Weaving Together

Weaving Together

 

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:26-38

 

Weaving is a beautiful expression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and holds significance in our communities. For me, as I reflect on this Bible passage I see this vision of being woven together through the great joy and hope we have in Jesus - the Lord with us. Jesus sits with us in the weaving, the renewing of our common home, bringing the hope and possibility of oneness, and through Him makes all things possible. The basket is our oneness, the threads of the call of the Creator. It may sometimes be frayed but all is possible as we sit together with, for and through the Lord.

________

The Woven Oneness of Place

Woven home

Weaving renewal

Weaving the threads of our common home

Weaving the Creator's call

Of the central cultural call of all

The common home and place

Grounded and surrounded with hope and renewal

The tirrina/basket of oneness 

Holding, Healing, Twining,

Sharing, Learning, Unlearning, 

Weaving, Unweaving,

Leaning into with and for each other

Strengthening each strand through and with relation 

Through and with the promise of hope, renewal and birth

Holding each other in the vulnerability and strength

In the hope and possibility

In the weaving

In the coming together

In the oneness of individual threads, 

but ones connected with, and for each other,

comes strength, safety, security and belonging in common grounded place

Each thread speaking and holding a unique strand

A unique story narrative

Full of hope, intent and impact

Heard and held in the oneness

Heard and held in the weaving together of a common home

Each one being

Each one knowing

Each one holding

Each one nurturing the other

And in the woven comes the oneness

The weaving of voices 

We hold you in the basket Gabriel

We hold you in the hope Creator

The weaving of shared wisdom 

The weaving of oneness

As each thread is woven in 

It gently weaves with another

Bringing all the stories of hope together

May the weaving of our common basket and hope be our faith

May we continue to weave the threads of solidarity through our shared oneness

May the ancient wisdom and knowledge of the lands now called Australia, be a gift and guide to us all in the oneness of connection, relationship and in the woven

Weaving together, the head and heart, in the wellness of oneness basket of healing and hope and rebirth

Know you are held in the weaving of the wisdom and knowledge of the oldest living culture on earth 

In the oneness we may at times lose sight of possibility

But as we weave into this verse the Creator God weaves hope

Through the weaving of   

Hope, renewal and birth

Holding and keeping

Knowing the Creator's love and the gift of the birth of Jesus

________________________

Aunty Alison Overeem is a proud palawa woman from South-East Tasmania who is driven by culture, family, empowerment and creating safe spaces to build hope and healing. Alison is passionate about raising awareness of Aboriginal culture and history and the rights of women in society and has previously been a member of the Tasmanian Women’s Council. She has also served as Director of the Aboriginal Children’s Centre, and as the Leprena Manager, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress (UAICC Tasmania). Most recently Alison has served as a member of the UAICC National Executive, Uniting Care board of Australia, Uniting Church Assembly Standing Committee, Advocate for the Walking Together circle for the National UCA Assembly, and as co-chair of the UCA Vic Tas Walking Together committee.

This devotional is the fourteenth in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2023. This year's series reflects on the longing, hope, and beauty of God’s ‘Common Home’ being realised, revealed, and renewed through the birth of Jesus.

Would you like to receive the rest of this email series?

Sign up here to receive this daily series delivered to your inbox.