Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ.
I would like you to pretend that you are back 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, you wake up on this day, get the morning newspaper and you read about some strange happenings which occurred in your town during the night. As most newspaper do, this one, the Daily Bethlehem covered the story from every angle. You read....There is a story about astronomy in which the strange bright star over Bethlehem is explained The top astronomers of the day give their opinions concerning this latest appearing in the sky.
As you read further, you find on article concerning the many miles people traveled and the crowded conditions in your town especially last night. A special human interest story appeared which told of a pregnant woman traveling 70 miles on top of a donkey, then arriving so late that Mary and Joseph find no room in the inn, so they have to settle for a stable.
Then in the police reports, you find that a group of shepherds invaded your town during the night. The report gives little detail, but the shepherds were reported to have gone to that stable to see a little baby who was suppose to have been born. The police kept close track of those shepherds because of their reputation for causing trouble whenever they come to town. The report said something about the shepherds seeing angels in the sky and hearing the angels singing and telling them about a special baby being born this night in a stable. The report went on to say that the police were very suspicious of the shepherd's story.
Finally in the birth announcements you read about a baby born who as yet has not been named being born in a stable behind the inn. You find out that the parents, Mary and Joseph were of the house and lineage of David and that is why they are in your town because of the census ordered by Herod.
By all the accounts, there were some strange happenings in your town last night. As you read these stories, you come to the conclusion that these were all unrelated events. You wonder how the baby is doing since little was said concerning his welfare.
Using your imagination, those might have been the stories you read concerning the strange events in Bethlehem. Notice every angle was covered, but the story which was the short shortest concerned the baby born in that stable. Is that how it should have been? Maybe not, but that is the way it was and I bet if it happened today, it would be reported in the same manner.
The most important event of Christmas, the birth of God's Son would probably receive the least print, except the human interest side, the baby being born in a stable.
Is the human interest side of the story the reason God thought of Christmas? Did God think of Christmas so that everyone would fell for Mary and the Baby born in a cold, drafty stable in the middle of the night?
Why did God think of Christmas?
God thought of Christmas because God wanted to give us the gift of Himself. God to be with us, in a human form. God wanted to give us the gift of salvation. God wanted to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, to love us, to forgive us, to bring peace and contentment into our lives.
A story entitled The Miraculous Staircase by Arthur Gordon explains the gift of Christmas very well It seems in 1878 a chapel was built and completed and named Our Lady of Light and run by the sister of Loretto . But a problem developed, it seemed that the plans for the chapel came from Paris and the architect who drew them forgot to put a staircase leading to the choir loft. After the chapel was built, it was soon discovered that there was no room for a staircase.
One cold December day a carpenter came hearing about the problem and offered to build a staircase. The mother superior Magdalene was leaving to help in a village with sickness and couldn't talk with the Carpenter.
The best ones in Santa Fe and New Mexico couldn't figure out how to guild a staircase so she figured this one wouldn't either. She left giving orders for him to be fed and then he could go on his way. While fighting the sickness in the village she received some strange letters from home. It seemed that the carpenter was working late, into the night on something.
The Mother Superior having completed her mission in the village hurried home. Because of a snow storm she arrived late at night on Christmas Eve. The chapel was ablaze with light. She hurried in and was met by excited sister ushering her quickly into the chapel to the choir loft area.
"Like a curl of smoke the staircase rise before them as insubstantial as a dream. Two completed spirals it made, nothing seemed to support it. One sister whispered, it has 33 steps, One for each year of the Lord. Mother Magdalene moved toward the staircase, stepped up and began to climb. She reached the choir loft, she was ecstatic
"How did he do it?" she asked, "How did he finish it in time? What is his name?"
The sister answered,"He finished today, he left when he was done."
A young girl who had been mute came forward trying to form words and uttered, "his name was Jose" Jose is the name in Spanish for Joseph. The sisters bowed their heads.
This staircase can be seen today in Santa Fe. No one can explain how it was built. 33 Steps make two complete turns without central support. There are no nails, only wooden pegs. The curved stringers are put together with precision and the wood is spliced in seven places on the inside and nine on the outside!
That mysterious staircase was a gift, an unexplainable gift just as the baby born in the manger is an unexplainable gift from God to us.
Why did God think of Christmas, easy, to give us a gift, a gift of love which was freely given. A gift which is just as masterful as that staircase in Santa Fe.
This closing story tells it all, why God gave us Christmas!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
II Samuel 7:1-11,16; Luke 1:47-55; Luke 1:26-38
Let us Pray - Creator and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - grow thou in us and show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth. Amen
Christmas is a wonderful time of year, many good things happen - family gatherings
- baking
- candy treats
- rich food (am I dwelling on the tummy?)
