Continuing to Live in Pandemic-Tide

In the Church Year, we have seasons such as Christmas-tide, Eastertide, and so on. 2020-2022 in my mind is "pandemic-tide," as it has shaped the rhythm of our lives.

As the pandemic hasn't officially ended, per WHO and CDC classifications, I wanted to take some time to reflect on pandemic-tide. We will look back at how it has shaped us, but also look forward as we weigh what comes next. 

What are ways we can show ourselves (and others) grace? 

Grace is giving someone something (good) that they don't deserve and could never earn. We can read about the biblical definition of grace here. Grace can be things that delight and charm us, or it can be God's merciful kindness that draws us to Him and strengthens us in living out our faith. 

What are ways we can be kind to ourselves (and others)?  

Are you someone comfortable going unmasked? How can you be kind to someone who is still wearing a mask? 

Are you still wearing a mask? How can you be kind to someone nearby who isn't wearing a mask? 

What are ways we can allow God to stretch and grow us? 

What spiritual virtues have you been convicted to practice? 

What spiritual vices have you struggled with during pandemic-tide? 

With clearer schedules, what do we want to learn, do, or be? 

How did you use your time during lockdowns and social distancing? 

What do you want to keep (or avoid) from that season? 

What did you learn about yourself and God during the first part of the pandemic? 

With schedules filling up again, what do we want to include and what should we refrain from adding back in? 

How are you using your time now? 

What do you want to keep (or cut) in this season? 

What are you learning about yourself and God in this part of the pandemic? 

How will we look back on this time? 

I will certainly look back with lament for the lives lost and divisiveness of our nation, but I will also remember this time as the season where I read new books, learned to play the violin, and invested my time & energy in crafts and cooking. Even though I had fewer visits with family and friends, this has been a season where I made more calls and video calls. 

How will we use the time given to use moving forward? 

What lessons from the pandemic will you carry with you into the future? 

What things have been cut that have been beneficial? What things have been cut that should be brought back? 

Self-Care Sunday: Recognize Your Stress

This will be a semi-regular series (I hope) that looks at ways we can take care of ourselves as the pandemic is in its third year.

Take a moment to check-in with yourself physically.

Are you tense? 

Is any part of you in pain? 

What physical needs do you have? Hunger? Thirst? The urge to use the restroom?

Now consider: which of your physical responses are tied to stress? 

Are you tense because of stress? 

Is your pain (headache, stomachache) because of stress? 

Are you solving your physical needs with healthy or unhealthy choices? 

It is perfectly natural to be stressed during a global pandemic. 

We have been carrying this stress for over two years. 

Yet, if we don't acknowledge that we are stressed, we are hindered in our ability to process and handle our stress in healthy ways. 

What are your signs that you are stressed? 

How often are you aware that you are stressed? 

How do you respond to stress?

How do you treat yourself when you are stressed? 

How do you treat others when you are stressed? 

*Disclaimer* I am not a doctor or a psychologist. The opinions expressed in this series are my own and should not replace professional advice. 

Romans 12: Part 13

Romans 12: Part 13

After Paul talked about the importance of sharing with those in the Lord's family who are in need, he went on to give (yet another) command. We are to "practice hospitality" according to verse 13b.

This will be a shorter devotional post this week, in part because we are looking at two words in Scripture. They do form a complete sentence and a whole thought, but there is only so much to glean from such a brief passage.

The use of the word "Practice" is interesting. In my mind, we practice things we have not perfected. So even if we aren't perfect at offering hospitality, we are to practice it. We can do this by inviting people over, probably in small groups of people we trust to take appropriate precautions in this season of Pandemic-Tide. We can consider our guests to be honored test subjects or guinea pigs as we learn how to offer hospitality. 

Now, there is a difference between showing hospitality and entertaining. Entertaining is a lot more formal and a lot more rigid. When someone entertains, they are a host or hostess with the appetizers ready to go, spends their time in the kitchen while someone else chats with the guests, and it can become more about showing off one's hosting skills than spending time with their guests. 

Hospitality has a long history, both in the Bible and elsewhere. When we show hospitality, we welcome people into our lives without fanfare or stress. Our guests can join us in our work, whether preparing food or cleaning up. We sit down and visit instead of hovering to make sure everything is perfect. Our guests might even get their own refills, like a member of the family.

There is a tendency to want to invite over people who we know and already like, but in Luke 14:12-14, Jesus instructs us to invite over people who are poor, people have disabilities, people who limp, and people who are blind. In other words, people who can't repay us for our hospitality, but who are in desperate need of some love and positive human interaction. 

Questions to Wrestle With

Take time this week to consider: 

-What does "practice hospitality" mean to you? 

-How does the concept of inviting people over as you learn how to show hospitality sit with you? 

-Do you tend to show hospitality or entertain? 

-Who do you show hospitality to? 

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Quietly Waiting on Holy Saturday

Welcome to Easter Eve.  As we continue to wait quietly for the resurrection, we remember Jesus' death and burial in the tomb. Some Christians attend an Easter Vigil service today. This page and This page has a bit of history as well as some common practices. 

Our Scripture for today is Matthew 27:57-66, Mark 15:42-47, Luke 23:5-56, and John 19:38-42. These passages cover Jesus' burial.

Some Christians quietly wait by attending an Easter Vigil which can last from nightfall until just before sunrise. The atmosphere of this day is one of mourning and fasting. We think about Jesus' death as we await His resurrection. As we stay awake in the long hours of the night, we can do devotional exercises and spend time in prayer. In its fullest sense, the Vigil is about us waiting for the coming of the Lord. This page has more details about the Vigil. 

Historically, some Christians would quietly wait by fasting for 40 hours over Good Friday and Holy Saturday. (40 hours being the time he was thought to have been in the tomb). This final fast of Lent would be broken either by communion or the feast on Easter, although some denominations allow a little fruit midway through this day. Some denominations view this holy day as a day of private contemplation as no services were held. Due to the pandemic, it may be possible to join in an online vigil instead of an in-person service. 

It does seem fitting to continue abstaining from enjoyable activities from Good Friday through Holy Saturday as well. This is not a day to spend on ourselves or our pleasure, but to contemplate Jesus' death and the experiences of Jesus' first followers as they witnessed His crucifixion and burial. There are other weekends for projects, hobbies, and outings. This is a solemn time as we imagine ourselves waking up on that first Holy Saturday and feeling the grief, shock, despair, and confusion of the first Christians. 

I am intrigued by how the fasting and the Vigil interact with Resurrection Sunday. Instead of a full Sunday of feasting and celebrations, we would be tired and want to rest. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen cooking elaborate meals, we might prefer simple, nutrious food to end the fast. 

How can you wait quietly on this Holy Saturday?

The Sixth Sunday in Lent (AKA Palm Sunday): We Fast by Living Selflessly

The last Sunday of Lent is also Palm Sunday. We will continue our theme of studying fasting according to Isaiah 58. As a recap, we have learned several key aspects of fasting:

1) Fasting is not all about us. 

2) We fast to help the oppressed and resist injustice. 

3) We fast to feed others.

4) We fast from negative words

5) We fast by observing the Sabbath.

