Casting stones

WORD: Gospel of John 8
While Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. ³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, ⁴they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. ⁵Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ ⁶They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ ⁸And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground.^{* 9}When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. ¹⁰Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ¹¹She said, ‘No one, sir.’^* And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’

OBSERVE:
This confrontation occurs in the Jerusalem temple, where Jesus is teaching people. Religious leaders bring a woman before Jesus. They accuse her of a serious crime, adultery.  The scribes and Pharisees are under no obligation to ask Jesus what he thinks about the law.  They bring this case to him in order "to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him."  Presumably, they thought he would be merciful and, therefore, break the law of Moses that commands the stoning of adulterers.  That these religious leaders catch her in the very act of adultery is creepy.  How did they do this?  Why is there no male counterpart?  Who were they protecting?  It betrays patriarchy and their misogyny.  If this was a sex crime, how likely was it that she was the offender and a man was the victim?  Possible, perhaps. But highly unlikely.  And so, here is the rub. She could be punished for a sex act, while the man involved  is not.  Though the law prescribes punishment for both parties.  It betrays the sexism among the male religious leaders, doesn't it?  Jesus catches them in the act, too.  Hypocrites.  Self-protecting liars. Condemning a woman for sex is like condemning gay people and ignoring rape victims.      
Jesus writes something on the ground.  We don't know what he writes or why. But he answers their inquiry by encouraging the one who is without sin to cast the first stone.  The elders are the first to leave. They would know better than the youth how hard it is to keep the law. Jesus speaks with her.  "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  And then he releases her, frees her, refuses to condemn her.  "Go, and sin no more," he says to her.  What if he writes his mother Mary's name?  A woman who was, perhaps, accused of adultery because she was pregnant outside of marriage.  Maybe he writes Joseph's name, the husband and father who ultimately protected them both.   

REFLECT:
We cannot follow and obey God's law.  The very clothes I'm wearing condemn me.  (Cotton/poly blend).  The food I eat condemns me (Bacon). There are 613 law in the Torah.  We do not get to choose which ones to obey and which ones don't apply to us.  We don't get to apply certain laws to condemn certain people, but ignore the ones in which we stand guilty. 
It is easy and tempting to cast stones.  We do it to protect ourselves, to defect our own guilt.  The pointing of fingers is the political strategy employed by many people in public office. We hide our sins behind our accusations of others, our judgments of others' actions and words.  How have you cast stones or accused others?  We find it too easy to see the bad behaviors in others, while ignoring our own offensive attitude, actions, and words. 
The good new is that Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to free us from sin.  Forgiveness and mercy make it possible for this condemned woman to walk away.  She was saved by Jesus' teaching--let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  In other words, if you are obedient enough to escape the judgment of the law, in its totality, then you are able to judge someone else's sin.  Otherwise, you do not.  No one is above the law.  And under it, all of us fail.  But thank God our story is more than our moral failures and sins of omission.  Jesus sees her as a woman, not an adulterer.  She is not what her accusers said about her.  We are not what we do or fail to do.  I am a son, a father, a husband, a pastor/teacher.  We are different things to different people.  And I am these things, even when I fail to meet expectations.  To God, we are beloved children more valuable than our failures, faults, and fears.  We are not condemned.  We are set free!  Thank God.

PRAY:
For those who have been found guilty, condemned, and face punishment.  For their accusers and for victims of sexual crimes.  That your patience and forgiveness might give them peace and set them free.  Amen.        

Samaritan woman at the well: What she teaches us.

This week, the 3rd Sunday in Lent, we heard a story from the gospel of John, the fourth chapter.  It is an encounter narrative.  Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.  There is a conversation that reveals prejudice and resistance.  It also reveals an inner thirst for truth and grace that is both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. So, here is what I heard in this story.  Please feel free to read the story here:  http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=John+4:1-42

1.  Jesus is thirsty and tired from a wilderness journey.  John has no trouble reminding us that Jesus is human, experiencing physical discomfort.  In other words, he is like us and with us.  He can empathize with our vulnerabilities, because he shares them.  All of us have needs. When was the last time you were tired or thirsty or hungry?  Who supported you? 

2.  The woman has no name.  In Judaism, she is invisible, untouchable, and unworthy of a gift from God.  She is thrice an outcast; a woman, ethnically and religiously Samaritan.  The text betrays the bigotry, misogyny, and religious rivalry that existed between peoples.  She is quick to point these things out to Jesus.  I believe she is hiding at midday.  Unlike the Pharisee, Nicodemus, who seeks out Jesus at night (In John chapter 3), she is hoping to be left alone in the light of day.  If the well was occupied in the morning, before the heat of the day and in order to obtain the day's ration of water, then her midday trip to the well may be seen as avoidance. She has no name.  She is invisible, untouchable.  She, like Nicodemus, has something to hide.   He was hiding his interest in Jesus' teachings, his feelings of incompetency and concern for him. He was embarrassed to confess his ignorance, because he was a Pharisee--a respected and educated teacher.  What was she hiding? Who's invisible in our world?  What does shame do to people?  Who has no name? 

3.  Despite her best efforts to deflect him, she cannot dissuade Jesus from offering himself to her.  Jesus ignores the conventional mores and rules about men and women, Jew and Samaritan.  He does so in private.  This is dangerous boundary crossing for Jesus.  She could make an accusation.  She could damage his reputation.  He doesn't care.  Somehow he knows that she needs what he can give.  What boundaries did Jesus cross to meet you?  What boundaries might you cross to meet someone on their journey?

4.  Jesus uses the well and the water as an analogy for his ministry/teaching.  I think the deep well represents the depth of human struggle and suffering that the woman has gone through.  The water is Jesus' life-giving relief---forgiveness, peace, mercy, and love that he offers us.  What is the well in your life?          

