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    Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent
    Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent
    Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent
    Ebook98 pages1 hour

    Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent

    By Enuma Okoro

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    About this ebook

    Usually when we think of the Advent story, Mary, Joseph, and the angel Gabriel come to mind. Okoro approaches Advent a little differently, inviting us to sit for a while with Zechariah and Elizabeth and the story of how they came to bear their only son, John.

    "The Advent story we so often associate with the joy of Christmas actually begins with deep sorrow and longing. But thankfully, in the kingdom of God, there is always more to the story than meets the eye," Enuma Okoro writes.

    Zechariah and Elizabeth were good people. They had maintained faith and hope in God for many years, despite Elizabeth's inability to conceive, a condition considered shameful in their time. So they were quite familiar with the universal human experiences of longing and waiting. Even though this couple's story takes up only one chapter in Luke's Gospel, it contains enough lessons about faith and life to last for weeks.

    In her beautifully written, imaginative meditations for each day of Advent, Okoro looks closely at the doubts and longings of Zechariah and Elizabeth. As you explore their story, Okoro guides you to reflect on your own experiences of waiting and longing, of grief and the need for community, and of hungering for God.

    These poetic and poignant meditations will linger with you long after Christmas. Reflection questions and a prayer challenge accompany each week's meditations. A perfect book for individual or group study.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherUpper Room Books
    Release dateSep 1, 2012
    ISBN9780835811705
    Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent
    Author

    Enuma Okoro

    Enuma Okoro was born in the United States and raised in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and England. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School where she served as Director for the Center for Theological Writing. Currently, she is a writer, speaker, and workshop/retreat leader. The author of Reluctant Pilgrim, Enuma lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. http://reluctantpilgrim.wordpress.com.

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      Book preview

      Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent - Enuma Okoro

      SilenceCOVER.jpgSilenceTITLEPG1.jpg

      SILENCE AND OTHER SURPRISING INVITATIONS OF ADVENT

      Copyright © 2012 by Enuma Okoro. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, Tennessee 37212.

      The Upper Room® Web site http://www.upperroom.org

      UPPER ROOM®, UPPER ROOM BOOKS® and design logos are trademarks owned The Upper Room®, A Ministry of GBOD®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations not otherwise noted are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Guide for Small Groups adapted from Simply Wait: Cultivating Stillness in the Season of Advent. Copyright ©2007 by Pamela C. Hawkins. Reprinted by permission of Upper Room Books®.

      Advent Wreath Candlelighting Meditations adapted from Advent Wreath Candlelighting Meditations for Home and Church, Year B-2011 by Dean McIntyre. Copyright © 2011 by The United Methodist General Board of Discipleship, PO Box 340003, Nashville TN 37203. Telephone (877) 899-2780, ext. 7073. Used by permission.

      At the time of publication, all Web sites referenced in this book were valid. However, due to the fluid nature of the Internet, some addresses may have changed, or the content may no longer be relevant.

      Cover and interior design: Marc Whitaker / www.mtwdesign.net

      Interior Design: PerfecType, Nashville, TN

      ISBN 978-0-8358-1170-5 (ePub edition)

      For Lisa Yebuah,

      who has expanded my

      holy imagination

      CONTENTS

      Preface

      PART 1: SURPRISED AND SILENCED BY GOD

      Week One: Zechariah

      Day 1: Waiting with Unanswered Prayer

      Day 2: Lament

      Day 3: Intercession

      Day 4: Remembered by God

      Day 5: Devoted Doubt

      Day 6: Doubt and the Believing Community

      Day 7: Personal Reflection

      Week Two: Elizabeth & Zechariah

      Day 8: Barrenness

      Day 9: A Song from Hollowed Space

      Day 10: Silence

      Day 11: Dwelling in God’s Strength

      Day 12: Divine Preparation

      Day 13: Holy Retreat

      Day 14: Personal Reflection

      PART 2: PREPARATION AND LABORING WITH GOD’S PROMISES

      Week Three: Elizabeth, Mary, & John

      Day 15: Wait and Prepare

      Day 16: The Refiner’s Fire

      Day 17: Mary & Elizabeth

      Day 18: A Holy Friendship

      Day 19: John the Baptist

      Day 20: What Are You Waiting For?

      Day 21: Personal Reflection

      PART 3: TRUSTING AND RECEIVING GOD’S WORD

      Week Four: The Community Trusts the Word

      Day 22: Seeing Those Who Dream

      Day 23: God’s Perfect, Inconvenient Timing

      Day 24: Bearing the Word

      Day 25: God Delivers on God’s Word

      Day 26: The Art of Faithful Naming

      Day 27: Praise Song

      Day 28: Personal Reflection

      Guide for Small Groups

      Advent Wreath Candlelighting Meditations

      About the Author

      Preface

      Advent is the first season in the Christian liturgical calendar. Derived from the Latin word adventus and the Greek word parousia, it means coming and refers to the coming of Christ. Christians recognize the four weeks of Advent as a time to anticipate the birth of the Christ child and the second coming of Christ at final judgment. During Advent we repent of the habits and practices that turn us away from the loving God who is always reaching out to be reconciled to us. We want to become a people who seek after God and who cultivate patience as we wait for divine justice to bring peace and freedom to an aching world. As we reflect on the Advent scripture narrative, we are invited to walk alongside faithful men and women who also sought after God and waited upon God to answer their prayers and to keep God’s promises of salvation and freedom from injustice and oppression. We walk alongside men and women like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary who were familiar with intimate encounters with God that startled them into silence, awed them into seclusion, and inspired them to praise and thanksgiving.

      Most Advent reflections center on the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel’s visitation to Mary to pronounce God’s favor upon her and her role as Theotokos, the Christ-bearer. This book shifts the Advent attention to Zechariah and Elizabeth, the two elderly, devout Jews who miraculously conceived John the Baptist. Theirs is a story of accustomed longing and unmet desire, sustained prayer, occasional doubt, and seasons of silent retreat and seclusion. We can learn much about the tensions of a genuine faith journey from the trials and surprises that Zechariah and Elizabeth encountered in their attempts to live before God. And we can learn about the mercy and faithfulness of a God who acts in God’s own timing and for God’s wider purposes.

      Like those who witnessed the first coming of Christ, we hear God beckon us during Advent to make ourselves available to God in new and courageous ways. We are invited to practice a unique kind of hospitality with one another: the sort of hospitality that makes room for people to share the strange ways in which God is moving in their lives; the sort of hospitality that encourages people to put down wearisome baggage and trust God to fill their empty hands and hearts; the sort of hospitality that nurtures space for holy listening. This hospitality encourages others to believe that God is always in the business of making things new, bringing life into spaces that feel barren, and strengthening the weak to

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