Epiphany 4 Year B

Epiphany 4 Year B Mark 1:21-28

I have a somewhat shocking confession to make: I find it embarrassing to be called a Christian. It is not that I am embarrassed to believe in Christ. Not at all. I am just embarrassed by what the word “Christian” has come to mean in our society.

Now, of course there are people on both sides of this whole Christianity debate. There are people who find the word “Christianity” being bastardized by the Fundamentalists, and there are people who find the word “Christianity” being bastardized by the liberals. There are two sides to every argument, and even though I tend to fall on one side of this argument, I also truly believe that both sides are acting in good faith.

But this is where we run into a big problem: How can both sides be right? How can well meaning people come up with diametrically opposed ideas? How can groups on opposite sides of a topic both claim to have THE Spirit inspired interpretation? One group has got to be right and the other has to be wrong. Right?

This is not a new topic. This topic has been around for as long as there have been people of faith. Our gospel today presents us with an example of this challenge.

Jesus is in the temple healing. He is out there doing the will of God. The problem is that he is doing this on the Sabbath. Now, I am sure to the one who was healed, there was no problem of Jesus healing on the Sabbath. But we have another group of people who are wondering what is going on. Who is this man who is doing nasty things in the temple? Why is he driving out demons on the Sabbath? This is a new teaching! But the people have to wonder, is it a teaching that they can trust?

For the people of Jesus’ time, the teaching of their scripture, what we call the Old Testament, was interpreted to mean that no work was to be done on the Sabbath. This was the fundamental understanding of the commandment to “Keep the Sabbath day holy.” It was what was taught for years and there was no reason to doubt it. But here was this man, working on the Sabbath! This guy was commanding demons on the Sabbath! What’s up with this??

We generally assume that the people were impressed with Jesus’ teachings. We assume that the comment of “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority!” Was said with awe and reverence. But what if it was said differently? What if it was said with disgust and skepticism? What if the word that was spread quickly over the whole region was not a word of admiration but a word of contempt?

To many in Biblical times, what Jesus was doing in the temple was fundamentally wrong. What Jesus was doing was against everything the people had been taught and every tradition the people had. To many in Biblical times, Jesus was a heretic and was deserving of death. These people were not bad; they were just blinded by the world.

In our world today, we have a bunch of different teachings. Many of these differences can be found within the Episcopal Church. We have people saying that ordaining women is heresy. But right here at St. Swithen’s there has been a woman priest. We have people with differing opinions on abortion. We have a whole lot of fuss going on not only in the Episcopal Church but within the Anglican Union over homosexuality and the ordaining of gay people. With all of these people, people of good faith, at odds with each other, how can we know what is the proper teaching? How can we know what is new revelation? How can we tell if we are following God’s will or just doing what makes us feel comfortable? How do we know if we are hearing a new teaching with authority or if this is some kind of heresy?

When we look back on the story, we can easily figure out which side we should be baking; of course we should be following Jesus. But if we were to put ourselves into the shoes of those in the temple, would we believe Jesus had a new teaching or would we believe that Jesus was trying to push a personal or political agenda?

One of the unfortunate things about the Bible, or maybe it is a fortunate thing, is that we are not given clean-cut answers. We just can’t read a passage in the Bible and immediately know what it means. What makes this a fortunate thing is, if we are conscientious about growing in our faith, the Bible forces us to gather together to study and to learn. To get a more complete understanding, we need to come together in community and in Bible study. It is when we join together that the Holy Spirit can truly function.

But we still don’t have the answer: If someone were to walk into our midst -- right now -- and start teaching a new teaching, and started to teach it with authority, how would we know if this teaching was something new from the Spirit or just someone trying to advance their own agenda? Just because the teaching is “with authority” does not necessarily mean it is from God. We have a history littered with dead bodies from people who taught with authority. However, I doubt we would say that their teaching came from God.

We also cannot just go with the rule of majority, either, when deciding if something is a new teaching or heresy. Our past should show us that the majority can be just as heretical as a solo person. For many years, scripture was interpreted, and still is interpreted in some locations, to keep women and people of color from positions of power. Scripture was used to empower certain groups while disenfranchising others. I would hope that we would see this also as false teaching.

One of the most important things that I learned in seminary is to use scripture to interpret scripture. What is meant by this is pretty simple: When trying to find the interpretation to a piece of scripture, does the interpretation you are defending make sense?

Hopefully, it took some effort to think of Jesus as being a heretic in today’s gospel. It just doesn’t make sense. We can look throughout the New Testament and see Jesus healing people, showing compassion on people -- lifting up the poor and lowly. Being compassionate was just a part of Jesus. And since Jesus is God incarnate, then being compassionate is part of God.

Another thing we learned in seminary is when there is a discrepancy in the scriptures, the New Testament takes precedence over the Old Testament. As I have said, the law of the Old Testament was interpreted to forbid healing on the Sabbath. But the actions of Jesus show us that healing on the Sabbath is not only acceptable but to be encouraged. So in this situation, we are to take the New Testament interpretation as the more appropriate interpretation.

I am taking the time to do this to give you all some tools. The Episcopal Church does not take too many political stands, but asks its members to pray, study, and discern the will of God in each situation. When you are confronted with a moral quandary, or we as a congregation are facing a challenge, we need to look back at our faith and our scriptures. We need to ask, “What would Jesus do?” We need to consider if the interpretation is consistent with the words and actions of one who died for the sin of the world? Is the interpretation consistent with the actions of the one who calls us all to the table and feeds us with his own body and blood? It the interpretation consistent with the kindness and compassion we see Jesus demonstrate throughout the New Testament? If our interpretation does not seem to make sense with the example we see coming from Christ in the New Testament, then we need to further question the interpretation.

We have no problem with Jesus casting out demons in the temple on Sabbath because this is something that seems natural and right for Jesus to do. Even though this goes against the Old Testament law to keep the Sabbath holy, for Jesus to have acted in any other way would have seemed wrong. Through Jesus’ life and actions, the people of Biblical times were given a new teaching and this teaching had the authority of the Son of God.

The teaching of the Holy Spirit did not end when the Bible was written down. The teaching continues. But it is up to us as a people to weigh the teaching and to see if it is consistent with the scriptures and to discern as a community how we are to apply these new teachings. It is not always an easy task, but it is a task God will equip us for. In asking questions, seeking clarity, and searching for the authority, we will meet new teachings with insight and with enlightenment.

