Dear Reconciler Friends, and Friends of Reconciler,
I enclose a very brief Advent meditation I wrote some years ago, while working as a hospital chaplain. I was asked to write the Christmas message from the Pastoral Care department to staff and patients. I was keenly aware that not everyone staying at the hospital was looking forward to the holidays.
No matter our situation, we may have mixed feelings about the season. There were years I dreaded or felt disappointed by it. As an adult, I learned to enjoy it in a realistic way, and to recapture on a different level the magic Christmas held for me as a child. One thing that helped me do so was learning to live into the spirituality of Advent.
Advent is a wonderfully "dense and multi-layered season," as a colleague writes. Its twin themes are joy and repentance. We remember the first coming of Christ and await his future coming, while attuning our senses to signs of Christ already in our midst. We celebrate a three-fold Advent: past, future, and present. This incarnational focus on a Christ at work in the the world, though unseen, is one I am repeatedly drawn to. It helps me feel more grounded in a season that can frenetically pull us in many directions. It is also very Anglican.
I wish you the deep peace of the prince of peace during this season of hope. Prepare him room to be born anew in your hearts.
Here's the meditation I wrote at the hospital:
Opening the Present
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” the carol says. And so it is!
The human race seems at its best. Whether we celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, or winter solstice, we rejoice in the light that breaks through the darkness.
Yet holidays can be difficult. Sun and shadow intertwine in every life. Sometimes we wonder where on earth peace is. We experience loss or illness. We struggle with an uncertain future or a painful past.
Life is a present. But sometimes we don’t get the gift we were expecting.
Few of us are prepared for how our lives unfold. God’s grace moves through our days, abundant but sometimes strange. Who knew the oil would last eight days? Who foresaw the Messiah would come to us in a manger?
As we encounter life’s joys and adversities, we can be open to the present. The openness of a woman giving birth. The openness of a shepherd who has come a long way to see a baby born in poverty. A child with nothing but the whole world in his hands.
“Emmanuel” means God is with us. Perhaps our lives are not unfolding as we’d thought. But God is present. And we find God by being in the present. May these holidays remind us of God’s great gifts to us: unfailing love and unfathomable grace.
+++
Love,
Laura+
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
for The Pastoral Team
312-316-9697 The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler
Announcements:
Church Council meets Thursday December 18th at 7:30 PM in the "Nidge. All are welcome. This meeting will be more of a congregational meeting than a Council meeting. We are looking at how we want to function as church in the new year and beyond. If you have been attending Reconciler, consider it your church home, and want to have input, please come and have your voice heard.
Mark your calendars now! We will be having a joint service with Immanuel and St. Elias on December 21, the fourth Sunday of Advent. A potluck dinner will begin at 4:00 p.m., and the service begins at 6:00 p.m. in the Immanuel sanctuary. We need people to bring food to the potluck, and to help set up and clean up. If you can do so, let someone on the pastoral team know. Thanks!
Also, Christmas eve and Christmas Day are joint services with Immanuel. The Christmas eve service begins at 6:00 p.m.and the Christmas Day service begins at 10:30 a.m. Both services will be held in the Immanuel sanctuary.
Mark your calendars for a Reconciler Party for Laura and Melissa. Laura, Reconciler's Episcopal priest, and Mellssa, Reconciler's interim Baptist pastor, will both be departing the pastoral team on Sunday January 4th. There will be a farewell party for them on Jan 4th following our usual 5:00 service. Stay tuned for more details.
Malaria Nets Challenge- Malaria is a terrible disease which has been eliminated inmost of North America, but kills the children of Africa at the rate of two per minute. The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago can put a medically treated net over the bed of a child for just $12. Kate will be collecting the funds and passing them on to the diocese. Let her know to direct your cash, or check made out to church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler (write "malaria nets" on the memo line) Malaria Nets Challenge, or drop it in the offering pot with a note; you can also mail it to her c/o Reconciler at 1510 W. Elmdale Ave., Chicago IL 60660.
Opportunities for service! If you would like to help out at Reconciler, we need you! We are currently in need of greeters each Sunday (to arrive 15 minutes before the service begins). We also need volunteers as nursery workers, and perhaps someone to help with the bulletin each week. If you want to volunteer, contact the pastoral team.christreconciler@hotmail.com
Reconciler now has a phone- You can reach the pastoral team at 312-316-9697
+++
10 tips from Laura for making the most of this time of year (and you can share yours with me):
1) Tune out the excess materialism. Ignore the constant reminders that Christmas is all about things. But enjoy the giving and receiving. At heart, these are spiritual disciplines.
