Isaiah 2:5

"O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!" -Isaiah 2:5

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! How are you going to walk in the light of the Lord today? Will you yell at your child, like I just did? Will you dismiss a coworker because you are too busy? Will you jump to conclusions about the state of a friend or family member?

Although these are all tempting and we may feel justified or "right" in the circumstances surrounding our first reaction to many different interactions with loved ones, acquaintances and friends; all of the above "natural" reactions lead to nothing but shadow and darkness. And although there may not be a bright shining comet in the day and night sky as what led the wise men to Bethlehem, we do know how the light of the Lord leads us into all the relationships--both deep and shallow--that we have with many different people.

The light of the Lord leads us to "count to ten" or swallow our adult-correctness when speaking to our children. The light of the Lord leads us to really listen to our coworkers, maybe even ask a clarifying question that lets them know we are really interested in what they are saying. The light of the Lord leads us to "walk a mile in the shoes" of both our friends and family members when they are acting out or exhibiting behavior that we don't want to deal with.

In this season of Advent as we await the light of the Lord, the Christ child, love incarnate; we should pause in all the interactions of our lives and look to see the light of Christ in all those we encounter.

Prayer:
Lord of light and love, help us all to see more clearly how powerfully the light of your presence can be in the midst of all our relationships. Grant us eyes to see how you shine your face, not only upon us, but upon so many of our family, friends and acquaintances. For when we catch a vision of your light in our midst we are all the more ready to receive Christ among us. Amen.

Mark 13:35-37

Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake. -Mark 13:35-37

Keep awake! But, for what? This passage is from the first Sunday of Advent in year B, for all of you who follow the Revised Common Lectionary. It is an interesting passage for the first day of Advent; it speaks of "the Son of Man coming in the clouds" and of "heaven and earth passing away" but "of that day or hour, no one knows...only the Father." Like I said it is a strange passage to begin our preparations for the coming of the Christ Child, with it's talk of the end of the world and dark days and the world passing away, but also containing the warning that only God knows when it will come to pass.

So what are we to make of this reading for our Advent adventure? It is hard to know, really, what with Tim LeHaye & Jerry Jenkins' best selling books (The Left Behind Series) probably being conjured up by some of you. But for me this charge to "Keep Awake!" is a call to more intentional discipleship. What I mean by that is in this season of preparing for God with us--Emmanuel we are all a little more conscious of loving our neighbor, if not because we are somehow more spiritual then for the simple reason that it is hard to walk into any store without the persistent sound of ringing bells by Salvation Army ringers. Just as we are drawn out from our own selves, from our own thoughts as we walk into the store by those bell ringers, Mark 13 reminds us to keep awake, keep vigilant in our daily walk with Christ during Advent and throughout the rest of our lives.

Prayer:
Merciful God, wake us up not only through Salvation Army Bell Ringers, but also through the shocking and wonderful revelation that you come to us in many ways. Wake us up to your love at work in our lives. Wake us up so that we can see opportunities to serve you and love our neighbors as you have first loved us. Wake us up to the startling, amazing grace of your love found in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Psalm 80:6 & 7

For anyone out there who thinks that the Bible is nothing more than an out of date relic of antiquity, just consider these two verses:

You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restores us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. -Psalm 80:6 & 7

Restore us, O God of hosts.... Now God may not have caused the current financial meltdown or the fact that our nation is engaged in two wars or that there is a disturbing amount of residual election discontent. That is to say, with all that is going on in our nation, it is easy to see that the rest of the world might look in and laugh. And we too are having mixed feelings about our current state of the union. Even after a weekend that saw a 3% increase in consumer spending compared to the same Black Friday weekend in 2007; just yesterday even the word "Recession" being mentioned sank the Stock Market by a wide margin. How is it that we go from good news to bad news, from reason to hope to reason to fear so easily these days?

Surely in such uncertain times we, not just people of faith, but everyone cry out for a Savior, do we not? And with such uncertain financial markets, world crises and national politicians yearning for old fights, to whom can we turn? The only One to whom we can find solace in this season of so much doubt is our God who restores us, who saves us, by shining God's face upon us so that we might be saved.

Prayer:
O Lord of All, as the headlines bring us down; as our financial outlooks seem dreary; as we wonder how many more youth will be committed to wars abroad; let your face shine upon us. Grant us the grace to see this shattered world as you see it. Help us to block up our ears against those who would laugh at us and let us love them still. May we accept your love so that we may love the world as much as you do. Amen.