Epiphany 3 Year B

Epiphany 3 January 25, 2009 Mark 1:14-20 Rev. Benton Quest

You know, serving God will really mess up your life.

I had a professor in seminary who said that “Go in peace, serve the Lord” was an oxymoron. If we truly serve the Lord, there is no way we could go in peace. And if we remained at peace, there was no way we could serve the Lord. This line of thought is born out in our readings for today. Today we are hearing about God’s call and how this call really messed up peoples’ lives.

You may think it strange that I would say that these calls messed up peoples’ lives. We get so used to hearing the stories that we forget to consider the people who are in the stories. These people had lives, families, jobs: they had all the same things we have today. They had to keep a roof over their heads. They had to earn a living. Probably the last thing any of them wanted to do was to go traveling, telling people to repent.

But God had a different plan. God had plans to use these ordinary people in extraordinary ways. Being used in extraordinary ways is great, except for one thing; when God calls, our lives tend to get totally messed up.

I just love the story of Jonah. Mostly what people think about is the whole whale thing. But the whale thing was such a small part of the story. Jonah’s story is so much bigger.

We actually do not know a whole lot about what Jonah did for a living, but he must have done something. Even so, we know that out of nowhere, God called to him. God called Jonah and told Jonah to go at once to a city called Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a really nasty place, kind of like Detroit. But God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the people to repent.

Well, Jonah didn’t want to tell the people in Nineveh to repent, so he went as far as he could from Nineveh, to a place called Tarshish. But God had different plans. God used storms and giant fish to finally deposit Jonah on the shore of Nineveh. And when Jonah finally gave in and told the people of Nineveh to repent, the whole city put on sackcloth and ashes. We are told that even the animals put on sackcloth and repented.

You can bet that all of this traveling around probably messed up Jonah’s life. Also, Jonah’s beliefs got pretty messed up too! Jonah didn’t want to tell the folks of Nineveh to repent because he didn’t want God to save those people, people who he thought were horrible and nasty. Jonah knew that God was merciful, more merciful than Jonah himself. If God forgave the Ninevehites, maybe Jonah himself would also have to forgive. So Jonah didn’t want the people of Nineveh got off easy. He didn’t want to tell the people to repent because he didn’t want them to repent and he didn’t want God to forgive them. But even in spite of himself, Jonah spread the message. Although it caused some messiness in his life, God used Jonah to bring the message to the Ninevehites.

In the gospel, we again see where God was messing up peoples’ lives. Simon, Andrew, James, and John were going about their daily lives. We are told that Simon and Andrew were still out fishing when Jesus called; while James and John were mending their nets. We can assume that it was a normal day for each of them and that none of them though, “I think I will leave my fishing business and follow some roaming preacher,” when he woke up that morning. But that is exactly what happened; they each left their jobs, their livelihoods, their employees, and their families, to follow Jesus. Their lives went from some form of predictability to a total mess.

So why did God make their lives a total mess? Is it some kind of cruel joke on God’s part? Did God wake up one morning and say; “Things are getting too predictable for those folks down there, let’s mix it up a little”? Did God look down on these folks and decide that they were just relying too much on themselves and needed to learn a lesson? Was God just playing games with them? No, God had something special in store for the men in today’s readings.

From what we can tell, none of these men were exceedingly special. Yes, they were special in the way we all are special but they were not “off the scale” kind of special. They were just everyday people. But God had something special planned for them. Through these people, God had planned to bring a word of peace, forgiveness, and salvation to many. These men were walking away from their livelihood. These men were walking away from the means of providing for their families. These men were walking away from what we could consider a fairly hefty investment in nets and labor. Unlike Jonah, Simon, Andrew, James, and John didn’t need to be nudged; they just picked up and followed. They heard the call and responded.

What kind of followers are we? Are we the kind that drops everything or are we the type that needs a little nudging? Do we give in to the will of God or do we drag our feet trying to do things our own way? I know that personally, I tend to be more like Jonah than like the disciples. I know that I really don’t want my life messed up. I would be very content to stay where I am, (well, with a few changes) and not follow any call. I look at people like the disciples and think that following a major call is really good for them, but that is not for me.

However, it seems like when I try to just stay put, or even go running in the opposite direction, God is there, nudging me in another direction; God is there, leading me in the direction of God’s will. Have you felt this? Have you felt God stirring within you; moving you to places and things you had never considered? I think we rebel because we are frightened. Or, like Jonah, maybe we rebel because we do not want God to work for the people other than ourselves. I don’t know. But I do know that we do rebel.

What is funny is that in rebelling, we are forgetting one of the great truths of life: God is with us through all things. It is not us who are doing the changing in the people we encounter, but God working through us. Jonah speaking the word of repentance did not cause the people of Nineveh to repent. Actually, he did as little as possible to spread the message of repentance. But God, working through Jonah, caused the message to be spread throughout the whole city.

But we need to remember that quickly following does not guarantee that all will go smoothly either. The disciples did quickly follow, but their lives still got messed up. They too had to rely on God working through them. Still, in either case, God did work through the people in today’s lessons and God will work through us. We may not be called to tell a city to repent. We may not be called to devote our lives to following a traveling preacher. We may not be called to do “Home Run” kinds of things. We may just be called to spread God’s love to those we work with or to share our belongings with those who are in need. We may just be called to hit a pop-fly to get someone on base. It doesn’t matter the size of the call, what does matter is we are each called by God to follow.

I had another professor in seminary that would say, “It is not if God calls you, it is when God calls you.” When God calls us, how will we respond? I would hope we would respond quickly and gladly. I would hope that we would drop whatever we are doing and lovingly follow. I would hope that we wouldn’t run the other direction. But whatever happens, we do not need to be afraid of the call. No matter what happens, we know that God is with us; God is caring for us and strengthening us. And we know that no matter what happens, God will never leave us. Our lives may get messed up. Our expectations may get changed. We may be asked to abandon our nets and move to other lands. Or we may be called to talk to the people we work with or go to school with. But whatever the case, we can be sure God will hold true and be there to lead us and strengthen us.

Epiphany 2, Year B

Epiphany 2 Year B John 1:43-51 January 18, 2009 The Rev. Benton Quest

I think today’s gospel reading is one of the more challenging lessons we read throughout the lectionary cycle. Today we encounter Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Jesus is out putting together his group of followers. This should be a great lesson for us if we want to go out and bring the gospel of Christ to the world: How would Jesus go out and find people?