Our final key aspect of fasting is to live selflessly. 

Isaiah 58: 13 commands us to keep the Sabbath by living selflessly. More specifically, we should "honor it by not going my own way", "honor it by not doing as I please", and "honor it by not speaking idle words". 

In a way, this last point ties the others together. In the midst of fasting, we have the Sabbath day, as a day of celebration, where we do not fast. Yet even in our celebration, we still are not to live selfishly, because just like fasting is not all about us, keeping the Sabbath is not all about us either. 

When we choose not to do as we please or go our own way, we are able to do good to others on both fast days and feast days. For instance, if we fast from chocolate during the week, we can enjoy a bit of fair trade chocolate on the Sabbath as we stand against oppression and injustice in our purchases. Or if we celebrate the Sabbath with a restaurant-cooked meal, we can be sure to tip well so our server can also feed themselves. (Even if we order carry-out in the pandemic, living selflessly involves tipping those who are working in a pandemic for our convenience).

Furthermore, we choose our words with care on Sabbaths and workdays alike. We fast from negative and idle words during the week, so we are better able to choose encouraging words to speak on the Sabbath (and non-Sabbaths alike). 

Our culture doesn't like being denied anything, whether it's internal (self-denial) or external (shortages or expensive). Our culture does not like discipline or suffering. It boggles the mind in our culture to deny ourselves food, luxuries, or well pretty much anything. 

Yet, we, as Christians, follow Christ, the suffering servant. We follow a Savior who entered Jerusalem on this Palm Sunday, knowing that the cries of "hosanna" would become calls to crucify him. He knew He would suffer and die, before being raised from the dead, and Jesus did not shy away from the pain set before Him. As Hebrews 12:12 reminds us, Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. This ultimate example of selflessness is our example and our model. 

And so we fast, in order to live more selflessly, so when we observe the Sabbath and feast, we still live differently from the world as the way we shop, give, and care for others lies in sharp contrast to the world's ways. 

Celebrating Life on the Feast of the Annunciation

Today's holiday may be unfamiliar to many of us in the Protestant tradition, but it has a long history. 

The short version: we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th, so we celebrate Jesus' conception 9 months before that on March 25th. 

Ways to Celebrate

Read Luke 1:26-56 today. Consider what you can do to also be the Lord's servant. (Finding ways to care for those pushed to the margins of society such as the orphans, widows, strangers, etc. is always in line with Scripture)

Perform an act of love for a pregnant lady in your life. Give a gift or make/buy a meal or offer to do some of her housework (only if she's comfortable with a guest in her house during a pandemic). (The blogger with this idea had many other ideas as well)

Feast. Even though this day is pretty solidly in the Lenten season of fasting, a feast day supersedes a fast day. (The blogger with this idea had many other ideas as well). Apparently, waffles are a traditional food on this day, thanks to a similarity between "our lady's day" and "waffle day" in the Swedish language. Other ideas include seed cakes or angel food cakes and other treats.

Both bloggers (links above) mentioned that blue is the color traditionally associated with Mary, so wear some blue. 

This is a day to reflect on the value of the human life and ways we can be FULLY pro-life. Many people who claim the description of being "pro-life" are in essence, really just "anti-abortion". To be pro-life involves more than voting for politicians who say they will outlaw abortions. If we are pro-life, than let us be pro-life from "womb to tomb":

• Let us support and lend a helping hand to single moms (who chose life). 
• Let us encourage and reassure moms who give their babies up for adoption (they still chose life)
• Let us support and find ways to bless foster moms and adoptive moms (who are caring for these lives)
• Let us treat people with dignity and respect (even when we think that they are wrong) and teach our kids to do the same. 
• Let us work towards raising men, women, and children above the poverty line, so preventable deaths from malnutrition or starvation will not occur. 
• Let us advocate for an end to the death penalty as we promote ways to rehabilitate prisoners and criminals so they can still contribute to society, even if their crime will prevent them from earning parole or release from prison. 
• Let us take care of and treat the people who are without homes compassionately and humanely. Look them in the eye. Talk to them. Help them.
• Let us promote peacemaking and negotiations to end conflicts instead of depending on bullets and bombs to "keep the peace". 
• Let us advocate for spending less on the military and the global arms race, so we can instead spend on nutrition & educational programs for rich and poor alike. 
• Let us promote ways for the elderly in retirement communities and nursing homes to still find meaningful ways to contribute.
• Let us listen to why people are wanting to be euthanized and look for ways to address those root causes so other options are available to them.
• Let us support suicide prevention and normalize mental health care as much as physical health care, so lives will not be cut short.
• Let us support refugee resettlement programs. Volunteer with them or donate supplies needed to start a new life. 
• Let us look at ways to improve our diets and exercise habits, to reduce our chronic, yet preventable diseases which lower our quality of life. 

To be pro-life, we must be FOR something positive more than we are AGAINST something negative. 

Examine which of these ideas you are resistant to and consider why you are resistant to them. 

Our human tendency is to discount human life. We treat people as resources or obstacles instead of people made in the image of God. 

Prayerfully consider how you can act more holistically, more fully pro-life this week, month, year, and beyond. 

The Fifth Sunday in Lent: We Fast by Observing the Sabbath

We have been looking at fasting according to Isaiah 58 this Lent. So far, we have learned several truths:

1) Fasting is not all about us. 

2) We fast to help the oppressed and resist injustice. 

3) We fast to feed others.

4) We fast from negative words

Yet, fasting also involves observing the Sabbath.

There are entire books devoted to the subject of keeping the Sabbath, so as one might expect, this post will not be as detailed as those. 

 Isaiah 58:13 tell us that we should:

-keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

-keep yourself from doing as you please on my holy day

-call the Sabbath a delight

-call the Lord's day honorable

First and foremost, the Sabbath is a day of rest. If we choose to catch up on chores, we are breaking the Sabbath. (There are people with jobs that require them to work on Sunday & this is not to criticize or shame them. If required to work on a Sunday, choose another day as your Sabbath. If you must work 7 days a week, set aside time each day for mini-sabbaths). 

Secondly, the Sabbath is not a day for focusing on ourselves and our desires. We worship God on the Sabbath. It is not about us on this day, it's about Him. If we just focus on ourselves and do as we please on the Sabbath, then we are going against God's commands here. 

Thirdly, the Sabbath should be a delight. Reserve special books, foods, or activities for Sundays. Make it a special, relaxed, and enjoyable day. Get out in nature & marvel at God's creation. Curl up with a fairy tale that points you toward God as you sip a cup of tea. Post-pandemic, invite someone over & catch up as you cook a meal together & then eat it. (Where did we get the idea that all the food should be ready when the guest arrives?) As we hold both the previous instruction (not making the Sabbath all about us & our pleasures) together with this instruction, let us consider ways make the Sabbath a delight, not just for us & our families, but also those we interact with. Tip the standard 15% throughout the week, but consider tipping 20% on Sundays. Bake some cookies and then share them with a neighbor. 

