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Nov. 27, 2022

Today the advent season begins. It is a season of spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The birth of Jesus. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because in him we see the embodiment of Divine Love in human form. We are celebrating the manifestation of the spirit of Divine Love among us. We celebrate the birth of Jesus because to us, Jesus is the Christ. The messiah. The expression of full potential of our humanity. He shows us what God is all about and who we are.

So the theme for this season at Lakewood is Seeking Christ. It is a time to think about how we see Divine Love in Jesus, and how that helps us to see Divine Love at work in the world around us as well as within us and among us.

The Sundays in Advent, we light a candle each week to help us mark the time until Christmas. So, this first Sunday of Advent, you are invited to light a candle, wherever you are. Light a candle and pause a moment to think about how the light of God has been made manifest to you.

Prayer:

In these darkening days of Advent, may we seek Christ in the past, in the present moment, in ourselves and in one another. Amen.

Nov. 28, 2022

In this season of seeking Christ, we give some consideration to what we know of Christ. What are we looking for? How will we know?

The Christian church bears the name of Christ, the church of Jesus Christ, and yet the church is associated with much that is in conflict with the nature of Christ.

In a church in Spain there is a fresco of a scene of violence and death – the Christian people eradicating the Moors. In the painting on a prominent wall on the main sanctuary there is a depiction of the decapitation of a child. What in heavens name is a painting like that doing in a church dedicated to Jesus Christ, the embodiment of love and peace? I can’t imagine going to church in that sanctuary in view of that painting which I consider to be in complete conflict with the values and teachings of Jesus the Christ.

There are many actions and beliefs associated with the church of Jesus Christ that are not consistent with the teaching of Jesus.

So, as this season begins, we think about what we associate with Christ. Who is Christ to us? What do we associate with Christ? That might help us with seeking Christ: To give some consideration to what it is that we are seeking.

Prayer:

In these long advent nights, may we ponder that nature of Christ. Are we following a light that will lead us to Divine Love? Amen.

Nov. 29, 2022

In this season of seeking Christ, I am thinking about how we look for something. Sometimes we think about where we have seen it last, or where we were when we used the thing we are looking for.

In the gospels we are told that Jesus the Christ came to seek and to save the lost. So we might think about seeking Christ where Christ is most needed. Among the least and the lost.

Where do you feel Christ is most needed in today’s world? In your community? In your life?

Maybe we can think about seeking Christ where Christ is most needed.

Is that around climate change? Or economic justice? Or around guns and violence and war? Or racism? Or around personal fear and alienation? Or? Or? Or?

Where is Christ needed today? Thinking about that may help us as we seek Christ.

Prayer:

May we look with compassion upon the world around us and at our own lives. Where is the manifestation of Divine Love needed? What would it look like to find Christ there? Amen.

December 1, 2022

Today is World AIDS Day. At one time, HIV/AIDS dominated our lives and our thinking and our reality in a way that foreshadowed the covid pandemic. Some who are older may remember. We worried about shaking hands. About sharing drinks. About using the bathroom. Because someway, somehow, we might catch it. Life was no longer safe. And there was no vaccination. No booster. And very little treatment available. Think about the beginning of covid. The onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic was a little like that.

And in this country, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was associated with homosexuality which is in part why there was so little attention and money directed to prevention, treatment, and cure. And the disease was associated with Haiti and Africa. Did we really need to worry about all those people who were already considered ‘less than’? If HIV/AIDS had slammed well-off white heterosexual men, it would have been a completely different scenario.

And today, HIV/AIDS continues to devastate lives and communities. The numbers are on the rise in the Black community in St. Petersburg. We are not yet done with AIDS just like we are not done with covid.

In awful, devastating circumstances like the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the covid pandemic, we see the Christ made manifest. We see Divine Love embodied in people who help those who are sick. Who advocate for fair treatment of all. Who help to overcome financial obstacles that prevent people getting needed medical treatment. In the AIDS epidemic, as in covid, we saw the flowering of compassion and generosity and community.

No matter the mess we make of things, Divine Love, is made manifest in humanity. Christ never forsakes us. Never abandons us. Never leaves us bereft.

Prayer

In these days of Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, may we seek signs of the eternal love that never forsakes beloved humanity. May we be signs of the eternal love that never forsakes humanity. Amen.

Dec. 2, 2022

There are many stories in the gospels about Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. We are also told of Jesus teaching in a local synagogue. From this we know that organized religion, the faith community, was an important part of Jesus’ experience and his teaching. He was seen as the Messiah, the Christ, a figure that was part of the scriptures and teachings of Judaism. Without the religion of Judaism, there would be no Jesus Christ of the Christian church.

This reminds us that as we seek Christ, we should be looking to the church to help us to connect with Christ. With Divine Love. With the universal, unconditional love that we find in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church teaches us about the nature of Christ. In church we learn of the way of Christ that leads to justice and peace and joy. In church we connect with the importance of self-giving in the search for wholeness. In church we hear of the forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration that is possible in relationships between people. In church we learn of the vulnerability and intimacy necessary to experience healing and wholeness. In church, we are accept that we are imperfect AND we are loved. As we are.

So when we think about seeking Christ this season, we want to remember that the church is a place that we can expect to experience Christ – in our tradition, in others, and in ourselves.

If you have not been to church for a while, this is a good time to head back. If you haven’t been to church for many, many years, this is still a good time to seek Christ in a faith community. If you have never been part of a church, this is a good time to give it a try. If you don’t find Christ at church, don’t give up on Christ, as if you have been abandoned. Look for another church. If Christ is not in a church, it is not because Christ has left the church but because the church has left Christ. Christ never gives up on us.

Prayer

We are grateful for the many faith communities that are shining the light of Christ and inviting others to find comfort, warmth, clarity, and healing in that light. Amen.