2) Give gifts of time and attention.
3) Support charitable organizations, as your time and finances permit. Give fairly-traded gifts.
4) Take time for your spiritual life. Listen to and sing carols, the Messiah, pray the Magnificat, light candles. Reflect. Go to church.
5) Create or continue holiday rituals that are meaningful and enjoyable for you.
6) Don't over-do. This from a pastor and a parent of young children! Remind me to take my own advice. :-)
7) Open your senses to simple joys: the taste of a snowflake, a smile shared with a stranger on the street. In what quiet ways and unexpected places can you find glimpses of the real spirit of Christmas?
8) Keep your expectations realistic. The season presents us with challenges as well as reasons for joy. Just knowing that can ease the stress associated with having overly high hopes.
9) Watch good Christmas movies!
10) Allow yourself to enjoy the corny and fun aspects of Christmas. Don't worry too much about whether Santa and other not-necessarily-Christian stuff detracts from the real meaning of Christmas. You can always celebrate St. Nicholas, the 4th century bishop from Myra (now Turkey). As long as you're clear about what Christmas is about, a little synchretism and commercialism won't kill you. It's OK to sing "Frosty the Snowman."
+++
Wednesday, December 24
Nothing will be impossible with God
Advent IV, Year B sermon
December 21, 2008
Joint service of The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler, St. Elias Arabic Christian Church, and Immanuel Lutheran Church
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 (The Annuciation)
+++
Have you ever felt like people couldn’t really hear you or see you? That they had already made up their minds about who you were, so they couldn’t get to know the real you?
I know what that feels like. And when I tell you my name you will know why. My name is Mary of Nazareth.
Last year at this time you heard from my husband, Joseph. He told you some things about what it was like to be married to me and about our son, the one we called Jesus.
Now it’s my turn.
I hope that despite all you know, or think you know about me, that you can hear my heart speaking to you tonight. For I am a real person with a real story, not just a great lady up in the sky, nor on the other hand, just a vessel through whom God came into the world.
People overlook sometimes the ordinariness of Joseph and me. It was clear that God had something incredible in mind and wanted our help. But Joseph and I were just people. In these many years since the angel came, people have said extraordinary things about our son, about me. Some of these things amaze me, others honor me deeply, some dismay me. Some things make me laugh, like the meek and mild part. I think you should ask Joseph if he thinks I am always meek and mild. :-)
We were not flawless. We were not rich or famous. We didn’t come from a big, important city like Jerusalem or Athens. I was only 13 when the angel came. Joseph was a carpenter.
How can I tell you what it was like, those many many years, when the angel spoke to me? I was so young. I was very frightened and very calm at the same time. I knew it was going to be incredibly risky, and sometimes extraordinarily painful. I also knew it was a risk I needed and wanted to take. The angel – how can I describe it – radiated the realest joy, the most beautiful peace. It would have been so hard to say no to that.
People talk a lot about how I said yes to God. About how I submitted my own will to God’s. But I was not ordered to do God’s will. I was not treated contemptuously, like a slave. I was given a choice, offered a chance to be more than I was. A path was opened for me on an amazing journey, one that would teach me and many of what it means to live, not just survive. It was a way to help turn the world.
The angel asked me to do something that would magnify God, make God’s greatness known. And in the process I too would be magnified, made more than Mary. But God’s ways of greatness are very strange. Later my son would talk about this often. He said the one who would be master must be a servant to all. The last will be first, and the first last. Such strange ideas about greatness. This magnifying business, it turns out, has a lot to do with humility.
And humility, which means being grounded, being secure in who one is, is different from humiliation. If someone asks you to do something that is humiliating for you, I am quite sure that is not God’s will. God may permit it but God does not wish it. God’s will for us, male or female, is that we each might see, like under a magnifying glass, our true worth. God wants us to experience both our humanity and the spark of divinity within.
The ordinary, the extraordinary, God can use it all.
Through Joseph and me, God made something extraordinary possible.
And if you allow God to work through you, things can happen in a new and different way. Although my story may be special and unrepeatable, it is also a story about being open to God. In that sense, it is all of our stories, yours and mine.
Are there things that seem impossible for you right now? Things that seem hopeless, or at best very far away? I am here to say all manner of things are possible with God.
It doesn’t mean following God will make everything easy. We were scared to death when the angel came, as well as hopeful. Joseph and I had to deal with what our families would say when they found out I was carrying a child,. We were not married yet. We wondered, would they believe us, or throw us out? Would they make sure I was killed, to protect their honor? The risks were enormous. But that angel, the love and the peace…it would have been hard to say no to that. And Joseph stayed by me, took the risks with me, defended my honor. And so he has earned my deep love and respect.
