Advent Reflection and Renewal: Waiting For Promise To Be Fulfilled

God, you sending Jesus to earth is an amazing reminder of the original goodness in which you created the universe and of how it can be lived out by humanity. For this, we give thanks.

At the same time, it can be difficult from our historical vantage point to really have a sense of how - in the centuries that passed between creation and Jesus’ birth - your good news of liberation for the poor and oppressed was only a promise. While it was a hopeful promise, it was also one which generation after generation did not see fulfilled.

So God, help us to begin to appreciate what it means to wait. We’re so used to instantly having our every wish met. Help us to seek to understand what it means for those living in the dark shadows of injustice and suffering to hope for light to come.

Help us to not take your grace for granted.

Others of us know all too well what it means to continue to wait for things to be made right. We’re familiar with the weariness of hope deferred. God, help us be on the lookout for where even glimpses of the hope of your promise of are being born within us and around us.

God, thank you for your free and life-sustaining gifts of grace, which we can all tap into, regardless of where life finds us in this season. 

Amen.

The Misguided Priorities of “Keeping Christ In Christmas” - Stephan Ingram

When Christians belligerently insist that our faith necessarily deserves priority and that our traditions are what need to be centered, we are not representing Christ; who called for humility, peacemaking. meekness, and self sacrifice.

The very fact that people feel that it is their duty to mandate Christ in Christmas represents a misunderstanding of the priorities which Christ-followers should be guided by.

Christianity, as defined by the life and teachings of Jesus, never depended or insisted on being the majority, in power or even influential.

It was a religion that lauded the weak, meek and the poor. Jesus came preaching a gospel that defaulted on the need for religion to have power and influence. He told us that the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

When Peter picked up a sword and was ready to take Jerusalem, Jesus quickly told him to put it down because that is not the kind of gospel he was bringing.

When Christians try to force God on others we reincarnate some of the worst epochs of our religious history, and default on its core founding principles of love, grace and hospitality.

When Christians belligerently insist that our faith necessarily deserves priority and that our traditions are what need to be centered, we are not representing the man who called for humility, peacemaking. meekness, and self sacrifice.

The full article is available here

Advent Benediction: Jesus' Birth Heralds A New Family of Humanity (based on Isaiah 40:4-5)

As we go now, let's watch for all the places where God is making things new again. May the power of God's love recalibrate us. May it lead us to fill the dark places with light, to level the uneven paths with grace, and to join together with all of humanity as the family of peace and hope which Jesus’ birth initiated.

Advent Call To Worship: God's Light Came To Shine Into Dark Spaces (based on Luke 1:46-55, Matthew 4:16)

In Advent, we celebrate the gift of God’s light,  Jesus. 

According to Jesus’ mother Mary, it was extraordinary that this gift was made available to everyone - even those of low social status and those pushed to the margins by forces of power and greed.  The angels proclaimed the very same message to the shepherds, saying that Christ’s birth was “good news of great joy for all people.”

So like Mary, the angel chorus, and the shepherds; may we give thanks to God for the gifts of inclusive love and boundless grace which can be received by all. 

Advent Benediction: Paying The Gift Of Grace Forward Through Service (based on Romans 15:2)

May the gift of Christ coming to join our human race cause joy and gratitude to rise within us. May it lead us to follow Jesus' example of loving service in God's world.

And may the grace of God, the love of Jesus, and the peace of God's Spirit be with us this day and evermore.

Advent Call To Worship: A Message Of Hope For All (based on Luke 1:46-55)

Christ coming to earth is a message of hope for all people! All of those who aren't held in high value by the powers-that-be are now called "blessed" in God’s sight.

The mercy and love of God is good news to the poor, it is liberation to all of the oppressed, and it is the extending of welcome to all of the marginalized and excluded. God’s mercy and love is poured out for all who need it in every generation.

For this incredible grace, we come now to give thanks.

The Flow Of Spiritual Current - Roderick MacIver

Reflection and Renewal: Sharing Our Inward Healing Outward (based on Matthew 24:45)

God, your goodness and love strives to bring forth abundant life throughout your universe. You've called us to be your hands and feet in that effort.

But sometimes we have remained on the sidelines. Sometimes we've resisted letting your love lead us beyond our fear or shame. And sometimes - even when we've tried our level best to bring out the best in everyone and everything - we've done so less than perfectly.

