“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
25 December 2011
For us, a light
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
22 December 2011
The Waiting
As we sit here, waiting, we wonder what we're waiting for.
The day draws nearer, and we anticipate, but the question remains.
Advent is the waiting time. What, really, are we waiting for?
It's the miracle. We sit here in the hopeful expectancy, waiting for the miracle day to become full, the Miracle to be born, to become part of this dusty, grimy, beautiful world of ours.
The Baby, born two thousand years ago of a girl perhaps my own age, a scared teenage girl, and God. The Baby who was, is and always will be the greatest gift.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
(from O come, O come, Emmanuel)
O come, o come, indeed. We are waiting. Waiting for the remembrance of the Word becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us.
There is beauty in the the waiting. We don't like to wait. We get impatient. But there is beauty in finding the peace to wait. He waited.
And then He came.
Came to us who were waiting. And showed up in all the grime of our earth. How in the world do we fail to see Him? We look right past the very thing we are waiting for! And yet He knew, and He still came. Still showed up, bloody and new into the stable. Still took the sorrow of our sins upon him. Still walked our dusty roads, among us the sin-filled people. Still died, covered in the blood that washed us clean.
The waiting of this season is almost over. Look hard for Him. You will see Him in the most broken places. The dirty places. The messed up ones. He will come. he always does. Only look.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
(John 1:14-16)
We have seen His Glory.
Love:)
R
The day draws nearer, and we anticipate, but the question remains.
Advent is the waiting time. What, really, are we waiting for?
It's the miracle. We sit here in the hopeful expectancy, waiting for the miracle day to become full, the Miracle to be born, to become part of this dusty, grimy, beautiful world of ours.
The Baby, born two thousand years ago of a girl perhaps my own age, a scared teenage girl, and God. The Baby who was, is and always will be the greatest gift.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
(from O come, O come, Emmanuel)
O come, o come, indeed. We are waiting. Waiting for the remembrance of the Word becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us.
There is beauty in the the waiting. We don't like to wait. We get impatient. But there is beauty in finding the peace to wait. He waited.
And then He came.
Came to us who were waiting. And showed up in all the grime of our earth. How in the world do we fail to see Him? We look right past the very thing we are waiting for! And yet He knew, and He still came. Still showed up, bloody and new into the stable. Still took the sorrow of our sins upon him. Still walked our dusty roads, among us the sin-filled people. Still died, covered in the blood that washed us clean.
The waiting of this season is almost over. Look hard for Him. You will see Him in the most broken places. The dirty places. The messed up ones. He will come. he always does. Only look.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
(John 1:14-16)
We have seen His Glory.
Love:)
R
16 December 2011
No longer alone....
‘Advent, it becomes a time of self-examination.
“Put the desires of your heart in order, O human beings!” as the old song sings….
God wants us to always be with us, wherever we may be — in our sin, in our suffering and death.
We are no longer alone; God is with us.
We are no longer homeless; a bit of the eternal home has moved into us.
Therefore we adults can rejoice deeply within our hearts under the Christmas tree, perhaps more than children are able….
We know that God’s goodness will once again draw near. We think of all of God’s goodness that came our way last year and sense something of the marvelous home. Jesus comes… “Behold I stand at the door …. Open wide the gates.” (Ps. 24:7). One day, at the last judgement, he will separate the sheep and the goats and will say to those on his right: “Come, you blessed… I was hungry and you fed me…. ” (Mt 25:34)
To the astonished question of when and where, he answered, “What you did to the least of these, you have done to me….” (Mt 25:40). With that we are faced with the shocking reality: Jesus stands at the door and knocks, in complete reality. He asks you for help in the form of a beggar, in the form of a ruined human being in torn clothing.
He confronts you in every person you meet.
Christ walks on the earth as your neighbor as long as there are people.
He walks on the earth as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you and makes His demands. That is the great seriousness and the great blessedness of the Advent message.
Christ stands at the door.
He lives in the form of the person in our midst.
Will you keep the door locked or open it to him?
Christ is still knocking.