Fourthly, we are to "call the Lord's day honorable". As I typed this, I realized that I wasn't quite sure what that phrasing meant exactly, so I skimmed through to see how the various English translations phrased it. Alternatively, we are told to "honor the Sabbath in everything we do on that day" or "honor it by not traveling, working, or talking idly" or "call the holy of God honorable (or glorious and glorify Him) or "consecrate it as glorious to the Lord". We are to "treat it with respect". This just isn't a day off. Christians and non-Christians alike have days off. This is a holy day where we worship and glorify God. We remember that WE are not keeping the world going, because we stop & rest once a week as life goes on. 

Disclaimers:

1) Friday night to Saturday night or all day Sunday? Yes. Again, there are plenty of debates about this online and in books. If you feel one day is more biblically accurate to observe the Sabbath, make that day your Sabbath. If you feel all days are the same & there isn't a special or specific day for Sabbaths, then choose a day & rest every 7th day from that. See Romans 14 (verse 5 specifically) for Paul's teaching on this matter.

2) It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (See Matthew 12:12, Mark 3:4, and Luke 6:9) We should not use the Sabbath as an excuse not to help people. We can set boundaries & normally abstain from work on the Sabbath, but we can also recognize that there as exceptions to this rule as emergencies do arise even on the Sabbath.

3) The Sabbath was made for us, not the other way around (See Mark 2:27). The Sabbath was not meant to be a burden and a stressor as we attempt to keep it perfectly. It was created so we would have a day of rest and rejuvenation each week as we worship God. This will look different for each person. Resting for me might involve reading a book; whereas that might be work for a professional editor. Resting might be cooking an elaborate meal for someone too busy to cook during the week, but the chef might rest by going on a walk. 

How can you keep the Sabbath, during Lent and beyond?

The Third Sunday in Lent: We Fast to Share with People in Need

Fasting is not all about us. When we fast, God wants us to actively help the oppressed and resist injustice. Yet, this is only a partial glimpse of the fasting in Isaiah 58. Fasting is also about feeding others.

We see in verses 6 and 7 that we should "share our food with the hungry", "provide the poor wanderer with shelter", "clothe the naked", and "not turn away from people". Verses 9 and 10 go on to tell us that we should "spend ourselves in behalf of the hungry". 

People who are hungry.

People who are naked.

People who are homeless. 

(I don't think that we realize how using an adjective as a noun can be a hurtful descriptor to the person it describes. When we call someone "the disabled" instead of "the disabled person" or even better "the person who is disabled", we are maximizing their difference and minimizing their humanity. It takes intentionality to choose a lengthier way of describing people, but when the longer phrases acknowledges a person's humanity and personhood, it is worth the extra time to say). 

As we are fasting from food, we have extra food in our cupboards and extra money in our bank accounts. Fasting isn't a way to build our fortunes and save money. It's a way to transfer money that we normally spend on ourselves and shift it to spending money on others.

The great tragedy of our civilization is that we simultaneously have people dying from the consequences of eating too much food, even while we have people dying as a result of having too little food. We have people in ragged clothes that are falling apart, even as our closets are stuffed to the point of overflowing. We have people without homes freezing to death on the streets, even while our guest bedrooms go unoccupied. And the worst part of all? We look at this disparity and are not moved with compassion. We spout a line about the undeserving poor and move on with our lives. 

But what if...we made meal kits to give out to the people holding signs at the intersections? 

What if we collected clothes and blankets in our church buildings to give away for free to those who need clothes? 

What if we knew the names and locations of shelters that we could refer people to? 

What if we arranged vouchers with a simple motel that a person down on their luck could present to stay for a few days? 

What if we learned the names of the people who are asking for help? 

What if we dared to give, not only from our excess, castoffs, and unwanted surplus, but also from our treasures, essential supplies, and beyond what society things that a person could reasonably give? 

What if we gave more than that about-to-expire can of cranberry sauce that we forgot to use, but also some of our favorite foods? 

What if we chose to eat less because there are hungry people in our world? 

What if we chose to eat more vegetarian meals because meat takes more resources than vegetables to grow and get to the grocery store? 

What if we opened our spare rooms to foster children, foreign exchange students, and international students (post-pandemic of course)? 

What if we prayed for our hearts to be moved with compassion toward our fellow people and for hearts to break over the brokenness hurting people? 

What if we realized that in God's economy, we are the undeserving poor, but He poured out His compassion, mercy, and grace abundantly.

What if we realized that any blessings and comforts (above and beyond the minimum we need to survive) were given to us, not so that we could be more comfortable, but so that we could bless others around us and around the world? 

What if we used our fasting to feed the hungry and provide for those unable to provide for themselves? 

We have isolated ourselves from the poor and needy, as we retreat into our comfortable neighborhoods. Yet, we aren't commanded in Scripture to give to the food bank that feeds the poor; we are commanded to share our food with people who are hungry. (It is good to give to the food bank who can reach people you can't, but if we stop there, we aren't fully obeying what is commanded.) It is messy. It is hard. It will leave us undone and hurting over the state of things. Yet, we will learn that more than being the "body of Christ", we are actually also serving Christ. We will see that as we help people in need, we are able to learn from them as well, provided that we are willing to humble ourselves and approach as a student. 

What do you have to share with a person in need? How can you share it personally? 

The Twelfth Day of Christmas

The twelfth day of Christmas remembers St. John Neumann. He was the first Bishop in the US and is the saint of immigrants. 

Song: O Holy Night

Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-16

Devotion: 

We are back in the "faith hall of fame" for today's Scripture. Whereas last time, we focused on the end of this passage, where people suffered for their faith, today, we will be focusing on the beginning of the chapter. 

The first seven verses are really provided for context since we'll mainly focus on the theme of being a stranger in verses 8-16. Abraham left his home and left for a strange land. He lived "like a stranger in a foreign country". He (as well as Isaac and Jacob) lived in tents, even as they looked forward to living in a city built by God. These patriarchs of the faith were still living by faith when they died. Even though they saw (and welcomed) the promise from a distance, they did not receive what they were promised. They admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. They were looking for a country of their own, not the country they left, but a better, heavenly country. God prepared a city for them. 

O Holy Night is one of my favorite Christmas carols. Once more, I was surprised that a version of this song has different choruses each time. I really like how the message progresses through the choruses as well as the verses. We start with Jesus' birth in a sinful world providing a thrill of hope. Our response to Jesus' birth should be falling to our knees in worship and submission. Verse two describes the wise men finding Jesus (granted, they found Him in a house, not still in that manger) and the second chorus describes how Jesus knows our needs and is not a stranger to our weakness. When we see Him, we should bow before Him. The third and final verse reminds us that Jesus taught us to love one another. Love is His law and Peace is His gospel. This verse proclaims that Jesus will break chains because the slave is our brother and all oppression will cease in Jesus' name. So we will praise Him. The final chorus declares that Christ is the Lord, we should praise Him and proclaim His glory and power.

There are so many good truths in today's Scripture and song that fit with our theme of immigrants. When we become Christians, we are becoming citizens in a heavenly kingdom. The world may not issue us a passport for "citizen in the Kingdom of Heaven" and may insist on using our worldly passport, but we are no longer primarily Americans, Russians, or Greeks first; we are citizens of heaven. That means we are promoting and working for the good of our heavenly kingdom instead of for our earthly nations. As citizens of heaven, we should be working to free the slaves as well as end oppression and injustice, both in our countries of origin and around the world. 

