No Vacancy

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

Luke 2:1-7

It was 9:30 on Saturday night the weekend after Christmas. We had driven 16 hours in one day and it was time to settle into a hotel. I had visions of my son waking up in Sedona and we would relive the western movies as the highlight of our trip from Wisconsin to California. My dreams quickly shifted as each hotel sign read, “No Vacancy.” No problem. We headed up to Flagstaff—there were tons of hotels there. Forty miles later we entered Flagstaff. The Christmas lights twinkled against the snowy background. The bustle of the city felt welcoming to our weary minds. We stopped at the Super 8. No vacancy. Days Inn. No vacancy. Marriott. No vacancy. I drove to the next set of hotels, and each one no vacancy. The expensive hotels. No vacancy. I drove down the main strip, into every little dive hotel. Before we could climb out of the car the sign switched to No Vacancy.  How can a city with more than 70 hotels not have a room! The people coming out of the hotel were the same ones we saw at the last stop—they too were looking. No Vacancy. I was beginning to feel like Mary and Joseph entering Bethlehem with no room for them to sleep.

Finally—one lone hotel—vacancy! I pulled in, ran into the office. It offered a king bed and we needed two beds. I went out to ask my son what he wanted to do. I stood there in amazement as a lady in a white pick-up and red trailer drove by the side of my parked car, scraping the entire driver’s side with her trailer until our tires locked together and she could drive no further. When she got out of her truck, she looked at me and said, “Don’t think I am going to be entirely responsible for this!”

Not only was there no room in the inn, now my donkey was broken! We were hours from home, it was 25 degrees out, the car was broken, and the only hotel room available just went to the next person. I imagine the people Mary and Joseph encountered as rude and uncaring as my encounter in Flagstaff—every aspect from the neon signs, the tired people trying to find a place to stay, the angry front desk clerks, and the faultless woman in the truck, it all said, ‘Go away! You are not welcome!’ Flagstaff may not have been Bethlehem, but it was that night.

Have you ever felt so unwelcomed? Have you made someone else feel that way? Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem after traveling for days across the desert. Bethlehem means house of bread. Imagine a city full of bakeries…can you smell the aroma of bread drifting through the air?  Bethlehem was bustling with activity. It was time for the census. People were gathering with cousins and old friends similar to a family or class reunion, filling up every room available. The city that was full of life was not warm, but cold. The people had cold hearts and the innkeepers were tired of answering the door: “go away, we are full!”  Regardless of the people or location and hospitality available, the baby Jesus was born.

This Advent/Christmas season many people will close the doors on others who are in need. Every Christmas, Christ tries to enter into a world that is cold and uncaring, but a few will welcome him with loving hearts. There are many people waiting for someone who has arrived already to the majority of the world but not to them. They are waiting for new liberation from the pains of AIDS; from the frustration of immigration; for the curing of their addictions; waiting for the promise of new life and hope when life doesn’t seem to let up. How will you prepare your heart to receive the gift of love? In what ways can you share the love of God with someone close to you or a stranger in need? How can you be a channel of God’s care for them? May the Spirit of God open your heart, minds, and doors to welcome the Christ child with love.

***

Rev. Susan Oeffler

Divine Partnering

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.

—Matthew 23:1-12

What drives our actions? Jesus points to the scribes and Pharisees saying (paraphrased) “do what they teach and not what they do.” Jesus says that the teachings may be in the right place, but not their hearts. What compels them to share wisdom? In this text, we are introduced to people who do work for their own desires including taking places of honor and prestige in the community.

There are a number of actions we take to better ourselves. Giving our time, talent, and treasure to important causes feels good. There are also times we take action because it makes us look good or makes us feel better about ourselves.

I entered college and graduate school to strengthen some of my skills and increase my knowledge so that I could make a bigger contribution to the world—but that wasn’t the whole reason. I discovered that deep inside I was hoping that I would somehow attain deeper respect from others and feel better about my place in the world. I was also feeling a bit insecure about being a lesbian woman entering the ministry. My feelings became more apparent when I heard the story of a local college professor who was called an epithet based on his sexual orientation when all he wanted to do was share a drink with friends. I was saddened to hear of the event and realized that even if I had the letters “Rev.” or “Dr.” in front of my name, I would not be shielded from harm. I was going to school, in part, because I thought my education could protect me. The truth is that if I desire to do what is right and honor God, I am choosing a challenging path. The lives of Jesus and the prophets show us all too clearly how those who carry the message of love and peace are not always readily received.

