Epiphany Sunday

Our readings for Epiphany Sunday are:

1. Isaiah 60: 1-6
   
2. Psalms 72: 1-2, 7-8, 109-11, 12-13
3. Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6
   
4. Matthew 2: 1-12
   

• Brother are you saved?
  
• Growing up in a Protestant Evangelical church as I did, we occasionally would foray out into the unsuspecting public to spread the Gospel.  Being an introvert made me ill-suited to such goings on, but I gave it the "old college try anyway".  One slogan that we would occasionally see was "Jesus is the answer!"
  
• If Jesus is the answer, what's the question?
• Who are some people in your life that you know would be happier if they were in relationship with Jesus?
• How do you think they might be drawn to Jesus?
• How do you think that Jesus might call you to be part of that call in their life?
  

• The art of the possible
  
• On occasion, you'll hear politics described as the art of the possible.  Or it's described as the second oldest profession.  Not sure which is a better description.
• As Christians, what should we expect from our governmental leaders?
• How can we hold them accountable for that?
• How are we called to participate in the governing process?
• How much justice can we expect to see in our lifetime?
  

• Just because you're saved, does that make you my brother?
  
• It's hard relating to other people when they are very different from us.  We can be judgemental, thinking to ourselves that they could easily enjoy a much better life if they just tried harder.  It's hard to remember that they are just as much God's children as we are.
• Think of someone who you know to be close to God, yet very different from you.
• How are the two of you different?
• How are you the same?
• How much do those differences matter?
• Do you think God cares?
  

• God, are you there?
  
• It's easy to envy the 12 disciples, Moses, anyone who has had a close encounter with God.  It would be so much easier if we were able to be face to face with Him, converse easily and naturally with Him, know what He wants in our lives without ambiguity or uncertainty.
• What are some of the ways that God speaks to you?
• Can His communication always be put into words?
• How successful have you been in finding god's will for your life?
• How do you know?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How might God be calling me to bring His children home?
• How might God be calling me to partner with Him in bringing about justice?
• Where might God be calling me to be more inclusive?
• Am I open to God's communication to/with/through me?
  

The Life Well Pondered

We had guests today.
They were totally unexpected, at least to Joseph and me.
Jesus didn't have much to say on the matter.

Custom demanded that we extend hospitality to them.
Joseph washed their feet while I prepared some food.
I overheard them speaking to Joseph of their quest.

At first, I scarce knew who they were speaking of.
Our little boy, still a toddler, hardly seemed a king.
But they were sure that they were in the right place.

And I had to realize that Joseph and I were in the right place.
As chaotic as our lives have been, they led us here, together.
To fulfill a purpose that unfolds in its own patient way.

Revealing God's love for all of us
In ways that no one has ever seen before.
In a place and time no one would ever have believed.

We ate with our guests, and marveled
That they were just like us in many ways.
Hungry, travel-weary, unsure of what to think.

But all of us there, open to God's ongoing creation.
Taking our place in that eternal story.
And finding peace and joy along the way.

Soon, they left us.  And I wondered -
Whether they will forever be transformed by this encounter.
Whether we would be transformed as well.

And whether every encounter could be transformative in our lives.

Shalom!

Holy Family Sunday

Our readings for Holy Family Sunday of Advent are:

1. 1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28
   
2. Psalms 84: 2-3, 5-6, 9-10
3. 1 John 3: 1-2, 21-24
   
4. Luke 2: 41-52
   

• We are all dedicated
  
• The Bible is full of people of great purpose, whose lives were dedicated to God's service:  Noah, Moses, Abraham, Samuel, David, Ruth, Deborah the prophet, Mary, ...  We all in some way benefit from their ministries, but they can be a little scary.  We wonder, just how disruptive to my current way of life might God be?
• When you meet someone new and start talking about yourself, what is the first thing that comes up?  Is it your job, where you're going to school, your dreams and aspirations, your faith?
• What does that tell you about your priorities?
• Do you expect to keep doing what you are doing until you cannot do it anymore, or do you think that there are changes ahead in your life?
• How will you know for sure?
  

• Where is everyone?
  
• Certainly a church standing empty can be a profound place for meditation.  The celebrations that have happened there through the years soak into the walls and woodwork in some mystical way, and faint echos of the loud hosannas through the decades can still be heard.  And yet ...
• Who do you miss that you no longer see?  They may have died, left the area, stormed out of the local church in protest, or stored out of Church period.  Maybe they are folks that God is calling today, and we have not met yet.
  
