My Blog

Category: Advent

  • Why Blue for Advent?

    The Season of Advent Blue Advent Sky

    The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin Adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” It is the season of preparation for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. Advent has been observed in the Western churches, since about the fifth century C.E.. Advent begins the liturgical year and includes the time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until Christmas Day. The first Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, November 30th, and always falls between November 27th  and December 3rd.

    The Color for the Season

    For centuries, the season of Advent was observed as a penitential season. Sometimes, it was even referred to as the “Little Lent.” And, following the pattern of Lent, the designation of the four Sundays of the season were Sundays “in” Advent rather than Sundays “of” Advent. Also, as in Lent, the color violet or purple was the seasonal color. 

    During the ecumenical liturgical reforms of the 1960’s and 1970’s, a strong consensus emerged that Advent should be a season of hope and anticipation, rather than penitence. As the new lectionaries were developed, the Sunday readings reflected those themes. The 1979 Book of Common Prayer reflects that emphasis on hope and anticipation.

    Many churches sought a different seasonal color. Liturgical leaders were drawn to the color blue, which was used in the ancient Sarum Rite (Salisbury, England). In subsequent years, use of the color blue has become widespread during Advent. Blue symbolizes hope, confidence, anticipation and expectation, all adjectives that describe the season of Advent.

    The Advent Wreath Candles

    Advent Blue CandlesUse of the Advent Wreath entered our observance of the season during the last century. The wreath consists of four candles, one of which is lighted on each of the four Advent Sundays. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, we light more candles until we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World on December 25, symbolized by a larger white candle in the center of the wreath.

    When purple or violet was the seasonal color, that was the choice of color for the hangings, vestments, and Advent Wreath candles. However, rose, a lighter shade of purple, was often used on the third Sunday. Rose was thought to be representative of a less penitential theme for that Sunday, on which the first word of the Introit was “Rejoice.” Now that Advent is no longer observed as a primarily penitential season, the candles, like the hangings and vestments, are blue and there is no need for a rose candle to suggest that we  “lighten up.”

    I invite you to take time in this season of Advent to prepare your heart and mind in new ways for the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, God With Us. When you see the color blue in the Cathedral, or anywhere for that matter, may it trigger in you a reminder that God’s Messiah is always moving in our direction to assure us that we are beloved, to foster hope for a brighter future, and to lead us to “walk safely in the glory of God” (Baruch 5:7).

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ron Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew's Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

     

  • How can we name a love?

    StA AdventGreetings! 

    As I sit here contemplating the Christmas message, I am reminded that someone once said "the best way to send a message is to wrap it in a person." That's what God did in sending Jesus to us. In Jesus, the Messiah, we receive the message of God's love for us.  In Jesus, God's redemptive work continues to transform lives – not just change them, but transform them.

    In this context, for one to change means to do something different  but to be transformed means to become someone different, a new creature. In Jesus, God Incarnate, "things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made" (BCP, p. 515).

    That's the message for us this Christmas, and every Christmas. And that's my prayer for you and those whom you love as we join the shepherds at the manger to "see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15).

    These lines from the English hymn writer, Brian Wren, sum it up beautifully:

    How can we name a Love that wakens heart and mind,
    indwelling all we know or think or do or seek or find?
    Within our daily world, in every human face,
    Love's echoes sound and God is found, hid in the commonplace.

    So in a hundred names, each day we all can meet
    a presence, sensed and shown at work, at home, or in the street.
    Yet every name we see, shines in a brighter sun:
    In Christ alone is Love full grown and life and hope begun.

    I'll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped
    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew’s Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

     

  • Always Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks! Really?

     

    StA AdventRejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – I Thessalonians 5:16-18

    In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul exhorts Christians to be people who always rejoice, always pray, and always give thanks. How in the world does one go about living such a life? It is a very important question to ponder since, as St. Paul says, it is God's will for us.

    To rejoice does not mean simply to adopt a positive attitude, cheer up, or have a nice disposition. To rejoice means to be centered in the joy that comes from having been joined to Christ in the waters of Baptism and thus in his ultimate victory. That joy in our lives is born of the awareness that no darkness can ever overcome the Light to whom we belong. During his darkest moments Martin Luther clung to the words, “I am Baptized.” Our Baptism is a current event as much as it a past event. We hold it present with us as the gift of God – the gift that keeps on giving – the gift by which God says, “You are worthy of my love.” In every circumstance, this is all the reason we need to rejoice!

