Category Archives: Advent

Intervention

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Readings: Psalm 90; Numbers 17:1-11; 2 Peter 3:1-8

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites, and get twelve staffs from them, one for each ancestral house, from all the leaders of their ancestral houses. Write each man’s name on his staff, and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each ancestral house. Place them in the tent of meeting before the covenant, where I meet with you. And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout; thus will I put a stop to the complaints of the Israelites that they continually make against you.. (Numbers 17:1-5, NRSV)

Sibling rivalry, perceived favoritism, someone getting away with something – the basics of most of the fights I had with my siblings. Whenever possible, my parents let us resolve it without intervention – a good way to learn how to deal with conflict and get on with life. When it wasn’t possible, they stepped in. The matter was resolved for us and the outcome not up for further discussion.

This story from Numbers is sibling rivalry gone awry – complaints of injustice and favoritism, an unwillingness or inability to resolve the issue, resentment building. Judgement in the form of a sprouting staff put an end to the fighting (at least for the moment), the outcome not up for further discussion.

As individuals and as communities, we can take our fighting to the point where we cannot resolve the issue without intervention. Tempers flare, old resentments and slights are rehashed, and there’s no resolution in sight. This is understandable among children, but tragic when those of us long past our childhood days cannot or will not do the work to resolve the matter in a respectful, thoughtful way.

What better way to show our love for the Prince of Peace than to seek peace in our own time and place, among this human family, in God’s great creation.

God Loves Us

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Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Psalm 25:1-10; I Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36

Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Luke 21:33

The sun will burn out in about 5 billion years. As with other stars the size of the sun, our star will collapse on itself and die, emitting little to no light. Earth, of course, will die along with it. Though you and I will not be present for the death watch, it seems like an ignominious end to our beautiful blue and green orb we call home.

Our planet, as well as the rest of the universe, has been in continuous flux since the beginning. Data from the Webb telescope (which measures background radiation well beyond our solar system) confirms scientists’ suspicion that the universe exploded into existence billions of years ago. And the universe is expanding at unimaginable speed. Galaxies, including our own Milky Way, are hurtling through space and moving away from each other. The furthest galaxies are moving away from us faster than galaxies closer to us. As a friend once rhetorically asked me, “What is the universe expanding into?” It is indeed an exercise in courage to ponder such imponderables.  As scientific discovery expands our knowledge base, forcing us to rethink the way we relate to the universe and our place in it, we might feel uneasy if not a little insecure.  

Jesus, who himself lived through times admittedly much different from our own but difficult just the same, assured us there is a divine constancy that reaches out to us across time and space.  “God needs man,” said the mystic Meister Eckhart. Evelyn Underhill put it this way: “It is Love calling to love; and the journey, though in one sense a hard pilgrimage, up and out, by the terraced mount and the ten heavens to God, in another is the inevitable rush of the roving comet, caught at last, to the Central Sun.” 

This Advent may the whir of existence not drown out the singular message in Jesus’ words that “will not pass away:”  God loves us. 

Offered by Bryan Fredrickson, God’s beloved child.

Advent 2024: Hope

On the Road (again)

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On the Road to Bethlehem by Margaret Hill

It’s time to set out: to put on our shoes, grab a hat and jacket, and make the journey. The road will be dark at times. We won’t arrive in what feels like a timely manner – there’s no point in rushing because picking up the pace won’t make God With Us come any faster. It’s a pilgrimage, not a race.

Our destination isn’t a lovely bed-and-breakfast. We won’t gain social status or admiration for making the trip. The road offers sore and tired feet. When the journey is done, we’ll have to turn around and come back home.

So why do it? Why take the journey at all?

Because we may never understand how very much we are loved if we don’t.

Time to get walking…

Travel Companions and Guides

Once again, we find ourselves living in a world so beloved that God-With-Us came to live here. Although the journey to Bethlehem is undertaken every year, each year brings its own unique experiences. Many people offered their words and images to guide us on our way to the stable. I am grateful for their willingness to add this to their pre-Christmas to-do lists. To learn more about these children of God, click Advent Authors and Artists 2023 above…

Breathe and Welcome Christmas

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Daily Readings: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-4(5-12); John 1:1-14

How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion,” Your God reigns.” Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Isaiah 52:7-10, NRSV

O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things. His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory…make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises…let the sea roar, and all that fills it. Psalm 98:1, 4, 7a, NRSV

In ruminating on my blog post this year, I asked myself: what message do I want to hear? It’s the same message I think everyone worldwide wants to hear. Whether true or likely or not true or likely, we want to believe there are reasons for all the current strife, that it will eventually end, and that most of us will be alright.

I looked to my Scripture choices for confirmation of this promise and what I found were strong verbs, auditory imagery, and nature personification. But, with judicious excerption, I discerned a theme that appealed to me and seemed to answer the question above.

To further flesh it out, at least for myself personally since I happen to be reading the following two books and getting a lot of out of each, I compared the state of the world in 1944-45 that Dr. Eva Eger, current 96-year-old psychologist and former Auschwitz and Mauthausen concentration camps and death march survivor, writes about in her memoir The Choice: Embrace the Possible. Certainly times then felt catastrophic, apocalyptic. Even in the most horrific of circumstances, however, Eger argues (inspired by her mentor Victor Frankl) that we have a choice on how to respond. Faced with torture and death people can despair or can find hope. 

