(You can listen to this reflection here.)
Herod’s prognosticators told him in no uncertain terms where the Messiah was to be born:
“In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:`And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Bethlehem, after all, was the town of King David, from whose lineage the Savior was to come. Luke takes care to let us know that Joseph was of David’s line and just why he and Mary happened to be in Bethlehem in time for Jesus’ birth. Does it matter for us where Jesus was born? It mattered to Herod, because he wanted to eliminate any threats to his kingship. It mattered to the magi because they wanted to find and honor this new king heralded by such a star. But does it matter to us?
Yes. The story of God-With-Us, God-with-Flesh-On is not a general, abstract story. It is a very specific one, with very particular details. Some of those details have been such a stumbling block to critics and would-be believers, that theologians refer to the “Scandal of Particularity.”
Luke’s telling of Jesus’ nativity is full of particulars, who, what, when, where: "In the sixth month [of Elizabeth’s pregnancy], God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary…. In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
And in the passage we reflect on this this week, we see Jesus wander away from these very specific parents to hang out in the temple in Jerusalem, simultaneously an insensitive adolescent and a young man hungry for sacred teaching.
To say that Jesus was a human person born like every other human person in history, to a human mother, in a particular place and in a particular time, is to say that specifics and places and times matter to God. The Christian claim is that God chose to enter specific circumstances in order to redeem all circumstances, that God was born into a specific family to redeem all families, that God entered human history in a very particular time (while Quirinius was governor of Syria, yet!) to redeem all time. And God cares about your specific space and time as well.
If Jesus was being born in your life this season and you were writing the Gospel account – how would you describe your place and your time? It could be a fun exercise to name the particularities into which God might come to you. What is significant about your circumstances, family, government, times, places? When you’ve named them, you might hold them in prayer for God to make holy. It is a way of praying into our lives as they are right now, today.
Receive the Christmas story as a pledge of God’s love for you. As we begin a new year, in continuity with all the years we have lived to this point, we are invited to remember God-With-Us in every moment, the one we’re living right now, and the one about to unfold before us. There. Then. Here. Now. You.
12-30-19 - Mary Pondered
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
This week we’ll explore the one story in the gospels that shows us Jesus as a child – a pre-teen, in fact. It sheds some light on the challenges his parents must have faced in raising him. It makes me wonder about Mary. Did she doubt during those months of pregnancy, wonder if she’d dreamt that story about the angel and his grand promises about the baby in her womb? But then, how did that baby get there? She would not have forgotten that… And there was confirmation when she visited her cousin Elizabeth and found the aged woman in the pink of pregnancy. Yet even that could be humanly possible… But then, to learn that Joseph had had dreams which matched what the angel had told her
Even so, could this really be a movement of God, to save the world, through her? That would be too crazy to fathom. Until that gift came to pass, that deliverer delivered from her own body, swaddled and laid to sleep in a feeding trough, the hay keeping him warm. And in burst a bunch of shepherds bearing tales of angelic visitations. And those words again, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
A sign for the shepherds, yes, and also for Joseph and Mary. Luke tells us that, while the shepherds went out and spread the amazing story, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
What did Mary ponder? Once, in prayer, I sensed an encounter with her, a gracious older woman in a blue-green knit turtleneck dress. She said a few things as I asked her questions: “I was not all that good or all that brave. I was a bit of a flirt in my day – and had a sharp tongue. I was funny. Boy, that whole experience grew me up in a hurry... Oh, you can believe what you like about all the stories. I’ll just say, it was hard. It was rough. I felt very, very alone – didn’t know Joseph enough to trust him yet."
And the sword that the elder Simeon spoke of, when they presented Jesus in the temple? (Luke 2:22-40) “A sword pierces the heart of every mother,” she said. “From the moment your child is born, he is moving toward independence, which is a kind of death for you. He is moving toward death.“
She added, “I couldn’t worship him in life. How do you worship one whose diapers you’ve changed? No, he was always my son in this life. It wasn’t until after my death that I could worship him.”
Were Mary’s ponderings different from those of any new mother? The stakes were higher, perhaps – but also the knowledge that, if this truly was a movement of God, then God would continue to be the mover. I hope she had that confidence, and that it bore her through the rough times ahead, of which this week’s gospel story is barely a whisper. I hope that for us, as well, as we bear Christ’s presence and light into this world. God will send signs for us, too.
This week we’ll explore the one story in the gospels that shows us Jesus as a child – a pre-teen, in fact. It sheds some light on the challenges his parents must have faced in raising him. It makes me wonder about Mary. Did she doubt during those months of pregnancy, wonder if she’d dreamt that story about the angel and his grand promises about the baby in her womb? But then, how did that baby get there? She would not have forgotten that… And there was confirmation when she visited her cousin Elizabeth and found the aged woman in the pink of pregnancy. Yet even that could be humanly possible… But then, to learn that Joseph had had dreams which matched what the angel had told her
Even so, could this really be a movement of God, to save the world, through her? That would be too crazy to fathom. Until that gift came to pass, that deliverer delivered from her own body, swaddled and laid to sleep in a feeding trough, the hay keeping him warm. And in burst a bunch of shepherds bearing tales of angelic visitations. And those words again, “To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
A sign for the shepherds, yes, and also for Joseph and Mary. Luke tells us that, while the shepherds went out and spread the amazing story, “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
What did Mary ponder? Once, in prayer, I sensed an encounter with her, a gracious older woman in a blue-green knit turtleneck dress. She said a few things as I asked her questions: “I was not all that good or all that brave. I was a bit of a flirt in my day – and had a sharp tongue. I was funny. Boy, that whole experience grew me up in a hurry... Oh, you can believe what you like about all the stories. I’ll just say, it was hard. It was rough. I felt very, very alone – didn’t know Joseph enough to trust him yet."
And the sword that the elder Simeon spoke of, when they presented Jesus in the temple? (Luke 2:22-40) “A sword pierces the heart of every mother,” she said. “From the moment your child is born, he is moving toward independence, which is a kind of death for you. He is moving toward death.“
She added, “I couldn’t worship him in life. How do you worship one whose diapers you’ve changed? No, he was always my son in this life. It wasn’t until after my death that I could worship him.”
Were Mary’s ponderings different from those of any new mother? The stakes were higher, perhaps – but also the knowledge that, if this truly was a movement of God, then God would continue to be the mover. I hope she had that confidence, and that it bore her through the rough times ahead, of which this week’s gospel story is barely a whisper. I hope that for us, as well, as we bear Christ’s presence and light into this world. God will send signs for us, too.
12-27-19 - Word Made Flesh
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
We have been fed this week on The Story, in all its glory – the human tale of a man and a woman and a baby, the political tale of census and intrigue, the earthy tale of shepherds, and the heavenly tale of angelic visitors. It is a feast for lovers of narrative and mystery, this tale which Madeleine L’Engle called “The Glorious Impossible.”
Then, on the Sunday after Christmas, as though we needed leaner fare after too much Christmas feasting, the church offers up the story of Incarnation told in symbols and ideas rather than folktales: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
It may be great for those who love the abstract, but I find almost every sentence in the prologue of the Fourth Gospel can make my head hurt. Sometimes I'm best just throwing myself in and floating with the images – zeroing in on the ones that capture my attention:
“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Ah, light and darkness, that we can understand. And this: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”
That’s what all that fuss about the manger and Bethlehem was about – that the Word of God, the idea in the mind of God, what John calls “Logos,” has been realized – made real, given flesh, human flesh, a body and a human psyche; AND (that’s not all, folks..) that this Embodied Idea of God has lived among us – and we have seen his glory.
Lived among us? (or more literally, “pitched tent with us”), come to hang out with us, God-With-Us? That was a mind-blowing idea then, as it is today.
In what ways have you experienced Christ as embodied, God-with-you? We don’t have the benefit of meeting Christ in physical, limited life, living as we do on this side of the Resurrection – but we have the benefit of faith, our own and that accumulated by billions of believers for over 2000 years.
So it’s a fair question: In what ways have you experienced Christ as embodied, God-with-you?
In what ways have you experienced his glory? Do you ever see it/hear it/feel it around you?
We have been fed this week on The Story, in all its glory – the human tale of a man and a woman and a baby, the political tale of census and intrigue, the earthy tale of shepherds, and the heavenly tale of angelic visitors. It is a feast for lovers of narrative and mystery, this tale which Madeleine L’Engle called “The Glorious Impossible.”
Then, on the Sunday after Christmas, as though we needed leaner fare after too much Christmas feasting, the church offers up the story of Incarnation told in symbols and ideas rather than folktales: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”
It may be great for those who love the abstract, but I find almost every sentence in the prologue of the Fourth Gospel can make my head hurt. Sometimes I'm best just throwing myself in and floating with the images – zeroing in on the ones that capture my attention:
“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Ah, light and darkness, that we can understand. And this: “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.”
That’s what all that fuss about the manger and Bethlehem was about – that the Word of God, the idea in the mind of God, what John calls “Logos,” has been realized – made real, given flesh, human flesh, a body and a human psyche; AND (that’s not all, folks..) that this Embodied Idea of God has lived among us – and we have seen his glory.
Lived among us? (or more literally, “pitched tent with us”), come to hang out with us, God-With-Us? That was a mind-blowing idea then, as it is today.
In what ways have you experienced Christ as embodied, God-with-you? We don’t have the benefit of meeting Christ in physical, limited life, living as we do on this side of the Resurrection – but we have the benefit of faith, our own and that accumulated by billions of believers for over 2000 years.
So it’s a fair question: In what ways have you experienced Christ as embodied, God-with-you?
In what ways have you experienced his glory? Do you ever see it/hear it/feel it around you?
When do those glimpses come? If they don’t, there’s a prayer….
Our passage ends, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.” In the season of Christmas we celebrate Jesus having made God known – once in a human body and family and place, and now through the working of His Spirit in, through and around us, in our bodies, families, and places.
“Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing,” we sing…
to which the only response we need make is: "O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”
Our passage ends, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.” In the season of Christmas we celebrate Jesus having made God known – once in a human body and family and place, and now through the working of His Spirit in, through and around us, in our bodies, families, and places.
“Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing,” we sing…
to which the only response we need make is: "O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord.”
12-25-19 - A Shepherd's Tale
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
We’re usually the last to know. Our life is out here on the hillsides, away from town.
We work at night, making sure no poachers or predators mess with our flocks. When we do get to town, it’s usually when we’ve been paid and are up for a little carousing… not for nothin’ we shepherds got a rep for being drunken lowlifes. Nobody tells us the news first.
So what do you think about the angels showing up to tell us first? Well, what do you think about a bunch of angels showing up in the first place? I’d have thought it was the rotgut we were passing around – but no, we all saw ’em. We all heard ’em. Hundreds of ’em, filling the sky. What a racket! What a beautiful noise.
And what a message: “Today, in David’s town, a boy is born to you. And not just any boy – a savior, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Lord.”
We may just be shepherds, but we know about the Messiah, the one who God will send to set us free from the occupiers – set us free from everything. That’s pretty amazing.
Even more amazing, those angels showed up to us while we were at work. Not to the kings in their palaces, not to the rich in their fancy houses; not to the priests in the temple, not to the holy people at their prayers – not to those who are expecting God to do something – but to us, who forget even to pray, most of the time. To us, who people barely notice in the street, unless they smell us comin’… To us, who don’t count for much – except that we must count for a lot to God. Right? Because that angel said this was a sign for us.
That’s what the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in cloth and lying in a feed trough.” Who puts a baby in a feed trough? Liable to get chewed on. So all we gotta do is check out all the stables down in Bethlehem till we find a baby where a baby ain’t supposed to be.
We’re going to draw straws to see who has to stay with the sheep – the rest of us have some searching to do, and a story to tell. Man, what a story. You might not even believe it, unless it happened to you…
A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Eat!
Drink (not too much...!)
Be Merry!
Play with a toy!
Hug somebody in a kitchen!
Love came down at Christmas - Christ, the Savior, is born!
We’re usually the last to know. Our life is out here on the hillsides, away from town.
We work at night, making sure no poachers or predators mess with our flocks. When we do get to town, it’s usually when we’ve been paid and are up for a little carousing… not for nothin’ we shepherds got a rep for being drunken lowlifes. Nobody tells us the news first.
So what do you think about the angels showing up to tell us first? Well, what do you think about a bunch of angels showing up in the first place? I’d have thought it was the rotgut we were passing around – but no, we all saw ’em. We all heard ’em. Hundreds of ’em, filling the sky. What a racket! What a beautiful noise.
And what a message: “Today, in David’s town, a boy is born to you. And not just any boy – a savior, the Messiah, the anointed one, the Lord.”
We may just be shepherds, but we know about the Messiah, the one who God will send to set us free from the occupiers – set us free from everything. That’s pretty amazing.
Even more amazing, those angels showed up to us while we were at work. Not to the kings in their palaces, not to the rich in their fancy houses; not to the priests in the temple, not to the holy people at their prayers – not to those who are expecting God to do something – but to us, who forget even to pray, most of the time. To us, who people barely notice in the street, unless they smell us comin’… To us, who don’t count for much – except that we must count for a lot to God. Right? Because that angel said this was a sign for us.
That’s what the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in cloth and lying in a feed trough.” Who puts a baby in a feed trough? Liable to get chewed on. So all we gotta do is check out all the stables down in Bethlehem till we find a baby where a baby ain’t supposed to be.
We’re going to draw straws to see who has to stay with the sheep – the rest of us have some searching to do, and a story to tell. Man, what a story. You might not even believe it, unless it happened to you…
A Very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Eat!
Drink (not too much...!)
Be Merry!
Play with a toy!
Hug somebody in a kitchen!
Love came down at Christmas - Christ, the Savior, is born!
12-24-19 - O Holy Night
(You can listen to this reflection here. Tonight's gospel reading is here.)
Tonight’s the night, the big show, what it’s all been leading up to. In my youth, it was all leading up to Christmas morning, but our culture has shifted toward Christmas Eve as the main event.
It is not always a silent night. Many a parent may wish for a little more silence, while people for whom it is too silent long for more noise, more company. And often it is not such a holy night either, if stress or sadness or tempers take over.
Are we supposed to experience it as holy? In my curmudgeonly twenties I once wrote in my diary on Christmas Day, “I can’t get more excited about Jesus being born just because the calendar says it’s December 25th. Shouldn’t we be excited all year long?” Ah, youth.
"But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people."
What I pray for you tonight, and for me, is that we feel a little anticipation, a little expectation, that SOMETHING is going to happen. Yes, we are celebrating a Something that we believe happened long ago, yet we are here each year, showing up at the manger, joining in the angels’ “glorias” because we believe it that Something is unfolding still, becoming ever clearer. SOMEONE is drawing nearer.
I pray for you, and for me, that we have moments of wonder tonight – maybe something we see in children, or feel during a much-loved carol, or in a moment of connection with loved one or stranger. I want us to experience Christmas Eve, not just move through it. I want us to experience the Holy Spirit within and around us. I want us to “get” God-With-Us in our bones.
I can’t make that happen, for you or for me. I only know that we may not have that experience looking nostalgically at where we “felt” Christmas in the past. God is always doing a new thing, leading us forward, like those magi from the East following their star.
And sometimes God just shows up even when we’re not looking, when we’re wrapping one more gift or washing up after Christmas Eve dinner, or piling a little one into bed. Those shepherds weren’t watching for God – they were watching their flocks by night. And lo and behold, God showed up.
Man, did God ever show up! A blessed Christmas Eve to you.
Tonight’s the night, the big show, what it’s all been leading up to. In my youth, it was all leading up to Christmas morning, but our culture has shifted toward Christmas Eve as the main event.
It is not always a silent night. Many a parent may wish for a little more silence, while people for whom it is too silent long for more noise, more company. And often it is not such a holy night either, if stress or sadness or tempers take over.
Are we supposed to experience it as holy? In my curmudgeonly twenties I once wrote in my diary on Christmas Day, “I can’t get more excited about Jesus being born just because the calendar says it’s December 25th. Shouldn’t we be excited all year long?” Ah, youth.
"But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people."
What I pray for you tonight, and for me, is that we feel a little anticipation, a little expectation, that SOMETHING is going to happen. Yes, we are celebrating a Something that we believe happened long ago, yet we are here each year, showing up at the manger, joining in the angels’ “glorias” because we believe it that Something is unfolding still, becoming ever clearer. SOMEONE is drawing nearer.
I pray for you, and for me, that we have moments of wonder tonight – maybe something we see in children, or feel during a much-loved carol, or in a moment of connection with loved one or stranger. I want us to experience Christmas Eve, not just move through it. I want us to experience the Holy Spirit within and around us. I want us to “get” God-With-Us in our bones.
I can’t make that happen, for you or for me. I only know that we may not have that experience looking nostalgically at where we “felt” Christmas in the past. God is always doing a new thing, leading us forward, like those magi from the East following their star.
And sometimes God just shows up even when we’re not looking, when we’re wrapping one more gift or washing up after Christmas Eve dinner, or piling a little one into bed. Those shepherds weren’t watching for God – they were watching their flocks by night. And lo and behold, God showed up.
Man, did God ever show up! A blessed Christmas Eve to you.
12-23-19 - Is It Christmas Yet?
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
Christmas is coming… and after four hospital visits, three funerals (one the annual Homeless Persons Memorial Day service), two Baby Showers for Mary and Joseph, and one baptism, I got to the end of last week with no partridge in my pear tree – not even a tree up yet. I squeezed in some baking here and there, wondering when I could do some shopping. Finally on Saturday I had time to haul out the Christmas boxes and begin my own preparations.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born…
It gets real for me when I set up the crèche. I do it the same way each year, placing the figures the same way in the stable, the angels at the same angles on the gold lame cloth that represents theglory of the Lord (that “shone round about them…”). The three kings are on a higher book shelf, still on their journey. The shepherd and the sheep are nearby in the field. One year I moved the stable cat down from the hayloft, closer to the manger. (A velociraptor remains in the loft… danger lurks in the most pastoral of scenes.)
And Mary and Joseph await the birth, gazing at an empty manger, waiting… waiting… waiting for the moment when it all changes, when new life brings an end to the old. Mary and Joseph were never going to be able to go back to what they’d known. No new parents can – and these two were going to face more change than most.
What are you waiting for in your life this week? Perhaps it’s related to Christmas, perhaps not.
What new life are you praying for? And what are you hoping will never go away?New life is always coming at us, sometimes taking up the space of something we rather liked, or had grown comfortable with. Is there something yearning to take up space in your life, space you’re willing to make by letting something else go?On Christmas Eve, when I get home from church, I will fetch the baby out of the little wicker trunk in the back of the stable (Mary had to have some luggage…) and place him in the manger. Jesus always shows up, eventually. Sometimes we just have to let him out of the baggage.To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Sunday’s readings are here.
Christmas is coming… and after four hospital visits, three funerals (one the annual Homeless Persons Memorial Day service), two Baby Showers for Mary and Joseph, and one baptism, I got to the end of last week with no partridge in my pear tree – not even a tree up yet. I squeezed in some baking here and there, wondering when I could do some shopping. Finally on Saturday I had time to haul out the Christmas boxes and begin my own preparations.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born…
It gets real for me when I set up the crèche. I do it the same way each year, placing the figures the same way in the stable, the angels at the same angles on the gold lame cloth that represents theglory of the Lord (that “shone round about them…”). The three kings are on a higher book shelf, still on their journey. The shepherd and the sheep are nearby in the field. One year I moved the stable cat down from the hayloft, closer to the manger. (A velociraptor remains in the loft… danger lurks in the most pastoral of scenes.)
And Mary and Joseph await the birth, gazing at an empty manger, waiting… waiting… waiting for the moment when it all changes, when new life brings an end to the old. Mary and Joseph were never going to be able to go back to what they’d known. No new parents can – and these two were going to face more change than most.
