Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

The seasons of Advent and Christmas have always been special times in my life. From childhood, family traditions have been seeded in my heart and practices. Each year, as my children grew older, I could see that these traditions were important to them also.  

It warms my heart to see my little sons grow into strong, successful men who enjoy carrying on these special times within our family. My mother was the chief motivator for most of these activities. My brothers and sisters were willing participants in our leadup to Christmas.  

Recently my brother Eric shared an old post from our family online site. He was remembering the practice of setting up the creche. He talked about the various shapes and conditions that the stable took over the years. He remembered creating buildings from old shoe boxes and disguising them with paint and pine branches.  

Finally when he was in college, he took the time to build a real stable for the holy night figures. It was built with pieces of wood leftover from a project that my other two brothers were building in the basement. My mother loved that stable and used it for the rest of her life.  

My mother’s heart was warmed to watch her children grow into strong successful people and carry on the traditions of her childhood. 

This brings me to the most important mother in this seasonal drama-Mary, the virgin mother of God. I am sure that there were family traditions around the Jewish feasts and holy days that Mary passed on to Jesus. Mary knew that her child was special from the time of conception. 

I try to imagine what it was like for her to hold that little, tiny baby and know that he was the son of God. He was destined to change the world in which she lived. He looked like any other baby-chubby, cute, and huggable, but he wasn’t like any other baby. He was God. What a responsibility she had.  

I am sure that Mary’s heart was warmed as she watched Jesus grow into his role of rabbi and leader but filled with inconceivable sadness when his life ended on the cross of Calvary.  

Mary continues to be an important role model for me for her unconditional acceptance of God’s will for her. God’s unconditional love was shining on her every day of her life. Just as it shines on us. Enjoy your traditions! 

Terri 

The seasons of Advent and Christmas have always been special times in my life. From childhood, family traditions have been seeded in my heart and practices. Each year, as my children grew older, I could see that these traditions were important to them also.  

It warms my heart to see my little sons grow into strong, successful men who enjoy carrying on these special times within our family. My mother was the chief motivator for most of these activities. My brothers and sisters were willing participants in our leadup to Christmas.  

Recently my brother Eric shared an old post from our family online site. He was remembering the practice of setting up the creche. He talked about the various shapes and conditions that the stable took over the years. He remembered creating buildings from old shoe boxes and disguising them with paint and pine branches.  

Finally when he was in college, he took the time to build a real stable for the holy night figures. It was built with pieces of wood leftover from a project that my other two brothers were building in the basement. My mother loved that stable and used it for the rest of her life.  

My mother’s heart was warmed to watch her children grow into strong successful people and carry on the traditions of her childhood. 

This brings me to the most important mother in this seasonal drama-Mary, the virgin mother of God. I am sure that there were family traditions around the Jewish feasts and holy days that Mary passed on to Jesus. Mary knew that her child was special from the time of conception. 

I try to imagine what it was like for her to hold that little, tiny baby and know that he was the son of God. He was destined to change the world in which she lived. He looked like any other baby-chubby, cute, and huggable, but he wasn’t like any other baby. He was God. What a responsibility she had.  

I am sure that Mary’s heart was warmed as she watched Jesus grow into his role of rabbi and leader but filled with inconceivable sadness when his life ended on the cross of Calvary.  

Mary continues to be an important role model for me for her unconditional acceptance of God’s will for her. God’s unconditional love was shining on her every day of her life. Just as it shines on us. Enjoy your traditions! 

Terri 

So here comes one you don’t expect from me, a rendition of a Basque Christmas carol by the rock singer Sting.

The text is the story of the annunciation. The Angel Gabriel comes to tell Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus.

The Angel Gabriel from Heaven came
His wings as drifted snow
His eyes as flame
“All Hail!” said he, “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most Highly Favoured Lady,”
Gloria!

