Happy New Year!

This past Sunday marked the beginning of the liturgical year. It has traditionally been known as a time of repentance, prayer, fasting and confession. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and is intended to be a season of anticipation. Advent ends on at the end of December 24^th.

During the entire season of Advent we have an opportunity to remember the Israelites’ anticipation of the Messiah. The Israelites anxiously awaited a savior and king for many years. Jesus’ birth was the fulfillment of the promise of a Messiah and the coming of the King.

Yet we do not only remember that anticipation, we also experience our own anticipation. Just as the Israelites were anxiously awaiting their King and Savior to come and free them from the situation they were in, so too we await the second coming of Christ, to bring about ultimate salvation that he started (and we have all continued) on the cross.

So what does it mean to be in the Advent season? Well, firstly, I recommend getting excited! As we anticipate, we have the joy of knowing that God will fulfill God’s promises, that Jesus truly IS coming back, and while it may, or may not be this year, we are ever closer to that day! Enter joyful expectation and anticipation as we remind ourselves that just as Christ came once, He is coming again!

Traditionally the first week of Advent also focuses on the need for repentance. If this isn’t a part of your normal life, take time this week to examine your life and repent of sins which you have been indulging in.

Unworthy Servants

‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’ Luke 17:7-10

These are not fun words to listen to! I don’t think I am alone in enjoying the praise of others, and we often feel slighted when we accomplish a task and no one tells us “thank you” or mentions the supremely high quality of our work. We are hooked on positive reinforcement.

And yet, Jesus speaks of an entirely different mindset that we should have as we serve him. He tells us when we have done what we are commanded that we should say “we are unworthy servants; we have only done what is our duty.” This of course begs the question “What is our duty?” Obviously there are many answers to this question. As each is called to do different works, so our duty is to perform those different works. We may not always receive praise for the things we do, but it is our duty nonetheless and we should not be hampered in our doing by anything!

Present

‎

"God is like a person who clears her throat while hiding and so gives herself away." –Meister Eckhart

Eckhart con Hochheim (Meister Eckhart) was a German theologian who lived from 1260-1327. The picture he paints in my mind with these words is the story of a person playing hide and seek with a small child. Just when the child is about to get distracted the mother will make her presence known with a small noise in order to experience the joy of being found by her child. What a beautiful picture of God! And while it may be more accurate to say that more often we are those in hiding (or perhaps, at times, we are running away) and it is God who is searching, Eckhart reminds us that the whole world hums with the presence of God, if only we attend, to come awake to his presence.

When we fail to attend, when, like a small child we are distracted by the things that surround us, we are often drawn back by a small cough: a song, a scripture, a dinner with a friend, the beauty of the world which God has created, and our attention is drawn back to that undeniable presence of God in this world.

The world is pregnant with the presence of God. God's creation teems with God's presence, are you ignoring God's presence, or attending to it? In what ways is God trying to get your attention? What are the things that are distracting your from God?

Conrad Cornelius O’Donald O’Dell

On Beyond Zebra by Dr. Seuss is a story of Conrad O’Dell who, after declaring that he knows “everything anyone knows” (because he knows all the letters of the alphabet), finds out that there is much more to the alphabet than just the 26 letters A-Z.

His friend, the narrator of the story, introduces Conrad to a whole new world, one which cannot be described by only using the “first” 26 letters of the alphabet. He says: "In the places I go there are things that I see/ That I never could spell if I stopped with the Z./ I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends./ My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!"

Conrad has learned all that he can from people that use only 26 letters, but his friend is able to show him that there is more in their world than 26 letters can categorize.

I think as Christians we find ourselves in a similar place. Being a part of the modern era, there are many people who restrict Truth to that which can be defined by the “26 letters” of Science. While Christians do not say that the first 26 letters of Science are bad, we also know that there are more letters! For example, God himself is outside the bounds of direct scientific discovery. This means that we don’t have to play by societies rules, simply within the bounds of Science. We can tell our friends about the extra letters that we know about - just like the narrator of the story, and we need not be ashamed to!

On a side note: I know that I haven't updated in awhile, but I will post all my articles up soon with the dates of their authorship (they will appear before this one)

The Word

It is very interesting to me to see the different ways that people read the text of the Bible. There are many different approaches taken, and though it has taken me longer to realize than it should have, each of the approaches are valuable and have an important place in the church body. Some people read the Bible academically; they enjoy studying the socio-political intricacies that surround the author and his text. Often the academic’s goal is to understand what the author was saying to his original audience, so that one may discover how that text should apply to us today.

Approaching the Bible academically is not the only way to approach the Bible, it is also accessible through devotional reading. Instead of attempting to enter into deep study into the particulars surrounding the text, the devotional reader opens their heart and mind to God while they read through the text. While academic reading benefits from structure, devotional reading benefits from the lack thereof, allowing God to move through the very reading of the text.

These are just two simple examples of different ways that we as Christians approach the word of God. We also read by ourselves, and in community, in silence, and in proclamation. I think it’s a testament to the power and love of God for his people that the text can be approached in so many different ways by so many different people, and yet all can come away from the text having heard the Word of the Lord!

I Wonder

The following is from “Dear Church” by Sarah Cunningham, in reference to an informal survey she conducted while studying urban ministry:

“The comments from a woman working in connection with the local justice department summarized the feelings of many. ‘What do you think churches could do to improve their relationship with the local community?’ I asked… ‘I don’t see anything that churches could do.’ She wasn’t being mean, but rather to-the-point. ‘We’ve already got tons of churches. …And nothing has changed, has it? Did you know that three or four of these churches have been here since the town was on the map? But some of the social issues just keep getting worse and worse… People don’t have enough job training or employment opportunities. Drunks wander the streets. The same homeless people have been circling in and out of the shelters for the last fifteen years. Kids don’t have anything to do to keep them out of trouble. Meanwhile, the churches keep right on existing, holding their services every Sunday. And it never changes anything. It seems pretty obvious to me that churches are not the answer.’”

What a convicting answer! This text caused me to think, and I wonder what the people in our community might say about churches in the area. We have several missions that reach out to the community, one of our most active being the food bank, but I wonder if we can do more. I wonder if we just simply exist, or if we are agents of positive change in people’s lives. I know Elmwood, and I think we can.

Happy New Year!

For many Christians around the world, last Sunday marked the beginning of the New Year. The season of Advent (the beginning of the church year) began on December second and will end on Christmas day. Advent is a season of remembering and reenacting the anticipation of the Christ’s coming. In addition to remembering the Hebrew anticipation for the Messiah’s arrival, Advent also serves as a reminder that we as Christians are waiting for Christ’s second coming.

It’s easy to get caught up in the secular properties of Christmas, distracted by the bright flashing lights and flashy wrapping paper and forget about the Christ story. Though Advent is not traditionally observed within our heritage, it has been a part of the Christian life for at least 1400 years, and I believe that there is value in observing, or at least thinking about the Christmas season within the context of our Christian faith, Advent helps me do that.

This year, let’s remember the Christmas story, but let’s also remember that Christ is coming again at some time in the future, which is yet another reason to have great joy during the Christmas season.