Bethlehem Bound

 

Who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

 

The Gospel of John loves a good puzzle stuffed inside a mystery wrapped in an enigma!  John loves nothing more than to confuse you.  In chapter three, Nicodemus, who was a scholar, religious leader, and learned man, goes to see Jesus.  Jesus, in turn, tries to tell Nick that he must be born again…or it could be translated born anew…or could be translated born from above.  What Jesus is saying here is really hard to translate!  Even the words are confusing, so no wonder Nick scratches his head, stupefied and stunned!  This Word of God made flesh, John is saying in the words above, is both human and divine.  This is true not only of Christ but of you and me.  Yet, like Nick, we get confused.  We lose the divine part of our ability to see the face of God in another.  Our hearts become clouded and souls stormy, so we cannot engage the world through God’s hope, peace, joy, and love.  There is a reason why we light candles at Advent ~ they are to help us see differently.  We look for hope and seek to embody hope.  We engage in peace and want peace to begin with me.  We laugh with joy and invite others to join the dance.  We love, because God forms us with love from the top of our head to our pinkie toe.  You are not a glorious accident; you are a beloved of God.  You are not some prisoner to the politics or powers that be, but a beloved of God.  You are not defined by your worst mistake, but forgiven to let loose your light and let God’s prayer shine through you.  Take your word that has brought you thus far on the way, out into the world to be one way God can be experienced through you this day.  And may God’s love enfold and hold you as we round the corner and a stable comes into view on the horizon.  Amen.  

Bethlehem Bound

 

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

 

You are beloved.  If you hear nothing else this Advent season, know that you are God’s beloved.  If you carry any promise and prayer from Advent into 2026, hold onto the truth that God’s love has you and holds you.  To be sure, God’s love is not bubble wrap.  It won’t stop the stumbles, bumbles, heartbreak, and soul ache.  God’s love is not a money-back guarantee or promise of the “good life”.  Living as God’s beloved doesn’t mean that it is all pony rides beside a chocolate river in the Willie Wonka Chocolate Factory. 

Nope.  

Some storms drench us.  Some floods sweep us off our feet.  There is pain that no amount of binge watching, screen staring, spiked eggnog consuming, or shopping sprees can save us from.  We numb ourselves because sometimes the ache is too much to bear.  We numb ourselves because it is a culturally acceptable way to deal with the hurt.  We numb ourselves in our attempt to find what our restless hearts long to encounter ~ which is love.  To be sure, there is a gap between our proclamation of God’s love and our experience of that holy affection.  Sometimes what gets in the way between us and God is our own busyness and stubbornness.  Sometimes the obstacle between us and God is societal ~ the strains of trying to make ends meet, or getting kicked off your health insurance, or medical issues that confound the doctors who too quickly leave the room because they cannot cure you.  

Hold this.  

To believe in God’s love is not to say that everything will be roses, but it is to lean into a promise that Divine love is at work in us and through us and seeking us every day.  God so loves the world, John 3 proclaims, that God came in the flesh on earth.  This is scandalous!  God, who is holy, enters this bruised, broken, beautiful world to walk with us.  Not just in a barn two thousand years ago, but again and again and again every day in your life and mine.  Faith is a pair of eyeglasses that helps us focus on God’s arrival in our ordinary lives.  The word you are carrying to the manger is meant to be a magnifying glass to observe this ordinary life.  May you open your heart vulnerably, as God vulnerably came to earth, to find afresh and anew today God’s love has you and won’t ever let you go.  Amen.

