The Coming Light: A Devotional Guide for Advent

Our devotions during Advent will look a little different than what we normally do throughout the year. On Sunday mornings during December, we will publish a weekly devotional resource to guide you through the season. Each week, you will receive this devotion email with a link to the web page with the full guide (as well as a downloadable PDF). There are six practices each week, which we are labeling by day of the week so you can do one practice each day, but please use it in any way that works for you! Remember, the point is to discern God’s presence, not to add a list of to-do’s. Each week will include the following elements:

1. Practicing Together: On Sunday evening (or whenever your group regularly meets during the week), consider gathering with your family or your community group. One idea is to gather for a weekly meal. Start the time with the “Practicing Together” section of the Advent guide, and then enjoy the meal together afterwards. 
2. Reading: On Monday morning, begin with a devotional reading to set your sights on the theme of the week. 
3. Digging: On Tuesday, we’ll introduce a passage of Scripture which will be a focus for the week, and we’ll offer a few study prompts to frame it in your mind. 
4. Listening: On Wednesday, we’ll go deeper into the same Scripture through guided meditation. We may lead you in a practice of lectio divina (Latin for the ancient practice of “divine reading”) or invite you to engage your imagination by entering the story as though you were in the scene. The purpose of these practices is to move the Scripture from our heads to our hearts. 
5. Seeing: For Thursday, we have selected a work of art that illustrates the theme of the week. Like lectio divina, visio divina is a form of meditation, using an image or a work of art instead of words or text. This practice may be new to you, but we think you will enjoy it. 
6. Doing: The purpose of the study and meditation of Scripture is for it to become something we put into practice, not just more knowledge. So, let’s get out there and serve!  
   
   

Practicing Together

We will forego this section today, but please take time to plan how you will incorporate these weekly gatherings into your practice. Will you get together with your friends, or your family, or a combination of both? (The Practicing Together guide for December 1 is included here, so you can prepare for next week’s gathering.)

Monday, November 25: Devotion

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:4-7

At dinner tables loaded with turkey and sides this week, all of us will probably be asked to rummage through our memories of the passing year to name something for which we are grateful. You might as well do it right now. Choose two or three items that you will mention when the question comes up. What are you thankful for? 

Now that you have started, keep going. Write them down on paper, or start a note on your phone. Add to it daily until you have a list of 100 things for which you are grateful. How long do you think it would take to get to 1000? This was the venture of gratitude that author Ann Voscamp embarked upon after the tragic death of her sister compounded a litany of heartaches that had been cultivating a sense of “brokenness of heart by loss and pain.” She learned that gratitude is a powerful tool for happiness, and she wrote about it in a beautiful book entitled “One Thousand Gifts.” If your spirit could use a boost, I highly recommend it. 

Along with the therapeutic value of gratitude, Thanksgiving cues our souls for the beginning of Advent, which is the beginning of the liturgical year. Advent is a four-week season of preparation for the big celebration of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. Because it usually (though not always) begins on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the two are linked in my imagination. While the leftover turkey and stuffing is heating in the microwave, we are boxing up the pumpkins and pulling out the tree!

This year, for the first time ever, Crossings will mark the beginning of the season with a service called “Hanging of the Greens.” We will gather in the OKC Chapel to sing our favorite Christmas songs and to acknowledge the rich significance of the Christmas symbols all around us. The evergreens, the lights, and the red poinsettias are all significant, meaning they are signs of the coming king! 

Our New Testament was set in the context of the ancient Roman Empire. The Emperor, who was like a king to them, sometimes traveled from Rome to the far reaches of the empire. This was a big undertaking that required a large entourage to accompany the Emperor. Teams of construction workers preceded the Emperor by months in order to repair potholes in existing roads and to build quality roads where there were none. Crooked roads were made straight, and if necessary, the steep hills were manually flattened, and low spots were elevated to make the highway smooth and straight for the arrival of the sovereign. When the day finally came, all of the subjects, whether from cities or the countryside, crowded along the road to wave and cheer and welcome the king! This practice was established long before Roman Empire, and is probably the image Isaiah had in mind when he wrote these words: 

“A voice of one calling: In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” – Isaiah 40:3-5

Israel was a nation in waiting. They had lived out their history in expectation of a Messiah who would finally set them free from oppression and reign in peace forever. Through the season of Advent, we enter dramatically into the spirit of expectation. Even while our secular world races to Christmas like a finish line, our sacred world slows down, tempers our anxious hearts, and seeks the presence of God in silence. 

Tuesday, November 26: Digging

In honor of Thanksgiving, let’s focus on Philippians 4:4-7. Follow these steps to dig into the meaning of this passage in Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi. 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:4-7

• Read the passage two or three times and highlight or notice key words.
• Notice (mark) all of the verbs. What is Paul telling the believers to do?
• What is Paul’s antidote for anxiety?
• What is the place of thanksgiving in our lives?
• What does this passage tell us about God?
  
  

Wednesday, November 27: Listening

Lectio Divina on Philippians 4:4-7

1. The first step is always prayer. Ask God to lead your heart and mind to the word that he has for you today.
2. Read the passage, and let your mind rest on a word or phrase that captures your attention. 
3. Read it again, and hold that word (or phrase) in your mind, taking it to God in prayer. Ask God what that word may signify for you. How does that word connect with your life right now? Does it apply to a relationship, or a circumstance, or something that is burdening you? How might God be asking you to respond? (Is there something to believe? To do? To say to someone? Something else?) 
4. Having heard from God, respond to him in prayer. Tell him how you feel about the instruction or guidance you may have received. Then decide what obedience would look like in this situation. Be specific and make a plan. How might you take action?
5. Read the passage one more time, and sit quietly before God, simply resting in his presence. Thank him for being with you, and take that gratitude into the rest of your day. 
   
   
   

Thursday, November 28: Seeing

Visio divina on Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom from Want” 

Each week through Advent, we will be providing an image you can use to learn about the practice of visio divina. This approach to prayer dates back to the very early days of the church as an aid to worship. The catacombs were filled with images and symbols of the faith. For centuries, in cultures where very few people could read, images were considered a legitimate means of sharing and reflecting on the Gospel. In essence, it is about looking at a work of art, or a scene from nature, or even nature itself, and asking God to reveal himself through that visual imagery. The steps involved in this practice are preparation, first look, meditation, prayer, contemplation, and action. We will include some possible prompts; use as many as you would like to help guide you through the steps.

Click here for more about the background and details on the steps of visio divina, as well as a sample using this week’s art. 

Friday, November 29: Doing

Start a list of things you are thankful for. Write them down on paper, or make a note on your phone. Commit to adding to it daily this week until you have a list of 100 things. (These do not all have to be profound, some can be simple pleasures, like morning coffee or a beautiful sunset.)