It is not yet Christmas.
But it is also not the great final Advent, the final coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate goes the longing for the final Advent, where it says, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:15).
Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life, however, is Advent….
That is, a time of waiting for the ultimate, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
When all people are brothers and sisters.
~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
How often do I forget that Christ, He does indeed walk on the Earth as my neighbor. That He confronts me in every person I meet. The man with a sign outside of Costco, the people wrapped in too thin sleeping bags under the overpass. The woman confined to her home because she can barely move anymore. The girl with scars all over her arms and legs from trying to let the pain escape, the boy with teeth yellow from nicotine. These people, they don't have it all together. And yet Christ said,
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matthew 25: 34-40, 42-45)
The people he mentions are the ones so full of pain, so broken. They are where He confronts us, face to face.
"What are you going to do? Because ignorance is no longer an option."
It isn't. Waiting, then, for it all to become new. But fighting, to help this broken world. That is what we are here for. That is what Christ, 2,000 years ago was here for. We are no longer alone in this fight. The tiny baby ensured that. So we fight all the harder.
Love:)
R
“Put the desires of your heart in order, O human beings!” as the old song sings….
God wants us to always be with us, wherever we may be — in our sin, in our suffering and death.
We are no longer alone; God is with us.
We are no longer homeless; a bit of the eternal home has moved into us.
Therefore we adults can rejoice deeply within our hearts under the Christmas tree, perhaps more than children are able….
We know that God’s goodness will once again draw near. We think of all of God’s goodness that came our way last year and sense something of the marvelous home. Jesus comes… “Behold I stand at the door …. Open wide the gates.” (Ps. 24:7). One day, at the last judgement, he will separate the sheep and the goats and will say to those on his right: “Come, you blessed… I was hungry and you fed me…. ” (Mt 25:34)
To the astonished question of when and where, he answered, “What you did to the least of these, you have done to me….” (Mt 25:40). With that we are faced with the shocking reality: Jesus stands at the door and knocks, in complete reality. He asks you for help in the form of a beggar, in the form of a ruined human being in torn clothing.
He confronts you in every person you meet.
Christ walks on the earth as your neighbor as long as there are people.
He walks on the earth as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you and makes His demands. That is the great seriousness and the great blessedness of the Advent message.
Christ stands at the door.
He lives in the form of the person in our midst.
Will you keep the door locked or open it to him?
Christ is still knocking.
It is not yet Christmas.
But it is also not the great final Advent, the final coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate goes the longing for the final Advent, where it says, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:15).
Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life, however, is Advent….
That is, a time of waiting for the ultimate, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
When all people are brothers and sisters.
And one rejoices in the words of the angels:
‘On earth, peace…' " ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
How often do I forget that Christ, He does indeed walk on the Earth as my neighbor. That He confronts me in every person I meet. The man with a sign outside of Costco, the people wrapped in too thin sleeping bags under the overpass. The woman confined to her home because she can barely move anymore. The girl with scars all over her arms and legs from trying to let the pain escape, the boy with teeth yellow from nicotine. These people, they don't have it all together. And yet Christ said,
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matthew 25: 34-40, 42-45)
The people he mentions are the ones so full of pain, so broken. They are where He confronts us, face to face.
"What are you going to do? Because ignorance is no longer an option."
It isn't. Waiting, then, for it all to become new. But fighting, to help this broken world. That is what we are here for. That is what Christ, 2,000 years ago was here for. We are no longer alone in this fight. The tiny baby ensured that. So we fight all the harder.
Love:)
R
11 December 2011
Our glory and Joy
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| I had to use this picture even though it's only the third week, because isn't this "wreath" cool?! |
For you are our glory and our Joy.
(1 Thessalonians 2:20)
That is enough., this week of Joy. He is indeed. Amen, and amen, and amen.
Love:)
R
07 December 2011
Because the whirlwind is always there
We wait.
And we pray.
The acceptance, it doesn't come easy.
But it comes.
Sometimes all we can ask is for peace and acceptance, whatever the circumstance.
Peace in the waiting for it to get better.
