Lights! Camera! Action! You may not realize, but I took some theatre classes in college. I wanted to understand that "dazzle" I previously mentioned to light up that substance. You know what I learned? Those stage lights wash everything out where everyone has to wear a pound of makeup just to look normal. To make two actors look a comfortable distance apart they have to film them uncomfortably close. Not everything on stage or set is to scale. Perspectives are forced to get the right shot. In other words, those lights are often highlighting a bunch of fake stuff. That's not how it is with God's light. While the world is focused on highlighting a bunch of stuff that doesn't really matter, God is highlighting love incarnate. God's light doesn't wash us out, or force us to see a perspective that isn't true. God's light simply highlights what is already true. In this case: a baby come to change the story for the better. What truth do you need to highlight today? Dear God of light, Highlight in us the things that really matter. Amen.
"Do not be afraid." I've seen memes that suggest this one phrase was biblically said 365 times. I don't know if that's the case, especially when you consider no one's tried to milk that cash cow to make a 365 prayer journal using that phrase. I do know it's said often and usually by angels. Now, if an angel just appeared before me, I'd be terrified. There's an order to this life. We know messengers of God just don't show up out of the blue! God's creation has a process, and things (or beings) just appearing out of nowhere are outside that process. That's part of the point! Sometimes we need to be shaken up to realize there's more than what we perceive. "Do not be afraid, [God's here too!}" That is a message we should hear every day, not just once in a lifetime. Do you have fears you are ready to give to God? Dear God of all that is seen and unseen, Thank you for reminding us there is more to our world than we realize. Amen.
I'm a den leader for my son's Bear den. Back during the summer, the Cub Scout Master pulled me aside and asked me to lead. The firs words out my mouth were, "A den leader has to purchase a bunch of supplies. I don't have that kind of disposable income." Like a good volunteer coordinator, he gave me reasons I should say yes anyway. I did, with those ancillary costs looming in the back of my mind. Yet, as I began to do the job, I realized I already had everything I needed. It all began to fall into place. People stepped up to help. My craft area became a mini-giving corner. What I needed was there. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom. Luke 2:7 CEB This is the truth regarding the inn or guestroom. It doesn't appear it's going to work. Mary and Joseph need a place to stay, and the inn is full. Yet, somehow, it does. It's wasn't going to be easy or comfortable, but it was going to work. Are you willing to let go of what "couldn't be" to help God's plan "become"? Dear Keeper of all that is, was, and will be, Thank you for those moments where our lives fall into place, where places that appear barren give fruit, and places that appear full have just enough room for a miracle. Amen.
There is something very special about having kids during the holiday season. While I'm stressing over things I shouldn't stress over, they are joyfully jumping into everything. Their eyes twinkle as they see the colorful lights. They get excited over putting their favorite ornaments on the tree. There is something that makes me smile when they anxiously stare at those first presents under the tree. "I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.” Mark 10:15 CEB This childlike joy should be adopted by adults when anticipating Christmas. That star that shines should make our eyes twinkle. We should fill with excitement as we recall our favorite part of the nativity. We should anticipate God's son in the form of a tiny baby. What kind of stress can we let go of, to let joy in? God of Joy, Help us leap into anticipation for the birth of Christ in our lives! Amen.
"A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse; a branch will sprout from his roots." -Isaiah 11:11 CEB There was a time when Israel was looking for a king. They looked for the powerful and found Saul. Only Saul was not the right one. They looked for strength and age in Jessie's sons, only that wasn't right either. Instead, the right choice was the smallest and youngest son: David. This is how God works. God's choice isn't based on our standards. God will choose the least of these; the last becoming first. This became most clear when that line, the last born shoot of Jessie (King David), would be the line of Joseph. The same Joseph that would marry Mary, and give birth to the Son of God, Jesus. I bet you were wondering when I would finally get the real story of Advent, to a baby born in a manger. Here we are, almost half way there, and it was all part of the "real story." From The Beginning to a New Beginning, God's story has echoed. We need only put our standards aside to let God work. What are some ways we can put our standards aside so God has room to act? Dear Creative God, Help us remember Your story is vast and deep. We cannot possibly know the true beginning or ending. We can only hope to be the best players in your epic discourse. Amen.
The history of the human race in relationship with God can be summed up as follows: Get on track. Slowly get off track. Face the consequences. Repeat over and over again. God's people didn't always stay on track. Sometimes they got stuck breaking certain rules God gave them to follow. It was during those times God sent special messengers, called Prophets, to warn the people to get their act together. One time, with Jonah, they listened. Usually they didn't. Fortunately, God's grace is limitless. Also, prophets didn't always come to share bad news. Sometimes they came to give hope. Sometimes they said that something or someone was coming. "Clear the Lord’s way in the desert! Make a level highway in the wilderness for our God! 4 Every valley will be raised up, and every mountain and hill will be flattened. Uneven ground will become level, and rough terrain a valley plain. 5 The Lord’s glory will appear, and all humanity will see it together; the Lord’s mouth has commanded it." -Isaiah 40:3-5 CEB How are you preparing the way of the Lord? Holy and loving God, As you give us the call, may we be open vessels to that Good News. Amen.