So we come asking for forgiveness and healing. Help us to surrender the narrow lenses which limit our vision. Help us to see the world as you do. Help us to listen for your everyday nudges with open ears,  hearts, and minds.

Amen

Benediction: God, Make Us Human Together (based on Psalm 98:9)

based on "Words of Sending" by More Light Presbyterians, New Orleans

In our everyday lives, may we look for God’s divine spark which is present in everyone and everything. May that awareness of the inherent dignity and worth of ALL cause compassion to move within us and grace to flow outward from us.

May we join in loving solidarity with all of those who are excluded, dehumanized, hurting, struggling, or feeling lost. May we be willing to be honest about our need for help when we are hurting, struggling, and feeling lost.

May God's love help to make us human together, by which we will be a true reflection of God's infinite beauty, goodness, and love.

Call To Worship: Rehumanize Us, Triune God (based on 2 Timothy 1:7)

God, open our ears to the sound of your still, small voice. Jesus, open our eyes to the light of your love.  Spirit, open our minds and hearts to the beauty of hope.

God the Trinity, may your perfect example of selfless community remind us of the dignity which we all possess and cause us to see that dignity in all of humanity.

May that divine work begin within us now, and may our spirits be open to connect with you, as we give thanks and praise.

Reflection and Renewal: The Dignity Of All Divine Image-Bearers (based on Genesis 1:27)

God, we give thanks for the original goodness in which you created everything. Your grace, which surrounds us and dwells within your entire universe, is a pure gift without limit.

When we forget these truths, we sometimes call our very humanity itself "unclean," despite the fact that you created us in your divine image and called it “good.”

Help us to be aware of times when we - either knowingly or unknowingly - have caused your goodness to be hidden or masked. Forgive us for when we’ve shied away from the restorative work of removing obstacles to your abundant life and grace.

Remind us once again that you see us as precious, worthwhile, and having priceless value. Forgive us for when we have allowed voices other than yours to tell us that some people are somehow not equally and  fully human, are of lesser worth, and have no value.

Help us to remove our distorted lenses of pride and fear so that we can clearly see your reflection when we look at ourselves and when we look at your world.

Amen.

Common Humanity = Realizing Our Godliness - Inward/Outward

Bethel Advocates Abusive Conversion Therapy - Patheos

Bethel megachurch in California is facing backlash after promoting “gay conversion” therapy on Instagram. Bethel posted the question “Can a person leave homosexuality behind?” as if the answer might actually be yes. The post also suggested that some people might only think they’re LGBTQ:” “[Jesus] knows us better than we know ourselves and wants to lead us into His vision for humanity. Sometimes, that is countercultural.”

The full article is available here

Trump Is The Source Of Much Of Chaos Gripping The Nation - Minister Robert P Sellers, Baptist News

The president is correct that together we are experiencing a frightening dis-ease. What he doesn’t seem to recognize is that he is the source of much of the chaos.

President Donald Trump has publicly blamed mental illness for mass shootings and other gun violence. 

I agree that there does exist an insanity, a moral pathology, that is endangering all of us – and many have already become victims.

On the other hand, I do not understand the threat in the same way he does. Indeed, I believe Trump himself is the foundational problem for many of the dangers our nation now faces. 


I write as a Christian and lifelong minister and seminary professor. My Christian faith dictates how I should live and requires that I do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. To be a silent witness to the troubling words and deeds of our nation’s leader would present a false testimony to my neighbors.

I view the president’s character as wildly contrary to the portrait of God in Christ; the polar opposite of the One to whom I am committed.

The president is correct that together we are experiencing a frightening dis-ease. What he doesn’t seem to recognize is that he is the source of much of the chaos.

The full article is available here

Nationalism Is Anathema To Christian Faith - Religion News

“A true culture of life welcomes the stranger, embraces the orphan, and binds the wounds of all who are our neighbor — all who lie lifeless on the road, as the self-righteous walk silently past.”

The full article is available here

Benediction: The Divine Dance Within Us and Around Us (based on Zephaniah 3:17)

As we go now, may we have God’s eyes so that we can to continue to seek out all of the everyday grace available to us in God's world. May Christ's example of sacrificial and inclusive love be our guide. May God's Spirit help us to surrender our egos and pride so that we can join in the work of bringing out the best in everyone and everything in God's creation.