The other book currently rocking my world is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor. He is an engaging science writer and puts the whole history and current practice of respiration into an understandable perspective. I’ve never thought so much or so deeply about nose vs. mouth breathing, why exhales and CO2 are more important in many ways than inhales and O2. And much more. I now understand why I’ve experienced some of the respiratory issues I’ve had over the years and what I can do to mitigate having more in the future.

To merge these texts with the Biblical verses referenced above is an easy jump for me. There is no lifting up of voices or singing, certainly no shouting or roaring or doing anything for joy if I struggle to breathe. No breaking forth! All involve not only an inner attitude of exultation but also the impulse and ability to show it in loud and forthright ways. 

In the face of wars and hate how can I even feel like praising unless I take back control of the narrative? Instead of allowing external events to dictate my mindset, how much more desirable and healthy is it instead to control my inner response to troubling current events? Experiencing peace and happiness is our privileged inner choice, if not for immediate dire occurrences but as a way of affirming the future. Eger had no way of honestly knowing she would survive the war let alone go on to marry, have three children, earn a doctorate degree, and help thousands of other people. None of this was without intense struggle and much courage to face the traumas she endured, but, in the end, everything was alright in that she lived and thrived.

In writing this post I hope I’ve said enough to encourage you to obtain and read these two books yourself. They have, in quite different ways, provided me with inspiration and hope at this time in our world’s desperate history. I am doing breathing exercises to rehab my diaphragm and choosing to believe in the spirit of this holiday season that there is hope for better days to come. 

Welcome, welcome, God-With-Us!

Offered by Jill Fredrickson

A Promise Kept

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Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Isaiah 62:6-12; Psalms 96-97; Luke 2:1-20

A world in a dark night of its own making sleeps in the stillness of despair,

as the turning of creation slows in its dusk to darkness.

A sudden vibration wakes the rocks and grasses, man and creatures alike feel the quickening of life.

The brilliance of the stars begins to obliterate all shadow.

And while the planet begins to spin, a haunting melody whispers and builds

to a song of praise echoed by every living thing.

The tiny cry of a savior has awakened all senses and beings to the promise anew.

A heavenly song of praise,

A promise kept,

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Hallelujah! to Hope and Salvation,

once again.

May shadow and light guide you to God-With-Us.

Offered by Debbie Hill

Expectant

Daily Readings: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; Judges 13:2-24; John 7:40-52

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I has sworn to my servant David: I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.” Psalm 89:1-4, NRSV

Did anyone expect steadfast love to manifest in this way?

On the Road to Bethlehem by Margaret Hill
Mary and Child by Margaret Hill

With all we know, would we expect it now?

May both shadow and light guide you to God-With-Us.

Art offered by Margaret Hill

Notes from Chaplin

Daily Readings: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; 2 Samuel 6:12-19; Hebrews 1:5-14

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: ‘I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'” Psalm 89:1-4, NRSV

May both shadow and light guide you to God-With-Us.

Offered by Sharon Walker. [Sharon took the photograph in a friend’s garden.]

Sustaining Word(s)

Daily Readings: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26; 2 Samuel 6:1-11; Hebrews 1:1-4

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:1-4, NRSV

The words of Jesus are prophetic: the prophets said much the same to the people of their times that Jesus said to the people of his. What sustains doesn’t change because our deepest needs and longings haven’t changed. The words of Jesus sustain us because the words his faith provided for him sustained him.

But words are meaningless unless they point beyond themselves to something, Someone. What sustains isn’t a what but a Who. It’s getting to the Who behind the words that counts. Whatever words God is behind are holy words because they come from the Holy Word. And Christ will meet us at the doorway they create.

Reflecting on Psalm 25

Daily Readings: Psalm 25; Malachi 3:16-4:6; Mark 9:9-13

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose. They will abide in prosperity, and their children shall possess the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distress. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. My integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all its troubles. Psalm 25, NRSV

In the quiet advent of reflection, the psalmist in Psalm 25, like the unwavering Mount Zion, seeks a steadfast trust amid the seasonal battle. As the verses unfold, I connect this ancient assurance with the anticipation of Christ’s advent. The psalmist acknowledges human frailty but emphasizes reliance on God’s mercy, wisdom, and protection on life’s journey.  It’s a profound expression of faith, humility, and the intimate relationship between the individual and the divine. In the context of today’s world, Psalm 25 can resonate as a heartfelt prayer for guidance in navigating life’s challenges, seeking wisdom amid uncertainties, and acknowledging the need for divine assistance in the face of personal struggles. It encapsulates a universal theme of turning to a higher power for strength, guidance and forgiveness in life’s complexities. I reflect on Psalm 25, weaving its ancient verses into the tapestry of my painful past, acknowledging the scars etched and to seek divine guidance. This meditation becomes a pilgrimage toward a place of inner peace. Through these sacred words, I find solace, forgiveness, and the strength to transcend the shadows, inching closer to a sanctuary of healing and serenity. In the gentle glow of advent candles, I find a reflection of the son of righteousness, casting rays of healing in the shadows. This contemplation is a reflection on the enduring hope embedded in the promise of a coming day, where all hearts of generations turn toward restoration, echoing the gentle whispers of divine grace, as we await the dawn of the Savior’s birth.

May both shadow and light guide you to God-With-Us.

Offered by Donna Eby