Advent 3 ~ Love

 

There are countless Carols that mention “Love” in the lyrics.  Some are more popular ~ think here of “Feliz Navidad, prospero año y felicidad.” Which means, “I want to wish you a Merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart.”  Or what about, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”  I really wonder what Gina would do on Christmas morning if she received a partridge in a pear tree or ten lords a leaping ~ I mean our house isn’t that big!  Or there is the classic line in Sleigh Ride, “We’re snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be.” I think we can all agree this is just plain adorable and totally impractical in Florida where it is still almost 80 degrees right now and sleigh rides don’t happen here.  I am sure you can add other lyrics and lines to this list too. 

 

But for me this week, I am thinking of the hymn we sang yesterday, “Canticle of the Turning”.  I invite you this morning to read these words slowly/prayerfully, letting each syllable settle into your soul.  I encourage you to see which sentence causes your heart to leap and which sentiment causes you to question what is possible or practical.  Watch where you put the emphasis; you may want to softly whisper the words and then bravely, boldly declare them emphatically for your neighbors to hear.

 

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,
and my spirit sings of the wondrous things that You bring to the ones who wait.
You fixed your sight on your servant’s plight, and my weakness You did not spurn,
so from east to west shall my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Refrain: My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.

Though I am small, my God, my all, You work great things in me,
and Your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for You yearn,
You will show Your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.

From the halls of pow’r to the fortress tow’r, not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for Your justice tears ev’ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;
there are tables spread, ev’ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:
God’s mercy must deliver us from the conqueror’s crushing grasp.
This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,
till the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

 

For me, I find I love that opening line, “My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God my heart is great!”  At the heart of Advent is preparing our hearts for God to not only rent space in our life until Christmas Eve, but to permanently reside within us all year long.  Along with this truth, I realize God will rearrange the furniture of my life.  That God’s ways and work in this world will disrupt and interrupt my ways and the world’s ways.  I wonder, where is your soul crying out with a joyful shout this morning?  Where do you long for your world to turn?  How might the One who holds us be felt especially in the moments when the “nations rage from age to age” (how powerful is that line?!)?  I invite you today to go back to our service online, listen to this beautiful Carol from yesterday and sing along as a prayer practice and posture for this week.  You can click on the video above to listen again. 
 Amen.