Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:10-11
In grateful thanks for the life of Thom Nordquist, and the art he shared with his Christ Church family.
Readings: Luke 1:46b-55; Micah 4:6-8; 2 Peter 1:16-21
Ages reaching down to present.
All knowing seeking innocence.
Awaiting fulfillment of the Word,
generations to come and kingdoms
teeter on the brink of the response.
The complex mystery of the Alpha and the Omega
bending to purity and simplicity.
Combined breath of universe
and totality of holiness,
in stillness and silent reverence
listen for her answer……
and in a moment for all time,
in complete surrender to love,
She replies, “Yes……
Offered by Debbie Hill to light the path to Bethlehem
Readings: Luke 1:46b-55; Micah 4:1-5; Ephesians 2:11-22
So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision” – a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands – remember the you were at one time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, the he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; In whole you are also built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. NRSV
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
Ephesians 2:14 (NIV)
The Gentiles, who were at one time welcomed into the temple (I Kings 8: 41-43), are no longer allowed into the temple under penalty of death; the wall of hostility divides the Jews from the non-Jews. The writer of Ephesians proclaims peace and unity are now here through the broken body of Jesus.
Last Sunday we lit the 4th candle, the candle symbolizing peace—the culmination of our journey to Bethlehem. Peace on earth, goodwill to all. And yet there remains so many walls of hostility. The Body of Christ introduces a fundamental perspective of community as organic, not structural, organizational or doctrinal—forms of community against which Jesus struggled. These artificial communities, with their rigid systems, were exactly what Jesus sought to replace. He welcomed people into relationships that allowed for differences, tolerated uncertainties, and respected the dignity of every human being. May we do the same as we pray a prayer for unity from the Book of Common Prayer:
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Offered by Bill Albritton, a light on our path to Bethlehem.
Readings: Psalm 113; Genesis 30:1-24; Romans 8:18-30
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27, NRSV
Lord, it’s just a few days until I arrive at the manger, and I’m lost. I can’t find the words to pray, and I’m losing my way in the darkness of night. It’s all I can do to put one foot in front of the other. All I can do is trust the you will be with me, guiding my feet, guarding my spirit, giving me words.
Until I kneel beside you in Bethlehem, I will say Amen and Amen.
Readings: Psalm 113; Genesis 30:1-24; Colossians 1:39-45
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 1:39-45, NRSV
It’s tempting to divide up the various parts of reality, but it’s a false division; the God of Abraham and Sarah created the world and called people to act with justice and compassion. God is intimately concerned with all of creation, and God-with-us isn’t limited to the years Jesus walked on the earth. There isn’t a single atom that exists in separation from God, nor a single person.
When my own limitations and lack of love move me to place anything outside God’s loving reach, I am reminded of the truth: all things hold together, not just some.
When I feel outside God’s loving reach, I’ll remember it as well.
Readings: Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:46b-55; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” Luke 1:39-45, NRSV
“Why has this happened to me?” It’s a rare thing when these words are said with joy. Even rarer the recognition of God’s chosen in the form of a young woman. But Elizabeth was a rare one.
Perhaps being pregnant in her later years brought together two spiritual gifts: wisdom’s clarity of vision and a youthful trust in the newness of life.
Readings: Psalm 80:1-7; Isaiah 66:7-11; Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'” Luke 13:31-35, NRSV
When power and wealth become ends to achieve rather than means to love God and neighbor as well as self, spiritual blindness sets in and prophets arise with the corrective lenses that no one wants. And so the blind, lost in the dark, strike them down. The blind retain their possessions and their blindness.
Jesus doesn’t come to punish the blind, but to gather them together in love. He knows they won’t be gathered, and he knows his life is forfeit because of it. So why not walk away?
Because no good mother (hen) walks away from a child in need.
Readings: Psalm 80:1-7; Isaiah 42:10-18; Hebrews 10:32-39
But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet “in a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay; but my righteous one will live by faith. My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.” But we are not among those who string back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved. Hebrews 10:32-39, NRSV
Many years back, I lost out on a job because of my faith. It’s the only time it ever happened, and it didn’t cause me more than a momentary monetary setback. I’d hardly call that persecution or abuse. Unfair, yes, but that’s not the same thing. These words don’t apply to my circumstance, and I’d be telling tales if I said otherwise. But this passage does bring up questions:
For whose benefit would I cheerfully lose my possessions?
Do I value the blessings of faith more than what I earn or own?
In times of trouble, will I be among those who shrink back rather than endure?
Perhaps such questions are the reason for this part of the Lord’s Prayer:
Save us from the time of trial.
Readings: Psalm 80:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 10:10-18
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt – a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34, NRSV
I’d put this one in the “too good to be true” category. Imagine a promise of God that the covenant will be written in our hearts. Jeremiah seems to be saying that someday we’ll be struck by a holy zap that will transform us. We won’t have to do anything. In an instant we will live as God wants us to live. We will love our neighbors as ourselves. We will no longer be victims of our own ego needs. We will turn the other cheek and give the shirt off our back. And it will all come easily, naturally. We’ll simply start to live that way. What a promise!
But there’s one word in this passage that should get our attention and help us see that the promise is not what it might seem at first glance. That word is covenant. Covenant is always mutual. It requires action from both parties. What Jeremiah is offering to us is a description of God’s side of the covenant. But there is still our side that needs to be fulfilled. As much as I resist using pietistic evangelical language, I have to admit that it has a way of getting at that side that is both simple and direct: “Let Jesus come into your heart.” You see, that is what the promise shared by Jeremiah is all about—the covenant being written in our hearts. And Jesus is what that covenant is all about, the sign and guarantee of God’s part of the covenant. Our part is a willingness to be open enough, honest enough, courageous enough to let Jesus in.
That, I believe, is one of the reasons for Advent. It is a time of preparation. That preparation isn’t always easy. It takes effort on our part. But in Advent we are more likely to be able to do what it takes, because in Advent we have before us the promise of a covenant fulfilled in the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A covenant written in our hearts isn’t necessarily easy to fulfill, but it is radically different from the old covenant. It is no longer a matter of following rules and regulations, of obeying the law. Now it is a matter of living out the new reality of who we are because Jesus has in fact come into our hearts.
Offered by Jeff Jones, to light our path to Bethlehem.
Readings: Isaiah 11:1-9; Micah 4:8-13; Luke 7:31-35
“To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.” Luke 7:31-35, NRSV
If I’m inclined to be disappointed, or to find fault, I’ll surely find an excuse to do so. I’ll see what I want to see, regardless of what I am looking at.
If I’m inclined to find satisfaction and amazement, I’ll surely find a reason to do so. I’ll see what I want to see, whatever I’m looking at.
In John’s lifestyle and Jesus’ life choices, I can find reasons enough to criticize and evidence enough to experience God’s presence. What will I claim as truth?