5.  She is interested in the living water he offers.  And then he reveals what she's hiding.  He tells her to go and get her husband.  Somehow he knew.  She has had 5 husbands and the man she is living with now is not her husband.  Her well is bad relationships with men.  This woman has been misdiagnosed unfairly by interpreters, suggesting that she is a whore, a harlot, fast and loose with the men.  More likely, she was victim to male domination and abuse.  Nevertheless, this was a source of shame for her.  Deep shame.  She was hiding at noon from gossipers, slanderers, and those who have rejected her.  And Jesus caught her.

6.  Jesus' offer of living water was really his way of saying that he was there to wash away her shame, her pain, her sadness, her weariness, her anger and resentment.  He was there to wash it away.  As he is there for us.  What would you like Jesus to wash away from your story? 

7.  She runs away, leaving her bucket behind.  Not in fear, but with hope.  Something has changed for her in this encounter with this jewish man.  She tells others, "He told me everything I have ever done."  This is an exaggeration of their conversation, but what she means by it is so clear:  Jesus saw her, heard her, knew her.  Jesus exposed her shame and her pain, not to cause more of it, but to heal her. 

8.  Lots of people are walking around trying to fill their empty buckets.  They're going to all kinds of wells---religion, relationships, online retailers, trying to cover the shame and quench the thirst.  And its never enough.  We can't fill our own buckets.  We can't heal ourselves.  We can't fix what's broken in our relationships.  We can't set right the wrong that has been done to us or by us.  No matter how hard we try.  And some are trying hard to look like they've got their shit together.  Don't believe them.  They don't. 

9.  Jesus offers himself.  He is not demanding or coercive.  He wants nothing, but our acknowledgment that he is in this with us too.  Living in our tired, thirsty bodies.  And he wants us to take what he's giving. Living water. 

10.  Jesus says, "God is Spirit."  We cannot control, contain, or avoid God.  It's like trying to control, contain,  or avoid the wind. Religion attempts to do this when it is meant to draw us into the flow, blow us away, breathe life into our bodies, send us out with abandon and the wind of free speech telling others what God has done.  He sees me and loves me anyway.

   
 

Invitation/Challenge Matrix

Jesus was a 1st century itinerant rabbi.  But his practice depended on students.  What is a teacher with no students, no followers?  They were called disciples, learners.  And he taught them.
 How did Jesus teach?  This is as important to us as what he taught.  Content and methods both matter.  Jesus invited people into a relationship with him in which they were welcomed as sons and daughters of God.  Jesus also challenged them to live into that identity as faithful practitioners and responsible stewards of the gifts they received.  His practice was highly invitational--consistently welcoming,  patient, gracious, and loving. "Come to me all y uwho are heavily burdened and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:25.   And it was highly challenging; "If anyone wants to become my follower he (she) must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me." Mark 8:34.  We might say that High Invitation/High Challenge was Jesus' method of delivery. 
When we think about creating a culture or environment in which people will grow, evolve, and mature in their spiritual lives we notice that Rabbi Jesus creates a culture that is highly invitational and highly challenging for his followers.  In the Gospels, he invites fishermen to follow him and learn to "fish for people".  In John's gospel he invites potential followers to "come and see" where he is abiding and what he is doing.  In both circumstances, he meets people of peace (those who are ready for a life-change, are eager to learn, are already experiencing challenges that require them to learn/change.)  We'll discuss what makes a person of peace a potential learner/disciple next time. 
Jesus invites them to follow him.  They immediately do so.  Then he begins to act.  He heals sick people, drives out unclean spirits, feeds hungry crowds, touches lepers, talks to gentiles and women, and forgives sins.  He lets them observe and listen to him.  He gives them access to his life, his words and his work.  But eventually, he will send them out to do exactly what he was doing.  He challenges them to imitate him.  Jesus taught his followers to know what he knows, see what he sees, and do what he does.  He did so in the context of a relationship, the rabbi/disciple relationship.  They were on a journey together. Apprenticeship occurred in the context of their daily lives, as it does for us.

Many churches are High Invitation/Low Challenge cultures---leaders, pastors, staff do all of the work.  And the people are largely left to comfortable consumption of religious goods and services.  In order to keep everyone happy and to attract more and more consumers, leaders have to continue to perform and produce high quality stuff for the people.  Excellence is the mark of a consumer church, driven by the demands of consumers. 
When there is low invitation/low challenge life is boring, apathetic, and uninspiring.  Organizations in this place are dying.  This culture can change by becoming more invitational and more welcoming.  But you have to create a reason to invite and welcome.  The church should always have one reason:  The message of radically inclusive, irresistible love demonstrated by Jesus. 
When there is low invitation and high challenge, life is stressful.  Some families and a lot of work/career life is like this.  I suspect many middle class, working American families live in this space; it's discouraging.  Undervalued, unappreciated, and overworked.  Working to please someone else, to be productive, and to complete hard tasks.  Anxiety and depression are symptoms of life in this culture. 

Jesus calibrated a high invitation/high challenge culture.  Identity affirmation, patience, worth and value, compassion, forgiveness, and  welcome all characterized Jesus' invitational life.  He gave time to people.  A lot of time.  One- on- one time.  He listened. Because he was building authentic love relationships with people.  He wanted them to know that they belonged to the creator, the Father, the author and giver of life. He wanted them to know that they had gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit.  He wanted them to know that they had a calling, a mission, a purpose to live. He empowered them to stand up, to have courage, and to do what was right.   
He challenged people to confront their insecurities, their incompetency, and their prejudices.  A confrontation with one's self is scary.  When you look in the mirror, who do you see?  Is it who you want to see, to be?  There will be things Jesus challenges us to do.  We may not know how to do them yet.  Jesus is challenging me to feed hungry people by managing a farm in Elizabethtown. 
So, we will learn to hear and accept invitation and challenge; We will learn to give invitation and challenge to others.   
Some other language for invitation and challenge that we will use:  Gospel/Law;  Relationship/Responsibilities;  Promise/Command; Gift/Task; Identity/Calling;  Covenant/Kingdom.       
 Why do you think this method is effective?  Where have you experienced each of these four quadrants?  What questions emerge for you?        