Morning Meditation

 

He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 

 

What a powerful, heartbreaking sentence!  Christ comes to the world, and we mistake, misunderstand, and maim God’s hope, peace, love, and joy in the world.  Not just two thousand years ago, but again and again and again.  We reject Christ when we use our words to hurt and harm each other.  We reject Christ when we bully and blame others.  We reject Christ when we let racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, economic elitism, classism, agism, and all the other ways that we are jockeying for position in this world lead us rather than Christ.  When I put someone down on social media, I am rejecting Christ.  When I gossip behind someone’s back to make myself feel better, I am rejecting Christ.  When I talk about “them” and “those” people, I reject Christ.  We are playing a dangerous game in our world ~ one of violence (weapons and words and some imaginary scoreboard politically), but there are people in Cuba, Gaza, Israel, Sudan, Darfur, Jamaica, Ukraine, Russia, China, Sarasota, and across our communities who are Christ here and now.  I know that living God’s hope, peace, joy, and love is difficult and demanding.  I get that trying to love our enemies when they wield weapons that hurt too many people can feel foolish and deadly.  I get that being a Christian is not an easy way to feel safe, secure, or seen.  Rejection is part of our human life.  Humans are beautifully broken, both in Jesus’ time and ours.  Who do you struggle to accept today?  Please remember that acceptance doesn’t mean affirmation or affection.  Acceptance means that I recognize the humanity and the God-image of another.  Doesn’t mean I understand the other.  Doesn’t mean I can change the other.  To accept is to pray for peace, health, and love to be with that person.  So, today, think of someone you struggle to love.  And pray, “God, may _______ (fill in the person’s name) know peace, health, and love.”  You may say that with a clenched jaw and tight shoulders.  You may say it but realize you don’t mean it.  Your words matter.  What you speak into the universe creates a ripple and riff.  May you and I be God’s prayer this day through our words, and may the word you are carrying to the manger this year be a blessing to you and those you encounter today.  Amen.

Bethlehem Bound

 

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him.

 

There is a great quote, “the more I learn, the less I know.”  

The more I experience this mysterious world, the more I am baffled.  

The more I interact with fellow featherless bipeds, the more I realize we are all just complex contradictions walking around.  

Each day, there is something that causes me to scratch my head in both amazement and prayer.  Growing up, I would hear adults say, “Welp, I am not surprised.”  As though this person has so cognitively conquered the world and understands all mysteries that they know all the tricks and tips.  I think people would say that to appear superior, but honestly, we are all bumbling and baffled bipeds trying to make our way.  

Sometimes when I lament, “They didn’t teach me that in seminary.”  Of course they didn’t!!  There is no way seminary or any school can teach you everything, because the world is the classroom…

your life is the curriculum…

your experience is your lesson every day.  

The question is not what we know, but are we willing to be taught?  

The question is not, did I earn an “A” (life is not about the grade), but am I willing to stay open and curious about this strange life we are all living?  

The question is, are we willing to let the Word, God’s expression in the flesh and breath of your life today, help expand as you explore the unfolding of the universe?  

God is the composer still writing the symphony.  God is the author, still editing the story.  The word you selected sixteen days ago is one doorway for you to enter the stable and stand in the scratchy straw this Advent.  That word in all its beautiful incompleteness is one window into your soul and is preparing your life for Christ to enter.  So may you and I let loose with our word and light and presence through which God is still entering the world that God might be known/encountered through you and me and we today.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

As we let the candles of hope, peace, and love burn brightly within us, slowly read and savor John’s poetic reminder of the Cosmic Christ who has always been collaborating and conspiring with the Creator since the beginning.  I invite you to read aloud so you can hear, feel and experience these words:

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being ⁴ in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. ⁹ The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. ¹² But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.  ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶ From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

 

Fifteen days ago, I asked you to select a word to carry with you to the manger this year.  A word that I pray blessed you and maybe even frustrated you occasionally.  You may wonder, “Why did I pick 'hope’ when the headlines every day shout reasons why that word seems foolish or as far away from reality as the planet Pluto?”  Or maybe you selected “Peace” and each day have found a few moments to sit, breathe, be, letting that word wash over you.  Or maybe you have decided to trade your word for a different one, like trying on shoes for a journey.  Regardless of where you are with your word, we know that words shape us.  Words impact us.  While I learned that famous childhood refrain/rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” ~ you and I know that this isn’t true. Words wound.  Words can be weaponized by politicians, pundits, and pastors.  Yet, God sends God’s Words/Wisdom/Dream/Prayer in the flesh and form of Jesus. 

