Paths

Isaiah 26:7-15New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

7 The way of the righteous is level;
    O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous.
8 In the path of your judgments,
    O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and your renown
    are the soul’s desire.
9 My soul yearns for you in the night,
    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgments are in the earth,
    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 If favor is shown to the wicked,
    they do not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness they deal perversely
    and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
11 O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
    but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.
12 O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,
    for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.
13 O Lord our God,
    other lords besides you have ruled over us,
    but we acknowledge your name alone.
14 The dead do not live;
    shades do not rise—
because you have punished and destroyed them,
    and wiped out all memory of them.
15 But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
    you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Promise

Promise

Getting nipped in the bud is

Not so lucky

If you are the bud.

Buds foreshadow growth

Nipped buds, 

Promises unfulfilled.

Reckless in November

The  Rose of Sharon swelled expectantly

With buds, green miniature candles,

Flickering in the icy wind,

With hapless promise.

Swollen with hope,

July buds exploded,

Red novas, yellow flame at the center,

Throwing out  pink brilliance

Generous inside and out,

The promised self delivered.

Bud-ghosts of November 

Stood vigilant, shrouded in snow,

Nipped, nativity foregone.

When promises bloom

on earth as they do in heaven

 

Comes the kingdom.

Refuge

NLV

Psalms 14: 26 There is strong trust in the fear of the Lord, and His children will have a safe place.

For more on Presbyterian Children's Home and Services, click here.  This is also one of the charities supported by our Christmas Alternatives.

Peace

Lighting of the Advent Candle

Voice 1: In Advent, we wait upon the Lord: awaiting signs of hope, peace, joy, and love. We gather this morning in hopeful expectation. We gather to give praise to God for the promise that the Christ child will be born to us again this year.

Voice 2: We gather this morning with anticipation, awaiting God’s light in our lives, awaiting God’s presence that comes to the dark places in our hearts and in our world. Yet, we confess that the ways of God sometimes overwhelm us. So we must turn to one another and share our stories to find the strength and courage to fulfill our calling.

Voice 1: Today, we light two candles as a reminder that we do not wait alone. We keep each other company, nurturing that which lies deep within each of us and remembering that God’s promise is closer than we realize, and that God’s promise is soon to be fulfilled.

Daily Prayer for Dec. 8

SATURDAY

Isaiah 4:2-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 21:5-19

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

God, our creator, you have given us work to do and call us to use our talents for the good of all. Guide us as we work, and teach us to live in the Spirit who made us your sons and daughters, in the love that made us sisters and brothers. Remember, O God, your church. Unite it in the truth of your Word and empower it in ministry to the world. Remember the world of nations. By your Spirit renew the face of the earth; let peace and justice prevail. Remember our family and friends. Bless them and watch over them; be gracious to them and give them peace. Remember the sick and the suffering, the aged and the dying. Encourage them and give them hope. Rejoicing in the communion of saints, we remember with thanksgiving all your faithful servants, whom you have called from this life. We are grateful that for them death is no more, nor is there sorrow, crying, or pain, for the former things have passed away. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

Go forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.

(Opening sentences, prayers, and blessings are from the Book of Common Worship. Readings are from the daily lectionary in Daily Prayer. Both are published by Westminster/John Knox Press.)

Worship Prayers for Dec. 2

CENTERING PRAYER

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When all seems well

With us and with the world
When our yoke is easy
And the burden light
You break in
And scatter our complacency

Into the daily cycle of our lives
When we are comfortable 
And at our ease
When the fire is lit
But eyes are closed
You break in
And challenge our dependency

You break into
Our daily prayers 
Humble hearts
Lay souls bare
You break in

You break in
When defenses are down
With an Angel's shout
Or the quietest sound
You break in

And we change
And all things change 
When you break in

       

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Lord, have mercy on us.  We are not ready for your arrival.  We live in sin, as though there were no justice.  We live in fear, as though there were no grace.  Forgive us, Lord.  Show us your mercy and steadfast love.  Lead us in your truth, and teach us your paths, for you are the God of our salvation.  We continue to pray in Jesus’ name.  (Silent Confession)

SCRIPTURE READING                                                                         Psalm 25:1-10

                                                                                                                                          

  

† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH –  Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter Catechism Question One

        What is our chief end?

        Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.