- also music that lifts our hearts (carols, anthems)
- people dress up as well as they can
- visiting, sleigh rides, many other things,
it is a great time - a wonderful time, a time of promise,
But there is more than this to Christmas
There is a serious side
- the side that makes it all meaningful
- the side that was promised thousands of years ago...to Adam and Eve, to David the King, and to the prophets
The promise of God about this season came long before Jesus was born, it was a promise that evil would be defeated, a promise of a lasting peace, of lasting hope, of lasting joy and of lasting love. It was a promise that a king would be born... an everlasting king, who would rule his people with justice and truth, a king like David, but greater yet. A king whose reign would never end, a king who would look after the poor and give justice to the widow and orphan
And all of this goodness, all of this hope, rested one day, upon a young girl, barely a woman, who was engaged to a simple carpenter in the Land of Israel.
Imagine her with me... imagine yourself in her place...
Mary visited by an angel
- perhaps in a dream in a hot summer night...
- perhaps while carrying water from the village well...
And she is told by this angel that she is loved by God, that she is favoured by Him, and when she reacts with fear, and who could not be afraid of such a divine messenger, she is told to not be afraid, but to listen, and to understand that God was going to do something special to her, and through her, that God was going to cause her to become pregnant and to give birth to a son - a son who would become the promised king, the Messiah.
Mary's response was very predictable, it was like ours, HOW CAN THIS BE - SHE SAID - SINCE I AM A VIRGIN
How indeed can God work through us?
- We are nothing
- We are inadequate
- God is spirit, but we are flesh
- We are not important people,
- God would not use us,
- God could not use us,
except perhaps in very small things, like loving our neighbours, or helping the poor and the lonely during a difficult time, AND THESE OF COURSE ARE REALLY OUR ACTIONS, God does not actually direct them, or cause them, does he?
HOW CAN THIS BE - HOW CAN I GIVE BIRTH TO THE MESSIAH, I AM A VIRGIN?
But the angel persisted saying that the power of God would come over her - that she would conceive a son and that she should call him Jesus - which means "The Lord Saves"
And Mary replied - I AM THE LORD'S SERVANT, MAY IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID."
Mary agreed to what God asked. Mary obeyed the Lord.
And a wonderful thing happened - she became pregnant.
BUT CONSIDER MORE Once Mary obeyed the Lord, once she accepted his word, there were imaginable difficulties, for after all - she was a single woman - who was pregnant - she had a fiance who was troubled, and did not know what to do for quite a while. Although there were difficulties, once she accepted God's message, once she really believed it, incredible Joy came.
In the words of day's canticle which we just said, Mary's soul magnified the Lord.
- She realized in way she could not before that God was in fact real
- that his promises to Israel, to Abraham and his children would come true
- that the world was save, for the saviour was coming.
Mary's soul magnified the Lord - it exalted the Lord - and God filled her, and gave her the joy and the peace and the hope and the love that our toys, our gifts, our carols, and our gatherings can only at best hinted at.
Our Souls too - we when we accept God's word and when we obey his commands, will realize great joy. God will expand in us, and use us - and give us the joy, peace, hope and love we need for ourselves and that which we need to be a light to the world around us.
The hope of Israel and the hope of the world rested on Mary, and she obeyed and Jesus was born.
The hope of our world rests today on us - will we be like her? Will we give birth to God in our actions and thoughts. Will we obey the Lord, and walk in his ways?
John's call to the people of Israel was Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord.
Advent and Christmas - a time of goodness - a goodness that can last and spread throughout the world - if we indeed do prepare ourselves, if we hope and obey like Mary - for with God nothing is impossible.
When we accept God's message to us through the angels, through the prophets, and through Jesus, not only our souls will magnify the Lord, but the souls of every man, woman and child who encounters us, for they will see the promise of God coming true in our lives. Thanks be to God for the gift of his word - Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
Christmas is a wonderful time of year, many good things happen - family gatherings
- baking
- candy treats
- rich food (am I dwelling on the tummy?)
- also music that lifts our hearts (carols, anthems)
- people dress up as well as they can
- visiting, sleigh rides, many other things,
it is a great time - a wonderful time, a time of promise,
But there is more than this to Christmas
There is a serious side
- the side that makes it all meaningful
- the side that was promised thousands of years ago...to Adam and Eve, to David the King, and to the prophets
The promise of God about this season came long before Jesus was born, it was a promise that evil would be defeated, a promise of a lasting peace, of lasting hope, of lasting joy and of lasting love. It was a promise that a king would be born... an everlasting king, who would rule his people with justice and truth, a king like David, but greater yet. A king whose reign would never end, a king who would look after the poor and give justice to the widow and orphan
And all of this goodness, all of this hope, rested one day, upon a young girl, barely a woman, who was engaged to a simple carpenter in the Land of Israel.
