Category Archives: Advent

Worry, the Vice?

Leave a reply

Readings: Psalm 79; Micah 5:1-5a; Luke 21:34-38

Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the earth. Luke 21:34-35

Worrying is focusing on all that could possibly go wrong and wasting the precious few days I have on this earth trying to outsmart a reality that isn’t real and most likely never will be. It drains color and harmony from the unique work of art that is this day, as if it were an oily smudge on a dirty canvas. If the worst doesn’t happen, worrying is in vain; if it does happen, worrying robs me of the strength and courage to face hardship. It robs me of hope and trust in God, self, and neighbor; it ruins my present because it’s fearful of my future. No wonder it weighs down the heart like a wasted life or boozy befuddlement.

I trust that God will hold me fast no matter what happens. I trust God’s love for my family, friends, strangers, and this beautiful broken world. What will be will be. I’ll have my share of sorrow and joy in this holy gift that is my life. Worrying can’t turn sorrow into joy, but it’s fully capable of turning joy into despair. If I’m not careful, I just might let it…

Lord, give me strength, courage, and a good sense of humor so I won’t waste my time worrying. Amen.

Wait, wait, wait…and remember

1 Reply

Readings: Psalm 79; Micah 4:6-13; Colossians 1:11-20; Revelation 18:1-10

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:11-20

We wait. And wait. And wait some more. Wondering when deliverance will come—when we will be delivered from the hatred that oozes through society, the racism that abounds, the abuse that so many ignore or remain silent about or even seek to justify, the violence that kills and maims both body and spirit. We wait. And it just seems to get worse. The darkness grows greater. We can’t help but wonder if we can endure, if deliverance is possible.

And then we remember. We remember another time and another people caught up in oppression and injustice, feeling as if their world was unraveling, wondering if God could do anything and if it would make any difference, even sometimes believing that the harsh realities of this world were just too much to overcome.

And God came to them. God was with them in the midst of the suffering and the pain. God was with them, sharing in all they experienced and in that sharing leading them to a different way of seeing, a different way of being.

Even so, God is with us, sharing our suffering and our pain, leading us to a new way of seeing and being. We celebrate the birth of a child at Christmas, but it is far more than that. It is the assurance that God is with us, God is at work in the world and that the ways of God, the peace of God, the love of God are what life, our lives, are really all about. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace. That is the great hope that counters the harsh reality. A hope so strong that it is expressed in the past tense, as if it had already been fulfilled. That is the hope we hold this Advent season.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Offered by Jeff Jones, writer, pastor, seeker of the Christ Child.

First Do No Harm

Leave a reply

Readings: Psalm 79; Micah 4:1-5; Revelation 15:1-8

Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors;

Let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

For we are brought very low.

Help us, O God of our salvation

For the glory of your name…

Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors

The taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!

Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,

Will give thanks to you forever;

From generation to generation we will recount your praise. Psalm 79:8-9, 12-13

There’s no false piety in the psalms. Jealousy, rage, praise, fear, awe, love, compassion – the whole spectrum of human emotions is on display. A startling number of requests for smiting turns up, and quite a few peevish wishes for God to inflict humiliation and suffering on those who have crossed the people of God. Pleas for mercy and help are barely uttered before the “let them get theirs” words appear. It’s uncomfortable to read these vengeance requests sprinkled among the more acceptable praises of God and cries for mercy. Should I be asking God to harm anyone, even someone who has harmed me? It doesn’t feel right, and these bloodier and baser requests are often dropped when the psalm is read in church.

If these words make me feel uncomfortable, it’s probably because I’m expecting the psalms to be moral lessons in poetic meter. That’s not what the psalms are, and I misuse them if I justify wishing another harm because they are part of my sacred scripture. I also misuse them if I remove all the offensive parts, cutting verses out to leave only the happy and uplifting parts.

The psalms are cries to God; in times of joy, in the darkest of circumstances, in strength and weakness, the psalms give voice to my deepest feelings. Am I angry at the world for being unfair and God for not fixing it? There’s a psalm for that. Am I alone and in doubt? There’s one for that, too. Am I acutely aware of the Great Love that holds me? The psalms express my joy. Whatever is happening, there’s a psalm for that. It doesn’t mean that all my feelings and wishes are pure or acceptable – some of them aren’t. But God already knows what’s in my heart: I’m the one who needs the psalms to be honest with myself.

A very kind, wise professor once told me something I’ve never forgotten. While ancient Israel’s cries for God’s revenge and brutality against enemies may seem beneath any person or community of faith, they were also statements of great faith. The singers of the psalms didn’t take revenge. Instead, they handed over their worst and most hateful thoughts to God. Isn’t it better to hand vengeful and destructive impulses to God rather than act upon them?

