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Enjoying the Season of Christmas

12/26/2017

LISTEN TO: the Pianoguys, "Carol of the Bells" (for 12 Cellos)
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9GtPX6c_kg ;

So the "official" Christmas day is over. Some are back to work. Some of us are recovering from the nonstop action; visiting, and perhaps eating or imbibing a wee too much. Perhaps you are gearing up for New Year's Eve. Many are just taking it easy today, after days and even weeks of endless preparation. For some it's a relief. Others, a let down, because Christmas didn't measure up.

It is good to step back and take in the bigger picture: Christmas isn't just a day. Christmas is a season that lasts until Epiphany (the feast of the Three Kings/Wisemen/Magi) on January 6. Perhaps now we can take in some more of the spiritual side of Christmas. Between now and January 6, let's start enacting the message of Christmas. Let's lay down the Christmas lessons we can carry with us into 2018.

1. Say YES when the Holy Spirit inspires you to do something new, or to help in new and different, perhaps even unexpected ways.

2. Let us get up, go out of our way to take part in something important at our places of worship or in our communities. Try something new. Make a sacrifice of time and effort. Let us push ourselves outside our comfort zones to serve Christ, to visit him in our community and around the world.

3. Let us cultivate Joy, a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5: 22-23). The nativity story is suffused with joy. Joy is contagious -- and is perhaps one of the best ways to bring healing, hope and a witness to Jesus around us. Joy isn't always natural to us; so we need to pray for Joy, surrender to Joy, and pray that God shows us the daily actions to take to make joy bloom in our lives.

4. Let us ponder and treasure Jesus in our hearts, like Mary did (Luke 2:19). Take time every day to reflect on our lives and how God is working in us and through us and around us.

5. Let us speak time with each other, encouraging each other, strengthening each other's faith. We sometimes forget how important our presence is to others. As we read the nativity story, we see how many people were involved and turned to each other. Let us not neglect the life of community and communal prayer.

6. Let us listen to our dreams, follow the star God shines on our paths. Let us take the solitary time needed to discern our dreams and the star light God fills our hearts with.

7. Remember: like Joseph, who said not a word in scripture, our actions speak volumes. Because of his goodness and trust that God was leading him, he had a part in saving not just Mary's and Jesus' lives -- but indirectly ours!

Let us reflect and cultivate these Christmas lessons -- and be a Christmas people all year long.

A Happy and Holy Christmas season!

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Treasure Like Mary

12/18/2017

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"But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19"
" Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. Luke 2: 51"

Listen:  Mary J. Blige, "Mary, Did You Know?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnZy6TiUbbo

Mary, the mother of Jesus, can be considered the first disciple of Jesus. She was the young woman who said yes to an angel, even though it would change her life forever, even put her life in danger. Early in her pregnancy, she visited her kinswoman, Elizabeth, also pregnant in her old age. Filled with the Holy Spirit at Elizabeth's greeting, she sang what we now often called "the Magnificat," a song heavily based on Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2: 1-11. Mary knew her scriptures, that is sure.

Other than that, we hear very little from Mary during those critical early days of Jesus' birth. The same is true with Joseph (but we will get to him next week). Their actions speak of their love for God, obedience to his word, even when they didn't understand, and everything seemed to fly in the face of human convention. What a way to begin a new marriage and start a new family! Yet they stepped into the unknown and it changed the course of human history.

There is one particular habit Mary can teach us as we walk our journey to Bethlehem these final weeks of Advent. Twice in Luke 2, Mary is reported to either "ponder" and "treasure." First it was at the message of the shepherds. Next it was the words of 12 year old Jesus,  "didn't you know I must be about my Father's business?" Only here does anyone in the New Testament ponder. She considers carefully what the shepherds have said. She treasures their words as she later treasures the words of Jesus. The verb to treasure means to "hoard," "to store," "to preserve." Mary's treasure was the child Jesus -- but her treasure was also the impact he made on other people -- how he changed people's lives -- the shepherds, the scholars of the Law who were astonished by his teaching in the Temple. The testimony of God's goodness; the experience of God's presence -- that is treasure. Her treasure, but she sought to preserve and protect was the way her life was changing because of her Son, Jesus.

It would do well to follow Mary's example as a disciple. There will be times God will ask us to do the impossible. Say yes. There are times we are asked to visit others, even in the midst of our own need. Say yes. There are times the Holy Spirit will touch us and led us to testify. Say yes. There are times we will be called to ponder and treasure; the words and the deeds, the circumstances the people who bring us the love of God. Say yes, yes -- let us learn to treasure how God is working in our midst through all that is around us. As we learn to treasure we will be able to recognize the true Treasure, Christ Jesus, as we welcome him anew on Christmas Day.

Advent Blessings.

Pray:   "Jesus, thank you for the disciples in our lives who teach us and support us. We thank you for the example of your mother, Mary. May we learn to ponder well, and to treasure deeply all that draws us closer to you."

