Lift Your Heart, Listen Praying with Scripture, part 1 – Advent 2024

Summary

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God’s Word can bear fruit in our lives and allow us to bring Christ to the world. As we meditate on the coming of Christ, we should prepare by doing positive things that please God.

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Reflective Study Guide Questions

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“To you, O Lord, I lift my soul… for you I wait all the day.” (Psalm 25:1, 5)

You can find the readings for the first Sunday of Advent here at usccb.org.

Reflective Questions

1. As we begin Advent, Sarah explained that Mary’s receptivity and hope-filled trust enabled her to hear and receive God’s word so it could take flesh within her—making her a perfect example of lived lectio divina. Read Luke 1:26–56 (the Annunciation). Where do you see that she (1) RECEIVED the Word of God; (2) REFLECTED upon it; (3) RESPONDED to what she heard; and (4) RESTED in God’s loving embrace? Can you think of other examples in her life, where this process continued?

1. The Gospel reading (Lk 21:25–28, 34–36) puts a positive spin on otherwise frightening signs of the end of the world. Why does Jesus say these give us reason to stand tall and not to shrink in fear? Why did Sarah say we get this reading now, as we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth?

1. Sarah explained that the 2^nd reading provides practical advice for living today. Read it for yourself (1 Thess 3:12 – 4:2). What in particular speaks to you?

Lectio Divina: Psalm 25:4–5, 8–9, 10–14

Continue praying with the Responsorial Psalm, with which Sarah closed her talk (or choose another 1^st Sunday reading, found here), using this guide: 

• PRAY

+ Come Holy Spirit, speak to me as I read your Word.

• READ (reading—lectio)

Read the passage several times. What does it say? What word or words stand out to you? Write them here and pause a moment with them. Receive them in your heart, listening closely for the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

• REFLECT (meditation—meditatio)

What does the passage mean? What do you hear the Lord saying to you?

• RESPOND (prayer—oratio)

What is the Lord asking of you? Talk to the Lord about what you hear.

• REST (contemplation: contemplatio)

Remain quiet for a moment in his loving embrace.

• PRAY (adapted from the Angelus)

Pour forth, I beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into my heart; that I, to whom the incarnation of Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. 

For a way to more deeply meditate on the readings throughout the week either leading up to or following Sunday, download Receive the Word! A Bible Reading Plan for Advent – Year C. 

Text: Lift Your Heart, Listen Praying with Scripture, part 1

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Hi, I am Sarah Christmyer here to help you get your heart ready for Christmas like Mary did, by listening to the Word of God, pondering it in your heart, receiving it and allowing it to take flesh in you in a new way. That’s actually the goal of what we call Lectio Divina, the Divine Reading. And it’s a great way to spend Advent. I invite you to spend the next few weeks with me as we listen to and ponder the Word of God that we receive in the Sunday readings. And then pray with it and ask it to take flesh in our lives. Let’s pray.

Opening Prayer

In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Remember almost gracious Virgin Mary that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee oh virgin of virgins, my mother. To thee do I come, before thee I stand sinful and sorrowful. Oh mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me, amen.

Let’s Listen to God’s Word

You know, I had the great privilege a number of years ago of visiting the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, in Israel. And for various reasons we were actually allowed to go into the crypt that’s down below where Mary probably heard from the angel. It was so moving just to sit there and imagine what she might have experienced. And in the middle of the room there’s an altar and it says on it in Latin, it says, “Here the word became flesh.” Here, and that just became so real to me as I sat in that very place where it may have happened. “Here the word became flesh.” You know, the angel of the Lord declared unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy Spirit. So the Word of God pierced her heart. And unlike our first Mother, Eve, who heard the Word of God and doubted it, you know, Mary received that word and she ascended into it. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Amazing, amazing mystery. And that’s what we’re celebrating during this season, looking forward to Christmas.

Well, it occurred to me as I sat by that altar in Nazareth, that you and I can be mothers of the word like Mary in a way. You know, how do we do that? By prayerfully meditating on scripture, we can allow God’s life-giving Word to take root in us and bear fruit in our lives. We can bring Christ to the world. So Mary is actually a perfect example of Lectio Divina, that divine reading I talked about. And that traditionally unfolds in four steps. You may have heard about them, you know, reading, then meditation, prayer and contemplation. Whereas I like to say them read, reflect, respond and rest. Very simple.

Mother Mary’s Example

And why do I say Mary’s a good example of that? You know, at the Annunciation, Mary heard God’s Word spoken to her directly by an angel. We read it, but we read with a listening heart. So we too are listening to God’s Word when we read. It helps us to pray first, and to read slowly, to take it in, sometimes repeat it a few times until it really starts to take root and grab a hold inside of us. And then as something stands out in our mind, then we linger there and stay and start just kind of meditating on it, which is that next step, ponder. Because quite naturally you might start asking yourself, what does it mean? You know, what did I hear? How does that relate to me? And as you start asking those questions, you’re reflecting.

