PREPARING FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY:
CHANGING YOUR MIND
Bible readings
Isaiah 40:1-11
Comfort, O comfort my people,says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass;
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers; the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers; the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news;
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms
and carry them in his bosom
and gently lead the mother sheep.
Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ.As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight,’”
so John the baptiser appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And the whole Judean region and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed,
“The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to
stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Our Advent journey calls us on
in preparation for what’s to come.
Our dusting off and getting ready
tweaking, changing what we do.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
Because we’ve always done it
doesn’t mean we always must,
as our journey makes us think again
and change the way we live.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
The challenge is to learn
what old ways should be no more,
to encounter and experience
and be brave in stepping out.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
The more we learn, the more we change.
The more we think, the more we grow.
The more we dust our old ways off,
the more our faith shines out.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
Advent God, as we light this second candle,
may we accept the challenges and changes
to our living and our loving
that your extraordinary gift leads us all to make.
May we be prepared to dust off old ways,
learn new ways and become more Christlike.
stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Advent liturgy
Our Advent journey calls us on
in preparation for what’s to come.
Our dusting off and getting ready
tweaking, changing what we do.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
Because we’ve always done it
doesn’t mean we always must,
as our journey makes us think again
and change the way we live.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
The challenge is to learn
what old ways should be no more,
to encounter and experience
and be brave in stepping out.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
The more we learn, the more we change.
The more we think, the more we grow.
The more we dust our old ways off,
the more our faith shines out.
Advent God,
dust us off today.
Advent God, as we light this second candle,
may we accept the challenges and changes
to our living and our loving
that your extraordinary gift leads us all to make.
May we be prepared to dust off old ways,
learn new ways and become more Christlike.
Amen.
Reflection
Many of us will be dusting and cleaning in the run up to Christmas. Doesn’t it feel good when your home is sparkling clean?
John the Baptist called the people out of their ordinary places into the wilderness for transformation. He preached ‘metanoia’ – literally changing the mind.
Jesus also challenged people to change their minds, to leave the traditions of their faith and follow him.
We are daily presented with new opportunities to dust ourselves down, change, rethink and grow to become more Christlike.
Do you find change easy or hard?
Take a few moments to:
- Consider how you would like God to help you to ‘dust off’ or put down something – maybe a habit?
- Reflect on changes you’d like to make or new things you would like to do. Write a “message of hope” that would encourage you to rethink things and take action.
- Quietly ask God to let His Holy Spirit work within you to show you how to be more Christlike.
- Focus on the words of this song.