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Category: Advent Meditations

Advent Meditation: December 11, 2022

63:1-8(9-11), 98, 103
Isaiah 13:6-13 Hebrews 12:18-29 John 3:22-30

How to adore God in the face of difficulty; be it others in our midst, or the inner chains that bind?

This must be the feat of the foolish. Of the foolish or of the free.

Tell me, O Lord, am I foolish? Tell me, O Lord, am I free?

Have I laid bare my heart to you? Have I fallen faint at your feet?

Have I announced to you, “I am wounded; I adore you. I am worried, I claim you. I am mortal; I await you.”?

For you are the One who nurtures and strengthens. The One who provides for our needs. The One who helps all to rest; receiving us gently when we reveal our truths or declare our thirst.

Might you send the wave of your divine and loving flow – from within and from without? For I know to tap your holy wellspring, yet of late I depend on inputs from outside myself; a hit of dopamine to make it through the the day.

Please remind me, Great Source, to choose to become an abode for you through the ancient of ways; walking, quieting, opening, praying.

For you, O Divine Mother, are the natural path available and free. You, Abba Father, are the destination, the compass, and the companion.

We embrace your many names as you bear a mystery so awesome that all we ought be concerned with is prostration. Or praise.

Teach us to surrender, Divine Creator. Teach us to be free.

Oh God, more real than the most concrete worldly object; I await and praise you at every turn. Amen.

Listen to Carissa read her Advent meditation and prayer:

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The Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis

The Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis

The Rev. Carissa Baldwin-McGinnis was ordained an Episcopal priest in 2008 after being inspired by Roman Catholic priests in Nigeria teaching human rights law to their congregations. She went from the field of Human Rights based in Washington, D.C. to faith-based community organizing in South Texas before attending divinity school in her hometown of Austin. Carissa has built her family with her wife, Pam McGinnis. They are the proud parents of three profound and powerful children. Carissa loves contemplative prayer, funk music, and a good dance party. She serves on the boards of St. Francis Ministries in Salina, Kansas and the Episcopal Foundation of Texas in Houston. She is the current president of the alumni steering committee for the Seminary of the Southwest. Before being commissioned to start Northside Episcopal Church, Carissa served Episcopal congregations in Houston and Los Angeles with a consistent focus on spirituality and social justice.

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