So Mary did that, right? She hears, “Hail full of grace, the Lord is with thee.” And she’s troubled by that. The Bible tells us she considers what it meant in her mind. And so like she did, we’ll do that. We mull over it, chew on the word, try to understand what it means and what it might mean to our hearts. And then quite naturally your own thoughts may start to rise in response to that. You know, maybe like she did, you may say, you know, “Here I am, I’m the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.”

But maybe you have questions, you want to ask God about it. You want to ask Him why you need to forgive this person or how you’re going to go about doing it. Or maybe you’ve gotten a new understanding of God, wow, you just want to thank Him for that. Or some comfort or some strength. Allow it to turn into a conversation because God doesn’t speak to us just so he can hear Himself speak. You know, He speaks to us so we can hear and so that we can respond. You know, Jesus once said that his mother and brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it.

So don’t let your response be just lip service to what you hear, think in your mind, “What can I do to put this into practice in my life?” And then make a resolution to do that. Make your response one of action and not just of words. And if you find yourself saying like Mary did, you know, “How can this be? It just looks impossible, Lord, how can this be?” Know that the Holy Spirit’s power is with you just as it was with Mary, just as it was with her. And as she heard from the angel, nothing shall be impossible with God. He’s greater than we can imagine. He’s not going to ask you to do something you can’t do, you know, with His help. So rest in His love. And that actually is the fourth step that we get to. Don’t forget that when you’re all done your conversation just to relax and be in His presence, resting in His love.

I encourage you to carve some time out during Advent for this type of heart to heart. We’re going to do it in a little way here as we go through the readings. And then I’ll give you some steps in the handout that you get that will help you to do it on your own so you can have some deep, wonderful prayer time with the Lord with his scripture.

Jerimiah’s Words of Hope

But now let’s start with the first Sunday of Advent. You know, we hear first today from Jeremiah who’s known as the weeping prophet, and he was probably 600 years before Christ. And he had the terrible task of announcing judgment to Israel for rejecting God, for turning away from him. And the judgment that was going to come upon them was Babylon, who would come down and conquer them and take them off into exile. And so Jeremiah pleaded with Israel to, you know, to return to God before it was too late, before this terrible thing would happen because God loved them and was calling them to return. Unfortunately they did not. And as they were led off into captivity, though Jeremiah had some real words for them of hope.

And this is our reading that we get today. “‘The days are coming’, says the Lord, ‘when I will raise up for David a just shoot.'” You may have heard it described as a righteous branch. He’s describing the Messiah here. “He shall do what is right and just in the land. In those days, Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure.” Not like now with Babylon, you know, breathing down their neck. “And this is what they shall call her, the Lord our Justice.”

So it’s a remarkable promise. But imagine, you know, all those years of waiting and longing, 600 years before this promise actually came true when Jesus came. But their longing and longing for the righteous reign of the Messiah. And as we know, the Messiah did come when he was born to Mary.

Luke 21

So I think it’s interesting that when we jump ahead to the gospel reading, it’s not the annunciation, we don’t hear about this announcement to Mary. It skips over that, it skips over the birth to a time when Jesus is older. Actually, it’s almost before the time of His passion. And this is from Luke 21, and he’s speaking to his disciples and he kind of sounds like Jeremiah on a bad day. You know, if you go back and read the context, he’s telling them that there’s going to come a day when the temple’s going to be destroyed again, which it actually will be, that they’re going to be surrounded by enemies, that they’re going to be persecuted, they’re going to be hated, some of them are going to be put to death. You know, it’s like deja vu all over again to those who can remember at least know in their history what happened before.

And Jesus says that there are going to be signs in the heavens. He says, in fact, “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of heavens will be shaken.” So he’s describing the end of the temple in 70 AD, but he’s also, you know, his words also anticipate the second coming of Christ at the end of the world altogether. And like Jeremiah though, Jesus puts in some hope, or at least he puts a heavenly perspective on all this terror that is to come.

