PASSPORT TO CHRISTMAS

PREPARE FOR FLIGHT

Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Christmas. You are invited to take time alone or with family or friends to engage each week with the lighting of Advent candles and the reading of a devotional.


FIND YOUR LIGHT

Set up a place where you can put 4 candles for the four Sundays of Advent and a Christ candle for Christmas. (If that isn’t possible, use the same candle each week). It may help to set aside the same time each Sunday to light your candle(s) and read the devotional.



A devotional for each week will be available near the end of the week and at church on Sunday morning.

WEEK ONE

Preflight Checklist

Read Matthew 24:36-44

You may also want to read Romans 13:11-14


Our Matthew reading reminds us to stay alert and be prepared. When you get ready to go on a journey, you prepare. You gather the things you will need for the journey – clothes to wear, the right shoes for the kind of trip you are taking, a passport or other identification, plane tickets or a full tank of gas… All the things that help to make the journey successful. A pilot prepares for takeoff by going through a very specific preflight checklist – all the things that need to be ready in order to take that plane down the runway and lift off.


As we enter into this season of Advent

  1. What do you need to do to prepare for Christmas? Not just the shopping and baking and attending events. 
  2. How do you need to prepare your heart to enter into Christmas?

One of the ways in which we prepare our hearts is to take time to light Advent candles each week, beginning with today. Today we light one candle, reminding us of the hope that Christ brings into our lives and into the world.


LIGHT 1 CANDLE

If you are lighting a candle with family or friends, you may want to take some time now to share with one another the hopes you have for this season of Advent. When you are ready, share the words of this prayer with one another – or read them silently or aloud by yourself.


PRAYER

Holy and gracious God, we come before you on this first day of Advent, aware that the ways in which we plan to prepare may not be the ways in which you need us to prepare. Open our hearts and minds to your ways, to the ways that will lead us to the manger. We give thanks for your presence with us and ask that we might recognize how you walk beside us through each day of Advent. Help us to stay alert and to recognize your presence with us.

In Christ’s holy name we pray,

AMEN


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WEEK 2

THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING...

Read Matthew 3:1-12

You may also want to read Romans 15:4-13


Have you ever gotten on a plane and noticed the pilot up front, thinking to yourself that the person dressed in a pilot’s uniform doesn’t look old enough to fly a plane?


John the Baptist is a fascinating person. He wears clothes of camel hair and preaches in the wilderness. How many people wondered if he had anything useful to say? And yet, we are told that people from all throughout the area came to John, to confess their sins and be baptized.


When we fly on an airplane, we are expected to listen to the pilot and to treat that person with respect. We trust those who are flying the plane to get us safely where we are going.


When we read about John, we may hesitate and wonder if this is someone we should listen to or not. John doesn’t point to himself. He points toward Jesus. He tells us to “change our hearts and lives”. John is preparing the way for Jesus.


During Advent, we too are preparing the way for Jesus as we journey toward Christmas. Perhaps we have gotten off track or complacent or have lost hope. Advent is an opportunity to come back to the right path. John says, “Produce fruit that shows you have changed your hearts and lives.”


LIGHT 2 CANDLES

Light last week’s candle and a new candle for today.


If you are gathered with family or friends, you may want to take time now to discuss what the fruit you produce looks like in this season of Advent. Ask yourself who you trust; to whom do you listen


If you are entering into the Advent ritual on your own, you may want to take time to write down your reflections on the questions above.


PRAYER

Holy God, on this second Sunday of Advent we come to you seeking peace in our lives and our world. Quiet our hearts and minds. Help us to see the path that you put before us, a path to change our hearts and lives and produce the fruit you ask of us. We give thanks, O God, for the ways in which you lead us during these days of Advent.


In Christ’s holy name we pray,

AMEN


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WEEK 3

Get There-itis

Read Matthew 11:2-11

You may also want to read James 5:7-10


How many of us have heard, or said, “Are we there yet?” At some point in traveling, we often get tired of the journey and want to be at our destination. The same is true of our Advent journey. The house is decorated. We have made as many cookies as possible. The gifts may even be wrapped. We just want to be there – to arrive at Christmas.


And yet we must be patient. It is when we rush and hurry that we make mistakes, say things that we don’t really mean, have expectations that are unrealistic. When we rush, we often miss the most important things. Today’s reading from James reminds us of our need to be patient, to have patient resolve and steadfastness.



