Joy Fills

Isaiah 6:1-4, 8-11

Psalm 126

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

John 1:6-8, 19-28

         After the first few days beginning the exploration of joy, we read scriptures that revealed the anticipation of the coming of the Lord truly cut both ways. Anticipation can possess both worry and relief. Those with worry recognized the coming as due date for a debt they could not pay. Those who anticipated with a sense of relief knew the coming of the Lord would free them from the injustice of the leadership. With his arrival, the covenant they had with God from Abraham and Moses would again rule and the land would again be just. In         Isaiah we get the promise of a new covenant that will be for eternity - because it relies on God, not human reliability.

         For that reason we turn away from our focus of mourning for and looking to the past. On this Sunday, in particular, we look to the future with great excitement because of the promise of the new covenant. We do not carry the anxiety of judgment, we look forward to the chance to spend eternity in a world that is guided by justice. After a lifetime of botched justice as we try to understand and live a God character, experiencing pure justice gets me excited.

         The lesson of turning away from a past that cannot be changed toward a future of promise is a lesson we should take away from the season and use all year long. Living as God would have us live and focusing on the future that comes with it gives us many reasons to celebrate. How different would our worship and daily lives be if we lived in perpetual joy instead of mournful reflection?

         The most exciting part of the joy described in Isaiah is its composition. It is not a head joy. It is not a heart joy. It is a joy that overtakes the entire body. The image of a garden in the spring sending forth its shoots helps us see the totality of its nature. We should be vehicles of joy. Little else does to us what joy can. Fear paralyzes. Grief consumes. Love confuses. But joy - joy fills!

Joyful, joyful we adore thee! Let's mean it when we sing it.

Advent: December 11

Psalm 126

Habakkuk 2:1-5

Philippians 3:7-11

         The tone changes as we begin the week pondering the joy we expect at Christ’s return. Also common across the passages this week, though, is a sense of dread for some at the accompanying calamity that is sure to come for them.

         In Habakkuk, a watchman stands guard at his station, anxiously awaiting the coming one, actively anticipating the coming one. If there were any action he could take to make it happen sooner, he would do it.

         Why is the experience so different for the watchman and the others, the ones never satisfied? It is all about the relationship to the one coming. It is all about the relationship. The watchman waits for one dear to him. The others wait for someone with the hopes of what they may get from him.

         How are we waiting? With exuberant anticipation? With resigned disappointment? The way we wait may determine the Lord we encounter.

Advent: December 10

Psalm 27

Malachi 2:10-3:1

Luke 1:5-17

         Why then are we faithless to one another?

         Malachi goes there, finally, on the last day of the week examining peace. The bulk of Bible text serves two purposes: 1) telling us how to get along with one another and 2) telling us how to get along with God – which usually involves us getting along with one another.

         God made our differences just as he created us all in his image. The prophet’s plea rings as strong today as ever. Throngs take to the streets against injustice. Revolutions topple abusive, privileged dictators. Around the world violence rages as the people seek peace.

         We, the faithful, have our role in it all, but we also know that after the cleansing purge, peace follows.

Advent: December 9

Psalm 27

Isaiah 4:2-6

Acts 11:1-18

         Isaiah presents one of the various pictures in the Old Testament of the eternally restored Jerusalem, with the people resting in the shadow of God’s presence. There is no need, no distress, only one of the purest depictions of peace found in the Scriptures. But before that peace rules, it goes through a violent, fiery purge erasing all trace of wickedness ever in the land. No memorials remain, no landmarks to remind, only the ever-visible, sheltering presence of the Lord to keep His people at peace.

         Such a pretty picture – eventually.

         But why does God have to park Himself over even these, the best, the ones written in the book of life as the Great Chaperone in the Sky? How weak? How flawed are we that only His unfaltering presence keeps us from harming one another.

         Lord, help us know peace. A better peace. Help us become a better peace.

Advent - December 8

Psalm 27

Isaiah 26:7-15

Acts 2:37-42

         Dictionary definitions indicate that [i]peace is the normal state of affairs for nations and peoples. Headlines, social media, day-to-day live seem filled with disturbance. It may not be war, but it certainly is not peace. The call for justice from Isaiah rings especially true following events of the last few weeks. We too long for your justice to restore order to out land

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[i] peace. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/peace (accessed: December 08, 2014).