What are you waiting for in your life this week? Perhaps it’s related to Christmas, perhaps not.
What new life are you praying for? And what are you hoping will never go away?New life is always coming at us, sometimes taking up the space of something we rather liked, or had grown comfortable with. Is there something yearning to take up space in your life, space you’re willing to make by letting something else go?On Christmas Eve, when I get home from church, I will fetch the baby out of the little wicker trunk in the back of the stable (Mary had to have some luggage…) and place him in the manger. Jesus always shows up, eventually. Sometimes we just have to let him out of the baggage.To receive Water Daily by email each morning, subscribe here. Sunday’s readings are here.
12-20-19 - Trust and Obey
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
Joseph was a paragon of virtue, it would appear – a man who did what God commanded even when it exposed him to shame and ridicule – and ultimately to a fair amount of danger, once the implications of being step-father to God’s son became apparent. Joseph excelled at obeying.
I am somewhat allergic to the word “obey.” I remember a hymn, which I always loathed, for I believe it captures all the legalistic religiosity I spend much energy countering:
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way / to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
“Yes, there is!” I want to shout. “There is the way of grace and acceptance and doing good on the power of the Spirit, not on our own!” As one whose faith came alive under a steady stream of preaching about the grace of God; as one who is keenly aware of the limits of willpower; I prefer to stress the unconditional love of God that we receive despite our failure to obey. Obedience is so closely linked in my mind to legalism, I react negatively to it, despite my generally compliant nature.
And yet, here is Joseph, reminding me of the power that can be unleashed when we simply obey. Joseph’s obedience may have come from a self-disciplined nature. Or maybe it resulted from the very clear and powerful supernatural message he received in his dream from an angel of the Lord – reinforced, no doubt, by Mary’s tale of her own angelic encounter. We might find ourselves more inclined toward obeying and following God's guidance as we become more in touch with our own divine encounters. They may not be as dramatic as Joseph’s, but they are real.
So... when did you last sense the Spirit of God nudging you or instructing you in some way?
When did you last sense the presence of God around you?
“When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him…”
Joseph was a paragon of virtue, it would appear – a man who did what God commanded even when it exposed him to shame and ridicule – and ultimately to a fair amount of danger, once the implications of being step-father to God’s son became apparent. Joseph excelled at obeying.
I am somewhat allergic to the word “obey.” I remember a hymn, which I always loathed, for I believe it captures all the legalistic religiosity I spend much energy countering:
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way / to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
“Yes, there is!” I want to shout. “There is the way of grace and acceptance and doing good on the power of the Spirit, not on our own!” As one whose faith came alive under a steady stream of preaching about the grace of God; as one who is keenly aware of the limits of willpower; I prefer to stress the unconditional love of God that we receive despite our failure to obey. Obedience is so closely linked in my mind to legalism, I react negatively to it, despite my generally compliant nature.
And yet, here is Joseph, reminding me of the power that can be unleashed when we simply obey. Joseph’s obedience may have come from a self-disciplined nature. Or maybe it resulted from the very clear and powerful supernatural message he received in his dream from an angel of the Lord – reinforced, no doubt, by Mary’s tale of her own angelic encounter. We might find ourselves more inclined toward obeying and following God's guidance as we become more in touch with our own divine encounters. They may not be as dramatic as Joseph’s, but they are real.
So... when did you last sense the Spirit of God nudging you or instructing you in some way?
When did you last sense the presence of God around you?
Or see evidence of God’s handiwork in your life or in the world?
If you cannot think of anything… there might be a prayer in that. Ask God to help you become more aware, or to open your own heart a little wider to what is happening in the unseen realm of spirit.
It is hard to trust, let alone obey, a total stranger. If we keep God at arm’s length or at a polite distance, it's harder to discern the leaps of faith we are invited to take, let alone jump. God may never ask us to take a leap like Joseph did, yet God does invite us to nurture the Christ-life in ourselves and in others, every day of the year, like Joseph. We don’t have to escort a pregnant woman to Bethlehem… we just have to find the couple there and meet their newborn.
If you cannot think of anything… there might be a prayer in that. Ask God to help you become more aware, or to open your own heart a little wider to what is happening in the unseen realm of spirit.
It is hard to trust, let alone obey, a total stranger. If we keep God at arm’s length or at a polite distance, it's harder to discern the leaps of faith we are invited to take, let alone jump. God may never ask us to take a leap like Joseph did, yet God does invite us to nurture the Christ-life in ourselves and in others, every day of the year, like Joseph. We don’t have to escort a pregnant woman to Bethlehem… we just have to find the couple there and meet their newborn.
12-19-19 - God With Us
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
Matthew is big on linking the events he is relating to things the Hebrew prophets foretold – after all, he was writing the Good News for a predominantly Jewish audience, many of whom needed convincing about this Jesus movement.
So, after he tells us about Joseph’s dream, in which an angel instructs Joseph to go forward with his marriage to Mary, “for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit,” Matthew writes: “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Emmanu-el. That’s a big claim in a name: God with us. Not "God far away," not "God too holy to be approached" – God with us. That’s pretty much the heart of the whole thing we do as Christians.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14)
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and God will dwell with them.’” (Revelation 21:3)
It is a radical thing to say God is with us. It means we can’t claim to be abandoned, no matter how alone we might feel. It means we can’t place God at an unreachable distance from ourselves or our world. In Christ, we have been given entrée to the throne of God, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17)
Does it change your perception on the challenges you face in life, knowing that God is with us? Think about the things you feel are insurmountable, or the places you feel powerless. Now bring those up in prayer, in the context of God’s “with-you-ness.” How does it feel to pray to God with you? To pray with God, not to God. We often pray to God-far-away-in-heaven. Jesus is God-wish-us.
Can you start to take advantage of the proximity and access that is yours as a member of the household of God and citizen of the realm of God? Maybe play with places in your imagination where you might start to talk with Jesus in prayer. “The Word is very near you – on your lips and in your heart,” Paul tells us in Romans 10:8, quoting Deuteronomy. What's the good of all this access if we don't use it?
Emmanu-el has drawn near to us in love. God is with us, always. We can go away; God will not.
How will you live today, owning that truth deep in your being? How will you share that gift?
Matthew is big on linking the events he is relating to things the Hebrew prophets foretold – after all, he was writing the Good News for a predominantly Jewish audience, many of whom needed convincing about this Jesus movement.
So, after he tells us about Joseph’s dream, in which an angel instructs Joseph to go forward with his marriage to Mary, “for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit,” Matthew writes: “All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,’ which means, ‘God is with us.’”
Emmanu-el. That’s a big claim in a name: God with us. Not "God far away," not "God too holy to be approached" – God with us. That’s pretty much the heart of the whole thing we do as Christians.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us...” (John 1:14)
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and God will dwell with them.’” (Revelation 21:3)
It is a radical thing to say God is with us. It means we can’t claim to be abandoned, no matter how alone we might feel. It means we can’t place God at an unreachable distance from ourselves or our world. In Christ, we have been given entrée to the throne of God, “For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17)
Does it change your perception on the challenges you face in life, knowing that God is with us? Think about the things you feel are insurmountable, or the places you feel powerless. Now bring those up in prayer, in the context of God’s “with-you-ness.” How does it feel to pray to God with you? To pray with God, not to God. We often pray to God-far-away-in-heaven. Jesus is God-wish-us.
Can you start to take advantage of the proximity and access that is yours as a member of the household of God and citizen of the realm of God? Maybe play with places in your imagination where you might start to talk with Jesus in prayer. “The Word is very near you – on your lips and in your heart,” Paul tells us in Romans 10:8, quoting Deuteronomy. What's the good of all this access if we don't use it?
Emmanu-el has drawn near to us in love. God is with us, always. We can go away; God will not.
How will you live today, owning that truth deep in your being? How will you share that gift?
12-18-19 - Field of Dreams
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
Every once in a while I have a dream that, upon my waking, stays with me in vivid detail, with a message that I sense has come from God rather than from my sub-conscious. I call those “God dreams.” I’ve had maybe three or four.
Joseph had a LOT of them! Like his namesake in the Hebrew scriptures, the Joseph with the jealous brothers and the cloak, the New Testament Joseph received regular angelic communications through his dreams. Unlike the Joseph of yore, however, whose dreams were symbolic and required interpretation, Joseph of Nazareth gets clear instructions, “Do this,” “Go there,” “Don’t go there,” “Okay, it’s safe...”
In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, angels show up directly to people like Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, unmediated by REM sleep and human processes. They’re just there – “Look out!," "Be not afraid!” The writer of Matthew either heard different stories, or maybe thought Luke was embellishing things, for in his telling the angels speak through dreams, though their messages agree with Luke’s.
After Joseph learns of Mary’s premature pregnancy, and resolves to divorce her quietly,
Every once in a while I have a dream that, upon my waking, stays with me in vivid detail, with a message that I sense has come from God rather than from my sub-conscious. I call those “God dreams.” I’ve had maybe three or four.
Joseph had a LOT of them! Like his namesake in the Hebrew scriptures, the Joseph with the jealous brothers and the cloak, the New Testament Joseph received regular angelic communications through his dreams. Unlike the Joseph of yore, however, whose dreams were symbolic and required interpretation, Joseph of Nazareth gets clear instructions, “Do this,” “Go there,” “Don’t go there,” “Okay, it’s safe...”
In Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, angels show up directly to people like Zechariah, Mary, the shepherds, unmediated by REM sleep and human processes. They’re just there – “Look out!," "Be not afraid!” The writer of Matthew either heard different stories, or maybe thought Luke was embellishing things, for in his telling the angels speak through dreams, though their messages agree with Luke’s.
After Joseph learns of Mary’s premature pregnancy, and resolves to divorce her quietly,
“…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’”
In Luke, this is pretty much what Gabriel says to Mary. In Matthew, it is Joseph who receives the divine message. And he acts on it.
