ABRAHAM: MEETING GUESTS, MEETING GOD

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From The Old Testament
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Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.

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 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw [them], he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
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 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
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 "Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
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 "And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
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 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead [it] and make cakes."

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 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave [it] to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.

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 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

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 Then they said to him, "Where [is] Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."
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 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which [was] behind him.)
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 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; [and] Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 

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Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
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 And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear [a child], since I am old?'
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 "Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."

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Genesis 18: 1-14

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The following passage is from the

 Foreword by Karen Armstrong to

THE TENT OF ABRAHAM -

Stories of Hope and Peace for

Jews, Christians, and Muslims
by
Joan Chittister, OSB
Murshid Saadi Shakur Chishti
Rabbi Arthur Wasko
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[Even though this book came out five years ago,

its stories, its message, is more important now than

it has ever been.]

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The story of Abraham, explored here by the authors from

the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish perspectives, is a story of pluralism that is sorely needed in this time of religious hatred.  In the Christian tradition, Abraham is often called the father of those who believe, but he has none of the hard certainties of dogmatic faith.  Instead, the Bible repeatedly shows Abraham in the dark, asking questions of God and getting remarkably unsatisfactory answers.  At a time when we have seen too much certainty, The Tent of Abraham reminds us that the kind of confusion, fear, and dismay that so many of us are experiencing can be the start of a new religious quest.

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Yet Abraham did have one luminous encounter.  Genesis 18 tells us that one day while he was sitting outside his tent at Mamre in the broiling heat of a Middle Eastern afternoon, he saw three strangers on the horizon.  Strangers in the ancient world were potentially lethal people, because they were not bound by the local laws of vendetta and could strike with impunity.  Even today, very few of us would invite three total strangers off the street and into our own house.  But this is what Abraham did.  He ran out eagerly to meet these people, who did not belong to his ethnic or religious group.  The text emphasizes his haste; he is not dragging his feet, approaching these travelers with reluctance, but runs out to greet them, prostrating himself before them as though they were kings.
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  He then tells his wife to prepare an elaborate meal to refresh them after their arduous journey.  And during the ensuing conversation, it transpires quite naturally that one of these strangers is Abraham's God.  The act of practical compassion led directly to a divine encounter.
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This is a strange story to find in a Jewish scripture,
because later Jewish teaching would be wary of seeing the divine in human form.  But it expresses a religious truth found in all the major traditions: it is compassion, not righteousness and doctrinal certainty, that leads us into the presence of what monotheists call God but others have termed Nirvana, Brahman, or the Tao.  Greek Orthodox Christians have always loved this story, regarding it as an early manifestation of God as Trinity.  A famous icon of the fifteenth-century painter Andrei Rublev depicts the three travelers as angels, representing Father, Word, and Holy Spirit, and has transformed Abraham's meal into the Eucharist.  The message is clear: the mysterious revelation of the Trinity will only make sense in the context of the liturgy and of generous communion with our fellow human beings, all of whom are sacred emissaries.
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It is of the utmost importance that Abraham's three visitors were strangers.  In Hebrew, the word qadosh (holy) means "separate, other."  It is the otherness of the stranger - even perhaps the initial recoil that we may feel when confronted with people who seem alien - that can give us intimations of the holiness of God.  Religion was implicated in the catastrophe of September 11.  Monotheists must reclaim their traditions from murderous sectarianism and return to the compassion that is the core of their faith.
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We are all children of Abraham,
 Abraham We are all children of Abraham 
 Vast as the stars of heaven, Abraham, Abraham
Blessed be ye nations, Abraham
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Cross the burnin' sands, Abraham
O'er to Cananns land, Abraham
He kept the course, Abraham
Faithful to the voice, Abraham
Abraham, we are all children of Abraham
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Blessed are the nations, Abraham, Abraham
Who honor his creations, Abraham
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And then one day, Abraham
He heard God say, Abraham
Leave this land, Abraham
Cross the burnin' sand, Abraham
And you will find, Abraham
Peace of mind, Abraham
That only I, Abraham
Can provide, Abraham
Yes, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham
So he was blessed, Abraham
By the ultimate test, Abraham
Never doubtful of, Abraham
The living God, Abraham
He heard the call, Abraham
To heed the law, Abraham
Of God above, Abraham

The God of love, Abraham
Abraham, Abraham, we are all children of Abraham
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Although it may be an error to speak of "chosen people,"
it is not a mistake to refer to Abraham as
a chosen individual.
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THE URANTIA BOOK
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THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

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Advent (from the Latin word adventus meaning "coming") is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi. The Eastern churches' equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast, but it differs both in length and observances and does not begin the church year, which starts instead on September 1.

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The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Moravian, Presbyterian and Methodist calendars, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25, the Sunday from November 27 to December 3 inclusive.

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Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent serves as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting of Christians for Christ's return.
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The theme of readings and teachings during Advent is often to prepare for the Second Coming while commemorating the First Coming of Christ at Christmas. With the view of directing the thoughts of Christians to the first coming of Jesus Christ as savior and to his second coming as judge, special readings are prescribed for each of the four Sundays in Advent.
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From Wikipedia

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Our Advent Series really begins December 1,

(like an Advent calendar),

unlike the liturgical calendar, where it begins today.

However, we'll post this First Sunday of Advent material

as a nod to western tradition, and wait until Thursday

for our Advent Series - which we're updating from

last year's twenty-five days of photos, prayers,

music, and thoughts for the season.

Please come join us.

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Introit for the First Sunday of Advent

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To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on thee shall be confounded. Show, O Lord, thy ways to me,

 and teach me thy paths.