Well, in reading this gospel lesson, the key sentence that jumped out at me was “Come and see!” This is the invitation that Jesus gives; it is the invitation that Jesus used to draw his followers to him and it is still as applicable to us today as it was all those years ago.

When we think about this invitation, we first need to ask ourselves, “Who is it that offered the invitation to ‘Come and see’”? Well, that is a fairly easy one, it was Jesus, the Master, the Teacher, and the Messiah. Jesus made this invitation, but it was not only made to Nathaniel, Jesus has made this invitation to believers down through the ages. Jesus invites all believers, and that would include you and me, to “Come and see” “Come and see” where life in Christ can and will lead you. “Come and see” the miracles that Jesus will do in and through you.” “Come and see” where a journey, undertaken in faith, can and will lead. Jesus calls Nathaniel, and all his followers, to “come and see.”

Since we now know who is making this invitation, the next question would have to be, “To whom was the invitation offered?” Well, it was offered to Nathaniel, a plain and simple man and quite the skeptic. When Philip told Nathaniel that they had found the one foretold by Moses, Nathaniel scoffed and responded, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” But Jesus was not prevented from seeing past the skepticism and “simplicity” of the man. Jesus saw the true man. Jesus saw him, invited him, and called him to be a part the greatest ministry in all of history. Jesus invited this simple skeptic. Jesus gave the invitation to one who was not of high rank or noble birth. Jesus gave this invitation and this invitation rings down through the ages to us. Simple as we are; skeptical, doubtful, sinful, and rough around the edges as we are, Jesus sees beyond the here and now of our lives and sees our future; our future in his love and presence.

If we continue to think about this phrase, “Come and see”, I would hope we would begin to wonder how applies to each of us as people. Do we respond to the invitation; opening ourselves to the amazing things that God is doing in our midst and in the world? Do we keep our eyes, ears, and minds open to the possibilities that can be found in Christ? Or do get so wrapped up in the ordinary everyday world? Do we lose sight of the possibilities and power that are promised to each of us just by responding to Jesus’ invitation to “Come and see!”? Do we only look to the creation and forget about looking to the creator?

As a congregation who is called to keep putting that invitation out there to others in Christ’s name, how are doing? Do we offer the invitation only to certain people? Are we selective? Do we look for people who think, or act, or look, or believe, or worship like us? Or do we look beyond the moment, beyond the outward and worldly appearances? Or do we see the presence of Christ and that potential in everyone we encounter?

If we are selective in offering the invitation, then we are not understanding the ministry and teaching of Christ. If we are only reaching out to those certain few, then we need to recommit ourselves to reaching the lost, the hurting, the hungry, the disenfranchised, the “outsider”. There is room on this journey and at Christ’s table not for a select few, but for everyone.

Imagine if someone in your past had been selective in offering the invitation --- would you be here? Would you be on this journey with Christ? I’m not sure if I would be; but I encountered people like Bishop Gibbs and others who invited me to “come and see.” I encountered people who continued to walk with me and did not cast me out when it was discovered that I was something less than perfect. I found people, who like Jesus, were able to look beyond the simple skeptic and see the potential that lives within.

But there is another question that still needs to be asked: Just what was Jesus inviting Nathaniel to “come and see?” What great thing did Jesus have for Nathaniel that would be worth Nathaniel turning his whole life upside-down for? Jesus says that Nathaniel “will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." If you ask me, that is kinda weird.

What I think Jesus is trying to say to Nathaniel is that what Jesus has to offer is more that can be imagined. Simple words cannot express the wonder that a life spent in service to Jesus can bring. That is accepting Christ’s invitation to “come and see,” Nathaniel was going to embark on something that his previous life could not even imagine.

If we extend the invitation for someone to “come and see” what is here at St. Swithan’s in the Swamp, what will they find? Will they find life as usual? Or will they find something beyond what their previous life could have prepared them for? Will they find the tried and the comfortable? Or will they find the exciting and the energizing? If we invite people to come and see, will what they find be worth the trip?

As I hope you do, I find the love of Christ to be inspiring and life giving. But for many, Sunday worship is just another chore in a long list of things that are demanding of a person’s time. Worship becomes something that saps life instead of restoring life. If we want to invite people to come and see, then we need to be sure that when they get here, they can find the love that Christ is all about.

The easiest way to do that? Daily step out and look at the world with the eyes of faith. Trust in the journey that is set before you. Coming and seeing is not a one time event, it is something that continues throughout our lives. And if the journey seems to be troubling, continue on knowing that God will not abandon you. Share the good things you have seen in Christ with those around you. If you can’t find any good thing that you have in Christ, ask God to open your eyes; they are there, it is just that sometimes we become blinded by the world. And always know that Christ calls you to the table to be fed, nurtured, and energized.

Christ’s table is a big table! Big enough for all to attend. If you feel lost, then please, come to the table and see. And if you know someone who needs to hear the good news, then invite them to the table, invite them to come and see!

Epiphany 1, The Baptism of Jesus

Epiphany 1 Mark 1:4-11 January 11, 2008 Rev. Benton Quest

You know, we really have a nice sanctuary here. It is comfortable. It is dry. It is clean. It really is nice. We take pride in this sanctuary and I think we are right in doing so.

Often when we think about the church, what we think about is this building. We think that the walls that surround us and the roof that covers us is the church. When we think about church, we think about this place. But in today’s gospel, we are asked to stretch our understanding of what church is and how we are church.

We start out with the description of John, out in the wilderness. John -- with the weird diet and the strange clothes. John -- who is calling the people to repent and then calling them to forgiveness. Surrounded by all these weird descriptions of John, we might not catch what is really odd about this story. The thing that is really odd is that John is in the wrong place.

In Biblical times, repentance and forgiveness is not something that happened in the wilderness. We have come to accept the whole baptism of Jesus out in the wilderness as commonplace because we have heard the story so many times. But in Biblical times, all this baptizing was not something that would be happening in the wilderness; repentance, forgiveness, and baptizing were things that were supposed to happen in the Jerusalem temple. The temple was a nice, even awe-inspiring place. People traveled from far-flung lands to come to the temple. The temple was the center of worship during biblical times. So it would be extremely odd for the promises of forgiveness to be happening outside the temple, out in the wilderness.

But this is where the baptizing was happening and this is where all the people were heading. The people were heading away from the established church, the established message, to hear the preaching of a man ranting in the wilderness. They were abandoning what they knew to go in search of something more.