We cannot do this work alone. Because of this, we cannot expect to take all the credit, either. This work of honoring God with our lives requires nothing short of the power of God acting in and through us.

God gives us a glimpse of the peaceable realm when those who wish to store up all the glory for themselves will be humbled and those who are humbled will be celebrated. It is when we are most humble that we are able to truly experience peace and witness the power of God.

Oh God, it is said that I must decrease in order for you to increase within me. I pray that desires for my own will may decrease that I may discover how the unique gifts you have freely given me can be fine tuned to live out your will to bring about the peaceable realm. Amen.

***

Angela Henderson, M.Div. currently serves as the Unitarian Universalist campus minister at UC Davis. She graduated with her Master of Divinity degree from Claremont School of Theology in 2010 and is a candidate for ministry.

Waiting, Watching

by Amanda

When I was in elementary school I loved Fridays. Not only was it “tater tot day” in the cafeteria, but every Friday we played dodgeball during PE. Dodgeball was one of my favorite games; running, jumping, and yes, even the occasional opportunity to throw a ball at your classmate! (You know the one!) However, one of the best aspects of dodgeball was even when you were “tagged out” and having to wait on the sidelines, if your teammate caught an opponent’s ball your teammate could choose to have you come back into the game thus giving you a “do-over.” What I have learned in life as well as in dodgeball, is that the waiting can be hell. How absurd then that Advent, a whole season in the Christian tradition, is about waiting.

Like most seminarians I was coerced into studying biblical languages; it was just one of the many gifts of seminary. Through all the blood, sweat, and tears studying these languages caused me, I learned to love and value the original meaning of each intended word. For example, the words for waiting in both Greek and Hebrew are used at times as synonyms for watching. To make things worse, both languages suggest an attitude for which these two verbs should happen—both positive. Excuse me, but I am a child of the 80s. My generation has never known life without a microwave! We don’t wait well. According to the biblical languages, I am told not only to wait, but to be positive about it! It was one thing to wait on the sidelines as a kid, but as an adult? Come on! Let’s just be honest: waiting is about being in transition and transition can bring up a multitude of feelings, most of them unpleasant!

Over the last three months I have had a crash course in waiting, watching, and attitude adjustments. After almost a year of prompting by Spirit I did it; I quit my job, packed my stuff, and moved me and my dog to the great state of Washington in order to pursue more education. In my head I expected everything to be nicely wrapped and just waiting on me—after all, I did what Spirit prompted. I knew things would eventually work out, but did not expect to be waiting on a job, especially in this economic climate. As you can imagine, as the days passed with no calls of offers the fears grew and the questions began to surface. The questions soon led to deeper questions which I now see was part of the watching/preparing. The time I was able to dedicate to these questions has had a profound impact on the way I will go about my future work and practice. I almost missed it because I was too busy grumbling, complaining, and cursing at God about the waiting and so I forgot to participate in the watching. What I have learned (or maybe re-learned) is that the gift of waiting is the watching. Watching is finding God in the present even when the present is filled with uncertainty. Watching is our part; our participation which we do by asking the questions and going ahead by preparing ourselves as if that for which we are waiting is already here.

This year, my Advent is remembering that no matter how much I think I know what I need, God knows more. God is more creative than my wildest dreams, and when God insists that I wait, it is for a reason! My job offer did come and once again I was humbled and in awe not only because of the job itself, but because of the details that are so tailored to my situation—this job was created for me. If you find yourself like me, questioning and doubting while waiting, watch for the gift within the present and remember, God is always on time.

Prepare, Be Silent.

by Rev. Kelli

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.” Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

—Luke 1: 5-27

During Advent we hear a lot about the coming of the baby Jesus, and that coming is the cause for our celebration at Christmas. On this second Monday of Advent, however, Jesus is not yet here. But there is another Advent baby who is already here. It is John the Baptist whom we often hear of in Advent. John the Baptist who as a grown man will cry from the wilderness, “prepare the way of the Lord!”

