A Roman Holiday

Dreaming is the deepest rest we get at night, or if you're like me, it's the deepest rest we get early in the morning before awakening. I was privileged to be with a unique group earlier, one of whose members was proud to have awakened at the ungodly early hour of 9:00. She usually sleeps much later, apparently. (We met at 10:30 and I was barely out of the shower and dried, so no judgments here. But that's just me.)

Depending on stage of life we're probably all pretty different when it comes to rising time and bed time. A friend of mine who has four children has had to teach them that they can stay in their beds until Mommy gets up at 6:00 when the big hand is on the 12 and the little hand is on the 6. College age dictates another strategy altogether depending on when one's first class convenes.

It's difficult to keep from judging others for their habits of rising and lying down, especially those of us whose habits were formed in the agrarian traditions once associated with cow milking and field working. We know only dark o'clock as a rising time. So it's possible to engage in dreaming anytime, and for some of us, anywhere.

Paul was a dreamer, but also one of the toughest believers and hardest workers who ever lived. Most of us would never have heard of Jesus or seen a Bible had it not been for his indefatigable evangelism. Paul stayed up all night sometimes singing hymns, especially if he was in jail. Here's one he liked; why not pray it with him:

Prayer: " “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”

¹⁰ Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹ And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”

During the week of the Shepherd's candle it's great to think of those shepherds who worked hard, like Paul, to bring the light of God in Christ to us. The above scripture comes to us from Romans, Paul's letter to the church in Rome. Paul may have written it dreaming of the day when all within the Empire of Rome could be ruled by the descendant of Jesse and David.

Paul envisioned an ever-widening understanding of the gospel unlimited by tribe or territory. He wrote as one who dreamed of times when those who did not have the opportunity to see Jesus for himself would read and understand. He wrote boldly, so that we may be emboldened.

Romans 15:14-21 (New International Version, ©2010)

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴ I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. ¹⁵ Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. ¹⁸ I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. ²¹ Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”

Think back for a moment to those whose work provided a foundation for your present faith. Was it a grandparent? A Sunday school teacher whose name is now forgotten to all but God? Is it a friend who invited you to accompany them to church one Christmas in the distant past of your life?

Prayer: Quietly thank God for bringing this person into your life. If you were to dedicate a hymn or a Christmas song just for them, what would it be?

(This is never a competition, but just for fun, hum the hymn or carol randomly today. For extra credit, notice whether you capture any weird looks from those around you. Don't tell them how much fun this is. Just kidding, the only extra credit is what you give yourself- just for making yourself smile!)

For further reading today,

Psalm 21

Isaiah 41:14-20

Romans 15:14-21

Peace.

Re-WHAT?

December 6, 2010

Welcome to Monday. Does it seem as if it’s here awfully soon this week? It does to me. We had a weekend of art this weekend, going to San Francisco to see the Musee d’Orsay exhibit of the Post-Impressionists at the DeYoung museum on Friday, with a stop Saturday at the Bedford Gallery in Walnut Creek for an exhibition of New Deal Art. Sunday after church I went to the Davis Art Center’s Holiday art Sale, and Monday will work at the Sac City College Holiday Art Sale. Whew! Lots and lots of art, some incredible and some not so much. Days full of art.

Suffice to say, nothing much got done around the house for three days as art sucked up every minute. I have something to say about that, but not until after today’s scripture, which features John the Baptist’s testimony. You are invited to center, light a candle, perhaps, and breathe deeply.

Prayer: “God, it is with no small amount of anticipation and yet some anxiety that we hear words that challenge us. Help us to hear the prophet, John, with our very hearts. Amen.”

Matthew 3:1-12 (New International Version, ©2010)

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

I wonder if any of us has been called a “brood of vipers” lately, like the Pharisees and Sadducees? I don’t think prophets run around in camel hair and animal skins calling the educated professional class vipers much these days. I’m willing to overlook the insult, however, because the one thing in this scripture that really hits home with me this year is the order to repent.

In the sermon at church Sunday morning, our pastor preached about the need for worship to be passionate, and he mentioned that we will worship something (sometimes anything) for we were made to worship, even if that something is not God. Something clicked with me around this. It struck me that in some ways we worship our very busyness during this season! No, no way! Aren’t we trying to unload some of the busyness and don’t we want a more reflective, contemplative Christmastime?

Well, I don’t think we really do. At least, not on some levels. When we fill up all the days and hours we are at least partially claiming the time all to our own pursuits and away from communing with worshiping God, from abiding in the spirit of the season. It’s as if we are worshiping ourselves because it’s more important that we feel wanted, needed, and important to others.