If you have a child,, or raise someone else’s child, you know something about taking a risk. When you say yes to a child, you take part in something holy, joyful and difficult. You join forces with something more than yourself. There are big hopes, big fears. Someone little now looms very large, and you are both servant and master. Some say it is like playing God, but with less sleep. There is serving and suffering, but also such joy.
It was like that with Joseph and me, but bigger I guess, magnified. So many hopes and fears. I wondered often, could I do right by this child who was truly a child, but also a king? Was I big enough to help him turn the world? Knowing what he would suffer, could I live with my guilt in bringing him into the world? Because the angel, while full of glad tidings, also hinted at real trouble. Was I willing to walk with my beloved not only through this, but also through that? [Pointing to icon of Madonna and child, and and then to statue of Pieta with Mary holding adult crucified Jesus)....
...There was such a cost to this loving.
I chose to trust God, And in the end things came about as they were meant to. And yes, if you are asking, I would do it again. I think.
If there is a special message I could offer you today, it is this: Trust God. Be open. Even if something completely unexpected happens, even if all your plans for the future get turned upside down, Trust God. Easier said than done, I know. But that is what I wish for you. It’s what’s meant by the peace that passes understanding.
Maybe there is a new beginning in your life. A child, a project, a journey, a relationship. You are excited and frightened, sometimes all at the same time. This is when you need to pray. Hard. And breathe. Give birth to the new beginning.
And remember you don’t have to do it alone. My son was called Immanuel, “God with us.” It may seem sometimes God is very far away. But God is with us. God may not send you an angel, as He did for me, but God can speak through both friend and stranger. God speaks too through Scripture, and through communities of faith. And if you get quiet and listen, you may hear God’s voice within you, still and small.
I guess you could say things worked out for Joseph and me, following the plan the angel brought so long ago. Many things were possible I never thought could be. May you too be open to the possibilities of God, the ways God might be asking you to help turn the world.
Amen.
+++
December 21, 2008
Joint service of The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler, St. Elias Arabic Christian Church, and Immanuel Lutheran Church
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 (The Annuciation)
+++
Have you ever felt like people couldn’t really hear you or see you? That they had already made up their minds about who you were, so they couldn’t get to know the real you?
I know what that feels like. And when I tell you my name you will know why. My name is Mary of Nazareth.
Last year at this time you heard from my husband, Joseph. He told you some things about what it was like to be married to me and about our son, the one we called Jesus.
Now it’s my turn.
I hope that despite all you know, or think you know about me, that you can hear my heart speaking to you tonight. For I am a real person with a real story, not just a great lady up in the sky, nor on the other hand, just a vessel through whom God came into the world.
People overlook sometimes the ordinariness of Joseph and me. It was clear that God had something incredible in mind and wanted our help. But Joseph and I were just people. In these many years since the angel came, people have said extraordinary things about our son, about me. Some of these things amaze me, others honor me deeply, some dismay me. Some things make me laugh, like the meek and mild part. I think you should ask Joseph if he thinks I am always meek and mild. :-)
We were not flawless. We were not rich or famous. We didn’t come from a big, important city like Jerusalem or Athens. I was only 13 when the angel came. Joseph was a carpenter.
How can I tell you what it was like, those many many years, when the angel spoke to me? I was so young. I was very frightened and very calm at the same time. I knew it was going to be incredibly risky, and sometimes extraordinarily painful. I also knew it was a risk I needed and wanted to take. The angel – how can I describe it – radiated the realest joy, the most beautiful peace. It would have been so hard to say no to that.
People talk a lot about how I said yes to God. About how I submitted my own will to God’s. But I was not ordered to do God’s will. I was not treated contemptuously, like a slave. I was given a choice, offered a chance to be more than I was. A path was opened for me on an amazing journey, one that would teach me and many of what it means to live, not just survive. It was a way to help turn the world.
The angel asked me to do something that would magnify God, make God’s greatness known. And in the process I too would be magnified, made more than Mary. But God’s ways of greatness are very strange. Later my son would talk about this often. He said the one who would be master must be a servant to all. The last will be first, and the first last. Such strange ideas about greatness. This magnifying business, it turns out, has a lot to do with humility.
And humility, which means being grounded, being secure in who one is, is different from humiliation. If someone asks you to do something that is humiliating for you, I am quite sure that is not God’s will. God may permit it but God does not wish it. God’s will for us, male or female, is that we each might see, like under a magnifying glass, our true worth. God wants us to experience both our humanity and the spark of divinity within.
