Some days in this world, the law is such that the silence is deafening,
or comments are shouted so harshly that ears ache and minds are crushed.
The doing that puts us in the midst of real doing
May be costly doing.
So, do we yet save lives?
Do we get gritty?
Scratching with hens out back, do we fill our nails with hard grit?
May we freely endure embarrassment?
How dirty are my hands each day?
We learned this in school, no?
Were these messages inside our textbook covers?
Some days, the messages of school days are lost.
Some days, the messages seem different, long lost.
But in the midst of this concrete world,
Christ is with us.
The doing that puts us in the midst of real doing
is blessed doing.
Beside us, the Master is doing. In…
A D V E N T 2 0 1 4: D E V O T I O N S T O O U R G O D I N T H E M A N G E R
Week 4 Human
Fulfilled
And now the promise is fulfilled,
the Word is complete,
and each sinner dies before God, and
each proclamation creates new life from old death.
The promise is fulfilled at Christmas,
and we are there in this
God-time,
aware in this real time,
alive in this time that does not stand still.
The great miracle has been proclaimed,
and we live it beside this tiny manger,
with this adored baby.
No mighty one tonight,
but a baby is in our view,
and all power is there, obscured in humanity.
Amidst sinfulness, sin dies; God goes there.
In weakness and illness, wretched ones die; God comes in.
In the misery of lonely death, the light shines.
God is there.
Some come in loneliness, in long nights.
Tonight, the light shines, our God lives, and
I am alive and filled with joy.
Under this tree, I live;
the promise is fulfilled.
I too shine by the manger.
(c) Tom Bolton, 21 December 2013, Deep in Divine Intervention
Here are some paragraphs that particularly speak to me:
Becoming “Kairos” in Times of Suffering
By Thomas Kemper*
It is hard to share the joyful Christmas message in a world of so much suffering and uncertainty, yet in this time of year we so clearly know the need for the rebirth of Christ, a birth to respond to the needs of this world.
Recently, 145 students and teachers were gunned down at a school in Pakistan. Thousands of persons of all ages are sick and dying from Ebola in West Africa. The United States is weighed down by an epidemic of the killing of unarmed black males by white police officers.
……………………
In the midst of the heaviness weighing on God’s world, I find words of promise and assurance in the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, especially his Letters and Papers from Prison. As is well-known, Bonhoeffer was a Christian pastor and activist who spoke out against the Nazi regime. At the time, many of his friends were concerned he would be imprisoned; they wanted him to play it safe in order to help rebuild the church after the war. He accepted refuge in New York City, living just a few hundred feet from where my office is located. But he could not isolate himself from what was happening to the people of his homeland. In the Daily Moravian Watchword he read, “The one who believes, does not flee.” After a few weeks in the US, Bonhoeffer returned in 1939 to Germany, where he would eventually be jailed and finally hanged for his anti-Nazi work.
From prison, Bonhoeffer wrote, “Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent . . . one waits, hopes, and does this, that, or the other – things that are really of no consequence – the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.”
…………………………………………………….
As we listen and journey together in community, the Child is born again. Listen once more to Bonhoeffer:
A D V E N T 2 0 1 4: D E V O T I O N S T O O U R G O D I N T H E MA N G E R
Week 4 Human
The Light and the Man
Word. God. Light. Life. Light.
Human, really human,
and human nature is illumined by
the light.
We too are called to be really human,
God-made human,
God-loved human,
and the light rests on something deep,
and deeper in each of us.
Joy in the Word!
Joy to the World!
God has lifted his love above
everything we can imagine.
Love lies in the manger.
The light shines.
The word is made light, and
as it was in the beginning,
the word is God.
This is a baby in the manger–tonight–
beyond our understanding, and
brighter than we see sometimes.
Again, joy in the Word!
Joy to our World!
I might have called this a “Christmas gift” or “Christmas offering>, but I like the message as it is. I’m repeating this recommendation from 2012. It ties in well with the Advent Book study we have been enjoying at West Allis First United Methodist Church: Pastor Mike Slaughter’s Christmas is not Your Birthday.
Jim Wallis has written this month on Christmas giving:
Religion is far too judgmental. Surveys show that many people think that, especially a new generation of young people who — more than ever before — are checking the “none of the above” religious affiliation box.
—-
A recent Harris International and World Vision poll showed that Americans plan to spend more this Christmas season on consumer gifts than they did last year, but give less to charities and ministries that help the poor. Many say they are less likely to give a charitable gift as a holiday present — a drop from 51 percent to 45 percent.
So we will have more Christmas presents this year, but less help for the poor. While retailers, economists, and politicians may rejoice at the news about higher consumer spending this year, the lower levels of support for the ones Jesus called “the least of these” should legitimately bring some moral judgments from the faith community.