As a Christian who has lived both in the US and in a foreign country, I can see ways the Church in America is trying to serve both God and country, even when their priorities are diametrically opposed. We say in one breath that we are Christians before we are Americans, but then we go off on how America is the greatest country and we need to buy American and support America first. To be a Christian BEFORE we are Americans means to support our brothers and sisters around the world as we prioritize God's work and His kingdom OVER our earthly nation. The Empires of this world never are bothered when Christians support the work of the Empire over the Kingdom of God. The Empires are furious when Christians focus on God's Kingdom over man's Empires. Securing our rights is not a biblical precept. If we don't care about those who are hungry, oppressed, or hurting around the world, we are not embodying the love of Christ (see 1 John 3:17). If we are focused on "America First" and have no compassion for those suffering around the world until no one is struggling in our own country, then we are making it clear which kingdom we are prioritizing, and it isn't God's Kingdom.

Do we prioritize God's kingdom above our earthly nations? Based on how we spend our time, money, and prayers, which are we putting first? 

Which is our primary identity? Are we "American Christians" or "Christians who happen to live in America"? 

What are we doing to further the Kingdom of Heaven in our country of origin and around the world? 

Are we more comfortable with fellow Americans (who may not be Christian) or fellow Christians (who may not be American)? Why is that? 

Are we reaching across cultural and national boundaries to our brothers and sisters in different cultures and countries? 

Do we view ourselves as strangers, foreigners, and sojourners in this world or is our identity firmly in our country of origin? 

How many people do you know, and are friends with, who are not born in the same country as you? What can you do to intentionally cultivate more friendships with immigrants (and refugees) in your community? 

What would it look like to live like an immigrant in your own country?

Challenge: 

Find a local immigrant-run business to support. Eating delicious food from around the world is a small sacrifice to make on our part. :-)

Offer friendship to an immigrant. Host a foreign exchange student or an international student.

Find intercultural events to participate in (when we aren't in a pandemic). Attend with an attitude of learning and a posture of humility. 

Read a book or watch a video about an immigrant's story.

Take time to ponder your answers to the questions above. Consider which ones made you mad and why that was the case. Go beyond your knee-jerk reactions of insisting you prioritize God's kingdom over your country. Look at your actions, your spending, your prayers, and your words. What priority do they show? 

The Eighth Day of Christmas

The eighth day of Christmas remembers Jesus' mother Mary.

Song: What Child Is This?

Scripture: Luke 1:26-56

Devotion:

Today's song is a fairly familiar one, yet this version of What Child Is This? is different from what I remember singing before, because the chorus changes after each verse. I like how it connects the manger and the cross together, the way He came into the world with the reason He came. While the song references Mary, Jesus still is the central person.

In today's Scripture, the angel visits Mary, Mary visits Elizabeth, and we have Mary's Magnificat. We will focus on Mary's song. She starts by glorifying God and rejoicing in her Savior. God remembered her humble state. She will be called blessed because God has done great things for her. He is holy, merciful, and performs mighty deeds. He scatters those who are proud, brings down rulers, and lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry with good things but sends the rich away empty. He helps His people and is merciful to them.

Mary's Magnificat is quite revolutionary. It focuses on God and His power, rather than Mary and her gifts. It acknowledges what God has done to the powerful and the powerless. God's kingdom upsets man's kingdoms. He lifts up the humble, but brings down the proud and the rulers. He gives good things (food, I hope) to the hungry, but sends the rich away empty. 

Our human tendency is to identify with the heroes in the stories we read. We "kindly" let our enemies or those we dislike take the place of the villains in the stories. So when we read that God lifts up the humble, we apply that to us, but when we read that God brings down the proud, that obviously applies to those with whom we disagree. We read about God's care for the poor and apply that to ourselves, but when we read about the condemnation of the rich, we apply that to those wealthier than us. The challenge is to consider the ways we have been proud or rich, and apply this passage to ourselves accordingly.

Unfortunately, the Church in the United States has a skewed perspective when it comes to wealth, power, and blessings. We look at those with more money and bigger houses and say we are poor, when in reality, if you can afford all of your needs and a few wants, you are wealthy. Christians seek power to protect OUR interests in our country and world, instead of seeking to protect the poor and the vulnerable. We act like we believe that to be blessed means we won't suffer or be in need, when persecution and suffering have been faithful companions of Christians through the ages. 

Christians should be less concerned with defending our rights and more concerned about protecting the oppressed. We should be quick to speak out against injustices aimed at those on the margins of society (the poor, the homeless, the stranger, and minorities) and we should be quick to overlook insults and slights directed at us.

 

Challenge: 

Consider what injustices have been highlighted this year: excessive force used by the police against minorities, higher rates of health problems in poor communities, and higher rates of the virus (and death from it) in minority communities. Intercede for those facing oppression. Pray that God brings healthy, wholesome food to the hungry. Pray for communities suffering from the virus. Pray for reforms in our police and justice system, so they can live up to their ideals towards every person. Research justice organizations working towards these reforms and see how you can partner with them. 

The Seventh Day of Christmas

The seventh day of Christmas (December 31st) remembers Pope Sylvester I (a 4th century pope), but since this pope was the one who converted Constantine, who began to persecute non-Christians in the Roman Empire in the name of God, I am choosing to focus on someone I hold in higher regard: St. Francis of Assisi. Now St. Francis lived in the 1100s and 1200s. The patron saint of ecologists is fittingly known for his love of nature and animals, as well as for his vow of poverty. 

Song: Go, Tell It On the Mountain

Scripture: Psalm 96:11-13

Devotion: 

Today's song was chosen more for the chorus than for the verses since it seemed fitting to "go tell it on the mountains" when discussing St. Francis. Now, this song creates some cognitive dissonance for me. Christians are fond of singing this song within the confines of the church, surrounded by other Christians, but I don't see much evidence (in myself included) of Christians actually going out and telling people about Jesus. We have been tasked with carrying this Good News into a hurting world, but we seem to mostly spend time with other Christians complaining about the state of the world. This condemnation is aimed at myself as much as at others. When was the last time I shared the Gospel with a non-Christian? Do I go beyond sharing a Christian meme on social media that gets lots of "likes" from other Christians? People aren't being converted because they saw our Christian-themed post on social media. People come to know Christ through relationships with Christ-followers. It takes personalization, intentional time, and vulnerability. Witnessing about Christ's power is more than posting "You need God." on a social media platform; witnessing involves a conversation WITH a person instead of a lecture AT your friends. Consider it a discussion instead of a monologue.

I could have chosen Mark 16:15 as today's reading since St. Francis reportedly preached to birds and other animals. Mark's gospel commands people to preach the Gospel to all creation and St. Francis is said to have taken that instruction quite literally. However, we will focus on Psalm 96:11-13 instead. It calls upon heaven to rejoice and the earth to be glad as the sea (and all that's in it) resounds. It tells the fields (and everything in them) to be jubilant and the trees to sing for joy. It calls all of creation to rejoice before the Lord who is coming to judge the earth in righteousness and faithfulness.

