesus and the cross,perhaps even, the God ofjustice, compassionate and merciful, which Mohammed called his people to follow. Onthat day God’s name will be one.

“We live between Advent and Advent between the first great Advent, the coming ofthe Son into the world,and the second Advent, when he shall come again in power and glory to judge the living and the dead. That’s whyAdvent is sometimes quite confusing, preparing for the birth ofJesus and at the same time preparing for the timewhen God makes all things new, when the whole cosmos has its exodus from slavery. That apparent confusion, thatoverlap ofthe first and second Advents, is actually what Christianity is all about: celebrating the decisive victory ofGod, in Jesus Christ, over Pharaoh and the Red Sea, over sin and death —and looking for, and working for. andlonging for, and praying for, the full implementation ofthat decisive victory.”

— N.T. Wright, The Lord and His Prayer. p. 20

In this time of prayer envision the joy of that second Advent, that final victory when we shall see with ourown eyes, Emmanuel, God with us, and on that day, the earth shall be one, our God shall be one, and his name shall

Words of Challenge:Old Testament Scripture:But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God ofyour ancestors has sent me toyou,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shalil say to them?”God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”

Exodus 3:1344

Advent Devotionals FIJMC 2009

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New Testament Scripture:aWith what can we compare the AbiMm ofGod or what parable will we usefor it?It is like a mustard seed, which, when sawn upon the ground, is the smallest afall the seeds on earth; yetwhen it Is sown ft grows up and becomes the greatest afallshrubs, andputsfoflh large branches, so that thebirds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

— Musk 4:30-32

“Do nat be afraid, IktIeflack far ft is your Father’s goad pleasure to give you the kingdom.”—Lukel2:32

“The prophets bad promised it. Ezekiel: YHWH himselfwill come to be the shepherd of Israel.Zechariab: YHWH4 will come, and all his saints with him. Malachi (with more than a tinge ofwarning):the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his Temple. And, towering over them all, Isaiah: there will be ahighway in the wilderness; the valleys and mountains will be flattenedo the &ov ofYHWH shall be revealed, andall flesh shall see it together. Zion hears her watchmen shouting ‘Here is your God!’ Isaiah’s message holds togetherthe majesty and gentleness ofthis god who comes in power and who comes to feed his flock like a shepherd, cariyingthe lambs, and gently leading the mother sheep. This is the kl.gdoa-message Jesus lived by; this prophetic vision isthe basis ofthe Lord’s Prayer.”

-N.T. Wright TheLwd.sdHbP?qper, p.25

9he kingdom of God Is at hand! “ Jesus declares. It is not only coming it is already breaking into thepresent. Right now ft is small like a mustard seed, but it will keep on growing and growing until the whole world isencompassed by it There is nothing we can do to stop it. At worst our selfishness and short-sightedness can delay it,but as surely as a small bit of leaven makes the whole loaf rise, ft will come. And what will it be like? Imagine a worldin which everyone is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Imagine a world in whicheveryone is good to all, and their compassion is over all that God has made. In this time of prayer, understand thatyou are already living in the kkdom of God even though ft is not yet completely visible. Trust in God’s gentlenessand mercy to cradle you as one of his little lambs and gently lead you In his path. As long as the Lord Is yourshepherd, you shall not want.

Words of challenge:Old Testament Scripture:How beautjful upon the mountains are thefeet ofthe messenger who announces Nace.who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God is kingl”Listenl Your watchmen left up thefr voices, together they singforJOj’;

for in plain sight they see the return of the LORD to Zion.”— bafiS 52:78

New Testament Scripture:When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled thescroll andfound the place where it was written:


“The Spirit ofthe Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring aood news

to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the caDtlves and recovery ofsight

to the Mind, to let the oppressed gofree, to proclaim the rear of theLordtcfavor.”

And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, andsat down. The eyes Wall in the synagogue

werefixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has beenfuffilled in your hearing.”

