December 24th, 2010
By Pastor Bill
December 25
Christmas
Read: Luke 2:15-20
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased…” Luke 2: 14
Here we are. Here is the world, the day is finally here. Everything seems to be changing, yet nothing has changed at all. There are wars and rumors of wars; the poor we always have with us. What is to be done?
We can complain. We can contort our faces into frowns and whines. We can howl in the darkness or pull in our hopes and snuggle together against the cold world. We can string a line of colored lights on an artificial tree and try to make merry. What can anybody do?
Little wonder that our life is spent in lamentation rather than celebration. For many in our world it is Good Friday again. Crucifixion is always in the news- wars, refugees, sickness, political oppression, immorality, death. The gloom can be overwhelming.
This day, like all other days, there are crosses everywhere, and the news is just a little more encouraging than it was last year. So we gather in church to sing songs, confess our sins, and wring our hands in despair, and beg for mercy. The world gets worse and so do we.
Then what’s this? On the coldest of cold nights among the most enslaved of all oppressed peoples, in the most insignificant backwater town, it happens. A group of poor shepherds is startled by the flutter of angel wings. The valley rumbles with heavenly song, and the dark skies above explode in signs, wonders, and light. A young woman sings a song of victory and a stable warms with the cry of a new born child.
Gradually the news spreads. People grow restless, tyrants tremble, and Caesar’s legions are alerted. A star leads even foreigners to Bethlehem. Angels sing before the once silent poor and prophets shout in the wilderness the time has come. The child cries and the drama begins.
Once again we of little faith are wrenched from our despair. Once again we learn what we so easily forget; God with us. It has happened so often in our history, in our lives, suddenly God is there. Why must it always surprise us on Christmas Day? Let the whole world resound with the shout:
God is with us, doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Everything has changed. Nothing is fixed or final now. Wedging into our tidy, dull little world, the Anointed One takes charge and leads us to freedom. In your life and mind, in the whole, hurting, sad old world, God is with us. EMMANUEL!
Hear the raucous chorus this day. Let your feet move to a new beat. Let cynicism give way to Good News. Today nothing is appropriate except Joy. Come to Bethlehem and see; see the whole world turned upside down by the God who is pleased to be one of us, one with us, one for us.
Rejoice and be glad.
Song: Joy to the World
Prayer: God of Joy, quicken our hearts this day as we welcome the Christ Child once again. Amen.
Thought for the Day: What difference does it make in your life that God is born in our world this day?
December 24th, 2010
By Pastor Bill
December 24
The Wonder of Birth
Read: John 1: 1-14
The word became flesh and lived among us… John 1: 5
The happiest moments of my life were when my sons were born. Each time as I stood watching the miracle of birth I was filled with awe and with wonder. Here before my eyes was a miracle; a miracle of new life. I never really understood the miracle of Christmas until I experienced the miracle of new life being born.
For centuries before Chris’s birth, Hebrew leaders and prophets had spoken of God’s eternal car and compassion, the divine promise of deliverance. But how could humankind comprehend a loving, caring, God who is intimately involved in our human situation?
In the person of Jesus Christ, God became one of us, identified with all humanity, became a loving friend of all people, and the ultimate source of freedom and peace. Jesus came to enable us to experience personally
and corporately fellowship with the eternal one.
Christmas is a time of celebration. On this Christmas Eve, let us open our hearts and minds to experience once again the wonder of that moment in history when God became flesh and came to dwell among us.
Song: “Silent, Night, Holy Night”
Prayer: O God of light, may your presence shine within us on this most holy of nights. May your love be known through us each and everyday and not just one night of the year? Grant us humble hearts to respond with love and adoration to the Christ Child. Amen/
Thought for the Day: The Birth of Christ opens us to the wonder of who God is.
December 17th, 2010
By Pastor Bill
December 17
Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!
Read Isaiah 11: 1-10
And a little Child shall lead them. Isaiah 11: 6b
With the exception of the white dove, it would be difficult to find a more iconic image of future peace than that of a lion lying down with a lamb. Though Isaiah never actually portrays that scene, it has been depicted so often on Christmas cards and in church bulletins as to be emblazoned on our collective consciousness. The idea of predators lying down with prey has the power to thrill us, to move and delight us. We send each other videos from the internet of a rat who rides on the back of a cat, or a cat that sleeps with a dog, or pictures of a tiger nursing piglets, or articles about a lioness adopting an antelope calf.
