1st Sunday of Advent

Our readings for 1st Sunday of Advent are:

1. Isaiah 63: 16b-17, 19b; 64: 2-7
2. Psalms 80: 2-3, 15-167, 18-19
3. 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9
4. Mark 13:33-37

• Lord show yourself
• Let's face it, humility can be annoying.  It would be so much simpler if God would do something dramatic, prove that He's here among us, and show those foolish heathen who's boss so the rest of us can get some peace.  If only.
• What, in your personal experience of God, has been truly awesome?
• Have you, do you tell anyone about that event?
• Why or why not?
• Why do you think God chooses to be anonymous?

• The God of second chances
• Giving someone a second chance is dangerous.  They could disappoint us again, make us look foolish to friends and family alike, break our hearts.
• Can you think of a time when God called you, you declined, and you got a second chance?
• Why do you think that God bothers?
• Can you think of any times in which you gave anyone else a second chance?
• Why is that?

• Ready
• Jesus sent His disciples out to tell the world about Him, and I'm sure that at least a few of those early apostles thought "you have got to be kidding!"
• Have you ever accepted a call of some sort and felt unready?
• How much more time, more training, more study would you have needed at that time before you really felt ready?
• Why do you think God pushes us into the deep end like that?

• Each with his own work
• I invite you to look here, and read about the power of having a purpose?
• Why do you think that you were put here?
• If God came to you and asked you what purpose you wanted in life, what would that be?
• What makes you so sure that's not your purpose?

• Preparation for Reconciliation:

1. How can I show the glory of God?
2. Where is God calling me to show His mercy?
3. Where might God be calling me to step out of my comfort zone?
4. What is God's calling in my life?

Is there a poet in the house?

We have all seen those dramas where disaster strikes,

Someone desperately needs medical attention,

Too soon to get them to a hospital.

And the plaintive call goes out "is there a doctor in the house."

There once was a young man, humble of circumstances and attitude,

Who loved to connect with those around him.

Put him alone in a train station, and within minutes,

There would be a small swarm of folks wanting to talk to him.

He never took notice, he was always just glad

That no matter where he went, he was never alone,

He always found other's stories so very interesting.

He would remember them in detail for months and months.

And when someone would share their story, 

He could recall another story very like it.

And he would share that other story with his companion,

And they would feel a kinship, a community,

That had never been there for them before.

Depending on the story that he shared, he would weep,

Rejoice, laugh, sometimes even sing a little,

Whatever the moment seemed to call for in the telling.

Finally, an old friend of his asked him

"What are your stories, what have you experienced?"

To which he said "oh, nothing worth telling really.

Except maybe how folks encourage each other who've never met."

"But how do you decide what to share with someone.

How do you know what to tell them?"

To which the young man said "I am but a mirror,

Reflecting back to them how much they matter."

"This exchange that I have, one story for another,

Is just my way of celebrating the meaning of the life in front of me,

And the story that I have heard elsewhere.

A building of community one experience at a time.

The beauty is that I never am poorer for giving myself away.

My listeners always give me more than I can ever offer.

I make no grand conclusions,

I don't change anyone's mind.

I just help them see their own life in a larger frame,

Get their attention out of the "right this minute"

And soar a little, even just a minute.

To know that they are not alone, have never been alone."

I had to go.  A little girl was waiting impatiently.

To tell him about a tooth that she had lost.

And he listened with rapt attention,

Taking it all in, applauding her courage and tenacity.

That young man helped others to see the meaning

In and of their lives, whether they knew it or not.

His was the ministry of being a poet, without fanfare.

And a community growing by the day.

Shalom!