Romans 12:9-13: Let love be without any pretense. Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good. In brotherly love let your feelings of deep affection for one another come to expression and regard others as more important than yourself. In the service of the Lord, work not half-heartedly, but with conscientiousness and an eager spirit. Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly; share with any of God’s holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable.
If we are looking for a formula for happiness . . . here it is.
If we are wondering what yardsticks we might use to measure ourselves . . . here we have them.
If we are asking ourselves how we might experience peace . . . here is the answer.
Focus on what is good, seek wisdom, be persistent, pray in all circumstances, welcome others, share God’s mercy, live a life of authentic love. Paul gives us a recipe for joy that may seem difficult; yet it is simple.
Serve God by serving others . . . love God by loving others. We have been granted the ingredients . . . now we must use them well.
Psalm 62:5-6 – Rest in God alone, my soul! He is the source of my hope; with him alone for my rock, my safety, my fortress, I can never fall; rest in God, my safety, my glory, the rock of my strength.
When will all the conflict end? When will I have some peace? When will I understand what is happening all around me?
God says: Rather than wait for conflict to go away, learn to lean on me. When you feel angry, when you want to control people and situations, when you feel afraid, come to me, stand on me, rest in me. I am hope. When you trust me you become hope, too . . . not only for yourself but others as well.
Like a child who rests in her parent’s hands, may you find a little rest, a little peace, a little hope.
Modern CorinthWe have before us today the story of who and what we are, what we believe, and how and why we came into being. This story tells us everything we need to know about why we exist. It is the teaching that Paul received from Christ, and it is the teaching that he preaches constantly, both to the people of his time and to us today. Sometimes I need to re-read the story often, especially at the times when the world tests my stamina. Paul teaches. We are called to believe.
For a capsule view of the teaching Paul repeats so often we can go to Acts 17 and 18 when he is in Athens and about to depart for Corinth. He delivers his message as he always does, telling the marvelous story of how we only need to rely on God, how God has come among us to live and suffer and die and rejoice as one of us, and of how we are all brothers and sisters of this God who has risen and who wishes to have us with him in intimate union. This wonderful message is received in three ways: some scoff, some say they like the idea but are too busy at the moment to hear more, others believe . . . and join Paul in his mission.
We are offered this same opportunity each day as we rise, as we pray, as we work, as we play. We choose whether we want to poke fun, to be lukewarm, or to become fervent in our dedication to this simple yet amazing story.
From the MAGNIFICAT evening reflection on Acts 16:26 when the disciples are freed from shackles by an earthquake: Just as the disciples were delivered from prison, so were all of us delivered from the prison of sin and death by the resurrection of Christ and the gift of the Spirit. In moments of discouragement, let us remember the hope that lights our way to a goal far more wonderful than we can imagine even now.
The other citations all direct us to reflect on what to do when we are discouraged. Psalm 126, along with Baruch 4:22-23(I have trusted in the Eternal God for your welfare, and joy has come to me from the Holy One . . . With mourning and lament I sent you forth, but God will give you back to me with enduring gladness and joy) and Isaiah 55:11(My word shall not return to me void but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it).
When we become discouraged we only need to remember The Teaching: God has come among us to walk with us, to bring us release and peace and even joy.
They go out, they go out, full of tears, carrying seed for the sowing: they come back, they come back, full of song, carrying their sheaves. (Psalm 126:5-6)
Let us join Christ in the song, let us join Paul in the harvest, and let us join one another in peace and joy.
Amen.
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Evening.” MAGNIFICAT. 20.5 (2009). Print.
December 15, 2012 – Isaiah 33:17-24 – A Quiet Abode
Yahoo News – AP Source posted by Pete Yost on December 14, 2012
We humans look for a quiet place to bind up our wounds and gather strength. We search for background that explains the inexplicable, details that relieve us of responsibility. We anguish over a world that seems lost to injustice and rampant evil. We feel as though there is nothing but turmoil and chaos and yet, there is a quiet abode.
We hear news that chills us to the bone that innocent young lives are cut short; we see proof that dedicated adults die in the flash of a semi-automatic weapon designed to kill swiftly and indiscriminately. We cry out for change we suspect will never arrive. It seems as though it is impossible to find a place of refuge and yet, there is a tent that will never be struck.
