ps from ps

Advent rolls on.  A time of preparation.

There’s 103 things we are all “preparing” as we move through December toward Christmas.  

But is “Ourselves” even on the list?

At St. Paul’s this Advent, Pastor Kristen designed “Advent In A Bag” to help people prepare themselves for the good and great news of Jesus’ love coming into the world once again.  Each week in December, I’ll share one of her activities for you to experience and enjoy to make sure that preparing YOU becomes more of a priority in this wonderful season.  

Here’s one for the second week of Advent:

We have peace because God is with us.

Light two candles to represent hope & peace. God is with you always, but begin by acknowledging God’s presence. Say, I (we) gather here in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Share/Contemplate a high & a low of your day. How do you feel when plans change? Do you enjoy it or feel stressed?

READ: Matthew 1:18-25 

There was a man named Joseph who was going to marry a girl named Mary. After marriage, Joseph hoped they would have children together. Joseph was not planning on being a father be- fore they were married, and when he heard Mary was going to have a baby, he was afraid. Maybe Joseph did not understand there are many ways to be a family. He was not at peace with this new plan. In fact, he started thinking about ways he could change the plan.

Have you ever had a big change of plans? Did you feel at peace? Did you feel nervous? God knew that Joseph was feeling nervous.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “do not be afraid” to embrace this new plan. The angel told Joseph to marry Mary, to name their baby “Jesus,” and that Jesus would save God’s people. This message must have given Joseph peace about the new plan because when he woke up, he married Mary and committed himself to be a father.

The writer of Matthew tells the reader this plan would fulfill a prophecy from the Hebrew Scriptures: “…and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”

This does not mean Joseph and Mary called Jesus “Emmanuel” around the house. Instead, it means every time Joseph and Mary thought about their son, they would remember God was present in their son and God wanted to be present with the whole world. Even though our plans change and unexpected things happen, God is always with us. Like Joseph, we can find peace knowing we are not alone when plans change.

REFLECTION OR DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

When has your family had a change of plans? How did you feel? What makes you feel peaceful?

Prayer:  Practice Breath Prayer
Take a deep breath in. Take a deep breath out.

Do you remember what Emmanuel means? It means God with us! No matter where we are, what we do, or how we feel, God is al- ways with us—just like our breath!

Breathe in. Breathe in. God is with me.

Breathe out. Breathe out. God is with us.

Still in One Peace,
ps and pk