Challenge: 

Get out in nature. If it's cold (most likely the case now), bundle up. Find a city, state, or national park to walk through. Notice God's marvelous designs in nature. Embrace the silence as you listen for God's voice.

Prayerfully consider how you've done over the past year (or few years since 2020 kinda threw a wrench in normal gatherings and Gospel-sharing plans) at sharing the Gospel. What is the Good News we are to proclaim? What is your (BRIEF) testimony of your life before Jesus, the way you met Jesus, and the ways you have changed since you submitted to Jesus? What has Christ been doing in your life over the past year? 

Read up on the Franciscan movement (here, here, and here). When I set out to write this post, I had planned to focus on his vow of poverty and the importance of choosing to live simply (to borrow from the Mennonites' amazing book Living More with Less), but the Gospel message demanded its due place on center stage. Consider what ways we can simplify and reduce our usage of resources so we can give more, share more, and focus on God more. Challenge yourself to only buy essentials for a week (or longer) as you carry out this challenge. Take the money you would have spent on non-essentials and donate it to a worthy cause or charity.

The Fifth Day of Christmas

The fifth day of Christmas (December 29th) remembers St. Thomas Becket, you know, the 12th century Archbishop of Canterbury who was killed on 12/29/1170 due to his challenge of the King's claim of authority over the Church.

Song: I Wonder As I Wander

Scripture: Acts 5:17-42

Devotion: 

The song selected for today is one of my husband's favorite songs. I love the haunting melody and the introspection that it elicits. Jesus came to earth in order to reconcile man to God. He came for the poor and the ordinary, just like us. Verse two summarizes the birth, shepherds, and wise men (granted, the wise men didn't arrive until Jesus was older, as we will learn on January 6th with the Epiphany devotional). It describes the star that drew attention to the promise of a Messiah. The last verse reminds us that anything Jesus wanted, he could surely have, because He was the king.

Our Scripture for today is from the book of Acts. The story begins with the apostles being arrested and jailed by the high priest and Sadducees, but an angel released the apostles and commanded them to return to the temple and preach. The high priest and company sent for the apostles the next day, but they weren't in their cells. Then someone tells the religious elite that the men they are looking for are back in the temple preaching. 

So the apostles were summoned to the Sanhedrin to explain their actions. Previously, they were commanded to not teach in Jesus' name, but here they were, still preaching the Good News. Peter and the other apostles replied "We must obey God rather than human beings!" The council wanted to execute the apostles, but Gamaliel talked them down. He reminded the Sanhedrin that when the leader of a man-made revolt dies, the revolt fades away, so if this is a man-made movement, it would fail. BUT if this is coming from God, then the apostles would succeed and the council would be fighting against God. 

The council listened to Gamaliel, but went ahead and flogged the disciples and reiterated their command of not speaking in Jesus' name. The apostles left "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." They continued to teach and proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah.

Thomas Becket was a complicated person. If you read the linked articles above, you probably noticed that he wasn't a perfect person and had struggles and sins. He was killed for refusing to capitulate to the demands of the State. Today's song only loosely ties into today's theme. As we wonder and marvel at who Jesus is, we remember that we serve Him, not a president, political party, or country. He is King and God, and we must obey Him over the whims, demands, or unjust laws of the State. We have the precedent for that in Scripture, thanks to Acts 5. When man's law and God's law diverges, we must follow God's law. When man's law is unjust or immoral, then Christians SHOULD break the law and accept the consequences of their refusal to follow an unjust law.

This concept is a bit foreign in the Church in America, because for generations, we have been incorrectly taught that America is a "Christian nation" and therefore there is no division between the will of God and the will of the State. (I have written about this before in 2013, 2014, 2014 again, 2016, and 2017, 2017 again, and 2019). In short, PEOPLE can be Christians or non-Christians, but things and countries aren't Christian or non-Christian. A book may help a Christian person to grow in their faith, but the book itself is not a Christian. A t-shirt may have a quote from the Bible on it, but the t-shirt itself is not a Christian. A country may have Christians in it or even have an official state religion of Christianity, but countries are not going to be in heaven; PEOPLE from countries will be in heaven. You may think that this is a silly distinction, because our culture labels books, movies, clothes, music, and countries as "Christian" without a second thought, but I believe that we need to be intentional with the words we use. 

Throughout the history of the Church, Christians have refused to follow the laws of the countries, because they were following Christ as King. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Corrie ten Boom, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, William Wilberforce, and so many others defied and challenged national laws as they obeyed God's law. 

Now, because I am writing this in the middle of the pandemic, I must clarify: The State's laws about wearing masks, staying socially distanced, and not gathering together in large numbers indoors is NOT a violation of God's law and SHOULD be OBEYED. It is not persecution or an attack on religious freedom to change how churches gather together during a pandemic. It's not unfair that casinos can operate (where people are able to be socially distanced and no one is SINGING), but churches are a higher risk. Wearing a mask isn't against God's law and actually falls under it (something about loving your neighbors as yourself). There are alternatives to meeting together in person in our modern age, so Christians should be willing to do that.

Challenge: 

Read Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, especially what he says about just vs. unjust laws. 

Prayerfully consider what cultural traditions go against God's laws, especially those which are common in our churches today.

Reflect on what it means to be a citizen in God's kingdom before we are citizens in an earthly kingdom.

The Fourth Day of Christmas

The fourth day of Christmas is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. We remember the state-sponsored genocide that took place in Bethlehem as Herod tried to eliminate Jesus.

Song: The Winter Sun Was Setting

Scripture: Matthew 2:13-18

Devotion: 

Within two years of Jesus' birth there was a genocide in his town. The government ordered troops in to kill any male child under the age of two. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were warned to leave in a dream, and safely escaped to Egypt, but many mothers were left mourning for their sons. Read through the lyrics of the song. Reflect on what these mothers must have felt.

Genocide is not an outdated tactic used by militaries around the world. Rwandan genocide. Nazi Germany genocide. The Nanking Massacre. Bosnian genocide. These are all genocides that happened within the last 100 years. Genocides create refugees and asylum seekers as people flee from persecution and death. We can't look at the Christmas story without coming face to face with refugees. 

What would it have been like if Mary, Joseph, and Jesus sought refugee in recent times? Would Jesus have been a child separated from His parents, who were sent back to their homeland? Would Jesus have been one of the 650+ children who were unable to be reunited with their parents because the government lost track of them? Would Jesus have been sent to "Remain in Mexico" until His court date approached? Would Jesus have been sent on alone to the US border as an unaccompanied minor, only to be sent back across the border due to the pandemic? Would Jesus have been held in overcrowded cages, being fed crackers, juice, and frozen meals? Would an older child have taken Jesus under their wing as He was a two-year-old separated from His parents? Some people might point out that this has been going on for more than one administration, but bringing up additional past wrongs does not turn a present wrong into a right. 

What is my point in this? The way that we treat refugees and asylum seekers matters.  God commands clearly throughout Scripture that we are to welcome and care for the stranger, foreigner, and fatherless. Jesus says that how we treat the "least of these" (to borrow from the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25), is how we treat Him. It's easier to claim that we would have helped someone in the past than to actually help someone in the present. There are refugees in many of our communities. We can support their businesses, welcome them, and befriend them.