Imagine her with me... imagine yourself in her place...
Mary visited by an angel
- perhaps in a dream in a hot summer night...
- perhaps while carrying water from the village well...
And she is told by this angel that she is loved by God, that she is favoured by Him, and when she reacts with fear, and who could not be afraid of such a divine messenger, she is told to not be afraid, but to listen, and to understand that God was going to do something special to her, and through her, that God was going to cause her to become pregnant and to give birth to a son - a son who would become the promised king, the Messiah.
Mary's response was very predictable, it was like ours, HOW CAN THIS BE - SHE SAID - SINCE I AM A VIRGIN
How indeed can God work through us?
- We are nothing
- We are inadequate
- God is spirit, but we are flesh
- We are not important people,
- God would not use us,
- God could not use us,
except perhaps in very small things, like loving our neighbours, or helping the poor and the lonely during a difficult time, AND THESE OF COURSE ARE REALLY OUR ACTIONS, God does not actually direct them, or cause them, does he?
HOW CAN THIS BE - HOW CAN I GIVE BIRTH TO THE MESSIAH, I AM A VIRGIN?
But the angel persisted saying that the power of God would come over her - that she would conceive a son and that she should call him Jesus - which means "The Lord Saves"
And Mary replied - I AM THE LORD'S SERVANT, MAY IT BE TO ME AS YOU HAVE SAID."
Mary agreed to what God asked. Mary obeyed the Lord.
And a wonderful thing happened - she became pregnant.
BUT CONSIDER MORE Once Mary obeyed the Lord, once she accepted his word, there were imaginable difficulties, for after all - she was a single woman - who was pregnant - she had a fiance who was troubled, and did not know what to do for quite a while. Although there were difficulties, once she accepted God's message, once she really believed it, incredible Joy came.
In the words of day's canticle which we just said, Mary's soul magnified the Lord.
- She realized in way she could not before that God was in fact real
- that his promises to Israel, to Abraham and his children would come true
- that the world was save, for the saviour was coming.
Mary's soul magnified the Lord - it exalted the Lord - and God filled her, and gave her the joy and the peace and the hope and the love that our toys, our gifts, our carols, and our gatherings can only at best hinted at.
Our Souls too - we when we accept God's word and when we obey his commands, will realize great joy. God will expand in us, and use us - and give us the joy, peace, hope and love we need for ourselves and that which we need to be a light to the world around us.
The hope of Israel and the hope of the world rested on Mary, and she obeyed and Jesus was born.
The hope of our world rests today on us - will we be like her? Will we give birth to God in our actions and thoughts. Will we obey the Lord, and walk in his ways?
John's call to the people of Israel was Prepare Ye The Way of The Lord.
Advent and Christmas - a time of goodness - a goodness that can last and spread throughout the world - if we indeed do prepare ourselves, if we hope and obey like Mary - for with God nothing is impossible.
When we accept God's message to us through the angels, through the prophets, and through Jesus, not only our souls will magnify the Lord, but the souls of every man, woman and child who encounters us, for they will see the promise of God coming true in our lives. Thanks be to God for the gift of his word - Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11; Luke 1:47-55; I Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8,19-28
Let us Pray - Lord God, Creator and Maker of us all, speak in the calming of our minds and in the longings of our hearts, by the words of my lips and in the thoughts that we form. Speak O Lord, for your servants listen. Amen.
If we were still using Latin at our Sunday Service, the first word we would have heard in today's liturgy would have been "Gaudete", or "rejoice". The word is sprinkled throughout today's readings: in the first reading from Isaiah, the prophet proclaims that God has sent him to bring "glad tidings to the poor" and "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul". The psalm of the day is taken from Mary's Magnificat, in which she exclaims "My soul rejoices in my God, my spirit finds joy in God my savior". The second reading from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians begins with the words "Rejoice always".
These readings have their basis in the Hebrew language, which has more words for joy and rejoicing than any other language and this from a language known for having few words. In the Old Testament, 13 Hebrew roots, found in 27 different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship.
1) Hebrew religious ritual proclaims God as the source of joy.
2) In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration.
3) The good Israelite regarded the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life.
4) As noted in our readings, pure joy is joy in God as both its source and object, like a circle: God gives joy to us and we return it back to God. The Old Testament is a book of joy! The New Testament is a book of Good News! This is God's will for us to be joyful, to pray continuously and to give God thanks in all circumstances.
