Glad Tidings!

"Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind!"

"All glory be to God on high!
And to the earth be peace!
Goodwill hence forth from heaven to earth,
begin and never cease,
never cease, Never cease, NEVER cease!"

This is all we need today...to know that our news comes with great joy that never ceases!  NEVER CEASES!  So we do not cease bringing it to others.  If we are to be like Jesus, we are to be great light, unexpected news, never ending joy to the world!

Let's do it!

The Peace...

We sang a song in church on Sunday that just stuck with me.  Here are some of the lyrics...

"It's still a mystery to me

That the hands of God could be so small,

How tiny fingers reaching in the night

Were the very hands that measured the sky.

How his infant eyes have seen the dawn of time

How his ears have heard an angel's symphony,

But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep."

One of my dear friends just had her second child...you go girls for getting that done.  I went to see them in the hospital and am continually amazed by the birth of a baby.  Mary was a teenager by our current standards and she believed what God told her was true, that she would give birth to the Savior of the world.  But she still went through contractions, anxiety at being a new mom, pushing a baby out of her. Yeah, maybe a little too far, but think about it.  There is a journey required for the birth of a child.  There is excitement; there is preparation of mind, body, and spirit.  There are a lot of unknowns....and Mary went through all of that.  She probably felt it even more because she couldn't see the end of the story like we can.  It was all a process....a figuring out of mothering and letting Jesus be Jesus.  What a big job.

And after a woman gives birth...after all of the pain and struggle and months of waiting, there is a moment of peace...a moment of clarity when you look at the baby and everything else disappears.  When you see in that new life the promise that you've been waiting for.  Mary experienced that too...the difference was that she birthed peace for the rest of us too.

Watchfulness

So, Sunday's lesson was about the concept of "watchfulness."  The writer correlated the two comings of the Savior...I was having trouble comparing the two that morning, but since have had some thoughts...are you surprised?  Ha.

I am a teacher.  Most of you know that teaching was something I stumbled into...first as a preschool teacher.  I was thinking yesterday about watching my class....20 four and five year olds every day.  Talk about watchfulness...I had to be like a hawk.  On the playground it was next to impossible to keep track of all my kids.  All the sudden, I would look and see two boys, one in a headlock, the other chunking wood chips at the other.  So, watchfulness to me is being aware...of taking into account multiple factors at one time.  I feel like this is what God tells us to do.  And I feel like we've missed the mark.  We want a formula.  We want the watchfulness to follow a set of rules, guidelines, and steps.  

Think about it.  Mary was engaged to be married.  An angel appeared to her.  Elizabeth was like 90 years old and became pregnant with John.  The shepherds were minding their own business, tending their sheep, and bam!  The Savior of the World is in Bethlehem, not far from here...you might want to go check it out!  When God comes, it is not with a formula, or with expected timing.  

Whether thinking about the first time God entered the world, or when God will come again, we must prepare ourselves...and prepare the way.  That means living the kingdom here, on this earth...creating kingdom where you are.  And all the while, having a sense of watchfulness....of looking, being aware of those around you that need a kind word or a smile, of being in tune with how God has already come.

God has come.  God will come again.  God comes even now.  Have you looked for him?

December has arrived!

Well, it's that time again...time to commit myself to write every day leading up to Advent.  My writings may not always make it here every day, but I will do my best.  I hope you'll join me on this reflective journey of advent, of anticipation of what the season holds, what we hold within ourselves, and what others have to teach us during this special season.

I need to be honest with you...I've found myself in a bad place in the last few weeks.  I've had days when I don't want to be around anybody.  I've wanted to wallow in the muck and darkness a little.  I'm sure there are many factors related to this....and if you're honest with yourself, you've had those days too.  Despite that, we began the Advent season at church yesterday with a four year old proclaiming "This is a season of hope!"  We have hope in the midst of darkness.  Life is really dark sometimes...we don;'t get answers that we want; sometimes we don't get answers at all.  We feel like we are wandering in a wilderness without any guidance.  And yet, new life is born.  Trees lie fallow, waiting for rebirth.  New snows fall.  And we keep walking.  But, my prayer for myself and for you is that we are walking toward the light...oh soul, do not run away...do not try to hide...face the darkness and believe.  Believe that the Light of the World has come for you.

December Darkness by Ann Weems

Too often our answer to the darkness
is not running toward Bethlehem
but running away.
We ought to know by now that we can't see
where we're going in the dark.
Running away is rampant...
Separation is stylish:
separation from mates, from friends, from self.
Run and tranquilize,
don't talk about it,
avoid.
Run away and join the army
of those who have already run away.
When are we going to learn that Christmas Peace
comes only when we turn and face the darkness?
Only then will we be able to see
the Light of the World.

