Joy Lutheran Church Ocala, Florida

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

Recently my grandson Gabriel moved to Las Vegas. He had planned this move for about two years, and when the opportunity arose, he jumped. He drove 1,125 miles from Seattle to Las Vegas, through mountains he’d never seen before, a desert and barren land foreign to him. It took him two days, and during those two days, we prayed fervently for God’s mercy for safe travel.

In Psalm 90:1 we read: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” What does this psalm mean? To me, it means that through everything, and every place, God is with us. In Gabriel’s case, even through the Blue Mountains of Oregon (which can be hazardous due to how steep inclines), through the desert of Northern Nevada, through the flat land in Idaho, God was with him. God was his dwelling place.

Often we rely most on God during trials and tribulations. We pray fervently for God’s mercy. Yet we can also thank and praise God through song when things are going right. When we dwell in our Lord’s presence even when life’s turmoil surrounds us, we find peace. For that I am ever grateful.

Lord, I am forever thankful for your abiding presence and your love for all people. In you I find my dwelling place. Amen.

Shared by Sue Delgado – Alaska Native Lutheran Church, Anchorage
from The Alaska Synod Advent Devotional 2024, “Let your light shine!”

My, my – how I delight in words! A “play on words,” the title of this blog that popped into mind. I think we all get how the English language can be downright tricky most of the time.

CLOSER

“Look closer because the closer we get, the closer the closer gets.”
The Closer. Capitalizing the word, it begins to make sense. I hope.

“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”
Getting near.

Closer, The Closer is. Pronounce the “s” a certain way, which is easy if English is your primary, or first language.

Look, listen, get your head on straight.

Clear a straight path for The Closer. (That was the title of a recent T.V. show, and the eponymous key character played by Mrs. Kevin Bacon). Close the case.

Close the deal.

Make sure you pronounce the “s” like a “z”, which then sounds like clothes, further complicating things for the ESL (English as a Second Language) people.

That is also part of the picture. The Closer is for all tribes and nations, all peoples and tongues.

“Get your holy and repent on,” Pastor Art said pejoratively.

This Advent season is so vivid, so “in your face” and in your heart. Every Bible reading, every note of music. Speaking of, I listened as I do every Advent season, to Handel’s “Messiah”. I was sobbing. The words of the prophets set to gorgeous melodies that become earworms for me. I can’t adequately convey what this master work of music does to me – especially for such a time as this. Everything that this world offers is ultimately garbage. Every promise – from “promising” that the elevator at your assisted living facility will be fixed “soon and very soon” to campaign “promises” (BOTH parties). Yada, yada, yada.

It is not so with the Kingdom of God. We are all homesick for the home that is the one true Home, which The Closer will bring. This season is all too precious, all too brief, to waste it on the trivialities and banalities of man-made systems that do not deliver. Our strong Deliverer is getting close. Embrace that unconditional love.

Pastor Art

There’s a song by Jerry Heman that goes “For We Need a Little Christmas right this very minute.”  Some of us remember Johnny Mathis singing that back in 1986.  Well, I’d like to suggest that right now, “We need a little Advent.”

It’s been a chaotic year of angry elections, a divided nation, wicked storms, ongoing suffering by those who have the least, and personal suffering by many among us.  We’ve searched and prayed, but sometimes the Lord’s peace has been elusive.

After this frenzied year, there is comfort to be found when we pause to read, pray and reflect in this Advent season.  The second Sunday of Advent encouraged us to prepare our hearts in faithful waiting to celebrate the Christ’s birth and to ready ourselves for his second coming.  A key word there is faithfulness, not just waiting, but waiting with faith.  The other key word is waiting.  We read, we pray, we reflect, and oh yes, we would like God’s reply ASAP.  But we must wait, all things come in God’s good time, not ours.   And yes, we need that reminder, we need a little Advent.

When we wait on the Lord, there is  always hope.  Awaiting our God of unconditional love gives us true hope.  The song that follows, “The Thrill of Hope,” is sung by Cristy Nockels.  I hope you enjoy it.

Judy

Note: King David is credited with writing Psalm 145. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. This psalm by David was written in acrostic form.  This means his poetry was written with each phrase beginning with the sequential letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Reading this psalm in English, I was reminded to be patient.  God loves us unconditionally and will answer us and care for us IN HIS TIME. In the Message translation of Psalm 145: 14-18,

“God gives a hand to those down on their luck,
    gives a fresh start to those ready to quit. All eyes are on you, expectant;
    you give them their meals on time.Generous to a fault,
    you lavish your favor on all creatures. Everything God does is right—
    the trademark on all his works is love. God’s there, listening for all who pray,
    for all who pray and mean it.”

Let’s trust Him. If we pray in earnest and trust His timing… “everything God does is right!” This psalm from King David is so uplifting, so reassuring. God is on His throne.  He loves us and will answer our prayers in His way, on His time schedule and it will be RIGHT! How blessed are we to know Him! Share that good news, it’s powerful.

Jill