November 30 Take Home Reflections

Take Home Reflections: November 23-Christmas Eve, 2008
Unitarian Church, Davenport, Rev. Roger Butts

Sunday, November 30, 2008
First Sunday of Advent

Perhaps you are a bit like me at this time of year.

You cannot hear much of anything above the cacophony of sound—rushing shoppers, maddening crowds, loud and persistent advertisements.

Maybe you long to hear that small, still voice that occupies every living thing, that place where wisdom and gratitude reside.

Maybe in the midst of the rush, you can sense a place deep in your being that says: Be still.

You can hear the Buddha-inside you say, “Find a tree, sit a while.” You can hear the Jesus in you say: Sit a while, find a dear friend, share a meal.

You can hear the psalmist say: there is no where you can go to escape love’s embrace, you might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

You can feel the goddess in you: the wind in the trees, the falling snow, notice it. Love it. Embrace it. You are part of it.

You can sense Emerson whispering in your ear: why keep looking, striving, seeking. You are at home.

Great love, grant that I might find a stillness, hold a stillness, love a stillness, so that the great call of my heart can be heard and the great love at the heart of all things might be enjoyed.


FAMILIES:
The first theme in advent is hope. Tell you children a story this week about a time when you experienced hope, how it felt to you, what it meant, how it changed your life. Ask your child about what they hope for.


Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Last Sunday (November 30), we introduced a number of new members into our church community. Roger used the image of wild geese as a metaphor for what it is like to be a part of a church—shared leadership, lots of encouragement, a sense of working together. When is a time that you experienced some of that in this church? What was that like for you? As you look back on the last year, what stands out as a particularly collaborative effort that you took part in, and what did it mean for you?


FAMILIES:
Let your children suggest a dinner menu in the next few days. Talk to them about who all was involved in the preparation of the food. Talk to them about Thich Nhat Hanh’s idea that we are all in everything—that the farmer who raised the broccoli is in the broccoli, that the sun is in the broccoli, that the rain is there. And give them an opportunity to name all of the things that might be in their food. Also, give them a chance to say thank you to all of those things and people.

Thursday, December 4, 2008
Pay very close attention right now to where you are, how you are sitting, what you hear, how you feel, why you are there. Pay attention prayerfully.

What am I feeling right now?

Sometimes I seek solace for my soul outside my soul, but if I listen very carefully, I can feel myself restored right now.
(From Awakening the Soul by John Morgan).

Families:
Ask your children what they might wish to learn about in the next few days. Listen carefully to their response and try to build a time to share with them what you know about what they wish to learn about.

Friday, December 5, 2008
Tonight at sunset, in the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath begins. The Sabbath is a time to express gratitude, to be with family members, to share a common meal and to go about the business of praise. All of these speak deeply to the tasks involved in the life of the spirit.

What can you do to include some or all of those components into your Friday?

Try to take a Sabbath moment in the midst of your rushing around.

Families:
Sit down with your family for a shared meal. Invite your children to pay attention to the food right in front of them. Ask them to name the food. Ask them to notice the food. Invite them to be grateful for the food.
Share a time with your children when you had an especially fun Christmas/holiday memory. Who was there? What happened?



For Sunday, December 7th: Read “Of the Coming of John” by W.E.B. DuBois. It is available at the library in The Soul of Black Folks (1903) or search for it online (the whole story is online).