Episode Transcript
[00:00:07] Well, hello Collective Table Podcast. My name is Janelle Coker and I am a pastor at the Oceanside Sanctuary Christian Church. And while we were in between seasons, I thought it might be lovely for us to have a short session five days a week for the four weeks of Advent.
[00:00:30] In these short reflections, I will be talking about hope, peace, joy and love.
[00:00:39] I hope that you can join us each morning, Monday through Friday, or at some point during the day to listen to a reflection, consider a practice that you might be able to do in that day and pray with me.
[00:01:03] Well, hello, Collective Table Podcast.
[00:01:06] I thought it would be nice to read our scripture of Isaiah 9, 6, 7 for to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government will be on his shoulders and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
[00:01:31] For those of you who don't or haven't celebrated Advent in the past, I wanted to give you a little bit of background.
[00:01:40] Advent is really just a season of waiting for Christ's birth. It's a way for us each year to prepare our hearts to meet the Christ child anew. We take time to expand our vision of what is possible. With the entrance of the Prince of Peace, this promise of Isaiah brings us hope for a transformed world, one of justice, peace and liberation for all.
[00:02:10] In this first week of Advent, we focus on hope.
[00:02:15] Focusing our eyes on hope can be kind of a challenging task.
[00:02:20] The beginning of Christmas can remind us of losses, or in this time of extreme political divide, we can feel jaded and quite frankly, hopeless.
[00:02:36] But I think that this is why returning our hearts to the season of Advent over and over again can provide us with the muscle memory of better times, of remembering that there are seasons. Some years are harder than others.
[00:02:57] And we can remind ourselves and those around us that the Christ Child of Christmas can allow for hope of new life.
[00:03:08] And if we are willing to expand our vision, we may see new possibilities.
[00:03:18] Expanding vision can be a kind of a funny thing. I'm in the market for a new car right now.
[00:03:25] I recently looked at a new model that I had never seen on the road before, and after test driving the car, I started to notice it everywhere I went.
[00:03:36] It wasn't that it wasn't around, it just wasn't familiar to me.
[00:03:43] Sometimes turning our eyes to something just means becoming familiar with it, to kind of take it out for a spin in our imagination.
[00:03:54] I'm wondering if this Advent season, and maybe this week of focusing on hope will allow you to become more familiar with these concepts.
[00:04:06] Hope this week. Peace next week. Joy and love on the following two weeks for a practice. Today, perhaps you can take some time to tune into your surroundings.
[00:04:21] Think of your favorite color and take a walk. As you walk, look for that color around you and ground yourself in the state of hope.
[00:04:30] Will you pray with me? Wonderful, Counselor.
[00:04:34] Thank you for the hope we have in your promises.
[00:04:38] Give us the courage to expand our vision and see the new life you bring in this season.
[00:04:46] Amen.
[00:04:48] Have a blessed day, my friends.
