December 25, 2019

John 1:1-14

The result. The culmination. The denouement. The end.

Christmas day marks the end of the Advent journey. The journey we have taken as individuals and as members of various communities.

We take in the spirit of the season, the gratitude and giving, and hope against all hope that God’s grace and goodwill is permanent.

My prayer is this: that by reaching this season’s end we are all better equipped to begin again.

To begin each day, each conversation, each online interaction, each and every space not-yet-filled with empathy and kindness, and be the light that pours in to diffuse the darkness.

As the Word became flesh, may our inner light become life.

- STEPHEN MOSELEY

December 24, 2019

Luke 1:46-55

“My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed”The Book of Common Prayer

The Gospel of Luke tells us that Mary sang this song of praise upon the occasion of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is pregnant with Jesus, and Elizabeth is pregnant with John the Baptist. Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith, and Mary responds with what is now known as the Magnificat.

I have always loved music. Some of my earliest memories involve singing nursery rhymes. What little French I know I learned from singing Frere Jacques as a preschooler. As an adolescent, I sang along to all the pop songs on the radio. I listened for hours to my collection of records from the British Invasion years. If you play the opening chord to A Hard Day’s Night, I immediately know the melody and words that follow. I sometimes feel like I have cluttered my memory banks with too much pop music. Like an earworm, the words and chords of silly love songs are imprinted in my mind. Later in life, I developed a better taste in music and learned to appreciate Jazz, Blues, and even a little bit of classical music, but those simple tunes from my youth still make me want to break into song whenever I hear them.

Musical favorites tap into deep memories. As my mother slid into the fog of dementia in her final months, I connected with her by singing old hymns and choruses. She knew the words and melody, though she remembered little else. Her eyes lit up when we sang those familiar songs.

My Bible calls this passage from Luke, “Mary’s Song.” Theologians tell us that the writer inserted this hymn in this passage, and the early Christians probably knew it well. So, we have a record of one of the earliest known Christian hymns. We don’t know the melody from the early church, but this passage has been put to music and sung in church for centuries. Rachmaninoff, Bach, Vivaldi, Rutter, and countless other composers have written music to these words.

As you read this passage, think of Mary, the mother of Jesus, bursting into praise and worship as she responds to her cousin’s blessing. Think of the first-century church, gathering in homes and small places, singing together this familiar hymn that became part of Luke’s story of Jesus’s birth. Think of Christians through the ages singing of Mary and her hymn of praise. Think how, through all the years of our lives, sacred music is still is a form of praise and prayer, a way to connect with God and with each other.

~ Jack Wallace

December 23, 2019

Luke 1:39-45

Mary Visits Elizabeth

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

December 22, 2019

Luke 1:26-38

The AnnunciationLuca Giordano

She was just a young girl from a small town, engaged to a carpenter.  What a shock it must have been for Mary when the angel appeared.

Gabriel said, “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.”  Mary must have wondered, “What is happening? What does this mean?” The angel was reassuring and told her not to be afraid. But how could it be that she, a virgin, would be the mother of the holy child who would be called the Son of God?

So much to ponder, so much to fear, but Gabriel declared that “nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary believed in God’s redeeming goodness and she answered God’s call to deliver and nurture our savior when she said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

Gracious God,  

In wonder we praise you and we give you thanks for all the possibilities you provide.  Help us to share your good news with assurance and care like Gabriel did.  And help us to be faithful servants like Mary, full of faith and courage and grace.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray.  Amen.

~ Rachel Eva Dixon

December 21, 2019

Micah 5:2-5

So-o-o, what is pleasing to God?

It seems to me that this scripture makes very clear that a messenger will be sent to influence, teach, guide, and shape us into newness and awareness. This messenger is a gift to us.  It seems that then our presented moral and justifiable lives will be offerings —————-pleasing to the Lord.

So maybe a life full of love and justice and “proper” intentions, decisions, and actions (a moral life) please the Lord.  You think?

~ Anonymous

December 20, 2019

Luke 3:7-18

Do, not only for yourself, but for others as well. John speaks to the people telling them there is more to life than just hoping to have your sins washed away through baptism. People must live a life that isn’t only self-serving but also serves others. In 2019, we have more ways than ever to tell others about ourselves, buy things for ourselves, promote ourselves, all at the click of a button. Sometimes we get lost in wanting to display our accomplishments to our closest friends and family or ask others for help when we are in need. But what do we do for others with this platform? It is also easier than ever to ask for help for others, donate your time or money, and give back to our communities. While we may not be literally giving the shirt off our backs to our neighbors in need, modern technology can send gallons of water to a town in crisis, donate pre-made meals to families who are hungry and fund animal rescues with the click of a button. To truly live a life that is full and worth living, we must not only worry about ourselves but continue to live a life of service and give to our neighbors.