Have you ever had a “God dream?” What message did you discern? Did you act on it?
In what ways do you sense the Holy Spirit communicates with you? In prayer directly?
Have you ever had a “God dream?” What message did you discern? Did you act on it?
In what ways do you sense the Holy Spirit communicates with you? In prayer directly?
Through events and coincidences? By a strong sense or urge to do or say something that bears good fruit? Through meditating on the Word of God? I have a friend who gets pop song lyrics in her head – always with a message that suggests answers or guidance.
I believe the Holy One is often messaging us. As we tune our receivers, we begin to discern those messages more often. And when we do, we must check that our interpretation is consistent with what we read in Scripture, not contrary. We can also seek confirmation from others in our community of faith. If the Spirit suggests you do something radical, the Spirit will give someone else confirmation for you.
In Field of Dreams, one of my favorite movies of all time, a farmer named Ray Kinsella hears a whispered voice telling him to plow under a fruitful field of corn and build a ball park. This is economic and agricultural madness, yet he is convinced of the voice’s reality. Equally insane instructions follow, leading to the impossible reality that Shoeless Joe Jackson and other long-dead baseball greats of yore start coming through the corn to play on the field and interact with Ray and his family. Ray’s wife supports him in following these instructions – but it’s hard. At a crucial point, when she’s ready to give up, they both have the same dream one night, giving them the confirmation they need to stay on this seemingly irrational course and follow where it leads.
Where it leads, ultimately, is to love, to reunion and reconciliation and restoration. Which is where all God dreams ultimately lead… Joseph’s, and mine, and yours.
I believe the Holy One is often messaging us. As we tune our receivers, we begin to discern those messages more often. And when we do, we must check that our interpretation is consistent with what we read in Scripture, not contrary. We can also seek confirmation from others in our community of faith. If the Spirit suggests you do something radical, the Spirit will give someone else confirmation for you.
In Field of Dreams, one of my favorite movies of all time, a farmer named Ray Kinsella hears a whispered voice telling him to plow under a fruitful field of corn and build a ball park. This is economic and agricultural madness, yet he is convinced of the voice’s reality. Equally insane instructions follow, leading to the impossible reality that Shoeless Joe Jackson and other long-dead baseball greats of yore start coming through the corn to play on the field and interact with Ray and his family. Ray’s wife supports him in following these instructions – but it’s hard. At a crucial point, when she’s ready to give up, they both have the same dream one night, giving them the confirmation they need to stay on this seemingly irrational course and follow where it leads.
Where it leads, ultimately, is to love, to reunion and reconciliation and restoration. Which is where all God dreams ultimately lead… Joseph’s, and mine, and yours.
12-17-19 - Best Laid Plans
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
In North America, it is winter – which means our plans are always subject to change due to weather. Whenever a large storm system is approaching, emails begin to fly about events being canceled or postponed. Sometimes plans that have been in the making for a year are upended, deposits lost, essential people unavailable.
This trivial example pales in comparison to the change of plans Joseph and Mary experienced in our story. Their future was set – they were engaged, would soon be married; Joseph had a good living as a carpenter, Mary was young and healthy. The plan looked good.
Except God had a different plan – a way, way bigger plan. A plan that required an unbelievable amount of faith to believe in something that could not possibly be proven in any empirical way. A plan that demanded an inconceivable amount of courage, to defend a “conceiving” that looked an awful lot like sin and betrayal. A plan that would bring some joy, yes, and also a great deal of heartache and uncertainty.
What plans of yours have been disrupted – by the choices of others, by circumstances beyond your control, or by God (something we can only discern after the fact…)?
Have you grieved those lost plans? It’s worth naming them, if only to better let them go. Looking back, sometimes we can see blessing in what happened instead of our plans, though not always. (Today's country song link is Garth Brooks’ Unanswered Prayers – not a profound song, but apt...)
How creative and resilient were you in adapting to the new circumstances? Have you adjusted yet?
Maybe you’re in the midst of a life-long “plan change.” I, for instance, thought I’d be married. I’m not…. On the other hand, I never dreamed I’d live on the water, engaged in fruitful ministry in a place I'd never heard of. Some of us thought we’d have careers that we don’t, or illness or other events have resulted in a change of direction.
What is your prayer in response to your plan changes? Where do you sense the Holy Spirit’s involvement in your life? Can you glimpse a bigger plan in what has happened?
The big movie statement on this is It’s a Wonderful Life, as George Bailey discovers that his continually setting aside his life plans made him not a failure but a blessing to countless people, including himself. It is considered a holiday film because of its big Christmas climax – but it also echoes the challenges facing Mary and Joseph in our nativity story.
I surely hope they were blessed by the new trajectory of their lives as they embraced God’s plan. I believe with all my heart that the world has been blessed by them. I have been.
In North America, it is winter – which means our plans are always subject to change due to weather. Whenever a large storm system is approaching, emails begin to fly about events being canceled or postponed. Sometimes plans that have been in the making for a year are upended, deposits lost, essential people unavailable.
This trivial example pales in comparison to the change of plans Joseph and Mary experienced in our story. Their future was set – they were engaged, would soon be married; Joseph had a good living as a carpenter, Mary was young and healthy. The plan looked good.
Except God had a different plan – a way, way bigger plan. A plan that required an unbelievable amount of faith to believe in something that could not possibly be proven in any empirical way. A plan that demanded an inconceivable amount of courage, to defend a “conceiving” that looked an awful lot like sin and betrayal. A plan that would bring some joy, yes, and also a great deal of heartache and uncertainty.
What plans of yours have been disrupted – by the choices of others, by circumstances beyond your control, or by God (something we can only discern after the fact…)?
Have you grieved those lost plans? It’s worth naming them, if only to better let them go. Looking back, sometimes we can see blessing in what happened instead of our plans, though not always. (Today's country song link is Garth Brooks’ Unanswered Prayers – not a profound song, but apt...)
How creative and resilient were you in adapting to the new circumstances? Have you adjusted yet?
Maybe you’re in the midst of a life-long “plan change.” I, for instance, thought I’d be married. I’m not…. On the other hand, I never dreamed I’d live on the water, engaged in fruitful ministry in a place I'd never heard of. Some of us thought we’d have careers that we don’t, or illness or other events have resulted in a change of direction.
What is your prayer in response to your plan changes? Where do you sense the Holy Spirit’s involvement in your life? Can you glimpse a bigger plan in what has happened?
The big movie statement on this is It’s a Wonderful Life, as George Bailey discovers that his continually setting aside his life plans made him not a failure but a blessing to countless people, including himself. It is considered a holiday film because of its big Christmas climax – but it also echoes the challenges facing Mary and Joseph in our nativity story.
I surely hope they were blessed by the new trajectory of their lives as they embraced God’s plan. I believe with all my heart that the world has been blessed by them. I have been.
12-16-19 - Mornin', Joe
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
Ah, at last we get to the story, the story we tell and re-tell about the angels and the shepherds and the sweet young woman great with child and... Oh, wait, not quite that story. Angels, yes, but only in dreams. No shepherds or inn-keepers in Matthew’s pageant. In fact, he barely mentions Mary, referencing her only as Jesus’ mother and Joseph’s betrothed. As Matthew tells it, this is Joseph’s story:
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
Interestingly, Matthew does not refer to Joseph as Jesus’ father – in fact, he tips the “messianic secret” in the first line. Mary is introduced as Jesus’ mother, engaged to Joseph. All the action here is with Joseph – his challenges, his choices. We are told he is a righteous man, and we can see how gentle is his response, to dissolve the betrothal in quiet so as to protect Mary from legal liability as an adulteress.
Then an angel intervenes in a dream, giving him the rundown that, in Luke, Mary hears directly from the angel Gabriel. And Joseph decides to obey this dream message, probably in the face of his own misgivings and the derision of the people close to him. He does so honorably, and endures the time of Mary's pregnancy without marital gratification – all the while preparing to welcome and raise a first-born whom he knows is not his biological child. In today’s idiom, we might say, “Joseph totally steps up.” (Randy Travis tells his story – and The Whole Story –in Raise Him Up.)
Who in your life has stepped up for you, above and beyond their “duty?” Relatives, teachers, colleagues, friends…. Let your gratitude fill you – and if they’re still around to be thanked, thank them again.
Who or what you are being called to nurture into strong, healthy growth, beyond your own blood ties? Who are you helping to “raise up?” What are you helping to build?
All of this is God’s work, work in which God invites us to participate. The results are not up to us, but sometimes the work won't happen if we don't agree to do it. God asked Joseph to play a critical role in the plan of salvation that we claim as Christians. It was not an easy “yes,” any easier than was Mary’s. But Joseph said yes – and made our life in God possible.
Ah, at last we get to the story, the story we tell and re-tell about the angels and the shepherds and the sweet young woman great with child and... Oh, wait, not quite that story. Angels, yes, but only in dreams. No shepherds or inn-keepers in Matthew’s pageant. In fact, he barely mentions Mary, referencing her only as Jesus’ mother and Joseph’s betrothed. As Matthew tells it, this is Joseph’s story:
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
Interestingly, Matthew does not refer to Joseph as Jesus’ father – in fact, he tips the “messianic secret” in the first line. Mary is introduced as Jesus’ mother, engaged to Joseph. All the action here is with Joseph – his challenges, his choices. We are told he is a righteous man, and we can see how gentle is his response, to dissolve the betrothal in quiet so as to protect Mary from legal liability as an adulteress.
Then an angel intervenes in a dream, giving him the rundown that, in Luke, Mary hears directly from the angel Gabriel. And Joseph decides to obey this dream message, probably in the face of his own misgivings and the derision of the people close to him. He does so honorably, and endures the time of Mary's pregnancy without marital gratification – all the while preparing to welcome and raise a first-born whom he knows is not his biological child. In today’s idiom, we might say, “Joseph totally steps up.” (Randy Travis tells his story – and The Whole Story –in Raise Him Up.)
