The Sacred Lights of Advent Part 2

Join pastor and podcaster Tara Lamont Eastman as she explores the sacredness in everyday life during the Advent season. This episode delves into the significance of the Advent wreath, the lighting of the pink candle for Gaudete Sunday, and the story of a special purple and pink stole gifted to Tara. Through personal anecdotes, biblical stories, and inspirational quotes, Tara invites listeners to embrace joy, love, and everyday acts of kindness as we journey toward Christmas. Tune in for blessings, reflections, and a call to celebrate the holy shenanigans of the season.

To learn more about Lori Kochanski's weaving, visit here

The Poet, Cleo Wade's website is: https://cleowade.com/

Transcript

S7 E2 The Sacred Lights of Advent Part 2

Tara Lamont Eastman: [00:00:00] I'm your muse, Tara Lamont, Eastman pastor and podcaster for holy shenanigans, where I'm always on the lookout for the holy and the sacred to show up in every day life. The advent season is in full swing. You probably already have your tree up and decorated with twinkling lights and your favorite ornaments.

Tara Lamont Eastman: If you have an advent wreath, you've already lit the candles of hope, peace, and joy with love. And Christmas Eve's candles just waiting for their turn to be lit via this podcast. I invite you to take a needed pause in the busyness of the holiday season and join me in some holy shenanigan stories of joy, love, and Christmas.

Tara Lamont Eastman: As well as some advent blessings to carry you all the [00:01:00] way to Christmas Eve. Some holy shenanigans for joy. On the third Sunday of Advent, the pink candle is lit and I wear a purpley pink sparkly stole. In my vocation as a pastor, I wear a sash of cloth over my neck or a stole as a sign of my vocation or yoke of shepherding or caring for a congregation.

Tara Lamont Eastman: The colors of my stoles match the various liturgical seasons in the church. Here in Advent, most churches decorate the altar or pulpit or communion table with the color of blue or purple. In my context, we use the color purple for the advent season. But on the third Sunday of Advent, the color of the advent wreath candle is pink.

Tara Lamont Eastman: For gaudete Sunday gaudete [00:02:00] is the Latin word for rejoice. The pink candle is a break in the deep dark purple of the advent season, and a reminder that very, very soon that Christmas will be here. So on the third Sunday of Advent, as I light a pink candle, I also take a break from my purple stole and wear a sparkly purple and pink stole.

Tara Lamont Eastman: That was handmade for me. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women in the ELCA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, a colleague in ministry, pastor Lori Kochanski, who is also a gifted weaver of cloth, set out to make 50 women clergy handwoven stoles. And I was one of those lucky recipients.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I still remember the day that she called me and asked me for three pieces of different clothing [00:03:00] to use for the stole that she would be making for me. She asked me to give her some clothing items that had significance in my role of being a pastor. So I went to my closet and found some items that I thought would be perfect for the stole first.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I chose a simple black cotton dress, the first dress I wore with a clerical collar. Second, I chose a pair of jeans that I would wear on service days of distributing food from the church food pantry. Third, I chose a hot pink t-shirt that I had worn on my moving day when I headed into my pastoral internship.

Tara Lamont Eastman: One black dress, one pair of jeans. And one hot pink t-shirt. All were sent off to Pastor Lori without any idea of what the stole would look like. Once they were woven together, months [00:04:00] passed and I'd almost forgotten about the stole being woven, but Pastor Lori was faithfully working and weaving. One day I went to my mailbox to find a thick manila envelope waiting for me.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Could it be my stole? It had to be. Carefully. I opened the package to find the stole neatly folded and wrapped in crinkly tissue paper. I pulled the paper away to see a purple and pink sparkly stole with bits of my black dress, my blue jeans, and my hot pink t-shirt woven together. The note said, I knew your stole's theme would be joy.

Tara Lamont Eastman: And was so pleased to find some sparkly purple and pink fabric to bring it all together. May this soul continue to inspire you to serve God and the world with the joy that flows from your life. Thank you for sharing joy with so many [00:05:00] people. I held that sparkling stole in my hands, the stole that contained three pieces of my clothing that marked the beginning of my vocation.

Tara Lamont Eastman: As an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament, this stole, celebrated all parts of my life that somehow were woven together to create a symbol of joy that I still wear, especially on the third Sunday of Advent. Remember that gaudete means rejoice and Latin, and so on This third Sunday of Advent. I wear pink as a sign of the joy that we all need to see and embody.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thank you Pastor Lori for weaving and gifting me this stole as a reminder of my own call to ministry to let joy be seen and as a symbol for [00:06:00] others who see it, that if joy can be represented in the weaving together of a little black dress. Some old blue jeans and a hot pink t-shirt that joy is woven into each and every person's life.

Tara Lamont Eastman: A candle blessing for joy Light. Three candles to watch for Messiah. Two candles, purple. This third dressed in pink, brightening like a rose. Calling us to rejoice. Joy is here. Let the light banish darkness everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow, and sighing shall flee away.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Isaiah 35 10, A holy story for love. [00:07:00] On the fourth week of Advent, the color of the candle and the stool I will wear. Shift back to purple in the gospel reading of this week, our attention is drawn to Mary's brave yes to God's call to carry the Christ child. And I think of Mary's courage and response to God's ask with a yes.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Mary's yes reminds me of another brave word of encouragement and hope from the poet Cleo Wade titled All of You. Her poem reads, which parts of yourself won't let yourself love yet? Befriend your ingredients. The spicy, the sweet, the pain, the heartache, the gifts, the shame, and the shine. Fall in love with all of you.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Savor yourself, miss Wade's [00:08:00] poem to love all of who we are. Makes an important point in this fourth week of advent. By now the pace of the holiday is ever increasing. The gifts, if they are in hand, are in need of organizing, wrapping, and gifting. If they are not yet gathered or somehow stuck somewhere in shipping, we worry that we might fail the expectations of Christmas and the holiday season.

