1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Pray without ceasing. This has got to be one of the most difficult concepts of our faith, does it not? I mean, for most people who have been reared in North America, prayer is something that is done at specific times of day (before meals) and specific times of the week (Sunday worship). So when we are told that we are to "pray without ceasing...for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" how many of us really feel that we can measure up to it?

Throughout most of the year I would say this is quite a difficult task. But during Advent, or to say it a different way, from Black Friday through Christmas Eve; there are so many sensory helps that can lead us into prayer such as, sacred music played over the sound system of your favorite store, greenery and lights hung in city park and on your neighbors' homes, special delicacies being prepared by your favorite restaurants.

Granted, many of these things are being presented to us in an attempt to have us "shop downtown first" or get us in the mood to practice the art of giving, by buying first. But no matter how cynically we think about these things, God can use them to prompt us to be prayerful of preparing to welcome the newborn King. So next time you hear a jazzed up version of "Joy to the World" or take notice of the city's or your neighbor's decorations say a little prayer for the way we've been shown to live and love by our God who sent us Jesus and who sends us so many reminders, especially during December ... I mean ... during Advent.

Prayer:
Ever-faithful God, grant us the wisdom to start praying more. Show us the way to be reminded of your love through our neighbors' attempts at spreading good cheer. May we not give in to the bah-hum-buggery that our more "pious" siblings in faith would wish for this time of year. Instead let us rejoice with all of creation's attempts at bowing down to you, this Advent.

Psalm 85:10

"Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other." -Psalm 85:10

Righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Wow! What an image! Especially when you consider that Psalm 85 is the psalm that goes along with Mark 1:1-8, where John the Baptist calls us to repentance and to a baptism for the forgivness of sins. That such inflamatory words of self-reflection would be paired with such a beautiful image as "righteousness and peace kissing each other" is one of the great wonders of the lectionary for me.

That being said, what does such an image do for us in the midst of our Advent adventure? One way to look at it is if we have reflected on our need to come before God and repent, thanks to John's challenging words, then what do we have to look forward to? What else besides righteousness and peace kissing each other satisfies the longing of our hearts? How better to describe our desires for our own broken lives and the brokenness in those whom we care about the most than for the two attributes of righteousness and peace to come together in such an intimate way and restore relationship between God and us and then between us and those whom we love?

As we move even further into this season of reflection before we celebrate the advent of the Nativity, may we all take time to reflect on what it would mean for "righteousness and peace to kiss each other"; in our relationship with God, in our relationship with those closest to us, and in our more casual relationships with so many.

Prayer:
Mysterious and Wonderful God, we praise you for such challenging and seemingly contrasting images as John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness being paired alongside something as moving as righteousness and peace kissing each other. Grant us the wisdom to call upon both images in our lives of faith lived in the midst of a world where righteousness and peace are more often sparring partners than lovers. And as we see opportunities for your peace and righteousness to flourish in our lives with you and others help us grasp onto those moments with courage and strength. Amen.

Mark 1:4

"John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." -Mark 1:4

A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. What? Sin, forgiveness, repentance; why do these things come out in our Advent Bible reading? I mean, isn't December all about dreams of gum drops and mistletoe? Why must we put up with John the Baptist every year? Couldn't we just push him to the side like so much religious cobwebery? I mean, really; John is such a bummer, such a Scrooge, he just doesn't seem to fit in with our Martha Stewart or Norman Rockell Christmas preparations, does he?

Of course, I'm being a little silly, where would we be without John preparing the way for Jesus? After all, compared to the image of John in his questionable wardrobe and exotic diet, Jesus sounds so ... welcoming.

John's role in our unfolding Advent adventure points us to the need for a Savior; in some ways John is sort of like our twenty-four hour news-cycle: pointing out our failures, our misadventures, our shortsightedness, our missing the point on both a local and global scale. John is like so much bad news breaking over the airwaves and across our computer screens. But like two-thousand years ago we have an opportunity to respond today, just as the "whole Judean countryside" did in John's day. We too, whether personally or nationally can admit to how we have fallen short and how we need forgiveness and most especially how we indeed need a Savior: not from Wall Street or Washington D.C., but from a Servant King who shows us the way to live in this life and the next.

Prayer:
Gracious and Forgiving God, grant us the ability to admit not only our individual shortcomings but the misadventures of the great land in which we live. As we face dismal financial reports and challenging global issues help us face the truth that only you are perfect and we have a lot to learn. May we, in these weeks before we celebrate the wonder of the Nativity, find time to humble ourselves before you and seek the forgiveness only you can grant. Amen.

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.