About jbrockway

Director of Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Hey! It isn’t Christmas yet

The most counter cultural thing a Christian can do today is to refuse the drive to Christmas. If you watched the Macy’s parade on Thanksgiving, Santa came riding in at the end of the parade with the bold symbolic statement that Christmas has come. The commercialization of Christmas is obvious. “Santa has come, the Christmas season is here, so come shop with us.”
The last thing our culture wants to do in this season is wait. We don’t want to hear about voices crying out in the wilderness, of a young woman wrestling with what the child she carries means for her and the world, or even about some long off time when Christ will come again. With all the decorations and advertisements we are collectively saying “Get on it with it.” Just like a child unable to control the excitement, who treasure hunts around the house for gifts, we want the celebration now. None of this waiting business.
Yet, in truth, this is Advent. It is not Christmas. We are waiting. We are preparing.
To observe Advent is to push back on our culture of consumption and immediacy. To observe Advent is THE Christian practice for our time. For in Advent we acknowledge the delay. We recall the Hebrew people waiting for the Promised One. And we proclaim the fact that we are liminal people. We live in the now-and-not-yet-ness of our faith. Jesus has come, and we wait for him to come again.
We wait.
Waiting is so uncomfortable because we have to acknowledge both our longing and our lacking. When we confront our longing, we realize that there is something we lack. That is very definition of desire. We want what we don’t have. And when we see our longing played out each Sunday of Advent we are confronted with the very reality that we are not yet in the fullness of God’s embrace. In a culture that celebrates immediacy, consumption, and satisfaction, such a realization is nearly anathema.
In Advent we embody both our longing and come to terms with the very distance between us and God. Christians today have bought into our culture of immediacy, preaching a Gospel of God’s full presence. To even hold the season and practice of Advent counters the way we have tried to share the Good News. Advent, then, chastens us as followers of Jesus by reminding us that God is both with us and yet before us. It forces us to accept the distance between us and Christ. Christ is not “in us” but coming. Christ is not here, but is calling us into the fullness of faith.
At the close of his beautiful memoir, The Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton put words to this paradox.
“I no longer desire to see anything that implies a distance between You and me: and if I stand back and consider myself and You as if something had passed between us, from me to You, I will inevitably see the gap between us and remember the distance between us.
My God, it is that gap and that distance which will kill me.”
To the world around us, living in want and wait does seem like death. Why wait for anything when everything is right here? Why wallow in longing when satisfaction is so easy? And for the dominant theology of our time, preparing for the coming of Christ contradicts the very immanence we preach. Why prepare for Christ when we have Christ now, in our hearts, and will go to heaven when we die? Why all this business of rough places smoothed, valleys lifted up, mountains made low, the overthrow of the powerful, and the proud humbled?
It is Advent sisters and brothers, and there is no greater resistance than to hold this season of waiting. Advent is counter cultural.

Sending Out His Word

2015 COVER

Psalm 107:17-22

Question:

What situation in life causes you to feel less than hopeful? Invite God to change your perspective on this situation and thus begin to heal you.

Prayer:

God of hope, who transforms our doubts and insecurities into opportunities for growth, forgive us for the times when we have unintentionally reduced your power to our understanding of what is possible. Thank you for sending your word in the example of Jesus, and inspire us to share your hopeful word with others. Amen.

~ Becky Ullom Naugle, Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Cry to the Lord

2015 COVER

Psalm 107:17-22

Question:

What is the most significant cause of your distress these days? How do you want God to help you in this situation?

Prayer:

Merciful God, who promises to be with us even as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, incline you ear to my plea. Break into my life with your presence as the sun breaks through the clouds! Amen.

~ Becky Ullom Naugle, Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Speak Up!

2015 COVER

Psalm 107:1-3

Question:

What would it be like for you to consistently share about the way the Holy Spirit has been active in your life on a day-to-day basis? You might share with a spouse, housemate, work colleague, or child.


Prayer:

Eloquent God, whose wisdom and graciousness is transmitted to us in many ways, strengthen our timid hearts and cause us to tell others about the small and grand ways you move in our lives. Amen.

~ Becky Ullom Naugle, Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Believers Math

2015 COVER

Psalm 84:8-12

Question:

How might you fix your eyes upon God today? Try to name one concrete action that will put your heart and mind in a position to be able to sense God’s presence with you.


Prayer:

Magnificent God, whose presence with us provides a peace that passes all understanding, inspire us with the desire to focus on you today. As we wander through the wilderness of Lent, remind us of our spiritual home with you. Amen.

 

~ Becky Ullom Naugle, Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministries

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

One For All

2015 COVER

I Peter 3:18-22
Prayer: God for us, we confess that we work as if all depends on us. We confess that all too often we seek our own salvation. As we journey towards the resurrection of your Son, forgive us the temptations of such pride and reveal to us how you are with us, reconciling all the world. For you alone are our savior. Amen
Question: When are you most tempted to do something on your own?

~ Joshua Brockway, Director for Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Happiness

2015 COVER

Psalm 32
Prayer: Holy God, we look to so many things for our happiness. We give into the images of peace and joy paraded before us on screens billboards. Yet, we know that nothing compares to the joy of your grace. In the distracted state of our lives we lose sight of your forgiveness. Open our hearts that we might celebrate the joy of the forgiveness that comes even before the words are on our lips. Amen
Question: What keeps you from the true joy of God’s forgiveness?

~ Joshua Brockway, Director for Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Let Your Face Shine

2015 COVER

Daniel 9:15-25a

Prayer: God of the Kingdom to come, we too often look to the peace of our past rather than the hope of your reign. Instead of living into your continuing restoration of our world, we long for days gone by, trusting in relics rather than your provision for the day. Let your face shine, showing us the next steps of our journey of faith, trusting in your ever unfolding peace. Amen
Question: What signs of the past do you clench so tightly that you cannot receive what is yet to come?

~ Joshua Brockway, Director for Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Teach Me

2015 COVER

 

Psalm 25:1-10

Prayer: Merciful God, we admit that all to often our ways are not your ways. In the midst of fear, anxiety, and loss we take matters into our own hands. We fail to trust what we know from scripture and the great cloud of witnesses. As we prepare for the redemption of your Son, call us back to your truth and remind us of the faith that has nurtured us beyond our merit. Amen
Question: What makes you anxious?

~ Joshua Brockway, Director for Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive for the Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Craig’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.

Sound the Alarm

2015 COVER

Joel2:1-2, 12-17

Prayer: O God, in the busyness of our days we lose our attention. In this season of waiting preparation call our minds and hearts back to your presence. As we let go of what seems like only a little part of our daily lives, teach us your ways that we might keep our attention on you. Amen
Practice: Set an alarm on your computer, smart phone, or watch that will call you to prayer each day in this season.

~ Joshua Brockway, Director for Spiritual Life and Discipleship

Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren is offering these simple prayers and questions in connection to this year’s Lent Devotional written by Craig H. Smith, district executive of Atlantic Northeast District of the Church of the Brethren and ordained minister. (Available from Brethren Press in print and E-Book formats). Join us as we look and listen for the coming of the Word through the reading of scripture, Sandy’s reflections, times of prayer, and conversations on this blog.