Tara Lamont Eastman: But for a moment, I ask you to let go of your worry and expectation of the season. Ms. Wade's challenge to love all of ourself as well as to think about Mary's ability to say yes, to love, and to somehow love all of herself too. Mary's story is most beautifully written in Luke one. And I offer its words from the message Paraphrase.[00:09:00] 

Tara Lamont Eastman: Here was what the angel Gabriel says to Mary. Good morning, you are beautiful with God's beauty. Beautiful inside and out. God be with you. The story continues with Mary saying yes to Gabriel's request and she goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who is expecting late in life. With the baby who will become John the Baptist.

Tara Lamont Eastman: But Elizabeth gives Mary this word of encouragement. You are so blessed among women and the babe in your womb. Also blessed and why I am so blessed that the mother of the Lord visits me. Mary responds to Elizabeth with this song, I am bursting with the God news. I'm dancing the song of my Savior, God, God took one good look at me and look what [00:10:00] happened.

Tara Lamont Eastman: I'm the most fortunate woman on earth. What God has done for me will never be forgotten. The God whose name is holy set apart from all others. His mercy flows in the wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He beared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud.

Tara Lamont Eastman: The starving poor sat down to a banquet. The callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child Israel. He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them. Hi. Mary sings this song of rejoicing as well as a call to justice even at a time of great risk [00:11:00] and danger. I wonder what difference did Mary's song as well as her yes to God make?

Tara Lamont Eastman: Mary Sings a song celebrating the extraordinary love of God, breaking into the everyday lives of humanity. In her song, she celebrates God's love for the poor and promises the reality of justice for those who are oppressed. In Mary's yes to God, I'm reminded of the call of the prophet Micah to love justice, to seek mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Mary's efforts of ordinary but extraordinary love. Give life to the Christ child and bring God's message of love for all people into the world. Ordinary love, everyday love that is [00:12:00] once invisible, is made real and tangible in the yes and the song of Mary to do this incredibly hard thing. In Cleo Wade's poem as well as a Mary's song, I find a theme of transformation that lifts up everyday acts of love by everyday people that are actually extraordinary.

Tara Lamont Eastman: That somehow in our everyday playing efforts of love, that love and joy and Christmas will show up. The poem, all of you calls us to treasure all of who we are, and Mary is named as beautiful inside and out in Gabriel's invitation. I emphasize these points because I want us to stay with this message of being called beautiful inside and [00:13:00] out, that all of us is something to treasure you.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Dear heart, our beautiful inside and out. Your everyday efforts of love, they're extraordinary. Yes, the days to Christmas are passing quickly, but this call to everyday love is a gift that always fits, is always on time, and is something everyone needs everyday. Love is the gift we need to give and receive.

Tara Lamont Eastman: A candle. Blessing for love. Week light for candles to watch for Messiah, for hope that God fulfills the promise for peace. To be gently led homework for joy to banish the darkness and for everyday acts of love to shine, love, be with [00:14:00] us. Let our lights be shining. Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him. Emmanuel Isaiah seven 14. Well, dear hearts, we've almost made it through advent in these days that lead us to Christmas. I extend a hearty holy shenanigans invitation to live into the joy and love of Advent. And the celebrations of Christmas through everyday actions of love, we've given you a gift of a story that something joyful can come from scraps of a little black dress, an old pair of jeans, and a hot pink t-shirt.

Tara Lamont Eastman: And through Mary's story in Cleo Wade's poem that you are beautiful inside and out. [00:15:00] Your actions of love and justice are the gifts that are needed very much in the world. And finally, a candle blessing for Christmas light five candles to welcome Messiah. Four Sundays of waiting have been fulfilled.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Tonight we bask in the birth of the Christ child who offers us the graces. Of hope, peace, joy, and love. Our waiting is over. The light we've longed for is here. Merry Christmas. The Christ child is born for a child has been born for us, a son given to us. Authority rests on his shoulders and he is named wonderful counselor.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Mighty God. Everlasting Father, [00:16:00] prince of Peace, Isaiah nine, six. I am your holy shenanigans muse. Tara Lamont Eastman. Thank you for joining me this week for some advent and for Christmas. Holy shenanigans that surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down. All in the name of love. This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred, but never stuffy.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Thanks to Ian Eastman for sound editing. Pastor Lori Kansky for the gift of my purple, pink, sparkly stole gratitude, the CLE Wade for her poem, all of you. You can find her [00:17:00] website and resources@clewade.com. Financial gifts of support for Holy Shenanigans Podcast can be given@www.buy me a coffee.com/tara l Eastman.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Or you can find a support button at the Holy Shenanigans Buzz Sprout homepage@holyshenanigans.buzz sprout.com. If you are in the northwest Pennsylvania region and are looking for a faith community to visit. I invite you to join me at Warren First Presbyterian Church. Our Christmas Eve service will be 7:00 PM on Wednesday, December 24th.

Tara Lamont Eastman: Every Sunday. Worship is at 10:00 AM and our address is 300 Market Street, Warren, Pennsylvania. Until next time, may you be well and may you experience advent joy and love [00:18:00] on your journey to Christmas. And know that you are always beloved. Merry Christmas and happy Holidays to all.