There is a story told about a man from who had to travel to London on business. This was years ago when Christians still kept Sunday as a very special day. For this man, "keeping the Sabbath" meant not riding the trains on Sunday. Thus, after he finished up his business late Saturday night, he had to stay over in London until the following Monday morning. On Sunday morning, he left the hotel looking for a place to worship. The streets were quite deserted, but finally he saw a policeman and asked him for directions to the nearest Protestant church. The stranger thanked the policeman for the information and was about to walk off when he turned and asked the policeman: "Why have you recommended that particular church? There must be several churches nearby that you could have recommended." The policeman smiled and replied: "I'm not a church man myself, but the people who come out of that church are the happiest looking church-people in London. I thought that would be the kind of church you would like to attend."
One thing many people have forgotten in their Christian pilgrimage the duty to be joyful. Maybe one of the reasons that Jesus used a little child as the sole embodiment of the kingdom of God is the innate joyfulness of children.
One writer tells of her trepidation at seeing the slums of Bombay. The poverty was overwhelming and hygiene was all but lacking. Nonetheless, the air was filled with the laughter of children at play.
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross speaks movingly of an even worse situation. Visiting a children's barracks in one of the German death camps after the Second World War, she had expected to see evidence of horror. Instead, the walls were covered with drawings of butterflies, a universal symbol of joy.
For those of us who are adults, one of the things that make Christmas so joyful is seeing the wide-eyed expressions of wonder on little faces. Children know about joy. Somehow we adults seem to lose that awe and wonder somewhere along the road to adulthood.
There's a story I read to which some of you may be able to relate about a woman's remembrances of her grandmother, Gagi. At the time of her grandfather's death, at 90 years of age, her grandparents had been married for over 50 years. Gagi felt the loss deeply. The central focus had been taken from her life, and she retreated from the world, entering into an extended period of mourning. Her grieving lasted nearly five years, and during that time, her granddaughter visited her every week or two.
One day, she visited Gagi expecting to find her in her usual state of quiescence. Instead, she found her sitting in her wheelchair beaming. When she didn't comment quickly enough about the obvious change in her demeanor, Gagi confronted her: "Don't you want to know why I'm so happy? Aren't you even curious?" She went on to explain: "Last night I got an answer. I finally know why God took my husband and left me behind to live without him. Your grandfather knew that the secret of life is love, and he lived it every day. He had become unconditional love in action. I have known about unconditional love, but I haven't fully lived it. That's why he got to go first, and I had to stay behind. All this time I thought I was being punished for something, but last night I found out that I was left behind as a gift from God. He let me stay so that I too could turn my life into love. You see, you can't learn the lesson after you die. Love has to be lived here on earth. Once you leave, it's too late. So I was given the gift of life so that I can learn to live love here and now."
On one of her subsequent visits, Gagi told her of something that had happened to her that day. "This morning, your uncle was upset and angry with me over something I had done. I didn't even flinch. I received his anger, wrapped it in love and returned it with joy." Her eyes twinkled as she added, "It was even kind of fun, and his anger dissolved."
Though age continued on its course, Gagi's life was vigorously renewed. In the last days of her life, the granddaughter visited her often in the hospital. As she walked toward her room one day, the nurse on duty looked into her eyes and said, "Your grandmother is a very special lady, you know...she's a light." Yes, love and joy lit up her life and she became a light for others until the end.
The nurse in the story speaks of Gagi as a light. In John's gospel, when our Lord receives news of John the Baptist's death, he comments to his disciples: "This man was a light, consuming and revealing, but you wished to rejoice exceedingly for a while in his presence."
That one verse has stayed with me for many years and I have tried to live it to the best of my ability.
If we were to take Gagi's theory to heart, we would realize that obviously we're not ready to go yet either. We are still "works-in-progress".
At this time of year, we need to let joy into our hearts. If your heart is aching this Advent season for any reason: the loss of love in a marriage, the memory of someone you love who is now with God, concern about a teenage child, concerns about your health, don't let despair defeat you. If you have recently lost a loved one and that person could come back and stand before you right now, they wouldn't tell you to continue to grieve for them. They would tell you: "I am at peace; you be at peace also. That is my wish for you." If something stands in the way of joy, let it go.
One of the things which I have seen stand in the way of joy is people taking themselves or what they do too seriously. We need to laugh at ourselves, because others will be more than willing to do so for us. When I believe someone is being too serious, I will often joke with them in the hope that laughter will bring them back to reality. We are eminently laughable at - I know that I am - and what we do is just a job or an appointed position, something that in the big picture is not worth getting upset about with another person and something which could be taken away in the twinkling of an eye.