• How were you welcomed into your present church/Church?
• What parts of that original welcome are still with you today?
• How might you share that welcome and belonging with others?
  

• We don't belong here
  
• I have a friend, whose children are all grown and out of the house, and who has very few family nearby.  Each Thanksgiving, he & his wife invite folks to their home who have nowhere else to go for Thanksgiving, and give them a place to belong, even if only for one evening.
• Ultimately, where do you belong?
• What are some communities where you belong here in your life?
• What has your membership in those communities taught you?
• How might they have prepared you for heaven?
  

• Jesus has left the building
• God has a way of failing to match our expectations.  Hopefully, when that happens in our lives, we can learn from that.  And just maybe, the very act of seeking Him is, itself, a form of prayer.
• When you have sought God in your life, what were you seeking?  Was it a closer walk with God, a better relationship with your spouse, guidance for a tough decision?
• Where/when/who did you find God in that encounter?
• Is it always that way for you?  Is there just one place/time/person where we can find God?
• How has the act of seeking God in your life changed you?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How might I become more in the image of God?
  
• Who in my life needs a warm welcome to the people of God, from me?
  
• Where is God drawing me into deeper community?
  
• Where is God in my life?
  

He's All Grown Up

 

I can still remember changing His swaddling clothes when He was an infant.

Feeling His warm breath on my cheek when I would hold Him after nursing Him.

Feeling His heart beating so close to mine, and knowing peace like no other.

 

When Joseph and I first realized that He had not left the Holy City with the caravan,

We panicked.  There was no one to go back to Jerusalem with us, no comforting companions.

We were on our own through those treacherous trails.  But we had no choice.

Jerusalem never looked so vast as it did when we were seeking our lost boy there.

Joseph and I so distraught that we could not speak to each other.

Each of us fearing the worst.

Finally, we sought Him in the Temple.  At least we could pray for him there.

And we heard His still new man voice among the learned teachers.

At first, I was horrified that He dared to disturb their sacred deliberations.

But we stopped, and listened to what was going on, and were amazed.

Each time that He spoke, there was silence, a pondering of what He said.

Not dismissal.

And I knew then that my boy had somehow, without asking permission, become a man of God.

And I knew that things between us would never be the same.

And I knew what I did not know: His future and mine.

The joy of finding Him mixed with the fear of losing Him.

My words were sharp and angry.

And I wondered that day why I had responded that way.

He was never really ours from the beginning.

His a life consecrated from the beginning.

So like my life, Joseph's and yours.

Welcome to our family.

Shalom!

3rd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Third Sunday of Advent are:

1. Zephaniah 3: 14-18a
   
2. Psalms 12: 2-3, 4, 5-6
3. Philippians 1: 4-5, 8-11
   
4. Luke 3: 10-18
   

• Receiving God's love
  
• Unconditional love is oftentimes hard to accept.  We are so conditioned to receive the deserved promotion, the recognition that we have coming to us, the favored position at the table that we worked so hard for.  But we can never deserve the very best things in life, they come to us free from the hand of God.
• If you were to describe God's face as He looks at you, what expression do you think He is wearing?
• How does that make you feel?
• Why do you think that God feels that way about you?
• How does that make you feel about Him?
  

• Finding courage
  
• Courage is a virtue that all of us admire, but few of us feel that we have.
• When is a time that you needed courage to do/say the right thing?
• What were you afraid of would happen if things did not work out properly?
• How/where did you find the courage?
• Did you feel lonely, or did you feel supported?
• Where was God in all of that?
  

• Prayer seasons
  
• Prayer is a tough thing for many of us to find time for.  It is hard to quantify, the benefits are nearly impossible to measure, and it's oftentimes hard to do.  What's not to love about time in prayer?
• Where does the majority of your prayer time go?
• Do you have a list of things that you ask for?
• Or maybe events/outcomes that you long to see?
• Do you pray for God to change everyone else?
• Or do you pray for changes in/to your heart?
• Does God always answer your prayer that way that you were hoping for?
• Why is that?
  

