Category: faith

Advent 13: Trees

Have you ever wondered why we have Christmas trees?

The historians tell us that the evergreen is a symbol life in the midst of winter. THe church has not always supported the practice–in fact they were deemed to be pagan for a long time.

Recently I saw some articles online that suggested only people with children should have decorated trees.

Really? I love my tree.

One year when I was a chaplain I left my tree up all year long. I was trying to make a point about keeping the Christmas spirit all year long.

Putting up our tree is like unpacking memories and holding them up for review. We bought this ornament here. This one was made for that child’s first Christmas. These were handcrafted through the years by children and grandchildren. Treasure in tissue paper. And don’t get me started on the bubble lights.

Would life be different if we were to keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year long?

What might that even look like?

Instead of only being concerned about families in need we might reach out to them, walk with them everyday.

Why do we wait?

Shouldn’t caring, generosity, and giving be the hallmarks of our lives as believers? Isn’t that what the church in Acts did as they held all things in common? No one went without because everyone shared.

Talk about hope in the dead of winter. Kinda lends a new meaning to the old story of The Giving Tree.

Advent 12: Countdown

Well, we’re halfway there. Advent is half over and Christmas is just a couple weeks away.

Are you feeling the pressure yet? Has your holiday spirit suffered from the hustle, bustle, and too much to eat?

How’s your anticipation quotient? Are you slipping from excited expectation into dread and loathing?

We are just a handful of days away from turning the calendar page into a whole new year.

Where has the time gone?

As I pondered this, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the Colossians: Make the most of every opportunity. (4:5b, NIV)

It’s really hard to do that if we’re not living intentionally. If we have allowed ourselves to get swept up in the current of the culture and buy into the prevailing mentality of fast is best and the one with the most on their calendar wins.

Christms comes every year, right about this time. And typically when it’s all over I will finally take a deep breath and thank God for getting me through another one.

I hate feeling that way. I don’t think it really pleases God either.

So I have taken Paul’s words as my mantra for this season. Every opportunity, every moment, is a gift that God has given me and I’m going to make the most of it.

A very funny and dear man has described this as holy appointments and divine interuptions–or something like that. Essentially every moment is a God-ordained opportunity to be salt and light, to touch the lives of others with the love and grace of God. God has something for us and for us to do and be.

Don’t run out of time. You’ll never run out of opportunities.

Advent 11: Lights

You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14

I usually like to sit in an aisle seat when I’m flying. Then I can lean out into the aisle for a little more room. The flight was booked (overbooked, actually) and thankfully I was able to reserve a window seat.

The best part of the window seat for me is looking down and wondering about the people in the towns I’m flying over. It was especially fun this flight because I was flying at night and the lights were kind of like reverse stars twinkling below instead of above.

So many lights…so many people.

That doesn’t make everybody happy. I visited the telescope center on Mt. Hopkins atop the Santa Rita Mountains. The guide was telling us that the reason the telescope was put there was the desert was so dark and that made the viewing of the stars and beyond that much better. They would run their vehicles up and down the mountain with the headlights off to keep from disrupting the viewing process. One light could make that much difference.

So of course I wondered: how much difference does my light make?

Light plays an important role in the developing Christmas story.

Think about it: the Wisemen followed the light to get to the Light who came to bring light to those who would be his light in the world.

We light candles at Christmas. We put lights on our trees–inside and out. Some light displays are very extravagant, even being set to music. There are 1,850,000 hits on youtube alone for Christmas lights. They even put lights on the cacti in the desert.

What is this obsession?

It made me think about my fear of the dark. If I’m home alone I have to leave a light on. There are things in the dark that can hurt us. (My shins will atest to that!)

We do a lot to make sure that our physical worlds are void of darkness.

You are the light of the world–not physically but spiritually. Make sure this holy holiday season that you are plugged into the Source and that your light is shining bright.

We wouldn’t want anyone to have to be walking in darkness. Right?

Advent 10: Humble

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a]
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8, NLT)

Humble.

There is so much fanfare, hype, glitz, and spending at Christmas. It sort of takes over. And we overlook the simplicity that characterized the first Christmas.

A young couple. A husband who could have demanded his own rights, yet humbly cared for his wife and believed that God had a plan. A young woman who was probably scared to death, determined to be God’s servant…a pretty humbling choice to make.

