Advent Week 3: Joy December 16 John 1:1-5, New English Translation In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.  The Word was with God in the beginning.  All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.  In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.  And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it “Wine from water is not so small, But an even better magic trick Is that anything is here at all. So the challenging thing becomes Not to look for miracles But…

Advent Week 3: Joy December 15 Matthew 11.28-30, NRSV Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. My heart was full, cluttered with fear, dread, and frustration.  My sister and I were exhausted and broken hearted. The appointment with the only doctor who could help us had been made months before from a few states away.  After all the waiting and expensive travel, we…

Advent Week 3: Joy December 14 Matthew 6.25-30, NRSV  ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they…

Advent Week 3: Joy December 13 Philippians 4.4-7, NRSV Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. As I sit and reflect on this passage, it’s autumn; a few weeks before the beginning of Advent. The smell of the season is thick in the air. The trees are inviting us to pause and gaze at their…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 12 Psalm 1:1-3, NRSV Happy are those    who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread,    or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord,    and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees    planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season,    and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. I have seen lots of trees in my life from the majestic Redwoods in Northern California, the Black Forest trees in the Dakotas to the familiar Pine…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 11 Micah 6.8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;    and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,    and to walk humbly with your God? Before we can get to our verse today, let me remind you what is going on in Micah Chapter 6.  It seems that we have entered into a heated trial between God and some ungrateful people.  The prophet, Micah, is representing God’s case and reminding the community all that God had done for them.  God has redeemed God’s people from slavery so that they may know God’s saving act.  All their attention is…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 10 1 Timothy 6.17-19, NRSV As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life. This fall I’ve found myself often engaging students with two seemingly unrelated concepts — Privilege and Mindfulness —…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 9 1 Thessalonians 5. 12-14, NRSV But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labour among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. As a young minister, I thought that attending EVERY event that occurred around our church during the Christmas season was required.  One week before Christmas, we attended four worship services, eight Sunday School class parties, two Mall…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 8 Ephesians 4.1-6 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Nothing is more simple, more elemental,…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 7 Colossians 3:16-17, NRSV Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Christmas tree, trimmed and decorated Christmas décor outside Nativity’s placed carefully throughout the house Christmas plates, napkins, dishtowels, candles Cute Christmas clothing for the child A calendar that fills up with Christmas programs meals, office and school events Finding places to rest and soak in…

Advent Week 2: Peace December 6 Luke 3. 1-6, NRSV In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in…

Advent Week 1: Hope December 5 “All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception. Grace fills empty spaces, but it can only enter where there is a void to receive it, and it is grace itself which makes this void. The imagination is continually at work filling up all the fissures through which grace might pass.” ― Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace Luke 4:17-19, NRSV 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:  18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…

Advent Week 1: Hope December 4 Luke 6. 20-21, NRSV Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Having lived on four continents I have witnessed poverty and hunger in a variety of settings.  During our years in Hungary I would make monthly visits to a village far from Budapest where our good friends Tibi and Natasha lived.  These two Roma believers opened their modest home for a house church and welcomed overnight guests who…

Advent Week 1: Hope December 3 Luke 1:46-55, CEB 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         because the mighty one has done great things for me. 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…

Advent Week 1: Hope December 2 Luke 12.13-21, NRSV Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this:…

Advent Week 1: Hope December 1 Romans 12.1-2, NRSV I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Discerning God’s Will When I read these two brief verses, jam-packed with ideas, I have the suspicion that first-century-first-generation Christians were asking questions that still haunt 21st century followers of the Jesus Way: “Where will following Jesus…

Advent Week 1: Hope November 30 Luke 12. 32-33 ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. The first thing I thought of when I read the end of this passage was Firefly. The Sci-Fi/Western show became a cult classic in the early 2000s, and follows the crew of the spaceship named Firefly on their adventures as outlaws with hearts of (mostly) gold. A refrain in the show’s theme song boldly…

Advent Week 1: Hope November 29 Philippians 2. 4-8 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God,    did not regard equality with God    as something to be exploited, but emptied himself,    taking the form of a slave,    being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,    he humbled himself    and became obedient to the point of death—    even death on a cross. There is an old teaching about a scholar who studied…