• How then shall we live?
• John the Baptist was doubtless a rather obscure, fringe element to most of the established religious authorities of his day.  No seminary training, no lofty family background, no established credentials to convince anyone that he had any great insights.  Yet he was God's instrument to bring God's children to repentance.
• How do you come to the knowledge that you need to repent of something?
• Why do you think that God speaks to you/us in that way?
• If you had a choice, how would you rather that God spoke to you?
• Would you listen any better?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• How might I become more in the image of God?
  
• Where might God be calling me to take courage in the face of a difficulty?
  
• How is God calling me to deeper prayer?
  
• Where is God calling me to examine my actions and motives?
  

The Jordan is Muddy

My friends had told me that John the Baptist was changing lives in the desert.
And mine certainly needed changing.

Cynical, angry, bitter, and just plain tired.
I hadn't shown kindness to anyone in ages.

Everyone around me had long ago lapsed into silence.
It was easier that way.

Otherwise, I was likely to give them a baleful stare.
Or a cutting remark about how little they knew.

My friends told me that I'd find peace with John.
But when I asked them to come with me, they said this as a journey alone.

Sand got into my shoes, my shirt, scoured my feet.
Soon I was looking for shade from the burning sun.

As I got closer to the head of the throng, I could hear him.
Giving each a word to get them started on the right path.

And I wondered what mine would be.
And then I heard him say to me:

"Walk along the riverbank, alone, uncharted.
Until you learn to treasure this moment, and then the one after that, and the one after that.

Forget about tomorrow, it will come when it comes."
"Should I forget the sand in my shoes?" I asked mockingly.

"Rejoice in the sand, exult in the heat, accept it all as gift.
Then come back again for the gift of baptism.

For then you will have learned how to be grateful for what you have -
And who you are.

Shalom!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Our readings for the Second Sunday of Advent are:

1. Baruch 5: 1-9
   
2. Psalms 126: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
3. Philippians 1: 4-5, 8-11
   
4. Luke 21: 25-28, 34-36
   

• Looking forward
  
• This time of year is all about arrivals, blessings that God has been preparing for us for a long time, and which are now about to come to fruition.  God asks His people to accept His blessings in faith before we can see them.
• What are some unexpected blessings that have come in your life from God's hand?
• When did you understand that God was going to give those blessings to you?
• How did God prepare you to receive them?

• Finding joy, even when you don't expect it
• You could define the joy of the lord as "the gladness of heart that comes of knowing God, abiding in Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit."
• Can you think of a time when you have felt that sort of joy?
• What was the occasion that made you feel that way?
• What has to be present in your life in order to find such joy?
• Do you feel that such joy is in God's plan for all of us?
  

• Partners in the Gospel
  
• None of us ministers alone.  Often we find partners in unexpected places and times, performing services that we never knew were needed.
• Who are some of the partners in your ministries through the years?
• How have they transformed you in your work together?
• Do you think that you have been transformative to anyone else?
• Why?
  

• How is Jesus coming today?
  
• God moves without a great deal of fanfare.  By contrast, sports figures, entertainers, politicians each make quite a stir when they arrive at a scene.  Anything that they do is newsworthy.  Everyone wants to know everything about these famous ones.  And yet, beneath the surface, where only the humble have the eyes to see, God is at work.
• In these times of turmoil, where do you see God moving?  Maybe its a relationship that is finding healing, or someone who was on the margins gradually being recognized and being invited into the community.  Maybe God moving shows Himself in a deepening prayer life, or a growing sense of joy.
• Where would you like to see God moving?  Where is healing needed in your life or the life of your family, our parish?
• What must we do to prepare for that advent?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
• Where do I need to be more open to God's movement in my life?
  
• Is God offering me joy that I'm unaware of?
  
• How is God asking me to partner with others in ministry?
  
• Where is God moving in my life today?
  

God's Midwife

I never thought much about the life of a midwife.

Ushering new life into this world, yet having nothing to do with its beginning.

Ready to press a cold compress to a worried brow.

Ready to hold the hand of a mother in anguish.

Ready to give the brooding father something to do so that he feels useful.

 

My God is looking for another sort of birth:

A birth of hope in the breast of His children.

Hope that, despite their captivity, they can be free.

Despite their despair they can step into their true destiny.

Despite their cold, cynical heart, they can deeply experience God's infinite love.

 

God of my fathers

Kindle in me the fires of your passion -

For all of your beloved that you bring into my life.

Help me to accept them as you do.

And set aside my fear of those who are different from me.

That I might find your joy of heart in their celebration of your Advent.

Shalom!