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An Advent Prayer – Expectations

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O God, Christmas is right around the corner,
and we are full of expectations.
What will happen in worship?
Will my prayer get answered?
What will happen at such-and-such party?
What will we get so-and-so for Christmas?
What will WE get for Christmas?
Will the answer to these questions meet our expectations?

O Lord, in centuries past,
people were expecting a messiah,
and there were expectations
about what that messiah would be like.
Is it interesting that Jesus did not fit these expectations?

God, as our story in Luke goes,
he was born to parents who were peasants.
He was born in a stable and laid in a manger.
There must have been the smells
of hay, animal dander, and even manure there.
Was that a place fit for a king?
The lowest of low – shepherds – were his first visitors.

He didn’t come starting a revolution,
but brought good news to the poor.
He proclaimed release of captives and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free.
He preached the year of your favor, O God, to the least of these.
He did not amass a great army
but gathered together a rag-tag group of twelve
and some women to support them.
He didn’t come catering to the rich and famous
but to the poor, disenfranchised, and sick
all the while calling on the rich and famous to take care of them, too.
And yet, many of us call this one
who did not meet expectations, “Messiah.”

As we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas, O Lord,
help us to consider what this might mean for our expectations.
Let us not forget that in the story of creation,
You didn’t say everything was perfect, only, “Very good.”

Amen.

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The above prayer is a response to the great discussion we had at the 2nd Session of the 2011 Advent Study,
Christmas is Not Your Birthday,
inspired by the book of the same name.

This prayer was prayed at First United Methodist Church in Wichita Falls on Sunday, December 11, 2011.

Thoughts for Advent: It’s a Beginning. . .

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Have you ever thought about the purpose of worship? What about when we worship – the day or time of year?

Jesus was Jewish, so it is important to think about our Jewish heritage here. In Judaism, the Sabbath is observed starting at dusk on Friday to dusk on Saturday – the last day of the week. Think about the first story of Creation in Genesis 1. God is said to have labored six days and rested on the Sabbath – the seventh day. Part of the purpose of worshiping on the last day of the week is to look at the week that has just passed and to give thanks to God for the blessings received that week. This is an important aspect of worship that we often overlook with our more future-oriented outlook both within Christianity and as a culture.

Within Christendom, worship is most typically held (obviously not always the case) on Sunday, not Saturday. Why? It is a weekly reminder of Easter SUNDAY. Rightly understood, the Sabbath has not been moved to Sunday; rather, Sunday is a day to worship and be reminded of the gift of Easter. On top of that, though, because worship is held on the first day of the week in this scenario, it is a preparation for living out the life of faith in the week to come. It is an opportunity to become re-focused on the goal of the Christian life.

I think it may be partially because the New Year follows Christmas, that we tend to focus in December (the time of Advent and Christmas) on what has gone on in the previous year. It’s the last month of the year; it’s a time of ending.

The problem is that we are basing this off of the Gregorian calendar not the Christian liturgical calendar. In this calendar, the New Year begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day – the first Sunday of Advent. It is a time of remembering the birth of Christ, but it is also a preparation for the coming of Christ again.

Often, this second coming is envisioned as vision of rapture – Jesus coming down out of the sky. Let’s consider this another way, though, using these passages of Scripture:

  • For where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there among them. – Matthew 18:20
  • 37 Then the righteous will answer the Son of Man, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” 40 And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” – Matthew 25:37-40
  • Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. – 1 Corinthians 12:27

When we really listen to these passages, we see that Jesus returns all the time – when we gather together, when we serve those in need. Advent, then, is the time that we should be preparing ourselves (and allowing God to prepare us) to bring forth Christ into the world through our fellowship and service to others. As a parallel to Mary’s story, Advent is the time of our pregnancy where our calling from God grows in conviction in preparation for being birthed into action after Christmas.

It is important to remember and cherish our past blessings, so it is fitting that Thanksgiving falls the Thursday before the first Sunday of Advent. Let us change direction and focus, though, during this season of Advent, looking for how we will bring Christ into the world.

  • How might God be calling you to bring Christ into the world in the coming year through your Christian fellowship and service to those in need?
  • Knowing that you are but one member of the body of Christ, who might you invite to share in those actions?

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The above devotional is a response to the great discussion we had at the 1st Session of the 2011 Advent Study, Christmas is Not Your Birthday, inspired by the book of the same name.

Originally posted at http://fumcwf.org/archives/6264 on December 2, 2011.

Was I Short-Changed?

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1st Day of 1st Grade

I started kindergarten at the Howe Independent School District in Texas during the fall semester of 1978.  In May 1991, I graduated Salutatorian of the same school district.

Howe, at the time, could really be described as a small farming community in North Texas with a population of 2072.  Some of my friends were sons and daughters of farmers.  The parents of others were similar to my parents who worked in the larger town of about 30,000 to the north, Sherman.

By far the largest church in Howe was First Baptist of the Southern Baptist Convention.  There was a “conspiracy theory” going around among members of other denominations that the only way to get on the school board or city council was to be a member of that church.  I now realize (I didn’t then) that the reason that seemed to be the case was because members of that church were more well known among a larger base of the community.  No conspiracy there.

During that time period, I don’t remember our family ever formally praying at home unless Uncle John was visiting.  If he was there, we’d always say a prayer before meals, but only then.  We were, however, regular church attenders at First United Methodist where my mom taught the 4-5 year old Sunday school class for years.

I remember evolution being taught in school as a plausible theory for how the world was created; evidence for why this seemed plausible was shared.  I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning the biblical story of creation period.  It wasn’t affirmed; it wasn’t bashed.  Evolution was just a good theory.

The only time I remember the Bible being brought up in school was in world history when a student asked, “Why is it that Adam and Eve were the first people, but after they leave Eden, there are other people?”  Coach Fry (who taught the class) responded that he believed that Adam and Eve were not the first people, just the first people with souls.

I never once remember there being a single prayer said in school, though we did usually have a prayer before football games – a task shared among local clergy.  I also don’t even remember there being a set aside “moment of silence” at school in which I could take a moment to say a prayer.  If there was ever a “See Ya At the Pole” rally, I don’t recall it.

To hear many people tell it, I was somehow short-changed.  My education was somehow “less than.”  School must have been unbearable.  According to them, I should have become a heathen as all my other classmates should have.

For me, school was unbearable but only because I’d have rather been on my bike riding around my neighborhood or watching TV.  Yet, in no way do I feel like my education was somehow “less than.”  I feared, going off to college and later seminary, that I’d be behind since I came from little ol’ Howe, Texas.  What I discovered was that my education was really good.  We really had good teachers there.

Although I really don’t remember anything being formally “Christian,” I remember that for the most part the teachers were fair, caring, and supportive – even though I often wanted to look for something I didn’t like in a teacher.  They worked to make sure we tried to get along.  If one of us made fun of others (and were caught) we suffered consequences.  There were consequences if we fought, and reconciliation seemed like the goal that was being promoted in those instances.

Explicitly Christian?  NO.  Christian in practice?  In my opinion, YES.

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:  “Preach the Gospel.  Use words only if necessary.”  Yet, many think that the Gospel is only about words – predominantly adjectives, occasionally nouns.  “Is that Christian?  Are you a Christian?”  Instead of taking the Gospel as something that is our own responsibility to do, we want others to make it a responsibility for us.  “You need to make sure someone prays at school, and be sure to teach the theology I have there, too.”

One of the things that I learned at my church in Howe was that I could pray anytime I wanted in the secret closet of my mind and heart (see Matthew 6:6).  I didn’t need anyone to set aside a time for me to pray.  I didn’t need anybody to pray for me.  I could take that personal responsibility for myself – and occasionally did.

In the United Methodist Church (of which I am an ordained Deacon), we have the slogan, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.”  These are typically interpreted as things we have.  Rather, I think it is something we are to do.  My experience at a school that didn’t have prayer or a designated “moment of silence” were teachers who sought to open my heart, my mind, and the door to a larger world.  They did this without explicitly being “Christian” in words they used but certainly were Christian in their actions.  They showed me their Christianity.  They didn’t tell me their Christianity.

Was I short-changed?  Was my education un-Christian?  Not in my opinion.

Where Do You Work and With What?

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“Prepare your work outside, get everything ready for you in the field;
and after that build your house.”
Proverbs 24:27 (NRSV)

Uncle Eldon and my Mom outside the old house.

The picture at the right gives you an idea of the condition of the house.  Gutters were falling off.  Paint was drastically needed.  As I remember the story, there were places you could see through the siding directly into or out of the house, and the roof leaked.  In the winter time, if water was left out in the kitchen, it would be frozen by morning.  Grandma wanted a new house – in a very bad way!

Grandpa had another plan.  He said, “We’ll build the barn first, and the barn will pay for the new house!”

The North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, of which I am a member, started a new program for the development of clergy called the Clergy Fruitfulness Initiative.  The purpose is to help us re-evaluate our gifts and abilities for ministry and determine how those are being used (or not) in our current place of ministry.

A key element of this program is the Birkman Method personality assessment, which is a tool to help us see what makes us tick and what pushes our buttons.  What needs do we have that need to be met in order for us to thrive?  How do we react when those needs are not being met, and what can we do to counter these negative responses?

By going through this process, we are reminded that we are God’s creations.  Our gifts and personalities are good.  Our weaknesses are not something to apologize for; they are simply a part of who we are as God’s creations.  Luckily another of God’s creations has the gifts we don’t have.

Ephesians 2:10 comes to mind:  “For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (NRSV)  Although we are not “saved” by our works, good works are what we are created for.  Even Jesus, the one we are to emulate, is reported as saying in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.”  Works are our purpose.  Works bring us nourishment and fulfillment, but from where do these works come?  Is it not our very selves?

Ultimately, our true place of work is in us, which is God’s creation.  Although our citizenship may be in the kingdom of God (see Philippians 3:20), our home is in us, which is also God’s creation.  And God looked at all God had created and called it “very good.”

We are both “barn” and “house,” place of work and place of rest.  We have to work within ourselves, and we have to rest within ourselves.  We need to build up our inner “barn” before we can work, be successful, and find peace in our day job (from which we draw our salary) and even in our lives, our inner being.  We need to know what God-given tools are in our inner “barn” that can be used in our place of work (be it a church, factory, hospital, retail store, etc.) before we can find fulfillment, before we can feel at home even in ourselves.

For instance, I’ve realized through the Birkman Method that I “have the combined strengths of being able to spend time on my own or with my close friends and being comfortable in social settings.”  These are tools in my barn that needs to be built up by combining “socially casual activities with plenty of time to be and work by myself or in the company of close friends.”  When I am not able to use these tools and when these needs are not met, I become stressed and do not feel at home, at peace, or at ease in myself.  “Too much group activity, especially when forced on me, is likely to cause me to withdraw while extended periods of solitude can generate feelings that cause me to seek out the support and acceptance of the group.”  The stress forces me to work on my barn (my gifts or tools for works) that I should have been working on and maintaining all along so I could rest easily in my home, in myself.

  • How have you felt fulfillment through jobs, tasks, or activities you like to perform?
  • How have you felt stressed in your jobs, tasks, or activities?
  • What gifts or abilities do you need to use to feel fulfilled?
  • What needs to be built up in you for you to feel at home in yourself?

We Don’t Need Your Cookies

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Back in 2005, I attended a “church growth” seminar in Dallas, Texas. The keynote speaker was Rev. Mike Slaughter of Ginghamsburg United Methodist in Ohio, one of the larger and faster growing UM churches in the country. He shared an experience that sticks with me.

That church had a “Cookie Patrol” that takes cookies to first time visitors.  So, every Sunday afternoon, a group of people would meet down at the church to bake fresh cookies to be delivered to potential members.

One day, a member of the church came to Rev. Slaughter and told him, “I just love to bake, and I want to help with the Cookie Patrol.  I’ve got a great kitchen at home, so let me tell you what I’ll do. I’ll make several dozen cookies each Sunday and bring them to the church. I just don’t have time to spend at church on Sunday afternoons.”

Pastor Mike responded, “You don’t understand. We don’t need your cookies. We need you.”

He knew that the reason the Cookie Patrol was a worthwhile ministry was not simply the cookies taken to potential members but the relationships that developed among those who joined together in the church kitchen on Sundays. “Stuff” is not all that important. People are.

We live in a society in which the only thing that seems to matter is efficiency.  The end result, as quickly as possible, is of utmost importance; there seems to be little emphasis on the journey itself AND the people we journey with.  When we complete a task, it is good to celebrate the end result, but what do we really remember?  Is it not the people, the things we did, and the lessons learned in the process of completing the task?

Think about it: when Jesus started his ministry, what was one of the first things he did?  He found companions to serve with on his journeys.  These guys were not all that efficient.  On many occasions, they should have been fired, and yet, Jesus sent them out in pairs to preach, heal, and serve.  Notice that he did not send them out as individuals, and when they finished, they all came back together as the entire group to debrief and celebrate their journeys and accomplishments.

Jesus went to the cross himself, but I don’t believe that was his intent.  “If you want to be my followers, deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me,” Jesus says in the midst of his journey (see Mark 8:34).  The goal is not to do the work of God alone.

Wouldn’t it have been more efficient for Jesus to go quickly from town-to-town healing people as quickly as possible?  Yet, we see again and again that he stops to teach and preach; he stops to share a meal or conversation with people who are known sinners, enemies, and friends.

With all of this in mind, I have come to believe that life in the church, in the community of faith, is not all about efficiency.  It isn’t just about the stuff or the end result.  It is about bringing people together in relationship in a way that may not be the most efficient but includes the most people, creating relationships and fostering love.  Let us remember, “Where two or more are gathered,” there is Jesus.  When we care for “the least of these,” we care for Jesus. It may not be the most efficient way, but it is the most Christ-like.

We don’t need your cookies.  We need you.

One Rock At A Time

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Jesus said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20, NRSV)

I know it wasn’t just my Sunday School teachers as a child.  I know others from other churches who were given the same impression that I was.  With just a miniscule amount of faith, a mountain would move in the “snap of the fingers” or the “blink of an eye.”

I know it’s not just me.  I’ve had family, friends, and acquaintances say that their experience matches mine.  Many a time in life, I have had obstacles in my way that could easily be defined as the proverbial mountain.  I have no doubt that I (and others that I have witnessed in similar situations) have had at least the faith of a mustard seed and yet that mountain didn’t move – at least not quickly.

For many years, this all troubled me.  What does God have against me?  Am I not righteous enough? What’s the deal?

Then, one day, I saw the story of Abraham’s faith in a new light.  In Genesis 15:1-6, God promises Abraham (Abram at this point) in his old age that he will have descendants as many as the stars in the sky.  Then I thought about.  In Abraham’s lifetime, he only saw two descendants, Ishmael and Isaac.  And yet, he still trusted that God would follow through on the promise, so he passed on that promise, that faith, to Isaac (and presumably Ishmael) without ever seeing it fulfilled.

What if Jesus’ point is less about faith bringing immediate change but incremental change.  Let’s say Peter decides a particular mountain needs to be moved.  So, he starts moving it, one rock at a time.  His brother Andrew comes along and asks, “What are you doing?”

“I’m moving this mountain,” he responds.  “By doing so, we’ll be better able to care for people on the other side.”

“That makes sense,” says Andrew as he picks up a rock using his God-given strength.

Before you know it, through other similar exchanges, more disciples are there working to move that mountain, rock by rock.  Peter and Andrew may never see the mountain moved – and they know that – but they keep plugging away out of faith in the possibility and the call they have heard to move the mountain.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer participated in a plot to bring down the Nazi regime.  He and his immediate cohorts failed on multiple occasions, but they still stayed true to trying to end the tyranny in Germany that was spreading beyond.

The civil rights movement was (and is) working against a mountain of racism, but many like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. worked, one rock at a time, to make a difference.  King could foresee that he would not see it fully moved, and yet he kept working.  Obviously, we have come far and much of that mountain has moved, but there are still rocks in the way.  With faith, though, they can still be moved!

In these instances, faith has less to do with immediate gratification and more with commitment to the program, trusting it is possible even if we never see the completion, maybe never reaching the goal in our lifetime.

  • What is your mountain?
  • Who can you invite to help you move that mountain?
  • Are you willing to commit to moving that mountain, no matter the outcome?
  • Have you been invited to help move someone else’s mountain?
  • How can you use your God-given talents to help them?