Gospel of Mark chapter 1

Mark 1. 

The beginning of the good news^* of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^*
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,^*
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,^*
   who will prepare your way;
³ the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
   “Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight” ’,
⁴John the baptizer appeared^* in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. ⁸I have baptized you with^* water; but he will baptize you with^* the Holy Spirit.’

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. ¹¹And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved;^* with you I am well pleased.’

The Temptation of Jesus

12 And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news^* of God,^{* 15}and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;^* repent, and believe in the good news.’^*

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. ¹⁷And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fish for people.’ ¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. ²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, ²⁴and he cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ ²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ ²⁶And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He^* commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’ ²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House

29 As soon as they^* left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once. ³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³And the whole city was gathered around the door. ³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

A Preaching Tour in Galilee

35 In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. ³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him. ³⁷When they found him, they said to him, ‘Everyone is searching for you.’ ³⁸He answered, ‘Let us go on to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.’ ³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 A leper^* came to him begging him, and kneeling^* he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean.’ ⁴¹Moved with pity,^* Jesus^* stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ ⁴²Immediately the leprosy^* left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, ⁴⁴saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’ ⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus^* could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Questions for reflection:

What do we learn about Jesus through his words?  Through his actions?
What do others think about Jesus? 
What is the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist?  Between Jesus and Satan?  Between Jesus and the fishermen?  Between Jesus and a man with an unclean spirit?  Between Jesus and a leper?
What is Jesus' purpose or mission?
Why do people follow him? 
How does Jesus invite?  How does he challenge?   

Ash Wednesday

[Jesus said to the disciples:] ¹“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

  ¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Gospel of Matthew.

Lent is a time when we are invited to confront the truth about ourselves, to come to our senses, to acknowledge weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and incompentencies.  We observe Lent.  We pay attention.  We are mindful.  Therefore, it is not to be entered into lightly.  Giving up chocolate or cookies is not an observation, unless one recognizes the obsession with, the addiction to sugar that effects the body and mind.

 

Jesus asks us to consider what or who we treasure.  We have come to believe that the only treasure is that which is found on earth, in the flesh, in the material world, in possessions, in things, in stuff.  We treasure good things and bad things.  We treasure old things and new things.  We treasure people and we treasure our feelings.  We treasure our houses and our clothes and our cars and our technology and our pets and our books and our health. We treasure wealth and prosperity and security and safety.  We treasure what we do not possess and we envy our neighbors' treasures.  We hoard.  We devour.  We consume and we use up.  We waste and we protect.  What we keep for ourselves devastates our neighbors.  What we throw away, others long to receive.  We treasure what will not last and we ignore the things that endure.  We don't even know what is valuable, what is worth treasuring, worthy of our devotion, our adoration, and admiration.  The search for God starts with the desire to know what is most worthy, most valuable, of highest esteem.  And it continues with the truth that it is not me.   

Self-promotion and self-centered living characterize much of life today in the west. Social media and personal technology celebrate the individual, emphasize me.  I am the first priority; my needs, wants, actions, etc..

When we practice piety, when we pray and fast and give in a public way to be seen by others, we are promoting ourselves.  We are, therefore, not pious out of respect or love for God.  One can be pious and care nothing about God.  An atheist can be pious.  Piety can be selfish, doing spiritual or religious things for me, for my improvement or for my faith, my life, my status before God.    

But Lent is not for me.  It reminds me that my life is to God and for neighbor.  The ego longs to dictate and direct my actions and my thoughts, such that I spend more time focused on myself---my needs, wants, desires, struggles, pain, comfort, etc...and as little as possible on the other. 

But then there is Jesus, who focuses attention on God and others.  God and others.  God and others.  Jesus treasures creation, not as a means of existence, but as a gift from God. He does not use things.  He receives them and gives them.  Scripture is not a tool or a text book.  It is a message, a word, a revelation of God to God's people.  We hear and experience God's voice, demanding, calling, inviting, challenging, loving, pursuing, expecting, and saving.  Jesus images for us a God/man relationship that is authentic, complete, and very good.  He heals and forgives and eats and prays and dies and lives; always in contact with God and others.  His existence is bound to God and other.  His life in God directs his life toward others, such that there are no limits and boundaries to his reach, his touch, his circle of compassion.  Ever widening.  Reaching, even us.     

Return to God and others, this is the invitation of Lent.  We are made to live to God and for others.  Making room to practice that life is the promise of Lent.  40 days.  Enough time to change habits, to get out of something and into something else.  

What do you treasure in this life you've been given?  What would be impossible for you to give up?  That is your God. 


   

Beatitudes. Jesus', Mine, Ours.

Blessed are the spiritually poor, for God’s kingdom is theirs.

Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comfort.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed be the atheists, agnostics, doubters, and skeptics;

Blessed be those battling depression;

Blessed be the undervalued, unemployed, and invisible ones;

Blessed be the homeless, the hungry, the hopeless;

Blessed be the disabled, the unwanted, the rejected ones;

Blessed be the survivors of domestic violence;

Blessed be the black and brown-skinned children;

Blessed be our LGBTQ neighbors;

Blessed be those who experience hate because of their pursuit of social justice;

Blessed be the native people and their care for the earth;

Blessed be the women and children who walk many miles for water;

Blessed be those on the bottom of the economic ladder;

Blessed be those who long with hope and courage for equality and freedom;

Blessed be y’all, because God loves what God makes and calls it all good. 

Amen. 

Christmas is a Revolutionary Act of God

How many people here have experienced the sensation of déjà vu?  It seems to be a rather universal experience in which one feels as though one has already experienced the present, as if in a dream.  It’s a strange familiarity with a present scene, lasting no more than a minute or two.  Not like time traveling, but a faint memory triggered by some present scenario.  It could be a place, a person, a conversation…Its weird.  Science does not fully understand it.  It has something to do with the brain and memory, feelings associated with similarity.  But what if déjà vu signifies something more,  a reminder or a warning? 