The ordinary, the extraordinary, God can use it all.
Through Joseph and me, God made something extraordinary possible.
And if you allow God to work through you, things can happen in a new and different way. Although my story may be special and unrepeatable, it is also a story about being open to God. In that sense, it is all of our stories, yours and mine.
Are there things that seem impossible for you right now? Things that seem hopeless, or at best very far away? I am here to say all manner of things are possible with God.
It doesn’t mean following God will make everything easy. We were scared to death when the angel came, as well as hopeful. Joseph and I had to deal with what our families would say when they found out I was carrying a child,. We were not married yet. We wondered, would they believe us, or throw us out? Would they make sure I was killed, to protect their honor? The risks were enormous. But that angel, the love and the peace…it would have been hard to say no to that. And Joseph stayed by me, took the risks with me, defended my honor. And so he has earned my deep love and respect.
If you have a child,, or raise someone else’s child, you know something about taking a risk. When you say yes to a child, you take part in something holy, joyful and difficult. You join forces with something more than yourself. There are big hopes, big fears. Someone little now looms very large, and you are both servant and master. Some say it is like playing God, but with less sleep. There is serving and suffering, but also such joy.
It was like that with Joseph and me, but bigger I guess, magnified. So many hopes and fears. I wondered often, could I do right by this child who was truly a child, but also a king? Was I big enough to help him turn the world? Knowing what he would suffer, could I live with my guilt in bringing him into the world? Because the angel, while full of glad tidings, also hinted at real trouble. Was I willing to walk with my beloved not only through this, but also through that? [Pointing to icon of Madonna and child, and and then to statue of Pieta with Mary holding adult crucified Jesus)....
...There was such a cost to this loving.
I chose to trust God, And in the end things came about as they were meant to. And yes, if you are asking, I would do it again. I think.
If there is a special message I could offer you today, it is this: Trust God. Be open. Even if something completely unexpected happens, even if all your plans for the future get turned upside down, Trust God. Easier said than done, I know. But that is what I wish for you. It’s what’s meant by the peace that passes understanding.
Maybe there is a new beginning in your life. A child, a project, a journey, a relationship. You are excited and frightened, sometimes all at the same time. This is when you need to pray. Hard. And breathe. Give birth to the new beginning.
And remember you don’t have to do it alone. My son was called Immanuel, “God with us.” It may seem sometimes God is very far away. But God is with us. God may not send you an angel, as He did for me, but God can speak through both friend and stranger. God speaks too through Scripture, and through communities of faith. And if you get quiet and listen, you may hear God’s voice within you, still and small.
I guess you could say things worked out for Joseph and me, following the plan the angel brought so long ago. Many things were possible I never thought could be. May you too be open to the possibilities of God, the ways God might be asking you to help turn the world.
Amen.
+++
Thursday, December 4
Reconciler Update
We are in the Season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting. As Laura encouraged us on Sunday, take time to wait expectantly on God and God's presence among us and in our world. In this busy time we should remember that the busyness of this time is that we are preparing for the celebration of Christmas. This sense of preparation is also what Advent is about. This expectant waiting is to be a time of preparing for what is to come: preparing ourselves for the appearance of God in Christ, as we celebrate and remember the first coming of God to the world in Jesus Christ.
At this time for our congregation waiting and preparing are difficult because we are facing some changes as we are still without a permanent Baptist pastor as Melissa is stepping down from serving as interim and as Laura is stepping down as our Episcopal Priest and will finish up with us in the Season of Christmas. We have questions about what this means and we may want to rush ahead and think out solutions or worry about our vision as an ecumenical congregation or what it will be like with only one pastor. I wish to encourage us though to wait on God. To take the time of Advent and Christmas to prepare ourselves for what God has for us as Laura leaves us. I encourage us to reflect on where God has brought us, and our character as a congregation with this vision of grass roots ecumenism. I encourage us to remember Laura's ministry in our midst for the past two years, the various ways she has touched our lives and provided pastoral care and lead this congregation.
God may have changes in store for us and Laura's leaving at this time may show what those changes should be but for the moment let us wait. Take time to say goodbye to Laura, to remember and to look forward to how God will come to us in this coming year. God is with us, Emmanuel, this we are promised and assured in the incarnation. So, like four years ago when six or seven of us met for worship in Chase Cafe and waited to see how God would fulfill the vision the Spirit put in our hearts we now find we are still waiting having seen how God has brought us this far and continues to be with us. May we wait and prepare in the hope of Emmanuel.
One possible way to take time to slow down and wait upon God in the season of Advent is on online daily Advent devotional Following the Star.