I have always found this carol haunting, and I guess so did Sting. He considers himself an agnostic, one who does not know of there is a God or not. Yet he admits an openness to what is beyond. He wrote, “I’ve chosen to live my life without the ‘certainties’ of faith, but I do maintain a great reverence for the mystery and wonder of our existence.” Some religious scholars have noted the way religious images, symbols, and stories influence his music. That was certainly true in his 2009 album “If on a Winter’s Night” which includes a number of Christmas carols.

I am always amazed at the way music, art, and storytelling can get deep messages across in a way that lecturing people or bossing them around or threatening them leaves them unmoved. The few times I have been transported to realms beyond ordinary existence, it has been through music. You never know how God is going to communicate. After all, one day an angel spoke to a young woman named Mary who replied, “To me be as it pleaseth God.”

Gloria!

Read Luke 1:26-38 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

This past Sunday I featured an arrangement of a traditional Lent hymn during the 8:15 special music spot.

You might be thinking “Are there not enough Advent hymns?  We are preparing for the arrival of Jesus and you’re already using music from Lent? What gives?”

Yes there are and yes I did.  

While I will not even begin to think I can comprehend or think for Jesus sometimes my mind wanders a little and I imagine what he might have felt or thought.  He was human on earth and I’m human so I feel like maybe I can relate just the tiniest bit.  

Jesus had to have known early on what his destiny was.  I don’t think he started his ministry and God said “Surprise!  I’m going to have you die in a horrific and torturous death for countless people, many of whom won’t appreciate the magnitude of your gift.”

I would surmise that at the moment his physically human brain was capable of conscious thought he was fully aware of what the future held.  Imagine if you will, being a young boy working in your earthly father’s carpentry business working with wood, knowing what was coming years down the road. Knowing that in an ironic twist it would be wood that would hold you up for all the world to see as you pour out your life for all mankind. 

Imagine growing up and passing through adolescence into adulthood knowing the salvation of humanity rested squarely in your shoulders. 

Any ordinary person would be mentally and emotionally crushed by that burden and never make it to the actual act of sacrifice.  But Jesus bore that burden for his entire time in his body of flesh and bone for you.  For me.  For everyone.  All because of his wondrous love. 

My favorite verse from that hymn is in my mind the only way I could fathom  responding to this wondrous gift:

“To God and to the Lamb 
I will sing, I will sing; 
to God and to the Lamb, 
I will sing.

To God and to the Lamb 
who is the great “I AM,” 
while millions join the theme,
I will sing, I will sing, 
while millions join the theme, 
I will sing.”

What wondrous love is this?  Oh my soul, this is the unconditional love of God!

Silas

I think we’re done with it – for this year. I’ve never been good at it, don’t particularly enjoy it, but I’m getting better. A part of me thinks “why bother?” It seems such a waste of paper that just gets ripped apart to get to the gift inside. I know it can be perhaps re-used, but who has the time on Christmas morning?

This is a confusing blur of time we’re in. Fatigue sets in; tempers get short because oh the pressure! Trying to think of everything; are all the bases covered? Have we gotten the right things for the right people? Guilt ensues when we receive a gift from someone not on our list, and of course we should reciprocate. In some years we have back-up, just-in-case presents.

Food gets wrapped too – parchment paper lining cookie tins. My mother baked stolen bread, wrapping each loaf with a bow on top. Forty-something loaves that we delivered and gave to family, friends, and neighbors. All the physical stuff – that’s what we wrap. I wonder about the most physical manifestation of God with us, Emmanuel. “Wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a manger”. Most precious of gifts. So precious, in fact, that his parents move many miles to keep him safe and yes, hidden. Herod’s raging psychosis is a threat to the Christ-child. We should all be eager to open and unwrap the best present ever. Once opened, we should not cease finding ways to share it (him). The hidden, mysterious secrets of faith are pondered in the cubbies of our souls, for what – safe keeping? Baptized members only? We spend vast amounts of time trying to answer the “what does this mean?” At times it does seem exhausting. We get impatient that the fruits of evangelism are not readily seen. Did we say it the right way, the fail-safe invitation to worship and experience the love of Christ? Guilt washes over us when we think we have failed, have squandered the sacred offering of God as human.