A stable. A manger. And the first recorded visitors: shepherds. The King was not invited. He wasn’t even informed. The wise men who sought him came later. Came to the palace, but found the Messiah in a humble home.

Humble.

Paul paints a really clear picture of what Jesus gave up to come to us. Live with us, showing us God’s love and grace, and then giving his life.

I’m humbled by that.

He did that for me. He did that for you.

I did a word study once and the word humble has a root that we would recognize as humus…you know like dirt. Remind you of anything? Adam was made from the dirt. He had a humble beginning. And Jesus chose to be humble.

How will you be humble this Christmas season?

Advent 9: Good Gifts

Todays’s thought comes from James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

For some reason this morning I started singing the old hymn, Give of Your Best to the Master.

It is the season for giving gifts.

Buying gifts when the girls were young and we were foster parents was not something I enjoyed. Do I sound like Scrooge?

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to give gifts. I just hated the way the kids counted their presents and made sure there was equity for all.

I dreaded hearing their pronouncement of: It’s not fair s/he got more than me.

Sigh. Like it was some kind of competition.

I don’t think I ever liked the gift giving part of Christmas. For so many years I was disappointed after not receiving the gifts I truly had my heart set on. I quit asking for things.

What would happen if we boycotted the whole gift giving insanity?

The best “gifts” my children ever gave me were the coupon booklets that they proudly (or forced) made in school. There were coupons for cleaning their room, or doing the dishes without being asked. They were the kinds of things that cost no money but demonstrated love and care.

They were gifts of time.

The best gifts are like that. They are gifts of time, of touch…of you.

Who could you give the gift of you to this Christmas?

You know who gave you the best gift, don’t you? He gave himself. Pretty good example to follow.

Advent 8: Reindeer Games

This morning I was singing along with the radio when the Rudolph song came on. And I got stuck on how the other reindeers wouldn’t let Rudolph play because he was different…weird.

I get Rudolph. I get how that must have hurt.

I am in Arizona visiting my mom. While we are together we play Scrabble practically non-stop. In the week that I have been here we have played over 50 games. We laugh and talk, philosophize, and try to solve the ills of mankind.

We often say that you can learn a lot about life from the game of Scrabble. You have to wait your turn. It helps to be flexible when someone takes the place you were about to play your hundred point word. There are times when you win and there are times you lose–but it’s all about playing the game.

I play Scrabble because I enjoy it. That’s why I play any of the games I play. It’s for fun. But it isn’t that way for everyone.

You know the kind of folks I’m talking about. Their face has probably popped into your mind’s eye. They are cut-throat. They can’t loose. They sandbag. They count cards. Winning is everything. It’s like a drug for them. And the worst thing is that they make you feel less than worthless when you lose.

Worse than Rudolph.

So what do games have to do with Advent…other than they make for a great Christmas gift?

It has a lot to do with how we treat people. In one of my favorite books, The Red Sea Rules, one of the lessons from the account of the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea is that it’s not always about us. God put them in that place, in that time, for his glory to be revealed. Jesus picks up on this when he raises Lazurus.

It’s not always about us.

One time I had the joy of playing Scrabble with my former choir director. She was in an assisted living situation and her memory was not what it once was. I could have easily ran the score up–but what purpose would it have served? What mattered was the time we could share together.

It is so easy to get focused on ourselves: where we need to be, what we need to do, and what is important and urgent for us. To say this affects how we “play the game” of life is quite an understatement.

Take stock of your attitude and relationality. A wise mentor gave me a good guide to go by for this: would you rather be right or related? Can you let someone else win the game?

Advent 7: Comfort

What brings you comfort?

Watching my mom fix brekfast this morning I realized her predictable ways are very comforting to me.

This revelation came as I watched her open a can of pineapple. She opened the can over the sink–just in case there was spiilage. Then she set it on the counter, on a washcloth she had laid there to catch any drips.

That’s how she is: always thinking ahead…anticipating need.

As I sat there watching, I actually thought about how much that’s like God. Remember he’s the great shepherd who provide for our very need. He is always one step ahead of us, anticipating not only what we need, but also the messes we might make.

Then I began to think about the implications of that for Advent and the whole no room in the inn thing. It was no mistake the Mary and Joseph delivered God’s son in a stable, because if God had wanted he could have made room in the inn.

God anticipated their need and provided. Jesus wasn’t born along the road in the middle of the night. No, he was born in a stable out of the elements and with a cradle of sorts.