~ Catie Branson

December 19, 2019

Isaiah 61:10-11

This passage begins with rejoicing in God which I read as gratitude. It moves on to images and metaphors of what the authorʼs rejoicing is all about. We all have much for which to be grateful, regardless of our health and circumstance. Most of us have family, friends and our church family as some of many blessings in our lives. The passage likens these gifts of God as garments, clothing, adornments, protection. Certainly we can feel protection and adornment from these divine gifts. The passage then moves to a garden image, that Godʼs goodness will rise up as shoots in a garden. Believing this takes patience, especially this time of year when gardens are dormant and we may have difficulty seeing Godʼs goodness in our world. The author of this passage invites us to believe that what God has sown in the garden will spring up later for all to see. One point here is that a God is reaching toward us, loving us and causing righteousness to rise in the world. The question is what is our part in all of this? I think our part is to keep sowing seeds of gratitude and goodness. And also to keep believing that what is sown will grow. In Advent we are waiting, but not passively doing nothing, but actively being grateful for the gifts of God and sowing seeds to grow into blessings in Godʼs time, and believing in Godʼs goodness and caring for all of creation, especially and particularly for each of us.

~ Joyce Crowell

December 18, 2019

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24

For years, this has been my favorite scripture.  I think God saved it for me, because it was Monday before I got the famous high-tech clipboard that passed through the congregation on Sunday morning.  With only four scriptures left to choose from, my favorite was one!

I love this scripture , because it offers wonderful concise , succinct lessens for life. I have read many versions of this scripture, and chose the following simple list for these life lessons.

• be cheerful.....no matter what

• pray all the time

• thank God no matter what happens

• these are ways he wants us to live

• don’t suppress the spirit 

• don’t stifle those who have a word from God

• don’t be gullible 

• check out everything 

• keep only what is good 

• throw out anything tainted with evil

• May God make our spirit, soul, and body whole and holy 

• God is completely dependable 

• what he gives us in word, he will do it.          

Some of these are harder to grasp than others, i.e. thank God no matter what happens; and how does God make my spirit, soul, and body whole and holy?

Therein, it seems, is yet one more lesson!

WE have never had all the answers, even the time of His birth, but the scripture (vs 18) says these are ways he wants us to live.  For God (vs 23) to make my spirit, soul and body whole and holy is a great miracle. This season surrounds us with the reflection of the great miracle in our lives.  Thus, 

(Vs 24) God is completely dependable. What a lesson!!!

~ Lydia Grubb

December 17, 2019

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Approaching the third Sunday of Advent, we focus on the theme of Joy!  As we see in this exhortation, this joy is not to be subdued, quiet or dignified!  What a story of God in history this passage is. God is seen as forgiver, comforter and protector, a warrior who give us strength in trials toward victory!  God is seen as (truly in a prophetic sense looking forward towards the time the Comforter will come….) one who, as the shepherd, brings wholeness to those who are the oppressed and outcasts  and will soon gather us all into his fortune and kingdom. We are reminded here that from the days of David (King of Israel) to the time “he will renew you in his love” through Jesus Christ, God, along with us, will rejoice!  Yes God rejoices here as well being moved and affected by our actions through history and the redemption soon to come. We join in this celebration knowing God incarnate is coming to bring this joy into total fruition.    

~ Lester McNatt

December 16, 2019

Luke 1:68-79

This scripture passage is often called Zechariah’s song or the Benedictus.  This ”poem” in some ways parallels  that of Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). 

When Zechariah recovers his voice after the birth of his son John, he immediately begins to prophecy and praise God for His blessings on Israel and His blessings on his son, John, the Baptist. 

In verse 79 we read of God’s blessings of light to all who are in darkness and the shadow of death. We rejoice to know that God’s blessings of compassion, guidance, and mercy are with us as we seek the “path of peace.”Prayer: Merciful God, we praise and thank you for showing us your ways on our Advent journey along the path leading us to your peace, the peace of Christ!  Amen.

~ Julia Callaway

December 15, 2019

Isaiah 61:1-4

We usually find it far easier to think about what other people ought to do than to assume responsibility for what we ought to do.  These prophetic words from Isaiah clearly focus on the tougher task!  “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me…”  Not only is the spirit “upon me,” but my actions implicit in the spirit are spelled out: “bring good tidings to the afflicted; bind up the broken-hearted; proclaim liberty to the captives; comfort all who mourn.”  As we live through this time of Advent, these words move us beyond the seasonal joys of holiday food, music and decorations. They move us into a continuous world of acting upon that spirit with which we have been anointed.   Tools for us to use are described:  “a garland instead of ashes; the oil of gladness instead of mourning; the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.” If we think carefully, we can make each these very, very real in our 2019 world!  And what if we were to do this? Isaiah says it would be as if “oaks of righteousness” were to “raise up…and repair…the devastations of many generations.” Can there be anything more important than work such as this?  