An amazing book to read is Christmas Is Not Your Birthday by Mike Slaughter. He highlights his church's journey towards making Christmas a time to help refugees as we remember that Jesus was once a person seeking refuge. If Christmas is merely a time when we give gifts to those we love, as we ignore those on the margins of society, I think we are missing the point. Jesus didn't come just for the people who looked like Him or who loved Him, but He came for everyone and calls us to follow Him.

Challenge: 

Pray for refugees. Donate to an organization or charity that serves refugees. Find and support a refugee-run business in your community. Speak out against unjust government treatment of refugees.  

The Third Day of Christmas

The third day of Christmas (December 27th) remembers St. John the Apostle. Although he suffered greatly during his life as he experienced persecution for his faith, he is the only Apostle who is believed to have died of natural causes instead of a martyr's death.

Song: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

Scripture: 1 John 2:1-11

Devotion: 

This song almost gives me whiplash. We go from the angels' message of "peace on the earth, good will to men" being sung to the weary world, to the "woes of sin and strife" that we have long suffered as we, being "at war with man", don't hear the angels' song. We need to have the warmongers and "men of strife" be quiet so they can hear the song of peace.

This year especially, we can relate to "life's crushing load" that the song sings of. We have toiled and taken slow, painful steps as injustices and the pandemic rock our world. But there is a call to rest and listen to the angels' song. We yearn for the time when Peace comes over all the earth, but this isn't here yet. We aren't called, as Christians, to passively wait for peace to come to the earth; we are called to join in God's work of bringing peace to the earth, bringing hope to the hopeless, bringing comfort to the mourning, bringing healing to the broken, bringing reconciliation and redemption to a world separated from God.

John doesn't shy away from delivering tough teachings. In 1 John 2, he directly ties our knowing Jesus to our keeping of His commands. This isn't to say that we earn our salvation through good works, but rather that we show our love for God in obeying Him. John writes that if we say we know Him, but don't obey Him, then we are liars. Our obedience to God's commands shows we are His. He goes on to tell us that if we claim to live in Christ, then we must live as He did. 

John continues by discussing hate and love. If we love our brothers and sisters in the faith, then we are walking in the light, but if we hate our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are walking in darkness. We live in an era of division. We have stopped listening to or even respecting the other side. Whatever our hot button issue is, if someone disagrees with us, they are viewed as a monster.  In the Church, we are quick to declare, "But I love everyone", but this love is not displayed when we unfriend, snooze, or ignore those with opposing views. It isn't shown when we have "agree-fests" where we mock, scorn, and belittle those who disagree with us, especially when we are isolated from those with opposing views. 

Our world is divided. We won't wake up one day to find a world at peace. It takes work, long, hard, draining work to foster peace in a divisive age. It involves listening to others, setting aside clichés and strawman arguments, and acknowledging the humanity of those who hold different core beliefs. As Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:46-47), "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" We aren't any different from a non-Christian if we only love, respect, and interact with those who are part of the same denomination, those who have the same political affiliations, or those who agree with us on the same social issues. If we are to bring peace to our world, we need to love those who disagree with us and befriend those who are different from us.

Challenge: 

Listen to someone who holds different beliefs than you. Learn instead of argue. Seek to understand their reasoning instead of trying to convert them to your viewpoint. Ask open questions instead of defending your position.

Rephrase what they said to make sure that you are interpreting their message correctly. 

Choose not to get into a fight on social media. Better yet, choose not to say anything negative about other people, even people who disagree with you on the issues that matter most to you, especially when they are not present.

Learn to control yourself in conversations and refuse to engage in outbursts where you spew hurtful words at those who disagree with you. Set aside name-calling, condemnation, and snap judgments.

Look for the humanity in the very people you disagree with. Look for their passion, their goodness, their resolve. 

Refuse to utilize dehumanizing language. The person you disagree with is a person made in God's image and should be treated with respect. 

The Second Day of Christmas

The second day of Christmas is also called Boxing Day. It remembers St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. 

Song: God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

Scripture: Acts 7:54-60

Devotion:

At first glance, our song and our Scripture may seem to clash. As we read about the stoning and martyrdom of Stephen, how can we sing a song about being merry? Stephen died because he professed Jesus as the Messiah. He died for this belief. So it seemed fitting to choose a song for today that calls on us to not be dismayed or frightened due to the circumstances around us, because we recall Jesus was born. This song reminds us that Jesus came to heal our sorrows and take away our sins. This is the Gospel, the Good News, that Stephen professed before his death. So even as we mourn the deaths of martyrs, we rejoice in the Good News we can also proclaim.

When we put our faith in Jesus, we are called to fix our eyes on Him throughout our trials and tribulations. The song tells us to let nothing dismay us because Jesus was born. Yes, this has been a brutal year, as we have seen our world ravaged by a pandemic and rocked by protests against racial injustice. But we are not dismayed, because we have hope. We know that wrongs will be righted and injustices will be remedied.

Yes, there is a lot in this world that is scary and frightening, yet as Christians, we are called to let nothing "affright" us, to borrow from the song, as we choose to trust in God despite the scary things happening around us. Stephen could have been frightened by the threats of the Jewish leaders and recanted his testimony, but he didn't buckle under the pressure. His faith in Jesus held during his trial and subsequent execution. 

The song reminds us that Jesus came to heal our sorrows and take away our sins. This is the Good News of the Gospel. We experience sorrows and the consequences of our sins, but Jesus came to heal us in our brokenness. He came to free us from our sins, as He calls us to walk in obedience to His teachings. 

Challenge: 

Take time to reflect on Christian martyrs who were faithful to the end. Thank God for their example and faithfulness. Then pray for those who are currently experiencing persecution. Pray that, like Stephen, they will stay faithful even if their faith costs them their lives. Pray for them to boldly proclaim the Gospel to those around them who are separated from God. 

Advent Week 4: Love

Advent Week 4: Love

Love. I could have chosen adoration for this week, but I wanted to keep our focus away from the what has become the traditional celebration all through Advent. Advent isn't a time to celebrate, but is a time to wait and anticipate. Our church culture in the US has been infected by "triumphalism", the hyper-focus on the great achievements in Christian history, to the exclusion of the "less successful" stories of the Bible. We want to hear about David beating Goliath, but not the long-lasting effects of his adultery with Bathsheba. We want to hear about Peter getting sprung from prison by an angel, but not Stephen getting stoned to death. So while adoration is good and a necessary thing in our Christian faith, it seemed too chipper for Advent. Now you may be asking, "How does love fit in the theme of Advent any better than adoration?"

Love is more than just a feeling or an emotion. Love is a choice. It involves sacrifice on our part for the sake of someone else. When I love someone, I put their needs above my wants. When I love someone, I invest in them, encourage them, and sacrifice my preferences for their needs. This love is why I wear a mask during the pandemic. This love is why I utilize video calls instead of in-person visits. It is not easy or convenient, but this is the kind of love that highlights Advent. As we are hopeful, as we are waiting, as we are seeking peace, we love. An alternative Scripture for this week could have very well been Philippians 2, but we will look at last week's Scripture with a new lens.