But who is the John the Baptist? Where did he come from? The first chapter of Luke tells us that John is the son of Zechariah, a temple service priest, and Elizabeth, a cousin of Mary. We often come across the text, during Advent, in which the pregnant Elizabeth and the pregnant Mary meet and the baby in Elizabeth’s womb is said to leap at the approach in the womb of Mary. It is a scripture from later in Luke that points not only to the divinity of Jesus but that divinity being present and recognized before Jesus’ birth.

We seem to know Elizabeth, cousin of Mary, bearer of the prophet who proclaims the divinity of the human Jesus. But who is this Zechariah? Well, he is a priest—so what do the clergy know? And are they not the ones who will later bring Jesus to Pilate? Well, yes this is true. But, Zechariah is not just a priest; he also has a profound spiritual experience in meeting the Angel Gabriel not just in the temple, but behind the veil of the temple in the Holy of Holies—where only a priest could approach. It is here that Gabriel approaches Zechariah, as opposed to beside the kitchen table where Gabriel approaches Mary. And Zechariah, being the priest he is, argues with the angel, wanting to know how this can be so, wanting to know how the impossible can come to be true. We have no way of knowing how the angel emotionally reacts, if he is angry or annoyed with Zechariah; likely for an angel it is none of these emotions, as we understand them. What we do know is that Gabriel admonishes Zechariah for questioning rather than believing, and then proclaims that Zechariah will be silent until this child is born.

The story of Zechariah can be read as a harsh critique on the clergy and perhaps it should be. We clergy need to remember we do not know it all, just as those we minister to sometimes need to be reminded that we are not perfect. Perhaps this is so, but in the season maybe there is a more seasonal meaning to draw from the text. Perhaps it is a reminder to all of us to listen and prepare for the most unexpected impossible event of all time.

Perhaps this text is an invitation to listen to God. To ponder not just the words in our own hearts, but to ponder the words of God, and to ponder those individual spiritual experiences we are blessed to have. Perhaps we even need a harsh a reminder to be silent and to watch and listen for what God is doing. For only then can we be prepared to welcome, and respond to and with God in the world.

From Purple to Blue

by Rev. Kelli

(This post not part of the Advent Devotional)

For our loyal readers you notice that the webpage has changed from purple to blue. But purple is the advent color! True, but blue is also an Advent color. Historically, the color of Advent shifted to blue when the season of Advent shifted away from being a season of penance to a season of preparation for the coming of Jesus.

At WWSIC we have decided to celebrate the Joy of God’s promises this season. Don’t worry, the purple will return come Lent.

God’s People Are Comforted

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.

—Isaiah 40:1-11

In this scripture I hear a conversation between characters from Winnie the Pooh. Owl, the wise one starts: “Comfort is coming, Israel has served her term and now, she will be redeemed. The loving Lord has given her new life. It has been long, and hard, but we have persevered and stayed faithful (even though we grumbled!) and now we will rejoice in God’s favor.”

Then the sweet, open, innocent voice of Winnie the Pooh: “Make way! Clear the brambles from the road, smooth the mountain passes, the Lord has shown God’s glory and soon we will all be able to see and feel it. God has spoken to us!”

And yet, in spite of the good news Eeyore complains: “Who cares? Everything is ruined anyway. The grass has withered, the flower has faded. We are like the flowers, withered, tired; God has come too late for us. Woe, woe, woe.”

Winnie answers him: “No, my friend, the grass may be withered and the flowers may have faded, but…can’t you see?  God’s word is forever! Come up here, on the mountain with us, and see. Sing praise to God with us. Proclaim with us, “Here is our God!”

And Owl sums it up, “Rejoice, indeed. Our Lord comes in might, with strength and protection and reconciliation. God will gather us as a shepherd gathers his sheep, and God will carry us, lead us, gently, into life.

Our world right now seems dusty, barren and barely livable. Many in the United States and more around the world live without enough food. People are still warring against one another; women and the poor are oppressed, still. It does seem as if life is withered and faded. We hear very few hopeful stories in mainline media. We receive so little nourishment; our souls may feel withered and faded.

