Dec 16, 2018 Advent 3

Luke 3:7-18  (The Message)

7-9 When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin. And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.’ Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”
10 The crowd asked him, “Then what are we supposed to do?”
11 “If you have two coats, give one away,” he said. “Do the same with your food.”
12 Tax men also came to be baptized and said, “Teacher, what should we do?”
13 He told them, “No more extortion—collect only what is required by law.”
14 Soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He told them, “No shakedowns, no blackmail—and be content with your rations.”

John got their attention.  He broke through their blindness, pricked their conscience, penetrated their hearts so they asked, ”What then shall we do?”

It is a question we must ask too, for it is never enough to talk the talk; we must walk the walk.  We must let God get to our hearts and change our way of being, or at best we are just sincere hypocrites, “honoring God with our lips while our hearts are far from God.”

And what is it we are to do?

We are to “To be authentic from the inside out”.  How?
We are to “Share… be fair…be kind.”
That’s it!  Simple yet profound.
A challenge which will lead us to repent often as we seek to live lives which
reflect something of God’s love.



"Three things in human
life are important.
The first is to be kind.
The second is to be kind.
And the third is to be kind."
Henry James








Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, keep me mindful that kindness is next
to Godliness.  And being fair and sharing is too!

Dec 9, 2018 Advent 2

Luke 3:1-6
1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar…the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

   “A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
   make straight paths for him.
5 Every valley shall be filled in,
   every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
   the rough ways smooth.
6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”


Our preparation for Christmas is distracted by the litany of commercialism and the litany of indulgence.  To offset this we need to “discern what is best” about this celebration by going deeper and deeper into the mystery which is Christmas.  This means we look for Christmas to happen in human acts of love wherein we also see “God’s salvation” in action.

This is what Advent is all about.  Discerning.  Getting ready!  When I am ready, I am more able to experience, more able to see.  Ironically, I can also be more spontaneous, more open to chance; call it planned spontaneity; prepared enough to be free to be spontaneous.

A song writer once said,  “Tunes simply pop into my head all the time.
But of course, your head has to be arranged to receive them!”

Are you getting ready to “see” Christmas?  To see it happen again and again hidden in happenings you never expected?  And celebrate the mystery of God’s love incarnate in human flesh?  This is what is coming!
Get ready for a surprise!

“Chance favors the
prepared mind.”
     Louis Pasteur











Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to not miss Christmas
as it comes over and over and over again, Your love incarnate in human flesh.”

Dec. 2, 2018 Advent 1

Luke 21:25-28  (The Message)

25-26 “It will seem like all hell has broken loose—sun, moon, stars, earth, sea, in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.

27-28 “And then—then!—they’ll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style—a glorious welcome! When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!”

The issue of when Jesus is coming again is mute; it is a dead end street.

What is important today is not the content of our text, but the mood set by the text.  For our mood is vital to our relationships.

And the mood of our text is a “positive, joyful hope of redemption.”

Celebration - the mood of the Gospel!

There is great heresy in correct theology without correct mood.

The power of ”Jesus Christ Super Star” and “Godspell” is the mood they set.

To celebrate life at all times and in all places.  To see the good surrounded by the bad.  To be thankful when all is going wrong.  To be hopeful when all seems lost.  This is the mood of the Gospel.  This is the mood of Jesus.  Celebration of life, for it is good.

“We communicate best 

when we celebrate most.”

Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to be hopeful and joyful for the celebration of your coming is coming soon.”

November 25, 2018 Christ the King Sunday

John 18:36 (The Message)

36 “My kingdom,” said Jesus, “doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.”

Jesus kingdom is not of this world.  It is a kingdom where things are reversed in a strange yet powerful way.  The first are last and the last first.   The great are the lowly and the masters are the servants.  The little is much and the poor are rich.  The widows mite is much and the rich peoples much is little.

A Kingdom where money is not as important as love and relationships;  where nothing can happen which is beyond becoming a blessing, redeemed by God’s love.  It is a Kingdom which cannot be destroyed and will never end.

“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I (Napoleon Bonaparte) have built great empires. but upon what did they depend?  They depended on force.  But centuries ago Jesus started an empire that was built on love, and even today, millions will die for him.”






