Matthew 2:12

Matthew 2:12

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Through a warning in a dream, and even more, I think, through their encounter with a peasant king in a tiny village, the magi’s worldview was changed. It wasn’t through the rich and powerful in Jerusalem that God was at work but through vulnerability, through peace and generosity. The way that the adult Jesus would live his life would stand in stark contrast to the Herods of the world, and the magi were already beginning to understand that. They didn’t need to report back to Herod because his power was fleeting. It would not stand forever. But the power of God which is eternal was revealed for them in a child, born in humble circumstances in the village of Bethlehem. The power of God was present among what’s considered ordinary, unremarkable. So they returned home by another road. They followed another path.

The life of faith may call us to alternative paths during the course of our lives. Sometimes our path may be surprising to others, but it’s because we walk by the light of Christ, our Morning Star. Living with peace, forgiveness, and generosity may look odd or foolish in comparison to the ways of the world. Still, the light of Christ leads us on another road.

O God, you are both guidance and mystery. Visit our rest with disturbing dreams and our journeys with new companions. Grace us with the hospitality to open our hearts to visitors filled with unfamiliar wisdom bearing profound and unusual gifts. Amen.

Matthew 2:10-11

Matthew 2:10-11

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Joy permeates Christmas. In the book of Luke, the angel appeared before the shepherds in the fields outside of Bethlehem and said to them, “See, I bring you good news of great joy for all the people.” In Matthew, the magi were overwhelmed with joy upon finally finding Jesus. God’s saving work in Jesus is filled with joy.

I hope your Christmas celebrations were joyful this year. Even during difficult times, the good news that God has come to be with us and will never leave us can inspire deep and profound joy. And joy is an important part of God’s saving work in the world.

Howard Thurman was an African-American born at the turn of the century. Raised by a grandmother who was a former slave, Howard Thurman fought against discrimination his whole life. His writings about race and faith and social change later became influential for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement. Yet amidst the challenges he faced, he offered this advice:

Don't ask so much what the world needs.

Go out and do what makes you come alive,

because what the world needs most

are people who have come alive. 

That seems to me a good definition of joy. People who are joyful have most definitely come alive, and the world is certainly in need of that.

Bright Morning Star, your light has come, and the birth of Jesus has overwhelmed us with joy. Like the magi of long ago, may we be drawn to you and offer you such gifts as we are able. Amen.

Matthew 2:1-2

Matthew 2:1-2

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

For many years I led a confirmation retreat at a camp in rural Wisconsin. We filled a long weekend in January with lessons, games, and other group activities. One tradition that was always a favorite part of the retreat was walking together as a group out onto the frozen lake at night. We would listen to the sounds of the woods at night and the ice shifting beneath us. Most of all, when the sky was clear, we would simply look up at the stars. It was a simple activity that required no planning, and yet it is often described as one of the highlights of the retreat. There’s something amazing about gazing up at the stars, especially away from the lights of the city, and especially with people you care about.

Neurobiologists have found that widening our vision is naturally relaxing. Gazing at the sky or out across a lake has a way of calming the body’s natural response to stress. It’s the opposite experience of the narrow tunnel vision we get in a stressful moment. Observing the dazzling stars of the night sky is like taking a deep breath; it changes how we feel.

Perhaps the magi can teach us today about keeping a broad and open perspective. God may be doing something new in your life. Take a deep breath, widen your vision, and remember that Christ is with you.

O God of light and peace, dispel the darkness that shrouds our path, and open our hearts and minds to receive your gifts of grace. Amen.

Already Beginning

Already Beginning

Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. Psalm 80

Yearning for God’s shining light in places of darkness is theme that runs through Advent. It is a fitting symbol for those of us who inhabit the earth’s northern hemisphere, where this time of year coincides with a season of diminishing daylight. While there might be excitement about the first snowfall and Christmas parties, many of us also dread the thought of driving home from work or school in the dark evenings for the next several months, and we eagerly anticipate the return of long summer days. The bulk of winter is still ahead of us, with all its dark and icy obstacles, making us perhaps more ready to pray these words of Psalm 80.