The media get a lot of footage and pictures out of the barrenness of the world. That withered grass is good press; the soulnessness of humans is good press. Those are the news reports that lead the evening news; those are the front page articles in the newspaper and in magazines. We often get a lot of mileage out of pouting and proclaiming gloom and doom. It is so much easier to complain about the hurt we have received, to moan about how much we have suffered and how much we don’t have. But does that really feel better than joy? Does it nourish our soul as much as recognizing God’s gifts?

The story of Advent is this: Jesus is coming! Jesus IS coming! The One who encourages, reminds, prods, enlightens us is coming! Our God is coming to breathe air into us, to water our parched souls, to show us how to create with God a world of potential, a world where God will gather us, and feed us, and lead us gently into life. Our God is full of love for us, God weeps with us at the sorrow in the world, God yearns to share our lives, to fill us with love and teach us how to share that love.

How many times do we hold on to the memories of the bitterness and the times of hardship, keep our eyes and hearts closed to the potential of forgiveness and reconciliation, keep ourselves from reveling in the love of God, who, after all, is all.

My prayer is that this advent we remember the voice of the herald, O come, O come Emmanuel.  God with us (forever), God within us (always and forever).  Alleluia, Amen.

***

Terri Gibbons is a member in discernment in the United Church of Christ. She is a graduate of the Claremont School of Theology and plans to serve her ministry as a Chaplain for end-of-life care.

Hey, Jude!

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

Jude 17-25

So often the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so consumed with preparing for a visit from that “right jolly old elf” that we must be intentional about making time for Advent as the season of preparation for the arrival of the Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

Today’s scripture from the Book of Jude reminds us to take the time and the care to prepare ourselves for “the last time.” After exhorting the readers about those among them who are the “grumblers and malcontents; they indulge in their own lust” (v. 16), the author tells the beloved to “build yourselves up on your most holy faith” (v. 20). We must prepare ourselves for the time to come, praying in the Spirit and looking toward the mercy of Jesus that leads to eternal life. One of the most interesting and challenging parts of this scripture is that we are to “keep yourselves in the love of God.”

This is one of the three simple rules of United Methodism, “stay in love with God.” What is most significant is that this is a conscious decision. It requires action on our part, intention, and deliberation. When those around us, especially those in the church, are living worldly lives unconnected to God, we must be intentional about preparing our own lives so that we can “keep ourselves in the love of God.” Jude, this small, often overlooked book, provides guidance to those in the Church to live as Christians in love with God even when those around them, including members of the church, are preparing to live wholly in the world, indulging in all nature of worldly, earthly pursuits. And then the author tells us to have mercy on others, even all those grumblers and malcontents, and even to “snatch them out of the fire” (v. 23).

This letter put me in mind of the Beatle’s song, “Hey Jude.” Beyond the commonality of the name Jude, the letter, like the song, calls us to make it better, to improve a sad and unhealthy situation. Despite the lengthy and somewhat graphic depiction of those who were living lives contrary to Christian teachings, those who are “waterless clouds…autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted…for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever,” (v. 12-13) Jude ends with a word of hope and reconciliation. Even those for whom the darkness has been reserved, the author says to have mercy and save them (v. 22-23).

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Dear Gracious and Loving God, I give you thanks for this time of preparation, for this opportunity to remember the grace that has been given me. Help me this day to consciously be in love with you. Help me to share that love with others, to show mercy on those who are unsure, and to help those who are struggling. In all things, help me grow ever closer to You. Amen.

***

Rev. Ann Thomas is the senior pastor at Griffith United Methodist Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she is working to renew and revitalize this downtown congregation through spiritual renewal, social justice work and missions.  A recent graduate of Claremont School of Theology, Ann practiced law in Las Vegas for 18 years before entering full-time ministry and seeking ordination.  She was commissioned in June 2011 and is seeking full ordination in The United Methodist Church.

