Mark 13:24-31

“So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” vs. 29

We don’t need to be particularly alert to know that Christmas is near. Black Friday with all its sales and promotions has come and gone. All the best trees have already disappeared from the well-lit lots on the strategic corners near shopping centers. Yards are being decorated with blow-up sleighs and reindeer–men and women are risking their lives to string lights from their rooftops. And if that weren’t enough, tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent and all over the world the first blue candle is awaiting its flame. Now our Advent calendars aren’t nearly as ominous as the apocalyptic signs early Christians associated with the coming Christ, but they do remind us that our days are numbered and hope is on the way. Jesus taught his disciples not to fear the unknown terrors that they’d likely encounter in their journey of faith. He said that things could get pretty ugly, and indeed they can–that’s something we all know too well. But on the other side of the suffering would be a joyous gathering, and that’s something we can all hang on to. Advent tells us that Christ is near, at the very gates of our hearts, and it’s worthwhile getting ready to celebrate. And so we will! The secular and spiritual are beautifully woven together through this season and everyone gets involved, saints and santas alike.

Thought for the Day: What do I enjoy most about Advent?

1 Corinthians 1:7-9

“God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” vs. 9

The faithfulness of God has been so woven into the fabric of the universe that we often don’t even see or recognize it. It’s just there: the sun rises, the earth continues on its journey through space, the rains and snows come, and life flourishes in spite of our careless stewardship. Most of the time we don’t even acknowledge that all this is God, an endless faithfulness that has persisted and evolved through billions of years. Some humans though have been and still are connected to that God presence in remarkable and enduring ways. They sense the Spirit of God, and through that Spirit have been called to form communities of faith, in which they regularly worship God, and provide love and support to one another. Jesus came as a part of one of those communities, and by the Spirit of God his message of grace and love has spread through the entire world. Paul was there at the beginning of the Jesus movement and testified to the work of the Spirit in calling people to be a part of that new fellowship. He says that this too is a sign of God’s faithfulness and because it is, we can be confident that grace and peace will persist as long as time endures. It’s this Divine Presence that is the hope of humanity, and not AI!

Thought for the Day: Why do I believe that life is communal?

1 Corinthians 1:3-6

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” vs. 3

Paul began his letters to the congregations by wishing them God’s grace and peace and his words have found their way into worship liturgies as an ultra familiar part of the ritual. Preachers frequently begin their sermons in the same way, almost as a signal to folks in the pews to settle down and start listening because the homily is about to begin. Since the greeting is so familiar it’s easy to miss its significance. In reality these two words, grace and peace, express the summation of all that God gives us in this good and broken world. Grace is such an expansive word that it’s hard to easily define. Put simply it is the free, rich, and powerful gift that God has so generously given to the world through the Lord Jesus Christ. It includes forgiveness, restoration, and new life, and is ours purely because God is good. Because of its cleansing power it is regularly paired with peace in Paul’s writings. Peace is what the human spirit craves beyond all other things, it’s a serenity that comes when we stop struggling to be what we are not. Often described as rest it’s the best way of describing our future life in Christ–one day all will rest in peace, as the riches of God’s grace are realized in full. What a blessing it is to hear these words so regularly in our worship and to then receive them into our hearts!

Thought for the Day: What keeps me from feeling at peace?

Psalm 80:17-19

“Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” vs. 19

The psalmist was thinking of the nation of Israel in his prayer, but his words have been used since in countless prayers, perhaps even our own. All face times in their lives when they are deeply conscious that things are not as they once were, that relationships have foundered, health has declined, or inflation has taken a bite out of savings. Whatever the situation we have a deep desire that there be restoration, that our old selves could be renewed, and that impending calamity could be averted. And so we pray–and sometimes restoration comes, and what a miracle that is! Whether it is in ourselves or someone we love, there is incredible joy. It feels so good to see and experience the healing, and all we can do is give thanks to God. But many times that restoration does not take place–our strength is not renewed, the relationship is not healed. Instead the decline continues–often as a corollary of the aging process, and we have to learn to adjust to our changing realities. But it’s funny! We keep on remembering how things once were, and we can’t help wishing for restoration, for a turning back of the clock. And we keep on praying for that miracle. But then one day we stop focusing on the past in favor of the great restoration that is to come, the ultimate merging with the Risen Christ. And amazingly enough, that hope too gives great joy!

Thought for the Day: Times when I’ve seen restoration first hand.

Psalm 80:1-7

“O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure.; vss. 4-5

The psalmist believed that Israel was God’s chosen people. In fact, most people with any degree of familiarity with the bible would likely agree. For generations this is what we’ve taught our children. For the most part it can be a helpful teaching, but one of its corollaries has been the cause of enormous difficulty for the church. It simply isn’t true that the Lord is only Israel’s God, and that other nations are unloved or have false gods. Such a narrow view of God does no one any good, and needs to be rejected out of hand. It’s a heresy that has continued to show itself wherever people have come to believe that their country has favored nation status in the eyes of God. We see signs of it in the Christian nationalism that has shown itself in recent years. Too many have come to believe that the United States has special status in the eyes of God and that we are the new chosen ones. The psalmist believed Israel’s problems were a sign that God was angry with them, and he pleaded with God to restore the nation’s favored position. The truth is that the fortunes of any country will ebb and flow with the passing years. And through all the ups and downs God is continually present–all people are God’s precious children–even those we consider enemies.