Today’s story, Matthew’s Christmas story, is a bit like déjà vu.  The reader is meant to hear and see in this scene some familiar themes, characters, and events.  Paying attention to those connections is necessary in hearing the meaning of Christmas according to Matthew.  So, do you want to hear the meaning of Christmas one week early? 

Let’s start with the obvious one.  Matthew gives it to us.  “The Virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” A citation of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 7.  We heard it earlier.  Isaiah, however, was suggesting something more than a “miraculous conception”.  He was talking about the birth of the next King.  He was telling the current King, Ahaz that His replacement was about to be born.  He would be overthrown and his power was coming to an end.  Isaiah may have had an actual person in mind, someone born in the royal family itself perhaps.  So the first familiar scene is the connection to King Ahaz and Isaiah:  A change in the Monarchy, a new King is on the way.  This is bad news for the sitting ruler.  It suggests the toppling of an ineffective government, one that has been full of corruption, idolatry, and bad decisions. He paid the Assyrian empire to conquer smaller neighbors that threatened Israel. Seeing Israel as weak under Ahaz opened the door for Assyria to conquer Israel and divide the kingdom. But God is going to establish another ruler, a new King.  He will rule with equity and justice.  Bad rulers will have their power taken from them.  A good king is born.   

We have to back up, though.  Because the first memory we must confront is of Joseph and his dream.  We must remember the story from Genesis.  Jacob also called Israel had 12 sons.  His favorite was Joseph.  Israel gave him a coat.  Joseph had dreams in which he saw his own superiority over his brothers.  Angry and jealous, they beat him and sold him as a slave to traders, who took Joseph to Egypt.  In prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Joseph interprets the dreams of two inmates, both workers for Pharaoh.  When the dreams came true, the released prisoner returned to work for Pharaoh.  When Pharaoh had 7 nights of bad dreams, his cupbearer remembered Joseph.  Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and he interpreted the dreams to be a warning of a coming famine.  Pharaoh appointed Joseph secretaries of Agriculture and treasury, making him second in command of all Egypt.  Joseph was a wise steward and saved Egypt from famine.  IN fact, when the famine spread north to Israel/Judah, Joseph’s brothers came begging Egypt for food.  Joseph, generous, forgiving, and obedient to God never waivers in his faithfulness.  In the end, Joseph saves his family and reconciles with his brothers and father.  They all move to Egypt and prosper there.  The end. 

Except its not the end:  On account of the dreams, Joseph is sent to Egypt, imprisoned, rescued, and empowered.  As a result the Israelites emigrate to Egypt, where in subsequent generations, they are feared—because people fear growing populations of immigrants.  As a result the government establishes a work camp program, stripping them of human dignity and rights and limiting births.  Infant Hebrew (Israeli) boys up to age two must be killed.   

An infant boy, Moses is rescued by four brave Hebrew women and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter.  Raised as royalty, he identifies with the slaves, kills an Egyptian slavedriver, and flees.  He settles in the land of Midian to a life of shepherding in a good family.  But, God confronts Moses in a burning bush, reminds him that his people suffer in slavery, and commands him to obey. Moses is empowered by God to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh.  He does.  God helps, A lot.  Frogs, locusts, flies, thunderstorms with hail, diseased cattle, it was a bad time in Egypt.  When the firstborn sons of Egypt are found dead one morning, including Pharaoh’s own son, he relents and lets God’s people go.   They go.  Following Moses.  The army gives chase.  God parts the red sea and they walk through the waters to safety, as the army of Pharaoh drowns.  Moses sister Miriam, or Mary, sings a triumphant song of freedom on the banks of the sea.  Moses leads Israel out of slavery in Egypt as the great liberator, on a spiritual journey that will last a generation.  Joseph’s dreams and his brother’s jealousy lead them to slavery in Egypt.  400 years later, God intervenes and rescues them by rescuing Moses and preparing him to lead the people in the wilderness. 

There is a pattern in the Hebrew scripture:  Corporate sin and unfaithfulness, consequence and suffering, grace and liberation, and finally a call to new obedience.  This pattern rings true within the personal family story and within the larger political story of Israel and its neighbors, throughout the Old Testament this pattern is repeated.  And so, we return to Matthew:

We see that this birth is not a miracle, but a sign that God is about to repeat the second half of the cycle.  For the people were suffering under oppressive rule from a mighty foreign power (Rome, which reminds us of Egypt) and under a bad Jewish rule by Herod the great (which reminds us of guys like Ahaz).  The people were suffering.  God hears and responds to suffering. Always with mercy.  Often with a great liberating act of restoration.  As God saved Israel from itself, with Joseph and Moses, God will come again.  A child, a son will be given.  He will save his people from their sins.  He will be called Emmanuel, God with us.  Christmas is the story of God’s liberating grace act, enfleshed in the birth of a King, chosen before birth to liberate, lead, and call the people to a new obedience. 

And so, we are invited to see the birth of Jesus as the beginning of the end of tyranny, suffering, violence, hatred, political corruption, ineffective rule, and slavery to systems of injustice and mass production that costs people their dignity and humanity.  So long as "work" is the solution to poverty, we will not see peace.  Work is not the solution.  Grace enacted through love is the solution to every form of suffering.  Billionaires and generals are not the solution.  A poor, middle eastern peasant child is God's intervention into human suffering.  This may be hard to see and believe, given the state of the world today.  This is the scandal of Christmas. A baby, born 2,000 years ago, is our saving grace.  Not Trump. Not the Pentegon. Jesus.   