December Darkness

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
—Psalm 18:28

I’m an impatient person
in an impatient world
except
december steals the sun
takes away the light
and leaves me in the long, quiet, dark.
Except
it isn’t always quiet.
Too quickly for even an impatient person,
the quiet tears the dark wide open,
unzips the deep and fearful places in my heart
and the already dark dark becomes darker.
The once quiet places become banshee howls
and my overwhelming lostness is revealed.
My own (at times) love of this darkness is made
manifest and all I can do is gawk at it.
I am defenseless.
I am helpless.
A lone pole on a thunderstormed beach
In Your mercy, You find me.

It is perhaps easier as the nights grow longer to sit in and experience the actual physical darkness of this season. December allows us to do this, forces us to confront literal darkness for longer and longer periods of time. What would happen if we allowed ourselves to be still (no matter how uncomfortable) and reflect upon our own places of darkness? In what areas of our life could we possibly see the need for healing, for hope, for wholeness? Where do we need God’s light to shine?

This advent, it may be time to let the long nights provide the backdrop for an intentional act of self-reflection; to look deep within, around corners that have too long remained in the peripheral and confront the dark places that cause us pain, that frighten us, that keep us from truly sharing in the glorious freedom of the children of God (Romans 8:21).

While it may feel like stumbling blindly, we are reminded that God lights our lamp. God, whose infinite love is coming to us in this season, will turn whatever darkness we uncover into light and bring hope and healing into unexpected places.

***

Donna Batchelor is a hospice chaplain and youth pastor in San Diego County, CA.

Contemplation

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

mountain path, shady and greenPsalms 119:1-24
Psalms 12, 13, 14
Isaiah 2:1-11
Luke 20:19-26

Finding a path you believe God wants you to walk on can be a difficult endeavor, relying on countless factors. In our world of constant movement, it behooves us to take moments of stillness to consider both our journey and our destination. In the Scriptures for today, paths of righteousness and wickedness are described fitting the time in which they were written. Consider, what would make a path of righteousness or a path of wickedness for you in this time? Sometimes we can get swept up in our goals that we don’t realize the beauty of the passage or we try to force our way ahead like the teachers of the law in Luke, searching for a particular goal rather than allowing a more loving path to guide their way. Take time to imagine your path and meditate deeply on the many steps along the journey. What will they look like? How might you feel at each step? What if you get turned around, how might you learn from that experience and what will follow it? Consider the photo and take time to imagine what each small step on the way represents for you as well as what lies beyond the bend…

***

Kelley Wheat-Rivers earned her masters degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Claremont School of Theology. She is now a Chaplain and Bereavement Coordinator at Liberty Hospice and a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, both in Wilmington, NC.


Becoming Mothers / Parents

by Advent 2011 Guest Writer

In some ways the beginning of Advent is an ode to Parents. The women becoming mothers, the men bearing their own visions and dreams. But Advent does bring that focus on the women becoming mothers.

In I Samuel 2:1-10 we read about the story of Hannah. Hannah was a woman of God who prayed with fervor for her barren womb to be opened, and she became the mother of Samuel, the Prophet and Judge who would anoint David King. In fact the passage of 1 Samuel 2:1-10 is often called the Song of Hannah. It is a text of longing for the child within, and the model text for another passage famous this time of year.

In the tradition of Hannah, we find in Luke 1:46-55 a very famous text often called the Magnificat. It is a text of Mary – soon to be a mother herself – expressing her gratitude in a psalm of praise to God. Her hope, though, was not just for herself and for her unborn child, but for all people… for all generations. Her hope was for a time when oppression and scarcity would be a distant memory. Through our singing of the songs and telling of the stories of Mary’s little baby, who became Jesus of Nazareth – our brother, teacher, and Christ – we keep hope alive. We hope for the continued fulfillment of the promise, when justice and deliverance will be realized for all of Creation. “A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.”

PRACTICE: We invite you today to look at these texts so foundational to the Advent season. Ponder them deep in your heart and soul. We invite you to write your own hymn of praise to God, a praise that acknowledges the coming of Jesus at Christmas which we anticipate this Advent Season. If writing a unique praise to God seems to daunting…then you are invited to re-write the Magnificat from Luke’s gospel in today’s language—who are the downtrodden today? Can you name them in prayer to God?

Today’s devotional is a collaboration featuring the thoughts and words of Rev. Mary Jo Bradshaw and Rev. Kelli Parrish Lucas. Both of their bios can be found on the bios page.