fpcbSacredSpace

2008-12-24T07:14:00.004-05:00

"By the tender mercy of our God,

the dawn from on high will break upon us,

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Luke 1:79

Christmas is, at its root, the hope of dawn breaking in the darkness of long night.

Did you ever notice? In a lighted room, when a closet door is opened, the light from the room spills into the darkness of the closet-- and the reverse is never true-- that is, the dark from the closet does not ever spill into the lighted room.

It is light's nature to overcome darkness.

It is God's nature to show tender mercy to us, to give light to us who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

It is our nature to respond to God's extension of tender mercy.

We are created to respond to God.

Our response to God's tender mercy, according to Zechariah's words in Luke 1?

To walk, by God's guidance, in the way of peace.

How can I, on this busy Christmas eve day

walk, guided by God, into the way of peace?

What does that even look like?

God at work

2008-12-23T07:23:00.004-05:00

Luke 1:57-66 details the unusual circumstances of the birth of John to Elizabeth and Zechariah (who had been struck mute).

This, too, is part of the birth narrative of Jesus-- there were remarkable events preceding his birth as well as following it. When Zechariah confirmed that their son's name would be John, the text notes: "And all of them were amazed."

But their amazement grew as "immediately [Zechariah's] mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God."

Amazement turned to fear: "Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea."

Fear turned to wonderment as "all who heard them pondered them and said, 'What then will this child become?'" The passage ends with noting the fact: "For indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him."

Amazement.

Fear.

Wonderment.

As John was the one who prepared the way of the Lord, so too, God used the events of his birth to prepare the people for Jesus. It's like God was causing events to occur in such a way as to lay down tracks of amazement, fear, wonderment. Then when Jesus came the people could say, "Oh! Yes! I know these signs! Amazement. Fear. Wonderment! These mean that God is here, that God is at work in our midst."

I have to admit that at our last session meeting, we had moments of amazement, fear and wonderment at what God has been doing here at FPCB, at how God has so clearly been at work in our midst. Texts like today's have laid down the tracks for us so that we recognize the signs of God at work.

Where do you see God at work? Where do you sense amazement, fear, wonderment?

are you expecting?

2008-12-20T09:00:00.006-05:00

... look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." [Isaiah 7:14]

Advent is waiting.

For those of us who have been pregnant, it is a waiting also.

A time of preparing.

A time of promise.

A time of impending change and a venturing into the unknown.

In my mother's day, you would not ask someone if she was pregnant-- instead you would ask, "Are you expecting?"

Sounds kind of quaint today, but it is a lovely way of holding the impending birth of a child as something so wonderful as to need special words that hold tremendous meaning.

Today's passage [Isaiah 7:10-14] made me ask myself, "Am I expecting?"

Am I approaching the celebration of the birth of Christ with real expectation of promises fulfilled, of impending change and a venturing into the unknown?

[image © Astroid/dreamstime.com]

freedom grace

2008-12-18T10:07:00.004-05:00

What is staying with me this morning is not so much the Scripture reading, but one of the weekly prayer "stages"-- freedom.

"There are very few people who realize what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves into his hands, and let themselves be formed by his grace. I ask for the grace to trust myself totally to God's love."

What does it mean for me to be "formed by God's grace"?

To be molded and shaped,

not by the pressures of daily life

or the expectations of others,

or by my own ideas and "shoulds"--

but to be molded and shaped by the grace of God--

the unmerited favor of God,

the outpouring of the love of God to me?

I'm pondering what kind of shaping is done by grace.

What kind of molding is done by love?

How can I abandon myself, today, into the hands of God?

For me it means taking some time out of this very busy season to absorb this truth. This requires discipline to put some of the so-called "urgent" tasks aside for the moment-- maybe to set my phone alarm to go off every couple of hours to remind myself:

Let me be formed by your grace right now, Lord God.

I trust myself, all that I am, totally to you.

grumps vs. charmers

2008-12-16T06:54:00.002-05:00

I have to admit, when I read the "Inspiration point" for today's reading (Matthew 21:28-32-- about the two sons who are asked to work in the vineyard by their father-- one says no, but then works, the other says yes, but then does no work), I thought it was kind of dumb:

"The first son sounds like a grump, hard to live with. His first reaction tended to be No. He and others probably suffered from his grumpiness but you could still trust him to help. The second son was a charmer; he flattered but deceived his father. When he should have been working, he found something better to do."

