Matthew 3:7-12

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” vs. 11

A fire burned within John the Baptist. He knew that God was close and that change was coming. But like all prophets he likely also knew that his time was limited. He had offended too many powerful people and his movement was beginning to be seen as a threat. Soon the opposition would act to silence him. They were such fools! What had begun in John was from God and the mission wouldn’t end with his death. The Spirit would simply fall on another, a prophet more powerful than he, and in him the fire would continue to grow and spread. Humans can be silenced, but God cannot be contained. John knew that and in confidence announced to his opponents that they hadn’t seen anything yet. God is and cannot be contained–and it’s still happening. Leaders come and go. Congregations are birthed, flourish for a time, and then quietly die, but God keeps coming. New leaders are chosen and new communities burst into bloom, and with each manifestation the kingdom of heaven draws ever nearer. What a God we have! The harvest of new fruits will never end until all the chaff is burned away!

Thought for the Day: When I am silenced, who will speak?

Matthew 3:1-6

“In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” vss. 1-2

John felt it inside first. Something new was in the wind and he knew beyond a doubt that God had broken into the world. He’d been railing against the corruption of the temple for years, and had joined the Essenes in the wilderness as a protest. In solitude he had prayed and now God was on the march. Holiness was near and John began to tell people to get ready. God’s rule was at hand and experiencing it would necessitate repentance. New wine required new wineskins! It was an exciting time–it always is when God comes to us. Many in the world today know that feeling, the awesome anticipation that new life is about to dawn. That’s how it has always worked for the people of God. Right in the middle of our ordinary lives we feel the stirring of the Spirit  and we actually begin to seek out changes. We hear the call to repent and so we do. And these aren’t some shallow and superficial changes, but the touch of God begins to alter the whole trajectory of our lives. We feel a call to live for others and to reach out to the lonely and hurting. True repentance isn’t some scary, guilt-tinged recital of wrongs coupled with a desire to do better. In reality it’s exciting, exactly like being born again, and it opens the door to more joy than we ever imagined would be possible.

Thought for the Day: What sparks change in my life?

Romans 15:7-13

“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.” vs. 13

One of the signs of God’s presence in our lives is the appearance of hope in the most unlikely times. Hope confounds us with its elusiveness. It comes and goes with maddening irregularity and resists our most determined manipulation. Paul tells us that hope has a connection with believing, or perhaps a better word is trusting. As we trust that God is, the Spirit of God stirs within and hope is reactivated in our hearts. And the best news is that hope doesn’t come alone. It is always accompanied by joy and peace, two more gifts of God that make life absolutely sparkle. Sometimes our daily diet of news is decidedly unhopeful, almost enough to bring despair. The world is being overrun by authoritarian forces that seem interested only in power and control. They show no interest in the common good of humanity and refuse to cooperate in dealing with our changing environment. The resulting explosion of refugees on the move is producing one humanitarian crisis after another. And then suddenly in the midst of our hand-wringing and lament we feel God’s presence and are filled with inexplicable hope. It’s baffling and wonderful at the same time, and we find ourselves able to even laugh and sing! Praise God!

Thought for the Day: What is my hope built on?

Romans 15:4-6

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” vs. 4

Paul was waiting for Christmas, or to put it in another way, he was waiting for the return of Christ, but he wasn’t letting any grass grow under his feet as he waited. He had been given a mission and, without training and without precedent, he daily engaged in proclaiming the gospel and establishing congregations. But he wasn’t just making stuff up! Every day he looked for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sometimes directly, and regularly through the scriptures. But Paul was interpreting those writings in a new way. For him they weren’t a rulebook for Jews but an open-ended invitation to the whole world to participate in salvation. No one was to be excluded; all were to be welcomed. We are the inheritors of that mission and we face the same challenges as did Paul. It isn’t that we necessarily need more congregations. There are already more than enough of those. But we do need to be attentive to the urgings of the Spirit, and we certainly need to allow the scriptures to speak in a new way to our changing world. And like Paul, instead of using those books in a wooden and literal way, we will use them as a guide in exploring new territory and new forms. We’re all waiting for completion, but it’s a journey too, a journey of renewal and of hope.

Thought for the Day: What is the Spirit saying to me as Advent begins?

Psalm 72:1-7. 18-19

“May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.” vs. 4

As the new king ascended the throne in Israel the psalmist gave voice to the hopes of the people. They had an agenda, and they didn’t have in mind more palaces for the royal family or tax advantages for the rich. The people of Israel yearned for a king who would defend the cause of the poor and give deliverance to the needy. And over and over again they were disappointed. There’s something about power that breeds corruption and it’s seldom used to advance the concerns of the poor and the needy. As a result the kings of Judah were almost uniformly a disappointment, and ultimately the government fell, easy prey for foreign invaders. When Jesus came and began his ministry he gave new hope to the downtrodden and the hungry. He loved to hang out with them and he called them “blessed”! Of course he wasn’t the righteous king the psalmist was hoping for but he did something even better. His movement gave birth to a whole army of followers who walked in his way and who gave their lives to stand with the poor and work for justice. It’s at this time of year that their ministries are most visible–even the secular world gets involved and newspapers call it the Season of Sharing. All that caring has been sparked by Jesus, and as we participate with generous hearts we can hear the angels sing with joy.