Even when (if?) we get to a point of preparations being done and everything checked off the list, the time of adoring the lowly infant in the cradle stall is never “done”. A divine love so amazing reaches out in unconditional welcome. That’s a wrap!

Pastor Art

Fifty-nine years ago this week, Gemeni 6 and Gemeni 7 made their first controlled rendezvous in earth’s orbit.  Unbelievable!  A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted in CBS to mixed reviews.  Little did they know!   The Beatles released a new song “We Can Work It Out.”  Would this new group amount to anything?  And in a small white church in a Connecticut town, a naïve young couple promised to love, honor and obey ‘til death do us part.  We’re still living that promise, still working it out day by day, year by year.

Today we begin a new “week in December.”  What will make the headlines this week?  We don’t know yet.  Will A Charlie Brown Christmas still be aired?  Probably.  What new music will be released?  I’ll never know, since following that scene is not part of my 84-year-old existence.  But what will I do?  What will you do?

Somewhere someone is being married,  a new baby is arriving, or a dear soul breathes his last.  These dates will be etched permanently on their minds and calendars.  Most of us won’t be experiencing anything that noteworthy this week.  Yet each hour and day of our week comes as a gift from God, a gift to use to his glory.  What can we do?   Is there some small thing that we can do for a neighbor or friend that will brighten their day?  Is there a word of kindness that we can speak, perhaps where it is least expected.  Our actions may not make Wikipedia’s year in review, but they just might make a big difference to the recipient.

Let’s use this week to express an unconditional love to others, remembering the unconditional love that our God shows to us.

Judy

Have you ever looked through a kaleidoscope? I had the opportunity to visit Jerome, Arizona.  While there I went into the Nellie Bly Kaleidoscope Shop. I have NEVER seen so many different kaleidoscopes.  Big, small, HUGE, and everything in between.  I have one on my desk from there and look through it often. A kaleidoscope is: a tube containing loose bits of colored glass or plastic and two mirrors at one end that shows many different patterns as it is turned.

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, knows each of us from inside out. No matter how many turns we take through our lifetime. Or how many pieces we feel broken into. Even if our journey turns upside down for a while; He sees right through the glitches.  We can have bright lights shining on us and all our wishes coming true.  He sees us.  We can make a turn of our own choosing and have chaos ensue and troubles and woes knocking us down. He sees us. The bits and pieces of “humanity” that we are, tumbling and falling at will…. unless…we have HIM.  With a God who chose us as His children and who loves us unconditionally, we are precious in His eyes. John 15:16, ^“You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you.”

We are NOT a kaleidoscope full of bits and pieces that fall randomly, but only IF we indeed believe our Heavenly Father is as close as our breath.  Our free will can cause those loose bits and pieces of us to falter, but by asking for forgiveness, understanding, guidance, and His Will, we are given His grace, love and forgiveness.  You are LOVED. Shine through your bits and pieces for Him!

Jill

While visiting our daughter and son-in-law over Thanksgiving, she shared a story of what she considered to be “a God thing” which gave her a much-needed wake-up call.

Our son-in-law has shared with us on many occasions that our daughter has a “road rage issue”. I’m sure we all know what road rage is having experienced it ourselves either as the giver or the receiver. Neither one is pleasant and can result in dire results. Our son-in-law cautioned his wife numerous times to curb her behavior, but to no avail. This incident however, helped her to see her problem.

She was on her way to church and the person in front of her had stopped in a traffic circle, apparently not knowing what to do. No one else was in the circle so she wasn’t waiting for someone else to proceed.  Our daughter angrily yelled at the person (although they couldn’t hear her fortunately) and of course honked her horn in disgust. This prompted the person to move slowly forward. At that point, our daughter drove slowly behind her and to her surprise, followed her right into the church parking lot.