I kind of rolled my eyes when I read this. Then I thought about it and was, oddly, comforted by the thought that my obedience matters to God-- even when I obey grudgingly! With a bad attitude! It still matters that my actions are obedient, even if my heart isn't in it.

I'm holding on to that today. My actions matter more to God than my attitude/feelings about being obedient. Not that this is license to grumble-- no.

But I can trust that as I act in obedience, my heart will follow.

two-fer

2008-12-15T08:43:00.006-05:00

Because yesterday's reading was so powerful, I can't help but note that it encourages me greatly this morning.

"For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what it sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations."

Isaiah 61:11

It is a natural function of God to bring forth righteousness and praise-- it is the nature of God to do so-- I want to be open and courageous enough to participate in that outworking of righteousness and praise whenever God offers me the opportunity to do so.

Oh-- praying for courage, again!

Regarding today's reading [Matthew 21:23-27], am I wrong to find this exchange amusing? Jesus was God, for heaven's sake, and the religious authorities try to "get" him with a trick question-- Jesus adroitly turns the tables and leaves them, foiled again.

Jesus is never mean or condescending. But it seems he always knew the right response to every question. Partly I guess because he completely knew the person he was talking to in a way that I cannot. It's like he always knew the question beneath the question and responded accordingly.

Sacred Space asks: "Do I let fear run my life? Do I make decisions on the basis of preserving my position and power? Can I talk to Jesus about this and ask for the grace to be free, as he was?"

What do you think?

[image © willi1972/dreamstime.com]

then the disciples understood...

2008-12-13T08:22:00.004-05:00

I'm just grateful for the witness of Scripture this morning-- again it reveals that even those people who were actually in the presence of Jesus and heard the words from his mouth often had trouble understanding what he meant.

If "God's messengers tend to be rejected" as Sacred Space claims, then all of us need to be ready to be rejected, or not liked, or disrespected, mocked or even despised. This is absolutely the opposite of what I want-- being God's messenger means making myself vulnerable to rejection.

And, as Kris has pointed out, this is why we need to be praying for courage and we need to be ready to support one another and to stand together in faith.

God the Holy Spirit has given us to each other to be a community of faith in Christ. We are not in this vulnerable position of being God's messengers alone.

We are not alone-- isn't that the essential message of Christmas-- Immanuel, God-with-us?

right responses

2008-12-12T07:58:00.010-05:00

Jesus spoke to the crowds, "But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, "We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn." For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon'; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.

Matthew 11:16-19

Seems to me this morning that Jesus is talking about having the right or appropriate response to what we see and hear-- especially about God.

The first image that came to mind as I pondered today's passage was of an old friend who once wept openly about some pain in her life, but beamed a big smile at the same time. I've never forgotten that picture-- the double burden she had to "cover up" her pain when she was finally able to express it. Smiling broadly is not an appropriate response to deep emotional pain, that is, it is OK to cry without pretending you are happy.

So instead of being ecstatic and erupting in joy because Jesus had finally appeared, folks criticized him for his friends and for his lifestyle. Their response was not appropriate.

I've spent the last 24+ hours (with time off for sleeping!) preparing my home for Christmas (this is my "weekend," you see), doing laundry, bringing Christmas ornaments and accompanying decorative objects up from the basement, sorting and weeding out, cleaning up, putting familiar Christmas items out. In some ways, this is a right response to the upcoming celebration of the birth of Jesus.

But I confess, it can feel an awful lot like a chore, like work, too.

Today I'm working on my response to the good news of the birth of Jesus and its celebration on Christmas. It's about joy and praise and wonder at the awesome love of God given to us as a gift. What is the right or the appropriate response? Not to put a big Christmas "smile" on what I may be really feeling, but to dig deeply into the truth of what God did in Christ some two millennia ago.

What struck you today?

[image © Kati Neudert/dreamstime.com]

how are we to understand?

2008-12-11T07:18:00.009-05:00

Today's text is Matthew 11:11-15. I read and re-read it a few times, trying to let it sink in, to get the gist of what Jesus was saying.