Enjoy life, relish every moment, for we know not the day nor the hour. Find someway this special season to defeat the blues. Consider doing something for shut-ins who have no one to care for them. Do something positive, something heart-warming, something that will bring someone else joy. For joy has a way of boomeranging and giving the person who gives it more joy than the one who receives it. I read recently that we ought to "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty".
Love came down at Christmas, as one seasonal song goes, and with it came joy, the ability for us to overcome sin and sadness, because our Lord loved us enough to become one like us. As in the chorus of a song, "Rejoice and be glad. Blessed are you, holy are you. Yours is the kingdom of God."
May joy be yours this Christmas season.
If we were still using Latin at our Sunday Service, the first word we would have heard in today's liturgy would have been "Gaudete", or "rejoice". The word is sprinkled throughout today's readings: in the first reading from Isaiah, the prophet proclaims that God has sent him to bring "glad tidings to the poor" and "I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul". The psalm of the day is taken from Mary's Magnificat, in which she exclaims "My soul rejoices in my God, my spirit finds joy in God my savior". The second reading from Paul's letter to the Thessalonians begins with the words "Rejoice always".
These readings have their basis in the Hebrew language, which has more words for joy and rejoicing than any other language and this from a language known for having few words. In the Old Testament, 13 Hebrew roots, found in 27 different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship.
1) Hebrew religious ritual proclaims God as the source of joy.
2) In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration.
3) The good Israelite regarded the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life.
4) As noted in our readings, pure joy is joy in God as both its source and object, like a circle: God gives joy to us and we return it back to God. The Old Testament is a book of joy! The New Testament is a book of Good News! This is God's will for us to be joyful, to pray continuously and to give God thanks in all circumstances.
There is a story told about a man from who had to travel to London on business. This was years ago when Christians still kept Sunday as a very special day. For this man, "keeping the Sabbath" meant not riding the trains on Sunday. Thus, after he finished up his business late Saturday night, he had to stay over in London until the following Monday morning. On Sunday morning, he left the hotel looking for a place to worship. The streets were quite deserted, but finally he saw a policeman and asked him for directions to the nearest Protestant church. The stranger thanked the policeman for the information and was about to walk off when he turned and asked the policeman: "Why have you recommended that particular church? There must be several churches nearby that you could have recommended." The policeman smiled and replied: "I'm not a church man myself, but the people who come out of that church are the happiest looking church-people in London. I thought that would be the kind of church you would like to attend."
One thing many people have forgotten in their Christian pilgrimage the duty to be joyful. Maybe one of the reasons that Jesus used a little child as the sole embodiment of the kingdom of God is the innate joyfulness of children.
One writer tells of her trepidation at seeing the slums of Bombay. The poverty was overwhelming and hygiene was all but lacking. Nonetheless, the air was filled with the laughter of children at play.
Psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross speaks movingly of an even worse situation. Visiting a children's barracks in one of the German death camps after the Second World War, she had expected to see evidence of horror. Instead, the walls were covered with drawings of butterflies, a universal symbol of joy.
For those of us who are adults, one of the things that make Christmas so joyful is seeing the wide-eyed expressions of wonder on little faces. Children know about joy. Somehow we adults seem to lose that awe and wonder somewhere along the road to adulthood.
There's a story I read to which some of you may be able to relate about a woman's remembrances of her grandmother, Gagi. At the time of her grandfather's death, at 90 years of age, her grandparents had been married for over 50 years. Gagi felt the loss deeply. The central focus had been taken from her life, and she retreated from the world, entering into an extended period of mourning. Her grieving lasted nearly five years, and during that time, her granddaughter visited her every week or two.
One day, she visited Gagi expecting to find her in her usual state of quiescence. Instead, she found her sitting in her wheelchair beaming. When she didn't comment quickly enough about the obvious change in her demeanor, Gagi confronted her: "Don't you want to know why I'm so happy? Aren't you even curious?" She went on to explain: "Last night I got an answer. I finally know why God took my husband and left me behind to live without him. Your grandfather knew that the secret of life is love, and he lived it every day. He had become unconditional love in action. I have known about unconditional love, but I haven't fully lived it. That's why he got to go first, and I had to stay behind. All this time I thought I was being punished for something, but last night I found out that I was left behind as a gift from God. He let me stay so that I too could turn my life into love. You see, you can't learn the lesson after you die. Love has to be lived here on earth. Once you leave, it's too late. So I was given the gift of life so that I can learn to live love here and now."
