Week: Voices of Advent
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Creator God, who formed us from dust, breathe in us again. We’re ready for the new things that You want to show us and say to us and even create through us today.
Christina Rossetti was a famous poet – some say she is one of the greatest poets of all time. Let’s REFLECT on what the Bible says about the joy of writing poetry.
Read by Selah
Psalm 45:1
Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skilful poet.
Psalm 45:1 (NLT)
Christina Rossetti was born in 1830 in England. Her Italian-English parents encouraged her to be creative, especially with words, and she started making up stories before she could write – her mother wrote them down for her instead. She wrote her first poem when she was 11, and she carried on writing poetry for the rest of her life.
Some of Christina’s poems were romantic, and some were fantastical, but they were all shaped by her love for Jesus and by her Christian faith. Some of her poems were written to help people worship God. Here are some beautiful words from one of them:
God the Father we will adore,
In Jesus’ Name, now and evermore:
God the Son we will love and thank
In this flood and on the further bank:
God the Holy Ghost we will praise
In Jesus’ Name, through endless days.*
Not everybody liked what she wrote though. One famous journalist didn’t like her epic poem Goblin Market, because it wasn’t like other poems, but Christina didn’t let his criticism get her down – she continued writing, and millions of people read her poems.
Let’s press pause and see if we can make up a short poem, maybe using our names or something else in the room where we are. Let’s try and make it funny!
And now let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Creator God, thank You for the creative gifts that You’ve given to each of us. We’re ALL creative in some way. We ASK You to help us keep using our gifts, even when we don’t feel confident, or when other people aren’t as encouraging as they should be.
What books do we like reading? Who are our favourite writers? Let’s pray for those who write novels and plays, poems and scripts – people who are creative with words.
Creator God, thank You for those who have the gifts to inspire us with words. May the words they write help people to know You and worship You, just like Christina Rossetti’s did.
One of Christina’s poems, In The Bleak Midwinter, has become a famous Christmas carol. In it she imagines coming to worship the baby Jesus.
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a Shepherd I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him – Give my heart.**
Pause
Let’s use some of these words as we say YES to God together.
Loving God, You gave us everything that You loved when You gave us Your Son, Jesus. What can we give You in return? We say YES to giving everything we have to You – our hearts, our whole lives.
Pause
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
excerpt from Martyrs’ Song by Christina Rossetti (taken from Devotional Pieces – Pg2 as cited in https://www.infoplease.com/primary-sources/poetry/christina-rossetti/christina-rossetti-martyrs-song)
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Selah is 14 and she lives in the middle of The USA in Kansas City, with her parents, sisters and dogs. Selah loves adventures and plays (and watches) all kinds of sports. She also enjoys science and likes inventing and building things…especially if they help others in some way.