Who in your life has stepped up for you, above and beyond their “duty?” Relatives, teachers, colleagues, friends…. Let your gratitude fill you – and if they’re still around to be thanked, thank them again.
Who or what you are being called to nurture into strong, healthy growth, beyond your own blood ties? Who are you helping to “raise up?” What are you helping to build?
All of this is God’s work, work in which God invites us to participate. The results are not up to us, but sometimes the work won't happen if we don't agree to do it. God asked Joseph to play a critical role in the plan of salvation that we claim as Christians. It was not an easy “yes,” any easier than was Mary’s. But Joseph said yes – and made our life in God possible.
12-13-19 - Highway From Heaven
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
We are on a journey in this life – that’s a truth, if trite. We are ever on the move away from or toward home. Isaiah, in his prophecy about the return of Israel’s exiles to Jerusalem, to their homeland, writes of a royal highway on which you cannot get lost:
"A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray."
For a people separated from their homeland, these were words of deep promise and hope –
What we celebrate in this season, what we anticipate, is that day when sorrow and sighing are gone for good. Even now we glimpse that day in moments, in bursts – it is coming; it is here; it is ahead on that royal road, that highway to heaven, and already right here on earth.
We are on a journey in this life – that’s a truth, if trite. We are ever on the move away from or toward home. Isaiah, in his prophecy about the return of Israel’s exiles to Jerusalem, to their homeland, writes of a royal highway on which you cannot get lost:
"A highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not travel on it, but it shall be for God's people; no traveler, not even fools, shall go astray."
For a people separated from their homeland, these were words of deep promise and hope –
"Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God.'"
I don’t currently know anyone exiled from their homeland, though with 272 million migrants (3.5% of the world’s population) on the move in search of safety, we might each know at least one such person. Yet I do think each of us has some areas in which we feel far from what we want, or who we love, or from the kind of peace and wholeness we crave. That highway is there for us too – and it leads it healing.
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."
Advent is a season for getting in touch with what it is we yearn for; what – or who – we are waiting for.What is that for you?
I don’t currently know anyone exiled from their homeland, though with 272 million migrants (3.5% of the world’s population) on the move in search of safety, we might each know at least one such person. Yet I do think each of us has some areas in which we feel far from what we want, or who we love, or from the kind of peace and wholeness we crave. That highway is there for us too – and it leads it healing.
"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."
Advent is a season for getting in touch with what it is we yearn for; what – or who – we are waiting for.What is that for you?
How do you fill in the blank, “When I have….,” or “when I am…, then I’ll be okay?”
Where do you want to get that you are not already?
The Good News is that this highway is already accessible to us, to bring us closer to our own hearts, and to the heart of the God who awaits us at the end of every road we’re on. This is a highway for those who have been redeemed, set free, by the love of Jesus Christ for humankind. And it sounds like a mighty fun road, with joy and laughter –
"And the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing;
Where do you want to get that you are not already?
The Good News is that this highway is already accessible to us, to bring us closer to our own hearts, and to the heart of the God who awaits us at the end of every road we’re on. This is a highway for those who have been redeemed, set free, by the love of Jesus Christ for humankind. And it sounds like a mighty fun road, with joy and laughter –
"And the redeemed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing;
and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
What we celebrate in this season, what we anticipate, is that day when sorrow and sighing are gone for good. Even now we glimpse that day in moments, in bursts – it is coming; it is here; it is ahead on that royal road, that highway to heaven, and already right here on earth.
12-12-19 - The Desert Shall Rejoice
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
For the rest of this week, let’s turn to the portion of Hebrew scripture appointed for Sunday – a beautiful prophecy of restoration and hope from Isaiah 35. It speaks of the day when the travails of the exiles are lifted and they return once again to their homeland. In the poetry of the prophet, the land itself joins in celebration:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.
I once spent a week in Arizona, and passed through desert areas rich in cactus. Though there were trees and pines as well as the more “desert-y” plants, it was an arid climate. Deserts tend to be dry, with vegetation that thrives under challenging conditions – wind, sun, drought.
Some seasons in our lives are like that, or one area of our life can feel arid while others seem more productive. One fruit of spiritual growth is knowing we can thrive under conditions that are less than ideal as well as during times of plenty.
What feels dry in your life at the moment? What pains you these days?
For the rest of this week, let’s turn to the portion of Hebrew scripture appointed for Sunday – a beautiful prophecy of restoration and hope from Isaiah 35. It speaks of the day when the travails of the exiles are lifted and they return once again to their homeland. In the poetry of the prophet, the land itself joins in celebration:
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.
I once spent a week in Arizona, and passed through desert areas rich in cactus. Though there were trees and pines as well as the more “desert-y” plants, it was an arid climate. Deserts tend to be dry, with vegetation that thrives under challenging conditions – wind, sun, drought.
Some seasons in our lives are like that, or one area of our life can feel arid while others seem more productive. One fruit of spiritual growth is knowing we can thrive under conditions that are less than ideal as well as during times of plenty.
What feels dry in your life at the moment? What pains you these days?
What are you anxious about? What do you yearn for that feels far off? What are you thirsty for?
Name those things – lay them down before the Lord in prayer.
Prayer involves becoming aware of what’s going on with us, so we can invite God’s Spirit into those places. Another name for God’s Spirit is the River of Life – coursing through us, splashing into the thirsty spaces, cleansing, healing, refreshing, renewing, carrying away all the debris that holds us back from fully living the life God has given us to live. Here’s a promise:
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Whatever in your life has become dry or brittle can be renewed. Ask for water - streams of living water will break forth in you.
Prayer involves becoming aware of what’s going on with us, so we can invite God’s Spirit into those places. Another name for God’s Spirit is the River of Life – coursing through us, splashing into the thirsty spaces, cleansing, healing, refreshing, renewing, carrying away all the debris that holds us back from fully living the life God has given us to live. Here’s a promise:
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.
Whatever in your life has become dry or brittle can be renewed. Ask for water - streams of living water will break forth in you.
12-11-19 - Greatest and Least
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
We have spent quite a few days in this space thinking about John the Baptist – who he was, why he was the way he was, what impact he had. Many people thought he was the Messiah, or an incarnation of the prophet Elijah – until Herod imprisoned and later had him executed at the whim of his step-daughter. John truly was a holy man, and Jesus speaks of him as such:
We have spent quite a few days in this space thinking about John the Baptist – who he was, why he was the way he was, what impact he had. Many people thought he was the Messiah, or an incarnation of the prophet Elijah – until Herod imprisoned and later had him executed at the whim of his step-daughter. John truly was a holy man, and Jesus speaks of him as such:
“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist.”
And then he says something even more extraordinary:
And then he says something even more extraordinary:
“…yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
What was that about valleys being lifted up and mountains brought low, the lowly being exalted and the “mighty cast down from their thrones?” Here is Jesus, articulating again that equalizing quality of the realm of God – that equalizing which was so challenging to people in his own day, and has remained so in the thousands of years since.
To say that “the first will be last, and the last first,” that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to “little children,” that the least “important” member of the household of God is greater than a saint like John – that’s radical. That’s a challenge to those who feel themselves to be important. And it’s an invitation to those who don’t.
Can you imagine yourself greater than a prophet like John the Baptist? Can you imagine yourself as valuable, as worthy of honor? Because Jesus says that’s what is – that those who consider themselves “least in the kingdom of heaven” are that valuable, that worthy, that remarkable, that beloved.
My spiritual suggestion for today is to simply sit with that idea, of being that important in the realm of God. No one is more important than you. Try that on. How does it make you sit? Walk? Talk? Think?
Write down some of the reasons why you are so valuable in God’s eyes. It’s important for us to know, to claim, not so we can become big-headed, but so we can give God the glory. That’s what we’re here for – to glorify God in how we live and give.
Of course it’s not a popularity contest or a competition. You knowing yourself to be that worthy doesn’t diminish the importance of John the Baptist – he’s the one who said, as Jesus’ ministry grew more public, “He must increase; I must decrease.”
I don’t know the man, but I can imagine the smile on John’s face growing bigger the more we recognize our worthiness in the eyes of God. I can imagine him looking at Jesus and nodding. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere…”
What was that about valleys being lifted up and mountains brought low, the lowly being exalted and the “mighty cast down from their thrones?” Here is Jesus, articulating again that equalizing quality of the realm of God – that equalizing which was so challenging to people in his own day, and has remained so in the thousands of years since.
To say that “the first will be last, and the last first,” that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to “little children,” that the least “important” member of the household of God is greater than a saint like John – that’s radical. That’s a challenge to those who feel themselves to be important. And it’s an invitation to those who don’t.
Can you imagine yourself greater than a prophet like John the Baptist? Can you imagine yourself as valuable, as worthy of honor? Because Jesus says that’s what is – that those who consider themselves “least in the kingdom of heaven” are that valuable, that worthy, that remarkable, that beloved.
My spiritual suggestion for today is to simply sit with that idea, of being that important in the realm of God. No one is more important than you. Try that on. How does it make you sit? Walk? Talk? Think?
Write down some of the reasons why you are so valuable in God’s eyes. It’s important for us to know, to claim, not so we can become big-headed, but so we can give God the glory. That’s what we’re here for – to glorify God in how we live and give.
Of course it’s not a popularity contest or a competition. You knowing yourself to be that worthy doesn’t diminish the importance of John the Baptist – he’s the one who said, as Jesus’ ministry grew more public, “He must increase; I must decrease.”
I don’t know the man, but I can imagine the smile on John’s face growing bigger the more we recognize our worthiness in the eyes of God. I can imagine him looking at Jesus and nodding. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere…”
12-10-19 - Spiritual Leaders
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
What do you think a holy man or woman should look like? What should be the markers of "success" for spiritual leaders? This is what Jesus asks the crowds about how they viewed John the Baptist. "What did you go out there to the desert to look at? Were you just spiritual tourists gawking at the latest guru? Did you think you were going to see a smooth-talking, well-dressed leader, get a little charge, and leave your life unchanged?"
