Using Your Gifts...

I hope you’re setting aside some time to inventory this past year. In fact, take some time today and reflect back on the ways God showed you compassion this year.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:35-38 NIV

If your time of reflection yields a healthy list of God’s compassionate giving to you, then let me ask you one other question: how might you take those gifts and use them to equip you to become one of the workers Jesus has asked us to pray for? I ask because obviously Jesus saw a need for workers.

“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Matthew 10:7-8 NIV

I hope that soon, very soon, our nation will be coming out of the pandemic. We will know this when our hospitals are back to normal and people are not getting sick at alarming rates. When we know this, as we return to a life that is not limiting contact for the safety of us and others, there will be much work to be done.

Because of economic uncertainties and illness, political and societal unrest, and our inability to control our daily lives in the habitual ways we once were, folks are going to be less well, less robust, less mentally fit. We’re going to need some folks who have used this year to prepare to be helpers to step up. Could that maybe be you?

The Blessings of Obedience

I want to say a dirty word…ready? Obedience.

Who likes to hear that? I hang out with people predisposed to saying “No!” when a “Yes” would have served them better. For some reason, I’m attracted to people who like to color outside the lines, break rules, and generally mess with authority figures. I’m not saying this is good or godly, but it is what it is.

Most folks who know my husband today like him better than they like me. It’s true. He’s quiet and kind and funny - and that ability to be quiet in sticky situations makes him seem smart. (OK, he is legit smart.) But I have to confess, I fell in love with him because, having known him for 50 years (gasp), I know he likes to color outside the lines, break rules and generally mess with authority figures that he feels are knuckleheads. For an introvert, the guy certainly could distract a teacher with his antics in our youth. One of our favorite stories about Pete happened soon after he arrived at our school as a transfer from Maine. We had a cool math teacher that we loved and Pete was in a small computer class taught by this same guy. Filled with guys, this small group was known to push the envelope and enjoyed bantering with their teacher. One day Mr. Crane had enough. “The next person that curses in this room gets a demerit!”

“Why the h-e-double hockey sticks do you want to do that?” answered my future husband. Pete had some explaining to do when that demerit notice showed up in the mail. (To fully appreciate this story, you have to know that this man never ever curses, and often chides the rest of us for what he perceives to be “loose lips.”) I suppose that’s why, years later, Pete couldn’t say but so much when our son brought home a note on his report card that said, “Could you please talk to Michael about not distracting me in class? He gets me laughing and this gets the entire class off track!” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Pete and I put on our serious parental unit faces and spoke to Michael about the need to behave in class. It was hard, but we did it. Afterwards, I realized that it shouldn’t have been hard to tell our son this important truth.

Obedience may sound like a dirty word to those predisposed to wanting our own way, but it isn’t. It’s a beautiful word. The discipline of obedience brings with it all sorts of blessings. Disobedience may get us a few chuckles, but it probably won’t build character. Obedience isn’t something we do to avoid punishment; it’s a skill set we develop so that we might become people of character. There are limits to obedience, however. When we are asked to obey someone or something that stands in opposition to the God of our understanding, we do not obey. We resist. But cussing in class does not count as civil disobedience in deference to a higher call.

To obey is better than sacrifice…The holidays are wrapping up, and a new year filled with potential beckons. Is there anything related to “obedience” that you’ve been resisting? Is it holding you back from bigger and better things?

Resolutions and Purpose...

Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year? Are you satisfied, yet? Anyone drink too much at a family gathering and insult a guest or a sibling? How well did you eat? I’m not referring to how much; I’m talking about how well? Did you pig out on stuffing and sweet potatoes, pecan pie, and coconut cake? Have you started to think about how big your charge card bill will be when you open it in January?

Did the coronavirus, or fights over the Presidential election at Thanksgiving, change the composition of your holiday invite list?

Are you beginning to bargain? Are you promising yourself next year will be different? More controlled? Fewer regrets?

“My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

Isaiah 46:9-11

I hear people say all the time that they’re done with making resolutions; no more for them! What I suspect they mean is that they’ve lost hope of finding solutions to their problems. Past performance demonstrates that nothing will ever change, so they stop trying. I want you to know that simply because you haven’t found a solution in the past does not mean there isn’t one. If you have some area in your life that you know is incongruent with God’s big dream for you, then I promise you: a solution is available. God’s purposes stand. He purposes and plans for you to have a decent life stands. If you’ve got something that’s holding you back, find someone who once had the same issue and ask them to share their experience, strength, and hope. Then do the next right thing.

Day 2: A Christmas Eve Prayer

A Christmas Eve prayer, traditionally read at dusk or before midnight. This year, I wonder if we will be able to gather for our traditional Christmas Eve service at NSC. I do not know what the future holds as of this writing. But here it is, a prayer that can be read together, or apart with a spirit of unity.

This night is the long night when those who listen await His cry.

This night is the eve of the great nativity when those who are longing await His appearing.

Wait, with watchful heart.

Listen carefully, through the stillness; listen, hear the telling of the waves upon the shore.

Listen, hear the song of the angels glorious - ever long it will be heard that His foot has reached the earth; news - that the glory is come!

Truly His salvation is near for those who fear HIm, and His glory shall dwell in our land.

Watch and pray, the Lord shall come.

Those who are longing await His appearing.

Those who listen await His cry.

Watch…

Wait….

Listen…

This night is the long night.

And as midnight turns into the day we celebrate Christ’s birth we pray:

This night is born Jesus, Son of the King of glory.

This night is born to us the root of our joy.

This night gleamed sea and shore together.

This night was born Christ, The king of greatness.

Though laid in a manger, He came from a throne; on earth though a stranger, in heaven He was known.

How lowly, how gracious His coming to earth!

His love my love kindles to joy in his birth.

Sweet Jesus, King of glory!

Now You sleep in a manger, in a stable poor and cold; but for us You are the highest King, making our hearts into Your palace.

And now we wait. Together? Together apart?

Day 3: Sitting Vigil...

The seventh, and final antiphon for this season:

O Immanuel, You are our King and judge, the One whom the peoples await, and their Saviour.

O come and save us, Lord, our God.

O come, O come, Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns

in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear:

Rejoice! Rejoice! IImmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

What are you waiting for this day before Christmas Eve? Are our longings in alignment with our values? Do our values reflect the faith that we profess? I use “our” and “we” with intention, because my decisions impact you. And your decisions impact me. We are in this together. We are made of clay, bound to make mistakes. Making mistakes is normal. Failing to wrestle with ourselves, acknowledge our limitations, is a pathway to captivity.

Maybe there are some things about ourselves that need mourning. Ok, we can wait quietly and patiently for those who mourn to mourn. We can sit vigil. But we must hold onto hope, sometimes carrying theirs and ours. Or, maybe someone is carrying our hope. God continues to provide ways for the banished to re-enter the circle of life. Let us make it easy for each of us to do so.