Psalm 122:8

"For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, 'Peace be within you.'" -Psalm 122:8

Peace be within you. As the Psalmist was penning those words, he was talking very specifically about peace within the city of Jerusalem. So what does that have to do with you, with me? Well the peace, the shalom, that the Psalmist was praying for was a peace that starts with all people turning to God and God in turn granting to all people those who have turned to God. Psalm 122 is a prayer for all people to look to Jerusalem, look to God who loves us and then receiving God's peace as a gift to share with our relatives, friends, and neighbors.

That's a pretty powerful Advent message, isn't it? What if in these weeks leading to the Nativity we were to pray for the peace of God to be not only in our own hearts, but within the hearts of all we encounter? What kind of peace would then spread throughout the community where we find ourselves? What kind of security would we achieve if we all turned to God for an everlasting peace meant as a gift for all?

Prayer:
O Lord, as we begin another workaday week, a week full of interactions with long-trusted friends, and passing acquaintances help us find the time and space to turn to you. And as we turn to you for grace, love and peace give us the courage and strength to share your peace, love and grace with all whom we encounter. May your peace flow through us at home, at work, at school, on the phone, in the car, in both our words and deeds this day and throughout all the days you give to us. Amen.

Isaiah 64:8

"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." -Isaiah 64:8

We are all the work of God's hand. That's a pretty good place to start as we head into the season of Advent, is it not? I mean, with all the expectations that the coming month can throw upon our shoulders and into our already busy lives; what if we could just keep in our mind, soul, and heart that "we are all the work of God's hand"?

How might that humbling, yet comforting phrase help us to clarify the priorities of this month? In what ways might we treat our siblings in faith, as well as all those with whom we come into contact, differently? Might remembering that we are all the work of God's hands help us stop from time to time throughout these next twenty-six days to pause and give thanks for being held in God's hands?

When and how will you work to better understand what it means to rest in God's hands even as the crush of Christmas bears down on us all?

O Lord, watch over us as we prepare our whole selves for the mystery and beauty of the Nativity. Guide us into a greater understanding of what it means for us to be the work of your hand. And with that understanding may we see both our siblings in faith and the stranger on the street in a whole new way. Amen.

Family Visits

Today my in-laws arrived in Twin Falls. They are here for a short 48 hour visit. Don't get me wrong, its not that I'm complaining, I have been blessed with pretty good in-laws. What I mean by that is that when the visit the reconnect with their daughter and do an excellent job grandparenting, all the while being respectful of me.

The reason I'm posting this is that we are all entering the time of year when we will receive guests as well as being guests ourselves. And how we fulfill those roles is an excellent time for us to practice our faith. For as we move into what can be awkward or at least different situations we are presented with opportunities to choose to follow Christ by loving our family even if we feel as though they aren't always loving towards us.

I'd like to encourage you to pray and think about the family you've been given. Really take some time to count your blessings for those whom God has placed you in relationship through birth and marriage and do your best to love them with the love of God. For when you take that opportunity to work on the relationships that you have been given through marriage and birth then I believe that you will be better equipped to work on all of the relationships that you have been given in this life.

So, as you prepare for the holiday tradition of visiting and receiving family I encourage you to find the courage to love your family as much as Christ loves us.

A Time to Heal

Ecclesiastes chapter three begins, "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...." and for many of us there is great relief that the 2008 election is all but over; give or take a few thousand votes to be counted around the country. Even as a majority of Americans clearly backed Barack Obama, there are many others who did not. So, for all of us who call on the name of Christ, no matter which candidate we supported, today begins a time of healing.

For those of you who supported John McCain, my prayer is that you will embrace the central message of his campaign with a twist. I hope that you will not only be able to put "Country First", but as a follower of Christ, that you will be able to put your Lord and Savior into the midst of your relationships with those whom you disagree politically. For that is how the Body of Christ is healed and made one, and as Christians who live in America, once we heal our relationships with our siblings in Christ, then healing the country will be so much easier.

For those of you who supported Barack Obama, my prayer is that you will embrace the sober mood of his acceptance speech last night. All too often the temptation of victory is to gloat and to walk around with an "I told you so" attitude, but again for those of us who call on the name of Christ, such boasting is out of line. I hope that you will be able to put your Lord and Savior into the midst of your relationships with those whom you disagree politically as well, and take a moment to love your neighbor as you would want to be loved if you were in their shoes.

For all of us, this day after the election perhaps another Scripture passage that we should consider is Psalm 51:10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Let us all seek to have a heart cleansed from partisanship and brought together as Christians first and Americans at a close second. Let us also seek a right spirit of building up the Body of Christ first, so that we are more prepared for the challenges and opportunities to reconcile with our family, friends, and sibilings in Christ with whom we disagree.