~ Ed Cole

December 14, 2019

~ Karl Edward-Velez (Linda Brandau’s grandson)

December 13, 2019

Malachi 3:1-4

The scripture today foretells the coming of the Son of God. Malachi, whose name means “my messenger,” is the first messenger in the passage. He says a second messenger will come to prepare the way for God’s son. Scholars believe the second messenger is John the Baptist. Malachi asks “who can endure the day of His coming?” referring to the coming of Christ.

Malachi says “He is like a refiner’s fire.” The fire burns hot removing impurities from the gold or silver, but it does not consume the metal nor destroy it. It purifies the silver even as we will be purified. The launderer’s soap cleans or bleaches fabric with our destroying the fabric, as followers will be cleansed.

Today, most of us are familiar with this passage of scripture because of its being in Part I, Scene 2 of Handel’s Messiah. Powerful music underlies the power of the coming of God in the form of Jesus, not as a babe in swaddling clothes, but rather as a purifying fire that will cleanse Judah and Jerusalem and future generations. God is unchangeable and we will be refined to become like Christ. Thanks be to God!

~ Pat Cole

December 12, 2019

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love” goes a popular song from the sixties.  The apostle Paul would have agreed with at least the opening line as he exhorted the church at Thessalonica to “increase and abound in love for one another and for all.”  On Sunday mornings I experience that love and the joy that accompanies it as we worship together.

But love is not really love until we express it by our actions.  What does love in action look like?

It’s that check you wrote to Week of Compassion, the meal you prepared for Room in the Inn.  It’s the note you wrote to someone fighting a serious illness or to someone who has lost a loved one.  It’s the protest you made to some injustice in the world.  And it’s even the smile you gave a perfect stranger on your walk because the day was beautiful and because it was good for both of you to be alive to enjoy it.

But what does love have to do with holiness?  Everything.  To find the strength to do God’s will, to follow his Son, Jesus Christ, requires that we love God “with all [our] heart, and with all [our] soul, and with all [our] strength.”  (And don’t forget the part about “your neighbor as yourself.”)

~ Sara Tarpley

December 11, 2019

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the PROMISE I made to the house of Israel and to Judah…

Promise.  An Eternal Covenant.

Throughout each year, we may personally experience times of despair, disappointment, or hardship.  As well, we encounter moments of joy, celebration, and gratitude.  Through God’s righteous branch sprung up for David, we are blessed with a sacrificial love that helps sustain us through each moment of life.

As well, when we witness despair among our neighbors, strangers and friends, may we respond with the love learned not only from God, but from God’s Son who walked among humanity and taught charity, hope, compassion, and forgiveness.  All is not lost, and may the Star of David be our guide to peace, hope, and unity.

Prayer

God of Promise, with Thanksgiving we come to you, grateful for your love and devotion to ALL of your creation.  We are thankful for the blessings you bestow upon us, both seen and unseen.  May we return our gratitude by worshipping you, and by caring for those around us, with compassion and arms wide open.  Amen.

~ Heather Hendrickson

December 10, 2019

Luke 21:25-36

Stay aware, things are changing. What a warning. 

Sometimes it doesn't feel like things are changing fast enough. 

Only the love I share is permanent. One brick in the kingdom. 

But I still honk my horn. Stay aware. The lights are changing.

Only the hope I offer will outlast. Heaven and Earth. 

But I still avert my eye. Sorry sir, no pocket changing.  

I wrote down "radical empathy" yesterday. Lord let the words leap off the page and into my heart. Amen.   

~ Doug Branson

December 9, 2019

2 Peter 3:8-15a

"How to Wait for the End of the World (and God's New Beginning)"

On my first reading of this text, Ch. 3, Vs 7 leapt out at me.... that our present heavens and earth have been reserved for Fire on the last day. I thought of the destruction and loss of life in Paradise, California, and the huge sections of fires presently burning on nearly all the earth's continents. Then the writer described the scoffers in the last days, who deliberately ignored that by the Word of God, the world of Noah's time was deluged with water and all perished.  

Is this scripture telling us that the global warming events we are experiencing the beginning of the End times that the Biblical texts warned us about eons ago?   Yikes!  

