Lent Day 38--April 5 Maundy Thursday

Lenten Reflection for Day 38—Maundy Thursday

Date: April 5, 2012

Author: Pastor Pat Harris

Bible Passage: Revelation 21:5 (NRSV)

⁵ And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Reflection:

On this Maundy Thursday, we think on Jesus’ new commandment from the Gospel of John: “Love one another as I have loved you.” These words, too, are trustworthy and true, but oh, so very hard to live up to. If we were able to come even close to the gold standard that Jesus sets for loving each other, the world would truly be made new.

We are certainly called upon to strive to love each other as Jesus loves us, but we are weak human beings. The neighbor who always criticizes us because our property maintenance does not meet his standards is really hard to love. The co-worker who doesn’t do his or her share of the work just makes us angry. The teenager down the street who dresses differently and plays loud music continually aggravates us. Try as we might, we just can seem to come up to Jesus’ standard for loving these “difficult” people.

When God fulfills God’s promise to make all things new, will our neighbors be changed so they don’t irritate us, or will we be the ones changed? Perhaps we will be transformed so that our love for other people is not dependent on their “lovability”?

Prayer: All loving God, may you make us new so that we may fulfill Jesus’ command to love one another as we have been loved. Amen

Lent Day 5 February 27

Lenten Reflection for Day 5

Date: February 27, 2012

Author: Carol Brudnicki

Bible Passage: Luke 10:25–29 (NRSV)

²⁵ Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Reflection:

Throughout Jesus teaching he summarizes the Laws passed down from Moses and the Prophet into two commandments – To love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. All other laws support these two.

We so often find it hard to put God first and love him with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. We are distracted with having the latest or newest items. We put others ahead of God. We think of our needs or wants. Our hectic lives interfere with putting God first and foremost. Yet all things come from God and are his gifts to us. We need to start each morning with praise to God asking him to help us put God first and to ask for guidance for the day.

The commandment to Love your Neighbor is one of the hardest to follow. Our neighbor is everyone – They are similar and different from each of us. They are your brother, your friend, and the stranger. They are the person who cuts you off when driving, the one who gossips or spreads false information about you, and the person who would do anything for you. I am reminded of the bracelets that were common a few years ago with the initials WWJD on them. It was to remind the wearer to think “What Would Jesus Do” in all their actions and dealing with others. To Love your Neighbor is to treat your neighbor as you would like to be treated, as Jesus would do.

Prayer:

Lord, Thank you for all you have done for me and for all you have given me. Help me to relate to my neighbor in a loving and caring way. Guide me in seeing their needs and viewpoints.

Welcome to Lent

Introduction to the Season of Lent

This morning we begin Lent with a day of reflection, repentance and prayer that Christians refer to as Ash Wednesday. Most Christian communities gather for worship on this day, and in many churches, Community Lutheran Church among them, worshippers may receive a cross of ashes on their forehead. There is much symbolism associated with this cross of ashes. The cross reminds us both of Jesus's suffering for us and of our own baptisms, when a cross was traced on our foreheads, marking us as one of God's children. The use of ashes is both a sign of repentance and of regeneration. For millennia, God's faithful people have marked themselves with ashes as sign of their humbleness, regret for sins, and dependence on God. Ashes have also been used as a sign of mourning. But because we also use ashes to make fertilizer and soap, ashes are also a sign of cleanliness and new growth. If you choose to receive ashes on your forehead in worship today, in addition to confessing your sorrow at the things you have done wrong, remember that you have been baptized, that you belong to God, and that with God there is forgiveness and the opportunity, each day, to begin anew.

You can expect to see a daily Lenten devotion on this blogspace daily as we march toward Good Friday and Easter. Different members of the Community Lutheran Church fellowship will be authoring these devotions.

Lenten Reflection for Day 1—Ash Wednesday

Date: February 22, 2012

Author: Pastor Pat Harris

Bible Passage: Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (NRSV)

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. ⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.