He says, “And then they will see the son of man coming in a cloud with great power and glory.” Son of man of course, being Jesus’s favorite title for himself. So he’s speaking of himself. And what he describes was a scene that’s predicted by the Old Testament prophet Daniel who was exiled to Babylon. And from Babylon, he saw this wild vision of these four successive powers, world powers that would come and stomp all over Israel like beasts, like wild beasts and trample them. And then in the vision, he saw God sitting on his throne in heaven and one like a son of man coming to him in glory on the clouds. And then he saw God strip away all the power from that last terrible beast and give all dominion and all authority to this son of man forever. Which is why Jesus goes on to say when these signs begin to happen, okay, so he is talking to us too, whether it’s the signs that they’ll see with the temple being destroyed, or that we see at the end of the age. “Stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Redemption is At Hand

So yes, terrible things to come, but don’t cower in fright, stand erect. Your redemption is at hand. So why do we get these readings now at the start of Advent? Because just as Israel waited all those years for the first coming of the Messiah, right? Now, as we celebrate the initial coming of Christ as a baby and as a man, we look forward to and we wait for his coming in glory. And whether we experience that because we are still alive at the last day, or if we meet him at our own death, you know, we wait. We wait for that time and we know that God keeps his promises and we stand erect knowing that Jesus is going to come again.

I find that today, I’m especially grateful for that reminder because we have started to see, you know, signs in the world, terrible things happen. Our politics are a mess. There are wars all over the place. There are people at least shaking with fright, if not dying with fright at what looks like might be happening in the world. And Jesus speaks to that with all of these readings. But these readings speak into that fear. You know, they remind us there’s a bigger plan at work. God is sitting on his throne, right? The days are coming when He will fulfill His promises, the son of man will come in glory. Christmas is just like a down payment on that promise. He’s coming to Bethlehem, you know, he has come once and he will come again.

So the rest of that gospel, if you read on, it tells us how to get ready. And it doesn’t say, you know, get out your guns and polish them and stockpile food in your basement or put your trust in a particular political party. No, it doesn’t say any of that. It says be alert, keep your heads free from distractions, from anxieties. You know, don’t get drunk all the time. You know, be alert, wait, get rid of those preoccupations that sap our strength and turn us away from God. And then the second reading, which is from Thessalonians, tells us to do some positive things too, “To increase in love for one another and in actions that are pleasing to God”, so that when he comes, we will be ready.

Now how do we respond when we hear these readings? Actually within the electionary, the responsorial psalm tells us exactly that. And this particular one is drawn from Psalm 25. It’s a psalm where David is fleeing from his enemies and praying that God will redeem him and Israel. We don’t get that part, but that’s in the background here. Out of his hardship, David lifts his soul to God and he entrusts himself to him and his words, “We can make our own, as we enter into Advent.” So let’s pray it together. We’re going to use, I guess, a modified version of Lectio Divina as we do so.

So I’m going to put the words up on the screen and I’m going to read the scripture three times while you pray with me. And the first time I ask you, just listen to what you hear. You know, listen with a listening heart and just try to hear what words stand out to you. Maybe jot them down so that you’ll remember. And then the second time reflect on what you hear. I’ll leave some pauses in there for you to do that. I might add a few little words here and there to help your reflection. But contemplate, meditate, reflect, and then respond to him as it starts to touch your heart and where you are in your life. And then as I read it the last time, simply listen and rest in his love.

PSALM 25

Okay, now put yourself in the Lord’s presence. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. “Come Holy Spirit, speak to us as we hear your word.” And our response each time is, “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.” “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble His way. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep His covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and his covenant for their instruction. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”

So what word or phrase stood out to you? What did you hear? I’m going to read it again and listen to God’s Word to your heart and reflect on it in the silence I give you. And the words will stay on the screen to help you, to keep them in mind. And Lord, please help each one of us to receive what you have for us today. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Where is your soul? Is hardship weighing you down? Are you running like David is? Make a conscious effort to lift your soul to God. “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day.”

What stands out to you here? Maybe it’s a question. You know, God, what are your ways? What does that mean? Make them known to me “For you I wait all the day,” stands out to me right now. God, you’re worth waiting for. I want to wait for you. Help me to do it. “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble His way.”

Here we learn something about God. What is it? Do you see yourself here in these words? Jesus said, “I am the way.” What does that add to your reading? “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. All the paths of the Lord…” All the ways that I might walk with him, right? “All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep His covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and his covenant for their instruction.”

Lord, thank you for your love, for your friendship, for your instruction. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Take a moment and lift your soul. Talk to God from your heart. I am going to read the passage one last time, and you can close your eyes. Just be with the Lord or pray aloud with me if you like. Read with intention, you know, make David’s prayer yours. “To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are God my savior, and for you I wait all the day. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. Good and upright is the Lord, thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble His way. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul. All the paths of the Lord are kindness and constancy toward those who keep His covenant and his decrees. The friendship of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and his covenant for their instruction. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.”

I hope that you to lift your soul to God this Advent. I think you’ll find that all the readings every week will be perfectly suited to help us to walk along that way to where we can meet Jesus, take him more fully into our heart and bear him to the world.

Let’s pray. Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord thy grace unto our hearts that we to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy son was made known by the message of an angel, made by his passion, and crossed be brought to the glory of his resurrection through the same Christ our Lord, Amen. May God bless you as you read His word.

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