Slow down. Live in the moment. Set aside the list of to-do items for just a little while and spend time with God. What might that look like for you? How might it change your need to be there already?


LIGHT 3 CANDLES

Light the two previous candles and a pink candle for today.


We light one more candle each Sunday to remind ourselves that we must slow down, take time to reflect and listen as we journey toward the manger. We light a pink candle today, to remind us of the joy that we anticipate in the birth of the Christ Child. This isn’t Hallmark joy of happy endings and everyone sitting around a beautifully decorated table enjoying each other’s company. The joy of this Sunday exists in our relationship with Christ, in the ways in which we experience God’s compassion and mercy.


If you are gathered with family or friends, you may want to take time now to discuss the following question:

Where, and how, can you experience patience in this Advent season?


If you are entering into the Advent ritual on your own, you may want to take time to write down your reflections on the question above.


PRAYER

Holy God, we have come to this third Sunday of Advent wanting to be there already. And yet you remind us that the journey does not always move at our pace. Help us to slow down, to listen deeply, to reflect on the small ways in which we experience joy in these days.


In Christ’s holy name we pray,

AMEN


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WEEK 4

Bumpy Landing

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

You may also want to read Romans 1:1-7


Holding one’s breath while the plane lands probably does nothing to help with the landing. However, on a particularly bumpy landing, the exhalation of breath can be heard all over the plane, and sometimes the passengers will even clap and cheer and the plane comes to a halt on the tarmac. Bumpy landings are a challenge most of us prefer to avoid.

It isn’t just planes that create bumpy landings. Many of life’s experiences can provide their own bumpy landings – unexpected challenges that we did not foresee in our lives.


Joseph shows us a profound trust in today’s text from Matthew’s gospel. Joseph has been asking questions about how to deal with the situation in which he finds himself. God opens a door for Joseph, giving him a vision, beckoning him to trust and follow. That doesn’t mean there weren’t more bumpy landings for Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus.

God opens doors for us as well, inviting us to trust, sometimes calling us to something strange or unexpected. We may not find ourselves visited by angels. However, we may be as surprised as Joseph when we open ourselves to listen for what God’s Holy Spirit has to say to us.


LIGHT 4 CANDLES

Light the two previous purple candles, the pink candle, and the last purple candle on this 4th Sunday of Advent.


If you are gathered with family or friends, you may want to take time now to discuss the following question: When has the wisdom or love of another helped you deal with those bumpy landings, helping you to find your purpose in God’s world?


If you are entering into the Advent ritual on your own, you may want to take time to write down your reflections on the question above.


PRAYER

Holy and gracious God, help me to watch for the doors that you open for me, the ways in which you ask me to trust in your Spirit. Thank you for walking with me during this season of Advent and every day. Thank you for your love and care when I experience bumpy landings in my life. 


In Christ’s holy name we pray,

AMEN


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CHRISTMAS

The Arrival

Read Luke 2:1-20

You may also want to read Titus 2:11-14.


What emotions do you experience when you realize you have arrived? The plane has landed safely, all of your bags came through just fine, and you are walking out the door to whatever brought you to this new destination.


What emotions do you experience when you hear the familiar words of Luke’s gospel telling us that a savior has been born for us? Titus uses slightly different words: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” Titus goes on to tell us: “It (the grace of God) educates us so that we can live sensible, ethical, and godly lives right now by rejecting ungodly lives and the desires of this world.”


We celebrate the arrival – of Jesus, of reaching our destination. And then there is more. What do we do after the arrival? Titus reminds us that this arrival is here to help us live sensible, ethical, and godly lives. What do those lives look like for us?



In the midst of singing “Glory to God in the highest”, we are also aware of the pain and suffering in our midst, of the evil that exists in our world. We are called into the light, to recognize the grace of God in our lives. We live in hope as we listen to God telling us when to say yes and when to say no in our own lives. Tonight we turn toward God.


LIGHT ALL CANDLES

Light all the purple candles, the pink candle, and the white Christ candle tonight/today


If you are gathered with family or friends, you may want to take time now to discuss the questions posed in today’s reading. If you are entering into the Advent ritual on your own, you may want to take time to write down your reflections on the questions in this reading.


PRAYER

Holy and gracious God, we give thanks for your presence with us, today and every day. We give thanks for this moment to stop and celebrate the birth of Christ, as well as the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Help us to look beyond this night to all the ways in which you call us to share your love and grace with others. May we recognize your spirit at work in our lives.


In Christ’s holy name we pray,

AMEN.


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