Reflection:

This passage is at the heart both Christian and Jewish beliefs and faith. Faithful Jews pray this passage daily as the “Shema”, which is the Hebrew word meaning “hear”. Jesus combines this quote with one from Leviticus to give us Jesus’ law of love: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” Coincidentally, this morning’s passage is also the theme for our midweek Lenten worship and reflection.

What does it look like to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and might? A love of the Lord that is this intense, means that loving the Lord is my first and top priority. One might even go so far as to say that it is my only priority. Love of this intensity and this focus may never be achievable for a flawed human being, but if we use this passage as a prayer, we are praying that focused love of the Lord would be the ideal that drives our lives.

If I love this Lord to this degree, then I don’t have room other kinds of self-destructive or harmful love. I don’t have time to love money or to let money drive my life. I don’t have time for ambition of any type to force my love of God to go back stage. I don’t have the energy to put a love of my possessions ahead of my love for God.

A full-hearted and mindful love of God is a devotion to God that makes me put God’s priorities and God’s laws ahead of anything else in my life.

Prayer:

Good and loving God, help me to love you in more ways and with more energy and commitment than I can imagine. Help me to put you first in my life. In your son Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

Lent Day 39: April 22--Good Friday

I welcome guest bloggers Lorraine Blanchfield and Barbara McKinley this morning and thank them for their reflection on the meaning of loving our enemies.

Lenten Reflection for Day 39

Date: Friday April 22, 2011 (Good Friday)

Author: Lorraine Blanchfield and Barbara McKinley

Bible Passage:

Matthew 5:44 (NRSV)

⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Reflection:

When I first read this verse I thought the request that Christ is asking of us as humans is not only impossible but absurd. It is only natural for man to react to any wrong doing with hostility and resentment. Yet this one command from God is what separates us as Christians from the human world. Instead of flattering ourselves and giving in to our pride and selfishness, we are to return love to those that want to cause us harm and have nothing good to say about our reputation.

By our actions, they will know that we are Christians! It is only through Christ in our heart that this is possible, for us to return love for evil. Loving our enemies does not mean that we have to like their conduct or even find it acceptable, but it does mean that we are to forgive them and to pray for them the same blessings on their life that we would also desire on our own. This then puts us "right" with God and we can let go of the outcome.

It has often been said that we do not forgive others for their sake but for our own, so that we may heal and let go of any resentments towards one another. By praying for our enemies, we are putting them in Gods hands and interceding for them. We are doing for our enemies what they cannot do for themselves, bringing them to Christ for reconciliation though Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Prayer:

Lord of peace and justice, let me not so much want victory over my enemies but true and mutual reconciliation with them. Amen

Lent Day 38: April 21--Maundy Thursday

For this Maundy Thursday devotion, we welcome guest blogger John Harris, who is also my husband! John reflects on what it means to" love our enemies."

Lenten Reflection for Day 38

Date: Thursday April 21, 2011 (Maundy Thursday)

Author: John Harris

Bible Passage:

Luke 6:27–28 (NRSV)

²⁷ “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Reflection:

“Love your enemies...!!!” In his humorous tale, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis relates how two devils, an uncle and his vastly inexperienced nephew, go about tempting Christians to turn their backs on God. In one amusing example, Uncle Screwtape admonishes his nephew that despite his “patient’s” Christianity being tested by being drafted into the World War II British Army, beware of trying to inflame hatred of the Germans in this particular Christian.

Screwtape writes, “The results of such fearful hatred are often most disappointing, and of all humans the English are in this respect the most deplorable milksops. They are creatures of that miserable sort who loudly proclaim that torture is too good for their enemies and then give tea and cigarettes to the first wounded German pilot who turns up at the back door.”

“Blessed are the ‘milksops,’ for they will be called children of God.” Blessing those who curse or abuse us is hard doctrine, particularly for American Christians who historically have not suffered tyrants gracefully. After all, we hold in contempt world leaders like Neville Chamberlain who refused to draw a line in the sand to monsters like Adolph Hitler. Chamberlain’s name has become a synonym for appeasement.

