HOPE

d365.org 'Presence of God' (Andrew Kellner)
There is something unique about the hope that comes from Christ. In Christ we find that God does not stay far away from humanity, but becomes a part of us. This hope assures us that in the midst of our lives and world, God will be near to us. In Advent we wait in this hope and discover anew how God has been, is, and will be near to us.

Daily Benediction (Andrew Kellner)
Look for hope today. 
Look for hope on the faces of the people you meet. 
Look for hope in the midst of pain. 
Give hope to those you meet and be Christ in the world

SATURDAY, December 15  "Hope Amid Weeping"
Matthew 2:16-18 (The Message)

Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills..... That’s when Jeremiah’s sermon was fulfilled:

A sound was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and much lament.
Rachel weeping for her children,
    Rachel refusing all solace,
Her children gone,
    dead and buried.

     I broke into tears this morning when I realized the d365.org publishers had switched the text for today to verses that take place later in the Biblical Christmas narrative.  Mass murder in Bethlehem, parents weeping, unconsolable.   Mass murder yesterday in Connecticut.  Innocent children slaughtered, senseless killing.  We cannot comprehend.     Yet just after this passage in Matthew, John the Baptist comes. Jesus begins his ministry.   God intervenes again to bring hope to our world.
     God is weeping today with us.  It is hard to feel the joy and peace of Christmas when events like this take place.   Yet I also believe with all my heart that God can and will bring the advent message of hope to our world in this time -  using people like you and me to bring healing through Christ.  Our God of love is not absent, advent is not gone.  But the call to share and BE advent in our world of pain rings loud and clear.  

God of advent. 
God of hope and peace and joy. 
God of love,
Listen to our cries. 
Hear our sorrow.
Hear the pain in our hearts for your children.
Children here, overseas, dying
From violence, poverty, and neglect. 
In the stillness of the night,
In the agony of our lament,
May we hear the angels sing. 
May we find the peace of an infant child
May we live the advent message
And bring the light of hope to our world.  

d365 BENEDICTION  (David Burroughs)
Look for hope today.
For hope, in spite of any and all circumstances, remains.
In the face of discouragement, setbacks, 
And even unspeakable violence,
Watch for hope. Insist on hope,
Because in the midst of every uncertainty, We can trust in hope's Source.  

FRIDAY, December 14   "Seek God"
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (The Message)

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

 “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.

 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

     Years ago I found a little poem that I used for a Children's Sermon about 'losing God'.  The little boy searched and searched for a God that was lost.  In the end, it was the boy who was lost, not God!  (Surprise, surprise!)    How often are we searching for something that is right in front of us if we would open our eyes!
     What struck me about today's passage, aside from being seeped in a sense of HOPE, was the action involved on our part.  'When you call, when you come looking,.."   We have to actively open the door of our heart to God.  Even just a crack, and God will begin to lovingly push his way into our lives.  God wants this relationship with us.   But it is a two-way relationship that involves our bringing ourselves into it.  
     And when we do that, 'we won't be disappointed'!  HOPE for a future with all God has planned for us!  



THURSDAY, December 13    "Prophets"
Luke 1:76-79  (Good News Translation)
“You, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go ahead of the Lord
    to prepare his road for him,
⁷⁷ to tell his people that they will be saved
    by having their sins forgiven.
⁷⁸ Our God is merciful and tender.
He will cause the bright dawn of salvation to rise on us
⁷⁹     and to shine from heaven on all those who live in the dark shadow of death,
    to guide our steps into the path of peace.”
Baby John.
Prophet of God.
Preparing paths.
Proclaiming God. 
Baptizing forgiveness.
Cleansing water, light. 
Peace, hope. 

We are priests. 
We are prophets. 
All of us. 
Called to prepare.
"Comfort ye, my people"
Food, clothing, shelter. 
Called to proclaim.
"This is why I fed you."
God came to earth. 
Called to seek forgiveness.
Within ourselves.  With others.  With God. 
Called to be hope,
For a world desperately in need
Of good priests, 
Of dedicated prophets,
Of HOPE. 