 

In John’s gospel, he opens with a poetic riff on Genesis 1 by saying that God’s Word has been eternally present and participated in creation.  In verse 6, John takes an exit ramp to talk about John.  On November 30^th, in church, we heard about Zachariah and Elizabeth, John’s parents, who were advanced in age, their AARP cards tattered and torn.  Their hope of ever having a child had long ago been let go of and seemed impossible/impractical/ill-advised as their bodies told the score of a long life.  But then…surprise..a birth announcement.  The gospel of John does some wonderful verbal gymnastics above.  Re-read verse 8, John was not…I repeat was not…the light.  All four gospel writers have what is called “The problem of John the baptizer.”  By all accounts, John the Baptizer was a popular prophet.  His followers on Twitter were numerous, and his attendance numbers at worship services required police to direct traffic.  Just kidding.  But John the baptizer was well-known.  John had disciples who followed him and thought he was the Messiah.  So, the gospel writers must acknowledge John, but don’t want to distract from Jesus.  I don’t think Jesus had a problem with John.  I don’t think Jesus was concerned about who or how you experienced the love of God, only that you knew deep in your heart and soul this truth. 

 

Today, hold your word for the wisdom and love it longs to let loose in your life.  And may your word guide and ground you as we turn the corner and count down to Christmas Eve.  With God’s love to you all~  Amen.  

Bethlehem Bound

 

The Light shines into the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it or put it out.

 

Begin this morning by speaking your Advent word aloud and listening for how the Eternal Echo responds to your voice.

 

Light and darkness are dancing today.  This is true in John’s prologue, and it is true in Genesis.  In fact, the very first act of creation we read is, And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light God saw that the light was good, and the Creator separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness Artist/Author/Inventor called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Genesis 1:3-5).  Go back and re-read this.  Notice that a familiar phrase is missing.  Usually, God’s creativity culminates in God saying that what is formed and fashioned is good, except here.  Separation is not declared as “good”.  Having light and darkness as distinct or different is not called good.  Darkness and light have always been in a divine dance.  Both are needed and necessary.  Both are holy.  There is a great hymn called “Holy Darkness.”  The opening words are:

 

Holy darkness, blessed night,
heaven's answer hidden from our sight.
As we await you, O God of silence,
we embrace your holy night.

 

Tonight, when the sun sets, light a candle (which our Jewish friends will do tonight to welcome the Sabbath).  Let that flickering flame dance with the darkness ~ see how the two hug and hold each other.  Let the light and darkness meet you in the story.  Speak your Advent Word aloud to the light and darkness, seeing how both have truths to sing to you.  May the holy darkness of God bless you this night as we continue to make our way to the manger on Christmas Eve to see how darkness and light are always tangled and twisted with each other.  May God’s peace/shalom/wholeness/healing and presence hold and enfold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

This is the true Light that comes to all the peoples of the world and shines on everyone

Begin this morning by speaking your Advent word aloud and listening for how the Eternal Echo responds to your voice.

 

There is a universalist nature to God’s embrace that we are hearing this week.  Everyone, everywhere, no expectations.  Of course, we want to control God’s flashlight.  We want to tell God who is on our “naughty” and “nice” list, playing Santa Claus.  We want to block out some who seem unworthy of God’s light, determine and distinguish who has earned or deserved God’s love this Christmas.  We want to put coal in people’s stockings, especially the ones who have hurt us.  Take that, we think, because the one who laughs last wins. 