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What the World Was Like 2,000 Years Ago
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From THE URANTIA BOOK
Part IV, 121, 1
 THE OCCIDENT OF THE FIRST CENTURY AFTER CHRIST 
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 Jesus did not come to this world during an age of spiritual decadence; at the time of his birth Urantia was experiencing such a revival of spiritual thinking and religious living as it had not known in all its previous post-Adamic history nor has experienced in any era since. When Michael incarnated on Urantia, the world presented the most favorable condition for the Creator Son’s bestowal that had ever previously prevailed or has since obtained. In the centuries just prior to these times Greek culture and the Greek language had spread over Occident and near Orient, and the Jews, being a Levantine race, in nature part Occidental and part Oriental, were eminently fitted to utilize such cultural and linguistic settings for the effective spread of a new religion to both East and West. These most favorable circumstances were further enhanced by the tolerant political rule of the Mediterranean world by the Romans.
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This entire combination of world influences is well illustrated by the activities of Paul, who, being in religious culture a Hebrew of the Hebrews, proclaimed the gospel of a Jewish Messiah in the Greek tongue, while he himself was a Roman citizen.
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. Nothing like the civilization of the times of Jesus has been seen in the Occident before or since those days. European civilization was unified and co-ordinated under an extraordinary threefold influence:
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The Roman political and social systems. The Grecian language and culture — and philosophy to a certain extent.  The rapidly spreading influence of Jewish religious and moral teachings.
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 When Jesus was born, the entire Mediterranean world was a unified empire. Good roads, for the first time in the world’s history, interconnected many major centers. The seas were cleared of pirates, and a great era of trade and travel was rapidly advancing. Europe did not again enjoy another such period of travel and trade until the nineteenth century after Christ.
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Notwithstanding the internal peace and superficial prosperity of the Greco-Roman world, a majority of the inhabitants of the empire languished in squalor and poverty. The small upper class was rich; a miserable and impoverished lower class embraced the rank and file of humanity. There was no happy and prosperous middle class in those days; it had just begun to make its appearance in Roman society.
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 The first struggles between the expanding Roman and Parthian states had been concluded in the then recent past, leaving Syria in the hands of the Romans. In the times of Jesus, Palestine and Syria were enjoying a period of prosperity, relative peace, and extensive commercial intercourse with the lands to both the East and the West.
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"VENI REDEMPTOR GENTIUM"

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It's the time of year for the birds to be returning for the Winter to the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico. The video below is of those birds, set to the music of Paul Schwartz, a genius at combining the old and the new. The music is titled "Veni Redemptor Gentium." The words were penned (in Latin) by Saint Ambrose in the  4th Century; music/arrangement is by Paul Schwartz;  and vocals are by the incredible Lisbeth Scott. The title translates variously as Come Thou Redeemer of the Earth, Come Thou Redeemer of Mankind, or Come Thou Redeemer of the Heathen. In the world we live in today, the last version of the title seems to fit the situation best.  
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 "Veni Redemptor Gentium"
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Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,
 Come, testify thy Virgin-birth:
 All lands admire, all times applaud!
  Such is the birth that fits a God.
   Begotten of no human will,
 But of the Spirit, mystick still,
  The Word of God in flesh array’d—  
The promis’d fruit to man display’d.
  The Virgin womb that burden gain’d  
With Virgin honour all unstain’d:
  The banners there of virtue glow;
  God in his temple dwells below.
  Proceeding from his chamber
 free, The royal hall of chastity,
  Giant of two-fold substance,
 straight His destin’d way he runs elate.
   From God the Father he proceeds;
  To God the Father back he speeds: Proceeds,
 as far as very hell; Speeds back, to light ineffable.
 
O Equal to thy Father, thou!
  Gird on thy fleshly mantle now:
  The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
   Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
 And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
  And twilight never intervene.
   All laud to God the Father be,
  All praise, Eternal Son, to thee:
 All glory, as is ever meet,  
To God the Holy Paraclete.
 Amen.
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PRAYERS AND SONGS FROM AFRICA

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Our Lord and God Almighty,

we praise you,

for you created us all and made us

into many different tribes and nations,

that we may befriend one another

and that we may not despise each other.
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Open our hearts, we pray,

so that we may respond to the needs

of all our brothers and sisters.

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Oh Lord Jesus, bless all our lands

with more lasting peace and fraternal understanding.

Above all, heavenly Father,

touch the hearts of our political leaders

and all those in power.
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We pray that they may exercise power gently,

that they may humbly seek a disinterested dialogue

that will bring about understanding,

leading us all to a place where all nations and all people

live together in peace and harmony.
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Where there is bitterness teach us forgiveness and reconciliation,

replace hatred with love and indifference with care.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
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Amen.

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Oh Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you”
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Give us courage to challenge the perpetrators of violence

and to change their behaviour.
Help us devote our whole life,

thought and energy to the task of making peace.
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We pray for a new Africa,

where fear, violent thoughts or action shall no longer exist,

and where selfishness will not lead people to

commit injustice to others.
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As for the peoples of every African tongue and race,

may your kingdom come;

your kingdom of justice, peace and love.

May peace prevail in Africa.

May peace prevail on earth.

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Amen.

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Lord, rightful advocate of peace.

God of power and mercy, please destroy war,

which results in a spiral of human suffering

and the destruction of your bountiful creation.

Eliminate violence from our midst and wipe away the tears.

Hear the cries of many African people

afflicted through the death of their loved ones.

Hear the sighs of those who live in constant fear,

Hear the cries of many African mothers

who suffer with hunger pains but still break their backs

to feed their families,

Hear the cries of those who have been displaced

and are facing hunger and scarcity.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour we pray.

Amen

All three prayers composed by
 Aneth Lwakatare
(Tanzania)
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PLEASE PASS THE CARTOONS

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