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.