Reflection and Renewal: Moving with the Divine Flow (based on Matthew 11:28-30)

God, you work to make all things new. To help us to be a part of that work, you call us to follow new paths where we can grow into wider understanding, more selfless love, and deeper compassion.

To prevent us from becoming stunted spiritually, you call us to continually surrender our ego to the flow of your divine love and grace.  Yet we so often cling tightly to what we've known so far.  The unknown often elicits feelings of fear and anxiety in us, because we worry that we won't be able to control what we aren't familiar with yet.

And others of us prefer to charge ahead at our own pace or down whichever path we come across  without a second thought because need to be the one in control.

So God, help us to trust that the flow of your mercy, wisdom, and love is where we need to live. May we willing to allow it move us along and guide us.  When we're hesitant and afraid, give us courage and  strength. When we're impatient and foolhardy, slow us down. Give us calm and clarity.

Help us to move in sync with the unforced rhythms of your grace.

Call To Worship: Power In Weakness, Wisdom In Foolishness (based on 1 Corinthians 1:18-31)

God, we are grateful that you continually restore and renew our minds so that we can follow your way of love. You show us power in what initially seems like weakness, wisdom in what seems like foolishness to our cynical and calculating minds, and hope for wholeness in the midst of brokenness.

So often, our culture wants to be dazzled by what is showy and what glitters. God, help us to live more  fully than that by reminding us to seek out all of the everyday ways that your grace flows to us.

In gratitude, may we come simply and honestly now to give you praise.

Jesus Subverts Nationalism - Beth Moore

God's Kingdom Is Love - Anthony de Mello

Prayer = Being Fully Alert and Present - Barbara Brown Taylor

Act In The Face Of Oppression - William Wilberforce

Have We No Decency?: A Response To President Trump - The National Cathedral

We must boldly stand witness against bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia.

As a society, we have begun to grow accustomed to a level of insult and abuse in political discourse that violates each person’s sacred identity as a child of God. We have begun to grow accustomed to a steady stream of language and accusations coming from the highest office in the land that plays to racist elements in society.

Mr. Trump’s words are dangerous. When violent dehumanizing words come from the President of the United States, they are a clarion call, and give cover, to white supremacists who consider people of color a sub-human “infestation.”

As leaders of faith who believe in the sacredness of every single human being, we must boldly stand witness against the bigotry, hatred, intolerance, and xenophobia that is hurled at us, especially when it comes from the highest offices of this nation. We must say that this will not be tolerated. 

To stay silent in the face of such rhetoric is for us to tacitly condone the violence of these words. We are compelled to take every opportunity to oppose the indecency and dehumanization that is racism.

The full article is available here

Prophets, Walls, and Trump - Scott Fritzsche in Unsettled Christianity

Let’s be honest, Nehemiah may have built a wall, but Joshua tore one down, so at best the Bible is ambiguous about walls when stories about them are used for proof-texting.

A lot of proof-texting religious conservative have taken to comparing the wall which President Trump is calling for and the wall which Nehemiah built in the Old Testament.

Trump is not Nehemiah and we are not Israel. The problem with this analogy, specific to Nehemiah, and his wall, is that the circumstances are completely different in numerous ways.

Nehemiah sought the permission of the ruler to return to Jerusalem to build the entire city back up, including the wall. The Jews at this time are under the rule of the Persians, specifically, King Artaxerxes. Here is our first significant difference. We are not under the rule of any foreign power who we must ask permission of in order to return to our homeland.

Also, if we are comparing Trump to Nehemiah and Trump’s proposed wall to Nehemiah’s wall, then we must look at not only the men, but their missions, as well as the circumstances. The circumstances in a religiously pluralistic society and the circumstances in a Jewish society that is theocratic are completely different.

For the sake of whatever witness the church has left, stop claiming that Trump belongs to God. Stop calling any president a modern day prophet.

Let’s be honest, Nehemiah may have built a wall, but Joshua tore one down, so at best the Bible is ambiguous about walls when stories about them are used for proof-texting.

The full article is available here

Benediction: God's Spirit Is Our Source of Contentment and Hope (based on Isaiah 43:19)

God's Spirit restores and brings forth life, so may we find contentment and hope in the promise of all things being made new. God's Spirit speaks to us anywhere and everywhere, so may we listen carefully for that still, small voice.

