ADVENT PRAYER MATERIAL 2015
L’ARCHE INTERNATIONAL – WELCOME HOME
WEEK 1
The week of the prophets
- asking us to welcome into our homes the Prince of Peace
(prepared by Bishop Stephen Conway of the Anglican Communion)
INTRODUCTION
The material gathered in this set of resources takes as its main focus two powerful images of
reconciliation between God and God’s people, drawn from the prophets Hosea and Ezekiel. It
would have been possible, of course, to choose material from Isaiah that is more traditionally
associated with the preparation for Christ’s coming through Advent. Yet these passages speak
eloquently, and generate meditations that flow onward into the themes of the next weeks in this
series of reflections.
How do this week’s resources prepare us to welcome the Prince of Peace into our homes at
Christmas? They show that before we can welcome God, we must accept the welcome that God
offers to us. Hosea reminds us that God loves us as children, even when we are disobedient,
forgetful and disloyal. Ezekiel promises that however we may have hardened our hearts against
God, he is ready to remake us, give us a chance to reach the full potential of his intention for us.
People who know they are loved, and whose hearts are prepared to respond, are people who
can become welcomers. They can acknowledge their flaws and shortcomings, and yet rejoice in
being part of God’s creative purpose. The Activity suggests how an object can be painted
symbolically to show all these aspects of ourselves. The Canticles (taken from Anselm of
Canterbury and a second passage from Hosea) reinforce the ideas of love, response, forgiveness,
imperfection and healing transformation.
Welcoming the Prince of Peace means also praying that his peace will be a gift to the whole
world. The two litanies offer a way to make this prayer.
Hosea 11.1-12
God’s Compassion Despite Israel’s Ingratitude
11When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called them,
the more they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and offering incense to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them up in my arms;
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with bands of love.
3
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I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks.
I bent down to them and fed them.
They shall return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria shall be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword rages in their cities,
it consumes their oracle-priests,
and devours because of their schemes.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me.
To the Most High they call,
but he does not raise them up at all.
5
How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart recoils within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
9 I will not execute my fierce anger;
I will not again destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and no mortal,
the Holy One in your midst,
and I will not come in wrath.
8
They shall go after the LORD,
who roars like a lion;
when he roars,
his children shall come trembling from the West.
11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt,
and like doves from the land of Assyria;
and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.
10
Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,
and the house of Israel with deceit;
but Judah still walks with God,
and is faithful to the Holy One.
12
REFLECTION by Bishop Stephen Conway
God is fully aware of all our sins and failings. He would be completely justified in leaving us to it
and letting us destroy ourselves. Instead, the God who comes to us in the person of Jesus, the
Prince of Peace, completely takes us to his heart in mercy and love. The deep challenge is how to
live as people of peace who are loved this much.
RODIN : THE HAND OF GOD
http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en/collections/sculptures/hand-god
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The link above from the Rodin museum provides three views of Rodin’s famous sculpture, ‘The
Hand of God’. The images can be used interactively and it is possible to ‘zoom’ in to see the detail
of the two human figures held in God’s hand.
Meditate on this picture for a while.
Look at the size of the hand in relation to the two human beings it holds.
‘Hold’ is a word that can be used in different ways. We talk about ‘putting things on hold’ when
we are going to have to wait for a while. Advent is a time of waiting – a time when we know
there is something to hope for, even though it hasn’t come yet. We pray that God will hold us,
little and fragile though we may feel against the power and challenge of the world. We pray that
we will grow, held in the grace of God, until we become the people he wants us to be – people
ready to meet him with joy in the birth of Jesus.
This hand is a shaped a bit like a womb, the figures curled up like unborn children. God brings
us to a new birth as we understand more of what he promises us.
Look also at the love the two figures have for each other. They are wrapped around each other
in an embrace. We pray that part of our waiting and our growing will be as people who respond
to others in love.
ACTIVITY
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In our reading from Hosea, the prophet imagines God’s love for his faltering people like the love
of a father for a little child. Hosea 11.3-4 paints the beautiful picture of the father lifting the child
up to his cheek.
Henri Nouwen wrote a book called Heart Speaks to Heart (Ave Maria Press, 2007) for Jean
Vanier’s mother, Mamie. Here is an extract from the book:
You did everything to show us your love and your Father's love. You became a
small, dependent child to show us yourself in your weakness; you became a
refugee in Egypt to show us your solidarity with all who are driven from their
homes; you grew up in obedience to your parents to show us how close you are as
we search for a true identity; you worked for many years as a simple carpenter to
show us how you wanted to be with us in our daily work; you were tempted in the
desert to show us how to resist the forces of evil around us; you surrounded
yourself with disciples to show us how to share our vision with others and to
work together in ministry; you preached the word of God to show us your truth
and how to become, ourselves, witnesses to truth; you healed the sick and raised
the dead to show us that your presence gave life to the whole person, body and
soul; you were transfigured to show us your divine splendour; you went the long
road of suffering and death to show us that you did not want to remain an
outsider even in the most painful of all human experiences. You, the eternal Word
of the Father, kept making choices that brought you closer and closer to us, to
reveal to us the boundless love of your heart.
