#AdventWord #Traveler #旅人 ‘People of faith are travelers, from trudging through deserts of antiquity to present-day pilgrims sauntering along the Camino de Santiago. I have taken youth to walk the Camino in Spain. It was my first international trip. I was excited about receiving a passport stamp. A passport full of stamps has long been proof of a well-lived life for travelers. Each of us is a traveler according to God’s itinerary or our own. No matter what we choose, God places stamps upon our souls. What story do those stamps tell? What stamps will mark your soul this Advent … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 20 ‘Traveler’ 旅人

#AdventWord #Beloved #被愛的 ‘“Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7). It is challenging to practice patience in the best of times, and during Advent, it seems many in the church struggle to slow down and be. I feel guilty with my own impatience, and yet, as I read this passage from James, I find comfort: we are still God’s beloved. The scriptures this week remind us that the Messiah is coming. We are called to be faithful and wait and are promised all will be made new in God’s time for all of creation—for us—God’s … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 18 ‘Beloved’ 被愛的

#AdventWord #Stranger #陌生人 ‘Sometimes you pass a stranger and do a double take. There’s a knowing as you both stop, talk, look into each other’s eyes. You recognize the light in them and they the light in you. You are people of faith, perhaps extended family through Abraham and Sarah. You touch your heart, smile, and bow with hands in prayer position. When I first saw an old Muslim man in Marrakech, I did not know that we would become friends. All week, he called out excitedly to me in Arabic. “He says he’s happy to see you,” someone translated.’ … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 17 ‘Stranger’ 陌生人

#AdventWord #Wilderness #曠野 ‘In a wild deer state. Not touched by civilization. Wilderness is not yet remade in the image of man. Wilderness is alien to our hopes, fears, dreams, self-centeredness and self-righteousness, frustrations, catastrophes and successes. It is separate from our habits, preferences, love, anger, or despair. Taking care in what we carry, some of us go to the wilderness to “get away from it all,” some to revel in the beauty of creation and some to test themselves there. From the wildness, from outside anything and everything about us, a voice calls to us, “Think again! Prepare for … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 16 ‘Wilderness’ 曠野

#AdventWord #Messenger #使者 ‘We who have been baptized are God’s messengers, just like John the Baptist. Join me this Advent in examining your life and in committing to a daily apostleship. Let us allow God to use us as instruments. Moved by the Holy Spirit, let us proclaim daily, at the top of our lungs, that there is a God of Love. Let us open doors that are shut off by hatred or resentment. Let’s prepare people to open up, allowing love to enter their hearts.’ (The Rev. Carlos Holmes Rendón Agudelo) Tower Bridge, London ‘Moved by the Holy Spirit, … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 15 ‘Messenger’ 使者

#AdventWord #Breathe #呼吸 ‘Breathe on us, O BREATH. At our beginning and our end, you are with us and within. In the beginning…the BREATH of God hovered above the waters…calling creation into being. From the dust of the ground, God formed the human and b-r-e-a-t-h-e-d… I will put my breath in you…and you will live. And it was so. Life is in the breath, the BREATH of God. Breathe on us. The dust returns to the earth that gave it, and the breath returns to God who breathed it. At our beginning and our end, you are with us and … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 12 ‘Breathe’ 呼吸

#AdventWord #Winnowing #簸選 ‘You’re a newly harvested grain of wheat. Suddenly you’re lofted, soaring into the air with your neighbors. For one hallowed moment, the wind holds you, then winnows you free of the tight shell that held you. You settle to the threshing floor, now a seed, ready to be winnowed again because a new husk, or maybe the old one, forms, even as you await your sowing. Emmanuel stands with his fork and his broom, sending you up again into the wind’s embrace, then sweeping away that chaff which bound you. Always ready and waiting, with love, for … Continue reading Advent Word 2022, Day 11 ‘Winnowing’ 簸選