As we take comfort in all of the everyday sources of God's limitless grace, may we also be sources of hope and renewal in our corners of this world which God created and called "good."

God's Love Isn't Limited By Legal Status - Do Justice

Every human being is made in God's image. As a result, we are commanded to treat all human life with respect and kindness.

It is clear that God loves immigrants, who are among the most vulnerable members of society. An ancestor of Jesus, Ruth was an immigrant and benefited from God's concrete love through the laws that God gave to the Israelite tribes that made provision for the poor and the immigrant.

God's love for the immigrant is also revealed in the life of Jesus. In Matthew 2, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus took refuge in Egypt when King Herod ordered the mass execution of Jewish boys of a certain age. Their lives were at stake, so Egypt became their temporary home.

God's love extends beyond legal status or country of origin. God does not give us the job of judging whether anyone is worthy of  love. Every human being in God's image. As a result, we are commanded to treat all human life with respect and kindness.

Can we overcome our obstacles? Can we overcome our fears? Can we love like Jesus loved? God's love requires that we no longer hold the stranger at arms-length because of Jesus’ radical identification with the least of these.

The full article is available here

A Guide to Your Rights When Interacting with Law Enforcement - Catholic Immigration Network

Undocumented immigrants and their families have rights. These "Know Your Rights" resources are available in multiple languages and include pictures and explanations of the different warrants that officials may use in immigration enforcement actions.

The full guide is available here

Gratefulness Is Prayerfulness - David Steindl-Rast

Americanism Is A Rival Religion To Christianity - Brian Zahnd

Approach The Bible The Right Way: Brian Zahnd

Exegesis Shows Why Romans 13 Shouldn't Be Used To Gaslight - Brian Zahnd

Evil Is Not Part Of God's Purpose - Gregory A Boyd

Reflection and Renewal: When We Get Off Track From "Your Kingdom Come" (based on Matthew 6:10)

God, you created the universe in goodness. Jesus taught us to pray and work for the restoration of that original goodness; to strive to help your kingdom come here and now - as it is in heaven - by seeking peace, justice, and mercy.

We have to admit that we often do a less-than-perfect job of that work. Sometimes without even meaning to, we allow ourselves to be guided by a different narrative; one that tells us to win at all costs, to see our fellow beings as competitors to be stepped on or over so that we come out ahead, and to fear anything that is unfamiliar or different.

So God, when we get off track, help us to realign our lives with your mission. Help us to be about the work that we're designed to be doing - helping to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Amen.

The Spirit Is The Breath Of All Creature - Hildegard of Bingen

Let's Stop Accepting These 5 Immigration Lies - Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice

Those suffering at the border are our brothers and sisters.

One impulse to cope with news of how our government is mistreating migrants this is to find a way to get distance from it. Maybe it’s to rationalize it -- there are just so many migrants, it’s impossible to handle them all humanely. Maybe it’s to moralize it -- these people should stop breaking the law. Maybe it’s to doubt it -- there’s got to be some way this is “fake news,” or somehow overblown by the media.

We should be people committed to the truth. Truth brings freedom.

We are called to keep learning (or un-learning), and to keep our eyes open, to bear witness, and to advocate for justice on behalf of those suffering at the border.  They are our brothers and sisters.

In courage, let’s stop accepting these lies:

(1) “More immigrants are coming today than what the country can handle.” 

(2) “Mexican and Central American leaders aren’t taking responsibility for this crisis, and foreign policy threats can force them to.” 

(3) “Tougher border policies will take away people’s desire to come to the U.S.” 

(4) “Refugees in other parts of the world shouldn’t have to wait longer because of people jumping the line at the border.” 

(5) “There’s no choice but to incarcerate people who are crossing the border.”

(1) The total number of people coming into the U.S. without papers is lower than it was for most of the 20th century.

(2) The foreign policy proposals we’ve seen from the White House -- imposing tariffs and withholding aid -- will not be effective in curbing migration. Those things will only make worse the situations that force people to flee.

(3) Deterrence measures don’t work. This is because people who are fleeing persecution are not calculating pros and cons -- they’re trying to survive.

(4) There is not a common pool of “spots” available to either a refugee in Kenya or an asylum-seeker at the border. Although the grounds for receiving asylum status and refugee status are the same, the procedures are different, and the two categories are treated differently.

