Advent Traditions

[Jersey Girl]

Hi Jersey Girl,

You may find this old thread interesting.

viewtopic.php?p=2156626#p2156626

Thanks! I wondered at first why I had never seen that thread before. When I looked at the date I realized I was addressing the aftermath of a traumatic death in the family.

One new thing I picked up after reading it through was the Jesse Tree. Never in my life had I ever heard of it. And yet, the current study I'm doing naturally goes back to the Old Testament Prophets, Isaiah in this case, and...the root of Jesse.

Additional study topic: What are the first instances of the use of a family tree in human history? See? There's no end to the possibilities.

Thanks again, honor!

[Jersey Girl]

Our church and past church always has suggested Advent resources for the family, but I can’t say we’ve ever done it in our family.

Do you have any idea why in church sometimes the Advent candles are purple, pink, and white(If I recall correctly)? This year at church, ours are oil filled clear candles.

Hope.
Peace.
Love.
Joy.

Four weeks leading up to the birth of Christ, a candle for each week and it's emphasis. If there's a white candle it represents Christ and is lit on Christmas Day to represent his birth/coming.

I've got some LED taper candles that are ivory. I've also got a small wreath that I didn't use this year so...I think what I can do is put colored ribbon on the candles to represent each week. I'm already one candle behind.

Did you see the prayer from England that Chap shared? I've been working that in as an extra for this study. Really liking this study! It's brought in information that is new to me and it's so refreshing! I knew the scripture refs from the Old Testament and New Testament. I just never new that Advent was about the 2 comings of Jesus. I think I'll do this every year. Already found another Advent study on Amazon I can use for next year. I don't want to get too elaborate in things like what kind of wreath I use or whatever.

For me this is about simplifying instead of focusing on all the things we get caught up in during the season (like do I need an official Advent candle wreath or use what I have to create one) and just getting quiet, reflecting, and going deep with God so that Jesus is the Reason for the Season isn't a superficial catch phrase, I'm actually making it so by doing it and eliminating things that get in the way of that.'

It's like decluttering for the believing soul.

p.s. Did that just sound like a Chicken Soup book title? Don't blame me. I got a lot of stuff in my head. Sometimes it has to come out.

[Whiskey]

I passed a Bible Study sign recently. It was on a property that had Lamas in the front yard. Part of me thought that no matter the topic, these people would be interesting to spend an evening with. I hope you are doing with this with some fun and funny folks.

Maybe those are granola boho type Bible students! I'd have to go see what the Llamas are about. We had Alpacas right down the street (dirt road) here. Lots of Alpacas, Llamas, Ostriches,and various cattle around here. The owners put those hanging IKEA chairs in their trees and would sit out there while the Alapacas roamed around. So peaceful. Oh and I have to tell this. One of the goat farmers in our area hires out his goats as a mowing service. It's true!

Whiskey I'm doing my study time alone. I couldn't do a group study if I wanted to. I'm extremely introverted. Listening to everyone talking would derail my train of thought. I'm better at one:one interaction so I can go deep with folks or in this case, to go deep and reflect on what I'm learning about. Idle chit chat drives me up the wall. Never liked group study in school either. I'd always end up leading the group because other students wouldn't step up and then I'd end up having to accept a lesser grade when others didn't follow through on their group assignment. All that to say, I prefer to work alone.

Learning a lot from this Advent study so far. The comparisons of Old Testament and New Testament scriptures are fascinating to me.

Well. I probably owe both an apology and a confession.

I never thought of Bible Study as actual studying. I had the social activity only in mind. Like sunday school. Never crossed my mind that being studious was part of it. And for that, sorry. That's another miss on my part.

Study away. Keep us posted.

[Chap]

I did a not-so-deep-dive on the order and they have a long history of inflicting slavery on folks to (according to them) was so they could literally have a captive audience to evangelize. In more contemporary times it seems they've made contributions to science, I think tech was mentioned, and charity.

Pretty well any large-scale human activity by an international organisation founded in the 16th century (the Jesuits were founded by Ignatius Loyola in 1540), whether in the Christian or the Muslim world, would inevitably take place in the context that the services of some people may be secured by simply buying them. Your picture of chattel slavery as a distinctive and essential factor in Jesuit evangelism is, if you will pardon me saying so, somewhat misleading. As an antidote to more simplistic accounts, you might like to glance at this article about a famous case of Jesuit anti-slavery activity:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_mi ... he_Guaraní

You might find it more interesting to ask what it was that made them different from other religious bodies during the period when they were active. And those differences included a highly rigorous and demanding program of study and intellectual training demanded of new recruits to the order (including mathematics and science), together with a new and systematic approach to education that made Jesuit schools the obvious choice for many parents of boys in Catholic countries. Also, in the seventeenth century Jesuit missionaries were the main channel through which knowledge of the fast developing science and mathematics of Europe were introduced to China, where they received an enthusiastic welcome from many Chinese intellectuals, including those who were on the whole less interested in the religious side of the Jesuit missions.