On one of her subsequent visits, Gagi told her of something that had happened to her that day. "This morning, your uncle was upset and angry with me over something I had done. I didn't even flinch. I received his anger, wrapped it in love and returned it with joy." Her eyes twinkled as she added, "It was even kind of fun, and his anger dissolved."
Though age continued on its course, Gagi's life was vigorously renewed. In the last days of her life, the granddaughter visited her often in the hospital. As she walked toward her room one day, the nurse on duty looked into her eyes and said, "Your grandmother is a very special lady, you know...she's a light." Yes, love and joy lit up her life and she became a light for others until the end.
The nurse in the story speaks of Gagi as a light. In John's gospel, when our Lord receives news of John the Baptist's death, he comments to his disciples: "This man was a light, consuming and revealing, but you wished to rejoice exceedingly for a while in his presence."
That one verse has stayed with me for many years and I have tried to live it to the best of my ability.
If we were to take Gagi's theory to heart, we would realize that obviously we're not ready to go yet either. We are still "works-in-progress".
At this time of year, we need to let joy into our hearts. If your heart is aching this Advent season for any reason: the loss of love in a marriage, the memory of someone you love who is now with God, concern about a teenage child, concerns about your health, don't let despair defeat you. If you have recently lost a loved one and that person could come back and stand before you right now, they wouldn't tell you to continue to grieve for them. They would tell you: "I am at peace; you be at peace also. That is my wish for you." If something stands in the way of joy, let it go.
One of the things which I have seen stand in the way of joy is people taking themselves or what they do too seriously. We need to laugh at ourselves, because others will be more than willing to do so for us. When I believe someone is being too serious, I will often joke with them in the hope that laughter will bring them back to reality. We are eminently laughable at - I know that I am - and what we do is just a job or an appointed position, something that in the big picture is not worth getting upset about with another person and something which could be taken away in the twinkling of an eye.
Enjoy life, relish every moment, for we know not the day nor the hour. Find someway this special season to defeat the blues. Consider doing something for shut-ins who have no one to care for them. Do something positive, something heart-warming, something that will bring someone else joy. For joy has a way of boomeranging and giving the person who gives it more joy than the one who receives it. I read recently that we ought to "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty".
Love came down at Christmas, as one seasonal song goes, and with it came joy, the ability for us to overcome sin and sadness, because our Lord loved us enough to become one like us. As in the chorus of a song, "Rejoice and be glad. Blessed are you, holy are you. Yours is the kingdom of God."
May joy be yours this Christmas season.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8
Let us Pray - Creator and maker of us all - bless the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts - grow thou in us and show us your ways and inspire us to live by your truth. Amen
Hagar the Horrible is one of the favourite cartoon strips of my wife.
One of her favourite Hagar strips is the one in which Hagar is addressed by a Monk.
In the first frame, the monk, bible tucked under his arm, an expression of peace on his face, says to Hagar, "Remember, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
In the next frame, we see the monk disappearing over the horizon, and we see Hagar, looking out at us - saying - "But I enjoy cursing the darkness"
How many of us enjoy cursing the darkness?
How many of us would rather complain about what is wrong than to add to what is right?
- To feel sad or upset, or angry, about what is going on around rather than to change it.
- To cast stones and criticize what is happening, rather than to gather up the stones and build from them a new and better thing?
You think it is a silly question maybe? That no sane person would want to feel upset or angry?
Well, all I can say is perhaps we are not as sane as we might be
Advent and Christmas is a strange times of year for many of us. A time in which, as we prepare for the coming of the Son of God, we often feel down, disappointed, and anxious. A time in which instead of feeling joy, we feel despair. A time in which instead of rejoicing, we fret and worry and drive others insane.
You know, as I anticipate the coming of the Lord, as I look forward to Christmas Eve, to the candles, to the hymns, to receiving in my hands the bread and the wine, I am amazed by the number of grinches that exist around me, the number of people who grump and complain about how Christmas is corrupt, how our songs have been stolen, our gifts cheapened, our hopes made trivial, and our dreams destroyed.
I am amazed by how I hear around me the voices of doom, by how people tell me that nothing is as it was, and that Christmas has become nothing but a merchant's delight, and that what is supposed to be a time of faith and hope has become nothing but a time of a greed and despair.
Where is our faith?
Where is our conviction?
Where is our sense that indeed God has come to us in Jesus
and that he had overcome the power of darkness?
Do we enjoy cursing the darkness?
Do we enjoy it more than we enjoy lighting a candle?
