The Anglican Church's custom of offering "Quiet Days" is at least as old as the mid-19th century.
A Quiet Day is a time to be with God alone; a time to be aware of God; and a time to listen to what God is saying to you.
A Quiet Day is also a time to let silence do for your mind and spirit what sleep does for your body.
Originally, Quiet Days began in the morning and ended in the afternoon; over time, and for want of time, the Church began to offer Quiet Mornings, or Quiet Afternoons, or Quiet Evenings.
Today, it may be just about all we can manage to find 15 minutes for a Quiet Time or Moment!
Here, then, is my offering for Advent 2016:
A daily Quiet Time, consisting of an Opening Verse and Prayer, Something to Ponder, and a Closing Prayer.
All you need is a quiet corner and a moment of time.
And because I hope these Advent Quiet Moments will spur us on spiritually, I'm calling each one a Quiet Momentum.
Opening Verse
If in your heart you make a manger for his birth
Then God will once again become a child on earth.
Opening Prayer
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Something to Ponder
"In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin."
This verse comes from the book of Ecclesiasticus, chapter 7, verse 36, and the clear implication is that with death comes judgment, a judgment based on sins.
From that verse a tradition of preaching during the season of Advent developed. That tradition was to preach on the four "Last Things" at the end of one's life: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Preachers would preach on one of these themes during each of the four Sundays of Advent.
The Collects and Lessons appointed during the season of Advent frequently deal with judgment.
In yesterday's Gospel for the First Sunday in Advent, Jesus gives us several images of judgment as he describes the End of the Age.
Here's the first image:
"For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matthew 24:37-39).
Before going any further, let me say a word about the expression "Son of Man."
During Jesus' ministry, many people tried to give him titles.
Some tried to call him "the Anointed One"— Hebrew-speakers used the word "Messiah" and Greek-speakers used the word "Christ."
Some tried to call him "Son of God."
Others called him a "King," or "the Prophet."
Jesus never accepted these titles, because people had preconceived ideas about what those titles meant, and Jesus didn't want other people to define him.
The only title he used for himself was "Son of Man." He used that title, from the prophet Daniel (7:13), because no one had the foggiest idea what it meant, apart from its literal meaning— "Son of Man" is simply a Semitic expression for "Human Being."
Jesus was content with the title "Human Being."
What do you make of that?
Closing Prayer
O God, make the door of my heart wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, and a heavenly Father's care; and narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and hate. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged enough to turn back the tempter's power. Make it a gateway to your eternal kingdom. Amen.
Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 1637-1711
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