    To pray without ceasing does not mean to spend our days on our knees with our nose in the Book of Common Prayer. Prayer on our knees, alone or together, using the prayer book is an essential part of the life we are called to live. Those prayers are extended as we grow in conscious contact with God during our routine daily activities. Brother Lawrence called it "practicing the presence of God." In this conscious, constant dialogue with the Divine, our offering of all that we see, do, and think encounters God who is constantly giving himself to us. God is with us. We are never alone. In every circumstance, this is all the reason we need to pray!

    To give thanks in all circumstances does not mean to give thanks FOR all circumstances. Not every circumstance is a cause for thanksgiving. Many circumstances are not God's doing. But no circumstance is beyond God's reach. When we know that, we look more carefully to discern God's hand at work for good, God's power at work to overcome evil, God's mercy at work to heal and transform. What we see is not all that is there and gratitude opens our eyes to see what God wants us to see. In every circumstance, this all the reason we need to give thanks!

    So, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks always are expressions of a life that is conscious of God and conscious of the circumstances in which we live our lives moment by moment, breath by breath. Advent reminds us that our God is not aloof and waiting to come to us until everything is all tidy and neat. God comes to us in every kind of circumstance.

    The truth is, the more we rejoice, pray, and give thanks, the more conscious we are of the presence and power of God at work in us leading us through the present with all its ups and downs and into a hope-filled future. For it is not the divine will for us to draw life from the circumstances, up or down, but from our relationship with God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all life. Even now during these days of Advent, God is coming to us in power and might to make of us more than we can make of ourselves. In every circumstance, that is all the reason we need to rejoice, pray, and give thanks! So, let’s do it – always.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped 28

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew’s Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

  • Finding a Balance in Advent

    It’s Advent. Advent is hard to observe in our culture, isn’t it? StA Advent

    The Church tells us Advent is a period of preparation for the Feast of the Incarnation, Christmas. Our faith tradition encourages us to make it a reflective time during which we identify with those who waited long centuries for the appearing of God’s anointed one. The liturgy for the Sundays and weekdays in Advent directs our attention to the wonderful gift that has come to us in Emmanuel and the promise that he will come again at the end to establish his victorious reign over all things.

    Yet, here we are again with all those sights and sounds and smells that tell us it is time to be the world’s most accomplished consumers. Our culture encourages us to believe that the things we need and the things our loved ones need to make their lives complete can be bought for a price, and quite possibly must be acquired if life is to be worth living. The liturgy of advertising and shopping malls directs our attention to the near frenzy involved in getting there while supplies last.

    I’m not really suggesting that we should not buy gifts or support our local merchants and workforce who work so hard and rely so heavily on sales at this season. I enjoy going to the mall and listening to the music in the stores. I like to shop for presents and believe it is a good thing to be thoughtful and generous with others as God in Christ has been thoughtful and generous with us in offering us his very life.

    What I am suggesting is that the spiritual dimension of the season can easily be overshadowed. We need to find a balance and the Church can help. Go to the mall, after you’ve gone to church. Buy gifts, after you’ve left your gift at the Altar. Spend time shopping for the perfect gift, after you’ve spent time in communion with the most perfect gift, Christ the Savior. And then, after have a wonderful, peaceful, and blessed Christmas!

    How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
    So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
    No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
    Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

    "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
    The Rt. Rev. Philips Brooks (1835-1839)

    I'll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Blue Sig Cropped 28

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    St. Andrew’s Cathedral
    Jackson, Mississippi

    P.S. Maybe some of your family and friends would appreciate an alternative Christmas gift, a contribution in their honor to a worthy cause. Alternative Christmas Cards are available at St. Andrew's before and after services and at the Welcome Desk during the week.

     

     

     

  • The Word Was Made Flesh and Lived Among Us

    It is a happy coincidence that the commemoration of St. Ambrose, the fourth century Bishop of Milan, occurs during the Advent season on December 7.  I say that because one of the chief contributions of Bishop Ambrose was his defense of Athanasian (orthodox) Christianity against Arianism.  Athanasians affirm that the Logos or Word (John 1:1) is fully God in the same sense that the Father is, while Arians affirm that the Logos is a creature, the first being created by the Father.  So it is appropriate that his feast day occurs during the season in which we are preparing for the coming of the Messiah because Bishop Ambrose helps us better understand what kind of Messiah we are talking about.