Preacher Barbara Brown Taylor would like us to reconsider this imagery, however. She asks, “Where did we get the idea that darkness exists chiefly to be vanquished?” Yes, there’s plenty of biblical support in both testaments for our associations of darkness with confusion, ignorance, sin, judgment, and punishment; and of light with knowledge, truth, and life. But Barbara Brown Taylor writes:

This strikes me as a problematic teaching on the verge of Advent, the church season of deepening darkness, when Christians are asked to remember that we measure time differently from the dominant culture in which we live. We begin our year when the days are getting darker, not lighter. We count sunset as the beginning of a new day. However things appear to our naked eyes, we trust that the seeds of light are planted in darkness, where they sprout and grow we know not how. This darkness is necessary to new life, even when it is uncomfortable and goes on too long.[1]

The way we enter into the season of Advent may remind us that darkness is not to be primarily feared or just suffered through but that in darkness may be the beginnings of mysterious and wonderful new life. We can remember that God is the God of both light and darkness. Christ is present—near to us—in all that we encounter.

Physics tells us that light and darkness cannot coexist at the same time and same place.  But faith tells us that we can see with the light of Christ even in the darkest places. I hope that our Advent season together gives us space to practice that different way of seeing, noticing what surprising new life is being formed right now in our world. With the prophet Isaiah we see God gently leading us like a shepherd. With John the Baptist we question the way things are and envision a society oriented to God’s dream. With Mary we see a world turned upside-down, as lowly ones are lifted up in blessing. This is Advent. It is a time for waiting, to be sure, but it is also a time to rejoice in what is already beginning.

I watch for your light, O God, in the eyes of every living creature and in the ever-living flame of my own soul. If the grace of seeing were mine this day, I would glimpse you in all that lives. Grant me the grace of new sight this Advent. Amen.

[1] The Christian Century, November 29, 2011.

Keep Awake

Keep Awake

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down. Isaiah 64

            Advent is a season of longing for God’s saving, healing presence. It is also a time for remembering where to look for God.

The prophet Isaiah knows where to expect God’s arrival. While he starts this chapter searching the sky, hoping for some apocalyptic divine intervention, he eventually remembers that God is already as near to us as a loving parent to a child—or as a potter to clay. God is lovingly shaping and molding us to be God’s people and to live into God’s reign. It might take longer and disappoint us when we’re looking for a quick fix, but it is the way that God has chosen.

            Advent is a time for waiting, yes, but more than that, I think it is a time for looking in new places for God’s presence. It is a time to wake up to God’s active, guiding, shaping work in our own lives and in the rest of the world. 

            Years ago, Pastor Heidi Neumark and her congregation, Trinity Lutheran in Manhattan, created a homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth. I heard Pastor Neumark Heidi tell a story about one of the kids who stayed at the church, a transgendered young woman who had grown up in Utah and found her way eventually to New York their church shelter. Heidi heard her one day playing the piano in the basement. She stopped her work and listened a while. When the song was over, Heidi complimented her on the music. As they talked, the young woman said, “This is the only place I feel human.”

That statement is a sad indictment of our culture and the circumstances that such young people face on a daily basis. But reflecting on that conversation, Heidi was hopeful about what God was doing through her congregation. She said that on that day, in that moment, their church basement had become a manger. It was a place where God was present and revealed in a brand new way.

            “Keep awake,” the Gospels tell us. God’s coming might not catch the attention of the newspapers, but God comes nonetheless. God comes into the real needs of this world and into our sharing them together.

Come to be with us, O God. Keep us awake to your gracious presence and opportunities to serve you. Amen.

Advent Anticipation

Advent Anticipation

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14

There are few things more frustrating than having to wait. I’ve been known to leave a store because the line at the counter was too long, only to go into another store and find an even longer line. We’re not used to waiting much in our culture, since so much of life today is designed to help us avoid waiting as much as possible. We have fast food, fast-acting cold medicine, and high-speed internet. Getting stuck at a traffic light can sometimes be enough to ruin a day. Most of us would rather skip the waiting altogether. Waiting is uncomfortable. It means giving up control and depending on someone else’s schedule.