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December 13th, 2017

12/13/2017

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Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" John 14:27

LISTEN TO:  Murdo McRae, Adam Lopez and Marc Tewksbury; cover of John Lennon's "
"Happy Christmas (War Is Over)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKyK-ladS7I ;

Back in the third century Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage wrote to his friend Donatus: "It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered, in the midst of it, a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians, and I am one of them.”

So what is the “great secret” of the “quiet and holy” people? It is found in the message of the advent candle we light this week: peace.   Jesus, our Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6) models for us what peace means.   The root meaning of the Hebrew word peace means “to be whole.” It is both an internal, personal state of being (i.e., calmness, freedom from anxiety, relaxed, blessed) and a social condition (absence of war and strife, people comfortable and at ease with each other). Peace is rooted and grounded in Jesus, in his actions, his teachings, the compassionate way he ministered to people. Everything Jesus did was to lead us to the wholeness, the abundance of life.” I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10).” The promise of abundant life is not abundance of material things. It is abundance of love and peace. Even in our imperfections, through Christ God’s peace radiates through us and touches the restless hearts of those around us. This happens without even speaking a word!

So as we follow Jesus on our Advent journey, we remember that Jesus knew a principle of peace that we often forget in our self-centeredness and focus to get ahead: It is this:

‎"People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used."

Remember the angel’s song on the night Jesus was born: it is God's purpose is for there to be peace on earth (Luke 2:13, 14). It begins with love. Love brings peace.

Yes, our age, like every age before, has its bad aspects. How then shall the world know wholeness? Abundance of  spirit? Security? Freedom from anxiety? Each one of us, in a “quiet and holy way” or in an exuberant, outspoken manner, must, this Advent season learn to love as Jesus, and let peace flow from our love to the hearts of those around us.

The grace and peace of Christ Jesus be with you!

P

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Advent 2: Cultivating Peace

12/6/2017

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"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matt. 5:17

Listen to: Maccabeats: "Candlelight"
enjoy this light-hearted fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJCSR4MuhU

Part of our Advent journey is cultivating peace. We are encouraged to forge peace is in all our relationships. With the eight-day feast of Hanukkah approaching next week on December 12, it is good for us to remember our ties to Judaism, the faith into which Jesus was born, from which Christianity takes its deepest roots .

It is interesting to note that Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication" or the "Festival of Lights," is not among the holidays God commanded Israel to celebrate in the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, we find only find one mention of the holiday in the Bible, in the Gospel of John: "Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon's porch." (John 10:22-23)

Hanukkah celebrates the victory of the Jewish people over King Antiochus Epiphanes from Greece, who tried to ruthlessly impose his religion and culture in 165 BCE. Hanukkah also celebrates the re-dedication of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

Prior to the reign of Antiochus, the Jews lived in relative peace under various rulers and kings. However, when Antiochus came to power, he placed many burdens upon the Jews. They had to pay high taxes. Antiochus tried to force them to replace their Jewish laws and traditions with Greek ones. Newly-appointed priests began to steal from the Temple and send precious gold and silver to Antiochus. The people were furious!

Fearing a revolt, Antiochus ordered his army to storm the Temple. They tore down the city walls and stripped the Temple of anything they could carry. The soldiers placed a Greek idol upon the golden altar and allowed pigs to run within the sacred grounds. Jews were threatened with death if they refused to worship the new idols. The soldiers drank the holy water and set fire to books containing holy writings. Amongst all the chaos, the oil in the lamp was spilled and the light in the Temple went out.

Because Antiochus had his army storm the Temple on the Sabbath, the Jews wouldn't fight back. Thousands were either killed or carried off and sold as slaves. However, a man named Matthias refused to obey the king's men. He took his five sons and others who would follow him into the mountains where they planned how they might regain their right to worship as they pleased. King Antiochus sent an army after them, but they were unsuccessful in defeating Matthias and his men. Under the direction of Matthias and then later his son, Judah, ordinary farmers and shepherds learned to fight like brave soldiers. Finally, after many battles, the king's army was beaten by Judah's men. Jews consider this to be the first miracle of Hanukkah.

The Maccabees, another name for Judah's army, returned to Jerusalem where they found their Temple abandoned and defiled. They immediately set forth to cleanse and rebuild the Temple. When it came time for its rededication, Judah and his men looked for oil to re-light the lamp, but they could only find enough for the lamp to burn for one day. However, the lamp continued to burn for eight days and nights until more oil was made. Jews consider this to be the second miracle of Hanukkah.

Jesus, the Light of the World, would have been familiar with this story, and the miracle of the lights. Hanukkah reminds us that each of us is a living temple (1 Cor. 6:19), with the Holy Spirit in residence in our hearts. This Advent, we need to rededicate ourselves to God — remove those elements foreign to a holy life and run contrary to God's will for us -- so God’s light can shine through our lives in order to touch others.

