Our Advent Devotional for Friday, December 5th was written by the wonderful and talented Dr. Joretta Marshall! Joretta is Brite Divinity School’s Executive Vice President and Dean, and Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care and Counseling. Having written numerous journal articles, books, and essays in books, she is well known for her ability to communicate and offer insight through the written word. It is for that reason, along with the genuine love that many have for her in this community, that I invited her to share a devotional with us during this season of Advent. I invite you to meditate on her words today, and allow them to challenge you in unexpected ways this holiday season. Blessings to you and yours…
“Finding space at the end of the semester and in the midst of preparing for the actual holiday of Christmas is not always easy to do. I find myself moving quickly from one thing to another with school events, holiday parties, family activities, and the usual shopping ventures. In fact, at times I know that I move so fast that I miss the smaller reminders that there is something new being offered to the world in the form of a Christmas spirit.
One of the invitations of the Advent season is that of opening space in order for the very real presence of Christ to be felt in new ways. I find myself yearning to open the space of time, the space of my heart and mind and spirit, and the space of activity in order to find quietness, to seek peacefulness, and to be open to the multiple ways that God is alive and moving in the world around and beyond me. This is one of the gifts of Advent.
Advent is a time to breathe . . . to breathe in the promise of new life even as we face deadlines and hassles. It is a time to breathe in the surprise and delight over small things as we quickly walk from one activity to the next, being clear that God’s spirit and light is present at precisely those moments.
May your Advent be spacious enough for you to breathe in the Spirit of Christ.”
Christ, breathe into me and into this world a spirit that is spacious and open. Give us all the grace to experience the newness of life, once again.
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