THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS
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ADVENT PRAYERS BECOME CHRISTMAS LIVING!

“Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; …” Collect for First Sunday after Christmas Day

This past Advent, we introduced the “Jesse Tree” as an aid in focusing our intention toward preparing our hearts and souls for the true Christmas Presence God gifts to the world in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The name “Jesse Tree” is intended to provide a visual depiction of Jesus’ FAMILY TREE as one descended from Jesse, the father of King David. Artists have depicted this image as a tree literally growing out of the abdomen of Jesse, as proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah – “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” [11:1-3]

We adorned our Jesse Tree red, blue, white, and green tags which carried the prayers and intentions of our hearts this Advent Season into the Christmas celebration. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we gathered these prayer tags from the Jesse Tree and blessed them on our altar. Blessed for what reason you may ask? They were blessed to move from being our INTENTION to become how we LIVE CHRISTMAS each and every day. I am keeping the basket of prayers in my office to hold before God with you and for you in 2012. Here is just a small sample from the over 100 tags hung upon our Jesse Tree –

“I pray for that special person the Lord has for me” …

“I pray every child has someone who loves them” …

“May there be peace after elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” …

“That my  friend can get clean and sober” …

“For strength, courage, wisdom, comfort, and peace for all those facing emotional or physical hardships” … 

“Peace for my family and their lives” …

“Remove the chaos of my work that I may be at peace in all my life” …

“Pray that all our soldiers come home safely soon” …

“Heal all people from their hurt and sins” … 

“That my family feels as valued and loved as they are” …

“Peace in my home and my school” …

“To make wise and healthy choices for my life and that of my family” …

“To be ready to hug all people, especially when they are sad” …

The gift of God in Christmas is the Presence of God in the Word, made flesh in the life of Jesus for us, with the intention TO BE LIVED in all of our life through all of our days, just as our Collect for the
First Sunday after Christmas Day calls to our intention. This is what makes Christmas NOT just a day or a season. This is what makes Christmas OUR LIFE INTENTION into the New Year 2012 soon coming.

I began my fourth year of ministry with the people of St. Thomas’s this past Thanksgiving Day. On that day I shared  the focus for my ministry and that of the parish for the year ahead is captured in the
Pentecost Day invitation – WHAT ARE YOUR WAITING FOR? My Advent prayer to become Christmas living with you adds this invitation, HOW CAN I HELP YOU LIVE YOUR ADVENT PRAYER INTO CHRISTMAS LIVING? Together, these prayers of our hearts, written on simple tags and hung on the tree as we enter the church, can become how you and I will really CHANGE OUR WORLD

WHAT ARE YOUR WAITING FOR? HOW CAN I HELP YOU LIVE YOUR ADVENT PRAYER INTO CHRISTMAS LIVING?

In peace always, your servant in Christ,
Paul+