And in this is odd place, away from the temple, is where we also find Jesus. We find Jesus, out in the wilderness, away from the established comfort of the temple. Jesus is not in the temple, following the way of the priests and Pharisees; he is out with the crowds, following the one ranting in the camelhair clothes. This is our Savior and Role Model -- outside of the established traditions. This is our savior and role model -- out in the untamed wilds.

If we are to be followers of Jesus, then is this reading telling us to totally abandon the church and the worship life of the community? Is it telling us to completely forget about what we have here? Is it telling us to abandon this building? This sanctuary? This denomination? I don’t know, I guess we could look at it that way. But before you all get up and leave, there is also another way we could look at the reading.

I think we often get overly comfortable with our lives. We get overly comfortable with our surroundings. We take the buildings, homes, cars, of our lives as our entitlement. We feel that it is our right to feel full and warm. We also get overly comfortable with God. We take the radical, frightening, life changing love of God for granted. We assume that it is something that is our due. In many ways, we have become complacent with the love of God; we forget that God’s love is not something that can be tamed.

By moving out into the wilderness, we leave all of our old assumptions behind. We cannot assume we will remain dry. We cannot assume we shall always have food. We cannot assume there will be walls to protect us. By moving out into the wilderness, John was telling the people that they would have to change their expectations. By moving out into the wilderness, John was showing people that the old way they had come to know, though not necessarily wrong, was not the way of the future that was dawning.

It was here, out in the wilderness; out in the new, that Jesus appeared. And with Jesus’ appearance, this concept of changing expectations was solidified. Jesus, at the start of his ministry, abandons all the usual trappings of a leader and teacher. He leaves behind the temple and all the assumptions that are made about the temple. He leaves behind the assumptions of the day that repentance and forgiveness happened in the temple. He leaves all these assumptions behind and goes out into the wilderness. He leaves all these assumptions behind and gives his would-be followers a new set of perspectives.

These actions should not surprise us. Jesus has been presenting us a new perspective his entire life. A great leader born in a stable. The Son of God worshipped by shepherds. The King honored, not by those of his own country, but by those who have traveled from distant lands. We just celebrated Epiphany and Christ being recognized by the magi. The ones whom we would expect to recognize Jesus were oblivious, but those from outside knew Jesus for what he was. From the very beginning, Jesus was not what was expected.

Even though we are followers of Jesus, many of us have followed Jesus our whole life, we need to listen anew to the call to go out into the wilderness. We need to move beyond that which is known and comfortable. We need to examine our faith and find where the walls that we have erected to keep us secure are keeping others out.

In Biblical times, not everyone was allowed into the temple. People were kept out due to their station in life, due to their sex, or due to their nationality. People were only allowed into certain parts and were excluded from others. But out in the wilderness things were different. Anyone and everyone was welcome. No one would be turned away. John’s call to repentance was for all people, not just to those who were acceptable in the temple.

And it was out into the wilderness that Jesus came to be baptized. In coming out into the wilderness, Jesus was telling those who would follow that his call was not limited to those who were acceptable to the temple folk, but that his call was to all people; not only the temple folk but those unacceptable in the temple. Not only those who were respectable, but those who were on the edges of society. Jesus was telling the people that he came not just for those who were inside the walls of the city, but also for those who, for whatever reason, found themselves on the outside.

As Christians, how have we been doing? Have we ventured out into the wilderness to find the people there? Have we followed our savior out to find those who may be on the edge of our society? Have we accepted those who the powers have told us are unacceptable? Or are we content to stay in the walls of the temple, both literally and metaphorically? Are we content to know that we have forgiveness even when there are those who do not feel welcome to come forward and receive this forgiveness? Are we ok, knowing that for some people, the word Christian is comparable to words such as “bigoted,” “cruel,” or “intolerant?”

I believe the actions of John, and Jesus’ response to John’s actions, tells us that if we are to truly follow Jesus, we cannot be content to just sit back. We cannot be ok with people hearing the message that the love of God is for some but not for others. We cannot stay inside the walls while others are forced to stand outside. If we are to truly follow Jesus, we too need to go out into the wilderness.

Who do we consider our “Ideal” new member? What makes this person “ideal” and others “not so ideal”? Are we willing to expand what we consider “ideal”? Can we challenge ourselves to move beyond what is common and expected?

By going out into the wilderness, Jesus was challenging what was accepted. He was challenging his family, his community, and his tradition. He was protesting the subtle and not so subtle divisions that had been established. He was saying that there was a new understanding.

We are the ones who benefit from this new understanding. We are the ones who were once outside the walls. We are the ones who were less than ideal. We are the ones who needed to find forgiveness in the wilderness. But this understanding was never intended to stop with us. We are to continue to move out into the wilderness. We are to bring the message to the people. We are to challenge the traditions that hold people back. We are to challenge our family and community when they are limiting the love of God. This is what Jesus did. Are we willing to follow?

Second Sunday of Christmas

Matt. 2:1-12

Joe Carpenter sat in his living room. He was exhausted. At times things seem to move so slowly and then at other times life seemed a whirlwind. Now he was looking forward to a simple quiet evening after the whirlwind of the past couple of weeks.

The baby has started to sleep through the night, which has made life much easier. When the baby was waking up at all hours of the night, Joe had trouble making it through work during the day. The regulars to the shop understood, but there were always those who would complain. But now he was starting to get some sleep and that has been making things much better.

Joe had to chuckle to himself, Mar had been getting more sleep, too! Her mood has improved greatly! They really loved their little boy, but he has made life difficult! Things that they used to take for granted, like going out, now had to be planned. And some things were just no longer possible. This little person was depending on them! They had to make sure his needs were taken care of. But when Joe would look into little Jacob’s eyes, Joe knew that things could never be the same. And really, that was alright, Joe would do anything for his little boy.

Joe was just about ready to fall asleep in the Lay-Z-Boy when there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it Mary,” Joe yelled as he walked toward the door. “Who could be here now?” he thought to himself, “It’s late!”

Upon opening the door, Joe was surprised to find three people standing on his front porch. They were dressed as if they were going to a party and they were all carrying presents. These were beautiful presents with shiny paper and big bows. Before Joe could even ask what these people wanted, the woman in front said, “We want to play with Jacob. Can we come in and play with him?”