So what is a Christian “milksop” to do? Do we become conscientious objectors, pacifists who refuse to take part in just causes and watch innocent people succumb to evil. Bonhoeffer, himself, was executed for taking part in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler. Do we turn the other cheek and watch 6,000,000 Europeans go up in smoke?

I do not believe that Jesus is asking us to ignore evil in the world. He wants us to stop the evil and then offer our enemies “tea and cigarettes.” He is asking us, to paraphrase President Lincoln after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, to let our enemies “up easy.” We need always to listen to our enemies and let them “up easy.”

Prayer: Jesus, it is hard to let our enemies “up easy.” It is too easy to repay evil with evil. Open our hearts to listen to our enemies and to repay them with kindness. Amen.

Lent Day 24: April 5

This morning we welcome guest blogger Mike Michaels who shares with us his thoughts about how God intends for us to live in Christian community.

Lenten Reflection for Day 24

Date: Tuesday April 5, 2011

Author: Mike Michaels

Bible Passage: Ephesians 4:1–6 (NRSV)

¹ I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Reflection:

“I am you and we are they and she is he and we are all together…” is what kept running through my mind, after reading of the Love that Paul speaks of, running through The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and through each and every one of us as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. The popular song lyric, paraphrased, is from the 1960’s, and is basically echoing in different words, that God did not intend for any one of us to be alone, but to interact together as a community of loving, tolerant, forgiving, and caring Christians.

If we are to bear each other, as Paul wrote in today’s passage, with humility, gentleness, patience, and Love, while at the same time worshiping with all our thankful hearts our God, who is above us, through us, and in us all, that pretty much tells us how we should treat every single behavior in our lives, and every aspect of every relationship we are blessed to enjoy. After all, we’re all in this together. Without God, we are nothing; without each other we are nothing; without love we are nothing.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for the community of our brothers and sisters who are with you and with us in Christ. Please help us at all times to continue to do things to serve one another, in an effort to show this love…in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotion for the Saturday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the saturday of the second Week in Advent (Day 14)

Reading: Luke 19:1–10 (NRSV)

¹ He entered Jericho and was passing through it. ² A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. ³ He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. ⁵ When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” ⁶ So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. ⁷ All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” ⁸ Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” ⁹ Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

REFLECTION:

What greater love is there than to seek out, pay attention to and save the lost? What greater love is there than to dine with an outcast? This story about Zacchaeus is one that shows how love and respect transform. Jesus shows love and attention to Zacchaeus, who then reforms his business practices and becomes a charitable giver.

Zacchaeus would have been one of the last people anyone would have invited to a dinner party, and certainly no one would have even considered going to dinner at this house. No one even wanted to be seen hanging around with a tax collector, much less dining with one. If you had dinner with Zacchaeus, everyone would think that you were his buddy, and that you were every bit as much of a sinner as he was.

Even today, our dinner invitations are typically to people we are comfortable with and who are part of our social circle. Seldom do we reach beyond our comfort zone when issuing invitations. Yet think of how reaching out might transform someone’s life, or at least transform your relationship with that person. How might an invitation to dine be a sign of respect?

I have had a couple of occasions in my life when extending a dinner invitation to someone has changed the relationship. Breaking bread with someone is a powerful message of respect. At one point in my AT&T career, I was part of a union-management joint planning team. The joint planning started out with a great deal of hostility and “Us-Them” thinking. One of the turning points in the joint work was a Christmas dinner party at my house, to which I invited both the management team and the union leadership in my organization. The union leaders told me, later, that it was the first time that anyone in management had invited them into their home. Invitations to dine at home and breaking bread together demonstrate respect, as well as convey a message of warmth and care.

What relationship might you transform with an invitation to break bread? To whom might you show respect and care, by reaching out with an invitation?