You might say, that sounds awful! I don’t book myself solid because I want to seem important. I don’t run myself ragged because I need so much approval from others! There are just so many things I am obligated to do! Christmas won’t happen around here if I don’t work my fingers to the bone to make it so!

Well, here’s where I think John’s order to repent comes in. Repent does not only mean to ask forgiveness for a transgression, although it is a part of it. It means primarily to turn around a behavior! It means to change how you do or what you do. Tricky how this works-the Pharisees and Sadducees were those who minded the very letter of the religious laws in John’s day, and it took them literally hours to observe all the daily rituals. Something had to be cut out, and with them it was often charity and social justice issues. He wanted them to examine themselves for putting their self-satisfaction ahead of a genuine encounter with God and others. They didn’t need approval from one another, they needed it from God.

In repenting, I decided on releasing a couple of things this Christmas and I hope you will as well. Try replacing them with nothing, and invite God into the silence.

Prayer: “God of silence, I offer you the moments, hours, and days I have. I invite you to fill them with your presence always. Amen.”

Grace and Peace!

Further readings for today are:

Isaiah 11:1-10

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Romans 15:4-13

For art fans:

http://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/exhibitions/van-gogh-gauguin-cezanne

www.bedfordgallery.org

December 5, 2010

Friends, today we light the "Shepherd" candle, or the candle of Peace, as well as our Hope or "Prophet" candle. For purposes of this study, we enter a time for Dreaming. In the spirit of imagination, I invite you to put yourself at a desk in an imaginary TV classroom for a moment. It could be in "Welcome Back, Kotter", "Ferris Buehler's Day Off", or a cool stone room in "Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." Listen for the teacher…

Okay, class. Open up your Bibles to the New Testament. Does anyone know what the "Synoptic Gospels" are? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler? I see the young man in the second row with his hand up. No, Mr. Horschack, they are not where God talks about the Seven Deadly Sins. Sin isn't the same as Syn. That's not even in the Bible. I'm talking about Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Yes, Miss Granger. Please don't have a conniption fit. You're right. The term "Synoptic Gospels" does refer to pertaining to or constituting a synopsis; affording or taking a general view of the principal parts of a subject.

As we are using it here, we mean taking a common view: used chiefly in reference to the first three Gospels (Synoptic Gospels), Matthew, Mark, and Luke, from their similarity
in content, order, and statement. Greek origins, 'Synoptikos'. It refers to the condition of seeing things (optics, seeing) in the same way. It means, further, for our purposes today that it's important to know that the writer of the book of John wrote his gospel from a radically different point of view from that of the other gospel writers. Matthew, Mark, and Luke covered many of the same accounts and facts of Jesus' life and ministry albeit for different audiences but John wrote from an entirely different experience of Christ.

On this, the second Sunday of Advent, we come to a time of Dreaming. This is appropriate for we are about to enter upon readings from the most mystical Gospel writer of the four, the apostle John.

Prayer: "Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of Israel! You alone are wondrous. Be our God and redeemer as long as the sun shines and the earth spins. Amen."

John 1:19-28 (New International Version, ©2010)

John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah

¹⁹ Now this was John's testimony when the Jewish leaders^[a] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Messiah."

²¹ They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?"

He said, "I am not."

"Are you the Prophet?"

He answered, "No."

²² Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"

²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"^[b]

²⁴ Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"

²⁶ "I baptize with^[c] water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."

²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Footnotes:

John 1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John's Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19.

John 1:23 Isaiah 40:3

John 1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice)

The Synoptic Gospels relate the accounts of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection contextualized in the same kind of temporal world in which we live. Here's one way to think about it-If Jesus had been a painter, the first 3 books of the New Testament would give us a complete and comprehensive view of his oeuvre, or body of work. It is as if three very capable and learned art historians, writing from the United States, from France, and from Spain had written in the 1980's about Pablo Picasso's works from 1904 to 1973. John, however, would be more like a combination of biographer, psychic, historian, and mystic who wrote about Picasso's life, thoughts, and influences from the time of the first prehistoric cave paintings to the development of computer-generated imagery.

The apostle John was given insight to Jesus' place in the creation and ordering of the world from the moment God's thought bent to that miracle right up through the time when we would look to the Bible to try to grasp the ending of days. He then tackled the unenviable task of writing about it.

In the very first chapter of John's gospel we are confronted with the same struggle the Pharisees had about the Messiah. John the Baptizer insisted it was not he, and quoted the words of Isaiah the prophet to underscore the difference. Faithful people of the day would have wondered if he was the vanished prophet Elijah, but the John the Baptist denied that, too.