This is the season of good news, the season of preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord, the season of celebration, of rejoicing, of praising God for what he has done, and what he is doing, and what he will yet do.
But can you tell? Can people look at us and say "Yes, something special is happening! Something good is going on?"...
Every year at Christmas I want to cry with John the Baptist and with Isaiah the prophet. I want to cry with them:
Get with it. Get an attitude! See what is really happening! Prepare ye the way for God! Look for his coming in power! Make his paths straight! Know that the time of vindication and of peace is at hand! Rejoice and be glad - for while there is darkness in the world - there is also light, and the light is stronger than the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it."
I want to cry - Prepare ye the way of the Lord, - Comfort,, O comfort my people, - The Lord comes with might, his arm rules for him, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom..."
There is so much good around us.
There is so much power and righteousness at hand.
What does the Monk say to Hagar??? It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness...
My friends,. a candle has been provided to us. A light has been granted unto the world, and it 's power is unquenchable.
So what are we doing???
Are we letting the enemy win???
Are we cursing the darkness rather than lighting a candle???
Are we dithering, rather than preparing the way of the Lord??
Think of the good news! Get an attitude! Prepare the way of the Lord. Celebrate the good news instead of cursing the bad news....
Do you really want good news? Then look for what is good, look for God - and you will see that not only is he is coming, you will see that he is here.
Who can account for the mothers who feed their children before they feed themselves? Who can explain the men who spend their spare time in lodges and societies dedicated to helping others? Who can account for the little ones who hug and play with their neighbours?
What keeps the food banks going?
What explains the tenderness of a young married couple?
What makes sense of the feelings that come to us when we see a baby take her first steps?...
Advent is about preparing for the coming of the Lord - but you know - that getting ready is not, for us, a getting ready for a future coming, it is an opening to the God who is already with us, an opening to the Prince of Peace - who came to us as a baby in Bethlehem, and who, after his resurrection, is Lord in heaven above.
Are we prepared?
Are we open?
Fred Craddock, a well known preacher and scholar, tells the story about a young pastor who visited an old lady who was very sick in a hospital.
He entered the room and saw person lying on the bed, gasping for breath. H decided to have a short visit, not to tire her. He asked, "Would you like me to pray for you?"
She nodded yes.
"What would you like me to pray?" asked the young preacher?
"I want you to pray that I will be made well, that God will give me health.", the old lady said.
The young preacher gulped. But he prayed, praying something like, "God, if it be thy will, restore this sister to health. However, let us accept thy will, so that whether she receives her health or not, she will know that you are still close to her."
When the prayer ended, the old lady's eyes flashed open. She sat up. She startled the preacher by throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up. She stretched out her arms. She turned around to the astonished young preacher and said, "I feel better. I feel a great deal better. In fact, I feel like I have been healed.!"
With that she walked out of the room, headed down the hall toward the nurse's station, shouting, "I am healed!"
The young preacher staggered out, went down the stairs, out the door of the hospital and into the parking lot. As he stood at his car, before opening the door, the young preacher looked up. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" he said.
There are a lot of people who believe in God, and who yet miss the good news.
For them God is always coming, but never here.
God is always promising, but never delivering.
God is always near, but never quite in touch....
But this is never the case!
God lives. God is here. And God is coming here.
You can see it in the face of a new born baby!
You can see it in the gaze of young lovers!
You can see it in the look of old married couples!
You can see it within your own hearts, when you take time to look!
God will accomplish his purpose.
The kingdom will come.
The question for us is - will we get an attitude?
Will we be a part of the fulfilment of God's purpose?
Will we light a candle?
Or will we curse the darkness?
May His name be blessed!
Hagar the Horrible is one of the favourite cartoon strips of my wife.
One of her favourite Hagar strips is the one in which Hagar is addressed by a Monk.
In the first frame, the monk, bible tucked under his arm, an expression of peace on his face, says to Hagar, "Remember, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
In the next frame, we see the monk disappearing over the horizon, and we see Hagar, looking out at us - saying - "But I enjoy cursing the darkness"
How many of us enjoy cursing the darkness?
How many of us would rather complain about what is wrong than to add to what is right?
- To feel sad or upset, or angry, about what is going on around rather than to change it.
- To cast stones and criticize what is happening, rather than to gather up the stones and build from them a new and better thing?
You think it is a silly question maybe? That no sane person would want to feel upset or angry?
Well, all I can say is perhaps we are not as sane as we might be
Advent and Christmas is a strange times of year for many of us. A time in which, as we prepare for the coming of the Son of God, we often feel down, disappointed, and anxious. A time in which instead of feeling joy, we feel despair. A time in which instead of rejoicing, we fret and worry and drive others insane.