But then the writer began teaching us in his next paragraph...God's sense of time is so different from ours, God has been patient with us, giving us time to wake up, and repent, before the last days. Yes, our heavens and earth will pass away, dissolved in fire, but because of God's promise to us of a new heaven and a new earth, We have hope that we will be saved somehow, that we must patiently wait as well, striving to continue to follow God's path, and understand that God's patience with time is actually our salvation.  The writer says we are forewarned by all these signs, and exhorts us to continue to work to follow the way, growing in grace,....  even as our earth's times, "they are a-changin" .    

~ Marjorie Taggert

December 8, 2019

Isaiah 40:1-11

Has there ever been a more joyous utterance by any of God's prophets?

Has there ever been a message of such trust and hope?

Has there ever been a prophecy that has meant so much on so many levels?

These eleven verses mark the beginning of a thrilling outburst by the second of the biblical poets writing under the prophetic persona of Isaiah. The story told by the first Isaiah ended with the foolishness of King Hezekiah almost daring his surrounding enemies to attack the nation, confiscate the riches of his kingdom, and despoil the house of God. Hezekiah's kingdom was rich and ruled by a complacent power structure that had forgotten its duty to its people and misapprehended the promises that God would secure the future of the house of David. Trusting in its own strength and alliances, the southern kingdom, the kingdom of Judah, was overtaken by the overwhelming power of Babylon. Not only was this conquest a matter of military might, it was a conquest of culture and outlook for the future as well. The sons of the kingdom, in all ways that the concept meant, were taken away to become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Babylon had secured its domination in place and time, but it did not reckon with the God who mastered space, having created it, and an eternal God who was not bound with the chains of time. God calls his prophet to proclaim a new exodus, a new journey of discovery. Even in places impassable and tortured, God will lead those who will follow seeking God's glory.

It is interesting that, in the middle of this great outburst, the prophet calls on the people to consider their own weaknesses. "All flesh is grass." "The grass withers, the flower fades." God's purposes have a longer, more eternal view. Indeed, the wills of the remnant who returned following the prophets call faded like flowers in a desert wind. Those returning from Babylon could not recreate by themselves a society in which the glory of God could be revealed in both the great and everyday aspects of life.

It is a peculiarity of prophecy that it is internally reinforcing. The warnings of human impotence compared with the power of God give truth to the positive promises of support and care. From the earliest days of the Christian faith, followers of Jesus have seen in his gospel and his promises, the fulfillment of this second Isaiah's prophecies. In each of the gospels, in two letters of Paul, in writings from the tradition of Peter, even in the apocalyptic visions of the Revelation to John, these verses are summoned to prove God's care for his people. Isaiah's vision of a powerful God becoming a tender shepherd is the very archetype of the Jesus who heals, teaches, guides, comforts and overcomes. 

In our Advent journey let us not be Hezekiahs, complacently trusting in our own power and our own imperfect understanding. Let it be our prayer to follow God's path through life's wildernesses. Let us accept God's level ways. Let us feel comfort in being carried and led.  

~ Larry Adams

December 7, 2019

James 5:7-10

James teaches patience of several different kinds in this short passage. The first metaphor we receive is an agricultural one, which reminds us to “stand firm” and let our reward, or harvest, come to us when it  is the right time. James reminds us that our life on Earth is only temporary, and compared to spending eternity in perfect community with God, our life here is only a season. Because of this, we should not waste our time arguing with our own siblings within our community. God is a perfect and loving judge, and justice will prevail after all. We should, instead, seek unity as siblings in the body of Christ. When we are patient with one another, we set an example of love for others to follow. This is not normal in our Western self-centered culture. Living a life modelled after Christ will attract negative attention from time to time. During these trials, we are tasked with patience. Our reward is coming near.

~ Quentin Flowers

December 6, 2019

Isaiah 35:1-10

Over the past week I read aloud Isaiah 35 two or three times a day.  I identified very much with Isaiah’s references to the dry desert and the gift of blossoms brought by rainfall.  Living in the dry desert- like Panhandle of Texas from birth to my mid twenties, I get the descriptions of a barren land.

Isaiah’s description of the human conflicts in the ancient Middle East is too similar to the horrors and images we see today on our screens.

This week the prophet Isaiah has given me hope.  Yes, he describes for ancient Israel a God who will not be mocked, but also a God who will not abandon them. This is the news we desperately seek today from Damascus to Brownsville as mothers and fathers seek refuge for themselves and their children in a chaotic world.

Let us each give Isaiah an opportunity during this Advent season to reintroduce to us the hope from the desert with abundant blossoms along our journey.  We are being reminded that we are recipients of joy and mercy…...hallelujah!

I offer my gratitude to the words of the prophet Isaiah which reveal a God of gladness and joy!

~ Carol Doidge