 

I don’t understand the unconditional and unceasing part of God.  There are certainly people whom I would prefer not be invited to the manger this year.  And, I think the very people I don’t want to gaze into the eyes of the vulnerable Christ-child, might be the very ones who need it the most.  At the manger, I might see the humanness of another.  Those who go reluctantly to the manger join with those who skip all the way to Bethlehem.  Those who show up at church to appease family are just as loved as those of us who have already picked out our Christmas Eve attire.  The Carol, Come All Ye Faithful reminds us of the inclusiveness of the invitation.  Come all…even if your faith is on fumes or empty.  Even if you feel this whole love stuff is foolish.  Even if you still think some people should be blocked at the barn door, because God doesn’t have a bouncer to keep the riffraff out.  In fact, God seems to delight in the lost, lonely, and left out.  Those who come to the manger feeling forgotten or pushed to the fringe get the front row seat.  The stable is full of people not on our guest list.  The stable is not reserved for those who have perfect attendance and pledge cards that were increased or the “right” beliefs.  Come all. That has been, is, and will always be God’s calling card.  Come all.  Be drenched in a light that changes the story you tell yourself about yourself, others, and especially God.  Come all.  Today and tomorrow and every day in 2026.  Come, let’s dance together.  And may God’s peace/shalom/wholeness/healing and presence hold and enfold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

Creator’s life shone out from the Word, giving light to all human beings.

 

Begin this morning by speaking your Advent word aloud and listening for how the Eternal Echo responds to your voice.

 

How is God shining through your Word this week?  Has someone you encountered this week spoken your word back to you?  That might be one way God is moving in your midst.  Where have you stumbled unexpectedly onto your word in the most surprising way?  Pay attention today.  Find creative, fun, faithful, and meaningful ways to work your Advent word into every conversation.  Notice what happens when you drop the word “Hope” (if that is your word) into a sentence to someone.  Notice what happens when you try to write a prayer with that word at the center.  Notice what is born in you and through you as that word escapes both your lips this day.

 

May you and your word find fabulous and faithful ways to let God’s presence loose in the unexpected world today.  And may God’s peace/shalom/wholeness/healing and presence hold and enfold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

And not one thing exists that he did not create

 

Begin this morning by speaking your Advent word aloud and listening for how the Eternal Echo responds to your voice.

 

Not one thing…or put a positive spin on this…everything.  Everything, everywhere exists because of God’s creativity.  You.  Me.  That squirrel outside my window and the tree s/he is scurrying around.  My neighbor.  The person who frustrates and flummoxes me.  The person who hurts me.  The person who loves me.  The vampire bat that swoops in, skimming my head.  The dog that places his head in my lap, letting me feel unconditional love and peace.  Everything, everywhere, was envisioned and imprinted with God.

 

Wait. 

 

What do you mean the person who yelled at me?  What do you mean the animal that dug up my tomato plants?  What do you mean the leader on the news who makes my blood boil?

 

How can that be part of God’s good creation?

 

I don’t know.  There is plenty of evidence to object to God’s goodness in this world.  There are plenty of hard hearts like Herod in Jesus’ birth narrative who hurt and harm children, rob the dignity and divinity of fellow humans.  There are plenty of people who use their free will like a sword to throw hate around. 

 

The hurt and harm are real.  The hurt and harm threaten to steal our hope and peace. And God’s love is infused and implanted in everything.  Whether we decide to live from that place or not has been the mystery of human life since the very beginning.  Why does Cain kill Abel?  Why does Pharaoh enslave God’s people?  Why does Babylon come crushing in destroying, and devastating lives?  Why does God’s love incarnate hang from a cross?  Why do people today still act as though the mystery of this world should author our lives with a hope, peace, love, and joy?  Why do we act as though God is distant because we cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is present?  Why do barriers block us from encountering the Divine?  Why do we feel justified in hating?  These questions will never have answers.  I can either let the frustrating mystery of people lead me to bitterness or break me open.  I can either act as if nothing is a mystery or everything is.  I can either arrive at Bethlehem this year exhausted or excited that something new is being birthed.  As J. Drew Lanthem says, “God prefers wombs,” and I would add tombs.  God works through a beautiful darkness, helping us to collaborate with a Creator who is still fashioning and forming you and me and everything, everything, everything, and everyone we encounter today.  May God’s peace/shalom/wholeness/healing and presence hold and enfold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