— Luke 4:18-21

Then he looked up at his disdples and said:

“Blessed are you who are pggg, foryours is the kbtgdem ofGod.

Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will befilled.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”— Luke 6:20-21

“Jesus, 1 think, knew these prophecies intimately and deliberately made them the theme ofhis own work.

When we sing ofZion hearing the watchmen’s voices, we at singing the song Jesus himselfhad in mind as he told

his followers to pray, Thylhsgdom Come. So was Jesus’ kingdom-message, after all, simply about national and

political liberation?At this point Western Christianity has tended to say: ofcoune not Jesus wasn’t into politics; he came with a

spiritual message, the timeless and eternal truths ofpersonal salvation. Well, that clearly won’t do. We’d have to cut

out the tell-tale phrase, on earth, as it is in heaven. Whatever Jesus’ Klagd.a- announcement was all about, it was

about something that actually happens, within the space-time world. But, equally, Jesus’ parables regularly challenged

the simple one-dimensional liberationist kingdom-vision that his contemporaries cherished. lflsaiah’s message is

thorn God’s healing for the nations, thout Israel being the light ofthe world, this will not be achieved by militasy

victory. To put it crudely, how can the Prince ofPeace defeat evil ifhe has to abandon Peace itselfin order to do áà?

No. Jesus took the three parts oflsaiah’s klagdea- message and set about implementing them. Release for

captive Israel; the defeat ofevil; and the return ofYHWH to Zion.”

-N.T. Wright, TheLovdeadHbhwyer, p. 26-27

Too often those who claim to be concerned about the poor seek to right the injustice of poverty by resorting

to violence. Part of this is because those who are poor have so little power to change things, and those who are rich

have the power to keep change from happening. Unfortunately, the trouble with violence is that it usually breeds

more violence. It is only when one is committed both to justice for all and non-violence methods of obtaining it that

one truly commits to living in the khcdom of God. In this time of prayer, pray for the compassion to truly care for

victims of poverty and injustice, and the courage to seek justice without violence. Ask God how you can be part of

the coming kingdom of the Prince of Peace and Plenty.

Repeat the Breath Prayer: “Thy kingdom come.”


Day5

Breath Prayer: “Your will be done.”

Words of Comfort:


The steadfast i2Y of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in him.

For the Lord will not reject forever.

Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.— Lamentations 3:21-24,31-32


What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leavethe ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search ofthe one that went astray?

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.

— Matthew 18:12-14

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “0 my Father, if it be possible, let thiscup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

— Matthew 26:39

“In Jesus himself, I suggest, we see the biblical portrait ofYHWH come to life: the loving God, rolling up hissleeves (Is 52: 1 0) to do in person the job that no one else could do; the creator God, giving new life; the God whoworks through his created world and supremely through his human creatures; the faithful God, dwelling in the midstofhis people; the stern and tender God, relentlessly opposed to all that destroys or distorts the good creation andespecially human beings, but recklessly loving all those in need and distress. “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:he shall carry the lambs in his arms; and gently lead those that are with young” (Is 40:1 1). It is the Old Testamentportrait ofYHWH, but it fits Jesus like a glove.” — N.T. Wright, The (‘hallenge offesus, p. 12

If we want to see the will of God, aN we have to do is look at Jesus. John put it this way in I John 4:16, ‘Godis kve, aruJ those vho live ii, hcve live in God. and iSod lives ir them That v’as what Jesus c[dL He lived in Gcds Io’’eand Gods love lived in him. That is how he was able to have compassion even upon his executioners. That was howhe was able to love the unlovable. That was how he was able to empower those who denied him to become thesaints and martyrs of the church. This is how Saint Paul came to know that that God works for good in all things,even when we cannot see it, that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the joy which is tocome, and that in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. In this time of prayer, rest inthe Jove of the one whose mercy is over all his works, and whose will is ever directed to his children’s good.