Elizabeth told Mary...

You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.

A young teenager faced the darkness of new motherhood, of social disgrace, of a doubtful husband, of so much unknown....but because she faced darkness, she birthed the Light of the World.  

May we believe.

Stones

I don't think much about rocks, stones, boulders ,etc....until I step on them in a river bed, or stumble over one on a pebbled beach...come to think of it, I used to proudly take rocks home from camp, youth trips, and beach trips.  Stones have significance to us as humans for some reason.  They carry weight.  Such an unassuming object feels good in the palm of my hand...the smoothness of the surface, the weight of something pressing against my palm, sometimes what it makes me remember.  And yes, sometimes the pain it caused.

We listened to two women in church on Sunday talk about stones.  They retold stories of long ago--of David defeating Goliath with two stones he catipulted at the self-assured giant.  They reminded us of the woman who was thrown before the people of her own town to be stoned.  the people had picked up the rocks and were ready to give her the punishment she deserved.  Then they reminded us that a stone was placed in front of the tomb of Jesus to keep him in.

We have our plans...we think we know what rocks in our lives to pick up and heave at others that will hit the mark.  I'm pretty sure David was just throwing blind, doing whatever he could think of to thwart Goliath.  The people in the town who came out of their houses to condemn the woman thought they had things under control, and that they should take action and use those stones to rid the town of a sinner.  And the officials who called for the crucifixion of Jesus thought they would seal the tomb and all would be well.

In all of these situations, God takes an object that we intend for evil, for control, for security, for self-preservation, and redeems it.  The stone becomes victory for David.  The stones become mirrors for the townspeople, and grace for the woman.  The stone became light and life for all who believe that Jesus is who he says he is.

So, have you looked at the stones in your life?  Are they marking your path with goodness and redemption?  Are they marked by redemption seen, realized, received, and given back?

Looking Back...

A group of us at church is studying the life of Abram, later Abraham, you know, Father of our Faith and all that. The story of Abraham has always fascinated me, mainly because I cling to the haphazard way he and Sarai gather everything and everybody up, and start walking. God tells them to go, gives them a promise, and they believe. What also encourages me is that after the initial following, they do doubt, individually and as a family...they doubt the promises God made to give them a son, to bring them to a promised land...and yet God reassures them, makes them laugh even. I say all this to tell you what happened to me the other day. I was driving to work...such a mundane task...I was wrapped up in getting there...ahead was kind of dark and dreary with the first rays of sunlight beginning to light the horizon. All the sudden, I looked in my rear view mirror and the sun was coming up over the mountains. It was such a bright, brilliant orange that it almost blinded me. It was beautiful. And in that moment, I thought about Abraham and Sarah. I thought about how they kept walking forward, seeing darkness at times, a few rays of light and promise ahead at other times, but when they looked back, it was brilliant. God does so much in our lives that we never see. We may do something for someone, or go through something that is really difficult at the time, but in the end, it's brilliant, and it's beauty. Even the nasty stuff of our lives can be buried and turn up as something new and glorious. So, look back today...your life may have paved the way for someone else to come into the Kingdom. Your mess may have been another person's treasure. Your struggle may have turned into something beautiful...and just go ahead and laugh a little.

Always Love My Mama...

So yes, this is a little late, but not too bad...I was asked to pray on Mother's Day...and no, I ain't no mama, but I do love mine.  And I love the way that mamas all over have mothered me, and yes, how God has taught me to mother these children that aren't mine by birth, but that I claim anyway.

So...here is the prayer I prayed...for my mama especially, but also to all those who have loved on me.

God,

We come now to a time of passing plates.
On this day, when we celebrate mothers,
we reflect on the many plates that have been passed to us.
We remember the needs that our moms met,
The hurts they hugged away,
the softness of their touch,
The warmth of their embrace,
The ability to see us for who we really are and to love us anyway...
And we give thanks.

Thank you for moms
That walked by faith,
That sheltered us with prayer,
That pushed us to become who we are
That trusted you enough to fill our plates.

God, we recognize Jesus in our moms--
in the ability to touch, to heal, to host, to celebrate, to love in such a special way,
In truly knowing how to sacrifice for the sake of someone else.

As the plates are passed this day, let us, by faith, believe that you are able to fill them...
And help us to give in such a way
That fills someone else's plate,
That sacrifices for someone else
Like we have been sacrificed for.  
Amen.