Advent Devotions: December 2- Matthew 24:36-44

Matthew 24:36-44

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

As a general rule, I do not like surprises. An occasional bouquet of flowers or card is always nice, but someone showing up unannounced at my house or calling me after 10pm at night is frowned upon. I think it's because, as a pastor, those sorts of things mean someone is trouble. You see, I like to plan things out as much as possible, so surprises are often a difficult distraction for me - a disruption of the flow of my plans. I don't get upset, I just would prefer not to have any surprises. Sounds rather boring when I say it, but that's who I am I guess - one who likes to know what to expect. Maybe it's a control thing. Surprises mean being out of control of what's happening. My house might be a mess, or there might be dog hair on the floor that needs swept, or dishes in the sink that haven't been put away.  Heaven forbid anyone would see that! But there's a certain startling effect that comes with surprises; an adrenalin rush that means "quick to action." 

Jesus says we must be ready for his return. It will not be announced a week early so we can get our houses in order. It won't be announced at all! It will be a surprise. However, this is a surprise we know is coming and can be ready for, but we must be ready each and every day or we will be caught off guard. 

How do we prepare for Christ's return? What do we do in the meantime, knowing it could be any hour of any day? 

We intentionally wait, putting our trust in the promises of God who vowed to never forsake his people. We sink into the knowledge of our faith and ask for help in the waiting period. We ensure we won't be surprised by having our spiritual houses in order. 

What thoughts come to mind as you ponder this?

Loving God, as we wait and watch for the return of your Son, give us confidence to live in this moment as fully as we possibly can. Help us to serve others and to work for your kingdom even as we keep eyes on the heavens, watching for Christ's glorious return. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Swords into Plowshares

 Devotion for December 1, 2015

Isaiah 2:1-5

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
    that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
    and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3     and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
    and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
    and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
    and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
    and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
    neither shall they learn war anymore.

5 O house of Jacob,
    come, let us walk
    in the light of the Lord.

For a very long time in my adolescent years, I wondered what Isaiah meant by "beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks." I didn't have enough life experience, and I wasn't well-read enough to know what a plowshare or a pruning hook were. At some point I decided to find out and learned that these were agricultural tools. A plow, of course, I knew about. But a pruning hook - never heard of it! Isaiah's image of war tool versus peace tools is a poignant one. In war we pick up guns, knives, bombs, and even strap them to ourselves in order to create death and chaos. In peace we work the land, because one can really only work the land in peace. It takes time, careful thought, and patience. The results are dramatically different depending upon which tools you take up. One set of tools create blood and mayhem, while the other creates life, vitality, and sustenance. 

There will come a time, says the Lord, when war will cease and all people will live joyfully and peacefully together. Some days it seems like an impossibility, doesn't it? But it's the promise of God that it will be so. In that day we will all walk together in the house of the Lord - one people, united, relying on one another, caring deeply for one another. 

Come, Lord Jesus. Grant us your everlasting peace and encourage us to put away all hatred and anger for the sake of all people. Make us your instruments of life and love in the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. 

Advent Devotions: November 30, 2015

Today is the first Monday in Advent!
Our reading for today is Romans 13:11-14

11 You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord. 12 Night is almost over, and day will soon appear. We must stop behaving as people do in the dark and be ready to live in the light. 13 So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don’t go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don’t quarrel or be jealous. 14 Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won’t try to satisfy your selfish desires. (CEV)

Practice Martin Luther’s Prayer-form this Advent using these steps:
Pray first thing in the morning & the last thing at night. Begin by saying the 10 Commandments.
Recite the Apostles’ Creed.
Read the lesson provide in this folder.
When you read the scriptures really hear the words/reflect on their teachings/discover the brokenness presented in them/repent of the sins it reminds you of/give thanks to God for his loving forgiveness.
REST in the Lord. Be still and know that I am God. When you work - let your thoughts be of God. 

"Let the Lord Jesus Christ be as near to you as the clothes you wear." Even if you are prone to wearing baggy clothes, for Christ to be as near to you as your clothing is to be quite near. How often do we think about what we will wear more than we think about how near Christ is! Admit it, you rifled through your closet looking for the right outfit today didn't you? (If you did, you know what I mean!) But did you stop to ponder how near Christ is to you in this (and every) moment? That is cause for great joy indeed! 

Holy God, we give you thanks that even now Christ is so very close to us. Help us to discern his holy presence and rely solely on his ways and his will for our lives. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen.

Advent Devotions: November 29

Happy New Year! Well, the church new year that is. What a great place to begin again our practice of daily devotions. During this season of Advent, as we wait and watch for the return of Christ, as we journey with the Shepherds yet again to the manger in Bethlehem, let us stop and rest in the Lord along the way.

Martin Luther laid out a simple way to pray which I have paraphrased for your Advent journey.

