God pitches a tent... and is always with us

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12  •  Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21  •  Ephesians 1:3-14  •  John 1:(1-9), 10-18 

This week of Christmas, we read another account of the Christ coming into our world. This time it is not as a babe in a manger with shepherds and wise men. In the first chapter of the gospel of John, we are presented with a cosmic account being with God from the very beginning. He is the Word made flesh. God tabernacled in the flesh in Jesus, and chose to live with us, and within us. Read The Rev. James Liggett's perspective on John's gospel in "The Same Story."

Moses was not allowed to see God. He hid in the cleft of a rock while God passed. God was not in the fire, the wind, or the quake of the earth. He was to be found in the sound of sheer silence, or as Father Paul Bresnahan would tell us, in the "daughter of a sound." Jesus told his disciples that "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." And he told us  he is always with us. What is it to see a "Permanent Glimpse of God," as The Rev. Dr. Thomas Lane Butts tells us? 

The Rev. Dr. Janet H. Hunt tells us that the Fourth Gospel, the Gospel of John, tells us that in the life of Jesus, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The English word “to dwell” is derived from a Greek word that literally means to “pitch a tent.” Though not particularly poetic, the Gospel of John actually reads, “The Word became flesh and pitched a tent among us.” What does pitching a tent among us, tabernacling with us mean? Consider The Rev. Dr. Hunt's "And pitched a tent among us..." and add your thoughts.

Joseph... What Good Men do...

Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-16  • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19  •Romans 1:1-7  •  Matthew 1:18-25

As we await the birth of the Christ Child this Advent, we read Matthews account of Joseph's dream. Think of what Joseph must have been thinking and going through when learning that his betrothed was carrying a child not his own - especially at that time and place.

What did Joseph do? Look at what it takes to be able to do what he did. It is hard to put ourselves in another time, another culture, and we know "the rest of the story." What do you think you would have done? Consider The Rev. Dr. Janet H. Hunt's "Just What a Dad Does," and The Very Rev. Samuel G. Candler's "Believe in the Dreams of the Person You Love."

May God protect you and yours, and give us what we need to have faith, trust and to believe as we celebrate the coming of the Lord.

* All Sunday School Lessons may be viewed at http://chuckriffee.blogspot.com/?m=1

When expectations bring disappointment and grief

Scripture: Isaiah 35:1-10  •Psalm 146:5-10 or Luke 1:46b-55  •  James 5:7-10 

•  Matthew 11:2-11

What do you think when your idea of what God’s will is, or what should happen does not happen – when your expectations are not met? This week, while in prison, John the Baptist sends a messenger to Jesus to ask if he is the “one who is to come, or should we look for someone else.” As The Rev. Danae Ashley says in “The Unexpected” “We put a lot of hope in people, and when the circumstances do not measure up to our expectations, we need help in grieving the loss of those hopes. Navigating the loss of the goals we have for ourselves, our children, and especially our God, can rock the foundation of our beliefs about the world and our place in it.” She gives a beautiful example of how parents, who planned, with great hopes and joy, the birth of a child, dealt with the child being born disabled, and the new joys and hopes they were given, and nurtured. Read Ven Irene Egmalis-Maliaman's Expectations . 

How can we have hope and experience joy when things don’t work out the way we want, what we dreamed of? The answer may not be what we expect, or want, but maybe the Advent miracle is to turn our eyes from ourselves to what God is doing.  As the prophet Isaiah said, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

What do we hope for? What are our expectations?  May we open our eyes to receive the hope and joy of the gifts of God when we let go of our expectations. We are not alone. John the Baptizer asks, "Are you the One?." May we look for, know, and receive the presence of God in our lives. Only then can we experience the joy which comes in the morning - in new beginnings.

Prepare and make straight the way of the Lord

Scripture:

Isaiah 11:1-10  • 

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19  • 

Romans 15:4-13  • 

Matthew 3:1-12

The second week of Advent we always meet up with John the Baptizer in the wilderness. Some authors have noted we can't get to Jesus without going through John. We encounter him wearing the skin of a camel, eating locusts and honey, like Elijah. A firebrand, who calls Pharisees and Sadducees who have come to hear him, a brood of vipers, and calls for repentance. Like the apocalyptic vision Jesus gave us last week, we hear ominous words about gathering wheat and burning the chaff by someone greater than him, who, unlike John, will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire instead of water.

What do we make of the first two Sundays of Advent with images of wilderness, darkness, winnowing, fire, and light? Why do we get these passages in Advent? Is there more than apparent gloom and doom? A new light is coming into the world. A new hope, as we wait and prepare, the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Rome. Read The Rev. Marcea Paul's "Repent, Live Into God’s Dream," and Debie Thomas' "The Voice of One Crying," for thoughts on how to prepare and make straight the way of the Lord.