The miracle of the light reminds us of Jesus, who the prophets predicted would be, "a light to the Gentiles" whose salvation would reach "to the ends of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6).

A traditional Hanukkah hymn declares to God: "Rock of Ages, let our song praise thy saving power; thou admidst the raging foes wast our sheltering tower; furious they assailed us but thine arm availed us; and thy word broke their sword when our own strength failed us." How well these verses speak also to the saving power of Christ we need to recall as Christmas draws closer.

As our Jewish friends celebrate Hanukkah, let it be for us a reminder of why we celebrate Christmas: Jesus came to conquer the kingdoms of this world with all its power and principalities, and to set a light that would never be extinguished.

Let Hanukkah inspire us as we light our Advent candles, and pray for Christ’s light to shine brighter and deeper as we journey to Bethlehem to pay homage to our Prince of Peace.

http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-celebrations/hanukkah.html

PRAY: "Lord, You are the light of the world. May your light never go out in our hearts,and may it lead us to your path of Peace."

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Advent 1: God Breaks Through for Us

12/1/2017

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14 she [Tamar] put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. Genesis 38:14"

Listen to: The PianoGuys, "O Come, Emmanuel," https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7ySn-Swwc

Friends, this week was demanding! There were special projects every day. Meetings every night. It's like this at the end of every year -- have you noticed? Where does the time go in December?! It has gotten to the point that I might withdraw from Facebook for the season of Advent. I find that what precious time there is can disappear easily reacting to posts, clinking like, sharing items that touch me. However I have grown dissatisfied because the connection I seek is deeper. I realize the longing that is there cannot be satisfied so readily on Facebook. I need to find it listening to Jesus and what the scriptures say about him.

One way to draw closer to Jesus is to look at the women in Jesus' Genealogy. Did you know that women do not figure in ancient genealogies? They simply did not count. the geology of Jesus found in the gospel of Matthew is the exception. Five women are named there. Five!! The first one named is Tamar, and her story is found in Genesis 38. In brief, Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. Her husband, Judah's firstborn, died. By custom Tamar was given to the next son. But he too died. The youngest was promised to Tamar, but he was still young. So Judah sent her to her father's house, a widow and childless. There she was, forgotten.

It's hard for us to imagine, but Tamar had no power in this situation. It was up to Judah to give her to his last son, as was custom and the law of the clan, or to free her as a widow to remarry someone else. Judah did neither. In fact Judah calls her by a specific term, for widow which refers to a destitute widow, with no financial support and sends her back to live in her father's house. So Tamar's fate is dire. The years past. Tamar's life remains in limbo. A woman's identity in the ancient world came through marriage and child bearing. Tamar had neither - that made Tamar a nobody.

So Tamar did the unthinkable. She took her life and destiny into her hands. When she learns that the recently widowed Judah was going to the sheep shearing, she takes off her widow's garb, and veiled goes to Enain,which means the "opening of the eyes." Tamar's eyes are opened to how Judah wronged her. Matters take their course. Judah, thinking her a prostitute, engages her "services". They fix a price. Judah gives her a pledge for payment. After the Judah has relations with her, Tamar returns home and dresses as a widow again. Word gets out - Tamar is pregnant! She's played the harlot, people tell Judah with glee. With great self-righteousness, Judah demands her to be burned to death. Tamar sends him the pledge, and says, by the owner of these items am I pregnant. Judah's eyes are then opened -- and he recognizes the injustice done to Tamar. To his credit, Judah says "she is more right than I." Tamar goes on to give birth to twins, Zerah and Perez. Perez's name means "breach - breaker," "breaking through (an enclosure), breakthrough."

Tamar broke through the confines and oppression of her life. Perez broke through at birth, beating his twin to be firstborn. Perez became the line from which Jesus was born. Jesus, who is our Divine Breach-Breaker, breaking through to our world to free us from oppression and sin.

The story of Tamar is not a regular Sunday school lesson. It is a complex story, filled with unfamiliar customs,sexuality and scandal. Most important, it is a story that gives us hope and tells us something about Jesus. Jesus crossed boundaries to bring healing and wholeness. Jesus reached out to widows, prostitutes, the oppressed and embraced them. Tamar reminds us of God's actions:

God acts in a scandalous fashion in taking on human flesh, in being born of woman, of doing what it takes to break through, to right the wrongs, to turn us from a "nobody" to a "somebody" in God's eyes.

Like Tamar, may our eyes be opened and may we have the courage to act in justice and love, and live into the abundance of life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). Amen!

PRAY: "Holy Breach Breaker, breakthrough to our hearts, open our eyes and may we live the abundant life you call us to."

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Enjoying the Season of Christmas

Treasure Like Mary

December 13th, 2017

Advent 2: Cultivating Peace

Advent 1: God Breaks Through for Us

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