As Sacred Space book suggests, I imagined Jesus sitting beside me and I confessed to Him, "I don't really get this one."

No great revelation followed, but it was helpful to imagine Jesus really saying these words to people, rather than reading them on a page. Why would Jesus have said this? What was Jesus trying to communicate? It's obvious He knew it was hard to understand because He ends by saying, "Let anyone with ears listen!"

I do want to have the kind of ears that hear what Jesus says and that listen carefully and thoughtfully.

What I have gleaned so far this morning from pondering Jesus' words is that s

omething tremendous and cosmic had been inaugurated in the birth of John the Baptist-- the one who came before Jesus-- who was Himself the long-awaited One. It's like Jesus was telling people "You see John the Baptist and me with your own eyes, but there is so much more happening than you can simply see! What you see are the outward signs of the culmination of God's plan for humanity since the beginning of time!"

How much do I not see of God's work in and around me? I do want to have the kind of ears to hear and the kind of eyes to see what God is doing right now--

[image © foto.fritz/dreamstime.com]

the words of the Lord are like eagle's wings

2008-12-10T09:44:00.004-05:00

Isaiah 40:25-31

To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?' Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Sacred Space notes on today's text:

"The words of the Lord are like the eagle's wings, words that soar, words that cut through, words of great power and strength."

That is actually how reading this text made me feel-- lifted up in awe, wonder, truth and sensing a small glimpse of the greatness of God in the midst of our (my!) human limitations of weariness, lack of understanding, and powerlessness.

I want to keep these words before me today so I'm going to type them out and print a few copies-- one to put on my desk, another to carry around in my pocket.

This news is too good to forget today!

[image © Marco Kopp/dreamstime.com]

a voice cries out

2008-12-09T08:27:00.004-05:00

What strikes me in Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 this morning is the gentleness of God.

"Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid...."

Words of comfort and of tenderness.

And in later verses:

"He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep."

Words of nourishment and of embrace.

This is the God before whom I "unwind the past day, starting from now and looking back, moment by moment," as our Sacred Space booklet suggests.

I'd forgotten this sort of spiritual discipline-- looking back over the previous 24 hours, "[gathering] in all the goodness and light, in gratitude... [attending] to the shadows and what they say to me, seeking healing, courage, forgiveness."

I am grateful for this reminder and spent a few moments remembering, reflecting, pondering the events of the past day-- giving thanks, seeking healing, courage, forgiveness from the God of comfort, tenderness, nourishment and embrace.

What about you?

your eyes shall see your Teacher

2008-12-06T18:47:00.005-05:00

What I like best about this Isaiah 30 passage is this promise:

"And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left,

your ears shall hear a word behind you saying,

'This is the way; walk in it.'"

This is a promise given to those who "eat the bread of adversity" and who "drink the water of affliction."

Not a promise to take away difficulties, but a promise to guide us through them.

do you believe that I am able to do this?

2008-12-05T07:35:00.004-05:00

Matthew 9:27-31 begins with Jesus going on his way.

Two blind men followed him, crying loudly, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

Jesus then spoke with them in the house, asking, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

When they responded, "Yes, Lord," Jesus touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith let it be done to you." And their eyes were opened.

I'm struck by the blind men following Jesus, crying loudly at him, causing a ruckus. The blind men couldn't see Jesus, of course, but followed him-- how?

By following the murmur of the crowd as Jesus moved among them?

By listening for Jesus' voice in conversation with his walking companions?

By straining to hear the sounds of Jesus' footsteps on the sandy ground?

Is it wrong to identify with the blind men, holding on to each other, crying out to Jesus for mercy, straining together to follow him without being able to see him, desperate to get close to him, knowing that he is somehow the answer to everything? Is this not an image of the church-- not blind, but vision-impaired, maybe, striving to see Jesus more clearly and sometimes feeling as though we've lost sight of him altogether, groping our way towards him?

Jesus heard the blind men, but waited to speak with them on his timing, touching them with healing hands. This is a work of God, not a work accomplished by the two blind men.

And their eyes were opened.

What are your thoughts?

Lord, Lord...

