01Advent2020

(this is the text of a devotional pamphlet that was printed doublesided on 8.5 x 14 paper and delivered to local teens along with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup)

Jesus is the REESEon for the Season!

You probably remember that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is Advent,
or at least you probably remember that there’s some church thing with candles and calendars in December, leading up to Christmas.

Lakeview UMC wants to hang out with you a bit during December, during Advent.
And by “hang out” I mean we want to give you some things to think about before Christmas. And we’ll give you candy.
But we want you to promise to think about these things more than once a week.
And you’re welcome to tell friends.
If you email LakeviewWVUMC@gmail.com we’ll make sure to add info for your friends.
(Also email if you have particular candy allergies)

So here’s what’s happening in the rest of this thing.

1. Advent – what is it?
2. What is Lakeview UMC going to be doing?
3. Reflection on the First Week of Advent

 

1. Advent – what is it?
Advent is a word that means “arrival”. In the church, it is the four Sundays before Christmas Day, and we get ready for the arrival of Jesus (more about that in point 3.2.) One of the ways we get ready is marking the weeks with candles. Other ways we get ready for the arrival of Jesus include singing Christmas carols, decorating Christmas trees, and putting up Christmas lights on the house or lawn. There’s more, but that gives you an idea.

The First Sunday of Advent is November 29, 2020.

p.s. the church lights a candle every Sunday in Advent, a light in the darkness.
The first candle is the candle of Hope.

p.p.s. Sometimes people use a calendar that has a chocolate or a sticker or something for every day leading up to Christmas. It’s a way of specially counting down the days.

 

2. What is Lakeview UMC going to be doing?
The folks at Lakeview UMC are making weekly craft packets for kids in the neighborhood, and we’ll be reading some Christmas stories on video (YouTube and Facebook), and we’ll be sharing this connection with teens in the area. Some church folks will hang out on the church lawn around 11am and 1:30pm on Mondays – when the schoolbus stops right outside – to give the craft packets out, and we plan on delivering these things to teens that we know about, also on Mondays.
You can contact Lakeview UMC by email (LakeviewWVUMC@gmail.com)
or phone (304-727-4681)
or find us on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/LUMCWV)
Kerry Bart is our pastor, and his email is Kerry.w.bart@gmail.com,
and his phone (610-304-5437).

By the way, if you would like a Bible, call, text, or email Pastor Kerry.

 

 

3.1. A reflection for the first week of Advent (some time around November 29)
There is a verse in the Bible that says “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” That’s what the prophet Isaiah said about 2,500 years ago to the people living in Israel. You know, of course, that they weren’t *actually* walking in darkness, but that they lived in a time and a place that was pretty bleak. They didn’t have HOPE. I imagine it’s pretty easy to get a glimpse of that. Our lives have been turned upside-down by COVID19: school is so un-normal, we’re tired of video classes and masks, we might have family members who have died, it seems like things are never going to be normal again, the country is crazy about politics, and it’s literally dark at 5:30pm. Those are just a few things that might make us feel like we don’t have any hope.

The prophet Isaiah can speak to us today, too. What would it mean for you, given the hopelessness, the darkness I described, what would it mean for you to have a great light dawn on you? It might mean the opposite of some of those things: school back to normal, being able to be with friends and not have to worry about wearing a mask, the sun not setting until at least 7pm… That’s the hope of Advent. It’s the voice of God saying, “I know it’s dark now. I know you can’t see what’s coming. But trust me: there is good news on the way. Hang in there a little longer. It will not stay dark forever. There is good news coming.”

We’ll tell you that good news is Jesus, and we’ll talk more about that as the month goes along, but Jesus is the Reason for the Season, and he is like a light shining in our darkness, so hang in there.

 

A prayer: Dear God, thank you for the possibility of hope. Thank you that there are some people in this area that care about me. God, help me to get ready for your light coming into the world. Amen.

 

Look for things this week that make the darkness a little brighter.
Maybe you could even *be* the lightness that brightens someone else’s day!

 

 

3.2. A reflection for the first week of Advent (some time around December 2)
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”
So the prophet Isaiah shared that good news like 2,500 years ago, and Jesus was born like 2,000 years ago, so how does Advent, “arrival” happen again? Good question.

There are three ways (at least) of looking at Advent.

One is that we read the Bible parts that talk about the arrival of Jesus. We read some of the prophets. We imagine what it might have been like for Mary (a teenage girl!) to be told she would give birth to Baby Jesus. We imagine what it might have been like for Joseph (engaged to Mary) to think about how he was going to provide for Mary and a baby that wasn’t exactly his. In Advent we think about what leads up to Christmas, about why God decided to send light into the world.

Another way we think about Advent is kind of crazy-sounding. When Jesus was a grown man, he told his friends that he was going to go away (he was talking about dying) and that he was going to come back. In fact after Jesus was raised from the dead and after he ascended into heaven, an angel told the people that Jesus would return (Acts chapter 1 verse 11). Since then, people have been wondering what that could be like, but we believe that Jesus is going to return to earth. It’ll be different than it was the first time. It might be terrifying, honestly, but we anticipate the arrival of Jesus by paying attention to his teachings, by sharing hope with other people, and by committing ourselves to God.

So we think about Advent in terms of when Jesus came into the world 2,000 years ago, and we think about Advent in terms of Jesus returning sometime in the future, and we can also think about Advent in terms of our personal relationship with Jesus. I mean, it’s one thing to say “okay, yeah, Jesus was born about 2,000 years ago” (that’s a fact – even people who don’t believe in God agree that Jesus was a real person), but it’s another thing entirely to realize, “My life is kind of messy, and truth be told, I’m not real good at running my life.” That’s exactly where the good news comes in. Jesus is alive, and we can be in relationship with Jesus now, and we can let the Son of God give direction to our lives. And that leads us to another Advent prayer:

Dear God, I’m learning about life. At least I think I am. And I know I could use some help, some direction. God, will you help me? Will you help me make decisions? Will you guide me? Will you do this through Jesus and through other people who follow him? Help me believe you will. Help me listen. Amen.

Remember: email or call the church or Pastor Kerry if you have questions, or want a Bible,
or if you want to share this thing with a friend. We’ll get another reflection to you on Monday!