13 Dec - The Light Is Coming

Philippians 4:4-7, Luke 3:7-18

What’s different about this Sunday than the other three Sundays of Advent? I’m wearing pink. We lit the pink candle. Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day midway through a penitential or preparatory season. It is a reminder that light is coming, light is there, that God is with us and, in particular today, to be joyful and filled with gladness. And how did it get the name Gaudete Sunday? From the Latin; it starts Gaudete in Domino semper:

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice; let your forebearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.



Sound familiar? It was the Epistle from today.

When I was thinking about these readings, a phrase came to me: Rejoice, rejoice, you brood of vipers! Because the first lesson is all about “rejoice” and the second lesson is about “rejoice” and then the line that everyone remembers from the gospel is “you brood of vipers!” I think that’s okay because John is actually spreading good news, even though he calls us a brood of vipers. He prepares us by challenging us to repent and to be humble. How does he do this?

John Pilch writes: “What is an American believer to make of the Baptizer’s exhortations? Greed, selfishness, and abuse of power and position are still with us.” Indeed they are. So prepare and be humble. Prepare by repenting, by living by the ethical code that John sets out for the crowds and the tax collectors and the soldiers; in that way you show that we’re preparing; we show our good works – the fruits.

John’s humility shows up in that he discerns the hearts of those around him as thinking: “Hey! Is this the Messiah?” He responds: “No. I am but the one who’s been sent to prepare the way. One far, far greater than me is coming.” Also he humbles himself by not withholding baptism. He baptizes with water to help prepare us and help us to be humble.

This time of year sometimes the light, the joyfulness, the gladness can be overwhelming and, for some, be unwelcome. Some have experienced a loss…of someone important to them, of a job and the last thing that they want to do is rejoice. And you know what? That’s okay! I’m reminded of what Bishop Lee said in his sermon to us five weeks ago: “grief is the price we pay for love”. In experiencing the love, we’ve had the joyfulness and the gladness and we can rejoice in that, even within the grief. Let the memories of the joy seep in.

Today is about a reminder of the light coming.

Try to let it in, remembering that God is with us always.

And for that…that is something for which we can indeed rejoice.

Peace,

The Rev. M.E. Eccles, LPC

6 Dec - God Is At The Heart Of Events

Philippians 1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6

In this season of Advent, we meet John the Baptist. John is preaching in the wilderness, calling people to purify themselves as a preparation for being involved in the new kind of society he believed was coming. To get his message across, John echoed the prophet Isaiah, who had spoken to Israel centuries before, when a wholly new future awaited their return from exile – to Jerusalem.

John believed that a great change was coming again to Israel. God was bringing about that change. So John called men and women to offer themselves to God’s service in bringing about this new age.

Does any of this sound familiar to us today? It should, because there are many signs that we are a generation who is asked by God to move through much change and danger and discovery – to a new kind of society and a new chapter in history. If that is true, what is there that we can learn from this passage in Luke? The great lesson we Christians can learn from the genius of Judaism, and it is important that we do, is that throughout their history, no matter what was happening: whether is was good or bad, joyous or terrible, successful or failing, the Jewish people always saw God at the heart of events.

We can attempt to apply this vision to our time, and to our lives. We are faced with immense change, in society and in the church. In that change is not only immense threat and danger, but also tremendous possibility. The question haunting us all is “How are we human beings going to respond to this time?” fearful as it sometimes is. As followers of Christ, we have every motivation to respond with confidence and a sense of “call,” of vocation. If God is at the heart of all that is happening, then we are called to nothing less than the formation of a new future with God. What an incredible calling for us, both individually, and communally, in this parish family!

Peace,

Fr. Bob+

29 Nov - What If We Don't Worry?

Advent is a time of paradox for Christians. Society is focused on getting ready for the holidays – Black Friday…Cyber Monday – time to get all the deals at the stores and online. But Advent is actually theologically focused on the future. It’s not focused on the Nativity. The Nativity is passed; God has come among us already. But rather, it’s focused on the Parousia – a fancy word for the second coming; that’s the future.

Jesus, in his lesson to the disciples, is trying to prepare them for the Parousia. And he warns of three things that can get in the way of that preparation. The first is dissipation. Dissipation is the opposite of stewardship. It is wastefulness and consumption for just that purpose. Then, there’s drunkenness and I’m not sure that Jesus means specifically alcohol. I think he means anything that dulls our senses and that gets in the way of our mental and physical abilities. And finally, he says: “the worries of this life” – this life. Worry is the opposite of faith. Worry is spending a great deal of energy on nothing. There is nothing to show for worry.

Life is full of changes. There are marriages, births, graduations, changing jobs, retirement, even death. And all of those – even though they’re endings – are also new beginnings filled with hope and joy.



Worries. I’m a worrywart; I fully admit it. And though I’m not going to share all my worries with you, know that I hope to move through and let go of them this Advent. I think it’s interesting to think about the focus of worry. What’s our perspective? Lindy Black, a theologian, wrote about the parable that’s in Luke’s gospel about the fig tree. One might look at that parable and think: oh, it’s a warning for the doom. But Lindy writes that she views the fig tree as a promise of hope. It’s really hard to let go of the old. But if we let go of the old, we make room for God who is already present.

What worries do you have?

What might happen if you let them go?

Peace,

The Rev. M.E. Eccles, LPC