God called who??

The gospel of Luke's nativity story is such a familiar story - we all know the names, shape, and texture of these verses read every Christmas eve.  Yet the warm familiarity which is so synonymous with God's love shone in the baby Jesus sometimes dims the details of the story.  Within this there are some shocking layers - this sermon focuses on the fact that God called the shepherds, religious outcasts, considered unclean, to be the first visitors to God's son, the word made flesh.  To me this speaks a powerful gospel word of God's radical inclusivity, that God really means that Jesus is the good news for ALL people, underscored in the fact that the shepherds are the first to be told.  Click below to read the sermon.

Merry (almost) Christmas!

From the Faith and Politics Institute - Oren Arnold provides the following gift suggestions for the Christmas season:

"Christmas gift suggestions:

To your enemy, forgiveness.

To an opponent, tolerance.

To a friend, your heart.

To a customer, service.

To all, charity.

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect."

A Christmas video - this is from the children of the Tender Hands organization in Mumbai (Bombay), India.  When I was there last January, we visited with the couple that heads this Christian organization.  They showed us the film they have made, The Real Slumdogs, which shows the real life of street children in Mumbai, of which there are modestly estimated to be 250,000.  (For more on this, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De5Iwxg5RN0 .)  Tender Hands rescues and rehabilitates these street children, and is also seeking to empower women who have been victimized or downtrodden.  We also met many of their children and shared a meal at their home where they house a few of their children.  It is a wonderful, Christ-centered mission organization which at its heart is just about love.  So it seems fitting to share with you this video their children made to tell the Christmas story:

Joseph's new sense of security

Joseph, Jesus' adopted/earthly father, actually gets very little attention in scripture.  The reading from Sunday, Matthew 1:18-25, is really the most we know about him.  Later in the gospels, when we read about the life and ministry of the adult Jesus, Joseph is not mentioned.  Yet Joseph's faithfulness and strength in the midst of this (though holy) disruption and chaotic period in his life ought to be heard.  For me, this spoke in terms of our own desires for security, and a life on track, within bounds, versus God's ultimate security and God securing our hearts.
Click below to read the sermon.

RAISINS? The joy that God's gifts can bring - and transform our lives.

Being a Christian means that we proclaim that we are transformed - for real!  God's Word, in Jesus Christ, in scripture, in the Holy Spirit that moves, in our everyday lives, transforms us!  Sometimes we forget this.  In the text from this past Sunday, the prophet Isaiah reminds us that proclaiming the truth of this Advent and every season is this proclamation "Be not afraid, here is your God!  He will come and save you!" 

Click to read the sermon below:

An Advent Prayer

From Henri Nouwen:

Lord Jesus,

Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.

We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, "Come Lord Jesus!"

Amen.


Want to count down the rest of the season with an online Advent calendar?  See Yahoo's list of Advent calendars here - quite an array for all interests!

Waiting for Jesus, not John

The gospel reading for this second Sunday of Advent is where we meet John the Baptist out in the wilderness, baptizing for repentance in the Jordan River.  The scene around him is peaceful, iconic - crowds of followers coming to be baptized, and right after the text for today (Matthew 3:1-12), Jesus will come and be baptized by John in the Jordan as well. 

But here in the beginning of the third chapter of Mark, John has some strong words for the Pharisees and Saducees, and really all the followers.  Why are they there?  Is it out of fear?  Superstition?  Why are we in church?  Why are we Christians?  Because we have met and wait for Jesus, not John, the one who has power to forgive and claimed us as his own.  Click "read more" below to read the sermon.

World AIDS Day

Today, December 1, is World AIDS day.  Our church, the ELCA, is not silent on this but is working through congregations and individuals here in the US and all over the world to eliminate AIDS. 

From the ELCA website: AIDS has claimed the lives of more than 25 million people worldwide, and has left millions of children as orphans.


But amid the sobering realities of HIV and AIDS there is cause for great hope.

We are seeing real progress in efforts to:

• halt the spread of HIV through effective prevention, treatment, and care,
• eliminate the stigma and discrimination experienced by those who are HIV-positive, and
• reduce the conditions of poverty that contribute to the spread of HIV.

Your action makes a difference.

I encourage you to pause for a moment this day and breathe, pray, and conside how you can make a difference.  But it always begins with God, and in prayer.  Here is a litany from the ELCA site which I think is a prayer we could offer every day:

We gather in your name,

Let us walk in your light.

We center ourselves in you,

Let us walk in your light.

We wait for your coming again,

Let us walk in your light.

We give thanks for your promises,

Let us walk in your light.

We struggle with our sins,

Let us walk in your light.

We desire faithfulness in our relationships,

Let us walk in your light.

We long for compassion for the lost, forgotten, and forsaken,

Let us walk in your light.

We want compassion for the sick and the needy,

Let us walk in your light.

We mourn with the orphaned and widowed,

Let us walk in your light.

We remember our neighbors around the world,

Let us walk in your light.

We ask for your unconditional love for those we do not tolerate,

Let us walk in your light.

We cry out for peace in war-torn lands,

Let us walk in your light.

We yearn for wholeness for our bodies, hearts, and minds,

Let us walk in your light.

We grieve for those who have died,

Let us walk in your light.

We seek your healing from all disease,

Let us walk in your light.

We beg for wisdom for doctors, generosity from corporations, inspiration for scientists, and endurance for care-givers,

Let us walk in your light.

We place our lives in your hands; shape us with your purpose,

Let us walk in your light.

We put all our hope in you, O God. We trust in your mercy and find comfort in your grace. As we commemorate World AIDS Day we pray for your light to enter into the world and shine brighter than any darkness. Let it be a pathway illuminated by your love.

Let us walk in your light, Amen.