God, take the worst of me into your embrace. It’s too awful for me to keep. Amen.

Beginning in Hope

1 Reply
The First Sunday in Advent
 
Readings: Isaiah 64:1-9; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:24-37
“I wish you would open up your heavens and come down to us.” Isaiah 64:1
Have you ever been warned to be careful what you wish for—it might come true?
On this first Sunday in Advent we light the candle of “Hope”.  Could there be any message more hopeful than Isaiah’s, or the Psalmist in today’s reading imploring God again and again to “restore us” and to “let your face shine, that we may be saved” (Ps 80) or Micah’s reading for today where he prophesies that the Lord is coming down to tread on the earth. Then there is the message from today’s gospel to keep awake because the “Son of Man” is “coming in clouds with great power and glory.”(Mk. 13:26)
I remember, when I was an adolescent, asking my pastor why he didn’t preach about the “Second Coming”. Dr. Triplett smiled the smile of a wise elder and said that not nearly enough people are aware of the first coming and what that means to them to be spending time talking about the second coming. First things first.
It seems we are a hopeful but unappreciative lot. The times I have been blessed to get what I had hoped for, I’m very grateful, of course—for a few weeks, maybe. Then I’m all about “what’s next?”
This Advent, may we all for once just be grateful for the greatest gift ever given to humankind in the coming of our God to tread on the earth, to restore us and lift us in arms of love to everlasting salvation. If we can “get” this, there seems little need to wonder about what’s next. That’s my hope.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Bill Albritton

“There is a truth that lives within us that will be with us forever.” (2 John 2)
Bill Albritton is a church leader, prayer minister, and child of God.

Almost in Sight

Leave a reply

It’s strange to have a week between Thanksgiving and the beginning of Advent. Most years, it’s Thanksgiving, Friday to rest, Saturday to prepare church activities, and Sunday to light the first candle on the Advent wreath. These days are a strange bonus, extra time that I hadn’t expected and hadn’t thought to fill with planned activities or responsibilities. And the most extraordinary thing has happened: I’ve seen the moon every day as well as every night.

Seeing the moon while the sun hangs in the sky isn’t an every day occurrence, but it’s not exactly a rare thing, either. Noticing the moon by day is another thing. It’s easy to miss it, sitting at my desk, attending to the housework, driving to the market. Without night’s dark sky, the moon blends in with the clouds and is outshone by the sun. I have to look for it if I want to see it, otherwise I’ll miss it in the brightness of the day.

There’s an Advent lesson here for me, one I might have missed without this in-between week. If I don’t look for it, if I don’t leave some time open between holiday gatherings and the extra work they bring, I’ll miss out on the constant if understated presence of holiness this life holds. In the season dedicated to welcoming God-With-Us, it would be a tragedy to see the grace of God only in the expected times and places (Sundays, Christmas Eve, church services, saying grace before dinner).

The season of waiting is almost here, it’s true meaning almost in sight. Lord give me the good sense to look for it, day or night.

Photographs taken by Jared Fredrickson

 

The Wait

Leave a reply

I’m not much of a Black Friday shopper, nor are my husband and sons. So yesterday we headed for Boston to enjoy burgers in Cambridge and a visit to the Museum of Science. As we drove through Quincy, we spotted the cars. Hundreds were lined up on I93 and Route 3, stretching up to a mile away from the exits for the South Shore Mall. A quick look at the mall parking lot and the roads leading to them revealed hundreds more cars, all trying to get into a parking space and into the stores. As we drove past, we were all happy to be heading elsewhere. A three mile walk, four delicious burgers, and a visit to a special football exhibit at the museum added up to a great outing. Leaving the T station just before six pm, we drove past hundreds more cars heading for a filled-to-capacity mall. I wondered how many people sitting in those cars enjoyed their day. Was a day shopping worth the wait?

Time is a precious resource, something I do my best to remember. The time I spent with my family didn’t provide me with packages and presents bought at the best possible prices: it gave me memories of a day spent together rather than spent apart. I can’t wrap them, but they are so valuable to me, worth every penny and every minute I spent.

My sons return to homework and class schedules tomorrow. My husband and I take up our work tasks and holiday responsibilities. It’ll be another four weeks before we have the pleasure of a day spent together. But that’s okay – such waiting fills my soul with love and gratitude, treasures that can never be discounted or found at the local mall. Is there any better use of my time?

