May I share you what we have done the past two nights? I am a real fly by the seat of my pants kind of teacher, but it has gone well and I have been able to come back to behavior issues (which are huge in our house) time and time again b/c of the message we shared with the kids.
Here are the Scripture readings for each night with a short topical intro about each one. Here is the link where I found these: http://catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/a/Adv_Readings_W1.htm
There are of course many, many others, I just happened to select this one and it is working out well.
An excellent way to focus our thoughts and deepen our understanding of the meaning of Advent is to turn to the Bible. Sometimes, however, it’s hard to know where to start. That is why the Catholic Church has provided us with the Office of the Readings, part of the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the Church. In the Office of the Readings, the Church has chosen Scripture passages that are appropriate to every day of the year.
Every season of the Church year has a certain theme or themes. During Advent, the Church turns to the Old Testament book of the Prophet Isaiah. There are many themes in Isaiah's prophecy, but some of the most important are:
- The need for repentance
- Spiritual conversion
- The extension of salvation from Israel to all nations
This article contains a link to the Scripture reading for each day of the first week of Advent, as well as a brief commentary on that reading.
First Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 1:1-18)
On the first Sunday of Advent, we read the beginning of the book of Isaiah, where the prophet speaks in the voice of God and calls the people of Israel to repentance, to prepare them for the coming of His Son. But the Old Testament people of Israel also represents the New Testament Church, so the call to repentance applies to us as well.
I touched on two points tonight -- Isaiah 1:13 (Stop bringing meaningless offerings) and 1:16(...Stop doing wrong and learn to do right). Dh and I gently explained that while the kids may think we are being real pains by constantly (in their eyes) going on and on about appropriate behavior and responsibilities and jobs in our home, there it is, straight out of the Old Testament -- it could not be more clear what the Lord thinks of their disrespect and misbehavior. I likened their constant, empty apologies to 'meaningless offerings.' I told them that it is NOT easy to change one's behavior and it can only be done by letting the Lord take over every place in our heart -- we cannot do it alone.
Earlier in the day, dd11 and I were going through her Catholic Heritage Curric Religion book and she read that when a person loves anyone or anything MORE than G-d, that person has taken G-d out of the place of honor in their heart. I used examples of anger, disobedience, disrespect, unkindness - and explained that each of those becomes our idol when we act that way - because we have pushed the Lord's love aside.
Back to Advent, our last point with them was that Jesus was born in an empty stable. We explained that in the way that there was no room for Mary and Joseph anyplace that night, Jesus entered the world in an empty stable -- the only place where there was room. We concluded by explaining that we are to empty our hearts of anything that would cause us to choose it or them over the Lord. Our heart is to become, symbolically, an empty stable so that Jesus can take His place in it.
First Monday of Advent (Isaiah 1:21-27; 2:1-5)
In the reading for the first Monday of Advent, the Prophet Isaiah continues to call Israel to account, and God reveals His plan to remake Israel, purifying her so that she will be the shining city on a hill, toward which men of all nations will turn. This remade Israel is the Church of the New Testament, and it is Christ's coming that remakes Her.
Tonight, I began by telling them that G-d's plan to remake Israel so that she will be a shining city on a hill, is pretty much what parents want for their children when they put effort and prayer into raising them to be
G-dly young people who will grow to be G-dly adults. I also spoke to them about accountability -- and being called into account. I mentioned some things from last night about accountability, and we basically refreshed their memory of what it is to be 'accountable.'
I talked again about making room in our hearts, and what happened to Mary and Joseph when they arrived in Bethlehem looking for a place to stay. We asked to imagine a man and his very very pregnant wife and the two of them being told 'no.' I reminded them that at this point in history, there were no hospitals or birthing centers, and pretty much everyone had probably been present at least once at a birth so it couldn't have been that people were 'afraid' that Mary would give birth while they were there. Clearly she was going to -- but no one had any room. We asked the kids to imagine a world that did not have room for Christ, Our Savior. We used examples of the world we live in today and explained that graphic lyrics, violence, disrespect for life and for others in general -- all of these were real illustrations of places in the world where there is 'no room.' Then we went back to last night's talk about our hearts -- I asked them if their heart, like Bethlehem, did not have room for Our Savior. I told them that whenever the chose to purposely and deliberately disobey, hurt each other, or be disrespectful (to name a few things), they were telling Jesus that there was no room in their heart for Him.
First Tuesday of Advent (Isaiah 2:6-22; 4:2-6)
The Prophet Isaiah continues the theme of the judgment of Israel in the reading for the first Tuesday of Advent. Because of the sins of the people, God will humble Israel, and only the "bud of the Lord"—Christ—will shine in glory.
First Wednesday of Advent (Isaiah 5:1-7)
In this passage for the first Wednesday of Advent, Isaiah discusses the vineyard that the Lord has built—the house of Israel. The passage calls to mind Christ's parable of the vineyard, in which the vineyard owner sends his only son to oversee the vineyard, and the workers in the vineyard kill him, foreshadowing Christ's own death.
First Thursday of Advent (Isaiah 16:1-5; 17:4-8)
In this reading for the first Thursday of Advent, we see Isaiah prophesying the purification of Old Testament Israel. The Chosen People have squandered their inheritance, and now God is opening the door of salvation to all nations. Israel survives, as the New Testament Church; and over her sits a just judge, Jesus Christ.
First Friday of Advent (Isaiah 19:16-25)
The Prophet Isaiah continues with his theme of the conversion of nations in the reading for the first Friday of Advent. With the coming of Christ, salvation is no longer confined to Israel. Egypt, whose enslavement of the Israelites represented the darkness of sin, will be converted, as will Assyria. Christ's love encompasses all nations, and all are welcome in the New Testament Israel, the Church.
First Saturday of Advent (Isaiah 21:6-12)
Isaiah's prophecy foretells the coming of Christ, and of His triumph over sin. In the reading for the first Saturday of Advent, Babylon, the symbol of sin and idolatry, has fallen. Like the watchman, in this Advent we wait for the triumph of the Lord.
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