ZE


Words of Challenge:


He has told you, 0 mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD qjre of you but to do justice, and to

icy kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — Micah 6:8


This is my commandmfl, that you kve one another as I have loved you.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends ifyou do what I command you. —John 15:12-14

“1 used to think ofthis clause simph as a prayer ofresignation Th will be done with a shrug of

the shoulders: what I want doesnt matter too much; ifGod really wants to do something I suppose I can put

up with it. That might do ifGod x?ere a remote. detached. God. It won’t do for Isaiah’s God; it wont do for

Jesus; and it won’t do for those who break bread and drink wine to remember Jesus and pray for the

kingdom. No: this is the risky, crazy prayer ofsubmission and commission, or, ifyou like, the prayer of

subversion and conversion. It is the way we sign on, in our turn. for the work ofthe kingdom. It is the way

we take the medicine ourselves, so that we may be strong enough to administer it to others. It is the way we

retune our instruments. to play God’s oratorio for the world to sing.”—N.T. Wright, TheLordandHisPrayer, p. 32-33

Prayer is participatory. It is never passive. Sure, we listen for God’s answer to our petitions, and for

God to show us his will for our lives, but that is never the end of it. To pray for something, it to co-operate

with God in making it happen. To pray that God’s will be done, is to commit to finding out as much as

humanly possible what God’s will is, and to work with God to make it happen. If God’s will is for the world

to be freed from injustice, suffering and death, then we must do our part to make this happen. We must

contribute our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness to eliminating the causes of injustice

suffering and death or we are being the worst kind of hypocrites. In this moment of prayer, ask God to

show you how, when and where you can work with him to bring about the kingdom of God, so that his will

is done in your life and in the world to come.

Repeat the Breath Prayer: “Your will be done.”

Day 6

Breath Prayer: “Your will be done on earth”

Od Testament Scripture:

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live ,n it. Psalms 24:1


And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in thefleId keeping watch over theirfiock by night.

And, lo, the angel o,f the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they

were sore afraid.


And the ongelsold unto them, Fear not:for, behold, I bring you good tidings ofgreatjoy, which shall be to allpeople. For unto you is born this day in the dty ofDavld a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shallflnd the babe wrapped in swaddling dothes, lying in a manger.

Andsuddenly there was with the angel a multitude ofthe heavenly host praising God, and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth oeace, aood will toward men.” — Luke 2:1244

“Granted the swirling currents ofalternative worldviews available in the first centuçy, it is a remarkablefeature ofthe earliest Christianity known to us that it refused to lapse at any point into a cosmological dualism inwhich the created world is regarded as less than good and God-given. . ..Creation was from the beginning an act oflove, ofaffirniing the goodness ofthe other. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good; but it was not itselfdivine. At its height, which according to Genesis I is the creation ofhumans, it was designed to reflect God, both toreflect God back to God in worship and to reflect God into the rest ofereation in stewardship.”

-N. ‘L Wright SrpthedbyHqse, p.94

The earth is a remarkable place. Scientists tell us that it took God almost 10 billIon years to create ft. ft is a

Goldilocks planet, not so far from the sun as to be forever frozen like Saturn or too close as to be a burning hell like

Venus, but ust right” for over five million species of living things, including us. This garden planet, we call home, is

one of&s greatest gifts to us. ft contains everything we need to thrive and grow. It is where God is constantly at

work to make all things new, so that we become the people of paradise as he intended. In this moment of prayer,

pause and think about the beauty of the earth, the glory of the skies, and the love which from our birth over and

around us lies. Think on these things and be thankful.