To say that Joe was surprised would have been an understatement. Actually, Joe couldn’t think of anything to say. To his great relief, his wife, Mary, was standing on the landing of the stairs and said, “Sure, come on up!” And with that, the three people proceeded up the steps.

When Joe got to Jacob’s room, he found Jacob sitting on the floor amid the three visitors. Jacob was laughing and cooing and the visitors were enjoying their time with the little boy. The gifts the strangers brought were opened but laying aside. The real gift in the room was the sheer joy and love between the little boy and the visitors.

As Joe watched the scene, he felt a little guilty. He realized that although he loved Jacob more than he could imagine, he also was a little upset at the time and the things he had to give up for Jacob. Joe was looking forward to getting back into his old routine and back to where things were comfortable. But these people sitting on the floor were opening his eyes to a new reality.

Joe thought that after Mary had Jacob, then things would settle down and return to normal. But things were not returning to normal, the changes were just beginning! Things were not going to ever return to normal. These strangers, sitting here on the floor, were showing Joe a reality he had never even dreamed! The gift was not in a return to normal, the gift was here! Sitting on the floor! Smiling and laughing with the visitors! How easy it would be to forget this simple idea. How easy it would be to consider Jacob just more work, more demands on his time. It would be easy to focus on the things that life with Jacob prevents. And still, life with Jacob brings so many blessings! As Joe watched the strangers and his son, yes! HIS SON! playing, he began to laugh and join in!

What a sight! Jacob, laughing and giggling, his mom and dad, and three strangers; all rolling around on the floor, amid wrapping paper and bows; all enjoying the wonderful love of each other and the wonderful gift of a tiny baby. Anyone who happened to walk by the room at that moment would have thought them all quite mad. But the person who was looking into the room would not have understood; this was not a joy you could just watch, this was a joy you had to live! And live it they did!

Well, eventually Jacob began to yawn and Mary told the guests that it was time for Jacob to be going to bed. Although they did not want to leave, the guests reluctantly went down the stairs. Joe saw them to the door and thanked them for visiting and invited them back anytime. As the strangers walked away, Joe noticed the sky and the stars; they just seemed more vivid than usual. But man, it was getting chilly outside so Joe waved one last time to the guests and closed the door.

As Joe made his way to the Lay-Z-Boy, Mary was walking in from the kitchen with two cups of coffee. She handed one to Joe and then sat down on the couch. She didn’t say much but just look as the steam rose from her cup.

Finally Joe said, “That was certainly odd.”

Mary looked up from her cup and looked squarely into Joe’s eyes. “Yes, it was,” she said. “But it was wonderful too. I have a feeling that with Jacob now in our lives, we will have many more odd and wonderful experiences.”

Joe sat thinking about this. Did he really want his world to change? Did he really want more odd and wonderful experiences? A part of him only wanted things to be normal and boring. But for things to return to normal and boring, his precious son Jacob would be gone too. No that would be too much.

Joe looked up from his coffee and noticed Mary was still looking intently at him. He could read her question in her eyes, was he up to this challenge? Was he sorry Jacob come into their lives? Was he ready to be immersed into the odd and the wonderful? The expectation in Mary’s eyes weighed heavily on Joe. He set his coffee down and got up and sat next to Mary. He kissed her lightly on the eyelids and he felt the tension in her body melt away.

“Yes, my wonderful wife,” Joe said quietly, “this is going to be a wonderful journey. And I suspect you are right, too, in that this will be an odd journey. But God gave us the gift of this child to love and the gift of each other. With all of this going for us, how can we fail?”

And with that, Mary looked up at Joe and smiled. Joe felt the comforting weight of Mary’s head on his chest and thanked God for all the blessings that surrounded him. But just before he was about to drift off, he heard the doorbell ring. Mary stirred and looked at Joe. Joe looked back. The doorbell rang again.

Joe looked at Mary and said, “Do you want to get it this time or should I?”

Christmas Eve Sermon

This is the Christmas Eve Sermon. Sorry for the manner it is here. I really didn't want to retype it so I am being lazy. When the music is cued, the song is Stille Nacht by Mannheim Steamroller. This is probably my favorite sermon. You can click on the pages to enlarge them for easier reading.

First Sunday After Christmas

John 1:1-18

“I’ll be home for Christmas/ You can count on me…”

I think we all know that song. A sad song, really. You also probably know that the song was written during WWII and was one of the top requested songs on the USO tours. I think what that song touches on is our desire to be “home” for Christmas. Whether that is at home with our parents or home with the kids. Christmas seems to pull us back to that place where we feel comfortable and welcome.

What is so sad though, is that as soon as the day of Christmas is over, everything of Christmas seems to get tossed out. Trees come down. Decorations are stored away. Stores put out Valentine’s Day décor. Christmas decorations have been out since Halloween, and now it seems like we just want to pack it all away and be done with it. I have always wondered why we wait so long for Christmas to come, and then once the day has passed, we just toss it all out and move on.

I think it has to do with that feeling of wanting to be home. We really want that “at home” feeling at Christmas. It may not necessarily be a brick and mortar home that we are looking for, but it is the comfort that represents home. Just about any Christmas movie you can think of plays on that feeling. The character may search, but eventually the character finds this “home.” Scrooge has to learn that he cannot find home in his money and George Bailey needs to learn that home is not in some far off country, but right there in Bedford Falls. That search for the ever elusive “home” is what drives the characters. And although in the movies the main character always finds their way home, quite often, we do not. So maybe the long lead-up to Christmas and then quickly moving on to the next event represents first our continued longing to find our home and then our frustration when we don’t find it in the trappings we see around us.

But really, what does it take to make a home? Is a home a place or is it something more? I used to own a home and loved Christmas there. Yes, I miss not having the roaring fire in the fireplace, but there are these really neat DVD fires that even play Christmas music! My fireplace never did that! And I missed having the big Christmas tree and a place to set the twenty-odd nativities I have collected. I even missed not being able to decorate outside. All those things were nice, and all of these things I enjoyed, but those things didn’t make the house a home. What made my house a home were the people that were there and also the cats and the dog that shared the place with us. It was not the place or the things; it was the people and the relationships.

Unfortunately, our society tells us that what makes Christmas is the stuff. There is a line from one of my favorite movies, A Christmas Story, which seems to sum the whole thing up: The mother, seeing the kids about to descend upon all the presents under the tree, says, “Now wait for Christmas to start.” The assumption is that Christmas could not occur without the presents. Our society tells us that Christmas is about the stuff and we tend to believe it. So we get out the stuff earlier and earlier. We want our stuff to make us feel at home. And then when it doesn’t live up to its promise, we pack it all away and move on.