I've been there this week. I know some of you are there too.
And it's getting better. It isn't what I wanted, but since when do we always get what we want?
It will be what I want, soon. Until then, I'm using this time to do other things.
Funny, isn't it, that the time of focusing on peace seems to always come at the time we most need it?
When we're in the midst of the whirlwind, this is when the peace is needed.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6)
He is peace. So the rest in Him is where you will find it. 600 years before Him, Isaiah knew what man would always need. Because the whirlwind is always there.
But then, so is Peace.
Love:)
R
And we pray.
The acceptance, it doesn't come easy.
But it comes.
Sometimes all we can ask is for peace and acceptance, whatever the circumstance.
Peace in the waiting for it to get better.
I've been there this week. I know some of you are there too.
And it's getting better. It isn't what I wanted, but since when do we always get what we want?
It will be what I want, soon. Until then, I'm using this time to do other things.
Funny, isn't it, that the time of focusing on peace seems to always come at the time we most need it?
When we're in the midst of the whirlwind, this is when the peace is needed.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
(Isaiah 9:6)
He is peace. So the rest in Him is where you will find it. 600 years before Him, Isaiah knew what man would always need. Because the whirlwind is always there.
But then, so is Peace.
Love:)
R
04 December 2011
Waiting in peace
Today is the Peace candle, or Mary's candle. I kind of want to focus on Mary, because its an amazing story. Think about it.
You're a girl, around 12, 13, 14, 15. Not very old. You're engaged to a man who may be ten, twenty, even thirty years older than you. Suddenly, an angel appears, telling you that you will bear Messiah, who has been anticipated for centuries.
"But, but how?" you stammer. "I'm a virgin." You're only engaged, not married, and here is someone telling you that you are going to have a baby. And the angel answers you, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And you say, still in shock "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel leaves.
Soon, you have to tell your parents that you are pregnant, but even worse, you have to tell Joseph, the man you are engaged to. You know it's not his baby. He knows. You both know what will happen if he presses charges. You will be stoned in the streets. He chooses not to, but the pain in every ones eyes seems far worse than a stoning could ever be. You go away to visit Elizabeth for a few months, to allow the scandal to pass some. When you come back, though, everyone can tell you're pregnant. And then one day Joseph comes. He tells you of a dream, of seeing an angel, of knowing that you carry Messiah. That very day he takes you home. Months pass, and the time of the birth draws near. You hear of the census, and decide to accompany Joseph to Bethlehem, much to your mothers chagrin. While you are there, the baby decides to make an early appearance. Everything is different, and you have the baby not at home with a midwife, but in a barn with a nervous husband. You know that this birth, this birth will change the world. And so you smile at your newborn son, and at your much relived husband.
Could you imagine? Somehow, somehow, she accepted the dramatic change to the life she had planned. And a world was changed.
This Advent, remember that God's plans aren't always yours. But they are always good. I pray that you can find peace in whatever turns your life takes. I pray that as you wait upon God, you have peace, even if what you wait for takes time. Sometimes it's not about the end, but about how you get there. Peace, then for that journey.
Love:)
R
27 November 2011
Waiting in Hope
Advent. A time of waiting before Christmas, four Sundays of waiting.
Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, traditionally the prophet, or hope candle on the Advent wreath. Really, though, it is the same thing. The prophets fortold Messiah, speaking to a peple who had nothing else to hold onto. They gave hope to a naton that God was not dead, they had not been forgotten. Messsiah was comming.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace.
(Micha 5:2-5)
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
(Jeremiah 23:5)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9)
These men had a calling from God to say what He told them, and part of what he told them was that a Savior was coming.
So Israel waited, as we now wait through Advent, for the coming of One who would save them. Six hundred years, they waited. And hoped.
As we wait for the celebration of the birth of Messiah, what is your hope this advent? Is it in Jesus the Christ, born 2,000 years ago? Are you hoping in Him, trusting that He will fulfill His promise? That is a challenge for this season. Put your hope in Him, Him who is and was and always will be our hope.
Love:)
R
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