PRAYER:

Pray that Jesus’ love might be a transforming force in your life. Pray that Jesus’ love might help you to reach out to someone who seems to be unlovable. Pray about whom you might invite to break bread with you. Amen

Devotion for the Friday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the friday of the second Week in Advent (Day 13)

Reading: Luke 7:36–50 (NRSV)

³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. ³⁷ And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. ³⁸ She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” ⁴¹ “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.” ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

REFLECTION:

In this Advent time, it may be helpful to reflect on the two-way love shown in this passage from Luke. The unnamed woman in this text knows that she is a sinner. We don’t know what her sin is, although many Bible readers throughout the years have assumed that it is prostitution. Whatever the nature of her sin, it is so obvious and visible that she has been labeled a “sinner” by people in the community. Jesus, as has been the case on so many other occasions, is drawn toward those who are the outcasts and rejects of society. Jesus shows love for those, whom others would consider unlovable and unforgivable.

This woman knows how she is regarded. She undoubtedly knows that her presence creates disgust in anyone whose home she enters. Despite this, she is drawn to the love and acceptance that Jesus offers. Jesus models the forgiving life for us. The unnamed woman, in turn, shows an extreme level of love and devotion for Jesus. This love is free flowing.

Jesus’ love and forgiveness are freely available to you, also, regardless of what you have done. How do you respond to this love and forgiveness? Jesus, is no longer here on earth to receive your return love and acceptance. However, Jesus has told us that whatever we do for the “least of them”, we do for him. Who is the “least of them” for you? Who are you regarding with disdain, discomfort or disgust? Is there someone who has done something that you consider to be unforgivable? In this Advent season, as you look to the arrival of the one who is LOVE, is there someone against whom you are holding anger, disgust or revulsion, or with whom you would like to “get even”?

Considering the love of Christ which flows uninterrupted to your life, is there someone that Christ is calling you to love, accept, and forgive? Picture the love of Christ flowing through you directly to this person, who is the object of your anger, scorn or hate. Picture those negative emotions that you hold toward that person dissolving. Picture the acceptance and reconciliation that could accompany your celebration of Christ’s arrival in this Advent and Christmas season.

PRAYER:

Pray that love of God in Christ Jesus and Jesus’ acceptance of you might soften your heart. Pray that God’s unfailing love for you might transform any anger, disgust, or hate you are feeling toward another person into love and acceptance. Pray that God’s peace might flow into all of your relationships. Amen

Devotion for the Thursday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: Love

Devotion for the Thursday of the second Week in Advent (Day 12)

Reading: Luke 18:18–27 (NRSV)

¹⁸ A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁹ Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’ ” ²¹ He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” ²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” ²³ But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. ²⁴ Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”

REFLECTION:

What does this story about the rich ruler and Jesus have to do with our Advent preparations and with the theme for this week of LOVE? I think that Jesus “needled” the ruler about his wealth, because Jesus was showing his own form of love. Jesus could see how important money, wealth and possessions were for this man. The ways in which the man was attached to his wealth prevented him from focusing on and depending on God. As long as the man wanted to depend on his money and stuff he was incapable of putting God first in his life, and it is likely that his wealth also insulated him from seeing suffering in the world around him. Jesus challenged the rich ruler, because Jesus didn’t want the man to be alienated from God and the people around him. Jesus’ challenge was both an expression of love to the man and a prod to help him love God and people more than his stuff.

In this Advent season, when our focus is on the coming of Christ, we have to ask ourselves, how important is our stuff to us? In this Advent season, is spending time with God in devotions or prayer as important to you as dragging the Christmas “stuff” out of the attic? In this Advent season, is sharing with someone in need as important as making sure you have bought the right “stuff” for presents?

The Christmas season is important to us because we have so many family memories and traditions that are a part of this season. For many of us it is important to follow through with some of our tried and true traditions because they stir so many memories for us. When I get the Christmas ornaments out of the attic and hang them on the tree, I have wonderful memories of the Christmases when my mother, aunt and grandmother would each give my sister and me an ornament. These ornaments are important to me because they connect me to earlier times in my life. There is, however, a thin line between cherishing our traditions and having them get in the way of our relationship with God and neighbors. During this Advent season, when we are pulled in so many ways, remember to give God time to shape and form you—giving God time to do what would be impossible for mortals. Give God time to help you put love of God and neighbor at the top of your priority list.