Thought for the Day: What is Christian nationalism?

Isaiah 64:1-9

“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” vs. 8

The prophet was no fool. He knew that the people of Israel had not been living up to divine standards. In fact no one was even praying any more and even good deeds were no more than filthy rags. So he recognizes that the Lord has a right to indignation, and may be inclined to punish the people. But in his prayer he asks the Lord to remember who they are, and concludes, “we are all the work of your hand.”

And indeed, that’s who we all are. We are all a part of God’s family, and we include the bad and the ugly. We have been called “good” in our creation, but we are also broken. To use the language of the prophet, the Lord is our potter, and we are all cracked pots. And since Jesus has called us the light of the world, it’s a blessing to be cracked, because if it weren’t for the cracks, no light could escape and the world would be dark. It’s in our brokenness that we make connections and find unity with others in our suffering. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that the basic goodness of our creation remains even through the worst of times, and can regularly be seen and experienced in spite of our flaws and cracks. God’s handiwork can never be erased.

Thought for the Day: How do I know that I’m a cracked pot?

Matthew 25:37-45

“And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’” vs. 40

There are a growing number of believers around the world who are beginning to refer to themselves as Matthew 25 Christians. For them that closing parable in chapter 25 of Matthew’s gospel is the defining teaching of Jesus’ entire ministry. In their estimation these words can become the unifying dynamic of a world-changing movement that can actually eliminate poverty. They look toward a day when religions will no longer be identified by their separating creeds but by their life-affirming deeds of compassion and love. There’s nothing difficult or complex in what these believers propose. A child can understand the basic principle. Whatever we do to the least of these, we are doing to Christ! That means that when we see the hungry, we will feed them. When people are thirsty, we’ll give them water. We clothe the naked, welcome strangers, and visit those who are in prison. Christ doesn’t exist in some far off realm with pearly gates called heaven. Christ exists here in this world right now–the poor and the needy are his embodied presence. And those who take the words of Jesus to heart will discover that in their actions they receive unparalleled blessings. It will be as though we are entering into the joy of the kingdom of God.

Thought for the Day: Is my faith community a Matthew 25 congregation?

Matthew 25:31-46

“for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” vss. 35-36

Matthew concludes his account of the teaching ministry of Jesus with a parable depicting the last judgment. All nations are gathered before the throne of glory and the king separates them into two sections. With these words Jesus spelled out the basis for the separation as clearly as he possibly could. Everything depends on giving food to the hungry, water to the thirsty, welcoming strangers, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick, and visiting those in prison. We’ve spent a lot of time in our denominations building churches, developing complex theologies, and figuring out the secret of eternal life. And what Jesus tells us is that NONE OF THOSE THINGS MATTER! All that really counts is taking care of the poor and needy, what some folks call the social gospel. Amazingly enough there are some pious people who disparage the social gospel and who say that it distracts believers from true faith in Jesus. Obviously, faith in Jesus is important, but so are the words of this text. To have true faith in Jesus is to do exactly what he directs in his final words to his disciples. His intention cannot be mistaken!

Thought for the Day: What is the Social Gospel?

Ephesians 1:15-23

“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ… may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you…” vss. 7-8a

Paul doesn’t seem to have known the people that he was writing to, but he has certainly heard of their faith, and he regularly includes them in his prayers of thanksgiving. He wants them to know that they’re on a journey and that they’re in for the ride of their lives. The Holy Spirit has called them into the Church, which is the body of Christ, and in that community they will continue to grow in wisdom as the Spirit enlightens them. These phrases should be familiar to us–it’s what most of us believe about our own call to faithfulness in Christ. We don’t get the full package of understanding in the beginning–it takes a lifetime to fully know Christ and our role in his Body. But bit by bit as the years pass, enlightenment does come–the Spirit is infinitely patient–and gradually we get a sense of the hope to which we have been called. And what a wonderful thing it is when that hope becomes a permanent part of our daily living! It’s better than the best Black Friday has to offer, a free gift from the Holy Spirit, and one we will cherish until our dying day.

Thought for the Day: What is life like without hope?

Luke 17:11-19

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.” vss. 15-16

The ten lepers were not healed instantaneously. Jesus had only told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and it was as they were on the way that healing came. And then only one of them came back to give thanks to Jesus, and Luke makes a point of saying that he was a much despised Samaritan. It’s Luke’s way of saying that it’s the most unlikely folks who are the most thankful! We see that too. On a day like today, a national day of Thanksgiving, often the ones most likely to give thanks to God come from the category of “the least, the lost, and the lonely.” Those whose tables are daily filled with the richest foods and the finest wines seem least likely to acknowledge that they are in any way beholden to God for their luxurious circumstances. But those who struggle, who don’t see themselves as among the favored ones, are often mindful that the good which comes their way is from God, and their thanksgiving is from the heart. Perhaps today we could take at least a few moments for reflection on who we are, where we’ve come from, and the incredible blessing that it is to be alive today and eating well. And if we have family around us, all the better! Thanks be to God!

Thought for the Day: My most thankful Thanksgiving!