She was embarrassed and decided she wouldn’t get out of the car until the woman went into the church, but the woman was talking on the phone and church was about to start.  Our daughter got out to go in and at the same time the woman decided to do the same thing. The other woman happened to have parked closer so she got there first and held the door open for our daughter who was mortified by her behavior just a few minutes earlier. She sat down and the woman sat in the same pew a few seats away. When it was time to pass the peace, the woman came right over to her and greeted her as if nothing had happened.

Our daughter was ashamed of herself and her behavior and took this as a nudge from the Lord to mend her ways. The other woman was so gracious and forgiving. It gave my daughter pause and she realized that sometimes God talks to you through songs, social posts, circumstances, coincidences and thoughts. It really hit home and she has vowed to mend her road rage issues as a result of this incident and the Holy Spirit speaking to her. I was pleased to hear her come to this conclusion and I’m sure her husband was as well.

Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

Listen for God talking to you in his way and time and giving you guidance when it is needed.  This is just one more way God shows us He loves us unconditionally and wants the best for us.  Thanks be to God!

Patty

Last night’s gospel was taken from 2 Peter 3 which gives us helpful information for prayer time. Huh? I know that the writing principally assures us that the Lord IS coming back, but it also offers an explanation for God’s concept of time as compared to ours. 

Verse 8 reminds us that “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” So, when we use the term “God’s time”, we are talking about a different definition of time. When I first read this passage as a younger person, seeking to find out why my prayers were not answered in my time, it did provide me with consolation and extracted some patience for my wait. 

I won’t deny that one day equaling a thousand days is a very long time to wait and be patient. Sometimes our requests need immediate attention and that does happen. However, when it doesn’t, patience and constant prayer are needed to get through this patch.  

It is important to remember that Peter wrote this to a people who were eagerly waiting for Jesus to return to earth as He promised. They wanted Him right now; things were tough; they were being persecuted-killed for their beliefs. Peter had to console them and shore up Jesus’ proclamation about His return.  

There is another important teaching in this chapter concerning the length of the wait. God wants us to be ready for His return. He wants all to come to repentance so that we won’t perish. Given what we know about man-womankind, we still have some work to do, and it may take a lot of time. I am grateful for God’s patience and unconditional love. 

During this Advent Season of Waiting, constant prayer will keep our hearts centered on Jesus and his work in the world. We can accept that God’s time is not always our time. We can be assured that our pleas will be answered as we walk along the path to eternal life.  

Remember, God loves you unconditionally. 

Terri 

So a German who used the name Laurentius Laurenti, born in a territory under Danish rule, writes a hymn that gets translated into English by Sarah Borthwick Findlater, a Scott, which gets picked up by Swedish Lutherans in the U.S. and joined to a Swedish folk song. The result is one of my favorite Advent hymns regardless of what nationality it belongs to: “Rejoice, rejoice, believers.”

Here’s a choir anthem based on it. 

Isn’t that uplifting?

The theme of the hymn is actually based on the story of the wise and foolish maidens waiting for the bridegroom in Matthew which in the old lectionary was a lesson for near the end of the church year rather than Advent, but the themes are related.

In this version the first three stanzas are address to us, the believers, the watchers, the saints. And then a shift, a prayer.

Our hope and expectation,
O Jesus, now appear!
Arise, Thou sun so longed for,
O’er this benighted sphere!
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord, to see
The day of earth’s redemption
That brings us unto Thee.

O Jesus now appear! You can see how that applies to Advent as we await the coming of the Christ Child, but it’s more than that. We pray for Jesus to be among us now “in this benighted sphere.” This stanza describes our crazy world but more importantly, it identifies who we need–Jesus.

Pray that we might be like Jesus so that this mixed up world may see him in us.

Read Matthew 25:1-13 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne