Sunday, December 21st, 2014----Advent: Prepare the Way

On this 4th Sunday of Advent, the time is approaching quickly where we celebrate God's giving of his Son, Jesus, and the baby Christ being born into the world.

But....we are still preparing the way for Jesus as this day approaches. We remember Mary and her incredible faith, and are invited to embrace the way she prepared the way for Jesus.

Luke 1: 26-38 tells the story of Mary being approached by the angel Gabriel, and 47-55 is Mary's song.

Mary is assured that the Holy Spirit will be with her, and that nothing is impossible for God. Truth be told, I take this divine truth for granted. I take this story, in which Mary was prepared for what she would do through God's power, for granted each and every Christmas. NOTHING is impossible for God. Not taking this miracle of a story for granted means looking at it, embracing, and taking it in as something that ACTUALLY happened. Friends, a girl named Mary who was not worth anything was told she would have a baby named Jesus that would be the Son of the Most High. This happened; by the power of the Holy Spirit, God made this happen.

And when God makes things happen, God is always there.

Mary, with all of her confusion and doubts and fears, finally says "I am the Lord's servant."

And then Mary praised God: 

 Mary said,

“With all my heart I glorify the Lord!
     In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior.
 He has looked with favor on the low status of his servant.
    Look! From now on, everyone will consider me highly favored
       
Holy is his name.
     He shows mercy to everyone,
        from one generation to the next,
        who honors him as God.
 He has shown strength with his arm.
    He has scattered those with arrogant thoughts and proud inclinations.
     He has pulled the powerful down from their thrones
        and lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty-handed.
 He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
        remembering his mercy,
     just as he promised to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and to Abraham’s descendants forever.”

May we prepare the way for Jesus like Mary did, remembering that she finally came to faith and praise about this miraculously thing that was going to happen through her.

See you Sunday!

Sunday, December 14th, 2014---Advent: Prepare the Way

What a wonderful service led by the Covenant Players on Sunday! I especially enjoyed how thought-provoking their dramas were. I'm still thinking about their closing "Galaxy" piece, which provided me some perspective that I do not naturally embrace all too often.

This week we turn to the gospel of John; the message will center around John 1: 6-8, 19-28.

Verse 8 says "He (John) himself wasn't the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light."

This reminds me that this Advent season, this impending Christmas season, isn't about us, but about who's coming: the son of God, Jesus Christ. All of the decorating, partying, eating, gifting, doing...points to the coming of Jesus. We wait, we celebrate, we anticipate, we do everything in this season because of him, not because of us....

BUT, we have the privilege to "testify concerning the light." The world knows who Jesus is because of us. Our community around us may know what Advent is, what Christmas is, because of us.

We need to do this because the world does not know Jesus like we do (vs.9-11)

In this passage, John continually points to Jesus, the light, the Lord, the someone greater. Can we be like him, and be the "voice crying out in the wilderness, make the Lord's path straight"? That is our task this season, and always...to live and testify to a world that so desperately needs the loving and graceful presence of Jesus Christ.

See you Sunday!

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Sunday, December 7th, 2014----Advent: Prepare the Way

This Sunday, the Covenant Players will be leading us in worship. I will not be preaching, but we still have an opportunity to reflect on this week's lectionary text: Mark 1:1-8. This will be the text that is read when the 2nd Advent candle is lit, the candle of peace.

Mark 1:3 quotes the prophet Isaiah in saying:

Look, I am sending my messenger before you.
He will prepare your way,
3 a voice shouting in the wilderness:
        “Prepare the way for the Lord;
        make his paths straight.”

Similar words are used by the prophets Malachi and Moses (Exodus).

So, preparing the way for the Lord has been a prophetic call throughout history. We relive that calling today, in this Advent season.

This Sunday represents peace. In a world where peace is hard to come by, the Lord brings peace by offering Christ for us, to us, and among us.

And preparing the way for Christ, who renews us by offering us the power of the Holy Spirit, brings us peace.

Sunday, November 30th, 2014---Advent: Prepare the Way

This Sunday begins the Advent season!  This is the season of waiting for Christmas, for Christ's birth. 

I must admit, it's not always fun to wait. We seem to want to "jump the gun" to Christmas, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. We should be excited for Christmas to come because of what that day means to us!