Indeed, the Matthew 25 scripture that this text is taken from is one of the few and most judgmental passages in all the New Testament. About some things, Jesus was judgmental. The Gospel clearly says that how we treat the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner, is how we treat Jesus. That’s is pretty judgmental, especially when you go on to read what will happen to those who ignore Jesus in this way.
So let’s counter the results of the survey with a Christmas Tithe. Gather your family together around this, send the idea to your friends and fellow believers, take the idea to church, write letters to the editor in your local paper. Let’s all decide this Christmas to tithe a percentage of all that we give in Christmas presents directly to the poor; who were given the greatest gift at the first Christmas with a child born in a stable who promised to bring them “good news.”
His full essay can be found at the link above. Christmas Tithe
A D V E N T 2 0 1 4: D E V O T I O N S T O O U R G O D I N T H E M A N G E R
Week 4 Human
Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Human Too
So human, so child,
Can it be?
And now I remember that Jesus takes shape in we humans;
it is not our form,
but a repetition of form.
May I become human as God became human.
May I change and be transformed,
as a child of Him.
May I be scandalized and upset by
this image of the God-man;
may I see the sanctity and seriousness.
May my faith be renewed as a child.
I see this image of hope now.
Light and growth in some mirror,
I see things anew.
We have a strong city, Salvation City, built and fortified with salvation.
Throw wide the gates so good and true people can enter.
People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole,
steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.
Those who lived high and mighty he knocked off their high horse.
He used the city built on the hill as fill for the marshes.
All the exploited and outcast peoples build their lives on the reclaimed land. (The Message)
One: Sometimes we are so depressed we think we may need
psychiatric intervention.
All: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles.
One: But sometimes we see only black and blue thoughts. The deeper
we get into the holiday season, the sadder we get.
All: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles.
One: Even when we are called to live a life of joy, sometimes we see
circumstances that are dark and gloomy.
All: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles.
One: Sometimes we feel so alone.
All: Rejoice always!
One: Sometimes we feel our health failing and our bodies growing old,
and we feel we have nothing anymore!
All: Rejoice always!
One: Sometimes we are so deep in grief, grief is all we see. We are so
tired of pretending to be joyful! We feel like we have to pretend
to be Christmas-y!
All: Rejoice always!
One: Sometimes we know we will get over this hump, but we need the
prayers of many others. We need the gentle hugs and the
attentive ears of our brothers and sisters.
All: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like eagles.
Lord, teach us to remember to pray for others. May we be so
bound up in love with those for whom we pray that we may
feel their needs as acutely as our own and intercede for them
with sensitivity, with understanding and with imagination.
We ask this in Christ’s name. Amen. (byJohn Calvin)
Scripture Lessons:
Psalm 103: A David Psalm
O my soul, bless GOD. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless GOD, don’t forget a single blessing!
He forgives your sins—every one. He heals your diseases—every one. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
God makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we’re made of mud. Men and women don’t live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, but a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. God’s love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, making everything right for them and their children as they follow his covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said.
God has set his throne in heaven; he rules over us all. He’s the King! So bless God, you angels, ready and able to fly at his bidding, quick to hear and do what he says. Bless God, all you armies of angels, alert to respond to whatever he wills. Bless God, all creatures, wherever you are— everything and everyone made by God. And you, O my soul, bless God! (The Message)
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
(The Message)
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(The Message)
1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (The Message)
Matthew 10:29-31
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. (New Living Translation)
Response:
One: This is the illuminating Word of God.
All: For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from
my youth.
Lighting the Advent Candles
One: We light the candle of Hope as we await the coming of
Jesus, who is our source of hope. (first candle is lit)
All: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of hope, in our times of
emptiness and Darkness.
One: We light the candle of Peace, knowing that Jesus is the
Prince of Peace. (second candle is lit)
All: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of peace in our times of
uncertainty and fear.
One: We light the candle of Joy, knowing that our comfort and help come from God. (third candle is lit)
All: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of joy in our times of
sadness and Grief.
One: We light the candle of Love, knowing that God is love
revealed to us in Jesus Christ. (fourth candle is lit)
All: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of love in our times of
loneliness.
One: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.
All: The Word became flesh and lived among us, full of
grace and truth.
One: In him was life, and that life was the light of all. We know that
Jesus is our hope, our peace, our joy and the source of love.
Lighting our own Candles
We light our own candles as we sing
Hymn: “Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel” Hymnal No. 211
The Christmas Story: Luke 2: 1-20 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Birth of Jesus
2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[a] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[b] praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[c]
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Benediction:
One: Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the light no darkness can
overwhelm. Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening, and the day is
almost over. Let your light scatter the darkness and shine on your
people. Renew our Hope. Alleluia!
All: and Amen.
Hopeful 