So, remember that God interrupts the pattern of sin and punishment/consequence with grace and a call to obedience.  See that Christmas is that interruption.  Notice that we are called to follow this King Jesus as God’s appointed savior.  Realize that we are called to a new obedience to Him and in Him we will live in peace.  So are you feeling like things in the world are off the rails? Violence, political scheming, and economic inequality are rampant.  Billionaires and generals are abusing power. But, their time is limited.  Trust that God acts against threats, powers of injustice, and evil.  God will not let the children suffer forever.  God comes for us.  God has done it before.  God will do it again.  Like déjà vu, or a repeating dream.  What we destroy, God rebuilds. The ones we enslave, God sets free.  The ones in power are cast down from their thrones and the rich are sent away empty.  This is the subversive story of Christmas.  It is the revolutionary act of God.  An end to tyranny and oppression.  The beginning of the way of salvation. Do not be afraid.  God is with us.  Amen.     

prophets and dreams

Based on Isaiah 11 and Matthew 3. 

For those who have decked the halls with boughs of holly and Christmas treed and twinkle lighted and wreathed and santa’ed their homes---you brood of vipers!!! Who told you to flee from the wrath to come?  A voice cries out “Prepare the way of the Lord!” and you hang LED lights on your garage?  You still prepare the wrong things for the one who is coming.  He does not come in a sleigh with toys.  Gift wrap, ornaments,  Bing Crosby, and egg nog do not have anything to do with the coming of the King.  But mark our words, he is coming and you cannot prepare for him or prevent him from showing up when you’re not looking.  When you’re dead asleep or out to lunch or in your car on the way to the dentist.  You have become so disenchanted by the long delay in his return that you fail to pay attention.  You’ve long lost hope or expectation.  You have accommodated your hearts to violence and war and mayhem and chaos and inequality and prejudice.  You are not aware.  He has already come.  He has landed. He has arrived.  He has invaded our space.  He has broken and entered in.  He is near.  Maybe here.   So I have come to announce him to you!  I have come to awaken you to his presence, to prepare you for his powerful entry.  There is inner work, soul work, spirit work, heart and mind work that has to be done.  Changed hearts will announce his reign.  For he will not tolerate apathy or lukewarm faith or cold hearts. So I must come to you as the prophet this week.  And perhaps for several more if you can bear it.   

The prophet spoke his or her “thus saith the Lord” with a rare confidence, not in himself or his audience or his voice, but in the message and from whom it came.   The prophet was, first, a hearer of God, a listener to God, a receiver of God, before he or she was a speaker for God.  And so the prophet speaks from a place of humility and awe.  The prophet sees the world as it is and the world as it could and shall be under God’s promised reign of peace.  The prophet tells the truth about our blindness and deafness to the treachery and villainy and destructive violence we perpetrate, condone, or ignore.  The prophet calls injustice what it is, thus offending all who walk in its ways.  The prophet anticipates, hopes, and points the way forward.  The prophet stands with the people in the wilderness, in the water, in the space between what is and what will be.  The prophet calls a people to turn away from their ways and follow another way.  To turn their backs on the way of destruction and embrace the way of creation.  To be part of the healing, part of the welcome, part of the uplifting of the poor and the meek, the despised and the displaced.  The prophet invites us, beckons us out of our comfortable, safe, sheltered, domestic lives of banks and grocery stores and Turkey Hills and minivans and rec centers and fast food chains and malls and vacations.   The prophet calls us, commands us, invites and challenges us into a new reality, a new vision, a new dream of another world. A world completely like and unlike the one we are in now.  The false prophet condemns others and sets himself above them.  The false prophet claims to know answers to unsolvable mysteries.  The false prophet speaks with too much clarity and impossible foreknowledge---often in a way that benefits himself.  The false prophet tells people, especially people with power and privilege what they want to hear.  Where the true prophet gives warning, the false prophet condemns.  The false prophet sells false hopes and secret wishes to vulnerable suckers dying for someone to promise them a better day will come to them.   The false prophets were the kings of fake news. But the true prophets spoke an honesty too horrible and too good to be true.  Yes, both the horrible and the good.  That is why they were despised.  They told the painful and wonderful truth about us.   

John had a dream. He dreamed that Isaiah’s prophecy was about to be fulfilled.  The peaceable kingdom, where predator and prey live in harmony with one another; where warriors lay down their weapons and take up hoes and spades; where a vulnerable child is immune to poisonous snakes and no harm or danger befalls God’s beautiful creation.  He dreamed this dream in the wilderness of the Jordan valley, a harsh desert land.  He knew predator and prey, both animals and humans.  For he knew the politics of Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great---unrighteous puppets of the gentile Roman overlords.  He knew the wealthy and powerful and how they abused their privilege to oppress and ruin the lives of Abrahams’ children.  He waited with Isaiah and all the prophets of old for a new David, a new King, a new anointed ruler to bring justice and peace to the people.  With eager anticipation, he announced what he saw and hoped it would end and begin. 

So do we.  We must inaugurate a new season of hope, in which we truly wait and anticipate and imagine another world---a better place, a heavenly dwelling in our midst.  We must imagine a time when all animals will be domestic.  Lions as housecats.  Wolves as puppy dogs.  We must imagine a day when a generation will only know war through ancient history books and museums full of guns and swords and cannons and grenades.  We must imagine a time when people will live free from violence, free from hunger, free from disease, free from thirst, free from drug addiction and sexual predators and armed robbers and political schemers, and relentless dictators.  We must imagine harmony.  Companionship.  Generosity.  Gentle stewardship of the earth and all its creatures.  We must imagine a farm, a garden, a fruitful land, a blessed harvest, in which men and women, Jew and Muslim, Christian and agnostic, African American worker and white CEO serve one another, working side by side.  And a child will lead them.  We need to be brave enough now to live into our hopes for a new world. So I took 6 children with me to a lunch with Muslim Americans.  The prophets are preparing the way of the LORD---a way of justice and peace for all the children of every race, tribe, culture, language, and faith.  May it be so, soon.  Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set your people free from our sins and fears-- release us, let us find our rest in thee. Amen.