You know, as I anticipate the coming of the Lord, as I look forward to Christmas Eve, to the candles, to the hymns, to receiving in my hands the bread and the wine, I am amazed by the number of grinches that exist around me, the number of people who grump and complain about how Christmas is corrupt, how our songs have been stolen, our gifts cheapened, our hopes made trivial, and our dreams destroyed.
I am amazed by how I hear around me the voices of doom, by how people tell me that nothing is as it was, and that Christmas has become nothing but a merchant's delight, and that what is supposed to be a time of faith and hope has become nothing but a time of a greed and despair.
Where is our faith?
Where is our conviction?
Where is our sense that indeed God has come to us in Jesus
and that he had overcome the power of darkness?
Do we enjoy cursing the darkness?
Do we enjoy it more than we enjoy lighting a candle?
This is the season of good news, the season of preparing ourselves for the coming of the Lord, the season of celebration, of rejoicing, of praising God for what he has done, and what he is doing, and what he will yet do.
But can you tell? Can people look at us and say "Yes, something special is happening! Something good is going on?"...
Every year at Christmas I want to cry with John the Baptist and with Isaiah the prophet. I want to cry with them:
Get with it. Get an attitude! See what is really happening! Prepare ye the way for God! Look for his coming in power! Make his paths straight! Know that the time of vindication and of peace is at hand! Rejoice and be glad - for while there is darkness in the world - there is also light, and the light is stronger than the darkness, the darkness cannot overcome it."
I want to cry - Prepare ye the way of the Lord, - Comfort,, O comfort my people, - The Lord comes with might, his arm rules for him, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom..."
There is so much good around us.
There is so much power and righteousness at hand.
What does the Monk say to Hagar??? It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness...
My friends,. a candle has been provided to us. A light has been granted unto the world, and it 's power is unquenchable.
So what are we doing???
Are we letting the enemy win???
Are we cursing the darkness rather than lighting a candle???
Are we dithering, rather than preparing the way of the Lord??
Think of the good news! Get an attitude! Prepare the way of the Lord. Celebrate the good news instead of cursing the bad news....
Do you really want good news? Then look for what is good, look for God - and you will see that not only is he is coming, you will see that he is here.
Who can account for the mothers who feed their children before they feed themselves? Who can explain the men who spend their spare time in lodges and societies dedicated to helping others? Who can account for the little ones who hug and play with their neighbours?
What keeps the food banks going?
What explains the tenderness of a young married couple?
What makes sense of the feelings that come to us when we see a baby take her first steps?...
Advent is about preparing for the coming of the Lord - but you know - that getting ready is not, for us, a getting ready for a future coming, it is an opening to the God who is already with us, an opening to the Prince of Peace - who came to us as a baby in Bethlehem, and who, after his resurrection, is Lord in heaven above.
Are we prepared?
Are we open?
Fred Craddock, a well known preacher and scholar, tells the story about a young pastor who visited an old lady who was very sick in a hospital.
He entered the room and saw person lying on the bed, gasping for breath. H decided to have a short visit, not to tire her. He asked, "Would you like me to pray for you?"
She nodded yes.
"What would you like me to pray?" asked the young preacher?
"I want you to pray that I will be made well, that God will give me health.", the old lady said.
The young preacher gulped. But he prayed, praying something like, "God, if it be thy will, restore this sister to health. However, let us accept thy will, so that whether she receives her health or not, she will know that you are still close to her."
When the prayer ended, the old lady's eyes flashed open. She sat up. She startled the preacher by throwing her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up. She stretched out her arms. She turned around to the astonished young preacher and said, "I feel better. I feel a great deal better. In fact, I feel like I have been healed.!"
With that she walked out of the room, headed down the hall toward the nurse's station, shouting, "I am healed!"
The young preacher staggered out, went down the stairs, out the door of the hospital and into the parking lot. As he stood at his car, before opening the door, the young preacher looked up. "Don't you ever do that to me again!" he said.
There are a lot of people who believe in God, and who yet miss the good news.
For them God is always coming, but never here.
God is always promising, but never delivering.
God is always near, but never quite in touch....
But this is never the case!
God lives. God is here. And God is coming here.
You can see it in the face of a new born baby!
You can see it in the gaze of young lovers!
You can see it in the look of old married couples!
You can see it within your own hearts, when you take time to look!
God will accomplish his purpose.
The kingdom will come.
The question for us is - will we get an attitude?
Will we be a part of the fulfilment of God's purpose?
Will we light a candle?
Or will we curse the darkness?
May His name be blessed!
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