Peace Follows

Isaiah 40:1-11

2 Peter 3:8-15

Mark 1:1-8

         This week I have had very little [i]peace (D6) as I sought peace in the scripture passages for the week. Close examination was not getting me there, and neither was any word analysis. I finally figured it out. The passages this week have been leading to peace which is what happens after a restoration to a right relationship with God.

Peace follows.

         We prepare the roads and clear the paths for God’s arrival and then peace follows.

         We level some hills and fill some valleys and then peace follows.

         God does not demand that everything be right and perfect in our lives; no one is capable of meeting that standard. We need to provide the access point and then God follows.

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[i] peace. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/peace (accessed: December 07, 2014)

Advent: December 6

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Ezekiel 36:24-28

Mark 11:27-33

         The verses in the prophet made me wonder what I was saying when I made statements about being God’s agent in the world to see that God’s kingdom plans were achieved. Sometimes we get caught up in the notion that since we are living, sentient beings and God is, but is not, but… we are the ones who do things. As faithful believers we do have responsibilities; we do have a part in the work. Problems arise when we inflate our role and we find ourselves in the role Israel often found for itself in the prophet stories. Leaders and certain aspects of society were elevated over the rest of the people and to the detriment of the rest of the people.

         God handled the problem.

         God restored the nation.

         Action verbs and God: still together.

Advent: December 5

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Jeremiah 1:4-10

Acts 11:19-26

         Jeremiah picks up where Hosea left off. Hosea reminded the people of the power of relationships and that God was calling them into a relationship with him. The opening of Jeremiah recounts his appointment as prophet by the Lord. The scene presents God in one of the most human-like encounters with the familiarity toward the prophet. The knowledge God shares from the earliest moments of Jeremiah’s existence, to the physical contact as He placed His words in His messenger’s mouth, to his assurance of protection; how can that not bring a sense of peace in the midst of turmoil.

         I frequently have to remind my students that their words have power. What they say and how they say it can wound another for years. Today’s passage reminds me that wounding is only part of what words can do. As God explains when he appoints Jeremiah. His words can be used in construction or for destruction. The verse points out both the good and the bad that can come through speech. In the case of the prophet, none of it is bad, it reflects different ways to get things done.

         Each time I read this passage from the prophets something different strikes me about it. Often I connect to God having a plan for Jeremiah from the beginning. This time though, the relationship between God and Jeremiah hit me as remarkably human. I am a bit jealous now, but I know that I have the same thing. If you want to know a definition of peace: that is it!

Advent: December 4

Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13

Hosea 6:1-6

1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

         Today we begin to prepare for the second Sunday, Peace Sunday. By the nature of their job, often when we look in the prophets, we confront graphic violence and epic destruction. Yet, we still find peace because we come to realize that peace is more than the absence of conflict, it includes the presence of confidence.

         Hosea embraced the confidence that he found in the relationship he had with God. He was able to hold that confidence because he recognized the power of relationship with God. As he and other prophets earlier and later delivered their message from God, the ultimate lesson reminded the people to keep and nurture their relationship with God and He would be happier than any rite could make Him.

         An all too common complaint from people is that there is too much conflict and not enough peace in their lives. The world is just so busy it lends itself to conflict. How easy though would it be to embrace the Person who wants more than anything to be in relationship with us?

Advent: December 3

Psalm 79

Micah 5:1-5a

Luke 21:34-38

Surfers have their own vocabulary to describe the waves, and though it is unique to them, almost everyone understands it. What they say is not what they are saying. I think Micah would have been a great surfer or at least talked like one. What he said was not always what he was saying, yet it is both descriptive and beautiful.

In verse two, his statement, “from of old, from ancient days” uses Hebrew constructs to give the listener context: from of old = before any of us were around, and from ancient days = before even Abraham. He does not say “from the beginning,” but that is what he is saying.

So much around us is temporal. For a time we celebrated the impermanence of items around us. Something new and better was coming soon. Yet there was something attractive about antiques. Sturdy. Dependable. Beautiful. In a world of turmoil, Micah offers the assurance of the antique God who would be with his people from ancient days until the ends of the earth. Always and forever would have made the point, but I’ll take Micah with what he says and what he’s saying.

Advent: December 2

Psalm 79

Micah 4:6-13

Revelation 18:1-10

         Ninety-five percent of the time a prophet speaks, the audience starts stocking up on willow bark (a source of what we now call aspirin) because they knew celestial hurt was coming. God mobilized His voices when the people strayed from Him and, mostly, violated their duties to one another. Across the prophets we read accounts of the grievous harm done to God – through the abuse of His people.