PRAYER: Pray that God will help you to keep perspective in this Advent season. Pray that God will work in your life to help you remember what is really important. Pray that God will give you the ability to both enjoy your family traditions and allow time for the twinned work of hearing God’s Word and helping your neighbor. Amen

Devotion for the Wednesday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the wednesday of the second Week in Advent (Day 11)

Reading: Luke 13:10–13 (NRSV)

¹⁰ Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. ¹¹ And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. ¹² When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” ¹³ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God.

REFLECTION:

In another evidence of the Kingdom of God in the midst of us, Jesus heals a woman whose spirit had crippled her and bent her over. Imagine what it would feel like to be able to stand up and move easily after eighteen years of living a handicapped life. Jesus healed her spirit which freed her from her physical ailment.

How many of us suffer physical disease which is brought on by a crippled spirit? Unresolved anger at someone can cause ulcers and high blood pressure. High stress levels can depress the immune system making you more vulnerable to everything from the common cold to more serious diseases such as cancer. People who live in circumstances with high levels of interpersonal tension are more likely to suffer from heart disease.

Jesus wants to set us free from a crippled spirit that keeps us from being whole. Some of the aspects of a crippling spirit emerge out of our lifestyle choices. We choose who we are angry with and how we hold that anger. Some of us choose to live a high stress lifestyle, while others have it thrust on them by economic circumstances. Some of us choose to maintain very high expectations, with a potential downside of stress if those expectations are not achieved. These high expectations may also put stress on those around us, spreading a crippling dysfunction.

When we were baptized, we were baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and anointed with the cross of Christ. This baptism anoints us with the Holy Spirit, not a crippling spirit, and sets us free from the power of evil. We are freed to live whole, healthy lives, not lives of bondage. Jesus wants us to fully appreciate this freedom and the healthy life that it gives to us.

PRAYER:

Pray that the Holy Spirit, who entered you in baptism, may keep you whole, holy, and healthy. Pray for the strength to resist those lifestyle choices that endanger your health. Amen

Devotion for the Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent

Good Morning,

For those of you who have been following my blog on a daily basis, I'm sorry that I never had a chance to post a devotion yesterday. It was all written, but I never even had time to login. So....here's the devotion for yesterday, and later on I'll post today's devotion. Blessed Advent to all the readers.

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the tuesday of the second Week in Advent (Day 10)

Reading: Luke 4:16–20 (NRSV)

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Reflection:

Although we rarely use this text from Luke during Advent, it is another indication by Luke that the Kingdom of God is at hand. When Jesus stands up in the synagogue to read from the scroll of Isaiah, he reads from a prophecy that points to himself. This prophecy foretells how the world will be turned upside down by the Lord, by one specially called by God. At the conclusion of his reading, Jesus astounds the assembled group by telling them that this prophecy has been fulfilled with a clear indication that he, himself is the one anointed by God to do this work.

The words Jesus selects are an echo of the words spoken by his mother Mary before his birth in her song. Mary relates how the poor will be lifted up, while Jesus speaks the words from Isaiah that tell how he will bring good news to the poor.

Throughout his Gospel, with words spoken by Zechariah, Mary, John the Baptist and Jesus, himself, Luke constantly tries to paint a picture for us of how God is doing a new thing by changing the established order.

Jesus, who is God’s love, come to life, lived God’s new order by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, socializing with the outcasts and challenging the rest of us. Those of us who are healthy, well-fed, well-clothed and generally comfortable are not to sit back and just enjoy our comfort. We are called to demonstrate God’s love for the world. We are called to help in bringing God’s Kingdom into the world.

God’s love came down among us, as Jesus the anointed Son of God. God’s love came down among us to challenge and change us.