Announcements:
Would you like to be part of the process of creating a new safety plan for the congregations that meet on this campus? If so, join us on Dec. 11 at 7pm in the Immanuel Library for a meeting. During this meeting we will make suggestions for a new safety plan and this plan will then be approved by each of the congregations.
Church Council meets Thursday December 18th at 7:30 PM in the "Nidge. All are Welcome.
Mark your calendars now! We will be having a joint service with Immanuel and St. Elias on December 21, the fourth Sunday of Advent. A potluck dinner will begin at 4:00 PM, and the service begins at 6:00 PM If you would like to participate in the service or help in some way, please contact the pastoral staff.
Malaria Nets Challenge- Malaria is a terrible disease which has been eliminate din most of North America, but kills the children of Africa at the rate of two per minute. The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago can put a medically treated net over the bed of a child for just $12. Kate will be collecting the funds and passing them on to the diocese. Let her know to direct your cash, or check made out to church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler (write "malaria nets" on the memo line) Malaria Nets Challenge, or drop it in the offering pot with a note; you can also mail it to her c/o Reconciler at 1510 W. Elmdale Ave., Chicago IL 60660.
Opportunities for service! If you would like to help out at Reconciler, we need you! We are currently in need of greeters each Sunday (to arrive 15 minutes before the service begins). We also need volunteers as nursery workers, and perhaps someone to help with the bulletin each week. If you want to volunteer, contact the pastoral team. christreconciler@hotmail.com
Reconciler now has a phone- You can reach the pastoral team at 312-316-9697
At this time for our congregation waiting and preparing are difficult because we are facing some changes as we are still without a permanent Baptist pastor as Melissa is stepping down from serving as interim and as Laura is stepping down as our Episcopal Priest and will finish up with us in the Season of Christmas. We have questions about what this means and we may want to rush ahead and think out solutions or worry about our vision as an ecumenical congregation or what it will be like with only one pastor. I wish to encourage us though to wait on God. To take the time of Advent and Christmas to prepare ourselves for what God has for us as Laura leaves us. I encourage us to reflect on where God has brought us, and our character as a congregation with this vision of grass roots ecumenism. I encourage us to remember Laura's ministry in our midst for the past two years, the various ways she has touched our lives and provided pastoral care and lead this congregation.
God may have changes in store for us and Laura's leaving at this time may show what those changes should be but for the moment let us wait. Take time to say goodbye to Laura, to remember and to look forward to how God will come to us in this coming year. God is with us, Emmanuel, this we are promised and assured in the incarnation. So, like four years ago when six or seven of us met for worship in Chase Cafe and waited to see how God would fulfill the vision the Spirit put in our hearts we now find we are still waiting having seen how God has brought us this far and continues to be with us. May we wait and prepare in the hope of Emmanuel.
One possible way to take time to slow down and wait upon God in the season of Advent is on online daily Advent devotional Following the Star.
Announcements:
Would you like to be part of the process of creating a new safety plan for the congregations that meet on this campus? If so, join us on Dec. 11 at 7pm in the Immanuel Library for a meeting. During this meeting we will make suggestions for a new safety plan and this plan will then be approved by each of the congregations.
Church Council meets Thursday December 18th at 7:30 PM in the "Nidge. All are Welcome.
Mark your calendars now! We will be having a joint service with Immanuel and St. Elias on December 21, the fourth Sunday of Advent. A potluck dinner will begin at 4:00 PM, and the service begins at 6:00 PM If you would like to participate in the service or help in some way, please contact the pastoral staff.
Malaria Nets Challenge- Malaria is a terrible disease which has been eliminate din most of North America, but kills the children of Africa at the rate of two per minute. The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago can put a medically treated net over the bed of a child for just $12. Kate will be collecting the funds and passing them on to the diocese. Let her know to direct your cash, or check made out to church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler (write "malaria nets" on the memo line) Malaria Nets Challenge, or drop it in the offering pot with a note; you can also mail it to her c/o Reconciler at 1510 W. Elmdale Ave., Chicago IL 60660.
Opportunities for service! If you would like to help out at Reconciler, we need you! We are currently in need of greeters each Sunday (to arrive 15 minutes before the service begins). We also need volunteers as nursery workers, and perhaps someone to help with the bulletin each week. If you want to volunteer, contact the pastoral team. christreconciler@hotmail.com
Reconciler now has a phone- You can reach the pastoral team at 312-316-9697
Sermon: First Sunday in Advent "Hopes, Fears, and Jesus"
Sermon for the first Sunday of Advent., Year B
November 30, 2008
Gospel: Mark 13:24-37 “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
+++
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And now…welcome to the Christmas season! That’s where we are now, right? You’ve been to the stores, you’ve seen the Christmas decorations and merchandise. Maybe you’ve heard those radio stations that are already playing Christmas carols. (I confess I am listening to and enjoying them.) Culturally, the pedal is down to the medal, the countdown has begun, and it’s full steam ahead to Christmas.