Sometimes, John the gospel writer seems to say, things are so mysterious and incomprehensible that all that we may dream of, the fantastical and the real world intertwined, become so enmeshed that we have a tough time separating the imaginings of our inner mind from the truth that is available for us. God is stable. God is mysterious, but not ephemeral. Even the heralds of Jesus' coming knew dreams from waking life.

Despite the mystery, John the Baptist had a crystal clear view of the coming Lord. It was the One who was present since before the Beginning, and who will be after the End. John the gospel writer and John the Baptizer seemed to have a synoptic view of Jesus.

Prayer: "God of Beginning and End, dreaming seems like something more suited to children whose imaginings take them on flights of fancy, not to adults like me who must confront the reality of who Jesus is. Messiah? Creator? Redeemer? There is no way to know exactly. Help me to have faith to believe he was here before beginnings and will be here after all has ended."

Sweet dreams!

Further Reading for this day:

Psalm 72: 1-7,18-19

Isaiah 40:1-11

Comfort, O’ My People

Spoiler: The following is the devotion for Saturday, Dec. 4^th. I am loading it early because Dan and I are going down to the Bay Area to see the Post-Impressionists at the DeYoung Museum and catch up with some old friends. I am not yet equipped to do a remote blog. Sorry! Have a great weekend, and check back in on Sunday as we light the Shepherd Candle.

 

December 4, 2010

It's the end of the first week in Advent, our week of "Waiting". Has it flown by in a flurry of activity or has it dragged on, slogging through frustrations and challenges? Or both? Whatever, it's Saturday and as the week of the "Prophet" makes way for the week of the "Shepherds" we arrive at that beautiful passage from Isaiah that foreshadows the Good Shepherd's arrival.

To prepare, place your feet flat on the floor in front of you. Sit tall and comfortably with hands at your side and shoulders back. While inhaling deeply, raise your arms up over your head, bringing palms together. Exhale, lowering arms back down to your side. Repeat for a total of 6.

Prayer: "Divine Love, guide me and reassure me with your word for your people today. Amen."

Isaiah 40:1-11 (New International Version, ©2010)

Comfort for God's People

 ¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
   says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
   that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
   double for all her sins.

 ³ A voice of one calling:
"In the wilderness prepare
   the way for the LORD^[a];
make straight in the desert
   a highway for our God.<sup>[b]

4</sup> Every valley shall be raised up,
   every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
   the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
   and all people will see it together.
            For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 ⁶ A voice says, "Cry out."
   And I said, "What shall I cry?"

   "All people are like grass,
   and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
   Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
   but the word of our God endures forever."

 ⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
   go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c]

   lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
   say to the towns of Judah,
   "Here is your God!"
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
   and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
   He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
   he gently leads those that have young.

Footnotes:

Isaiah 40:3 Or A voice of one calling in the wilderness: / "Prepare the way for the LORD

Isaiah 40:3 Hebrew; Septuagint make straight the paths of our God

Isaiah 40:9 Or Zion, bringer of good news, / go up on a high mountain. / Jerusalem, bringer of good news

In the days of Isaiah, back before CalTrans or any other huge highway authority, there were no public highways linking the towns and villages of Israel. People traveled by footpaths, slogging through mud or covered in dust depending on the season. Up hill and down dale they went, until frequent usage wore a track over the most heavily traversed trails. However, if a king planned to travel, a decree would be sent out and the populace would get busy cutting through hills and filling in dales, straightening the tricky animal tracks and footpaths, widening them out in throughways worthy of the chariots and horses of royalty.

Isaiah is telling us God has to travel on a wide path, a straight road. Why, when God's rule is not about chariots? God doesn't come with a body guard, a marching band, or ranks of nobles in tow. Our God doesn't travel in ostentatious limousines fitted with bullet-proof windows.

The God we await is the Good Shepherd, and brings his own reward with him. It is the place next to him, so that we can be in relationship with him, walking in his paths, guided by his hand. At once it is both glorious and intimate, and the road he intends for us runs straight along. It goes right alongside him. On that road he will moderate our intemperance, helping us to slow down, pause, and rest when we need to. He will keep us moving when we are slogged down.

In what ways have you made your path too tricky to follow? Are there obstacles you have placed that make it impossible for God to travel by your side? Isaiah would say to get rid of them.

Prayer: "Lord, in the wilderness, I pray that you keep your comforting hand on me so that I may stay on the road you have laid out, alongside you today and always. Amen."

