January 29, 2017 Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew  5:2-12  (The Promise)

2-12 Then (Jesus) began his teaching by saying to them, “How happy are the humble-minded, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs! “How happy are those who know what sorrow means for they will be given courage and comfort! “Happy are those who claim nothing, for the whole earth will belong to them! “Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for goodness, for they will be fully satisfied! “Happy are the merciful, for they will have mercy shown to them! “Happy are the utterly sincere, for they will see God! “Happy are those who make peace, for they will be sons (and daughters) of God! “Happy are those who have suffered persecution for the cause of goodness, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs! “

The Beatitudes describe how it is with happy people, not how to become happy.
How it is with those who have discovered the gift of happiness in the process of living.

Happiness is something we all desire, live for, seek out and desperately want.
Yet happiness is not something we can possess, take, create.

Happiness is a serendipity -”the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”  It is a gift, a byproduct, a consequence of our living.  To pursue it is to miss it.

Happiness comes by losing oneself in usefulness. It is found outside ourselves.
It is living for more then my own happiness.  It is being caught up in that which makes others happy.

Happy people are good people to be around.  Their happiness is contagious and it creates more happiness, for them as well as for others.

“Happy people are good people to be around.
Their happiness is contagious
and it creates more happiness.”

Picture:  Sarah Pearson






Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to discover how happiness happens when
I am lost in usefulness.”

January 22, 2017 Third Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew 4:12-17  (The Promise)

12 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. 13 He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. 14 This move completed Isaiah's sermon: 15 Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, road to the sea, over Jordan, Galilee, crossroads for the nations. 16 People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up. 17 This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “(Repent) Change your life. God's kingdom is here."

 Repentance is a positive not a negative word.  It means ‘change from within’.  It has to do with opening life up, changing ones mind, being open to new possibilities; being open to live from the heart.  It is a180 degree turn.

“Repentance is a180 degree turn.”

Picture:  Lyle Feisel



Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, keep me open to repentance: changing my mind and discovering new possibilities, even where I least expect them to be.”

January 15, 2017 Second Sunday after Epiphany

John 1:35-39, 41-42  (The Promise)

    35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

   37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

   They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

   39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

  41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.

Faith in Jesus as the Son of God is not something which happens in isolation.

It is not something we do by ourselves; it is something which happens in the human encounters of life.

It is something we walk into more than create by ourselves.

And we help each other believe what is otherwise too incredible to believe.

"He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lake side, He came to those men who knew Him not.  He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!"  and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time.  He commands.  And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal Himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is."  

Albert Schweitzer-"The Quest for the Historical Jesus”

“He speaks to us the same word: "Follow thou me!" 

 and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill 

or our time.” Albert Schweitzer


Picture:  Sarah Pearson

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to walk with you this week, daring to believe that I can be you to someone somewhere.”

January 8, 2017 Baptism of Our Lord

Matt.  3:13-17  (The Promise)

13 Jesus then appeared, arriving at the Jordan River from Galilee. He wanted John to baptize him. 14 John objected, "I'm the one who needs to be baptized, not you!" 15 But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it. 16 The moment Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters, the skies opened up and he saw God's Spirit - it looked like a dove - descending and landing on him. 17 And along with the Spirit, a voice: "This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life."

Jesus baptism was uniquely different from all other baptisms.  For Jesus knew no sin.
It identified who he was and what he was all about.

A suffering servant who “ will bring forth justice to the nations.”
A humble servant who “will not cry or lift up his voice...”
A gentle servant, “going about doing good and healing all who were oppressed...”

Baptism is not so much about what we get as it is a sign of who we are to become.
It is a sign that we are to be something more then we dare to think we can be.










“Baptism is not so much about what we get
as it is a sign of who we are to become.”

Picture:  Carolyn Pearson








Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me become what you created me to be, - a humble servant.”


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January 1, 2017 Christmas 1

Matt 2:13-23  (The Promise)

13 After the scholars were gone, God's angel showed up again in Joseph's dream and commanded, "Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him." 14 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. 15 They lived in Egypt until Herod's death. 19 Later, when Herod died, God's angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: 20 "Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead." 21 Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother, and reentered Israel. fulfillment of the prophetic words, "He shall be called a Nazarene.”

This story is “a turn toward lowliness and humility rather than grandeur and greatness....Jesus is to be identified, not with the powerful, but with the helpless, vulnerable people of this world.” 

As the writer of Hebrews says he was “one of the dispossessed”.

This is the greatness of Christianity - it’s lowliness.  There is no place too unimportant, no event too insignificant that God has not been there and will not be there again.  God has become penetratingly human - nothing is beyond his reach.  This is what Christmas is all about!“

Jesus is to be identified, not with the powerful,

but with the helpless, vulnerable people of this world.”   

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to remember that you became vulnerable so no one will be missed in your love.”