2008-12-04T08:27:00.005-05:00

Jesus said to his disciples, "And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish person who built their house on sand...." Matthew 7

My actions and my words-- if they do not match, am I living an authentic life? If my words and my actions are not coherent, then my life is divided against itself and cannot withstand the storms of life.

Reading today's scripture I'm reminded of that admonition: "Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary, use words." (I've heard it attributed to St. Francis of Assisi). That is actually how I first "heard" the gospel-- observing the life of one person who was a follower of Christ. From what I saw, I wanted to learn more so when she invited me to my first Bible study, I went (after wrestling a bit with myself).

It is a peculiar challenge to have as my "work" the preaching of the gospel. Much easier to speak of Christ than to live Christ.

How did this passage strike you?

do I dare to hope?

2008-12-03T08:40:00.003-05:00

Today's passage from Isaiah (25:6-10a) speaks of that future day when death will be no more.

"And [the Lord of hosts] will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever."

One of our reflection questions from Sacred Space asks: "How does the Lord's promise resonate with me?"

Honestly it is practically impossible for me to think of a time when there will be no suffering, no death, where all my shortcomings and failings will count for nothing and when we will be in the joyful and loving presence of God. My imagination cannot grasp a world not streaked through with brokenness, disease, pain and war.

But I do love this image and want to hold it close today:

"Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces...."

Even in the imperfect broken world we live in today, God is true to God's character as displayed in Isaiah's prophecy-- God is the giver of all that is good, God is the destroyer of evil and death, God is the loving and tender One who wipes tears away from our faces, God is the One who speaks and it is so.

blessed are the eyes that see what you see!

2008-12-02T09:17:00.003-05:00

"Jesus' mission flows entirely out of his relationship with the Father...."

All true mission flows out of relationship with the Triune God-- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is in relationship with the Father, the Father with the Spirit, the Spirit with Jesus, etc., all three persons of the Trinity are in relationship with one another.

The mission of God in the world springs out of relationship within the Trinity-- and is it too much of a stretch to understand the mission of God in the world springing out of relationship between people and God, and through God, between people and people?

Does this mean that as we seek direction as a community of faith in Christ, our mission will be directed by our personal relationships with God, AND our personal relationships with Christians in the Middle East (as Ted K. will speak about on Saturday 12/6), with Christians in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (as I will share about on Saturday too), with a school needing books in Kenya (through Andréa), with Appalachia (through Jean B.), etc.? Is a call to the mission of God in the world as much about building relationships as it is about "doing" a project?

What do you think?

the faith of an outsider

2008-12-01T08:54:00.002-05:00

Today's reading (Matthew 8:5-11) tells of Jesus' encounter with a Roman centurion.

When Jesus tells the centurion He will come to his house to cure his paralyzed servant, the centurion replies: "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it."

The centurion--an outsider-- responds to Jesus with astonishing humility. He could have ordered Jesus to his home, couldn't he? It's sort of like a military officer in our own time speaking with such deference to a illegal immigrant carpenter. (I know, Jesus was not an illegal immigrant, but he was demonstrably less powerful than the Roman centurion, politically as well as literally).

Notice that the centurion is asking for the healing of a servant, paralyzed and "in terrible distress." Sure, the cynic says, the servant is the centurion's property and he wants him fixed. But I don't think a servant's master necessarily cares about whether or not the servant is "in terrible distress." This phrase makes me think the centurion actually cares about the servant.

And I love how this centurion completely "gets" Jesus' power. He knows how it works-- after all, who knows better how power works than a member of the Roman military system!

When I ask Jesus for help, for healing, I'm afraid I often omit the attitude of humility demonstrated by this Roman centurion. And, unlike the centurion, I often neglect to acknowledge Jesus' power.

Isn't it funny how someone who is outside the community of faith can often startle us into a deeper understanding of who Jesus really is?

And so we begin...

2008-12-01T08:47:00.002-05:00

Praying the presence of God as I begin Sacred Space for Advent & Christmas:

Lord, help us to be fully alive to your holy presence.

Enfold us in your love.

Let our hearts become one with yours.

I cracked open my little blue book with anticipation-- not getting to it until last night!-- but grateful for the quietness of the opening prayers, and a bit unsettled by the Isaiah 63 & 64 reading.

Why am I surprised when the Bible contains verses of violence and judgment? Are they not just as real as God's love and grace?