Go in peace.

 

Further reading for Saturday, Dec. 4^th:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

John 1:19-28

Online Storytime - Alexander... Read by Judith Viorst

December 3, 2010

To start today's post, you are invited to watch as Judith Viorst shares her wonderful children's book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Since it takes about 5 minutes to watch, I won't write much here. I hope it brings a smile to you, and then, as you are ready, approach the text in prayer.

Prayer: "Most loving God, we do not understand why things happen when they do, and especially not when they disrupt our ideas of a perfect holiday season. We can only trust in the promise of your word."

Isaiah 30:19-26 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹⁹ People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. ²⁰ Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. ²¹ Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." ²² Then you will desecrate your idols overlaid with silver and your images covered with gold; you will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and say to them, "Away with you!"

²³ He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. ²⁴ The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel. ²⁵ In the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall, streams of water will flow on every high mountain and every lofty hill. ²⁶ The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the LORD binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.

We all have asked why bad things happen to good people, or why believers have their "Jerusalem" moments. In my family, the past week has included quite a few moments. I won't go into them because mine/ours aren't any more difficult than anyone else's moments, and all things considered, we're all right. However, this particular scripture came at a very welcome time!

I think of all the opportunities our country has right now for doing justice, and evolving into a place in which God's intentions to "bind up the injuries of his people, and heal up their wounds." Come, thou long-expected Jesus! I for one can't wait to see the light as of a sevenfold sun.

Prayer: "God of light, as you promised Jerusalem, your promise in Jesus is for us in every time and every place. Making it real within us is partly up to us, coming closer to you during this season, and remembering through adversity that your realm does not mean we will never experience hardship or difficulty. Help us to draw close to you in the sure knowledge that it doesn't require everything to go perfectly in our lives for us to know your perfect love. Amen."

Further reading for today:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Acts 13:16-25

Happy Hanukkah to our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith!

Family Job Descriptions

December 2, 2010

Dan, my husband, is a very generous man. One of the many hundreds of ways he has shown me this generosity is by sharing his two sisters, Kathy and Ann, with me. At times one must absolutely have family members near and ready to live into the important roles that only those closest to us can fill. For example, at times of stress and transition our family members have unwritten "job descriptions" that contribute to the success of the family in ways that they alone are uniquely equipped to function. Christmas is another time when certain things must be done, and certain family members are tacitly assigned to do them.

Ann reported on Facebook, for instance, that she is baking cookies traditional to the Ray family. It will be important for Dan and I to have some of them out here in California, and important for our daughter, Virginia, to have some down in El Paso where she and her new husband have just moved. These historical connections stabilize us and give us the foundations we need to anchor us in place and time. They help to give us context.

As we approach Thursday's text, let's imagine what foundations we can anchor in place this season.

Prayer: "Holy God, as you have given the gift of family let us recognize the unique place we occupy within it, especially at this time of year."

Acts 1:12-17 and 21-26

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

¹² Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk^[a] from the city. ¹³ When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. ¹⁴ They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

¹⁵ In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) ¹⁶ and said, "Brothers and sisters,^[b] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus….

²¹ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, ²² beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection."

²³ So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. ²⁴²⁵ to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." ²⁶ Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

s. ¹⁷ He was one of our number and shared in our ministry."

Sometimes death, social circumstances, geographical distance, ideologies, and unfortunate events cause unwanted shifts in the make-up of family organisms. The disciples, although unrelated by blood, were a communion of sisters and brothers who had definite "job descriptions" and relied upon each other to fulfill those roles. Certain of the women supported the ministry with their social connections and financial resources. The Twelve, about whom the most is known from ancient writings, served as the nucleus of the ministry.

We notice Peter taking more initiative in Acts and stepping up in leadership now that Jesus is gone. We also notice that it is important to the group to replace Judas, to find a Twelfth in order to make the ministry whole once again.

It is important to consider the wholeness of our families and of our communities in times of stress such as that suffered by the early followers of Christ in the weeks and months after the crucifixion and the resurrection. It is important in our families here and now that the important job descriptions not go unaddressed when a family organism is disrupted.

Here's a simple Advent musing to try or not as you wish. On a little slip of paper, write three things your family used to do during this season that you miss. It can be things like cutting your own Christmas tree, baking those peculiar blue-frosted cookies, or hearing the Christmas story read aloud by your grandfather. Decide the place the item occupies in your personal, family context. If it really doesn't matter if anyone ever experienced it again, thank God for the gift it once was and let it go into the mists of Christmas past. If, on the other hand, it calls out to you as part of the context of how your family understands Christmas, ask God to help you grasp how it could be reincorporated into your practice of family Christmas here and now.