WEDNESDAY, December 12   "God-Tales"
Luke 1:68, 73-75 (GNT)
“Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel!
    He has come to the help of his people and has set them free....
With a solemn oath to our ancestor Abraham
    he promised to rescue us from our enemies
    and allow us to serve him without fear,
⁷⁵ so that we might be holy and righteous before him
    all the days of our life."
     This passage is part of Zachariah's song of prophesy following the birth of John. He recounts God's active participation in the lives of his people. He is telling stories of God at work. 
     We don't live in a vaccum alone with God.  Part of the Kingdom of Heaven is a community of believers. Sharing stories of our faith, stories of God at work, strengthens that community.  I realize that calling this 'God-Tales' sounds something like VeggieTales, but the message is the same:  GOD is present and at work in our world!  Share a God-Tale with another!  Perhaps the Holy Spirit will fill your words and the message will come from a voice long silent!  There is hope here, advent hope.  






TUESDAY,  December 11   "All Flesh"
Luke 3:2b-6  (Good News Translation)

At that time the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.  So John went throughout the whole territory of the Jordan River, preaching, “Turn away from your sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins.”  As it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah:

“Someone is shouting in the desert:
    ‘Get the road ready for the Lord;
    make a straight path for him to travel!

Every valley must be filled up,    every hill and mountain leveled off.
The winding roads must be made straight,
    and the rough paths made smooth.
 The whole human race will see God's salvation!’”

     This scripture passage was also the text for Rev. Katy's sermon last week and our lectionary Bible Study the Thursday before.  I've spent a little time with it lately! While the d365 author concentrates more on why people listened to a crazy man like John out in the wilderness, our Bible study focus was more on the preparations of straight paths and level roads and bridging the gaps in the wilderness to allow Christ to enter.  In the sermon Katy asked the questions 'What mountains stand between us and those indebted to us?  When we serve others, are we making paths straight?  What wilderness lies between us?'  


      So...just to be different, this morning I want to take a look at the very last line: 
The Message: Everyone will be there to see the parade of God’s salvation.
Common English: All humanity will see God’s salvation.
Good News: The whole human race will see God's salvation!
New Revised Standard: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
    The question to ask....does all flesh include more than just humanity?  Does all flesh include the rest of natural creation?  I think it does.  We are an interwoven world.  While mankind intellectually and spiritually exists on a different level from the animal world, we underestimate the creative powers of God if we elevate ourselves totally apart from our created world.  The salvation of God, the peace of God, includes us ALL living together in harmony.  If you read enough psalms, you find ALL creation is called to praise and honor God, perhaps in the parade image of Peterson's Message!   If every living being is called to praise, then every living being is part of salvation as well!   Something to consider.  And now....I am off to spend a little time  in said creation.      


MONDAY, December 10   "Refining Love"
Malachi 3:2-4  (The Message)

But who will be able to stand up to that coming? Who can survive his appearance?  He’ll be like white-hot fire from the smelter’s furnace. He’ll be like the strongest lye soap at the laundry. He’ll take his place as a refiner of silver, as a cleanser of dirty clothes. He’ll scrub the Levite priests clean, refine them like gold and silver, until they’re fit for God, fit to present offerings of righteousness. Then, and only then, will Judah and Jerusalem be fit and pleasing to God, as they used to be in the years long ago.

     So much of Christmas and prophecy scripture is embedded in my brain from childhood years of annually listening to, or singing,  Handel's Messiah.  I cannot read this Malachi passage without hearing the deep bass solo rumble, "But who will abide the day of his coming?"  Yet, as I listened, I always thought the refiner's fire was for everyone.  And it probably is and should be!  But this morning for the first time, I realized the scripture speaks of the Levite priests, targeting the ongoing corruption taking place within the temple.  God was not the central focus; hypocrisy was in control.

     However, Christ and God enter the individual heart-temple of each of us.  We are a 'priesthood of believers'.  We ARE the priests.  No more sacrifices, no more hypocrisy.  God one with us. Trials and hardships are the soap and fire of God's refining love, meant to help us keep our perspective and focus on God. To live with the hope this brings, to live within God's refining love, gives renewed meaning to our lives!  

SUNDAY, December 9    "Hope Is Coming!"
Malachi 3:1  (Good News Translation)
The Lord Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”

A message!
A visitor is coming!

Just the very suggestion
Fills my heart with anticipation.
A switch from the ordinary and mundane. 
Change is in the air. 
Don't we still feel this way
As we await a welcome arrival?

Yet, this is God speaking!
God is sending the message. 
God is preparing the way 
For a guest from heaven
The expectancy of such an arrival
Is cause for overwhelming joy and hope.

The messenger has issued the invitation:
Guess who is coming to dinner?
Have we prepared the table?
The meal?  Our hearts?
Will I recognize my guest?
I can't wait.  I must wait.
God-Hope is coming. 
God-Hope is here already, ... now. 
Do I recognize my God-guest?