Advent Week One: Day 2
- Donna
- Dec 4, 2024
- 3 min read
An Advent Pause
Author and artist Liz Lamoreaux writes about the meaning of pause:
A pause is
the space between:
inhale and exhale
thought and action
decision and movement
stillness and truth
Advent is a time of pause. Even when it seems the world is lost in a flurry of holiday activity, the true call of Advent is to wait. Pause and listen for the truth that is deep within us and also beyond us. We listen for what wants to be born in us, while we wait like Mary, in this liminal space.
Did something within Mary resonate with the impossible words of the angel's proclamation? She very understandably asks, "How can this be? But then, after pondering, quite quickly responds, "Let it be."
Take some moments with this painting of Mary with the angel Gabriel and with the song. Imagine how the words of the angel might have seemed to her. "“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you....Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus." (Luke 1:28-30, NRSVUE)
Song: Gabriel's Message (Voces8)
Our "weary world" needs to pause now more than ever. There are many things that can cause us to fear and despair. Advent calls us to pause, and to ponder like Mary: to hold these things in our heart. and not rush too quickly to our own incomplete understanding.
This is an in-between season -- for Mary -- and for us as we move through these four weeks of Advent. What will help you pause?
Suggestion: Liz Lamoreaux writes, " I believe that the pause is a stillness that can become a sanctuary within us." You might like to create a quiet space, a sanctuary, where you can pause and ponder this Advent. It doesn't have to be long periods of silence or an elaborately decorated space. Even 10-15 minutes of stillness sitting in a favorite chair, can signal our soul's readiness to listen. Perhaps light a candle, take a few deep breaths, sip a favorite warm drink, and simply rest in that still sanctuary within you. In this holy waiting space, you can listen for what God wants to share with you. You can ask God for what you need that day.
Song: Send Out Your Light (and Truth) by Sandra McCracken
A Blessing
May you abide
the places in between:
the thresholds, the passages,
the spaces of waiting
and patience and preparing.
May you give yourself
to the mysteries
that move us from what was
toward what is yet to be.
May you know
the company of angels
who come only
to those betwixt
and who love
the liminal spaces
and the treasures
that they hold.
(Jan Richardson)
Resources
Lamoreaux, Liz, "December Pause," lizlamoreaux.com
Richardson, Jan L., In the Sanctuary of Women, Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2010,
p. 311.
Note: For our Advent Retreat this year, we are following Kate Bowler's A Weary World Rejoices, a daily Advent resource which you may download for free at katebowler.com/advent.
(Our Advent Retreat is free, but you may make a donation towards our Sacred Rhythms programming, by sending a check payable to Donna Holstein at 2917 Village Green Lane, Eagleville PA 19403) or contact Donna to use Venmo or PayPal. Thank you.)
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