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Advent Around the World
We invite you to worship with us each Wednesday, beginning November 30 at 11:00 a.m. (CST) Read More
Susan Muto | Read Psalm 104:24-30
This psalm ebbs and flows between observations of nature, God’s first revelations, and our response to them with childlike wonder. From the most minute grain of sand to the magnificence of the stars, God’s handiwork defies description. No human mind can fathom the beauty and order found in the universe. Only the wisdom of God could have calibrated the mysterious movements of the heavens and the earth, their violent upheavals and subsequent restorations.
Stand at the edge of the ocean and try to imagine the creatures inhabiting it and every crevice of creation. Look at the sand crabs crawling swiftly to safety as seagulls swoop to have their fill. From killer whales weighing tons to bait fish light as a feather—all that God has made, great and small, gives praise to the Almighty and looks on high for sustenance and protection.
So generous is the Divine, so loving and reliable, that it hurts us when God seems to turn away. This apparent absence, though usually a sign of God’s deeper presence, leaves us feeling as if this bout of aridity will never end. Our hands and hearts are empty. When will the Holy fill them?
We respond to this divine-human game of hide-and-seek with heartfelt prayer. We beseech God to renew the face of the earth; to let us plant seeds of faith, hope, and love in family life, church, and society; to gather us around the Communion table to share the bread and wine that nourishes us in body and soul. With every breath we pray that God will send the Spirit to grace us anew. Only then can we integrate sanctity and service, worship and work, presence and participation in fidelity to our calling in Christ.
Come, Holy Spirit, and form us into the people of God we were meant to be. Discard our old, unfruitful selves. Let us not die and return to dust before we have been transformed by you. Amen.
This week’s readings remind us of the powerful role of God’s Spirit. For many Christians, the Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity we understand the least. In the book of Acts, the Spirit empowers the apostles on Pentecost to speak in other languages and, in so doing, initiates the establishment and missional reach of the church to the wider world. The psalmist uses a wordplay on ruach, the Hebrew word for breath or spirit, to teach us that God’s Spirit was present at Creation and is necessary for the ongoing survival of all life. Paul writes that God’s Spirit confirms that we are children of God and can approach God with confidence, not fear. Even the disciples feel uncertain about what will happen when Jesus leaves, so John provides Jesus’ assurance that God will remain with them and with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit
Read Acts 2:1-21. How often do you take solace in praying in private? Or are you more inclined to move to take action in the public square without praying first? Which site is the more comfortable for you?
Read Psalm 104:24-34, 35b. Where have you seen evidence of nature’s resources being spent? How can you help?
Read Romans 8:22-27. How consequential is it to you to acknowledge that God prays for us and the world? Why?
Read John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15. What instructions do you wish Jesus had left for you?
Respond by posting a prayer.
This season, Whitney R. Simpson has given us the gift we must open: a clear, accessible invitation to connect with the divine spark that is within us. This is the best present: being present for Jesus’ birth, God made human.”
Learn more about our newest Advent resource, Fully Human, Fully Divine here.