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Love appears twice in this text, so we will focus on verses 9 and 10 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love." 

What does it mean to be sincere? To be sincere means to be without deceit, without hypocrisy, or falseness. It means to be earnest, genuine, pure, and real. We must sincerely love each other. To say that we love all people, while shrinking from those who are smelly, dirty, ugly, poor, or otherwise less than ideal, profanes the meaning of love. To say that we love people, while attaching strings and conditions to our affection, drags the name of love through the mud.

Love chooses to act in the best interest of someone else. Our culture says that love is giving someone what they want, but love often calls us to take the harder path of giving someone something that they need, even if they might want something else. For example, a child might want chocolate cake every night for dinner, but it is more loving to make sure they have a well-balanced and healthy meal. 

Paul calls on us to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. We have shown ourselves proficient at hating the evil that our enemies do, but we are less skilled at seeing the evil perpetuated by our own groups. We do genuinely cling to some good in our world, but we need to work at identifying it in those who are different than us and believe differently than we do. 

We are tasked with being devoted to one another in love. To be devoted to someone means to be zealously/ardently (or passionately or actively or intensely) attached or loyal. When we are devoted to someone, we think about them. We want what's best for them. We are willing to work and put in the effort to treat them well. This doesn't just apply to those we like, but anyone who comes through the doors of our church. 

It's easy to love those who are loving towards us or those who are acting in the way we want them to act, but love reaches out to those who are hateful towards us or those who don't do what we tell them to do. 

For those who are curious, common Bible passages on love such as 1 Corinthians 13 or 1 John 3:16-18, paint love as a choice we make, as a purposeful decision to act in a certain way. Society weakens love when it depicts love as a warm, fuzzy feeling that makes us feel good. Paul fills 1 Corinthians 13 with adjectives and actions that show what love is. Love is patient and kind. It isn't boastful or proud. These are behaviors, actions, choices that we make. John calls us to love like Jesus did (and Jesus laid down his life for us). He questions if we have stuff and see people in need and don't feel pity (don't DO something for them), is God's love really in us? He challenges us to love with our actions instead of with our words.

Song: Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

This is a song of anticipation and longing. It is sung about a people who are not free, but who are longing to be free. It asks for people to be set from from their fears and sins. It calls for rest. It acknowledges Jesus is both strength and consolation (comfort), in addition to being the Hope of all the earth and Desire of nations, and Joy to longing hearts. It highlights how Jesus was born as a child, yet was already a king. He was born to deliver His people. He was born to reign in our hearts and bring His kingdom. The song calls for Jesus alone to rule in our hearts. Jesus is all-sufficient and it is by His merit that we are saved. 

Are you longing for Jesus to return? Not just because it will be better for you, but because it will mean justice, peace, and hope fulfilled for those who are suffering, oppressed, and hurting now? Are you taking the Good News out to a lost world and sharing it far and wide in hopes of bringing those who don't know Jesus into a relationship with Him? 

Questions to Consider: 

-How can I better love those I encounter in my daily life?

-How can I better love those around the world?

-In what way is my love selfless, mature, and a conscious choice?

-In what way is my love selfish, demanding, and a fickle emotion?

-How well am I loving those who love me back? (Family, friends, church members)

-How well am I loving those who are deemed less desirable by our society? (Homeless, poor, foreigners) 

There are many questions that can be teased from the two verses of this week's song.

-What fears do you need set free from?

-What sins do you struggle with?

-How do you rest and allow others to rest?

-Do you depend on Jesus' strength or on your country's or military's strength to protect you?

-Who or what do you turn to for comfort when you are hurting?

-Do you hope for Jesus to come back? Why do you hope for this? Do you want to see people "getting what they deserve" or people accepting God's grace & mercy?

-Do you desire to spend time with Jesus?

-Do you experience joy when you spend time with Him? 

-What does your heart long for? 

-Do you acknowledge Jesus as a king? Does He reign in your heart?

-Do you give Him credit for delivering you? 

-What, besides Jesus, are you depending on? Do you act like Jesus is all you need?

-Do you give Jesus credit for saving you? Did you repent of your sins?

Challenge: 

Brainstorm ways to love those ignored by society. What can you do to show a tangible love to the homeless or the poor? How can you show love to a foreigner in your town? How do you show your love to God? Do you obey Him? Serve Him? Follow His commands? What did you get Jesus for His birthday? What charity or organization would be benefited by receiving a gift in honor of Jesus?

The Angel visits the shepherds

Advent Week 3: Peace

Advent Week 3: Peace

Peace. This candle has also represented joy, but to push joy when so many have suffered and mourned this year seems to be in rather poor tastes. So we will be focusing on peace. Why peace when there have been so many riots and protests this year? Because we need God's peace to pervade the earth. God's peace isn't just the absence of protests & riots, but the presence of justice for everyone. 

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

Romans 12 is one of my favorite chapters, and while I encourage you to read the entirety of this section, we will be focusing on one verse. "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Romans 12:18. Paul adds so many caveats here. "If it is possible, live at peace" and "as far as it depends on you, live at peace", but he also stretches his readers. He didn't say "live at peace with those who agree with you" or "live at peace with those who treat you well"; he said "live at peace with everyone". Like the rest of the Bible, this verse is not meant to be hurled at an opponent to get them to fall in line with how you think they should be acting, but rather, this verse is meant to bring us to self-examination as we ask the Holy Spirit to show us how to better follow this command. 

So how does it look to live at peace with everyone? What is in our power, that influences our ability to obey? We can listen to the stories of those who are hurting. We can learn from their experiences and work with them to improve their situation. We can be compassionate listeners and not expect people to prove their painful experiences. We can be willing to change our habits to better help others. We can be willing to give up our conveniences so we can better serve others. We can shift our shopping habits to more ethical choices. We can learn about injustices happening around us and learn how to stand against them. We can replace the political phrase "the deserving poor" from our vocabulary and simply replace it with "those in need". We can remember that none of us "deserve" salvation, but God gave it to us anyway. We can educate ourselves about the suffering and injustices that are too common in minority neighborhoods. 

As we reflect on a year that has been rocked by needless deaths, peaceful protests, and violent riots, we can consider ways we can better listen to and pray for those involved.

Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

This website has a version of the lyrics to this song. 

With many of these carols, there are many versions floating around. Additional verses to this song mention peace, so we will examine these phrases. One bonus verse calls for the Desire of nations to bind all hearts together and bid our divisions to end as Christ is our King of Peace. Another alternative verse starts in a similar way, but calls for Christ to bid envy, strife, and quarrels to end, as the entire world is filled with heaven's peace. We follow a King of Peace, not a King of Winning Using Whatever Methods We Can or a King of Excessive Force. We want (I hope) for the whole world to be filled with heaven's peace. Not just our homes or our community or even our country, but the whole world. This isn't here yet but this is something we are to work towards. Peace isn't merely that we are comfortable, it is ensuring everyone is free from oppression, violence, and injustice. If I am at peace, but you are suffering, then I should be willing to work alongside you to achieve peace for you as well. 

Questions to Consider: 

-What can I do to better live at peace with everyone?

-How can I pray for the peaceful protestors? Do I  listen to what they are saying and work with them to achieve their goals?