Now, in our activity, we think about the way we respond to this infinite love. God asks us to
respond from our own humanity. But he is always promising to make our humanity new.
First, read these verses from the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 36.24-26
24I
will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and
bring you into your own land. 25I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and
you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will
cleanse you. 26A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within
you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a
heart of flesh.
Our second prophetic text is about hearts of stone becoming hearts of flesh.
The activity is to take a stone to hold and to stroke.
Explore its shape and pittedness.
Think about the forces of weather and water which have shaped this stone over millennia.
Contemplate how we are shaped by our experiences, by our wounds as much as by our
happiness.
As we are tempted to be stony-hearted, can we find hope in God’s promise through Ezekiel?
Use acrylic paints so that people can highlight the contours and shades of their stone.
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The pictures below show a stone about the size of a medium avocado pear, or a small mango. It
is quite heavy – you are aware of it as a weight in your hand – but the rounded shape makes it a
satisfying object to hold.
Bishop Stephen painted this stone himself. The pits in the stone are painted red as wounds. The
areas painted blue/green signify the earthiness Jesus shares with us, and the yellow stands for
the resurrection he invites us into.
Can our stony hearts be changed as we allow God to touch and heal our wounds;
as we learn to share the life of Jesus, who shared our life;
as we stretch out to the light and the joy of the resurrection?
As you hold the cold stone in your hand, it gets warmer.
Think about the warmth of new life that God is offering to you.
SUGGESTION
With stones and acrylic paints express your own response to the prophetic passages above in
colour.
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PRAYERS – a suggested format:
 Say the Our Father together
 Read Hosea 11: 1,3,4 and / or Ezekiel 36: 24-26
 Have a time of silence
 Take time to reflect on any of the material offered above and / or to paint a stone
 Bless each other with the words from the prophet Isaiah – Ch. 43: 1, 4
“NAME, I have called you by your name …., you are mine …. Behold, You are precious in my eyes
and I love you.”
 Prayer: (This is the same prayer every week except for the second line. Maybe you could learn to
sign it. One person could say and sign each line, and then everyone else repeat with the same
signing).
Jesus, you ask us to welcome you into our homes this coming Christmas and always.
You sent us wise people, prophets like Hosea, Ezekiel and Isaiah to tell us about your
coming.
Thank you.
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Help us so that we make our homes, homes of welcome for those you send us,
And welcome us into your home of Love, this Christmas and always.
Amen.


The L’Arche Prayer
Appropriate songs if wished.
OTHER RESOURCES:
Anglican Church of Canada: Morning Litany
Let us pray to the Lord, saying, ‘Lord, have mercy.’
We pray, Lord, for a day of purpose and of peace.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray, Lord, that you will teach us to love others as you love us.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray, Lord, for peace and justice in our world.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray, Lord, that you will support and comfort those who are in need.
Lord, have mercy.
We pray, Lord, that you will renew your Church by the power of your Spirit, who is the source of
life.
Lord, have mercy.
Anglican Church of Canada: Evening Litany
In peace, let us pray to the Lord, saying: Lord, we pray to you.
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful.
Lord, we pray to you.
That we will have come close to you in the work we have done,
and in the people we have met today.
Lord, we pray to you.
That our sins and offences may find pardon.
Lord, we pray to you.
That we may hear and respond to your call for peace and justice.
Lord, we pray to you.
That we may sustain the faith and the hope of those who are lonely, depressed and oppressed.
Lord, we pray to you.
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Increase in us the will to serve you and direct our hearts to search for your Kingdom.
Lord, we pray to you.
‘Prières Universelles’ From The Book of Alternative Services de l’Église anglicane du Canada/ of
the Anglican Church of Canada Toronto: ABC Publishing, 2007.
© The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada 2007
82 A Song of Anselm
1Jesus,
like a mother you gather your people to you; •
you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.
2Often
you weep over our sins and our pride, •
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.
3You
comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, •
in sickness you nurse us, and with pure milk you feed us.
4Jesus,
by your dying we are born to new life; •
by your anguish and labour we come forth in joy.
5Despair
turns to hope through your sweet goodness; •
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
6Your
warmth gives life to the dead, •
your touch makes sinners righteous.
7Lord
Jesus, in your mercy heal us; •
in your love and tenderness remake us.
8In
your compassion bring grace and forgiveness, •
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.
from Anselm of Canterbury
41 A Song of Humility
Refrain:
All Raise us up, O God,
that we may live in your presence.
1Come,
let us return to the Lord •
who has torn us and will heal us.
2God
has stricken us •
and will bind up our wounds.
3After
two days, he will revive us, •
and on the third day will raise us up,
that we may live in his presence.
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4Let
us strive to know the Lord; •
his appearing is as sure as the sunrise.
5He
will come to us like the showers, •
like the spring rains that water the earth.
6'O
Ephraim, how shall I deal with you? •
How shall I deal with you, O Judah?
7'Your
love for me is like the morning mist, •
like the dew that goes early away.
8'Therefore,
I have hewn them by the prophets, •
and my judgement goes forth as the light.
9'For
loyalty is my desire and not sacrifice, •
and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. '
Hosea 6.1-6
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