Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10 • Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 • Romans 15:4-13 • Matthew 3:1-12
This week in the Advent season we read about a shoot growing out of an old stump, a righteous judge who will bring equity to the meek and poor. The
wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the
calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
The apostle Paul tells us we shall have hope by the steadfastness and encouragement of the scriptures. We are to welcome one another and rejoice, as Christ has welcomed us. Paul prays: "May
the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may
abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
When things seem hopeless, how can we have hope? How can we abound in hope?Consider The Rev. Janet Hunt's Abounding in Hope, and Steve Goodier's No Hopeless Situations.
You might say, I'm too old now, or too young, too weak, not knowledgeable enough, not good enough,or use some other excuse to miss what God is calling you to do. Citing today's gospel and John the Baptist, in New Life Stirring in an Old Stump, The Rev. Whitney Rice tells us "All the
old condemnations of ourselves and others are to be chopped down and thrown
away, making room for the new shoot of Jesse to grow up within us. That is how
we prepare the way of the Lord. John the Baptist is not preaching a message of
condemnation, but rather one of liberation, of freedom from the thick, choking
overgrowth of sin that has trapped us in misery and hopelessness."
It's never too late. There's always hope. Now is a good time to start.
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.” What is hope, and are our hopes misplaced? What was Jesus’ reply to John, and to us? See The Rev. Dr. Amy E. Richter’s “Expecting the Unexpected Messiah.”
What should we be hoping in and for? What is God doing in our lives? Consider The Rev. Daniel P. Matthews, Jr. “What’s the Plan?”
Can we choose how God will bless us? How are we called to face the unknown? Read Sara Miles’ account of Mary’s experience of God, the Father, and the Holy Spirit, and her response in “My Soul Proclaims: Submission and Subversion in Mary’s Magnificat.”
Scripture: Isaiah 2:1-5 • Psalm 122 • Romans 13:11-14 • Matthew 24:36-44
We begin the new Lectionary Year A with the first Sunday of Advent, a time of waiting and preparation, a time expectancy for the light which breaks through the darkness, a time of hope for the kind of peace which turns spears into plowshares, and swords into pruning hooks. In "Why Advent is the hardest of times for faithful Christians," The Rev. Canon Catherine A. Caimano discusses what we must take off to put on the armor of light mentioned in Paul's letter to the church in Rome.
In Like a Thief, Debie Thomas explores what considers Jesus means when he says we must be alert and awake for the life giving birth and coming of the Son of Man. What is coming for us? What is life giving? What is not?
Over the last few weeks we have explored "faith living" - living the Life Christ calls us to live in such a way that it is so innately a part of what we say and do, that we don't have to even think about it. You might say that God's presence becomes manifest in us. Appropriate, as we approach a new Advent season.
Some of the lessons we have learned are: (1) keep it simple, and go about our work and what is expected of us, with our "hand to the plow" - the reward will come; (2) go about our work with a spirit of humble and joyous thanks and praise for God's gift of a present hope and blessing; (3) the lesson of keeping our faith through persistent prayerful relationship with God, which builds trust and assurance that God's will will be done in God's good time, and God's purpose for us will be fulfilled; (4) learning to see others as Jesus sees them, and us; (4) sharing our faith with the great and the small, and learning to appreciate the love and worth God has for all of us, crossing boundaries of shame, guilt and the judgment of men; and, (5) living a "resurrection" life from the perspective of being generous with the abundance of life God has given us.
This week as we hear Jesus tell us about the destruction of the temple, and what many have called the "end times," we learn to not invest ourselves, our lives, our hopes and dreams in transient things, but in that which endures, and lasts forever - even when and as "temples fall." See The Rev. Dr. Janet H. Hunt's "Falling Temples." Do we do that? See Alyce M. McKenzie's "Get Over Yourself!"
As we continue our studies of "faith living," our Scripture readings speak of the resurrection. This week we will discuss "resurrection living."
The Sadducees in today's gospel do not believe in the resurrection. They try to trick and ridicule Jesus with their absurd and extreme examples about marriage partners in heaven if people married more than once. Jesus did not treat them with scorn, but with patience and assurance in his answer. What was his answer?
What do you think about resurrection? Especially in a post modern, empirical verification based age? How does that compare with life two millennia ago. Read Debi Thomas' "Children of the Resurrection."
The last few weeks we have considered lessons in "faith living." We have read and discussed scripture and articles which have provided things to consider in living out the gospel innately, so that it becomes so much a part of us that we manifest God's presence and love.
Some of the lessons we have learned are: (1) keep it simple, and go about our work and what is expected of us, with our "hand to the plow" - the reward will come; (2) go about our work with a spirit of humble and joyous thanks and praise for God's gift of a present hope and blessing; (3) and, as we considered last week, the lesson of keeping our faith through persistent prayerful relationship with God, which builds trust and assurance that God's will will be done in God's good time, and God's purpose for us will be fulfilled.
Last week we considered Jesus' parable of the unjust judge. This week, the next lesson in "faith living" concerns our judgment of others, and the trap of being self righteous in the process. What are the consequences? In our judgment of others how can we avoid being self righteous?
Consider Bruce Maples' article "Seeing Others as Zeros," and The Rev. Joseph Pagano's "Modern-Day Donatism and the Gospel."