    Ambrose may have written the Athanasian Creed (BCP p. 864), the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated.  Whether he wrote it or not, it is consistent with his theology:

    And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance.  For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost.  But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.

    The Messiah who came as a little child and died on a cross as a man is not just a messenger.  He is Emmanuel, God With Us in the flesh.  That was as incomprehensible a Mystery in the first and fourth centuries as it is today – the Word that was in the beginning, the Word that was with God, the Word that was God, “became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son; full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  The proof of it is a matter of faith.  This Word Made Flesh, Jesus, the Messiah, matters so much to us because he is the ultimate expression of God’s eternal love for us.

    His entire life demonstrates to us that God’s love does not shrink in the face of tragedy, injustice, exploitation, and alienation. Love Divine embraces everything that happens to human beings from birth to death. God With Us heals brokenness, overcomes oppression, and reconciles estrangement.  There is no love in the universe that is tougher or more tender!

    A meditation attributed to Bishop Ambrose beautifully expresses what God’s love means to us in these words: “Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick; you are my strength when I need help; you are life itself when I fear death; you are the way when I long for heaven; you are light when all is dark; you are my food when I need nourishment.”

    Enjoy this hymn attributed to St. Ambrose of Milan. I believe his theology is beautifully expressed in it.

    I'll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
    Interim Dean
    Saint John’s Cathedral
    Denver, Colorado

  • God Calling

    Read the Gospel for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Annunciation Icon Rene

    St. Bernard of Clairvaux once remarked that three miracles are reported in the story of the Annunciation:

    That a virgin should conceive a child.

    That God and humans should be united in the child.

    That Mary should believe what had been announced to her.

    Commenting on the three miracles, Martin Luther said that the first is a trifle for God, the second is greater, and the third, that Mary should believe that the first two miracles would be accomplished in and through her, is the greatest. God frequently wants to work miracles through us. If by some miracle we happen to be listening and hear the divine voice, will we believe it enough to "let it be?" Or, will we take a pass because it is too fantastic, an imposition, or something for which we are surely not worthy?

    In the event God should get your attention and you are tempted to take a pass, remember that God's choice of people through whom to accomplish things leaves something to be desired by human standards. The biblical record alone shows that God prefers to work the greatest miracles through unlikely people, from unlikely places, at unlikely times, and in unlikely ways.

    There's a reason angelic messengers usually begin by saying, "Don't be afraid." Next time, as unlikely as it may seem, it could be you! Whenever that happens, may faith conquer our fears and excuses so that Mary's prayer might be our own: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

    P.S. Christmas Eve services are at 12:00 noon (St. John’s Chapel), 4:00, 6:00, and 10:00 p.m. (St John’s Church). The Christmas Day service is at 10:00 a.m. (St. John’s Chapel). Also, on Christmas Day, we will have TWO informal Carols and Candlelight services at the Chapel of the Transfiguration. I’ve arranged for the road to the chapel to be cleared so those who cannot get there on snowshoes or skis can drive in and walk a short distance. I suggest that those who intend to drive attend at 4:00 p.m. since last year the chapel was packed at 5:00 p.m. with people who were able to come by snowshoes or skis.

    P.S.S. The Coptic icon depicting the Annunciation is the work of Dr. Stephane Rene.

     

     

  • Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole ~ December 13, 2015

    LOGO_Heart on Top_Blacktext_Fill_1024

     

    The Third Sunday of Advent

     The audio recording for the sermon at the 8:00 a.m. service was defective. Here is the text:

    Read the Sermon for December 13, 2015

    Here is the audio recording for the children's sermon at the 10:00 a.m. service:

    Children's Sermon for Advent 3C December 13, 2015


     

  • An Abundance of Prevention

    Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I’ve always believed it to be true and a piece of wisdom worthy of attention. However, in a two week period I’ve become involved in several prevention campaigns; Prevention of Sexual Violence, Prevention of Domestic Violence, Prevention of Gun Violence, Prevention of Suicide, and Prevention of Child Abuse to be specific. Each one of these programs deserves our undivided attention and I am grateful that they are available to our community. However, all together they are certainly more than “an ounce.”

    All of this comes at a time when I am feeling the impact of terrorism at home and abroad, more mass shootings, the suicide of a colleague’s son, and news of the rape of a woman I know in another state. And it is Advent, the season of expectation, hope, and preparation for the birth of the One sent to save us.