Holy Encounters

Jacob's wrestling match; Joseph's dreams; Moses and the burning Bush; Elijah on the mountain; Early stories of biblical heroes include these holy encounters with the divine other, with the LORD.  They are usually transformative, life-altering experiences.  Jacob gets injured, get a new name, gets humble, and gets reunited with his brother.  Joseph becomes a victim of attempted fratricide, gets incarcerated, and gets promoted from model prisoner to economic advisor of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.  Moses is chosen to lead God's people Israel out of Egyptian slavery, to freedom, through the wilderness, and to the promised land.  Elijah initiates the age of the prophets, God's messengers  to the powerful and proud, who call the nation to sorrow for sin/injustice, and remind the nation of God's covenant promise to be with them.
The premise of the New Testament gospels is that God encounters humans in the person of Jesus, the traveling Rabbi from Nazareth, Israel.  An encounter with Jesus is an encounter with God, because Jesus teaches with authority.  Jesus heals, shows mercy, declares the unclean clean, brings dignity and hope to the poor.  Jesus confronts satan, evil, and even death itself.  In his own body, Jesus experiences human suffering, sorrow, and grief.  He experiences pain and death itself.  But death encounters a more powerful force at work in Jesus, the power of God---the source and sustainer of life.
After Jesus, his followers collectively embody his presence through their words and actions.  They seek to imitate his ways, speak his words, continue his works.  As they do, those who encounter the church are transformed.  Baptism is part of this transformation, as people are physically united with Jesus in the water.  The old self is drowned, the new self emerges.  A new person is born. 
Christians encounter God at the table, where Jesus promised to become bread and wine.  So that we might take his life into our bodies, absorbing his powers to heal and forgive.  Like medicine, we are transformed, made well,  by the encounter with Jesus there.
Jesus also taught that God is present to us in the last, the least, the lost, the left out, and the losers.  Lepers, prisoners, the mentally ill, the blind and deaf, the poor, the meek, the peacemaker, the merciful---these embody the Spirit of Jesus, and therefore reveal God's nature to us.  A Samaritan who shows mercy to a wounded Jew becomes a person of peace who embodies Jesus.  Today, this might be represented by an Israeli soldier who puts down his weapon to assist a Palestinian Arab soldier who lie wounded on the streets of Jerusalem. Or a white police officer who attends a Black Lives Matter rally to walk in solidarity with the black community he serves and protects. 
Holy encounters occur daily.  Last week, I was invited to a luncheon for Muslims and Lutheran Christians.  We discovered a common hope for peace and a common desire to learn from each other.  We respect each others' faith practices and hope to find ways we can serve our neighbors.  I met several Muslim Men who want us to see them as friends, brothers, and people of compassion and peace. 
How do we know when we have experienced a holy encounter, a moment with God?  If we know the biblical stories, especially the story of Jesus, we can compare them.  I believe the bible is not a collection of stories about things that happened.  It is not merely historical.  Some of it is ahistorical, perhaps even mythological.  But the bible is also Word of God, alive, current, happening now.  The bible tells stories about our own life experiences.  We may not all have a burning bush, but we may be wrestling with our past selves.  We may be afraid and in need of assurance.  We may encounter the stranger, the other, even the perceived enemy, and find ourselves looking at the face of God.  This is biblical.  And it is an alternative to a prejudicial, exclusionary, protectionist worldview espoused by too many people.  It seems that the bible offers the world an alternative way of seeing ourselves and others.  It proposes brotherhood, harmony, neighbor, kinship, compassion, and welcome. 
This week, notice people and have a holy encounter.  See God approach you in the disguise of someone in need, someone generous, someone remarkably different from you.  See God in the face of the stranger, the newborn, or someone suffering. 
Realize that you may be a way in which someone else has a holy encounter too.  You may embody the goodness of God.  And if you do, the world gets brighter, safer, and more alive.    

coming soon

"Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Gospel of Matthew, 24:42-44.

Advent has arrived.  Advent means arrival or coming.  So when we talk of Advent we are talking about an arrival.  This is a strange idea for most. The arrival of what or whom?  Advent is, for us, a season of the church’s year in preparation for Christmas.  For most people it does not exist on their calendars.  It has been replaced by decorating and shopping, Christmas music and food.  Chocolate.  That’s my holiday season.  Its characterized by the amount of chocolate I consume.  How awful is that?    The circle comes back around each year and we follow a pattern of tradition.  How many of you were innovative with thanksgiving this year?  Did something totally different than ever before, broke with tradition?  Like a program that keeps running, we simply do what we’ve done.  Lulled into the coma that is the holiday season.  We expect the same things.  That same person that was hard to shop for last year, still a pain in the rear.  Those lights you failed to put away properly last year, you’ll get them out again and fuss with them for four hours to hang them on the house.  There is monotony in these things.  And yet ,we are driven to do them.  Black Friday shopping.  We avoided it.  But millions of others are lured into that trainwreck of consumer frenzy.  Confess, some of you did it.   

For we too have largely joined the fray.  What is the difference between the secular observance of the holidays and the Christian observance?  After Thanksgiving, Christmas is pounding at our doors. Prepare for the birth of Jesus. This is what faithful Christians are doing, right?  We may even feel like our neighbors who are not practicing Christians have gotten on board the train, right?  They have that blow up lighted nativity in the yard already.  Complete with baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes.  It often feels like your trying to catch the Christmas train.  Get on board or you’ll miss it.  Get ready, hang on, its coming.  Only 28 days.   

