Prepare Your Mind with Culture and Poetry

A few weeks ago, I read Andy Crouch's book Culture Making (from IVP) . This book is simply amazing and the website is pretty incredible too. It's one of those books that made me wish I could discuss one chapter each week with my friends in a bible study. In the book, Crouch says, "We make sense of the world by making something of the world. The human quest for meaning is played out in human making: the finger-painting, omelet-stirring, chair-crafting, snow-swishing activities of culture. Meaning and making go together--culture you could say, is the activity of making meaning."

Which brings me to today's Random Act of Poetry. Christine Sine of Godspace posted her advent meditation (which I'm going to call a poem for the sake of this post). Typically, I'm not a fan of psalm-style poetry, but this is really good. Christine uses anaphora, repetition, rhythm, and antithesis to great effect. More than that, I wanted to feature Christine's interest in a project called Make Something Day. The idea is a little bit like Advent Conspiracy without the guilt. (Nothing against Advent Conspiracy, mind you, my family is planning to participate.) But Make Something Day is simpler.

On the day after Thanksgiving, when the whole world goes to the mall, stay home and make something instead. In fact, if you're feeling ambitious, make as many of your presents this year as you can. Christine talks about making Lavender Lotion, but in my opinion, she's already completed her homework with this Advent Meditation and especially the accompanying video (also embedded below).

In this Advent season we await the coming of Christ. Child of promise come,

Revealer of God come,

Bringer of life come

Come to the beaten and the battered,

Come to the despised and rejected

Come to all in whom the divine image is still distorted

We wait in joyful expectation.

Come not as an distant emperor but as a helpless babe

Come not as a prince in a gold palace, but as a displaced and frightened refugee

Come not as a man of power, but in love and compassion

Come to those outcast like shepherds in the field

Come to foreigners like Magi watching from afar

Come to rich and poor, young and old, male and female,

We wait in hopeful anticipation

Come to bless all creation with your love

Come to bring salvation on the earth

Come to rule with justice and in peace

Come Child of promise, open the windows of our hearts

Come Christ of compassion, open the doors of our homes

Come Prince of Peace, open the pathways to our lives

We wait with all the peoples of the earth

Child of hope we welcome your coming

Christ of life we welcome your coming

King of glory we welcome your coming