Last week, we held a word you selected close to your heart, ears, and life.  Or maybe you decided you needed more than just one word this Advent.  Or maybe you are longing right now to trade your word for another, the way you would swap something from your lunch with something from your friend’s lunch at school growing up (I’ll trade you a Hostess cupcake for that Little Debbie treat we’d say to each other ~ like we were playing Let’s Make a Deal).  Here is my deal for you.  You are welcome to find a new word this week if you’d like or continue to carry the word you selected last week.  No right answers or rules or shoulds/have tos during this Advent.  Sometimes we make a choice and feel disappointed, wanting to rewind time.  On the road to Bethlehem, maybe you need to set down your word from last week, for it has taken you as far as it can.  Or maybe you want to keep carrying your word because you sense there is a blessing not yet revealed or realized.  Or maybe your word has been a light to your path.  Or maybe you are still struggling to find a word.  Right now, find a word or a few.  Say your word aloud.  Let the letters leap from your tongue into the world as a blessing that no one may hear, but God does.  Your word, your life, your presence on the path to the manger, creating space and a place for God this year.

 

Slowly read, aloud preferably so you hear your own voice, the Indigenous People’s Version of John 1:

 

Long ago, in the time before all days, before the creation of all things, the one who is known as the Word was there face-to-face with the Great Spirit.  This Word fully represents the Creator and shows us who he is and what he is like.  He has always been there from the beginning, for the Word and Creator are one and the same.  Through the Word all things came into being, and not one thing exists that he did not create.  Creator’s life shone out from the Word, giving light to all human beings.  This is the true Light that comes to all the peoples of the world and shines on everyone.  The Light shines into the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it or put it out.

Into the wilderness of the Land of Promise (Judea) came a man named Gift of Goodwill (John).  He was sent by the Great Spirit to tell what he knew about the Light so everyone could believe.  He was not the Light but came to speak the truth about the Light.  The true Light that shines on all people was coming into the darkness of this world.  He came down into this world, and even though he made all things, the world did not recognize him.  Even his own tribe did not welcome or honor him. But all who welcome and trust him receive their birthright as children of the Great Spirit.  Creator’s Word became a flesh-and-blood human being and pitched his sacred tent among us, living as one of us.  We looked upon his great beauty and saw how honorable he was, the kind of honor held only by this one Son who fully represents his Father – full of his great kindness and truth. 

Gift of Goodwill (John) told what he knew about him and cried out with a loud voice, “The one I have told you about is here!  He comes after me, but is much greater – my elder!  He has more honor, for even though he is thought to be younger, he existed before I was born.” 

From the fullness of his being, we have all had many gifts of kindness poured out on us.  Drawn from the Water (Moses) gave us our tribal laws, but the gift of great kindness and truth came from Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One.  No one has ever seen the Great Spirit but the one Son, who is himself the Great Spirit and closest to the Father’s heart, has shown us what he is like.  (First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament).

 

Was there a word above that sang to your shy soul?  Did you hear something new, feel something new, encounter a truth that has always been in this passage, but this translation illuminated for you?  Let these words inspire and infuse us as we begin the second week of Advent and our travel to Bethlehem this year.  May God’s peace/shalom/wholeness/healing and presence hold and enfold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

Through the Word all things came into being…

 

What is coming into being with your word this week?  Maybe your Advent word is helping you explore this holy season.  Maybe your Advent word is frustrating you because you two had a tiff last night when you were thinking about all the other words you could have chosen and you decided that “hope” was your word…or “peace”…or “love”…or “light,” and now that word feels heavy or unable to uphold you.