Words of challenge:Old Testament Scripture:

The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the eafth he has given to human beings.— Psalms 115:16

New Testament ScrIpture:

Who then is thefaithful and wise servant whom his mastei has put In charge ofhis household,

to givethe otherservants their allowance offood at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master willftnd at work when he arrives.— Matthew24:45-46

“A good many Christian hymns and poems wander offunthinkingly in the direction ofOnosticism. The “justpassing through” spirituality (as in the spiritual “This world is not my home, I I’m just a’passin’ through”), though ithas some affinities with classical Christianity, encourages precisely a Gnostic attitude: the created world is at bestirrelevant, at worst a dark, evil, gloomy place, and we immortal souls, who existed originally in a different sphere, arelooking forward to returning to it as soon as we’re allowed to. A massive assumption has been made in WesternChristianity that the purpose of being a Christian is simply, or at least mainly, to “go to heaven when you die,” andtexts that don’t say that but that mention heaven are read as ifthey did say it, and texts that say the opposite, likeRomans 8:18-25 and Revelation 21—22, are simply screened out as ifthey didn’t exist.’

Advent Devotlonals FUMC 2009

The results are all around us in the Western church and in the or1dviews that Western Christianit has

generated. Secu1arits nilen criticize Christians for contributing to ecological disacier. and ther&s more than a grain of

truth in the charge. I have heard it seriously argued in North America that since God intends to destroy the present

space-time unierse. and moreover since he intends to do so quite soon no. it really doesnt matter whether emit

tice as mans greenhouse gases as do now. whether destroy the rain forests and the arctic tundra. whether e

fill our skies ith acid rain. I hat is a peculiarl) modern form of ould-be Christian negati ity about the orid. and of

course its skin-deep spiritua1 viewpoint is entirely in thrall to the heart-deep materialism ofthe business interests

that will be served. in hoe er short a term. by such hazardous practices.

, , ,the central Christian affirmation is that hat the creator God has done in Jesus Christ. and supremely in his

resurrection. is what he intends to do for the 4ho1e sor1d meaning. by world, the entire cosmos ith all its history,

N. I . Wright, Surprised by Hope, p. 90-91

If human beings are truly given the eah by God and called by God to be its stewards, then we need to take

a long hard look at what that means. Jesus speaks in many parables such as the Parable ofthe Talents (Matthew

25:14 30) and the Parable ofthe Vineyard (Luke 20:6 16), about servants who are not only supposed to care for

what they have been given, but to make it grow into more than what it was when they received it. That’s what true

stewardship means. God gives us charge over the earth the same way you would give charge of your child to its

teacher. Not only do you expect your child back unharmed, but you expect your child to have learned and grown

thanks to the one to whose care you have committed it. That analogy should give us pause. We must each examine

our lives to see ifwe arejust users , abusers, or stewards ofthe earth. To do that, we must learn about things like

energy conservation, recycling, and sustainability. In this time of prayer, ask God to show you how you might be a

better steward of God’s good earth.

Repeat Breath Prayer: “Your will be done on earth”

Day7

Breath Prayer: “Your will be done as it is in heaven”


Whither shall I gofrom thy spirit? or whither shall Ifleefrom thy presence?

lfl ascend up into heaven, thou art there: ifl make my bed in hell, behoIo, thou art there.

IfI take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.— Psalms 139:7-10

heaver

Matthew4,12 11

AdvhtD,t1naI FUMC 2009

“What e are encouraged to grasp. . . is that Gods space and ours—heaven and earth. in other ords— are.

though ery different. not far away from one another. Nor is talk about heaven simp1 a metaphorical way of talking

about our on spiritual lives. Gods space and ours interlock and intersect in a whole variely ofways even 4hiie the

retain. for the moment at least. their separate and distinct identities and roles. One day. .. they vilI bejoined in a quite

ne w a . open and visible to one another. married together fore er,- N. I. Wright. Surprised by Hope. p. 1 16