         Micah was no different – except he never forgets the restoration that is to come. Connecting it to the familiar, and often deadly, pain of childbirth, he makes clear to the people that great difficulties will come, but in the end God will still be with His people and all human endeavor will be subsumed to God’s plan.

         The pain is real, but so is the hope.

Advent: December 1

Psalm 79

Micah 4:1-5

Revelation 15:1-8

         Where is the God of Micah when you need him?

         The world around us grows more militarized and talk a war returns  to nations who had become, if not allies, partners for global peace. Instead of being mediator between people, in the last decades, God has been a key source of strife.

        

         Everyone is right in their view of God!

         Instead of being satisfied with His teaching, each lesson provokes blood-letting against anyone who understands it differently. The common unifying message that supersedes each illustrative example no longer matters. We look for, long for, difference to justify our superior connection to God. All that is human foible. The verbs tell a different story – He teaches; He judges; He arbitrates; He speaks.

         We follow. We obey. We steward the bounty He gave to us. The conflict that has resulted sounds so bad – where’s the hope? Our hope remains in the certainty that God’s word is true – always – no matter what adjective leads us to take up arms.

         Our hope walks with God who is God forever and ever.

Hope Comes First

Isaiah 64:1-9

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

1 Corinthians 1:3-9

Mark 13:24-37

         Hope. Joy. Peace. Love. The four weeks of Advent. Each a reminder of the life desired of and expected for each of us. In the back of my mind I have wondered why the themes were in their particular order. This past year cancelled any argument I might make for any other order.

2014 has been the year of doubt. Hard doubt. The kind of doubt that either eliminates faith or refines it to its purest form. The questions began forming during Lent and reached a crescendo Easter Sunday. My rage from reading Scripture AND the news made it almost impossible to type my thoughts; something didn’t add up. Either the Church was seeing something in Scripture I could not find or the Bible was a fantasy that not even churches built on it could maintain.

My thoughts centered on two main questions: 1) Was Jesus real and was He the biological Son of God through the immaculate conception, and 2) even if Jesus was not real on either count, does it matter? The remainder of the year focused on coming to answers. My answers, at the moment, are 1) yes/probably not, and 2) no. I will explain more as I come closer to my final thoughts. 2014 is not over. I took a break from regular posting while I wrestled with the questions. Writing and meditation did not stop – only the posting of it.

As Advent approached I was drawn back because it has been my favorite season since I understood the liturgical calendar. My eagerness does not come from its ending at Christmas but in spite of it. The season calls us to examine our faith in light of the four traits. It calls us to live the fulfilled lives God wants for us.

So why do I agree that hope comes first? Hebrews 11:1, my mantra, says, “Faith is the substance (manifestation) of things HOPED for; the evidence of that which we have not seen. All year, despite the persistence of doubt, I hoped Jesus was real. I hoped Jesus was the Son of God. I hoped that fact mattered. It is hope that gets us to the place where we can examine the others. Even when God seems far away – hope maintains a link.

Happy Advent!

Advent - Week 4 - Love

Scriptures

Isaiah 7:10-16

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

Reflection:

This final Sunday in Advent, we focus on love. The love God has for all of creation is important.  The love Jesus has for all people leading to the chance for salvation is important.  Without them the world would cease to exist - at least in any form we would recognize. As important as the love of God and the love of Jesus are, in the forefront of the scriptures this week is the love of people for God that affects the outcome of his kingdom on Earth.

In the Old Testament I think it is hard to find many figures who loved God more than the prophets. God gave them the thankless duty of delivering his message to the entire nation - from leaders to the least powerful. Most of their messages harshly condemned widespread behavior in the society that violated God’s rules. When they gave good news for an undisclosed point in the future very often the people realized that the good news was not even going to happen in the lifetime of their children (and sometimes even later). It takes a great deal of love to faithfully recite the message from God to the people. Isaiah faced that when the leader refused to do what God directed (ask for a sign). Instead he was forced to tell them of the sign (Messiah) who was to come some generations in the future.

In the Romans passage, Paul describes the process by which Jesus’s followers came to have the authority available to them: believe that Jesus was God’s son. After believing in Jesus, the believer is expected to love God enough to complete their part of God’s plan. In Paul’s case it meant giving up his prominent position within the Jewish religious elite to replace it with a New Covenant that also included the Gentiles. Early Christians abandoned tradition for a new teaching.