Sometimes God’s ways confuse me. Both then and now. But they also bring bring me comfort. God anticipates my every need and though he takes m edown paths I don’t understand I know he does indeed lead me where I need to be.

And I don’t know about your life but he has always been faithful to stay right by me as we put the pieces back together. He wastes nothing…even using the messes I have made.

So as you sing carols about the comfort of God, remember that comfort may not come as you expect or want it, but it will come. You willhave exactly what you need.

Advent 5: Stop Talking

On a recent flight to Arizona to visit my mom, I sat behind two twenty something men. For the entire two hour flight they spent the time talking. Well, not just talking. They were talking loudly, but it wasn’t just the volume that was annoying. No. Their conversation consisted of a continuous one-up-man-ship. I finally put my headphones on so I wouldn’t have to listen.

Have you been around people who just talk to talk? They say very little that seems important, but they have such a need to say it.

One of the parts of the Christmas story that has always intrigued me involves Zechariah and the Angel. The Angel comes with some really good news and instead of accepting it, Zechariah choses to question the Angel: How? And for that he is silenced until after the baby is born.

There obviously is a time to speak and a time to listen. Did you know the word “listen” occurs 506 times in the Bible (according to biblegateway.com and the NIV)? Jesus made several of those references: Let the one who has ears hear.

Last time I checked, that’s just about everybody.

We have helped raise our grandson. I find myself often telling him to stop talking. His constant jibber or rebuttle during correction is not good. Often if he would just stop talking he would avoid trouble. The only times he has moved down on the behavior scale at school have been because he was talking when he shouldn’t.

Picture with me what it would be like if we did less talking this Advent. What would it be like if we listened more? Listened to each other…to God.

We might actually understand why God through the Psalmist instructed us to: Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)

How ’bout you go first. I’m all ears.

Advent 4: Family

One of the things that has always bothered me about the Christmas story is the whole “no room in the inn” thing.

Because of the census, Joseph takes Mary to Bethlehem. The image I always got was that they arrived after dark. I had this image of a family pulling into a town on vacation needing a place to stay.

Then one Christmas it dawned on me: Joseph took Mary to his hometown, the town where his family originated. So if you go to the town where family is why would you be looking for an inn? Wouldn’t you just go to cousin Samuel’s house and bunk down there? I mean, come on. Picture it: Joseph and his obviously very pregnant wife roll into town–you would think that someone would at least let them crash in a corner of the living room.

But no. And I began to wonder why. And then I wondered if it was because of his very expectant wife. Joseph could have dismissed Mary and probably should have in the eyes of his family. He got himself into this mess, let him take care of it.

Family. We do some pretty odd and even hurtful things to one another. There is so much talk about dysfunctional families these days that I sometimes wonder what a functional family really looks like.

As I have read the story of God’s people in the Word, I have found many stories of fractured families. I think of Moses, Abraham, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau, David and his brothers, and then David and his children. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Throughout each of these situations I see God working to try and restore relationships. We were created for relationship–with God and with each other.

What a gift it would be and what joy we could find if in this season of Advent we would mind the heart of God and seek to restore broken relationships, whether they are in our family or amongst our friends. Or maybe in the family we call the church.

No one should have to sleep in a barn when family is nearby. Let’s allow the God’s love and grace to remove the dysfunction so we can better function relationally and bring honor and glory to him.

Advent 3: Willing

When I think of Mary and Joseph I am struck by their willingness to participate in God’s drama as it unfolded.

First, consider Joseph. In Matthew’s account, Joseph nearly steps out of the story. From a cultural perspective, he was well within his rights to do so. To chose not to would go against everything that was expected of him. But God sends an angel and we read in Matthew 1:24 how Joseph awoke and obeyed what the angel commanded.

He didn’t have to, but he was willing.

Then we have Mary. A young girl. Betrothed. An angel appears to her and tells her what is about to happen. We’re told that Mary was troubled by the very presence and greeting of the angel. The angel tells her not to be afraid and then gives her the plan.

What amazes me is that she doesn’t even question him. Her response: I’m your servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.

What is God asking of you? Does it seem too big? Are you frightened of the consequences? Does it fly in the face of convention and expectation? If so, you are in good company.

What he did for Mary and Joseph, he will do for: he will be with you every step of the way!

An old saying that has proven true in my own life seems to fit here: God’s will won’t take you where his grace can’t keep you.

Are you willing?