Prayer:

Pray that your comfort will not so cloud your vision that you do not see the suffering of others. In this Advent season, may God’s love transform you to love and serve your neighbor. Amen

Devotion for the Monday of the Second Week in Advent

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the monday of the second Week in Advent (Day 9)

Reading: Luke 3:1–17 (NRSV)

¹ In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ² during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; ⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ” ⁷ John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹ Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹ In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³ He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” ¹⁵ As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, ¹⁶ John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Reflection:

For those of you who were in church yesterday or who read the Revised Common Lectionary Reading for the Second Sunday in Advent, this reading will sound familiar. Yesterday we read Matthew’s version of the story of John the Baptist in the wilderness. This morning’s reading is Luke’s version of the same story. There are some differences in these versions which emphasize some of the differences between these two gospel writers, the points they are trying to make and their audiences. The one difference that I would like to reflect on this morning is the question Luke has the people ask John, a section which is missing in the Matthew Gospel.

The general crowds, the tax collectors and the soldiers ask John for advice as to “What then should we do?”, after John calls them a “brood of vipers”. John’s advice to them is advice that looks a lot like “kingdom living”. In other words, John the Baptist tells the people to live as if the kingdom of God were at hand. If you have more clothing than you need, don’t put an extension on your closet, share with someone who has none. If you have surplus food, don’t build barns to store it, share with those who are hungry. When you do your job, do it honestly, don’t cheat others and don’t cause harm to others.

This sounds like pretty simple advice, but I imagine most of us living in our affluent American society don’t follow this counsel too closely. Many of us, living in this cold winter climate have more than one coat, and yet we are not emptying out our closets to clothe the people huddled in the corners of the shopping centers and under the bridges. Most of us could survive for a week or more with the food we have stored in our pantries and freezers, and yet there are hungry people all around us. Even those of us who give to charity regularly and work to support social service agencies that help the hungry, homeless and ill-clothed are typically giving out of our abundance, rather than sharing our last pieces of clothing or our last morsels of food. In the kingdom of God, all will be able to live abundantly; no one will be living in excess and no one will be living below the margins.

This passage forces us to look at our lifestyles. We come to realize that we have been blessed with abundance and simultaneously to realize that we are among those whom John would have called a “brood of vipers”. We stand in need of the grace that is born and made human in Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Pray for those who are cold, hungry, homeless and ill-clothed. Pray for families whose children go to bed hungry, who have insufficient access to medical care and who wake up cold every morning. Pray that your heart may be softened to recognize the needs around you and work to alleviate them.

Devotion for the Second Sunday in Advent (Day 8)

THEME FOR THE WEEK: LOVE

DEVOTION FOR THE SUNDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK IN ADVENT (DAY 8)

READING: Luke 1:46–55 (NRSV)

⁴⁶ And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

REFLECTION:

After yesterday’s “Palm Sunday” text for the Advent devotion, I really appreciate today’s text, which is usually called “The Magnificat” or “Mary’s Song”. This is the song that springs forth from Mary lips after she and her cousin Elizabeth have greeted one another, following Mary’s arrival at Elizabeth’s home in the hill country. Elizabeth’s unborn baby John has jumped around in her womb, in acknowledgment of Mary’s special unborn son. Elizabeth praises Mary, and Mary responds by breaking into this song.

Mary’s song is an early warning alert that God’s kingdom is in the middle of us. Mary sings of God’s work in turning the established order upside down. In God’s kingdom the hungry are fed, not just by food pantry items, but with really “good things”, and the rich are sent away. Although this text is familiar because we sing Mary’s song in our Evening Prayer services, when you actually think about the words, it is quite revolutionary. So revolutionary that in some countries, its use has actually been banned.

In this passage, Luke signals, even before Jesus’ birth, that Jesus is going to rock the traditional way things happen. Luke also points out that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament: “according to the promises made to our ancestors, Abraham and his descendents forever.”

The fourteen year old Mary knows that God has blessed her and is using her along with her unborn son to do something very different in the world. From Mary’s word, we, too know that Mighty One has done great things. God’s Love is about to be born into the world.

PRAYER: May you see in Jesus the fulfillment of God’s promises to God’s people. May the hungry be fed and the lowly lifted up in our time. May you feel the love of Jesus in your life. Amen