There came a point where God's people were captives in Egypt. Eventually, they became so numerous they were culled. (This is a fancy term for killing off a percentage of something to keep the population down.) All baby boys were killed. Moses escaped this fate by being put in a basket, and sent down river. He was found by Pharaoh's wife who adopted him. Therefore, he became the perfect person to free God's chosen people from slavery. He was an Israelite by birth, and an adopted Egyptian. The perfect mix to speak for an oppressed people. At the point where Moses sees God as a burning bush, he's in exile with no desire to return. As a burning bush, God kindles Moses' call to set God's people free. While we don't get burning bushes today, God still lights calls within us. How has God lit a call in you? What is that call? Dear God, Kindle within us the call the need to do your will. Amen.
I am really good friends with my sister, but this was not always the case. We used to get into terrible fights. As we were raised as tomboys, those fights could get pretty physical. We scratched. We bit.It was always over really silly things. My children are the exact same today. My Dad's words echoing in my mind: "I've always been told, 'I hope you get two just like you.'" For Joseph, and his many brothers, the argument was over a coat. Well, I say a coat. The coat was the last straw. Joseph got all his dad's attention. It made the other brothers jealous. When the dad gave Joseph a coat it caused the argument to heat up so much the first plan was to kill him! The thing is, this was part of a bigger story. Each brother, including Joseph, was the Patriarch. They were one of the twelve Jewish tribes to eventually just go by the name Israel. As much as they argued and hated one of their own, they were all still part of the promise God made to Abraham. We get caught up on the small stuff, when sometimes we need to focus on the big picture. What, do you believe, is God's big picture for you? What small things are getting in your way? Dear God of all things, large and small, Help us see the big picture when the little things cloud our vision. Amen.
We have reached the second week of Advent, and I come with previous meditations on Peace, and a new sermon delivered today: How to Follow the Map to Peace Christmas Peace: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation Makers of Peace: Guest Meditation Kristy Burmeister Last week I told you one I was particularly fond of. I'd say this week would be Kristy's Guest Meditation. Pack Your BagsA Sermon for Fig Tree Christian and Community ChristianIn the fifteenth year of the rule of the emperor Tiberius—when Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea and Herod was ruler over Galilee, his brother Philip was ruler over Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was ruler over Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas—God’s word came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. John went throughout the region of the Jordan River, calling for people to be baptized to show that they were changing their hearts and lives and wanted God to forgive their sins. This is just as it was written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
A voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight. Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be leveled. The crooked will be made straight and the rough places made smooth. All humanity will see God’s salvation.” Luke 3:1-6 NRSV A meditation and scripture on peace: Peace. Peace be still and know that I am God. Peace be still and know that I am. Peace be still and know. Peace be still. Peace be. Peace. Peace. Peace. A scripture from Isaiah and Luke: Prepare. Prepare the way of the Lord. Prepare and peace. Two things I don’t normally put in the same sentence. For me, peace is what happens at the conclusion. The children have opened the presents. It was an explosion of paper and toys. Then, after it has been cleaned up, peace settles over the house. Preparation is what happens before, and preparations are anything but peaceful. Preparing is a stressed filled mess. Right now I’m preparing for a Lenten Devotional. I have ¾ of the writers done and taken care of. I’m stressing over the remaining ¼. Will they get their devotions in on time? Will I have to find someone else? Meanwhile, there is cover art, formatting and publication I personally have to worry about? Tons of preparation, and little peace. Why are these two words put together?! I mean, are we supposed to look at these things like sandwich bread? Wait. The bread is all the same in a sandwich, but it takes different meaning whether it’s on top or at the bottom. Hmm. There might be something to that. Also, sometimes that peace, that letting go of an event, can come before the preparation of another event. Like if one were to stack sandwiches together there would be bread from the bottom of one sandwich touching the bread from top of another sandwich. Ends of some things butt up against the beginnings of other things all the time. It’s simply how life works. Last week Advent began with hope. I believe hope is the knowledge that things cannot continue the way they have been going, and the anticipation that the future is the way to go. Hope is the seed that is planted throughout our Advent journey. It leads us to this week, this strange mix of peace and preparation. Yet, these two pieces are the healthiest next move to positive change. In my short pastoral tenure I have seen many a church cling to this bygone image of what their congregation used to look like. They tape this image over their ability to self-reflect. In conclusion, they convince themselves they don’t need to change. Because of this, they never find the peace to let go; to find an ending to their previous story. (By the way, I said AN ending, not THE ending. The story of any healthy church is full of beginnings and endings. A healthy beginning comes from a healthy ending.) I’m not just making this up. This is biblical! When Moses went to Egypt to release the Israelites from