Advent

The Four Candles of Advent

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
Contemplating the message of the season

There’s hope and there’s peace, then there’s joy and then love.
The candles of Advent reveal
the season’s true essence, the heart of God’s heart
and the things that our world needs to heal.

Our hope keeps us trusting for what yet awaits.
We focus our gaze with a prayer
that what has been promised will come in God’s time
reflecting God’s light everywhere.

The peace that we long for and patiently strive
eludes us if left to ourselves.
Harmonious unions depend on God’s grace
that draws those at odds to God’s self.

Thank goodness for joy that comes out of the blue
giving songs in the night of despair.
Joy’s candle reminds us that we can give thanks
even when there are burdens to bear.

And don’t forget love that both warms and gives light
to those who approach Bethlehem.
What beckons us onward is knowing God came
to share in our plight as a man.

In the Darkness of Our Advent

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
New lyrics to an old hymn tune

In the darkness of our Advent,
we wait for dawn.
Racial strife and greed are rampant
Hatred is strong.
Justice hides and peace is sleeping
while the innocent are weeping
as the wealthiest are reaping
what smacks as wrong.

As we wait for what You’ve promised,
faith can grow weak.
Doubt can bully idle patience
when silence speaks.
Winter’s dark can find us fearing
when the voices we are hearing
drown Your Spirit’s whispers cheering
us still to seek.

May Your presence light our journey.
Lord, guide our way.
God-with-us be ever near us.
Help us, we pray.
Penetrate the mist of mourning
as the daybreak clouds are forming
to remind us of that morning
night turns to day.

Tune: All Through the Night

Basking in the Glow

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

Take time to reflect on the meaning of Christmas

Don’t rush to pack-up Christmas
or to curb your tree too soon.
Take time to meditate amid the lights.
Allow yourself the luxury
of basking in the glow
that emanated from God’s heart that night.

The spirit of the season
lasts for more than just one day.
A birth points to a life that yet awaits.
What matters most is what comes next
as days give way to years.
For that is what Christ’s Advent celebrates.

The Christmas spirit fuels our joy
and prompts us to express
the love we feel for others as we give.
The essence of this season
sparks a flame for being kind
and calls to mind how we should always live.

An Advent Prayer

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

New lyrics to an ancient Advent hymn

O come Befriender of the lonely soul
and fill their emptiness until it’s full.
Stand by the grieving as they weep
and walk with them although their path is steep.
Rejoice, rejoice, our Friend who knows our plight
and be to us a candle in the night.

O come Defender of the working poor
and give them what they need (and then some more).
Provide them with the means and way
to give their children toys with which to play.
Rejoice, rejoice, our only sure defense
and comfort those whose burdens are intense.

O come Redeemer of our nation’s wrongs
and fill our hearts with plaintiff, hopeful songs.
Confront the demons that divide
especially hateful prejudice and pride.
Rejoice, rejoice, Redemption’s Child, rejoice
and give all those who worship You one voice.

O come Fulfillment of what God has deemed
and satisfy creation’s deepest dreams.
Accomplish all that love demands
and bring about the peace that You have planned.
Rejoice, rejoice, Fulfiller of God’s heart
as we rejoice and sing “How Great Thou Art.”

tune: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Bombers from the Bay

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos

A new kind of cowboy raids the Indians

The news from Mumbai made us cry.
Upwards of two hundred died
as bombers from the bay arrived
with terror on their side.

The Taj Hotel (that city’s jewel)
became a playhouse for these fools
who look so young and innocent
though trained in terror’s school.

These cowboys of another kind
have robbed the red-dot Indians blind.
They’ve vandalized a nation’s nerves
and stole her peace of mind.

Good God, why does such bad go on?
When will the peace You promised dawn?
How many children must awake
to find their parents gone?

As Advent guides our thoughts this year
remind us, Lord, that You are near
to those who stumble in the dark
and hide because of fear.