(5) There are plenty of other choices. In fact, for decades it has been the norm in the U.S. to use alternative means to screen, monitor, and process asylum-seekers that allow them to be treated with dignity.

The full article is available here

Community Moves Us Toward Wholeness - Elizabeth O'Connor

Jesus' Message Was Political - Diana Butler Bass

The Vital Importance of Prophetic Critique - Father Richard Rohr

Reflection and Renewal: When Miracles Don't Happen (based on John 12:24)

God, sometimes life blows storms across our paths - or across the paths of those we love. In these moments, when it feels like there’s no way out, or when hard times - or even death - is nearing for someone we love, we instinctively wish for some kind of supernatural intervention. And yet, we also know that nothing in this world completely avoids suffering or goes on living forever.

When difficulty, pain, and loss come into our lives, we experience grief. We often ask why it has to be this way and wonder why there aren't any easy answers for why good things come to an end. 

God, we need your help to remember that loss and pain also grieve you, precisely because your will is that all things thrive in abundant life, and suffering and death are violations of that.

You chose - in the form of Jesus - to suffer alongside of us.

So help us not to be afraid to communicate our disappointment, grief, and anger with you when there aren't easy answers or the kind of miraculous breakthroughs we wish for.  Help us to look for your grace in those who come alongside of us when we’re suffering or mourning.

Forgive us for when we've let our discomfort with uncertainty lead us to offer simplistic, unhelpful. and dismissive rationalizations to those who are hurting. Grace us with the ability to listen, to share in others’ pain so that we can mourn with those who mourn; and in that way be your hands and feet.

And help all of us to have our eyes and ears open for where new life is bursting forth where there once was only death.

 Amen.

It’s Time For New Church Music Metaphors - Craig Greenfield

I guess I'd like something more in church music; something grittier, something truer to my context.

There are a ton of nature metaphors we go back to time and time again in church music. Our Creator God made all this and it is definitely good.

However, it’s not a complete picture of my day to day reality. Nor does it reflect the day to day reality of most of my neighbors.

I guess I'd like something more in church music; something grittier, something truer to my context.

As Pete Rollins points out, a church that only knows how to celebrate can become like a spiritual crack house - a place we go to get our regular fix, our weekly high (which has to get more and more intense in order to give the same satisfaction).

I'd like to sing from the reality of the world I live in. I'd like to learn how to see and connect with God while surrounded by people, not just individualistically in nature.

And I'd like to sing through the tears I shed for the brokenness around me.

The full article is available here

The Center Of The Universe Is Infinite Love - Richard Rohr

Civic Religion = Greatest Obstacle to U.S. Christian Witness - Rich Villodas

Loving All Imagebearers Should Mean No Discrimination - Rev Jennifer Butler

The Church's Unconditional Obligation To The Marginalized - Dietrich Bonhoffer

Idolatry And Social Injustice Are Often Linked - Katelyn Schiess

Reflection and Renewal: We're Broken But Also Loved (based on John 16:8)

God, you are loving and kind. Your grace is bottomless and all-encompassing.

But in our lives, there are a lot of voices which tell us that we are somehow outside of your grace. Often these voices tell us that - beyond feeling the appropriate guilt in our conscience when we do a bad thing - we should feel shame about being a bad person; that we're not worthy of being loved because we’re not perfect.

When we take what these voices say to heart, some of us begin to think that we have no value and that if anyone knew the real us, they wouldn't want anything to do with us. Or perhaps some of us try to deny that we’re not perfect and attempt to defend our ego by pretending that we don't have brokeness just like everyone else is.

God, we simply have a difficult time being honest about our shortcomings while also not devaluing ourselves, so we need your grace. Help us to remember that you created us in your image, and that we are a part of the original goodness that you created the entire universe in. Help us to remember that you reaffirmed that goodness when chose to enter into our world in human form and that you chose to suffer alongside of us.

Grace us with the ability to be honest about where we have brokenness while also seeing as ourselves as loved and accepted by you.

Amen.

Holy Saturday: God Suffers With Us - Richard Rohr

Maundy Thursday - A Kingdom Of Love, Not Grabbing Power - Brian Zahnd

Violence Only Destroys - Richard Rohr

Jesus Is The Anti-Caesar, God's Kingdom Is The Anti-Empire - Brian Zahnd