-Do I pray for the violent rioters? Do I pray for them to experience this peace as well? Do I pray that they will repent of their actions and pursue the path of peace?

Challenge: 

This week, learn about the violence and brokenness of this world. What is happening in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas? When we isolate ourselves from the violent pain of the world, we don't feel as much drive to pray for peace and reconciliation. We should pray for the victims of violence, but we are also called to pray for the perpetrators. Pray FOR their repentance and a new commitment to be representatives of peace. Pray for violence to stop being idolized, glorified, and utilized. Pray for justice to flow through the world, as it rights wrongs and heals brokenness.

Mary and Joseph head to Bethlehem

Advent Week 2: Waiting and Preparation

Advent Week 2: Waiting and Preparation

Waiting. It is certainly hard to wait. To pause. To be ready, but not start. This year, we are waiting to decorate the house. We are waiting to play Christmas songs. We are waiting for a time we can spontaneously visit family and hug them again. Yet, waiting is not passive. A season of waiting goes hand in hand with a season of preparation.

Scripture: Romans 8:18-27

Did you pick up that this week's Scripture is a repeat of last week's? We are using the same verses, but will be zeroing in on "wait" this time. 

Verse 19 tells us that the creation is waiting (in eager expectation no less) for God's children to be revealed. Verse 23 goes on to say how we groan inwardly as we wait for adoption and redemption. 

Verse 25 reminds us that we wait patiently for something that we do not yet have. 

We are waiting for redemption (for God to buy our freedom from sin). We are waiting for reconciliation (for God to mend our broken relationships). We are waiting for restoration (for God to fix damaged things and repair broken things). I hope that this doesn't come as a shock to you, dear brother or sister in Christ, but we are not the lead characters in the story of the world. God is the primary actor, director, and technician. We are joining HIM in HIS story, but He allows us to participate and further HIS work. Our dose of hyper-individualism in American culture claims that WE are the stars of our lives and WE are responsible for all the good that we do, but as Christians, we recognize that God gets the glory for the good HE moves us to do for Him. If we give food to the hungry, we should leave thinking "God cares so much for the hungry and He gave me this opportunity to share with them. I am so grateful that God has cultivated this generosity in me", instead of thinking "Wow, I am amazingly generous. God should give me a medal for all the good things I do for Him". 

A season of preparation NEEDS to go alongside with a season of waiting. If I WAIT (even wait patiently) for my garden to grow, but I do not weed the garden, or even plant the seeds, then my HOPE will be disappointed, because I did not PREPARE. We can't just passively wait for the things we hope for, we need to work towards them. If I hope that the captives will be freed, then I need to also work towards their freedom and support after they are freed. 

Song: Lift Every Voice and Sing

This site has a recording, as well as a bit of the history of this song. Here are the lyrics and some information on the song's composer.

I know, I know. This isn't an Advent song. This might be a song that you are not familiar with. In short, this song is known as the "black national anthem", written in 1899. This year has been characterized by raw grief at needless death, lives cut short, and racial injustice in our midst. So it seemed fitting to select this song. There are many others who would be more qualified to perform and muse on this song, but I believe that we all have a responsibility to learn about injustices in our world and share what we have learned. So while there is merit in being silent to better hear minority voices share their experiences of racism and oppression, we also have a responsibility to speak out against it ourselves. As James 4:17 reminds us, if we know the good that we should be doing and STILL don't do it, then we are sinning. This year, I have read over two dozen books about racism, discrimination, and their continuing effects to this day. The stories I read broke my heart as I realized that oppression and discrimination still affect many people in our nation. During my research, I encountered the song "Lift Every Voice and Sing". Let's unpack this song and see how it ties into Advent's themes of waiting and hope.

The song tells people to lift their voices and sing until both heaven and earth ring with liberty. Liberty is not available to everyone in this world, or even this nation, but it should be. People should be free from captivity and oppression. This is clearly something God cares deeply about throughout the entirety of Scripture. 

The song commands people to sing about the faith that we learned from the dark past. This is an ugly side to our history and we MUST acknowledge it if we are to heal. This isn't to say that we hate our country if we discuss the sins of slavery and oppression. On the contrary, it means that we recognize that if we don't learn from our dark past, we are risking continuing the same destructive and hurtful patterns in our modern age. There is plenty that we can learn from the faith of slaves and the hope they had as they waited and prepared for liberty. We can learn from their songs, their stories, and their lives.

The song tells people to sing about the hope we have in the present. We have made improvements in the last 200+ years. Slavery is illegal. Jim Crow laws (which continued the oppression of slavery and segregation of black people after the Civil War until 1965) have been abolished. Housing and employment discrimination based on race is formally outlawed. This are all steps in the right direction. We have hope for continuing to make progress on this journey as the deaths this year have brought awareness to unjust practices in our country. People are learning about systemic racism (the ways that laws and traditions still minimize opportunities for minorities to leave their negative situations. Google "systemic racism" if you are unfamiliar with this phrase) and listening to people's stories of discrimination and pain. There is hope that we will choose to embrace lasting change that will improve the lives of those who have been suffering. 

The song reminds us that victory is not yet won, as we are still marching towards it. It has been a hard road, both full of stones and prone to violence perpetrated against the oppressed. Things felt pretty hopeless in the darkest days, but progress has been made. Slaves sighed for freedom and their descendants received it. Black people oppressed by Jim Crow laws sighed for its end and their descendants saw its formal demise. Black people denied equal rights sighed for equality, and their descendants marched for equal rights and achieved progress. Now black people are protesting for changes in our system to end discrimination, systemic racism, and disproportionate violence against black people at the hands of law enforcement. There have been tears and many needless deaths throughout this journey. As new achievements were reached, there has been mourning for the fallen at every stage. 

The song ends with an address to God. It acknowledges that God was the one to bring people so far and it entreats God to keep people on the right path. 

If we don't actively work towards ending injustice and racism, it will continue to exist and harm people. We can't sit back and expect injustice to just die out. Like a poisonous weed, it will continue to grow and spread. It needs pulled up and burned out of our lives. Systemic racism won't end by people passively deciding to be nice. It will take active work to root out this evil in our nation. 

Questions to Consider: 

-What are you waiting for this year? How well are you using this season of waiting to grow and prepare?

-What injustices are people waiting to be ended in our country and in our world? What can we do to work towards ending these injustices?

-How well do I know the history of minorities? We are fairly familiar with European history and the experiences of European immigrants, but there is much to learn from Asian, African, and Hispanic history and the experience of these immigrants.

-What gains towards justice can we celebrate? What gains were promised (or legally guaranteed), but were not provided or upheld? 

-What are we doing to work towards racial justice and reconciliation? 

Challenge: 

Take time to learn this week: What did black people experience during slavery, during the Jim Crow era, before the Civil Rights era, during the Civil Rights era, and up to this day? In each era, how were people waiting for justice? What did people do to prepare for a more just society to be achieved? How has the ongoing effects of racism and discrimination continued to impact people today? What are black people experiencing today? How has oppression impacted black people over the course of the past 400 years? In what ways has oppression changed over the years and in what ways has it continued to be oppressive? 

The Angel Visits Joseph