The story in Matthew would be vastly different if Mary and Joseph had not loved God as much as they did. Despite fantastical occurrences that friends, family, and society would have rejected outright in the moment, Mary and Joseph loved God enough to follow his direction and trust everything would work out as he promised. They too rejected traditional ways of behaving in the circumstances and followed the way God directed them to go.

We often refer to the power of love in trivial ways, but when we see the power love carried through these passages we begin to understand the transformative power of love in the world around us. As we reflect on the impact love had on the Christmas story we can also reflect on the many times Jesus gave directions to love. What would happen if we truly started loving with a love equal to that found in the scriptures today? Our world might be a little more like God wanted it to be. That’s the power of love.

Advent - Week 3 - Joy

Scriptures

Isaiah 35:1-10

Luke 1:46-55

James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

In the third week of Advent we focus on the joy of the return of the Lord. The passages this week continue with the idea of Christ coming as a judge, yet we as the faithful take joy in that idea that when he comes, the world will be the one of justice we should be striving for today.

Isaiah and Luke both give us examples of celebration. In Isaiah we hear of the earth, the natural creation, celebrating God’s presence. Mary’s ecstatic response to being chosen fills the verses in Luke. I can only imagine how transformed we would be if we could celebrated with the joy that brings a desert into celebration and a young girl into song. As Christians we have reason to celebrate with such exuberance.

Our worship services, even the most dynamic contemporary services, are so scripted and routine that we find it quite comfortable to slip into the routine.  The gift we have through Christ, though, should cause us to worship in true celebratory fashion. Our social norms do not accept such ecstatic worship as we see in Isaiah and Luke; however, when we encounter God personally, we will find it impossible not to rejoice with our entire being.

Advent - Week 2 - Peace

Scriptures

Isaiah 11:1-10

Romans 15:4-13

Matthew 3:1-12

A few weeks ago, one of the passages (Nov. 24, Colossians 1:11-20) gave one of the most complete descriptions of who Christ was in the human form for his ministry on earth. This second week of Advent we get another thorough description of Christ and who he is when his kingdom is established.

The Romans passage continues the lesson from the first week concerning living differently than the rest of the world. Specifically it deals with the welcoming of Gentiles; however, we can understand it to mean that we are to welcome people of all backgrounds. Just as Christ transcended traditions and rules of that time, he expects us to look beyond our culture and comfort zone in cooperation with others. God expects us to seek peace with all people. As the Prince of Peace he desires that we live in peace.

Isaiah 11 gives us the description of Christ. Recounting his human lineage which gave him all the physical nature of humankind. Describing God’s characteristics in Christ, we see the complete nature of God in him. In his kingdom natural harmony prevails. Christ judges all humankind and peace so prevails that even animals we know to be predator and prey coexist side by side. The harmony intended for the creation finally comes to fruition.

This week as we celebrate the peace of Christ, we are challenged to imagine just what that peace means. When we truly embrace God’s direction to welcome all people, we approach the vision from our imagination.  Advent guides us through anticipation of the Lord’s return, but even as we work through the anticipation, we are reminded that until that day comes, we are charged with providing an example of that coming kingdom in our lives.

Advent - Week 1 - Hope

Scriptures

Isaiah 2:1-5

Romans 12:11-14

Matthew 24:36-44

The Advent season brings us to the start of a new liturgical year and preparation for the Christmas season. This year we begin with the powerful reminder that God set us apart from the rest of the world. We are required to stand out and demonstrate to the world the expectations God has for our interactions with one another. We have been given the power to live in the world, among everything that entails, while maintaining a standard above the world.

We can live this way because we look forward to the return of Christ and this Advent season we prepare for that return. As we know what Christ will do with his kingdom we can avoid the conflicts common in humanity. When the ultimate judge is coming, our conflicts suddenly seem pointless.

Standing apart from the world while being immersed in the middle of it challenges even the most faithful. None of us are perfect, but with the help of Holy Spirit and guidance from the Scriptures, we do our human best. We have support and knowing when to use them shows both wisdom and faith. We just need need to find the endurance to persevere until Christ’s return.