Miracles

A Real Miracle Needed

Isaiah 9: 6-7

"Eddy, shall I read the story about Mary ad Joseph going to Bethlehem and the miracle of the Christ Child?"

"No, I heard the story in Sunday School Class yesterday and the week before the teacher read it.  I'm going to my room and think."

"Do you have a problem, Eddy?"

"No, Dad thinks in the garage.  I'm going to try my bed."

Eddy stared at the ceiling.  "Jesus,

I know my parents are Santa Claus

And the special gift I want

Is on the rafters in the garage.

But, Jesus, I need a real miracle.

You are the only one I can ask.

Jesus, take away my freckles."

Vera Heard

Printed with the author's permission from 1984 Thoughts on Advent.

Beginning

Mark 13:32-37New International Version (NIV)

The Day and Hour Unknown

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert[a]! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

A thousand years ago the church established the Advent season:  four weeks before Christmas as a special thoughtful, meditative time to help believers look toward Christ's coming into our homes and hearts.  After all, Christmas is more than cookies and candy and opening prettily wrapped gifts.

Taken from St. Mark Presbyterian's 1985 booklet "Thoughts on Advent"

Promises

Promises Kept

“Each of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off  in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make clear that they are looking for their true home.” Hebrews 11:13-15. (translation,The Message, Eugene Peterson).

I wonder if our culture has become prostrate with promises, losing hope for the kingdom of heaven because we have waited too long with too little evidence of a messiah. We are divided into  camps that believe:  that the messiah has come once and forever, or that he will come again on a definite schedule, or that he will come only at our death, or that his due date has long expired. None of these expectations compare with the faith of the writer to the Hebrews in the above quotation.

In Chapter 11 the writer rattles off the list of those living with unfulfilled promises, but instead living “by faith:” Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab.  Moses even saw the Promised Land without entering it. The implication is that we, too, can live by faith without a glorious vision of the kingdom and our messiah.

Perhaps Christmas is our attempt to rejuvenate the promise, to recover from prostration, but it often feels like celebrating the past, the Messiah who miraculously came, lived, died, and rose again. What happened to the kingdom since then? What promises can we still count on? What evidence do we have of that kingdom coming, with the messiah lingering behind or “tarrying,” as my father used to say?

In the Gospel of John there is a vibrant Nativity story that evokes a kingdom still in progress. What, you thought John skipped the Nativity, passing over the shepherds, the wise men, and visions to Mary and Joseph? Yes, he did omit that story, but he told another story, more succinct and more future-oriented.

He came to his own people,

but they didn’t want him.

But whoever did want him,

believed he was who he claimed,

and would do what he said,

He made to be their true selves,

their child-of-God selves.

These are the God-begotten,

not blood-begotten,

not flesh-begotten,

not sex-begotten. (1:12-13, The Message)

Eugene Peterson wanted to de-mystify the Bible in this modern translation, so he tried to make the “God-talk” more contemporary. He unpacked the translation “become the sons of God” (v. 12) to say “to be their true selves” and stressed the ongoing change happening in us by saying we are not “blood-begotten, flesh-begotten, or sex-begotten.”  We are not what our DNA pre-ordained, we are what God has made and can make of us, our “true selves.”

This is a pretty wonderful promise, even if you have lived as long as I have, because I still struggle to reconcile my many selves: the husband self, the retired professor self, the Facebook self, the sports-fan self. These selves are often in conflict with each other and with my Christian self, which I want to embrace all of them. God promises to shape me into my “true self.”

Perhaps this promise is more modest than a kingdom coming to earth, but it is a promise I can visualize and live day by day, becoming my true self, my God-begotten self. When I pray “thy kingdom come,”I try to participate in the coming kingdom, try to make it visible to others. I imagine God orchestrating the kingdom coming through millions of others finding their true selves and try not to presume how it will all come together.  Just that I will participate, not obstruct.

The rest of John’s Nativity story also tells of the true self, the identity of a welcoming and merciful God, “Like father, like Son.”

The Word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes.

the one-of-a-kind glory,

like Father, like Son,

Generous inside and out,

true from start to finish. (1:14, The Message)

John’s Nativity Story is all about being true to our identity, whether the identity God created for us  or the identity of God, who has always been and will always be, “generous inside and out.”

Bill Tucker