But you know, the thing that the world tells us isn’t really what Christmas is about. Christmas is not about stuff. Yes, Christmas is about gifts, but not the gifts we see advertised in the Sunday newspaper. Those gifts are the things that seem to leave us wanting. But there is another gift, and that is the gift that defines Christmas. That defining gift is God: God in the form of a human who came to earth to be with us. As John says, “The word became flesh and lived among us.” Or we might say, “The word became flesh and made a home among us.” The gift that we are given at Christmas is the gift of Christ himself. And it is in Christ that we can find our true home.

Now, with all this talk about stuff, it may seem like I am saying that we should just ditch everything of this world. And there are some branches of Christianity that teach that we need to give up everything in the world. But in the gift of the birth of Jesus, we see that world is not something that is despised by God. God made the world and God became incarnate in the world. The world is a gift to us. But also, while the world is a gift to us, it is not to replace the giver of the gift, God. The things of the world are given as an enhancement to our relationship with Christ, not as a substitute to that relationship. But so often, we get sidetracked. We forget the true gift and work to fill our lives with what we think will give us that feeling of home. But in the end, we are left feeling empty.

The word become flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory. The word came to create a home for us. The word came so that we could feel at home. The word came to bring us grace and forgiveness. And isn’t that what we want when we go home? Don’t we want to know that we are accepted, loved, and forgiven even with all of our faults? Jesus came into the world to bring this to us! When we turn to Jesus, we are, in fact, moving toward that perfect home.

Is Jesus welcome into our homes this Christmas? Do we have room in our lives for the little baby in the manger? Do we have room in our lives for the man he would grow to be? Are we able to clear away the trappings of life and let the true light of Christmas shine into the darkness of our lives? Or are we so busy trying to find our own home that we miss the home we have been given?

I’ll be home for Christmas/ If only in my dreams…

If only in my dreams… I think that sometimes the whole Jesus coming to earth thing may feel like a dream. Maybe we think that it is too good, God couldn’t have done this for us. The love, the forgiveness, the grace, the glory! These are not dreams! These are the reality of our faith. All of these things are the Christmas gift that we are given in the birth of Jesus. These are all the things he brought when he came to live among us. These are the gifts we receive through our baptism.

The actual day of Christmas is over. And for many it is time to pack away all of the Christmas decorations for next year. But when we put the nativity back in the box, don’t put the Christ child away too. Jesus, the word, became flesh for us. The relationship established that night is still here for us. That draw we have for home can only be filled in our Savior. As we search for our place to call home, don’t be so quick to move on to the next promise of comfort. Christ our home has come to be with us. Let us clear a place in our heart where that peace of home can grow.

Advent 3 Year B

Advent 3 Year B John 1:6-8, 19-28

Ok, I have a very deep and profound truth to share with you. If I had heard this truth earlier in my life, it could have literally saved me hundreds of dollars! Are you ready? Ok, here it is: Owning an instrument does not automatically mean you can play it. If this were so, then I would almost be able to be my own orchestra. I would be able to play the drum, the piano, the hammered dulcimer, the harmonica, the penny whistle, the fife, the Jew’s harp, and, oh yeah, the recorder.
That is a list of the instruments that I either own or have owned. My piano is currently trapped in a house in suburban Chicago, something to do with a remodeling project that went wrong. But the others I have somewhere. The problem is that although I have the instruments, I am not really able to play them. Granted, I can hammer, toot, or pluck out something on most of them, but as far as really playing them, I’m not so hot. I guess if I buckled down and really practiced, I may actually be able to play something. But as long as I just let the various instruments sit there, I will not get any better.
Then, of course, there was my attempt to sidetrack the whole process of learning. I was trying to figure out what it was that people did when they did something like playing the piano. I wanted to know what was going through the head of the person playing, what were they thinking. My one piano teacher said, “I don’t know. My fingers just go to where they need to be. It is not like I actively think about it.”
So, why is it that my piano teacher does not have to think about playing the piano, but for me it is an almost painful endeavor? The simple answer is practice. The more I would practice, the better I would get. The more I would practice, the more automatic the playing became. I didn’t become better by just owning a piano, or a dulcimer, or a recorder, I had to pick up the instrument and practice it. And it could not just be some kind of haphazard kind of practicing; I had to put a concerted effort into the practice.
Now I guess the one instrument that makes me feel the most guilty is my dulcimer. A member of one of my former congregations made this instrument especially for me. It is a beautiful instrument. The person who strung the dulcimer told me that it should be around for generations. But even though it was beautiful gift that was made for me and given to me, it really does me no good unless I take it out and intentionally practice.
I have spent this time talking about my various instruments neither to show off nor to air my personal shortcomings; I did it as a metaphor for our faith. We have been given the gift of salvation through Our Savior Christ through his death and resurrection. Like the dulcimer, it is a gift that has been made special for each of us. And like the dulcimer, this gift of salvation will last for generations. The salvation we find in Christ is ours no matter what we do with it, but how we, quite literally, “practice” our faith makes a lot of difference.
I am sure the person who gave me the dulcimer would be saddened to know that I am not making full use of the wonderful gift I had been given. It was given so I could make music with it and get the most enjoyment out of it. In the same way, I am sure it saddens God when we do not make the most of our faith and salvation. Making the most of our faith is what we are told to do in today’s epistle reading.
When we first look at this reading, it looks like some kind of “pie in the sky” sort of thing. Be joyful always? Pray continually? Give thanks in ALL circumstances? This has got to be a joke, right? How can we possibly always be joyful? How can we possibly pray continually? It has got to be impossible to give thanks in all circumstance. But that is what we are told to do! So if we are told to do it, there must be some way we can, in fact, aspire to this which seems impossible.
Well, just like we can practice an instrument, we can, and should, practice our faith. We need to work on building a strong, secure faith. A faith that can be joyful in the midst of troubles. A faith that can pray even when prayer is difficult. A faith that will allow us to give thanks in ALL circumstances. A faith that has a strong and sure foundation. We have the gift and the promise of salvation, but just like an instrument, unless we practice using this salvation, we will not be able to get the full benefit.
How we get the full benefit out of our faith is by practicing joy, prayer, and giving thanks. It is really that easy. All we need to do is do it! We need to practice being mindful of the blessings that we have and practice being joyful. Like learning an instrument, at first it will seem odd and feel a bit uncomfortable. But as it become more and more of a habit, it will suddenly become second nature.
Our lives actually are made up of a series of habits. It is these habits that allow us to go through the day without having to think about every little thing. It’s our habits that help us to get out the door on time in the morning. It is our habits that help us to not fall flat on our face. As we practice something, as in an instrument, we learn to make it a habit. It is in learning the habit of prayer, joyfulness, and thankfulness that these things become something that happens at all times. And in having these happen all the time, our outlook on life and the world will change.
You may have seen done this before, if so, I am asking you to try it again. What it is is an experiment in awareness. The ushers will be passing out some dot stickers. What I am asking you to do is to place these stickers in places where you will see them and notice them. Each time you see a dot, take a brief moment and briefly look around you. Thank God for those things you see in the world. Thank God for the house, car, building you are in. Thank God for the life you have.
Not only will this help you to develop an attitude of prayer and thankfulness, it will also help you to develop a disposition of Joy. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is something that can change depending on if you find a parking spot close by or they have the sale item in stock. Happiness is a transitory state. Joy is a way of viewing the world as something that is wonderful. Joy is a filter through which we look at life. When we develop an attitude of prayer and thankfulness, joy will naturally find its place in our life.
As with my dulcimer, our salvation is a free gift that was made especially for each of us and is given to us. But also as with my dulcimer, salvation doesn’t do much for us if we don’t practice it and then go out and use it. God has given us the gift of salvation not so it can sit on a shelf and look pretty, it was given so that we could use it and enjoy it. And the more we use it, the more it becomes a part of who we are. John spread the word in the wilderness, not because he wanted to make a scene; he spread the word because faith that was within him just had to let it out.
As we approach the celebration of Christmas, let us consciously work toward an attitude of prayer and thankfulness. And as we approach the celebration of Christmas, let us watch how the spirit of joy builds in our life. And as we make prayer, thankfulness, and joy a habit in our lives, watch how ways that God brings new life into our existence.