“All the armies that ever marched,
all the navies that ever sailed,
all the parliaments that ever sat,
all the kings that ever reigned,
put together have not affected
the life of man on this earth
as much as the one who was born
to be a king...of another kingdom.”
Author unknown







Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, may your Kingdom indeed come on earth, and help me to be a part of it.”

November 18, 2018 26th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 13:1-8 (The Message)

 “As he walked away from the Temple, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at that stonework! Those buildings!”
2 Jesus said, “You’re impressed by this grandiose architecture? There’s not a stone in the whole works that is not going to end up in a heap of rubble.”
3-4 Later, as he was sitting on Mount Olives in full view of the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew got him off by himself and asked, “Tell us, when is this going to happen? What sign will we get that things are coming to a head?”
5-8 Jesus began, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One.’ They will deceive a lot of people. When you hear of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history, and no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Earthquakes will occur in various places. There will be famines. But these things are nothing compared to what’s coming.”

Let me pass on to you these words from David F. Watson, New Testament professor at Union Seminary, Dayton, Ohio.

“These are complex (words), deeply rooted in Old Testament language, history and theology.  Yet, despite the difficulties that they present, they are also powerful (words) that teach us not to follow false messiahs and prophets.  The dangers of overzealous nationalism and reactionary violence are clear in this  passage.  Violence begets violence.  (Amen to that!)  Followers of Jesus are to trust in God’s providential care even if the world around them seems to be falling apart before their eyes.”

And that takes a lot of faith courage!
All that we know is that Jesus will be there at the end and no matter what, it will be good!  So watch, keep awake, stay alert, and don’t worry about it!




"Concerning that day or hour
nobody knows.”
Mark 13:32











Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, help me to live today with love and kindness, not worrying about the end which is in your hands and will be good.”

November 11, 2018 25th Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 12:41-44 The Message

41-44 Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.”

The story of the poor widow reminds us that we are called to live and give beyond our means.  We can give even out of our needs and all will be well.

Fear of not having enough makes it hard for us to hear and believe that giving is so important.  We should do it even when we can’t afford to do it.  It is the greatest joy in life, whether we have little or much.  To give much because we have been given much, we have been loved much.

She was in the hospital, dying.  She had lived a simple life; devout wife, faithful church worker, loyal friend.  She hadn’t asked for much and she was happy with what she had.
I stopped to see her and she asked me to get her purse out of the closet.  She opened it and gave me some bills.  Later I discovered that it was over $400, probably close to all she had.

Then I remembered the look of joy in her eye as she gave me the money and said,  “use it in the church.“

When she died all she had was auctioned off and added to this as a memorial to spread God’s love in our lives.  It wasn’t much but it was all she had.  And it was given with joy!

"That which is given away is not wasted."
City of Joy











Prayer thought for the week:  “Lord, make me thankful and generous.
Then my faith will indeed be ‘active in love’.”

Nov. 4, 2018 All Saints Sunday

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
    He said:
   3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


Most of us do not consider ourselves to be saints.  In fact, it is almost an insult to be called a saint.  It means you are not in touch with real life.  As the agnostic Robert Ingersoll describes, you are someone who is “...not quite sick enough to die nor healthy enough to be wicked.”

This is a gross contradiction!  A saint is someone who is very human and very much alive.

 A saint is someone who wants much out of life but refuses to crush life to get it.
Who is passionate enough to not hurt others as he/she drinks deeply of life.

A saint is someone who dares to live as a human with an eye towards heaven.
Who can be “poor in spirit” because he/she doesn’t have to pretend.
Who can be “meek” because he/she doesn’t have to always be right.
Who can be” merciful” because he/she doesn’t have to judge others.
Who can “hunger and thirst after righteousness” because he/she doesn’t have to have all the answers all the time.

A saint is a very human person who can “rejoice and be glad” amidst persecution, suffering, grief or pain because he/she lives on earth with an eye on heaven; and the love of God which comes from above.





“I am not a saint,
unless you think of a saint
as a sinner who keeps on trying.”
           Nelson Mandela









Prayer thought for the week:  "Lord, help me to one a saint who keeps on trying!"