            But the season of Advent invites us to wait and teaches us that there may be spiritual lessons in the process. Christmas will come, but it is helpful to take some time to prepare for it. Christ will come, but it’s important for us to take time to keep watch.

            In faith, we can wait in confidence for the fulfillment of God’s promises. Even in our deepest longings, we can still rejoice in hope.

            I enjoy this reflection on waiting by theologian Frederick Buechner from his book, Whistling in the Dark.

The house lights go off and the footlights come on. Even the chattiest stop chattering as they wait in darkness for the curtain to rise. In the orchestra pit, the violin b​ows are poised. The conductor has raised the baton.

In the silence of a midwinter dusk there is far off in the deeps of it somewhere a sound so faint that for all you can tell it may be only the sound of the silence itself. You hold your breath to listen.

You walk up the steps to the front door. The empty windows at either side of it tell you nothing, or almost nothing. For a second you catch a whiff in the air of some fragrance that reminds you of a place you’ve never been and a time you have no words for. You are aware of the beating of your heart.

The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.

Emmanuel, God-with-us, be our strength in times of waiting. Nurture in us joyful anticipation for your saving presence. Amen.

Let It Be

Let It Be

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:18-19

My favorite prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book comes from the service of Night Prayer. I had prayed this prayer before moving to New Zealand, but it became especially meaningful to me while I was there. In early 2020, the evening before New Zealand went into its first lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, the vicar of our church and I led a service with this prayer.

I invite you to pray this prayer at the end of your day. I hope you also find it to be a meaningful reminder of God’s faithful presence.

Lord,

it is night.

The night is for stillness.

            Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.

            What has been done has been done;

            what has not been done has not been done;

            let it be.

The night is dark.

            Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet.

            Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,

            all dear to us,

            and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.

            Let us look expectantly to a new day,

                        new joys,

                        new possibilities.

In your name we pray.

Amen.

Think about These Things

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

It is always good to pause in the middle of the day, take a deep breath, and remember God’s loving presence. I invite you to pray this prayer for midday from the New Zealand Prayer Book. Be sure to leave some silence between each petition to reflect on its meaning for you and to remember God’s goodness.

Let us be at peace within ourselves. (silence)

Let us accept that we are profoundly loved and need never be afraid. (silence)

Let us be aware of the source of being that is common to us all and to all living creatures. (silence)

Let us be filled with the presence of the great compassion towards ourselves and towards all living beings. (silence)

Realizing that we are all nourished from the same source of life, may we so live that others be not deprived of air, food, water, shelter, or the chance to live. (silence)

Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be a cause of suffering to one another. (silence)

With humility let us pray for the establishment of peace in our hearts and on earth. (silence)

May God kindle in us the fire of love to bring us alive and give warmth to the world.

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth;

lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust;

lead me from hate to love, from war to peace.

Let peace fill our heart, our world, our universe.

Amen

Give Wings to Our Prayers

Give Wings to Our Prayers

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27

In November of 2019, my family and I left our Minneapolis home and began a two-year adventure in New Zealand. Although the COVID-19 pandemic came along soon after our arrival, we still were able to explore much of that beautiful country and make some wonderful new friendships. Since there weren’t any Lutheran churches in the area where we lived, I became involved with the local Anglican parish, helping out in the church office and occasionally leading worship. That allowed me to become familiar with the New Zealand Prayer Book, a wonderful resource for prayer and worship published in 1989. As is common in New Zealand, the prayer book is written in both English and Māori, the language of the indigenous people, and it beautifully blends various cultural and spiritual themes.

I invite you to pray this prayer for morning from the New Zealand Prayer Book.

Creator of the universe, infinite and glorious,

you give us laws to save us from our folly;

give us eyes to see your plan unfolding,

your purpose emerging as the world is made;

give us courage to follow the truth

courage to go wherever you lead;

then we shall know blessings beyond our dreams;

then will your will be done.

Holy and enabling Spirit,

give wings to our morning prayers.

May those we support and cherish with our love

receive your grace to help them in their need.

Amen.

Whenever we pray, whether we have words to say or not, we can trust that the Holy Spirit is with us to intercede for us and to “give wings to our prayers.” Wherever you are now in this time of prayer, you are not alone.