Advent is a good time to examine our spiritual motivations, what is it we are truly yearn for, why we engage or disengage from spiritual community. It is easy to become disenchanted with church and clergy - or to expect too much. Today, let's do a little inventory. When we can name our expectations, we can better manage them.
What are your expectations of your spiritual community? When you are disappointed or disaffected, what is the cause? Do you communicate that, distance yourself, or engage more?
What are your expectations of your spiritual leaders?
What do you think a holy man or woman should look like? What should be the markers of "success" for spiritual leaders? This is what Jesus asks the crowds about how they viewed John the Baptist. "What did you go out there to the desert to look at? Were you just spiritual tourists gawking at the latest guru? Did you think you were going to see a smooth-talking, well-dressed leader, get a little charge, and leave your life unchanged?"
Advent is a good time to examine our spiritual motivations, what is it we are truly yearn for, why we engage or disengage from spiritual community. It is easy to become disenchanted with church and clergy - or to expect too much. Today, let's do a little inventory. When we can name our expectations, we can better manage them.
What are your expectations of your spiritual community? When you are disappointed or disaffected, what is the cause? Do you communicate that, distance yourself, or engage more?
What are your expectations of your spiritual leaders?
In what ways do they bless you? How do they disappoint?
As you name these truths, think how you want to respond. Don't forget to pray for your community and your clergy - they are a part of you, and you of them. (I am spending today in an Advent retreat with fellow clergy. I invite your prayers for us, as I will pray for you.)
The role of spiritual leaders can be described in the words Jesus used about John, "This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'"
Clergy can be messengers of God's Word, God's love, God's calls and invitations.At our best, we help people to prepare a spiritual way, and help them walk it, without getting in the way. The more clarity you have about how you want to grow in faith, the better your leaders can help prepare the way.
And the more you grow, the more you can help your pastor walk the way of truth and grace - and then our congregations truly become spiritual communities.
As you name these truths, think how you want to respond. Don't forget to pray for your community and your clergy - they are a part of you, and you of them. (I am spending today in an Advent retreat with fellow clergy. I invite your prayers for us, as I will pray for you.)
The role of spiritual leaders can be described in the words Jesus used about John, "This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'"
Clergy can be messengers of God's Word, God's love, God's calls and invitations.At our best, we help people to prepare a spiritual way, and help them walk it, without getting in the way. The more clarity you have about how you want to grow in faith, the better your leaders can help prepare the way.
And the more you grow, the more you can help your pastor walk the way of truth and grace - and then our congregations truly become spiritual communities.
12-9-19 - Are You the One?
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
Fast forward several months or years from the scene we reflected on last week. John, the vital, vivid, vigorous prophet of the wilderness, calling people to repentance at the Jordan, is now languishing in Herod’s dungeon for the crime of having called out the king for marrying his sister-in-law. Speaking truth to power can get you burned. Herod kind of likes having him there – we are told he enjoyed theological conversations with John – but the prophet is not free. Captivity can do things to even the strongest of people.
Here we get a glimpse of John in despair, perhaps wondering if he was wrong after all. Among the most poignant words in the Bible are these:
“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’
This is the man who pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Now it's, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” John's question speaks for all of us at one time or another, when suddenly we’re not sure, when too much time has passed without a sign of God’s power at work. "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
Jesus’ response is to point not to himself, but to his works, to the fruit of his ministry:
Fast forward several months or years from the scene we reflected on last week. John, the vital, vivid, vigorous prophet of the wilderness, calling people to repentance at the Jordan, is now languishing in Herod’s dungeon for the crime of having called out the king for marrying his sister-in-law. Speaking truth to power can get you burned. Herod kind of likes having him there – we are told he enjoyed theological conversations with John – but the prophet is not free. Captivity can do things to even the strongest of people.
Here we get a glimpse of John in despair, perhaps wondering if he was wrong after all. Among the most poignant words in the Bible are these:
“When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’
This is the man who pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Now it's, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” John's question speaks for all of us at one time or another, when suddenly we’re not sure, when too much time has passed without a sign of God’s power at work. "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"
Jesus’ response is to point not to himself, but to his works, to the fruit of his ministry:
‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’
When our faith dims and our hope weakens, we can remind ourselves of the goodness of God which we have tasted. We can remind each other of the answered prayer and amazing “coincidences” that led to even more amazing outcomes. We can sharpen our awareness of divine activity around us. We can focus our vision on how we see the Spirit at work in other people – it’s often easier to see God working in others than in ourselves.
This week, keep watch: where are you catching glimpses of holiness? Write it down. Remind yourself. Remind a friend.
We all have moments like John, even without the suffering he endured. And we all know people asking that question. Jesus' answer is for us as well: "Go and tell what you hear and see." I pray you will hear and see amazing things today, this week, for all time, and that you get really good at telling it. For God is still doing amazing things in us and through us and around us, and there are a lot of people in captivity waiting to hear that Good News.
When our faith dims and our hope weakens, we can remind ourselves of the goodness of God which we have tasted. We can remind each other of the answered prayer and amazing “coincidences” that led to even more amazing outcomes. We can sharpen our awareness of divine activity around us. We can focus our vision on how we see the Spirit at work in other people – it’s often easier to see God working in others than in ourselves.
This week, keep watch: where are you catching glimpses of holiness? Write it down. Remind yourself. Remind a friend.
We all have moments like John, even without the suffering he endured. And we all know people asking that question. Jesus' answer is for us as well: "Go and tell what you hear and see." I pray you will hear and see amazing things today, this week, for all time, and that you get really good at telling it. For God is still doing amazing things in us and through us and around us, and there are a lot of people in captivity waiting to hear that Good News.
12-6-19 - Water and Fire
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
John the Baptizer was absolutely clear about his mission: he was not the main attraction, but an advance man for a much bigger show. He attracted a lot of attention – ordinary people who wanted the spiritual experience he was offering, and authorities investigating whether or not he should concern them. But he stayed very focused on his mission:
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Water and fire – two elements that cannot dwell together, except in a Christian. John’s baptism was a way for people to enact repentance, to experience the water of cleansing. But the fire that Jesus brings, John said, is another force altogether, one that will do more than warm us:
“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Unquenchable fire. That doesn’t sound like something I want to be around. Fire scares me, unless it’s in a hearth or cooking something on a stove. The unquenchable fire is one image of eternal damnation.
But fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. Then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once heard a story from someone who had visited Christians in Indonesia. He was at a prayer service that was about the most intense he’d ever witnessed. A woman was leading the prayer, and she was calling down the Spirit upon them, praying fervently, passionately, inviting God to make himself known in power, calling down Holy Spirit fire. This prayer went on for quite a while, and then suddenly the woman went quiet and a silence descended upon the group for three, four, five minutes. Then the woman spoke: “Fire is now,” she said. And they were all filled with heat, like they were burning, but it didn’t hurt. Manifestations of the Spirit began to be seen and heard, and many were healed. “Fire is now."
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we don’t stop with water – we move on to fire. Are you willing to ask God for a greater filling of Holy Spirit? There may be parts of your life you don’t want to see scorched - can you offer God access anyway? Are they keeping you from expanding your capacity for God-life, or do they help you make a way?
Fire is now. What happens if you let it in?
John the Baptizer was absolutely clear about his mission: he was not the main attraction, but an advance man for a much bigger show. He attracted a lot of attention – ordinary people who wanted the spiritual experience he was offering, and authorities investigating whether or not he should concern them. But he stayed very focused on his mission:
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Water and fire – two elements that cannot dwell together, except in a Christian. John’s baptism was a way for people to enact repentance, to experience the water of cleansing. But the fire that Jesus brings, John said, is another force altogether, one that will do more than warm us:
“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Unquenchable fire. That doesn’t sound like something I want to be around. Fire scares me, unless it’s in a hearth or cooking something on a stove. The unquenchable fire is one image of eternal damnation.
But fire is also one of our symbols for the power of the Holy Spirit. Our life in Christ begins with water, the transforming water of baptism by which we are made one with Christ and members of God’s family. Then God’s life is released in us as we are baptized with the fire of the Holy Spirit. That’s where we get the power by which God works transformation through us. We need water and fire.
I once heard a story from someone who had visited Christians in Indonesia. He was at a prayer service that was about the most intense he’d ever witnessed. A woman was leading the prayer, and she was calling down the Spirit upon them, praying fervently, passionately, inviting God to make himself known in power, calling down Holy Spirit fire. This prayer went on for quite a while, and then suddenly the woman went quiet and a silence descended upon the group for three, four, five minutes. Then the woman spoke: “Fire is now,” she said. And they were all filled with heat, like they were burning, but it didn’t hurt. Manifestations of the Spirit began to be seen and heard, and many were healed. “Fire is now."
If we want to open ourselves to a deeper experience of God’s love and power, we don’t stop with water – we move on to fire. Are you willing to ask God for a greater filling of Holy Spirit? There may be parts of your life you don’t want to see scorched - can you offer God access anyway? Are they keeping you from expanding your capacity for God-life, or do they help you make a way?
Fire is now. What happens if you let it in?
12-5-19 - Good Tree/Good Fruit
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
John the Baptizer lays into those who wear their religion on their sleeves, but do not allow their hearts and behaviors to change. And his invitation to true repentance comes with a bite:
Later, Jesus uses the same metaphor, saying that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit. It seems that judgment awaits us, and we will be judged by the fruit our lives bear.
Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, the fourth century Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey. Legends about the goodness and generosity of St. Nicholas abound, and over time became conflated with the legend of the "Bishop of the North Pole," Santa Claus. Santa is also known for gift-giving – with conditions: "He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice / gonna find out who’s naughty or nice / Santa Claus is coming to town."
I give thanks for the promise that, as members of God’s household united with Christ, it is his deeds by which we will ultimately be judged (whew!). Yet Jesus also spoke of a judgment and a sorting. So let’s do another inventory today – let’s assess the fruit we bear, the outward evidence of our life, the good and not-so-good. (Get out the journal...)
What is the fruit of your relationships? Name some.
What is the fruit of your work life? Name some.
