Advent Quiet Day
Bible Text from NRSV (Anglicised) , OUP 1995
“Sea of Galillee” by tarnpulli is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Timings:
Opening session 9:30am
Coffee 11:00am
Drawing together 12:15pm
Prayer
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;
Waiting
Waiting is a traditional advent theme, waiting not just for Christmas, but for Jesus’s second coming, for his return
A number of his parables like the parable of the talents or the bridesmaids speak of waiting for the master to return.
But they don’t use the idea of waiting as we often do, of waiting as a passive thing, as an opportunity to be bored or waste time or simply something to be eliminated.
But here, in these parables, waiting is something that is active. They speak about doing the work of the master before he returns.
Now at first glance this may seem a million miles away from our recent quiet days, which if either you have forgotten or are just joined us today – we looked at being still, at listening. What do I mean – well, we might see these advent parables as saying – get on with it, be busy, do more!
But Jesus did not speak these words into a vacuum but into the life that he modelled for his disciples, into the work that he was about in his ministry.
Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. (john 5:19)
Jesus did not do everything. He certainly didn’t do everything his disciples, or the crowds wanted. He was sometimes away in prayer when he was being sought out. The priorities that mattered to Jesus were God’s. And it wasn’t just what Jesus did but how he did it , doing everything with love, joy peace patience, kindness, Goodness, gentleness , faithfulness and self-control (See Galatians 5:21-22 which describes these as the fruit of the holy spirit working in our lives)
Jesus only did what he saw the father doing. What might that look like for us?
Waiting with Jesus
Imagine you are sitting there beside the sea of Galilee. The sun is on your face, a gentle breeze ripples through your clothes. You can feel the cool grass between your toes and hear the gentle lapping of the water
You are there with Jesus. Just you and him
‘Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise’ (John 5:19)
Ask Jesus to help you see:
Where you can see God’s hand at work around you – perhaps even in the most unexpected spaces?
What are the things that make you feel really alive, that feel like you were made to do?
What might God be calling you to stop?
What might God be asking you to start?
How can you increasingly do things his way (doing everything with love, joy peace patience, kindness, Goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control – See Galatians 5:21-22)? Ask God to pour out his spirit on you.
Second bible passage – watching
I will stand at my watchpost, and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me (From Habbakkuk chapter 2)
Like the prophet Habbakkuk lets continue to keep watch, to be attentive and to listen what God is saying to us, expectantly.
Prayer
God be in my head, and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes, and in my looking;
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;
God be in my heart, and in my thinking;