Worship – We continue with our Advent & Christmas theme: Generation to Generation. The third week’s theme is We Can Choose a Better Way… This time about Joseph and the choice he makes.
As far as Joseph knows, his new wife has been unfaithful to him and broken their marriage contract. And yet, instead of punishment, he chooses not to publicly disgrace or humiliate her. This interruption in his life becomes a holy invitation when the angel comes to him in a dream and says, “Do not be afraid.” When he awakes, Joseph once again has the courage to choose a better way. He chooses to stay with Mary, to become an adoptive parent. He chooses
peace over violence, grace over condemnation. Like Mary, he chooses to say “yes.” When have our ancestors also chosen a better way, and when have they not? Isaiah 35 is a vision of what happens when we choose a better way: the wilderness blooms, water breaks forth in the desert, eyes are opened, ears are unstopped, sorrow and sadness flee away. A highway shall appear and it will become a holy way. (Generation to Generation)
Prayer Poem by Rev. Sarah Speed | A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org
Instructions For a hard Choice
First, you must take a deep breath.
Let oxygen dance through your lungs.
Exhale it slowly. Allow the hurt, the shame,
the anger to rise up in you. Let your mind run wild,
like a million loose horses. Let the narratives unfold, unroll,
a river of choppy water. Ask yourself how you got here. Look
down at your feet. Roll your shoulders back. Remember who you
are. Take another deep breath. Then, walk it back to the beginning.
Instead of looking at your feet, look at hers. Imagine where she stands. Imagine what he needs. Dry the
river of false stories in your mind. Turn rushing water into a dry creek bed, certainly not clean enough to
drink. Call the horses. Bring them home.
Watch as they shake off the dust of the day. Name what
you’re feeling. Inhale again. Now you are ready
to choose a better
way.
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