Hope in anxious times

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together in him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.


We live in anxious times, and even in this season when we prepare for and await the coming of Jesus, we still get caught up in the spirit of the times.  There are some keys for how to manage and even thrive amidst the anxiety when we read Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians.  First, there is the sense of being "gathered together in him."  That is the sense that we are not alone in our struggles, we are not solitary figures fighting battles against all comers.  Rather, we are gathered together with others, who are sharing in the struggles, the anxieties, and also the triumphs.  Second, we are not merely even "gathered together" but also, and more specifically, "gathered together in him."  We are enlivened and strengthened by the power and gifts given to us by God, in Christ.  As the early believers in Thessalonica awaited the Lord's coming, we also await his coming, but while waiting we are also already gathered together "in him."  Thirdly, we live in the remarkable and tremendous time in which "the day of the Lord is already here."  That is, we are not merely awaiting the time of promise, the time of fulfillment, but also that time has already arrived.  There are signs and wonders which point to the Kingdom of God, even now in this anxious time.

~Peter

Loving God, in these times of anxieties and fears, help me to see that as I await the fullness of your appearing, you are already with me, and I abide in you, just as you abide in me.  Amen.

Read more Advent reflections from this year HERE, and from 2010 Here

Advent: Let your light shine

Isaiah 60:1-3, 11a

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land;
deep gloom enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise,
and his glory will appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; 
by day or night they will never be shut.

Advent is a time of darkness and light.  The darkening world in the Northern Hemisphere makes us keenly aware of this fact.  We may awake while it is still dark, stumble around to find the light switch, make coffee in the dark, and watch the world become illumined by the sun as the day breaks.  The darkness surrounds us, however it does not take much to transform the darkness.  One candle, one lightbulb, two car headlights, one string of Christmas lights.

We can become burdened by the darkness in our world, by wars, violence, hatred, meanness, man's inhumanity to man and all the rest.  However, when we turn to the light of Christ, we find that we can help to illumine the darkness of our world.  Just as we sing to our kids, "this little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine, let is shine, let it shine," we also can "let our light shine" in the darkness of the world.

As we turn to God in faith and hope and love, our hearts are opened, and God's light shines through us, even in the dark places of the world.  We are not the source of the light, but we can reflect God's light in the world.  Just as Isaiah proclaims the ways that God's Kingdom of light will illumine the Holy City, God's light will also illumine our lives, empowering us to let God's light shine!

~Peter+

God of light and life, you send your light into the dark places of this world; help me to have the faith, hope and love to share your light in all the places I go.  Amen

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; give thanks!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19

Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  Do not quench the Spirit.

As simple as these words are to say or write, the living out of them is quite more tricky.  Rejoice always?  Pray without ceasing? Give thanks in ALL circumstances?  Can we do this?  It seems quite impossible to me.  The rocky parts of life happen to all of us, and it is quite difficult to keep rejoicing, to keep praying, and to keep giving thanks in these times.  However, our Hope is not dependent upon the state of the world, but rather the knowledge that God's love does endure, in all circumstances.  What looks impossible it not impossible for God.

This season of Advent reminds us that in the midst of an occupied land, an unwed girl gave birth to God Incarnate.  In the midst of the night, angels sang to rough-talking shepherds out in the hills.  In the midst of the wilderness a voice cried out "prepare ye the way of the Lord."  From the strange and foreign East came wise men who followed a star which moved to the place where God laid among animals because there was no room in the inn.  Impossible.  Impossible.

God loves us, and cares for us, and what looks impossible to us, is possible for God.  God loves us and cares for us, and became one of us so that he may dwell in us and we in him.  Impossible.

God give us the "peace which passeth understanding," thanks be to God that God's reality is greater than my understanding and imagination.

~Peter

God of great abundance, help me to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all circumstances, for what seems impossible to me, is reality for you; for this, I give abundant thanks.  Amen.

Preparing the way

A Collect for the Second Sunday of Advent

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

These prophets were some crazy figures.  We would do well do dive into these books of the Bible with gusto.  Micah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Elijah, Isaiah.  One scholar said that they would not be the kind of person you would want at your house at a dinner party.  They suffered no fools, and were unflinching in the ways that they aimed their rhetorical arrows at injustice and iniquity.  

When John the Baptist arrives in the desert preaching forgiveness of sins and begins talking about the Messiah who was coming, he was standing firmly in the tradition of the prophets.  Wearing camel skin and eating locusts, he would have reminded the people of Jerusalem about the great Elijah who looked similar to John.  
These prophets were not "predictors" of what would happen, or at least not primarily, rather they were the ones who called the leaders to a higher standard.  They called the people to a higher standard, and their eyes were wide open to injustice and suffering - especially suffering caused by those who do not take care of others and who have no compassion or action for the poor and the oppressed.

John the Baptist appears in the desert and must have been one amazingly charismatic figure, because "all the people" went to him and were willing to get into trouble by circumventing the power base of the Temple to accept forgiveness at the hands of a strange holy man in the wilderness.  The Temple had a whole process through which people could receive forgiveness, and this process was often impossible for the poor to afford.  In addition, it set up the Temple hierarchy as the mediators of God's grace.  

John preached the Amazing Grace that God's love and forgiveness is for everyone, and is available to us all - if we're willing to step up and follow.  Perhaps we need to find ways to "go to the wilderness" and hear prophetic figures like John.

~Peter

Loving God, help me to remember that your grace pours out upon us all, and that that that you call us to hear the prophetic figures of our time, who call us to love everyone.  Amen.