Advent 2 Year B

Advent 2 Year B Mark 1:1-8 The Rev. Benton Quest

I really can’t believe how far we have come; some of the images we have in the Bible are so distant from anything that we usually experience. We talk about lighting candles to bring light into the darkness. But we are a people who are hardly EVER surrounded by darkness. We have electric lights; we have televisions. We have portable DVD players. Even for those of you who may have a portable DVD player in your car, you still have to admit that it is odd to see a car driving down the road flickering with the light of a television.

For us, a candle does not so much bring light; for us, a candle is usually used just for atmosphere. When we want light, we just flick a switch. If we wanted light, we would normally not think about lighting a candle. But in Biblical times, lighting a candle was the means of bringing light into a house; and with this light, one could be safe and more productive.

This same difficulty in understanding would also go for our understanding of a voice in the wilderness. Do you realize that just 100 years ago, the loudest sound you might hear during the course of an average day would be the bray of a donkey? In the noisy world of today, the bray of a donkey would probably not even be noticed.

To people of Biblical times, candle light would have meant safety and productivity, not just a warm light to soften the look of fine lines and wrinkles. To the people of Biblical times, a voice in the wilderness would have been a call to something important, not just some kids playing by the creek. Both of these symbols probably resonated more deeply with our ancestors than they do today. But part of our job as followers of Christ is to explore these symbols and see how they can take on a richer meaning in our lives today.

Today, especially, we are talking about the voice in the wilderness. For us, a voice in the wilderness would be something that we would probably more away from if not ignore all together. But from a Biblical perspective, the voice is something that calls us to look up from our daily lives and to try to figure out what all of the fuss was about.

We also need to ask why John was calling people out into the wilderness in the first place. There was water in the town, why not baptize them there. Why make people leave the town and come out into the wilds.

Well, to truly make a change, we need to get out of our normal surroundings. Whe we remove ourselves from the “usual,” we can truly see our lives with fresh eyes. It is not coincidence that when you go on a retreat, you leave, you often go out into the wilderness. You do to someplace that is beyond your normal surroundings. I had a professor in seminary who said that we go to foreign countries not to learn about that country’s culture, we go to foreign countries to learn about our own culture. It is in going out into the wilderness that we can most clearly see our life. So John calls us out into the wilderness so that we can take an honest look at our lives. John calls us out, away from the grind of life se we can learn about ourselves and see those things that may be tripping us up.

You may not have considered it, but our Sunday worship experience is also to be one of those “wilderness” experiences. Worship draws us out of our daily life. Worship calls us to see life from a new perspective. What happens here, in this sanctuary, is NOT supposed to be like what happens out there. What happens here is supposed to give us a fresh perspective on what happens out there.

Now, of course, as Christians, the ultimate voice calling us out into the wilderness is that of Jesus. Jesus calls us to move out of our daily lives and look back with a fresh perspective. Jesus calls us to be different from the world that surrounds us. But what are some of the other voices we hear? What other wilderness are out there? Who else is calling us to take a fresh look at our lives?

We have voices from the past that call us into the wilderness. People like Augustine, John Chrysostome, and Luther call us still to look at our scripture in ways that still feel new and challenging. Another voice from the past was Martin Luther King Jr. He called us into the wilderness of equality for the races. He called on us to see the privilege that Caucasians enjoy without even realizing the privilege. He called on us all to spread that privilege to all the people, not just keep it in a select group.

But we also have voices calling us today: We have Gene Robinson and Catherine Jefferts Shori, both of whom are voices calling, not only us in the Episcopal church, but to all people of faith; calling us away from our antiquated views of what represents a Christian or a family, and toward a view of seeing all people with the love that Christ has for all of us.

When we listen to these voices, what we hear are those who are not speaking the easy message or the popular message. What we hear in their message is a call to live a truly authentic life; a life that values others as much as we value ourselves. The call out into the wilderness is not necessarily pleasant, but it is a journey that is important for us to make.

It is also a call that will not be silenced. John called out from prison. Martin Luther King called from the jail. Jesus calls us from the cross and continues to call us from beyond the empty tomb. Even when we try to stop up our ears, the message will continue. The voices in the wilderness will continue to sound until we listen.

But we don’t get off that easy. Listening is not a passive thing. We don’t just hear the voice, we act upon the voice. And not just act, we go out and spread the word. We become the voice. When we hear the message, we become changed. When we take the message of Christ into our lives, we can’t help but pass it on.