Christmas Eve 2012

Sometimes our view of God allows us to take the cop-out of expecting God to act alone without any participation on our part. We believe an omnipotent God can act alone in a vacuum and because of that power, we serve no meaningful role in the function of God's kingdom. His will be done. This season's Advent proves to us the exact opposite. As I reviewed my notes to the Scriptures of the season, three words kept coming up: connection, repentance, and salvation. As I studied and read across the weeks, I had no idea how many times the same concepts kept occurring from week to week. It does not surprise me, given the relationship between the words that they dominate the Advent lectionary. Our anticipation of the coming (returning) Christ comes from the connection God seeks with humankind. He desires that we repent for those things outside God's plan and accept the salvation through the New Covenant that came with Christ's coming. From Moses through through the prophets to Christ we see how integral God's connection to humanity is in his plan. Moses followed God's direction to set the Jews apart from the rest of the world through the giving of the law. The prophets kept the people on track and gave them directions to restored favor with God when they had gone astray. Christ recruited then sent the apostles to do his work. We cannot say we are not needed in the work of God. Tonight as we reach the climax in our anticipation of his coming we are called also to focus on the connection we have with our Lord. We rely on him, but he too calls on us. We cannot afford the cop-out of putting it all on God; he uses us! Today our anticipation could become a reflection of ways we are prepared to be used. Our connection to God allows him to accomplish his work through us and it allows us to receive the ability from him to accomplish his work. It is not just his coming in to us but also our going out to him. Anticipation encompasses both receiving and giving. This Advent season has prepared us for both!

Christmas Eve 2012

Sometimes our view of God allows us to take the cop-out of expecting God to act alone without any participation on our part. We believe an omnipotent God can act alone in a vacuum and because of that power, we serve no meaningful role in the function of God's kingdom. His will be done. This season's Advent proves to us the exact opposite. As I reviewed my notes to the Scriptures of the season, three words kept coming up: connection, repentance, and salvation. As I studied and read across the weeks, I had no idea how many times the same concepts kept occurring from week to week. It does not surprise me, given the relationship between the words that they dominate the Advent lectionary. Our anticipation of the coming (returning) Christ comes from the connection God seeks with humankind. He desires that we repent for those things outside God's plan and accept the salvation through the New Covenant that came with Christ's coming. From Moses through through the prophets to Christ we see how integral God's connection to humanity is in his plan. Moses followed God's direction to set the Jews apart from the rest of the world through the giving of the law. The prophets kept the people on track and gave them directions to restored favor with God when they had gone astray. Christ recruited then sent the apostles to do his work. We cannot say we are not needed in the work of God. Tonight as we reach the climax in our anticipation of his coming we are called also to focus on the connection we have with our Lord. We rely on him, but he too calls on us. We cannot afford the cop-out of putting it all on God; he uses us! Today our anticipation could become a reflection of ways we are prepared to be used. Our connection to God allows him to accomplish his work through us and it allows us to receive the ability from him to accomplish his work. It is not just his coming in to us but also our going out to him. Anticipation encompasses both receiving and giving. This Advent season has prepared us for both!

December 23 - Fourth Sunday in Advent

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:46b-55 Psalm 80:1-7 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)

Today’s Reflection: Working in a bureaucracy, I almost every day complete pointless tasks that do little to improve my working conditions or improve the process for anyone with whom I work, but someone, somewhere in the hierarchy wants to see that product so they know we are doing our job. I do the task because I am expected to do them, often with little attention to detail and never with any enthusiasm. I go to work every day because of the real work I do, the connections I have with those in my workplace and the difference I am able to make in their daily lives. The bureaucratic tasks never reflect the relational connection that is the center of my work.   The Jews, in Jesus’s time, experienced the same thing with the prescribed offerings and sacrifices demanded by the law. The covenant between God and the Jews obliged them to do certain things to maintain their relationship with him. That lack of connection between the act of offering and the relationship with God was pointed out by the author of Hebrews quoting Jesus. Christ recognizes that there was no pleasure in doing the obligated work because it was required rather than something done as a part of maintaining a relationship.   The Luke passage, contemporarily referred to as the Magnificat, narrates Mary’s joy at being the mother of the Christ. She understands her connection to God. In that connection she proclaims, “from now on all generations will call me blessed.” How incredible must it feel to be so blessed?  Her exuberance is contagious. The truth is, we all have that same connection and we ALL are blessed for generations.   The difference between those bureaucratic tasks I do daily and the work I adore like the difference between the Jews of Jesus’s time and his mother comes from the difference between obligation and connection. We share the fortune of Mary to be connected directly with the work of God in the world around us and have the opportunity to be blessed daily in that work as we live with him. That connection makes all the difference in the world because it radiates from love that goes from God to humankind to God. As members of God’s body we celebrate that love like no other and this fourth Sunday in Advent gives us the chance to reflect on it directly.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org