captivity, the story wasn’t, “Hey, Joseph brought us here. We should really stick around and be slaves because that’s what we were called to.” It sounds so ludicrous hearing it spoken out loud. Yet, I’ve heard the church claim stories that have already ended, as their reason for not moving forward. The thing is, as great as it was that Joseph saved Egypt from the seven year famine, that was not where the story was when Moses entered the picture. The Israelites were no longer buddie-buddie with the Pharaoh. For their story to continue, they had to come to peace with what could no longer be, and prepare for something new. When the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, they were bitter. They lost their home, and were forced to live with the enemy. They said some things we probably wouldn’t be comfortable hearing. Things like, “God, I just want revenge. I want to beat their baby’s heads against rocks!” (That’s my summation of the end of Psalm 137, written while they were in Babylonian exile.) Eventually, Babylon let them go back home. When it was time to go back home, they had to come to peace with what they lost, before they could prepare to reclaim their home. If they had taken their revenge on Babylon, like they wanted, the Israelites would have lost everything. Instead, they had to forgive their enemy. It sounds ludicrous to think a people wouldn’t know when to let go, but I’ve seen churches hold on to that anger. They refuse to accept the peace that comes before the preparation, because they want revenge for that wound. They want revenge for whoever it was that took them out of their Promised Land, and put them into exile. The thing is, as terrible as the Babylonian exile was, the Israelites had to come to peace with what happened so they could move back home. When Rome finally entered Jerusalem the Promised Land was a mess. The North and the South were not getting along. They both thought they had claims to where the Holy of Holies resided. Meanwhile the Priests had their job down to an art, at the expense of God’s people. They knew how to follow the rules found in scripture. They knew the right way to do everything. Yet, following the letter of the law created outcasts. God loved and loves everyone, yet the Priests did not accept everyone into the temple. It was simply against the rules. This is where John the Baptist comes in. He was someone born within the priestly line, but not part of it. The peace before the preparation had to come from a hard break from the system. If following the letter of the law meant the leper, the Samaritan, the sinner was not part of temple worship, then the worship would leave the temple. The sentence that always unhinges any positive change always goes like this: “That’s how we’ve always done it.” It’s so easy to say, but when churches use those words they are channeling the Priests from the Gospels. Of course the Priests wanted to keep everything the same. There was nothing wrong from their perspective. Everything worked well for them. The peace, in this case, is the peace of letting go of what personally works for us, to embrace what necessarily works for God and all of God’s people. I’ve seen churches destroyed by the few who can’t let go of how it’s always been done. I truly don’t believe new church start is going to happen the way it did in the late-90’s. I believe if we just want to shuffle around the same people we’ve always had going to church, that’s what we do. If we want real change, it’s gotta’ happen differently. We’ve got to come to peace with what the church was, and prepare for what the church will be. I don’t know if you could relate personally with any of those examples. If you could, you are not alone. I’ve seen it over multiple congregations over multiple years. There is nothing you are going through that many churches all over the United States are not also going through. The question is: What do you do with it? Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming, and we must find peace. We must accept our congregation just as it is. We are held captive by the very things we were once invited to join. We were forced into exile and must learn to forgive those who put us there. We might need to break ourselves from the system to begin to see the Body of Christ as more full than we could possibly imagine. If you are ready to find that peace, than you got to leave. You’ve got to leave that captivity. You’ve got to leave vengeance. You’ve got to accept that wilderness. Jesus is coming, and leaving is the only way to fully accept what Christ truly came to do. Be at peace. Leave the brokenness behind, and prepare for the fullness to come. We, as human, are dense. We just don't get it sometimes. I think of the lawyer from Chicago. "Give them the ol' razzle dazzle." Why? Simply put, we need a pretty picture. We need to be awed to eat up the information we are being fed. In Chicago it was all a pack of lies. In scripture it was the truth. The stars were not the first time God gave the promise of Abraham being the Father of a numerous people. The first time was less glamorous. It was just a statement of truth: "The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your land, your family, and your father’s household for the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation and will bless you. I will make your name respected, and you will be a blessing." Genesis 12:1-2 CEB Where are the stars, or even the grains of sand? Where is the razzle dazzle? This first statement really doesn't take for Abraham, who chooses a serrogate to be his heir. Only then is Abraham dazzled into belief. God's dazzle was substance first. Here's our problem: Sometimes we get so caught up in the dazzle, we forget the substance. We should take a lesson from God. Seek substance first, and then go back to make it dazzle. Where do you need to focus on the substance? Dear God of Heaven and Earth, As we are dazzled by the stars in the sky and grains of sand by the seashore, help us remember the substance behind it all. Amen.
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