When the people responded to John’s message in the wilderness, they received the gift of baptism. When we respond to Christ’s message in the wilderness, we not only receive the gift of baptism, we receive the gift of forgiveness, and love, and caring, and acceptance. When we receive the word of Christ into our hearts, we become a new creation. The light that we represent in the Advent candles brings light into our lives and changes the atmosphere of our souls.

During this time of waiting and preparing, keep your ears open to the voices in the wilderness. Keep aware of how you are being called to move beyond the hustle and bustle of the world and go out into those places that are scary and unknown. Listen for those voices that are urging you to broaden you horizon. And then, do more than just listen. Then Act!

Advent 1 Year B

Advent 1 Year B Mark 13:24-37 November 30, 2008 The Rev. Benton Quest

Welcome to advent. Again we enter the season of waiting. Waiting for the next cashier. Waiting for the light to change. Waiting for the snow to stop. Waiting for the waitress to being our food. Waiting for the whole craziness to get over so we can return to life as we know it.

Isn’t that often how Advent feels? We try to pack so much stuff into so little time that we begin to despise the whole season? We try to grab for all we can just end up with a balled fist? Advent has so much promise but so often leaves us feeling a little flat.

In thinking about the season of Advent, I often think about the book and the movie, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. This classic book by C.S. Lewis, tells of a land called Narnia. The interesting thing about Narnia is that it is constantly winter but it is never Christmas. Although it snows incessantly in Narnia, the celebration of Christmas never comes. And if Christmas never comes, then spring, and the new life of spring never come.

I find it interesting the way Lewis gave us a concise view of what the coming of Christ is all about: We were lost in the dark of winter. Then Christmas comes, the Christ child is born, and the Light of God comes into the world. It is through this light, through this child, that darkness is dispelled and the warmth of spring can be felt. It is through this light of Christ that we leave behind the darkness of winter and the light of spring begins to shine.

We light the advent wreath each week with a new candle to represent this light of Christ getting nearer, to represent this spring breaking through the winter. And with each candle we anticipate not only the coming of Christ as a baby at Christmas, but Christ’s return in the end times as final judge.

What is unfortunate is that quite often, this time of waiting gets side-tracked and gets taken-over by the cares of our daily life. Or we get so focused on the coming of spring that we miss the beauty that can be found in the snow. The unfortunate truth is that although we may be in a time of waiting during Advent, with the push of the world, we are often waiting for the wrong thing.

In our gospel reading for today, Jesus talks about waiting and what we are supposed to be doing while we are waiting. Actually, he tells us two things that seem to contradict each other: He tells us that we are to be aware and to prepare but we are also supposed to realize that even with all the preparation we do, we cannot know when the anticipated events will happen. So Jesus gives us a bit of a contradiction; we are to prepare for an event we know will happen, we just don’t know when it will happen.

Why would we be given such advice from Jesus? It sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it? But Jesus was addressing some of the problems he saw in his day and I think some of the problems we still see today.

The first problem Jesus addressed were those people who really didn’t believe the messiah was coming. They didn’t believe that the time when God would send a savior would ever happen so they did not do anything to prepare their lives. These people went about life getting pulled by whatever trend happened to be popular. But since they were never looking for the signs, they missed the signs when they appeared and they missed the Messiah they were looking for. These people Jesus addressed were waiting but they were waiting for the wrong thing.

In our world today we can hear all kinds of stories about people who seem to be waiting for the wrong things. This year there wasn’t really a big, “Have to Have” item, but in the past people have waited days in line just get an electronic game system or a certain cell phone.

But what I have to ask is: What if those days in line were not spent waiting for the “honor” to be the first to buy a toy but were spent for the true honor of giving food and clothing to those who are in need? What if, instead of spending $500 dollars to buy another TV, the $500 dollars was given to those who have to wait out in the cold not as a sign of fanatical commitment but because there is no adequate housing for them?

Are we looking for the signs of Christ in our midst or are we just chasing after whatever catches our attention or whatever we are told is important?

The second problem with waiting addressed by Jesus is the problem of trying to control the wait. There is a feeling that if we know everything that is going to happen, then the wait will not be as long. In some ways, there is even the feeling that if we know what is supposed to happen, then we can MAKE it happen and force the event to happen. But what Jesus is telling us is that even if we know all of the signs, we cannot force God to act.

When I was a kid in second grade, we were growing bean seedling in milk cartons. Each day we would chart the growth of the seedling. I was so excited as I watched the little seedling break through the ground. But I wanted it to grow faster. I knew that it would eventually get bigger but I thought I could help it a little. So I decided to “help” the seedling along by gently pulling on it. Well, as you can probably guess. The growth chart for my seedling went up and then took a sharp drop from which it never recovered. In trying to force the seedling to grow, I actually killed it.

I saw another example of this inability to wait just a few days ago. I saw a person waiting for the traffic light to change from red to green. There was a second person waiting behind the first. The second person got tired of waiting and moved into the oncoming traffic lane, drove past the car waiting at the light and then turned left down the road. As you can probably guess, not more than 10 seconds later, the traffic light changed to green. Now, thankfully, nothing happened to anyone. But the comparison of people waiting three days for a toy while someone couldn’t wait ten seconds for a light just was too much. We will stand for days waiting for something unimportant but cannot wait ten seconds for something like a traffic light.

What Jesus is telling us is in the gospel is that we are to find a middle way. We are not to get so caught up in the things of life that we waste our life on those things that are unimportant. But also we are not to get so tied in trying to make things happen that we kill off the possibly of what God may have planned.

In Narnia, the people looked for signs Christmas coming but also realized that they needed to plan for the winter that was there. They waited and hoped for the coming of spring but remained aware that winter was still there.

We wait for the return of Jesus to our lives but we also know that we must live in the world we have today. We look for the feast to come but live in the knowledge that forgiveness has already come. We look forward to the coming of the Christ child while living in the knowledge that Christ the man is a true presence in our lives, now!

So, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the things that will eventually pass or those things that are eternal? Are you waiting for the sales or for the savior? Whatever you are waiting for, Advent is here. The time of waiting is here. We wait in the winter but we know that Christmas will come and with Christmas the birth of new life. We wait but also we know: We know the savior born as a child will grow to become a man. And we know this man will bring us forgiveness. We wait but we don’t wait as ones without hope. We wait as those who know that even in the dark of winter, the warmth of spring is assured.