Wait a second. Have we forgotten something? Oh yes. Advent! It starts today. The beginning of the church year. These four weeks leading up to Christmas are a liturgical season of their own. Advent, from the Latin word, adventus ,meaning “coming.” In Advent, we remember the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, and await his coming again.
Advent often gets lost in the shuffle of the holiday season. We can forget it’s a separate season, with its own wisdom and traditions. Advent is a time to prepare our hearts room for the Christ-child who was and is, and is to come. It’s a joyful season but also penitential. After all, part of making room for Christ in our hearts involves sweeping out the cobwebs there. Some people refer to Advent as a “little Lent.” For many centuries Christians fasted during Advent.
So In the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle, there is this quiet season of hushed wakefulness, of joy and repentance. Advent. It is worth paying attention to, and observing. The spirituality of Advent can help us cope with the holiday blitz, and with whatever the month of December may bring.
This time of year, the holiday season, can be an intense time. It can stir our human hopes and fears, the hopes and fears of all the years. We may find ourselves recalling joyful or painful memories of Christmases past. We may hope this will be a wonderful Christmas, or be afraid that it won’t be. Some years we may have a great deal to look forward to at the holidays, other years we may be separated from loved ones, in poor health, struggling financially, or facing other challenges. We may look around at the world and shake our heads, wondering where on earth peace is.
This time of year can stir our hopes and fears for our own lives and for the world.
This year, there are certainly things to be hopeful and fearful about, on a global level. The economy continues to be precarious. War and terrorism continue to wreak havoc. We have a bright, energetic, and committed new president who has his work cut out for him. Last month’s presidential election seemed more fraught with human hopes and fears than elections in recent memory. There was and is a great deal at stake.
Today’s Scriptures for the first Sunday of Advent are also about human hopes and fears in turbulent times.
The prophet Isaiah says: “O God that you would tear open the heavens and come down, and rattle the earth, and make the nations tremble.”
Isaiah expresses a very human hope for a clear sign of God’s presence, for God to make things right, bring justice here and now, in our own time.
Isaiah also expresses our human fear of unworthiness, saying: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind take us way.”
But then he returns to hopefulness: “Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember our sins forever. Now consider, we are all your people.”
In today’s psalm, the psalmist cries out to God in a mixture of hope and fear: “O Shepherd of Israel…Stir up your might, and come to save us!..How long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he reminds the Corinthians that they have all the spiritual gifts they need as they wait for the revealing of Christ, who will strengthen them to the end. It is a hopeful passage, but it implies that the Corinthians need to be prepared for difficulties.
And then there’s today’s gospel passage from Mark. Jesus speaks of end times, the apocalypse, in which the sun is darkened, the moon gives no light and the stars fall. At that time Jesus will come in clouds with great power and glory. But no one knows when that time will come; so Jesus cautions us to keep awake, stay alert.
What a juxtaposition of fearful and hopeful images – the end of the world as we know it…and then…Jesus.
Jesus is talking about end times. We call that an apocalyptic text. When we look at apocalyptic passages in Scripture, we can choose to take them literally or to understand them as symbolic. At least one scholar has made the case that Jesus was talking about the existing social order coming to an end, rather than the destruction of the universe. St. Augustine said that for each of us, end times represent our own death. Since none of us knows when that will come, we are to live our lives in a state of readiness, to be upright and just. And Christ will be there for us on our last day; we are in God’s hands, God is in control.
How do these Scriptures speak to us today, on the first Sunday of Advent, in 2008? How do they address our own hopes and fears?
Our Scriptures speak of times when God seems absent, fearful times when we long for a clear sign that all is well with us and our world. Isaiah and the psalmist express the hope that God will come, will be present to us. Paul tells the Corinthians with confidence that Jesus will come back. Jesus tells us with certainty that he will come again and we should be ready.
These Scriptures ask us to live with the tension of a God who was here, who will be here again…but what about now? I think today’s Scriptures -- and Advent in general --call us to something between hope and fear. Call us to something besides looking only to the future, or remembering only the past. We are called to a deeper awareness of God’s presence in the here and now.