One ofthe ideas which even atheists have yet to get straight is that Christians don’t believe heaven or God is

up in the sky, a long way off. Jesus was born to show us that God is with us here and everywhere we go,

experiencing what we experience, and bearing us up under the burdens of evil, suffering and death, The kingdom of

heaven is nearby. God’s right hand holds us whether we think we are in heaven or in hell. The psalmist writes, “God

is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should

change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea.” In the midst of all our Christmas joy it is important to

remember that the name Immanuel is most significant at the cross. It is at the cross that Jesus shows us that God is

with us even when the pain seems unbearable, and our hearts cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken

me.” If God is in Christ reconciling the world to himself, part of that reconciliation is for us to understand that God is

not off in a remote heaven watching us like some form of reality TV, God’s heaven intersects our world at every

point, and God takes upon God’s self our suffering seeking in the at-one-ment to overcome the separation we have

created between the heaven God wishes for us and the earth we have despoiled. God cannot take away our pain

without taking away our freedom to be like him, but he can embrace us in love from the heaven which is veiled from

our sight by our self-centeredness and fear. In this time of prayer, experience the love of God which reaches out to

you. Know that heaven is closer to you than breathing. Know that God’s hand is leading you and holding you safe

from ultimate harm.

Words of Challenge:Old Testament Scripture:

A shoot shall come outfrom the stump ofiesse, and a branch shall grow out ofhis roots.

The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit ofcounsel and might, the spirit ofknowledge and thefear of the LORD.

His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.

He shall notjudge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;

but with righteousness he shalljudge the pçpj

and decide with equityfor the meek of the earth;

The wolfshall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the ca/fond the lion and thefat/ing together

and a IitIp child shall Ipad them

a dthewea e h d ta p hando teadde r

They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;

for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 111 4, 6O

ii



‘BIessed are the pppj in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

tBlessed are those who hunger and thirstfor righteousness for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecutedfor righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.— Matthew 4:12-17

“It means. for a start, that as we look up into the face ofour Father in Heaven, and commit ourselves to thehallowing ofhis name, that we look immediately out upon the whole world that he made, and we see it as he sees it.Thy Kingdom Come: to pray this means seeing the world in binocular vision. See it with the love ofthe creator for hisspectacularly beautiful creation; and see it with the deep grief ofthe creator for the battered and baffle-scarred state inwhich the world now finds itself. Put those two together. and bring the binocular picture into focus: the love and thegriefjoin into the Jesus-shape. the kingdom-shape, the shape ofthe cross — never was Love, dear King, never wasGrief like thme1 And ‘ ith this Jesus before your eyes pray again Th) Kingdom C oiiie thy will be done on ui th asit is in heaven! We are praying. as Jesus was praying and acting, for the redemption ofthe world; for the radicaldefeat and uprooting ofevil; and for heaven and earth to be married at last. for God to be all in all. And ifwe praythis way, we must ofcourse be prepared to live this way.”

— N.T. Wright. The Lord and His Prayer. p. 31

The passage above from Isaiah was believed by early Christians to describe the coming of the Messiah, the

shoot from the stump ofJesse (King David’s father). It also describes the kingdom of heaven as God now sees it and

as it shall come to pass in this world when Christ shall come again in final victory. God will bring this to pass, but in

the meantime God uses those who are on the side ofthe poor, who comfort the mourning, who are not self-

promoting, who hunger and thirst forjustice, who are merciful to those who have done wrong, who are single

minded in seeking God’s will, and who make and keep the peace even at the price of persecution, to help bring that

kingdom about, to bring about the realization of God’s dream, the marriage of earth and heaven. In this time of

prayer, think ofthose who are poor, mourning, hungering forjustice, in need of mercy, living in lands torn apart by

war, or being persecuted for the cause ofjustice. Ask God how you might bring the values of heaven to earth for

them.

Breath Prayer: “Your will be done as it is in heaven”

z.rz;::—— .. • r:: ..EZEZE . EJ

Advent DevotIonals FUMC 2009

Download - Week Beginning November 29 - Agape Class · The Lord and His Prayer by N. T. Wright Week Beginning November 29 Each day begins with atheme phrase as breath prayer. For at least ten

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