Overcoming Shame and Anxiety

 Scripture:

Micah 5:2-5a  • 

 

Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7  • 

 

Hebrews 10:5-10  • 

 

Luke 1:39-45, (46-55)

  

Imagine a young girl, unmarried and pregnant 2000 years ago in Judea. The gospel says she left her hometown in haste to go to her cousin Elizabeth’s home. Why? How was she met and received? And how did Mary respond?

What a blessing we have in this week’s gospel. Mary, surely anxious and in what her countrymen would say is a shameful condition, is met with joy, and gives us her Magnificat. She is received with joy, and thanks God, declares her lowliness in humility, and shows us how the glory of God finds favor in the lowly and lays out for us God’s merciful plan of salvation in the baby she carries. The mighty and powerful will be brought down, the prideful will be scattered, and the hungry will be filled with good things. Shame and anxiety will be no more as God in his mercy has given us his Son to bear and remove all sin and that which separates us from God and each other. Mary’s heart is bursting with joy and love and hope. And if we receive those who are ashamed or have anxiety with joy, and love, Christ, in his love, comes again, and give them strength and hope.

We light the fourth candle in this last Sunday of Advent, with hope, joy and love. Reflect on this as Elizabeth receives Mary, and Christ is born in Bethlehem, and in our hearts this Christmas.

Our readings this week are:  Fr. Rick Morley's remarks about Elizabeth in "from shame to blessing with haste," Dan Clendenin's "Blessed is the Child You Will Bear - Advent and Anxiety," and The Debie Thomas' "At the Threshold."

Rejoice Always? How do we do that?

 Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20  • Isaiah 12:2-6  • Philippians 4:4-7  • Luke 3:7-18

Amid the hustle and bustle of the season, year's end work to finish, cleaning, baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping presents, meetings, choir practice, addressing Christmas cards, office and church dinners, worshiping, reading, checking off our lists and agendas, thinking of others...thinking of others? There are a lot of emotions which come into play during Advent and Christmas. How can we rejoice in all things?

We again encounter John the Baptizer, crying out for repentance in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord, and this time, in addition to the urgency of his message, we see can hear anger in his voice. What place does this have in the good news coming near? In preparing for the Lord, what are we called to do? See Good News? Ouch that hurts! by Peter Woods.

Yes, we have all experienced or witnessed the full range of emotions and human conditions during the Christmas season. Great joy, wonder, surprise and sadness, loneliness, nostalgia, and anger. And in the midst of all of our humanity, the Lord comes to us, the giver of life, to share all that is life with us. Read "Joy- their Color of Grace" by Christopher Burkett, and the story of the grandmother, Gagi, to see how anger and self pity is overcome by joy, as we prepare for the coming of the Lord, who is doing something wonderful and new.

For a profound article on joy and rejoicing, recognizing God's presence,and exercising joy in tough times, a forward calling for joy, read Debie Thomas' "Rejoice Always?"

What, or Who Do We Listen To?

 Scripture: Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4  • Luke 1:68-79  • Philippians 1:3-11  •

Luke 3:1-6

The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of a voice of one crying in the wilderness, called, and calling us, to prepare the way of the Lord, to make his paths straight, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.  From Luke's gospel, we recognize this to be John the Baptist, or better yet, to begin with John the Baptist. We are to prepare for a new beginning.

What is a prophet? What do prophets do? Why do we need a prophet? That is the question The Rev. Leon Johnson asks in his homily, "Who Needs a Prophet" What do you think about prophets, and why do you think we do, or don't, need prophets? What does John the Baptist do? What are we called to do?

What, or whose voice do we listen to? The Rev. Lucy Standlund, in "Prepare the Way," asks. 
Is it the voice of the powerful and privileged? Debie Thomas examines this, and more in 

"A Voice Crying."

In "This Isn't the Way It's Supposed to Be," The Rev. Frank Pagano tells us it is good news to know something isn't what it should be, and to be able to move on, with hope and the power to move on to God's peace with forgiveness. 

Waiting in Hope for the coming of the Christ child and the parousia

 Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16  • Psalm 25:1-10  • 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13  • Luke 21:25-36

We finished Lectionary year B with apocalyptic readings, followed by Christ the King Sunday, and begin Lectionary Year C this first Sunday in Advent, a season in which we celebrate Christ's coming, with apocalyptic readings concerning the second coming of Christ, the Parousia (παρουσια - coming, presence).

Read "Advent:Waiting and Working for the Kingdom," by the Rev. Dr. J. Barney Hawkins, IV, and see how many ways you can think of how we can prepare and be part of the coming of Christ, now and tomorrow. How can a kingdom be made of a wasteland? Read "A Kingdom from a Wasteland," by Dave Barnhart. What are the wastelands of our lives, our community , church and society? What are we called to do about them? Why? Wait, and work, in hope for the promise. The good new is we do not have to wait in fear or despair. 

What is Truth?

 Today is Christ the King Sunday, the last Sunday after Pentecost, and the last Sunday in Lectionary Year B. Next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and the beginning of Lectionary Year C. Here is a link to today's Scripture. In today's gospel, Pilate asks Jesus, "What is truth?" What is Jesus’ reply? What do you say is truth? What, or who, do you believe? Consider Debie Thomas' "What is Truth?"

Also read Joshua Bowron's "Five Acts - Christ the King Sunday. 

Apocalypse- The End of the World as we know it

 

Apocalypse - The End of the World As We Know It

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:4-20 and 1 Samuel 2:1-10 •Daniel 12:1-3 and Psalm 16 • Hebrews 10:11-14, (15-18), 19-25 • Mark 13:1-8  

It is fitting, at the close of Lectionary Year B, and before the beginning of Advent, that we consider endings. Apocalyptic and eschatological readings are sometimes read to portend of the end times. Apocalypse comes from the Greek αποκαλυψισ, interpreted as a revelation, an appearance, a manifestation. Eschatology is sometimes referred to as the study of the end times, but on a different level, addresses the meaning of history, the ultimate destiny of humanity. Most modern eschatology and apocalypticism, both religious and secular, involves the violent disruption or destruction of the world, whereas Christian and Jewish eschatologies view the end times as the consummation or perfection of God's creation of the world. For example, according to ancient Hebrew belief, life takes a linear (and not cyclical) path; the world began with God and is constantly headed toward God’s final goal for creation. Rudolph Bultmann in his "History and Eschatology: the Presence of Eternity," sees Christ as the eschaton (εσχατον),  the presence and focal point of realizing the ultimate meaning of our lives. A lot has been written, jokingly and seriously, about the end of the Mayan calendar..

In the gospel account this week, the disciples marvel at the huge stones of Herod's temple. Jesus tells them: "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs."

Image of God

  1 Samuel 1:4-20; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25; Mark 13:1-8

What do you think of when you think about God? What is your image of God? Is God one who dishes out rewards and punishment depending on our actions? Is God a God of wrath, or love - or both, or somewhere in between? Do you believe in God?

What do you think about God when there is injustice, futility, casualties, violence, disasters, and heart break?

What do you think about judgment, the Judgment Day, the apocalypse?

Where is God in all of this? What does Jesus have to say about this?

Consider the couple struggling with infertility, and compare your thoughts with those of The Rev. Danae M. Ashley in "JourneyThroughGrief. "