Advent is not just a reminder of Christ’s birth, not just a time of waiting for his return. We celebrate a threefold Advent: Christ has come, Christ is with us in Spirit, Christ will come again.
Our task at Advent is to be open to signs that God is at work in our own lives and the world around us.
“The fact that the world is not what it ought to be does not alter the truth that God is present in it. God’s plan has been neither frustrated nor changed. “ (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, November 2008).
The fact that our lives may contain struggles and heartaches does not mean that Christ is no longer with us. Indeed, sometimes in the midst of very challenging times, God is present to us in very real ways. Our challenge is to be open to that presence, and to see the signs of it.
The uncertain part is not whether Christ is present. The uncertain part is whether we are prepared to receive him. Can we see him, in the hopeful and fearful signs around us?
No matter what is going on in we can be open to God’s presence. Even if we are experiencing an end time – the end of a relationship, the end of a journey, even the end of our lives – Christ is with us. God hears our hopes and fears, God is ready to make a new beginning with us, God is giving us gifts and allowing us opportunities, if we are open to them.
Can we see the signs around us? Can we make room for Christ in our hearts? Can you take a quiet moment to walk in the snow? Spend a few moments in conversation with a good friend? Can you listen to the sacred music and stories and feel a deeper awareness of God’s presence? Take some time to pray and to be open to the still, small voice within. Let us see in the joy of the holiday season a reflection of the eternal joy. Let us reach out to those who are struggling with the love that is ours in Christ.
Advent is a mystical time, a right-brained rather than a left-brained time. It is a time of watching and waiting, of keeping alert,. “Someone God, wants to address us. Are we home? Are we at our address, ready to respond to the doorbell?” (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, November 2008).
Advent challenges us to be ever more alert for signs of God’s presence. As a Franciscan nun says “God comes every day. Advent is a time to fine tune our senses.”
The fearful parts of life do not have the power to drown out the hope that is within us, do not have the power to destroy the Christ-light within. Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. Even in our end times, those times when the sun is darkened and the stars fall, Christ is present, and offers us a new beginning. Immanuel, meaning God-with-us- is always present to us, amidst the hopes and fears of all the years.
So keep awake, stay alert to signs of God’s presence. Live in love and faith, so as to be ready. When is Jesus coming? I don’t know. Is he here? Yes.
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November 30, 2008
Gospel: Mark 13:24-37 “Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.”
The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell, preacher
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I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And now…welcome to the Christmas season! That’s where we are now, right? You’ve been to the stores, you’ve seen the Christmas decorations and merchandise. Maybe you’ve heard those radio stations that are already playing Christmas carols. (I confess I am listening to and enjoying them.) Culturally, the pedal is down to the medal, the countdown has begun, and it’s full steam ahead to Christmas.
Wait a second. Have we forgotten something? Oh yes. Advent! It starts today. The beginning of the church year. These four weeks leading up to Christmas are a liturgical season of their own. Advent, from the Latin word, adventus ,meaning “coming.” In Advent, we remember the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, and await his coming again.
Advent often gets lost in the shuffle of the holiday season. We can forget it’s a separate season, with its own wisdom and traditions. Advent is a time to prepare our hearts room for the Christ-child who was and is, and is to come. It’s a joyful season but also penitential. After all, part of making room for Christ in our hearts involves sweeping out the cobwebs there. Some people refer to Advent as a “little Lent.” For many centuries Christians fasted during Advent.
So In the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle, there is this quiet season of hushed wakefulness, of joy and repentance. Advent. It is worth paying attention to, and observing. The spirituality of Advent can help us cope with the holiday blitz, and with whatever the month of December may bring.
This time of year, the holiday season, can be an intense time. It can stir our human hopes and fears, the hopes and fears of all the years. We may find ourselves recalling joyful or painful memories of Christmases past. We may hope this will be a wonderful Christmas, or be afraid that it won’t be. Some years we may have a great deal to look forward to at the holidays, other years we may be separated from loved ones, in poor health, struggling financially, or facing other challenges. We may look around at the world and shake our heads, wondering where on earth peace is.
This time of year can stir our hopes and fears for our own lives and for the world.
This year, there are certainly things to be hopeful and fearful about, on a global level. The economy continues to be precarious. War and terrorism continue to wreak havoc. We have a bright, energetic, and committed new president who has his work cut out for him. Last month’s presidential election seemed more fraught with human hopes and fears than elections in recent memory. There was and is a great deal at stake.
Today’s Scriptures for the first Sunday of Advent are also about human hopes and fears in turbulent times.
The prophet Isaiah says: “O God that you would tear open the heavens and come down, and rattle the earth, and make the nations tremble.”