Your recreational life? Your financial life? Your engagement in activities that help people in need?
What is the fruit of your spiritual life –
John the Baptizer lays into those who wear their religion on their sleeves, but do not allow their hearts and behaviors to change. And his invitation to true repentance comes with a bite:
“Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Later, Jesus uses the same metaphor, saying that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit. It seems that judgment awaits us, and we will be judged by the fruit our lives bear.
Tomorrow is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas, the fourth century Bishop of Myra in modern-day Turkey. Legends about the goodness and generosity of St. Nicholas abound, and over time became conflated with the legend of the "Bishop of the North Pole," Santa Claus. Santa is also known for gift-giving – with conditions: "He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice / gonna find out who’s naughty or nice / Santa Claus is coming to town."
I give thanks for the promise that, as members of God’s household united with Christ, it is his deeds by which we will ultimately be judged (whew!). Yet Jesus also spoke of a judgment and a sorting. So let’s do another inventory today – let’s assess the fruit we bear, the outward evidence of our life, the good and not-so-good. (Get out the journal...)
What is the fruit of your relationships? Name some.
What is the fruit of your work life? Name some.
Your recreational life? Your financial life? Your engagement in activities that help people in need?
What is the fruit of your spiritual life –
what are the outward manifestations of your faith and prayer?
How is your health as a tree, emotionally, physically, spiritually?
How is your health as a tree, emotionally, physically, spiritually?
Any pruning or fertilizing needed? How might you become more fruitful?
Whether we’re singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” or “When the Man Comes Around,” a Johnny Cash song based on Revelation with strong Advent themes (and not a whole lot of grace), I thank God for the greatest gift – freedom from the ax and the fire. God is an arborist extraordinaire, who tends the trees we are and makes us trees of love. In fact, today let's give Bono and B.B. King the last word - they say it all: "When Love Comes to Town."
Whether we’re singing, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” or “When the Man Comes Around,” a Johnny Cash song based on Revelation with strong Advent themes (and not a whole lot of grace), I thank God for the greatest gift – freedom from the ax and the fire. God is an arborist extraordinaire, who tends the trees we are and makes us trees of love. In fact, today let's give Bono and B.B. King the last word - they say it all: "When Love Comes to Town."
12-4-19 - Fruit of Repentance
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
I can almost see the sneer on John’s face as he sees the professional religious folks coming to be baptized by him:
I can almost see the sneer on John’s face as he sees the professional religious folks coming to be baptized by him:
“But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Translation: "Who warned you to get your act together? Stop resting on your laurels as 'keepers of the law,' as inheritors of the promises given to your ancestors. What fruit are we going to see in your lives?"
What does, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” mean? In part, that it’s really easy to say “I’m sorry,” and a lot harder to make the kinds of changes that render our “I’m sorry’s” unnecessary. John didn’t want people undergoing his baptism for show – he wanted them to take a serious look at themselves and recognize the ways in which their behavior or attitudes damaged other people.
Few of us in this era feel the need to mount a religious display for the attention it’ll get us, yet the call to repent and amend our lives comes to us as well. One way to meet it is to undertake an inventory of confession, to get below the surface at the more stubborn patterns of sinfulness that persist in us. This week you might try one of those. Here is a simple one – and it’s a good idea to write down your answers:
When did I last hurt someone I love? What did I do or say? Why did that happen – what “hooked” me?
When did I last hurt myself in some way? (Include food, insufficient rest and self-criticism…)
Translation: "Who warned you to get your act together? Stop resting on your laurels as 'keepers of the law,' as inheritors of the promises given to your ancestors. What fruit are we going to see in your lives?"
What does, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance” mean? In part, that it’s really easy to say “I’m sorry,” and a lot harder to make the kinds of changes that render our “I’m sorry’s” unnecessary. John didn’t want people undergoing his baptism for show – he wanted them to take a serious look at themselves and recognize the ways in which their behavior or attitudes damaged other people.
Few of us in this era feel the need to mount a religious display for the attention it’ll get us, yet the call to repent and amend our lives comes to us as well. One way to meet it is to undertake an inventory of confession, to get below the surface at the more stubborn patterns of sinfulness that persist in us. This week you might try one of those. Here is a simple one – and it’s a good idea to write down your answers:
When did I last hurt someone I love? What did I do or say? Why did that happen – what “hooked” me?
When did I last hurt myself in some way? (Include food, insufficient rest and self-criticism…)
How did that come about?
When did I last hurt the creation around me in some way, nature, animals. Why did that happen?
When did I last hurt God – by ignoring or avoiding or defying? What happened?
For each thing you list, offer your regret and think about what would have to change in you to avoid doing that again.
What spiritual practices and messages do you need to build into your life to bear better fruit?
Invite the Holy Spirit into each one of those areas and ask God to release more life and love in you.
When our repentance is genuine, we’re more inclined to move into fruitful patterns of being and relating. And as we bear the fruit of repentance, the people around us will be fed on God’s love.
When did I last hurt the creation around me in some way, nature, animals. Why did that happen?
When did I last hurt God – by ignoring or avoiding or defying? What happened?
For each thing you list, offer your regret and think about what would have to change in you to avoid doing that again.
What spiritual practices and messages do you need to build into your life to bear better fruit?
Invite the Holy Spirit into each one of those areas and ask God to release more life and love in you.
When our repentance is genuine, we’re more inclined to move into fruitful patterns of being and relating. And as we bear the fruit of repentance, the people around us will be fed on God’s love.
12-3-19 - The Level Road
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
John had a message: repent and prepare. He was a profoundly counter-cultural figure out there in the desert, but people paid attention. Matthew tells us, “Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan...”
Even in his day he was linked with the prophet Isaiah’s prediction that a prophet would arise out in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
That prophecy in Isaiah says,
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,"The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"
John had a message: repent and prepare. He was a profoundly counter-cultural figure out there in the desert, but people paid attention. Matthew tells us, “Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan...”
Even in his day he was linked with the prophet Isaiah’s prediction that a prophet would arise out in the wilderness crying, “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
That prophecy in Isaiah says,
“Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Making space for the life of God breaking into our lives means building a highway for Christ to travel, a straight and level road in the desert of this world. This “leveling,” the valleys being lifted and mountains brought low, the rough and rugged ground becoming plains, is a metaphor which has economic, political, even emotional dimensions.
Part of our spiritual work is making space for the life of God, the love of God, the justice of God. There is an equalizing element to this, a seeking of equilibrium. When we start to look for peaks and valleys, highs and lows, we can see them everywhere: environmentally, in toxic slag heaps and crater-filled mining areas; economically, in the income gap between rich and poor, widening at an alarming rate in our times – for countries as well as individuals. We can find disparity in our own moods, as we become hostage to pressure and stress from without and within.
As you survey the world and your own life, what hills might be brought low and what vacancies filled in? A simpler way to ask that is: What do you have too much of in your life?
Making space for the life of God breaking into our lives means building a highway for Christ to travel, a straight and level road in the desert of this world. This “leveling,” the valleys being lifted and mountains brought low, the rough and rugged ground becoming plains, is a metaphor which has economic, political, even emotional dimensions.
Part of our spiritual work is making space for the life of God, the love of God, the justice of God. There is an equalizing element to this, a seeking of equilibrium. When we start to look for peaks and valleys, highs and lows, we can see them everywhere: environmentally, in toxic slag heaps and crater-filled mining areas; economically, in the income gap between rich and poor, widening at an alarming rate in our times – for countries as well as individuals. We can find disparity in our own moods, as we become hostage to pressure and stress from without and within.
As you survey the world and your own life, what hills might be brought low and what vacancies filled in? A simpler way to ask that is: What do you have too much of in your life?
(Think spiritually and emotionally as well as materially…)
What do you not have enough of? What feels empty in you that needs to be filled?
If we can answer those two questions, we have some prayer work laid out for the season of Advent, as we keep praying into those “too-much-es,” and “not-enoughs.” Why is the “too-much-ness” there? Has the deficiency always existed? Is there an external, justice dimension to our issues?
Christ has come, Christ is coming, Christ will come again.
How might we make a level road for him to walk - into our world, into our hearts?
What do you not have enough of? What feels empty in you that needs to be filled?
If we can answer those two questions, we have some prayer work laid out for the season of Advent, as we keep praying into those “too-much-es,” and “not-enoughs.” Why is the “too-much-ness” there? Has the deficiency always existed? Is there an external, justice dimension to our issues?
Christ has come, Christ is coming, Christ will come again.
How might we make a level road for him to walk - into our world, into our hearts?
12-2-19 - John the Baptizer
(You can listen to this reflection here. Sunday's gospel reading is here.)
In our first full week of Advent, we invite a strange figure into our lives and imaginations – John the Baptizer. Every December, as twinkly lights appear in our neighborhoods and tinkly music fills our stores, we church folk are confronted by this stark, uncompromising messenger from God calling us to repent and renew our commitment to God:
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…" Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John was a man completely committed to his mission, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” the purpose an angel predicted to his bewildered father Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25) He stayed in desert places, eschewing all but the most rudimentary clothing, chewing on locusts and wild honey – a diet high in protein and low in fat, if a bit stark. Other Gospel references tell us that he had disciples, but he did not seem interested in building a following or winning popularity. His message is harsh and focused, confronting the materialism and corruption of his countrymen, and calling people back to reliance on God alone.
It can be hard to reconcile John’s message with our cultural preparations for Christmas. I once wrote a sermon drama imagining John the Baptist on the loose in a shopping mall, decking Santa and confronting carolers – it ended with him baptizing the mall cop in the fountain. Where do you imagine this single-minded messenger of God might turn up in your holiday preparations?
Today, how about calling to mind the image we’re given, the wild man in skins calling us to “Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!” Imagine John on your street or in your office, or anywhere that comes to mind as you open your imagination in prayer. What do you hear him say to you? What do you say to him? Do you feel you have anything to repent of?
How does it feel to hear, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” is right here, right now? Are there any changes you want to make in your life in the light of that reality?