This is NOT (not, not, not) to say that you must take on a new family assignment in your already full job description. Rather, it is to suggest that opportunities exist for the Matthias and Justus within your family to step into the limelight and explore a developing role in shaping the context in which you experience this season. Could a favorite nephew read the Christmas story from the Bible? What if a son's new bride made the shortbread cookies this year? What a way to show radical hospitality in a world that God is constantly reforming! It truly would be a way of being generous.

Closing prayer: "God of movement, nothing stands still for a minute with you! As this holy season unfolds, surprise me with insights about how to help and support my family to continue to evolve while establishing stability in new and exciting ways. Help us wait for you with a forward-thinking attitude. Amen."

Oh, and just in case you were tempted to think that Dan does all the sharing around here, this is not the case. I have two challenging and wonderful semi-tough, almost-grown sons who are discovering that I am willing to share them with a very smart stepfather. But that's the subject for another discussion.

For further reading today:

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19

Isaiah 4:2-6

Every Day, a Door Opens

December 1, 2010

This is the day that children can begin opening up the little doors of their Advent calendars. In case you never had an Advent calendar as a child, you should do yourself a favor and get one. They resemble a giant greeting card decorated with a traditional scene of Christmas nativity, winter woodland, or quaint European village. The really secular ones have Santa flanked by reindeer and elves. Every day in December, the child gets to open the tiny "door" and see a special picture or Bible verse to help them wait for Christmas while learning a bit more about the meaning of Christmas. Think of it as a kind of an Advent blog, only without the computer or smart phone.

My son, Sean, used to love the calendars as a little boy. He loved hearing the stories of shepherds, angels, and the long trip Mary took to talk to her cousin Elizabeth. Of course, part of the reason he loved the calendars was that I discovered the kind with a small chocolate candy hidden behind the tiny door. I would tell him the story for the day while he enjoyed the chocolate.

Why not put your feet up and enjoy a little chocolate or a cookie right now? Or just take 3 deep breaths to relax and begin.

Prayer: "God of Jerusalem and all other places, thank you for being our God in this place and this time. Open my heart to hear deeply your word for me today."

Isaiah 54:1-10 (New International Version, ©2010)

The Future Glory of Zion

¹ "Sing, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.
² "Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cords,
strengthen your stakes.
³ For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.

⁴ "Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
⁵ For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.
⁶ The LORD will call you back
as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,
only to be rejected," says your God.
⁷ "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.
⁸ In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

⁹ "To me this is like the days of Noah,
when I swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth.
So now I have sworn not to be angry with you,
never to rebuke you again.
¹⁰ Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

The other day when we read from Isaiah, the chapter we looked at was from his early warnings to those in power. That was signature Isaiah, that was. But here in Chapter 54 the prophet nears the end of his pronouncements, and it is time to reassure the people of Judah that the Lord has promised peace to them, that God will remember God's covenant and in time bring about all good things. If you miss this part of Isaiah and focus only on his warnings, you risk missing one of God's best promises.

God makes great claims, you see, but it's appropriate. God can turn history on its head and culture inside out. We can take it in (barely) but through Isaiah he gave us about 750 years to accustom ourselves to the idea of the complete remaking of the world in Jesus Christ.

It could be argued that we ought to have chocolate-filled calendars for every month of the year, not just December, because the magnitude of living in relation with God is so great that we humans find it staggering to take in more than a kernel of its truth at a time. It's a constant struggle to wrap our minds around what God intends for the world. We could do a little bit each day, as we are able. But, oh, wait. We have a way to do just that.

That's what prayer is for. To enter into an intimate place every day and, like the people of Israel heard from Isaiah, be reassured that on God's watch, peace will reign. God will be in charge in the end, as at the beginning. The radical promise is there, and we can count on it.

So, don't tell Sean I told you this, but when we were out shopping last week, he made me buy him another one of those chocolate-filled Advent calendars. So what if he's 19. If it takes opening one little door at a time to take it all in, fine. I'm glad Christmas is only 24 days away instead of 700-odd years.

Closing Prayer: "God of Prophets, Days, and Years, we give thanks for waiting and listening to you. Help me this day to remember your promises to your people and the peace you bring. Help me to bring peace today to those with whom I interact, so that through me a little door is opened to you. Amen."

Grace and Peace!

The rest of today's readings are:

Psalm 124

Matthew 24:23-35