We rush ahead in preparation for the wrong thing.  How does one prepare for an event that already happened?  This is why the first Sunday in Advent looks ahead, addresses future reality, offers up a vision for what has not yet come.  We are still waiting for something or someone.  And this is of dire importance.  For if all that God can do has already been done, then we are where we will be.  This is it, all we can expect, all we can hope for, the current state of things is just as they must and shall be.  And for some of us who know Christ and his mission, this is unacceptable nonsense.  Surely God is not finished yet with creation, with me, with you, with the great work of setting things right, with the restoration of justice and the doling out of divine mercy.  Surely, murder, mayhem, war and poverty, disease and hunger---surely this is not the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven.  

Think of a thing that you would like to set right but can’t.  Something that saddens you, frightens you, angers you.  For me, this is global hunger.  People, children, should not be hungry.  No one should suffer and die from hunger.  But they do.   It may be sex trafficking or refugees or homelessness or addiction or bank fraud.  What is the thing that haunts you, keeps you up at night?  If you had the magic wand, what would you fix, heal, change?  You and I have heard all of the promises of politicians for our entire lives.  No one, no elected leader has ended hunger, poverty, war, disease.  In fact, most have exacerbated these things.  Perpetual war.  That’s what we are in.  We are weary of their unkept promises.  No wonder there is such distaste for government.  And maybe even for church.  Does God keep promises?  Are there promises God has not kept?  For those of us who wait for the kingdom of God, there are.  Isaiah foretells them.  Matthew and Paul persuade the Christian community to keep awake, to be vigilant, to watch for God to act, to fulfill promise, to bring about that that for which we must hope.  They promise a day of crisis, like a thief in the night, a sudden disruption.  And yet, here we are.  Still waiting.  Might as well participate in the culture’s perpetual motion machine, do what they all do.  Decorate, Shop, eat.  Comfort, comfort my people.  Decorate, shop, eat.  Perhaps, we have lost our distinctive witness, our holy character, our faith in the Lord’s promises.  Perhaps this is why fewer people participate with us in Advent.  We do what they do and have to get up on Sunday mornings?  We have been lulled to sleep by cheap goods, shiny things, and rich foods.  We have been put in the coma of low expectations and acceptance of this world and all its sufferings.  We have been knocked unconscious by accepting reality as it is.  Idealism, hope---lost.  We fail to see that in every crisis, every disruption, every subtle change, Christ comes for us to awaken us to His saving work.   

Advent calls to us with this mystery.  His coming again.  Jesus’ work is incomplete, unfinished.  He has destroyed the power of sin, but has not erased its consequences---injustice, suffering, death.  We live in between what was and what will be.  We are those called to embody God’s promised future by faith.  We are those called to reveal a hope that is so unreal, so charming, so imaginative that we might be called dreamers, prophets, saints of God.  We are light in darkness. We are peace in the midst of violence.  We are sanctuary in times of chaos and despair.  We are love and joy.  Advent means arrival.  What if, instead of us waiting for Jesus to come back, advent is about the world waiting for the church to show up and be the church?  What if the second coming is about the body of Christ arriving on the scene here and now?  What if we wait for Christ to live through us for the sake of the world?  We are called to daring, bold service. Our worship is peace-making, light-shining, sanctuary for the anxious mind, food and drink for the hungry soul.  So dear friends, Advent means arrival.  So, show up.  Be present in worship and in service.  Be present to those who are struggling this season. Be present through inexplicable generosity.   Be present and alert to the inbreaking of God’s kingdom around us and through us.  Be present with hope on your lips to tell others of God’s promised reign.  Be present as Christ is present.  They are waiting for Christ to arrive in us.   Amen. 

advent 1. #GivingTuesday

"He began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. ¹⁰When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. ¹²And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. ¹³Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” ¹⁴But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, “This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.” ¹⁵So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’ When they heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’ ¹⁷But he looked at them and said, ‘What then does this text mean:
“The stone that the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone”?^*
18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’ ¹⁹When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people."

Today is GivingTuesday.  It is meant to inspire generosity in the aftermath of Black Friday and Cyber Monday--consumer shopping days to fulfill the Christmas wish lists.  My wife and I have done very little shopping since Thanksgiving and even less spending.  I think it's good to remind people to give.  Studies have shown that giving makes people happier than receiving.  Generosity is a way that we deny the self and think of others.  It comes out of and builds compassion and empathy.  Inviting children to give is great formation and teaches the power of greed and the need to let go in order to live a fuller and richer life.  Too often giving is an annual event or an end-of-the-year holiday expression, rather than a way of life, a habit or a routine.  The bible suggests that God is constantly giving and apart from daily divine generosity we cannot live.    
This parable of Jesus reminds us that God entrusts God's things to people.  God is like an absentee vineyard owner, who entrusts the vineyard to people.  When harvest time comes, the owner expects fruit.  But the tenants are greedy and willing to resort to violence in order to retain what does not belong to them.  Possessed by our possessions, we are unable to give freely and liberally to others.  We are afraid.  We believe in the myth of scarcity, despite our wastefulness and misuse of the abundance around us.
I struggle with time management.  I waste time sometimes.  I do not budget time wisely, spending too much on somethings and not enough on others.  I think time is a gift from God that I take for granted.  How much time do I really have?  The time I do have, I should use well.       

Some Christians believe that government is a function of God's provision, a way in which God orders human community.  Responsible government, according to the bible, looks after the innocent, the weak, the vulnerable, the poor, and the displaced.  Irresponsible government is greedy and self-serving. We have seen and heard governing authorities abuse their leadership and abuse the people they are supposed to protect and govern.  Like Jesus, we are called to speak against abusive powers and "bad tenants" who have been given authority, only to abuse it for selfish gain.  Jesus suggests that their power will be taken away from them.  Moral advocacy that holds leaders accountable to those they are required to serve is a work of public witness or faith in action.