 

Take time with your word today.  Go look up a definition of the word you’ve selected.  Make as many sentences with your word as you can.  If you are frustrated, you could start with, “I can’t believe I picked “hope” as my word.”  Google quotes using your word, see how other people have played with this word previously.  Or just write it down on a piece of paper again and again and again, because all words can be Holy when we let God enter the “third space” with us and our word.  In fact, God is already there.  What might God be singing to you this day in your word?

 

Please pray with me: God, I picked this word, (speak your word aloud).  What do You want me to discover or uncover in this word?  Did I get it right?  Help me continue to explore and express and experience the elasticity of this holy word as I let it work in me and through me in these days.  Let my word and Your presence guide me deeper into this season of Advent.  Amen.  

Bethlehem Bound

 

The Word was present to God from the beginning

 

You and your word have been hanging out for a few days now.  Any new insights into why that word leapt into your imagination?  Today, I invite you to write your word 10 times on a piece of paper.  I encourage you to do this in analog form; not on a computer where you can copy and paste quickly, but with a pen and paper where each letter takes time.  You are doing this to let the word sink into your DNA.  Your word you selected this week is a doorway God can work/walk through throughout this season if we stay awake and alert to God’s work in the world.  What if you asked God for a definition of the word or an example ~ then listened for the Sacred to sing out as John chapter 1 told us on Monday?  Hold your word today, let your word hold you.  With God’s hope to enfold and hold you especially right now.  Amen.

Bethlehem Bound

 

The Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God. 

 

Wait, wait, wait, my soul wants to object and interject.  Just wait a minute here.  Which is it?  Is the Word in God’s presence, or is the Word a part of God?  You can’t be both; that doesn’t make sense!

 

I love that Scripture is a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle, stuffed inside an enigma.  Scripture isn’t interested in giving you a step-by-step instruction manual for life.  Scripture wants to keep you off-kilter and off-balanced and even a bit offended by its insistence that God is up to something.  A few weeks ago, I talked about the Venn Diagrams of life.  Your energy interests with another person’s energy, and together you create a “third space” ~ a space that is a collaboration and cooperation of both.  I think about “third space” with my wife.  We are each unique, and together for 25 years, there is an energy we have both tended/created/crafted ~ we continue to do so.  I have a third space with my kids, with you as church members, with the readers of these words.  A third space can’t be contained because it is always changing ~ taking on new shapes.  So, yes, the Word could be both before God and a part of God, because I know that my family is always, always in my heart/mind/soul.  I know that God is always a part of my life, and at the same time, the Sacred is separate.  Hold this idea of “third space” as you move about your day.  You are creating a “third space” with the Word you are carrying to the manger.  That word is both separate and becoming part of your life. 

 

As you make the road to Bethlehem by walking, together with your word, you will create a “third space.”  Spend time today with your word.  Make it a cup of hot chocolate and ask it what it wants to tell you.  Speak the word aloud.  If the word is a part of a Christmas Carol and go blast that Carol from your speakers, singing with gusto.  Even if that word isn’t part of a Christmas Carol, blast music anyway because that is a holy prayer practice.  Tend the space between you and your word, because as you do, I believe God works within us and through us in these days.  With God’s hope to enfold and hold you this week.  Amen.

Bethlehem Bound

 

In the beginning, there was the Word

 

Advent marks the beginning of a new church year.  Pause, smell the air…do you sense an aroma hovering like when you sit in a new car?  Or does the air smell more like stale pumpkin pie and leftover turkey that you can’t believe is still in your refrigerator?  I mean, how many sandwiches can one person eat?  What is in the air you breathe?  What is in your heart right now?  Does it feel like you are starting a new chapter or just a continuation of the same story that feels stuck and stymied in your life right now?  Maybe it is a bit of both?

 

On Sunday and yesterday, I encouraged you to find a word to carry to the manger/stable/ Bethlehem this year.  Maybe today, you are still trying to find a word for Advent.  A few questions to ponder with your word you selected so far.

