Joshua Minden (00:13):

Hello again. Welcome to Stories and Other Things Holy, and welcome to week three of our four-part Advent series. We continue our journey through advent and we continue to engage with this invitation to welcome the incarnation, not just commemorating the birth of the child Jesus, but also again today welcoming the very life of God, wanting to be born in us. This week, our principal storyteller, Dr. Terry Nelson-Johnson, shares a reflection that invites us to consider our availability - Availability to let God burst forth into the world through us. These advent reflections are meant to be shorter, making time for you to meditate on the call to bear God. So take a deep breath and let's welcome more Stories and Other Things Holy.

Terry Nelson-Johnson (01:15):

Stories and Other Things Holy. Blessed Advent! This is a little bit one of the 'other things' because this is not as much a story as you've come to know in 'Stories and Other Things Holy,' this is sort of the 'other things,' more of a reflection. Every advent I return to this and there's something about it that's so compelling and challenging and comforting, and I hope that might be true for you too. So if you'll allow me to read this piece from Joyce Rupp who says the following:

(01:50):

 "Holy midwife you rejoiced at the birth of creation. I hold up to you the intuited mystery of something new being birthed in me. It has no face, no name, no sound, no shape. I only know that something unperceived is meant to come to life inside the womb of my deepest self. Is it greater depth or valuable clarity? Is it a whole new way of being? I fail to understand what it might be. My knowing is as faint as the light of a new moon. I know I must trust in your unfailing care. You will be attentive to this unnamed one who struggles mightily to be released within me. Help me to be attuned to the contractions of my spirit, to relax when I ought, and to push when I must. Encourage me to believe in what I cannot yet see. Be by my side as I await this mysterious new life still curled up inside my pregnant spirit. Let me have faith in something good, slowly taking shape and be trusting enough to stay in the birthing process. Let me be willing to endure the sweat and the groans and to cheer wildly when the new life comes bursting forth."

(03:22):

Can the church say Mamen? But you better watch it before you say amen. You know what I'm saying? Because isn't it meister Eckhart that says: "We are all meant to be mothers of God because God is forever needing to be born," and I don't know where I found this, and other people have tried to search for it, so it might be apocryphal, but it's still good. Very, very good. And it comes from how about language? And it has to do with Mary and virginity. And as I understand it, the word virginity had two meanings at the time of Mary. One was biological, the one and one was sociological. And the sociological meaning of virginity wasn't like, have you slept with anybody? It meant are you available? So if you asked if someone was a virgin, you were asking if there was available, if they were available. Seems to me that Joyce Rupp is encouraging us all to become virgins.

(04:23):

And Jack Shea says, Advent is a period of Lamas classes for believers. And so then the question is, will I lend my availability to God in the hopes that I might birth a new marriage, a new relationship with this body that is diminishing? I might birth a new way of imagining God in a world that creates bridges and connects us and ushers us into unitive consciousness. Will I be available? Will you be available? Will there be more? God in the world sounds corny. I really don't care because we have taken advent seriously and we've allowed something to be conceived in us. "Let me be willing to endure the sweat and the groans and to cheer wildly when new life comes bursting forth."A Amen. Amen. Amen. May our Advent be a time of courage and trust and delight and birthing. Stories and Other Things Holy.

Joshua Minden (05:58):

Thank you for joining us for this Advent series of Stories and Other Things Holy. If this podcast has been life-giving for you, I encourage you to sign up for our newsletter at: StoriesAndOtherThingsHoly.com and gain access to weekly written reflections, prayer prompts, and so much more. Help spread the word about this podcast! We invite you to like our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel, and consider leaving a review on your favorite podcast app. We'll see you next week for more Stories and Other Things Holy.