Thought for the Day: How do I respond to holiday giving appeals?

Isaiah 11:6-11

“They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” vs. 9

Having lived through a virtual two year shutdown of our country, and now, another contentious election, hope is a precious commodity. For some reason leaders of all kinds have been led to sow a message of fear and distrust that has found its way into too many hearts. Many seem to live on the edge of outrage and some have even adopted hatred as a way of life. With that as a backdrop followers of Jesus are bound to be faithful to the message of hope that fills the gospel and that was a staple of the prophets. Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom is one that deserves our attention now and always. God, the One who is the source of all and who inhabits all, will one day bring peace to our warring and tumultuous world. We may doubt that now–just as the folks in Isaiah’s day likely doubted his words. But we are not called as disciples to live in the “what is”! We are people of “what will be”! And as long as we have breath we will continue to have hope and pray that the innate goodness of humanity will one day prevail. Having that dream as our daily mantra will make a difference as we live into what seems to be an uncertain future. God is—and one day God’s love will most certainly prevail.

Thought for the Day: What difference does hope make?

Isaiah 11:1-4

“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” vs. 1

In some homes a Jesse tree has appeared in the family room right alongside the Christmas trees. Usually Jesse trees are not impressive in themselves; they’re just large dead branches stuck in some sort of non-descript container. They’re not at all like Christmas trees, but they are meant to be decorated. Each day during Advent some sort of symbol is tied to its limbs–the items are meant to be reminders of the scriptural story from creation to the birth of Jesus. The ornaments can be plastic or paper–there are all kinds of guides on the internet to help. By the time Christmas arrives the tree will be full and the family ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Sometimes families have a ritual each evening as the ornament is hung–it could be a story or a bible verse along with a prayer. While Jesse trees haven’t been around very long, it’s a worthy tradition, particularly in those families who are interested in giving meaning to the season of Advent. It’s a daily reminder that Christmas requires a waiting period, a time of reflection and anticipation. Isaiah was anticipating that one day there would be a new king, one who would rule in an entirely different way, and we see in his words a description of Jesus, the one on whom the Spirit rested in full. In our Advent waiting we pray that the same Spirit would rest with us daily.

Thought for the Day: What Advent rituals has my family used?

Matthew 22:40-44

“Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” vs. 42

As technology and science have progressed we have become more adept at predicting the future. We’ve even gotten pretty good at predicting the weather and can be fairly confident about when the next storms will be moving in. But there are some things that remain a mystery and that happens most frequently as we try to figure out endings. Jesus’ words about the end bear that out. He tells his followers that they can’t possibly know when the Lord is coming again–but he does tell them to wait with anticipation. As it turns out, that’s probably the best way to live in this world, even if we’re not among those looking for the Lord’s imminent return. Rather than plowing ahead and wasting energy trying to control our futures, it’s far better to relax and wait. We’re not talking about passive, apathetic waiting here though. Believers will wait with anticipation and expectation, looking for signs of God’s activity in the world around them, and alert to manifestations of divine love and mercy. God is God and even in our secular world there will be occasions when God will be unmistakably present to us under the guise of ordinary things. This doesn’t happen for everyone. Some will see and others won’t. Someday we will come up against our ending–it’s as inevitable as one season following another. But before that day there’s plenty of waiting to do. And big surprises are on the way.

Thought for the Day: What’s it like to wait with anticipation?

Crown and Cactus is Returning

Some of you are familiar with a blog that I wrote for about 5 years and that I stopped writing in November of 2017. For a few reasons that I think are legitimate, I’ve decided to start sending it out on a weekly basis once again. It’s based on “Stories from Lake Wobegon” from Minnesota Public Radio, one of my favorite programs for a lot of years. It’s about a mythical congregation located in the East Valley and tells stories of that congregation’s efforts to establish a thriving faith community in difficult times.

If you are interested in following the blog you can find it at www.crownandcactus.wordpress.com. You can subscribe at that site if you enter your email in the proper place. The first one is scheduled for 5:00 a.m. on November 27. You won’t find it until then. Given my expertise with the media, you may not even find it then!!!!

Let me know what you think!

Matthew 24:36-39

“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” vs. 36

When Matthew wrote his gospel many believed that the end times were near. The armies of Rome had destroyed the temple and many believers were sure that Jesus would surely soon return. But as Matthew recounts Jesus’ words about the end he makes it clear that all we can know for sure is that God is. No one, not even Jesus, has any idea about the timing of the second coming. So in lieu of such knowledge we focus on the first coming, and through the Sundays of the church year we take time to consider the mission of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the season of Advent, a time to reflect on what the birth of Jesus means for believers. Some will be lighting candles on a wreath or trimming a Jesse tree. Choirs will be rehearsing for special concerts that mark these weeks before Christmas. Naturally the world pays little attention to Advent. For most the weeks after Thanksgiving are spent preparing for Christmas–a church holiday that has found new life in our consumer driven culture as a reimagining of the Roman mid-winter festival of Saturnalia, a time for merry-making and festivities. So it’ll take some discipline for people of faith to use these four weeks in a contemplative way. There are going to be a lot of distractions! But Christmas is all the sweeter when we remember to use Advent for meditation preparation.

Thought for the Day: How will I be preparing for Christmas?