    In each of these prevention programs, we review recent data concerning the prevalence of the social ill we are trying to prevent. In most cases, the problems are escalating at an alarming rate. Something is wrong with a culture when we have to work so hard at prevention of such things. Our core values as a culture have obviously eroded.

    I caught a glimmer of hope in conversation with the presenter of the workshop on domestic violence, The Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune, when she said that faith communities can present obstacles or opportunities for people facing behavior that needs to be prevented. For example, a biblical passage can be interpreted in ways that make a victim of violence believe it is their fault, that the abuser has a God-given right to hurt someone, or that the violence is somehow God’s punishment. Or, the passage might be interpreted in life-affirming ways that help lift a person out of harm’s way.

    It makes me even more grateful that our Church emphasizes God’s grace, love, and forgiveness. Each of us who has received that hopeful message is in a position to share it with others, especially those who are vulnerable. In so doing, we may not only help someone discover an abundant life, we may also provide just the thing that actually saves a life.

    We also belong to a community of people who can hold one another accountable for our harmful actions just as we encourage good works. Watching over one another in love, we support profound behavioral change. Jesus didn’t just preach repentance, he formed a community to surround penitents with guidance, care, and the means of grace that are necessary to sustain the new life that is emerging when the old life is left behind.

    In the Baptismal Covenant, we affirm that with God’s help we will persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever we fall into sin, we will repent and return to the Lord. We affirm that with God’s help we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves. And, we affirm that with God’s help we will strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.

    That’s our ounce of prevention, which we ourselves have received and which we offer to cure the social ills swirling around us. It’s about more than stopping something; it’s also about offering hope. It’s not just about protecting the victims; it’s also about redemptive change for those who do violence. It’s more than an ounce or even a pound; it’s the offer of immeasurable possibilities for good that will reverberate beyond our own generation.

    It’s something to think about.

    I’ll see you in Church!

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

  • Sermon at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Jackson Hole ~ November 29, 2015

     

    The First Sunday of Advent LOGO_Heart on Top_Blacktext_Fill_1024

    Read the Sermon for November 29, 2015

    Listen to the Sermon for November 29, 2015 


     

  • Why Blue for Advent?

    The Season of Advent Advent Starry Night 2

    The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin Adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” It is the season of preparation for the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ, God’s Messiah. Advent has been observed in the Western churches, since about the fifth century C.E.. Advent begins the liturgical year and includes the time from the fourth Sunday before Christmas, until Christmas. The first Sunday of Advent is always the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, November 30th, and always falls between November 27th  and December 3rd.

    The Color for the Season

    For centuries, the season of Advent was observed as a penitential season. Sometimes, it was even referred to as the “Little Lent.” And, following the pattern of Lent, the designation of the four Sundays of the season were Sundays “in” Advent rather than Sundays “of” Advent. Also, as in Lent, the color violet or purple was the seasonal color. 

    During the ecumenical liturgical reforms of the 1960’s and 1970’s, a strong consensus emerged that Advent should be a season of hope and anticipation, rather than penitence. As the new lectionaries were developed, the Sunday readings reflected those themes. Many churches sought a different seasonal color. Liturgical leaders were drawn to the color blue, which was used in the ancient Sarum rite (Salisbury, England). In subsequent years, use of the color blue has become widespread during Advent. Blue symbolizes hope, confidence, anticipation and expectation, all adjectives that describe the season of Advent.

    The Advent Wreath Candles

    Use of the Advent Wreath entered our observance of the season during the last century. The wreath 4_blue_candles_by_blood_huntressconsists of four candles, one of which is lighted on each of the four Advent Sundays. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, we light more candles until we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World on December 25, symbolized by a larger white candle in the center of the wreath.

    When purple or violet was the seasonal color, that was the choice of color for the hangings, vestments, and Advent Wreath candles. However, rose, a lighter shade of purple, was often used on the third Sunday.  Rose was thought to be representative of a less penitential theme for that Sunday, on which the first word of the Introit was “Rejoice.” Now that Advent is no longer observed as a primarily penitential season, the candles are blue and there is no need for a rose candle to suggest that we  “lighten up.”

    I invite you to take time in this season of Advent to prepare your heart and mind in new ways for the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, God With Us.

    Ron Short Sig Blue

     

     

     

     

    The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue