Dramatic miracles and heavenly visions do not create faith. Faith is something God plants in the human heart, and the light of Jesus illuminates it. But to truly experience it, we must some come down into the valley and work our way to the cross. That is where we see Him, in the face of all humanity.
In a same-day delivery world, we have lost the virtue of patience and the good things that come to us through it. Yet God has proven to us time and again that he has both today and tomorrow well under control, if we will wait on Him and live thankfully in the moment.
What’s more important? To be right or to be loving? We can model for the world the kind of behavior that blurs the lines that divide us and lifts up our oneness in Jesus Christ. It’s called brother keeping. And sister keeping.
The Kingdom of God is already here and is widening all the time. Each one of us has a part to play in it, and we must be ready to follow the call to serve in an ever-changing, impermanent world.
The word of God to you and to me is always a call to speak the truth. Sometimes that truth can be confrontational to those who will not hear it . Just ask Samuel.
Jesus spent his earthly life turning things upside down, showing God’s children there is a better way and inviting them to follow in that way, if only we will choose to do so. His love is stronger than anything in the chaos that surrounds us.
We can let the good news and joy of Christmas fill our lives with a sense of wonder we can take away with us, giving us a new purpose and direction. Let the wonder of his birth transform you.
Figure out what the peaceful birth of Christ has left with you amidst these days of bewilderment, confusion and pandemic. Hold onto it, and treasure it in your heart. That’s what Mary did, and it’s what we all need to do; to take it into a new and much better year ahead.
God came down to live with you and me. The “yes” that Mary said to God is the same yes you and I say when we let faith speak louder than reason; when we let hope silence logic.
Not to be held back or limited by a mere global pandemic, the choirs of our church and their director have assembled an offering of worship through music in celebration of the Advent season.