A SAD Season

1 Reply

Readings:  Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2: 1-14

Winter is a tricky time of year.  For some it is memories of snowmen, skiing, holiday parties, and the adventure of swirling blizzards.  For others it brings the bleakness of short days and cold nights, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), holidays muted by the absence of departed loved ones, or the urge to get to the warmth of Florida as quickly as humanly possible.  So it is, as the days of autumn rush toward late December, that many experience a paradoxical mix of anticipation and melancholy.

Over two-thousand years ago, as the days continued dark and discouraging for the people of Israel—occupied by Roman legions, deluged by worldly ways, ruled by a “king of the Jews” who wasn’t even Jewish—there was a similar mix of anticipation and melancholy.  For hundreds of years their lives had not been their own as they were overrun and ruled by one kingdom after another with only the briefest glimpses of freedom.  They had lived in this condition long enough that their various responses to their plight to become solidified into sects—Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes—each with their own politics, theology, and lifestyles.  One of the few things they may have had in common was the word of the prophet, Isaiah.

1Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

2The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

3You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;

they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,

as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.

4For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered

the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor.

5Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood

will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.

6For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:1-7 (NIV)

The days in which Isaiah uttered these words were days of hardship and fear.  The northern kingdom of Israel had been overrun in an Assyrian invasion.  Isaiah’s friends in the southern kingdom of Judah feared a similar fate.  It was during these tense times that the Lord spoke through Isaiah with a message of hope.  A light… a nation… a victory… a child… a King!

In one sense very little had changed in Israel in the 700 years since the time of Isaiah’s prophecy.  Instead of the Assyrians or the Babylonians it was the Romans.  Conditions were much the same.  His words would have fallen on the ears of those in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem in much the same way they had been heard by their ancestors: Don’t despair.  God’s anointed messiah was on his way!  Can you imagine the mixed emotions of anticipation and melancholy?  Can you imagine the relief and joy of those who actually witnessed the life of the Child… the Son… the King?

Two-thousand more years have come and gone.  Have our lives been overrun by worldly ways?  Are we ruled by kings who bear no resemblance to the King of kings?  Are we beginning to question the promise of the messiah’s Second Coming?  Are we experiencing a SAD season—memories of spiritual victories and God’s breakthrough moments tempered by defeat and discouragement and a desperate longing for something more?  Is it only melancholy, or is there a hint of anticipation?

Isaiah’s words were enough for his contemporaries as well as those who were tending their flocks on the hillsides around Bethlehem 700 years later.  Are they enough for us today?  In these tricky days of winter they are enough!  Winter is a season of our spiritual lives when we may not see much happening.  We may feel the melancholy that comes with dormancy.  Yet, if we can but lift our heads above the snowbank we will get a glimpse of what is coming—a glimpse of springtime showers, summer warmth, and harvest time.  Let the words of Isaiah kindle a spark of anticipation in your soul.  The SAD season won’t last forever!

Come, Lord Jesus, Come.

Words offered by David Shaw – minister, listener, child of God.

 

Mary’s Faith

1 Reply

Readings: Luke 1:46b-55; 2 Samuel 7:18, 23-29; Galatians 3:6-14

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

Luke 1:46b-47a

During this Advent, we have been reading periodically from Galatians—often called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. In this epistle, Paul makes one of his strongest cases against the legalism that had infiltrated the Mosaic law with it’s focus on ourselves—our performance of good works, our sacrifices and ritual observances. Paul reasserts that our salvation comes solely from God—salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, sola fide, justification through faith alone. The focus must be on God.

Mary knows this. Today we read in Luke’s gospel her wonderful song—the Magnificat. It’s all about what God has done and is doing in her life, about servanthood and surrender:”…for the Mighty One has done great things for me…”(Lk. 1:49a).

Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Mary if not for God’s grace and her surrendering to it? Would she have been stoned to death under the law had not Joseph also surrendered to God’s message and stepped forward? Most likely. What then?

Well, thanks be to God we don’t have to go there. Instead, we can go to the manger, bend the knee of our hearts and offer the gift of ourselves as did Mary, allowing the Mighty One to do great things for us.

Come Lord Jesus, come

Offered by Bill Albritton, writer and seeker of the Christ Child.

House of God

2 Replies

Readings: Luke 1: 46b-55; Isaiah 33:17-22; Revelation 22:6-7, 18-20

And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 

Revelation 22:6-7,18-20

Row House 2

 

Row House 3

 

Row House

 

Row House 4

Offered by Colin Fredrickson, coed, observer of city life, seeker of the Christ Child.