Isaiah expresses a very human hope for a clear sign of God’s presence, for God to make things right, bring justice here and now, in our own time.
Isaiah also expresses our human fear of unworthiness, saying: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind take us way.”
But then he returns to hopefulness: “Yet Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember our sins forever. Now consider, we are all your people.”
In today’s psalm, the psalmist cries out to God in a mixture of hope and fear: “O Shepherd of Israel…Stir up your might, and come to save us!..How long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You make us the scorn of our neighbors; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.”
In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he reminds the Corinthians that they have all the spiritual gifts they need as they wait for the revealing of Christ, who will strengthen them to the end. It is a hopeful passage, but it implies that the Corinthians need to be prepared for difficulties.
And then there’s today’s gospel passage from Mark. Jesus speaks of end times, the apocalypse, in which the sun is darkened, the moon gives no light and the stars fall. At that time Jesus will come in clouds with great power and glory. But no one knows when that time will come; so Jesus cautions us to keep awake, stay alert.
What a juxtaposition of fearful and hopeful images – the end of the world as we know it…and then…Jesus.
Jesus is talking about end times. We call that an apocalyptic text. When we look at apocalyptic passages in Scripture, we can choose to take them literally or to understand them as symbolic. At least one scholar has made the case that Jesus was talking about the existing social order coming to an end, rather than the destruction of the universe. St. Augustine said that for each of us, end times represent our own death. Since none of us knows when that will come, we are to live our lives in a state of readiness, to be upright and just. And Christ will be there for us on our last day; we are in God’s hands, God is in control.
How do these Scriptures speak to us today, on the first Sunday of Advent, in 2008? How do they address our own hopes and fears?
Our Scriptures speak of times when God seems absent, fearful times when we long for a clear sign that all is well with us and our world. Isaiah and the psalmist express the hope that God will come, will be present to us. Paul tells the Corinthians with confidence that Jesus will come back. Jesus tells us with certainty that he will come again and we should be ready.
These Scriptures ask us to live with the tension of a God who was here, who will be here again…but what about now? I think today’s Scriptures -- and Advent in general --call us to something between hope and fear. Call us to something besides looking only to the future, or remembering only the past. We are called to a deeper awareness of God’s presence in the here and now.
Advent is not just a reminder of Christ’s birth, not just a time of waiting for his return. We celebrate a threefold Advent: Christ has come, Christ is with us in Spirit, Christ will come again.
Our task at Advent is to be open to signs that God is at work in our own lives and the world around us.
“The fact that the world is not what it ought to be does not alter the truth that God is present in it. God’s plan has been neither frustrated nor changed. “ (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, November 2008).
The fact that our lives may contain struggles and heartaches does not mean that Christ is no longer with us. Indeed, sometimes in the midst of very challenging times, God is present to us in very real ways. Our challenge is to be open to that presence, and to see the signs of it.
The uncertain part is not whether Christ is present. The uncertain part is whether we are prepared to receive him. Can we see him, in the hopeful and fearful signs around us?
No matter what is going on in we can be open to God’s presence. Even if we are experiencing an end time – the end of a relationship, the end of a journey, even the end of our lives – Christ is with us. God hears our hopes and fears, God is ready to make a new beginning with us, God is giving us gifts and allowing us opportunities, if we are open to them.
Can we see the signs around us? Can we make room for Christ in our hearts? Can you take a quiet moment to walk in the snow? Spend a few moments in conversation with a good friend? Can you listen to the sacred music and stories and feel a deeper awareness of God’s presence? Take some time to pray and to be open to the still, small voice within. Let us see in the joy of the holiday season a reflection of the eternal joy. Let us reach out to those who are struggling with the love that is ours in Christ.
Advent is a mystical time, a right-brained rather than a left-brained time. It is a time of watching and waiting, of keeping alert,. “Someone God, wants to address us. Are we home? Are we at our address, ready to respond to the doorbell?” (Synthesis, Sedgwick Publishing, November 2008).
Advent challenges us to be ever more alert for signs of God’s presence. As a Franciscan nun says “God comes every day. Advent is a time to fine tune our senses.”
The fearful parts of life do not have the power to drown out the hope that is within us, do not have the power to destroy the Christ-light within. Christ is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. Even in our end times, those times when the sun is darkened and the stars fall, Christ is present, and offers us a new beginning. Immanuel, meaning God-with-us- is always present to us, amidst the hopes and fears of all the years.
So keep awake, stay alert to signs of God’s presence. Live in love and faith, so as to be ready. When is Jesus coming? I don’t know. Is he here? Yes.
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