Our fascination with such oddities surely has to do with more than our love of the cute and our fascination with the bizarre. We recognize in these stories, pictures and videos something very profound about life in this world of ours. They signify hope. If even animals can override bloody instincts, how might we humans do the same?
These pictures strike us because they are so rare. If every lion took care of baby antelopes, it would not be news. Likewise, the parade of animal friends Isaiah shows us is remarkable because of its absurdity: wolf with lamb, leopard with kid, calf with lion, cow with bear, ad little children playing over and asps’ hole without fear. Even the snakes do not bite. Is this a prophecy or a fantasy?
Isaiah’s declaration stands in direct contrast to the terror and brutality of our world and inform our decision, both personal and corporate. We are all acquainted with fear and violence. News of terrorism, war, economic collapse, and climate catastrophes, violence against peoples of any age, race, religion, instill in us a deep sense of anxiety even among the very young. Some of us may have seen or experienced violence that we can scarcely imagine or even put into words. Our world is filled with that which instills fear.
Isaiah’s words are words of hope that our world can and will be different. He speaks of the one who will lead us into that new world as a child. It is a personal message and a message to the world. All is not lost, I am doing a new thing proclaims the Lord. Advent calls us to see with new eyes, and to hear the message God has for the world and to live toward that vision that God has for humankind and the world. Advent asks us to find those places where God is at work making something new out of all that is dead and lost to us in this world. Isaiah’s promise is one that says Here it is, come and see. Join me in this great work so that all may rejoice and be glad.
Song: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Prayer: O Lord, open our eyes to the vision of the world you have laid before us. Help to join the work of salvation with joy and with hope. Amen.
Thought for the Day: “They shall not hurt of destroy in all my Holy Mountain. “ Isaiah 11:9
December 15th, 2010
By Pastor Bill
December 17
Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!
Read Isaiah 11: 1-10
And a little Child shall lead them. Isaiah 11: 6b
With the exception of the white dove, it would be difficult to find a more iconic image of future peace than that of a lion lying down with a lamb. Though Isaiah never actually portrays that scene, it has been depicted so often on Christmas cards and in church bulletins as to be emblazoned on our collective consciousness. The idea of predators lying down with prey has the power to thrill us, to move and delight us. We send each other videos from the internet of a rat who rides on the back of a cat, or a cat that sleeps with a dog, or pictures of a tiger nursing piglets, or articles about a lioness adopting an antelope calf.
Our fascination with such oddities surely has to do with more than our love of the cute and our fascination with the bizarre. We recognize in these stories, pictures and videos something very profound about life in this world of ours. They signify hope. If even animals can override bloody instincts, how might we humans do the same?
These pictures strike us because they are so rare. If every lion took care of baby antelopes, it would not be news. Likewise, the parade of animal friends Isaiah shows us is remarkable because of its absurdity: wolf with lamb, leopard with kid, calf with lion, cow with bear, ad little children playing over and asps’ hole without fear. Even the snakes do not bite. Is this a prophecy or a fantasy?
Isaiah’s declaration stands in direct contrast to the terror and brutality of our world and inform our decision, both personal and corporate. We are all acquainted with fear and violence. News of terrorism, war, economic collapse, and climate catastrophes, violence against peoples of any age, race, religion, instill in us a deep sense of anxiety even among the very young. Some of us may have seen or experienced violence that we can scarcely imagine or even put into words. Our world is filled with that which instills fear.
Isaiah’s words are words of hope that our world can and will be different. He speaks of the one who will lead us into that new world as a child. It is a personal message and a message to the world. All is not lost, I am doing a new thing proclaims the Lord. Advent calls us to see with new eyes, and to hear the message God has for the world and to live toward that vision that God has for humankind and the world. Advent asks us to find those places where God is at work making something new out of all that is dead and lost to us in this world. Isaiah’s promise is one that says Here it is, come and see. Join me in this great work so that all may rejoice and be glad.
Song: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Prayer: O Lord, open our eyes to the vision of the world you have laid before us. Help to join the work of salvation with joy and with hope. Amen.
Thought for the Day: “They shall not hurt of destroy in all my Holy Mountain. “ Isaiah 11:9