John is strange company to keep for a month, but let's let him in – he is an important companion and antidote to the materialism and stress that rise around us in this season. Take him with you when you shop or decorate – he won’t sap the joy, just the superficiality. You can tell him to leave the locusts at home.
In our first full week of Advent, we invite a strange figure into our lives and imaginations – John the Baptizer. Every December, as twinkly lights appear in our neighborhoods and tinkly music fills our stores, we church folk are confronted by this stark, uncompromising messenger from God calling us to repent and renew our commitment to God:
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…" Now John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
John was a man completely committed to his mission, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord,” the purpose an angel predicted to his bewildered father Zechariah (Luke 1:5-25) He stayed in desert places, eschewing all but the most rudimentary clothing, chewing on locusts and wild honey – a diet high in protein and low in fat, if a bit stark. Other Gospel references tell us that he had disciples, but he did not seem interested in building a following or winning popularity. His message is harsh and focused, confronting the materialism and corruption of his countrymen, and calling people back to reliance on God alone.
It can be hard to reconcile John’s message with our cultural preparations for Christmas. I once wrote a sermon drama imagining John the Baptist on the loose in a shopping mall, decking Santa and confronting carolers – it ended with him baptizing the mall cop in the fountain. Where do you imagine this single-minded messenger of God might turn up in your holiday preparations?
Today, how about calling to mind the image we’re given, the wild man in skins calling us to “Repent! The Kingdom of God is at hand!” Imagine John on your street or in your office, or anywhere that comes to mind as you open your imagination in prayer. What do you hear him say to you? What do you say to him? Do you feel you have anything to repent of?
How does it feel to hear, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” is right here, right now? Are there any changes you want to make in your life in the light of that reality?
John is strange company to keep for a month, but let's let him in – he is an important companion and antidote to the materialism and stress that rise around us in this season. Take him with you when you shop or decorate – he won’t sap the joy, just the superficiality. You can tell him to leave the locusts at home.
11-29-19 - What Time Is It?
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
St. Paul has an answer for our subject line: “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” I get a kick out of all these “wake up” readings on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, just as we’re starting to clear the triptofan from our sleepy systems.
Some of us might relate to the rest of Paul’s comments too: “…let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” I don’t know if scarfing leftover stuffing qualifies as “gratifying the desires of the flesh,” but be warned.
In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus also talks about eating and drinking – amid dire warnings of destruction: “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Advent I, which often falls on Thanksgiving weekend, is a rude awakening, a jolt back to reality. Get ready. Live ready. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
I have tended to view Christ's impending return as more scary than joyous. As I get older, and the future of the human race and its habitat more precarious, I wonder what might be good about Christ coming back to ring down the curtain and roll up the sidewalks on this earthly life of ours. Do you fear that, or anticipate it? What would you not mind parting with? What would you miss very much?
If contemplating apocalypse is not your fancy today, here’s a more “here and now” question to ponder: what in your life do you think you need to wake up to? In what areas are you kind of snoozing, coasting, not really conscious, and you sense it’s time to become more aware and intentional? How might you become more focused in those areas?
One memorable Advent 5 o'clock service in Bethany, we placed alarm clocks all over set to go off at random times, just to reinforce the “wake up!” theme of the season. It was fun, as well as highly annoying. For better or worse, life presents us plenty of alarm clocks, and we can rarely predict when they’ll buzz or clang. What’s waking you up lately? Don’t hit the snooze button…
St. Paul has an answer for our subject line: “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” I get a kick out of all these “wake up” readings on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, just as we’re starting to clear the triptofan from our sleepy systems.
Some of us might relate to the rest of Paul’s comments too: “…let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” I don’t know if scarfing leftover stuffing qualifies as “gratifying the desires of the flesh,” but be warned.
In Sunday's Gospel, Jesus also talks about eating and drinking – amid dire warnings of destruction: “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away; so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.”
Advent I, which often falls on Thanksgiving weekend, is a rude awakening, a jolt back to reality. Get ready. Live ready. “Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
I have tended to view Christ's impending return as more scary than joyous. As I get older, and the future of the human race and its habitat more precarious, I wonder what might be good about Christ coming back to ring down the curtain and roll up the sidewalks on this earthly life of ours. Do you fear that, or anticipate it? What would you not mind parting with? What would you miss very much?
If contemplating apocalypse is not your fancy today, here’s a more “here and now” question to ponder: what in your life do you think you need to wake up to? In what areas are you kind of snoozing, coasting, not really conscious, and you sense it’s time to become more aware and intentional? How might you become more focused in those areas?
One memorable Advent 5 o'clock service in Bethany, we placed alarm clocks all over set to go off at random times, just to reinforce the “wake up!” theme of the season. It was fun, as well as highly annoying. For better or worse, life presents us plenty of alarm clocks, and we can rarely predict when they’ll buzz or clang. What’s waking you up lately? Don’t hit the snooze button…
11-28-19 - Happy Thanksgiving!
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
I wish you a happy and healthy and blessed Thanksgiving -
I wish you a happy and healthy and blessed Thanksgiving -
wherever and with whomever you spend it.
If you miss somebody today, give thanks for them and their life in yours.
If you're annoyed with someone today - imagine missing them, and give thanks.
If you lack something today, give thanks for what is before you and ahead.
If you fear something today, remember that “perfect love casts out fear,”
If you miss somebody today, give thanks for them and their life in yours.
If you're annoyed with someone today - imagine missing them, and give thanks.
If you lack something today, give thanks for what is before you and ahead.
If you fear something today, remember that “perfect love casts out fear,”
and invite God’s perfect love to wash over you.
And give thanks in all circumstances. There's a recipe of peace....
I am thankful for this community of Water Daily readers and listeners,
And give thanks in all circumstances. There's a recipe of peace....
I am thankful for this community of Water Daily readers and listeners,
11-27-19 - Food and Family
(You can listen to this reflection here.)
Ask most Americans what they associate with Thanksgiving, and most will answer, “Food and family.” Some might add, “And stress.” This is one holiday when making the food can cause stress, which we seek to relieve by eating too much food – a nice little cycle that leads nowhere good (throw in too much alcohol, and things really get interesting...).
Back when I was planning alternative worship every week, I wrote a lot of sermon dramas. One of the most fun – and elaborate – was at Thanksgiving time one year, called “The Martha Show.” It depicted a TV cooking show featuring a famous Martha. Not Martha of Westport, though the character shared many of her attributes. This one was Martha of Bethany, whose dinner party for Jesus got her so stressed out she became royally ticked off at her sister for not helping. (Sound like a Thanksgiving scene you’ve seen?)
And in the midst of prepping for her Thanksgiving show, an unexpected guest arrives early. Not what our Martha wanted. She wanted to make a beautiful dinner for Jesus, not with Jesus. And she wants her sister to help, damn it! But Mary recognizes that when this guest comes to dinner, you need to stop what you’re doing and receive the gifts he brings.
We can get so busy preparing for Thanksgiving that we barely appreciate the time with our loved ones when it arrives. Same thing, in a broader way, can happen during Advent. In a season meant to help us prepare to receive the gift of Christ in our lives, we sometimes get so busy preparing we miss the fact that he’s already showed up.
Jesus’ words to Martha in the gospel story are simple and pointed: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and worked up about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken from her.”
If you are happy and at peace today, hallelujah – spread some of that peace to someone stressed.
And if you’re worrying and fretting about anything today, stop and imagine Jesus walking into whatever place you’re in, and saying, “Hey, hey, you are worried and fretting. You don’t need to. You have everything you need – I’m here.” Try that on, in prayer, in your imagination today. One of God’s promises is peace when we pray, and presence, and power.
Wherever you’re spending Thanksgiving this year, and whoever you’re spending it with, invite Jesus to the table. That’s kind of what it means to say grace – to invoke his holy presence. See if it’s different being aware of him there. And don’t forget to pass him the stuffing – they didn’t have that in Judea back in the day…
Ask most Americans what they associate with Thanksgiving, and most will answer, “Food and family.” Some might add, “And stress.” This is one holiday when making the food can cause stress, which we seek to relieve by eating too much food – a nice little cycle that leads nowhere good (throw in too much alcohol, and things really get interesting...).
Back when I was planning alternative worship every week, I wrote a lot of sermon dramas. One of the most fun – and elaborate – was at Thanksgiving time one year, called “The Martha Show.” It depicted a TV cooking show featuring a famous Martha. Not Martha of Westport, though the character shared many of her attributes. This one was Martha of Bethany, whose dinner party for Jesus got her so stressed out she became royally ticked off at her sister for not helping. (Sound like a Thanksgiving scene you’ve seen?)
And in the midst of prepping for her Thanksgiving show, an unexpected guest arrives early. Not what our Martha wanted. She wanted to make a beautiful dinner for Jesus, not with Jesus. And she wants her sister to help, damn it! But Mary recognizes that when this guest comes to dinner, you need to stop what you’re doing and receive the gifts he brings.
We can get so busy preparing for Thanksgiving that we barely appreciate the time with our loved ones when it arrives. Same thing, in a broader way, can happen during Advent. In a season meant to help us prepare to receive the gift of Christ in our lives, we sometimes get so busy preparing we miss the fact that he’s already showed up.
Jesus’ words to Martha in the gospel story are simple and pointed: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and worked up about many things. Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part, and it will not be taken from her.”
If you are happy and at peace today, hallelujah – spread some of that peace to someone stressed.
And if you’re worrying and fretting about anything today, stop and imagine Jesus walking into whatever place you’re in, and saying, “Hey, hey, you are worried and fretting. You don’t need to. You have everything you need – I’m here.” Try that on, in prayer, in your imagination today. One of God’s promises is peace when we pray, and presence, and power.
Wherever you’re spending Thanksgiving this year, and whoever you’re spending it with, invite Jesus to the table. That’s kind of what it means to say grace – to invoke his holy presence. See if it’s different being aware of him there. And don’t forget to pass him the stuffing – they didn’t have that in Judea back in the day…
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