 

Do you sense excitement or exhaustion in your life right now?

Do you feel hope or hanging on by a thread today?

Where do you feel like Elizabeth – pregnant with possibility, and where do you feel barren or dealing with pain?

 

Of course, only having one word to describe the beautiful complexity that is you can be an exercise in frustration.  We are multitudes; many words roam around within us.  Many words want to take up residence or pitch a tent in our minds, refusing to leave. You may need more than one word.  You could fill up a page trying to express all that is swirling in you. 

 

Last week, I offered you this list as possible words to carry in the backpack of your life to Bethlehem.  You may want to light a candle of “Hope” today as you read these words ~ and I pray this lets loose your imagination:

• Jesus 
• Christ 
• Bethlehem
• Manger 
• Shepherds 
• Angels 
• Mary
• Joseph
• Incarnation/God-in-the-flesh
• Advent/waiting/wandering
• Wise Ones 
• Frankincense and Myrrh or Gifts
• Peace
• Joy
• Faith
• Hope
• Love
• Emmanuel: A name for Jesus, meaning "God with us". 

 

Remember that lighting a candle called hope is an act of resistance in a world where the headlines object, our rational minds reject, and our heartlines project a different truth.  You may feel your inner defense attorney yell out that such a word should not even dare be spoken today.  Hope is always vulnerable, like a baby lying in a manger.  Hope is always foolish, like shepherds crying out good news to anyone who would stop to listen.  Hope is persistent because God isn’t finished yet.  God continues to sing from barns to this day.  Do you hear what I hear?  What word is crying out for you to carry to the manger this year?  With God’s hope to enfold and hold you this week.  Amen. 

Bethlehem Bound

 

Yesterday, we began the season of Advent, preparing for God’s love to be born anew in the flesh and breath of Jesus as a vulnerable baby and laid in a feed trough (manger).  Between now and Christmas Eve, I invite you to find a word to carry with you to the manger.  You may choose a word from the list I published last week, or maybe you want to select a word from the reading below from the Gospel of John.  John lets loose his poetic side and sings out about a Word (or Logos or Wisdom or Truth) that becomes human.  John chapter 1 is a wonderful invitation for us to dwell in Word/God’s wisdom, but God’s Word comes to dwell with us as well as in us.  Today, I want to read the passage from the Inclusive Version of the New Testament.  Slow savor these words:

 

In the beginning, there was the Word; the Word was in God’s presence, and the Word was God.  The Word was present to God from the beginning.  Through the Word all things came into being, and apart from the Word nothing came into being that has come into being.  In the Word was life, and that life was humanity’s light – a Light that shines in the darkness, a Light that the darkness has never overtaken.  Then came one named John, set as an envoy from God, who came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through his testimony everyone might believe.  He himself wasn’t the Light; he only came to testify about the Light that illumines all humankind.  The Word was coming into the world – was in the world – and though the world was made through the Word.  The world didn’t recognize it.  Through the Word came to its own realm, the Word’s own people didn’t accept it.  Yet, any who did accept the Word, who believed in that Name were empowered to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor urge of flesh, nor human will, but born of God.  And the Word became flesh and stayed for a little while among us; we saw the Word’s glory – the favor and position a parent gives an only child – filled with grace, filled with truth. (Inclusive Version of the New Testament)

 

Which word from the reading sang to your soul?  Did any words surprise you in this translation?  Did any words feel like sandpaper to your soul?  Which word(s) would you like to remember today?  Pick one word today from the above reading as a light to your path to the stable this year.  Or you can select a word from a favorite carol.  Or a word that expresses where you are at or would like to be by the time we reach Bethlehem.  We will continue to let John guide us to the One with eternity dancing in his eyes as we prepare a manger-shaped place in our hearts this Advent season.  With God’s hope to enfold and hold you this week.  Amen.