In our culture, with all the Christmas decorations, Christmas commercials, and holiday shopping deals rolling around as the calendar turns to November and December, we face the temptation to bypass the necessary and hopeful waiting that Advent brings us. 

We are invited to wait with the hopeful anticipation and nervous excitement of a child. We are reminded that in the waiting, God gives us this hope for Christ's birth. Along with it, we receive the peace, joy, and love of God that eventually satisfies our waiting. 

During this Advent season, we will be exploring how we may prepare the way for Christ as we wait, anticipate, and hope for Christmas. 

Inherit the Kingdom---Sunday, November 23rd, 2014

As we have marched through this month of "Tough Love," which has included some of Jesus' words of judgment, I have found it rather difficult to dig out some of the more positive, encouraging, loving words of Jesus. Last week, you heard me say that the parable of the talents is not all about judging the third servant for burying his coins, but a story about how generous God really is.

The Scripture for this week is the passage that follows the parable of the talents, Matthew 25: 31-46. It is titled in my Common English Bible "Judgment of the Nations." Friends, this is another tough passage, but we are all challenged to find out who God really is here.

"Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who will receive good things from my Father. Inherit the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world began."

God, through the love of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, wants to share the kingdom with us. We have the ultimate, life-giving opportunity to inherit the kingdom of God by serving the "least of these," our neighbors. 

We need to remember this as we approach the Advent season.

See you Sunday!

Serve Without Fear---Sunday, November 16th, 2014

God has created us uniquely.

It is by God's design that no one is quite like us. (even my twin and I have major differences!) We live, love, and walk with God, all in different ways. 

And we serve God and neighbor in different ways, too. 

No one has ever lived the life you have lived before, and no one ever will. It is this fact that sometimes makes us fearful for doing the wrong thing, making the wrong decisions, and not loving others "correctly." 

If no one has ever been you before, how do you know if you are being you "correctly?"

A hint comes in the parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25: 14-30. The man who gives each of his servants talents (a unit of money equal to about 15 years of earnings by a day laborer) was very upset with the servant who hid his talent out of fear. 

The other servants went out and doubled what the master gave them and then were entrusted with more. They did this instinctively; they were not told what to do, they were just given the money. 

God does a similar thing in us. God has entrusted us with much (gifts, skills, resources, etc.) and we are to faithfully respond to that trust. We need not, and shall not, live in fear of what God has given us, God trusts us too much.

So live into what God has given you, you don't have to be afraid.

See you Sunday!

Be Prepared!---Sunday November 9th, 2014

I think that God loves it when we expect God to show up. Call it a "holy expectancy" of God's presence, if you will.

Matthew 25: 1-13 struggles with this notion, as it portrays ten young bridesmaids as they take their lamps to go and meet the groom. 5 were "foolish" and forgot oil for the lamp, while the other 5 brought oil, thus they were "wise." The groom was late to arrive, but they were all excited when he showed up, and they prepared their lamps. Because the groom was late, the lamps burned oil, so the 5 "foolish" bridesmaids ran out and asked for the "wise" bridesmaids to share theirs. They would not share because then theirs would run out of oil, too. So they suggest that they go buy their own oil. When they did this, the groom came and the 5 "wise" bridesmaids went with him to the wedding without the "foolish"ones. They came later and the groom would not them in, saying "I don't know you."

Then Jesus closes the parable by saying "keep alert."

So this parable is about preparedness and alertness for God. It is not enough to expect God, although that is a necessary first step. Holy expectancy must meet holy preparedness. The result could be a divine encounter, which is what we all strive for.

I admit that I attempt to make nice and neat equations, formulas, and strategies for even such things as this (a divine encounter). Life does not work out to nice and neat formulas, let alone our spiritual life with God. But this helps me see that merely expecting God to show up is not enough, I must be ready, I must be prepared, I must be alert for God. I think expecting God is a declaration of faith in God, but then what happens when you notice that God has shown up? What happens when you notice God moving in some way?

If we are not prepared, our light may burn out.

God is not present in our lives to simply show up, to make appearances. God is not a celebrity, and we are not God's paparazzi. God is here to change lives, and God shows up in our lives so that we can bring about the kingdom of God in this world, in this life.

See you Sunday!