We lament the loss of young lives within our own borders but pay no attention to headlines from other places in the world that tell of children who are terrorized daily. We know that entire families are slaughtered in the name of God. We exchange commerce with governments that murder their own. We prop up regimes that snuff out life with the coolness of a shooter who enters an elementary school with assault weapons and yet, there is a tent whoseanchoring pegs will never be pulled up.
We struggle with difficult colleagues. Loved ones bicker and argue over who has control when no one in fact does. We disconnect ourselves from others at precisely the moment when solidarity is needed. We sever ties in an attempt to preserve whatever strength we have left and yet, there is a sanctuary whose tethering ropes will never be severed.
The wicked cry out that there is no safety. Iniquity delights in the sorrow it creates. A desire for revenge takes hold and evil multiplies itself. We gather up any vestige of strength that remains and we look for the light we know will pierce the darkness. The desperate cry out that perhaps there is no God and yet, theLord is here with us . . . creating for us a quiet abode within his protective arms.
As the world mourns the loss of life in Newtown, CT in the USA, let us also mourn the loss of so much life around the world. Let us call others to join us as we mourn massacres everywhere. Let us join in prayer for those who struggle with private demons and public scorn. Let us enter the only refuge that never disappears and never betrays. So let us pray . . .
In the storm of turmoil that whirls around us, call us to the tent that the winds of war will never un-tether.
In the maelstrom of emotion that savages any hope of serenity, bring us into the tent whose pegs will always remain anchored.
In the deluge of fear and the tempest of anger that boil up to sap our energy, hold us in the shelter of your compassionate heart. Clasp us firmly in the arms of your justice. Remain with us in the safe haven of your quiet abode. For where you are is mercy. Where you are is justice. Where you are is peace. Where you are . . . is our only safe and quiet abode.
Let us hold in prayer all those who are touched by brutality anywhere in the world. We ask for your peace and consolation for all those who are traumatized by violence anywhere in the world. In this Advent time we look to the light that pierces the darkness; we look for the solace of your quiet abode. Amen.
To read about the incident in Connecticut, click on the image above.
Advent is the time of year when we anticipate the coming of the one king who really matters. This is the king who brings justice and shows mercy. This is the king who binds wounds and heals broken hearts. This is the king who is invincible, everlasting and omniscient. This is the only king who matters.
Today another prophet, Zechariah, tells us what we already know to be true. Falsehood cannot last – truth lives forever. Idol worship is a game – worship of the Lord God is a way of life. Fidelity brings its own reward of serenity – betrayal also brings its own consequence . . . the shepherd is killed, the sheep scatter . . . but those who are genuinely faithful will be brought back to the fold in a new way. Through pain and mourning they will return . . . and they will be full members in the Body of Christ. This New and Good Shepherd does not leave the flock unwatched yet is so present to all that he is able to go in search of those who are lost. He forgives sin, heals suffering, redeems those who are authentic and restores them in love.
The coming of Christ signals the end of falsehood and the beginning of the only kingdom that matters. This kingdom is one of justice and mercy. This kingdom is a place of refuge for those who are bedeviled by tormentors. This kingdom is unassailable, eternal, and present to us now. This is the only kingdom that matters.
Waiting . . .
When we read Zechariah’s Song of the Sword (13:7-9) we may think that God’s plan is crazy and ill-conceived. But when we realize that this process is a winnowing that yields the fruitful away from the fruitless, we will begin to see God’s wisdom. And this is what Zechariah celebrates and anticipates. It is what we celebrate and anticipate as we near the Feast of the Nativity. For this has been foretold, and this is what we know to be true: Christ has come to carry back all of those faithful who were scattered, Christ has returned to heal the brokenness of the world, Christ has come again to shepherd us into the kingdom.
When we meditate on this story in this prophecy, we see that this is the only plan that a loving God can conceive. A coming . . . a birth . . . a redemption for all.
Written on December 18, 2010 and posted today as a Favorite.
Romans 12:9-13: Let love be without any pretense. Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good. In brotherly love let your feelings of deep affection for one another come to expression and regard others as more important than yourself. In the service of the Lord, work not half-heartedly, but with conscientiousness and an eager spirit. Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly; share with any of God’s holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable. 
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