Pray first thing in the morning & the last thing at night. Begin by saying the 10 Commandments.
Recite the Apostles’ Creed.
Read the lesson provide in this folder.
When you read the scriptures really hear the words/reflect on their teachings/discover the brokenness presented in them/repent of the sins it reminds you of/give thanks to God for his loving forgiveness.
REST in the Lord. Be still and know that I am God. When you work - let your thoughts be of God.

Today's reading is Psalm 122:

It made me glad
    to hear them say,
“Let’s go to the house
    of the Lord!”
2     Jerusalem, we are standing
    inside your gates.

3 Jerusalem, what a strong
    and beautiful city you are!
4 Every tribe of the Lord
obeys him and comes to you
    to praise his name.
5 David’s royal throne is here
    where justice rules.

6 Jerusalem, we pray
    that you will have peace,
    and that all will go well
    for those who love you.
7 May there be peace
inside your city walls
    and in your palaces.
8 Because of my friends
and my relatives,
    I will pray for peace.
9 And because of the house
of the Lord our God,
    I will work for your good. (ESV)

Praying for peace is a prominent theme in this passage. Peace isn't just the absence of conflict, though that is a wonderful thing. Peace (Shalom in Hebrew) is a holistic way of "being" in the world. It is a blessing we offer one another and God offers to us. "I hope ALL is well with you!" is a blessing of peace: your family, your work, your life with God. We are fortunate that there are some days when "all is well" with us. But then there are other days where that is not the case. However, even in the midst of tension or turmoil we know that our loving Father is with us, looking after us, abiding with us, guiding us, comforting us. Isn't that part of our "daily bread" that we pray for in the Lord's Prayer? God certainly is working behind the scenes of our lives each and every day --- especially the days when things are not well with us. 

Let us pray for peace for ourselves, our families, and the world:

Holy and Loving God, you are the source of all peace and comfort. Grant that we would know your love so deeply that even in the most trying of times we would peace a sense of shalom. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen.

What are you thinking about today as you read Psalm 122. Leave a comment so we can all benefit from your comments and start a faith conversation! Blessings on your day!

P. Amy

Perhaps you've noticed: it's winter! Every year after a few months of winter I get a serious case of cabin fever. I mean, I go out, sure. . . I go to work, swim team practice, last night I even went to see a play in Cleveland with my family. (Hence the picture below!) But it still seems dark all around me. Even as I write the sun is flowing in the window but because it's so cold outside, it still seems dark to me. 

I am usually (usually!) an upbeat, cheery person most days. But when the winter drags on and on I simply want to strangle that groundhog and make him get his act together and bring on the Spring! (Violence to rodents or any other of God's creatures is strictly frowned up, by the way!) It seems that darkness seeks to envelop me when the days are shorter and darker. When all I want to do is crawl into bed and cover my head except for then my back aches from laying down for too long! (Such a pitiful case I am) What can I do? I exercise. I write. I read, but the enemy grabs ahold of me and brings me down deeper into the dark abyss of despair-for-no-good-reason. 

Luke 11:33

In his life, Martin Luther wrote about these "dark nights" which he called anfechtungen (in German). I have found his words about the enemy's attacks and the darkness he experienced to be especially helpful. He clung to the Word of God, and he relied on the Sacraments - remembering his baptism and partaking of Christ's holy supper. The community of faith was an amazing resource for him as the people of God nurtured and cared for him in his anxious state. 

Some people don't think the enemy is real. They think it's a figment of our overactive imaginations. In seminary it was never clear to me whether the professors believed in the reality of Satan, an adversary to God, or if it was a mythical way to explain evil in the world. Further, I always wondered if they just chalked spiritual battles up to moods, sin, and that nasty human free will/original sin thing. Whatever the case, I sincerely believe and teach the disciples in the flock I am entrusted to care for, that the closer you are to Christ, the deeper God pulls you in to the divine heart, the MORE the enemy will attack. Satan wants nothing more than to pull you away from Jesus and his love. This is the struggle we are all committed to: living faithfully while under attack.

Luther was right when he said, "No one should be alone when he opposes Satan. The church and the ministry of the Word were instituted for this purpose, that hands may be joined together one may help another. If the prayer of one doesn't help, the prayer of another will." 
The church is the light of Christ in the world. You may not think that your presence in your faith community is something that is important. You might say to yourself, "If I don't show up, no one will miss me." But that is simply not true. You are needed. Every Sunday. The community of faith has a hole in it each week because there is always someone missing from the assembly. You are the light. . . you are like a bulb in this chandelier picture. The light gets brighter the more bulbs that are lit! And it is this light that illumines the darkness of your brothers and sisters in faith. We do it for each other through the power of Christ, and by the way - he said to do it, "Let your light so shine before others. . ." It's not just about talents, but it is also about relationships. 

Peace,
Amy