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Sunday Dec. 4, 2022

This Advent season is a time to celebrate the glorious vision of life lived in harmony and peace the world over. This is what Christmas is all about. Peace on earth, good will to all! It is about the fulfillment of the Divine dreams and visions for Creation.

The birth of Jesus, the embodiment of the Christ spirit, is about bringing those dreams to fruition. But as we know from life context, a leader can only do so much. The transformation of the social order needed to create peace cannot be accomplished by one person alone. Again, Jesus is our example. One of the first things we are told that Jesus does, according to the gospels, is to recruit disciples, helpers, followers. Making manifest the dreams of the God of Love is not something that can be done alone. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a leader, but the effectiveness of that leader is dependent upon the followers. And today, that includes us.

I am remembering the stunning movie, “Whale Rider.” At the end of the movie, after much resistance, Pai, a teen aged girl, becomes the leader of her tribe which has fallen on difficult times. But she knows that she cannot change things for her people alone. And she declares, “My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider. I’m not a prophet, but I know that our people will keep going forward, all together, with all of our strength.”

All of our strength. Everyone together. A group effort. All needed.

The Sundays in Advent, we light a candle each week to help us mark the time until Christmas. So, this second Sunday of Advent, you are invited to light two candles, wherever you are. As you light the candles, pause a moment to think about how the light of God is being made manifest around you.

Prayer

In this season as we celebrate the glorious vision of Divine Love coming to fruition in Christ Jesus, may we look around us and see where that vision is being made manifest today. May we look for how we can be part of the community of Christ bearing witness to the joy and peace intended for all of Creation. May we offer ourselves in whatever way we can in service to the reality of God’s compassion and peace. Amen.

Monday Dec. 5, 2022

This season as we think about seeking Christ, it is natural that we associate the presence of Christ with the church or with a temple or sanctuary. But as we read the gospels, we see that Jesus’ ministry was carried out not only in a religious building. We are told that he fed people on the hillside. And cooked fish on the beach. And healed people as he was walking from village to village. We are told that he ministered to people at dinner in a home. And that he taught from a boat on the lake. And that he confronted evil spirits in a cemetery. In Jesus Christ we see that the powerful love of God is not limited to certain people or certain places. It is available everywhere for everyone and for all of Creation.

As we seek Christ this season, we can think about expecting to experience the love of Christ in school, at the gym, on a walk, at the beach, at work, at a concert, or a meal. And, of course, in church. God wants to make it easy for us to access Divine Love: Everywhere. Anywhere. Always.

Prayer

In these busy days of Advent, may we remember to seek the spirit of Christ at all times and in all places. There are no limits to the presence of Divine Love. May we be always ready and willing and open. Amen.

Tuesday Dec. 6, 2022

In today’s world, we are practically forced to use GPS. Whatever program it is, I am sure that most of us are using one. In part we must use GPS because paper maps are harder to come by. And the assumption has become that we will be using GPS, so we get directions and information accordingly.

As you can probably tell, I don’t like using GPS. I use it. I know how to do it. I can see certain advantages that it provides. But I use it grudgingly. And I miss my maps.

I am involved on a regular basis with family members who constantly use GPS to steer their lives. Even when going places they have been over and over. Places they go on a regular basis. And if there is someone in the car who knows EXACTLY where to go and can instruct and inform the driver, the GPS is still on. As back up. We won’t digress into how scientists say this is changing our brains and not for the better.

But here is one plus for GPS. Re-routing. When you make a wrong turn or when there is a traffic snarl, there is an immediate re-routing. A new path. A better way.

As we think about seeking Christ this advent season, part of the journey is repentance. The word repent is key to the preaching of John the Baptizer and it is part of Jesus’ first teaching. And what does ‘repent’ mean? Change direction. On our journey seeking Christ, it is often necessary to repent. To come to terms with how we are off track. To seek forgiveness. And to try to get back on the path of Divine Love. We can find ourselves off in the weeds. Or heading in the wrong direction. And we need to repent and change course. We need to re-route.

So this Advent season is a time to look around. Consider. Take in the signs. See where we are headed. And then to be open to course correction. To rerouting as needed. GPS will probably not show you the way on this journey. But prayer, quiet, journaling, walking, music, church, therapy, the Bible, spiritual direction, these tools may help you to see where you are and where you are heading and make any course corrections needed.

Don’t be afraid. You can do it. Even without GPS!

Prayer

May we be open to seeing where we are and where we are heading. May we train our sights on Divine Love. May we rely on Christ for rerouting. Amen.

Dec. 7, 2022

December 7. For many this date is as seared into memory as, say, 9/11. When we hear ‘9/11’ we all know what is being referred to.

Well, it was that way with December 7. I was not alive when the cataclysmic events occurred on December 7. But I know about them. And when I see the date, that is what I think of. I wonder if my kids hear ‘December 7’ and know what to associate with that date. I don’t know. Here in America we tend to have short memories. In Europe, the people have much longer memories.

What about remembering? It can be good. To know what has gone on. To be grateful for what has come before. To learn from past mistakes. To understand why things are the way they are. To bond people together with a shared heritage.

Remembering can also bring up pain, anger, and the desire for retribution or justice.

This season as we seek Christ, maybe we can think about what in our past or our sense of the past needs healing. How do we need Christ the healer to help us deal with our memories and the stories we have been told so that we can live fully and freely into the future? We can choose to give the past power to make us stronger and to be a foundation for a future of peace. Seeking Christ will help us to find needed healing.

Give some thought to the power you give to the past in your life.

Prayer

We remember the events of December 7 and their aftermath. We pray that we might learn from the past and heal from that past so that we can live into a future of peace and joy. Amen.

Dec. 8, 2022

These covid years have been strange. It was like we were going down the highway and then in March of 2020 there was an accident. The highway had to be closed and we were directed down an exit ramp onto a detour. The way was not clearly marked. And we kind of wandered off all over the place.

Now it seems like the highway is open again; maybe even all the lanes. And the on ramp is open. But we don’t quite seem to be finding the way back to the way things were.

Maybe that is good. Maybe we don’t want to be going back to how things were. Maybe being derailed, being on lock down, being quarantined, being limited and confined, has taught us to see things in a different way. Maybe we have greater appreciation for some things. Maybe we have discovered that we are happier without some things that we thought were important.

So, maybe instead of trying to find the on ramp back to life as we knew it, maybe we can be looking for something different. Something more reflective of what we have come to know during these years of covid.

I know that some people in our congregation have found that the church is more important to them and they are much more connected and involved at church now than they were.

Maybe we are not finding our way back to ‘normal’ because we don’t really want to go there. Maybe we want to be part of a different reality, a different future, a different kind of life.

Just like a new baby drastically changes the life of a family, we can think about the coming of Christ as an opening for transition and transformation in our lives. This is a season to welcome Christ and to let Christ lead us further into the reality of Love.

Prayer

In these dark, quiet days of Advent, may we open ourselves to being led in new directions. Amen.