Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Our Father...Advent to Advent


Good Christmas Eve Morning, Friends.

I was reading my new book and had to share some excerpts with you (below). I included 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' at the end of my post because it is my favorite Christmas song (well, that and 'Once in Royal David's City,' but I decided to only include one of them.)

This morning at 9 AM CST, I will be tuning in to The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, live from King's College Chapel in Cambridge, England (where it will be 3 PM Christmas Eve), as I do each year. I hope you will do the same. You won't be disappointed, I promise.  Check out the notice from American Public Radio.



Now on to the book excerpt I was telling you about:


"...calling God 'Father' is the great act of faith, of holy boldness, of risk. Saying 'our father' isn't just the boldness, the sheer cheek of walking into the presence of the living and almighty God and saying 'Hi, Dad.' It is the boldness, the sheer total risk, of saying quietly, 'Please may I, too, be considered an apprentice son.' It means signing on for the Kingdom of God... (Emphasis added)


"We live between Advent and Advent; between the first great Advent, the coming of the 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 why Advent is sometimes quite confusing, preparing for the birth of Jesus and at the same time preparing for the time when God makes all things new, when the whole cosmos has its exodus from slavery...


"When we call God 'Father,' we are called to step out, as apprentice children, into a world of pain and darkness. We will find that darkness all around us; it will terrify us, precisely because it will remind us of the darkness inside our own selves. The temptation then is to switch off the news, to shut out the pain of the world, to create a painless world for ourselves. A good deal of our contemporary culture is designed to do exactly that. No wonder people find it hard to pray. But if, as the people of the living creator God, we respond to the call to be his sons and daughters; if we take the risk of calling him Father; then we are called to be the people through whom the pain of the world is held in the healing light of the love of God...

"It is the rhythm of standing in the presence of the pain of the world, and kneeling in the presence of the creator of the world; of bringing those two things together in the name of Jesus and by the victory of the cross; of living in the tension of the double Advent, and of calling God 'Father.'"

- excerpted from The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright  (purchased on Amazon.)



"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”  Luke 1:32-33 

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:11

***

To all my lovely blog friends,
May you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas
as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior.


'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'
King's College Choir, Cambridge



Photobucket

37 comments:

Terri @ A Creative Princess said...

Beautiful post, Judy! Merry Christmas, my friend.

Linda Kay said...

Judy, loved your post for this Christmas Eve...Candlelight service tonight then out to dinner with daughter and fiance. Merry Christmas

Deb said...

Beautiful post and beautiful nativity scene. Wishing you and yours a most peaceful, blessed, love-filled Christmas, Judy. Merry Christmas. Deb

podso said...

I'll be listening. Have a wonderful day.

Lynne said...

Merry Christmas Judy and to your family . . .
(Loved the video . . .)

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

A lovely post Judy.
Christmas blessings.
Judith

Debbie said...

BEAUTIFUL! Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

TexWisGirl said...

may you have a wonderful christmas, looking back on the celebration you just shared with full house and full hearts. :)

MadSnapper said...

I like what you said about living from Advent to Advent, never though of it that way. your photos are amazing and beautiful and this, The temptation then is to switch off the news, to shut out the pain of the world, to create a painless world for ourselves, is what I tend to do, stay away from it like it is still not there.
a beautiful post. Your favorite Har is fantastic and this is a link to my favorite Hark that i just found last week

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrLoWt2tfqg

Arlene G said...

Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2015 to you and your family Judy!

Musings from Kim K. said...

Wishing you a blessed and very Merry Christmas!

Primitive Stars said...

Lovely post, wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. Blessings Francine.

Sandi said...

I agree with the comment above: lovely post!

Also, from your sidebar-

'Know that the Lord Himself is God. It is He who has made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.'

I find great comfort in that.

A blessed and merry Christmas, Judy!


Sandi

ellen b. said...

Thanks for sharing that quote from Wright. A very Merry Christmas to your and yours.

Mike@Bit About Britain said...

Just lovely, Judy. We will be watching/listening to carols from Kings on the box. All the best wishes in the world to you and your family for a wonderful Christmas and all that's good in the year ahead. Thank you so much for all your fabulous comments and support; it means a great deal.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Beautiful post today- Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Eileen H said...

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas.

camp and cottage living said...

Thank you for this beautiful post, Judy.
It's so true that the situation in today's world makes us want to run and hide, but this reminds me that we must stand as a light to the world. It is our commission!

J_on_tour said...

Great post, never thought of the word apprentice before and it's meaning.
Have a wonderful time over Christmas and catch up with you very shortly.

sweetbriardreams said...

Have a wonderful Christmas Judy xx

Ginny Hartzler said...

Beautiful words and pictures, love the bible verse!! Merry Christmas!!

Debbie Harris said...

Beautiful post!
Have a most blessed Christmas, Judy.

Joy! Debbie

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Joy to the World!

Unknown said...

I was born in Wisconsin and have relatives there. Your blog reminds me of home. Your blog is about family and life in Wisconsin. Merry Christmas, Kathleen in Az

Buttercup said...

Wishes for a very merry Christmas!

Terri D said...

Lovely post. Merry Christmas!!

Anita Johnson said...

Oh I love what you have posted here...beautiful! Merry Christmas to you too!

Debbie said...

Wishing you a holiday filled with joy!! It's not Christmas without crackers!!

Filonico said...

Merry Christmas from Abruzzo greenest region of Italy. happiness

Chatty Crone said...

Just stopping by to wish you a very blessed Christmas!!

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Theresa said...

I hope you had a truly blessed Christmas! Love the music! HUGS!

Kelly said...

Merry Christmas to you! Hope you had a good one with your family.

Anonymous said...

Judy, I love the picture of your Nativity! Mary looks especially happy! :-)

Michelle said...

Judy, this is beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Peggy said...

Such a great post! I am also thrilled to know I have a kindred spirit in numbering "Once in Royal David's City" as a favorite carol!

J_on_tour said...

It's not the first time I've heard "between two advents" referred to this Christmas season, I have discovered another fan of NT Wright.

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