We know that there is a cost to public witness, to accountable stewardship and faithful living.  Jesus paid it on the cross.  We will bear crosses, too.  But, the promise is true.  Those who pour themselves out, who give themselves away, put others before themselves, who love their neighbors and their enemies, will be rewarded.  The reward may be the act itself, since generosity brings joy to the heart.  The reward is also eternal life, a home with God, and everlasting peace.  So, on GivingTuesday, be generous with what God has given you; yourself, your time, your possessions.  Signs of God's gracious love.  God the giver gave all that you have to you, so that you might join God in that work. Don't squander it, hoard it, or keep a little for yourself.  Don't believe in scarcity.  Believe in abundance.  Believe in the reward of a generous life.  And look to Jesus as the best example of how to give.  Wholly.  Selflessly.  Lovingly.     


  

What is Advent?

"Though Advent (literally arrival) has been observed for centuries as a time to contemplate Christ's birth, most people today acknowledge it only with a blank look. For the vast majority of us, December flies by in a flurry of activities, and what is called the holiday season turns out to be the most stressful time of the year." 

If this is your experience, then we need to talk.  We create stress.  We let the holidays overwhelm us and we forget why we're celebrating in the first place.  Look, I get that you may not be that religious or pious.  These festivals and seasons are not that important anyway.  We don't have time for these things, that are clearly for religious insiders, right? . You've gotten on fine without knowing about Advent or Lent or the Christian year.  Did you know the Christian year is marked differently than the secular calendar? Did you know millions of people observe the Christian year as the rhythm that keeps them connected to the life of Jesus and the ongoing creative work of God?  A lot of evangelical Christians have rejected the traditional Christian calendar.  They do not observe the seasons.  Roman Catholics and some Protestants, however, continue to keep an annual cycle of holy days by which they mark the passing of the weeks.  Both Jews and Muslims also keep a religious calendar of seasonal observances and holy days.  You've simply never participated as religiously or faithfully before. 
But, here's the thing.  In your rejection of some Christian traditions or your ignorance of them (and I mean that in a gentle way, like you just don't know what you're missing), you are not getting the whole meal.  Its like skipping the hors d'oeuvres and the salad and going right for the meat and the dessert. Many Americans will celebrate Christmas without knowing why.  What it means, whose birth we celebrate, why we celebrate Jesus' birth, or how to celebrate it apart from the consumer model.  There is another way! 

Advent starts on Sunday, November 27th this year.  Advent is the church's way of marking time, of slowing things down, of preparing for the things that matter.  Advent has been observed for centuries and consists in the four Sundays that precede December 25th.  It is basically the month before Christmas.  It has been mostly supplanted by a consumer calendar marking the number of shopping days until the 25th. 
Christmas, as you know, is one of the two major festivals of the Christian year.  It is a twelve day celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  The stories of his birth appear in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. 
Easter is, of course, the other major festival.  One could say that it was the resurrection of Jesus that made his birth so important.  No Easter, no Christmas.  But I think we can make a case for the significance of Christmas, primarily by living Advent. 
Advent is all about anticipation and hope, watchful waiting, and expectation.  It is about the longing of the human heart, the human community, for justice--the setting right and straight the things that are wrong and broken in this world.  Biblically, Advent is Messianic promise and fulfillment.  Jews longed for a just ruler, an divinely anointed King who would set them free from oppression.  The Messiah began to be seen as a divine man who would transform the earth, humanity, and all the creatures.  From winter to eternal spring.  From despair and desperation to hope and comfort.  From exile to homecoming.  From war to peace.  From death to life.  The expectation was that a Messiah would save the people from sin and death.    The Jews, long awaiting a savior, kept watch by prayer and Torah observance.  They practiced the law of God found in the books of Moses and the prophets.  They hoped, in times of slavery and exile, for a ruler who would vanquish enemies and restore their dignity as the chosen people of God.  A Messiah, which means anointed one or King.  Christ is the Greek form of Messiah. It is a title not a surname.  Jesus Christ means Jesus Messiah, or King Jesus.

Advent gives us a month to contemplate the meaning of Jesus.  Here are some ways we can observe Advent:

1.  Get a calendar.  Advent calendars are full of daily reminders and simple practices that make us mindful of the presence of God. 
2.  Get an Advent wreath or a set of four candles to light at evening meals.  One candle is lit on each Sunday in Advent. The Jews get 8 candles on the Menorrah for Hannukah.  Christians get four candles for Advent. 
3.Get a devotion book.  Daily readings that teach us, that enrich the spiritual part of life, and give us pause to reflect can really enhance the meaning of the holiday season.  Maybe God has something to say to you to help you grow in your relationships, or in how you use your time.   Start the day in 5 minutes of intentional silence before a single candle as a point of focus.  See what that days to your state of mind, level of stress, and will to live.   
4.  Find a local charity to support or volunteer with a local community outreach.  Nothing refocuses us in the life of Jesus like tending to the needs of others.   
5.  Go to worship in a liturgical church that observes ancient Christian tradition.  It may be that engaging in ritual activity (prayer, song, listening, eating and drinking, light candles) that has been shaped by centuries of spiritual practitioners, who were devoted to a spiritual path as followers of Jesus Christ, can nurture your inner soul in ways that shopping at Target can't.
6.  Invite someone to eat dinner with your family that has not been in your home before.  Hospitality is a hallmark characteristic of Christian observance and something we suck at in the United States.  We tend to live in isolation rather than in community.  Nothing makes community faster than food. 
7.  Go to a free community concert.  Churches and community centers often host musicians during the month of December.  Many churches will host community singing of Handel's "Messiah".  Enjoying beautiful music and the arts reminds us of the best of what humanity can offer.
8.  Decorate in stages.  Rather than put up the entire Christmas display on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, delay gratification Clark.  Build a festive atmosphere in your home, adding a little more each week.  Delay decorating a Christmas tree for as long as you can.  After all, Christmas itself is the 12 days from December 25 to January 6.  Too often, we've put away Christmas too early because we started observing and celebrating too soon. Do Advent first!  Wait for Christmas!  The meaning is in the waiting!

Let's start here and see what happens.  Try on one or two new habits.  What is it like to intentionally and mindfully focus on the coming of Christ?