Turramurra Uniting Advent Daily Reflections in Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia | Religious organisation

Turramurra Uniting Advent Daily Reflections

Locality: Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 2 9144 1853

Address: 10 Turramurra Avenue 2074 Turramurra, NSW, Australia

Website: https://www.turramurrauniting.org.au

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20.01.2022 Day #22 Joy in Waiting & Reflecting. Mary pondered all these things Written by Sue Bolton Reading: Matthew 2:19-20 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.... Reflection: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The arrival of one’s firstborn is a momentous occasion. The tender love as you hold the tiny human, the look of wonder in your baby’s eyes as he looks into yours and then views the world for the first time. What is he feeling, sensing, thinking? There is certainly much to ponder. Mary, however, had so much more to ponder: the supernatural circumstances of Jesus’ conception, her cousin Elizabeth’s prophetic utterance, the journey to Bethlehem while heavily pregnant, the birth itself, and now the visit of these humble shepherds with their report of angels bringing a message of joy and peace. How wonderful that Mary did treasure up all these things and had the opportunity to communicate them many years later. Not that everything she shared involved the supernatural: she also shared her feelings of panic and annoyance when twelve year old Jesus stayed back in the Temple, so absorbed in his discussions with the teachers there. How she must have pondered what was going on! And what was she thinking when she took her other sons to see Jesus in the midst of his ministry? Then came the grief of her firstborn’s death on a cross, followed by the resurrection that proved that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Son of God, just as the angel Gabriel had told her more than thirty years earlier. Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that the gospel of Luke contains these honest and intimate details, so that we can have some understanding of the divine and human meeting in the miracle of the Incarnation. May our lives reflect this profound truth and communicate your love, joy and peace in all the ups and downs of daily living. Amen.

13.01.2022 Day #25 Joy in Waiting & Reflecting. That our Joy may be complete Written by Steve Koroknay Reading: John 15:9-11 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. (NIV)... Reflection: This year it has been hard to make plans that involve travel, or getting together with other people, knowing that those plans may remain unfulfilled due to unforeseen border closures or stay at home orders. Things that we’ve wanted to do that create a sense of happiness and fulfilment have not been possible. While Jesus is addressing the disciples in this passage, we can imagine He’s talking to us: explaining that if we follow His example of obedience to God, then our prize is His love, and joy that is complete. I don’t think He’s talking about joy as happiness here (I think that’s clear from reading further through the book of John), however it is more about a sense of fulfilment. Nor does He refer to any circumstances; just that we follow His commands. Prayer: God, please help us to remain in Jesus’ love by following His example of obedience to your commands. Show us how to put love into action, even, and especially, when faced with obstacles and uncertainty. In Jesus’ name, Amen

10.01.2022 Day #23 Joy in Waiting & Reflecting. Immanuel God is with us Written by Rachel Collis Reading: Matthew 1:21-23 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins. 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel[b] (which means God with us).... Reflection: Perhaps the most profound aspect of this passage is who God chooses to become with when coming among us. God incarnate is the illegitimate child of poor parents, persecuted by an unjust ruler, forced to flee as a refugee to a foreign country. God incarnate is the weak, the poor, the oppressed. This is who God identifies with. As a middle class, white woman, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, this is humbling. I belong to the privileged. But the message here is clear. If I want to find God, I may struggle to find Him among my equally privileged friends. I may even struggle to find Him in my church community. Here is where God is: God is with the man selling The Big Issue on my street corner. God is with the suicidal teenager terrified of coming out to his parents and church community. God is with the mentally ill woman, too sick to work, and too poor to afford the treatment she desperately needs to be well enough to work. God is with the domestic violence victim who just found out she’s pregnant. God is with the refugee spending yet another Christmas in detention. Prayer: Loving God, may we look for you among the poor and dispossessed, among the weak and the marginalized. May we never take for granted our immense privilege or allow our wealth to harden our hearts to those with whom you identify most.

08.01.2022 A special BONUS Reflection (because Phil mucked it up and forgot that Eunice had already written a reflection). So, today you get two reflections! ------------------------------------------------------- Day #24 Joy in Waiting & Reflecting. On that day you will shout and sing for joy Written by Eunice Warren... Reading: Isaiah 12:4-6 4 In that day you will say: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. Reflection: Praise. Proclaim. Sing. Shout. After the year we've all had, these words seem incongruent. Who has the emotional energy to expend? Yet considering the context in which these words were spoken by Isaiah - who better to praise and proclaim and sing and shout than we who have been redeemed by God's grace? Our reasons to praise and proclaim and sing and shout: Isaiah 12:1 I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me." Isaiah 12:2 - "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord himself is my strength and my defence; he has become my salvation. Isaiah 12:3 - "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation." So we can and we must: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted." Isaiah 12:4 "Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world." Isaiah 12:5 "Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you. Isaiah 12:6 Prayer: Thank you God for this season of Advent as we count the days till Christmas. We praise You for Your gift of Jesus, born to reconcile us to You. With this joy of salvation, beyond whatever our current circumstances, let us sing and shout with the angels to proclaim - Glory to God in the highest!

02.01.2022 Day #24 Joy in Waiting & Reflecting. On that day you will shout and sing for joy Written by Phil Swain Reading: Isaiah 12:4-6 4 In that day you will say: Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.... Reflection: The people of Isaiah’s time were struggling. They had gone from being a powerful nation loved and lead by God, to being a broken nation, divided and now facing exile. And yet, if you flip through the book of Isaiah, we see it is full of passages like the one above. Passages were Isaiah encourages us to reflect on the greatness of God, even in the tough times, and to give praise to the Lord. (Or as Sam would say, God is God, all the time). Isaiah encourages them to shout aloud and sing for joy. Over the past few days, I have been struggling. Just when I thought that after a draining, exhausting, demanding and challenging 2020 we were going to finish it with an almost normal Christmas, a Christmas full of joy and the planning for the Christmas services were going great and really making me excited. But this COVID outbreak on the Northern Beaches has once again made things challenging. At Christmas services, we literally can’t shout aloud or sing anymore Can Christmas still be filled with Joy? Yes, I think it can. Maybe we can take Isaiah’s advice and refocus our minds on the glorious things that God has done (and is still doing). As I reflect over the past 24 hours, I am remembering the energy and excitement of the kids and young adults who couldn’t meet in person to practice the Christmas Eve play but were still overjoyed, even as they practiced on ZOOM. I remember the passion and commitment of the young adults who despite the uncertainty of the situation - still spent yesterday afternoon cleaning the Church complex, opening up the big doors, setting up the stage, and setting the pews out ready for Christmas. God is at work. The Spirit of Christmas is very much alive. The light of the world is shining over us. And ... I think I am feeling a sense of joy. I encourage us today to sing for joy because the Holy One is indeed among us. Prayer: Lord God, we give praise to your name today! We praise you for your unrelenting love that is always reaching out us, always surround us. We pray that in these last few days of our Advent journey that you will continue to stir in us a sense of joy. Help us to see that the light is beginning to dawn and the Good News of Christmas is upon us. Amen.