Advent: Love God, love your neighbor

Luke 21: 5-6

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be throne down.


We get caught up sometimes in focusing on what is not important instead of what is important.  We get caught up in the ephemeral, the temporary, instead of focusing on what lasts.  We get caught up in appearances, instead of focusing on the essence.  We get caught up in what is on the surface, instead of what we can find in the depth of things.

I am privileged to live and work in a beautiful place, and while walking around UVA's grounds the other day, I was struck by the physical beauty and wonderful setting all around me.  What a glorious place to study and learn!  However, the essence of the place cannot be be the buildings, rather the spirit of learning that takes place in the students, the teachers, the coaches, and all those who support this process.  When we get caught up in the appearance, we can forget the essence.

Likewise, there are many beautiful churches, including the one where I serve now, St. Paul's Memorial, here in Charlottesville.  The space itself has the possibility of aiding prayer and worship and fellowship.    Certainly, it is great to have spaces where folks can gather, where we can explore our faith, where we can praise God and give thanks for all the gifts given to us.  However, the building is not what lasts, but God's love does.

We get caught up sometimes in focusing on what is not important instead of what is important.  The "beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God" will someday be thrown down, like wooden blocks on the floor of a child's room - they are ephemeral, temporary structures.  The true and deep and permanent structure is God's love for us, and God's command that we should love each other and love God is really the essence.

Jesus was not confused, he saw that it was dangerous to allow worship of God to become "worship" of a building, even the Temple in Jerusalem itself.  How can we get clear?  How can we look to the essence rather than the form?  "Love God, Love your neighbor as yourself."  "Go into the world, preaching the Gospel to all people!"

~Peter

Loving God, help me to focus on what endures, rather than what is fading away and as I focus on your love for us, help me to also love my neighbors, and to share the Good News with all people.  Amen.

More and more

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, and indeed you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia.  But we urge you, beloved, to do so more and more.


When I was confirmed in the Episcopal Church as a young adult, I remember so well the hands of Bishop Robert S. Kerr of Vermont who pushed down on my head as he said the prayer of Confirmation.  The words I remember well were the words, "more and more," which are a prayer from a bishop asking that the Holy Spirit come alive "more and more" in the new confirmand.  I am taken back to that occasion every time I participate in a Confirmation service, and I remember well the deep voice of Bishop Kerr and his hands on my head.  I truly know that through his ministry the Holy Spirit was flowing through me at that time, and since.

He was the first bishop I ever saw and heard, and he was somewhat aloof and "old school" in the best of senses.  I had utmost respect for him, and was so glad that the chapel at the Bishop Booth Conference Center at the Diocese of Vermont's Rock Point is named the Kerr Chapel.

Today, I give thanks for the ways that God's Incarnation in Jesus has become known to me in a variety of good people, including ordained folks and not, and including Bishop Kerr.  The love of God has been made manifest in our lives in a plethora of ways, and St. Paul encourages the Thessalonians to continue to practice love for all the "brothers and sisters," which is good advice, indeed.  "Love covers a multitude of sins," and we would do well to allow our own ministry and life to be infused with love and compassion, "more and more."

~Peter

Loving God, you have shown your ultimate care and love for us in the Incarnation of your Son, Jesus Christ, bless us to share this love with others, more and more, so that your Kingdom would truly be born here on earth.  Amen.

God's love poured out

He said to them, "Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's.

This "living parable" of Jesus responding to the "authorities" when they tried to trap him about whose authority should reign on earth is a profound one.  What are the "things that are the emperor's"? And what are "the things that are God's"?

I have been reflecting quite a bit on the person of Mary this Advent, in part because in the daily reflections by Richard Rohr (which are available online), he has given his readers a robust and deep and wide view of Mary's acceptance of the gift from God.  Her openness and willingness to be open to God's grace and God's presence in her life and in her own body is one that is a profound one.  Her acceptance of God's gift in her life is a model for us.  This time of year, of course, is awash with the notion of gifts, however, the true gift is the life that has been given to us by God.

What are "the things that are God's"?  Perhaps the question should be better asked, "what are not the things that are God's"?  For all that we have, and all that we are, come from God.  It is all gift, and our faith helps us to see that this gift is from a loving God who has lived among us, has known our very lives, and who is not only above us, but also beside us, and is also within us.  Christ came so that he might reside in us and we in him.  This gift from God means that we should be grateful, that our lives should be rich with gratitude.  Of course, life is not always easy, not always smooth, but God is with us, God loves us, and will never let us go.  God's love is always poured out upon us.

When we remember God's gift to us, the whole interaction between Jesus and the "authorities" seems comically crazy.  When we enter into this abode of giftedness, this sense that all is from God, there is not much at all that we need to "render to Caesar"at all.  Our allegiance is to God, and God is a God of love, with gifts abundant.

~Peter

Abundant and loving God, help me to recognize that life itself, and all that I have is from you, and that your love and care for us abounds at all times, in all places, help me to recognize the gift, and to live in gratitude and acceptance.  Amen.

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice

Psalm 5:1-4
Give ear to my words, O LORD; 
consider my meditation
Hearken to my cry for help, my King and my God, 
for I make my prayer to you.
In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; 
early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.
For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, 
and evil cannot dwell with you.

There is something about the morning and prayer. Of course, prayer can (and should) happen at any and all times.  However, the quiet of the morning, when the world seems to be awakening seems to be a rich time for prayer, at least for me.

In Psalm 5, the psalmist makes a cry to God for help, and it is in the morning that God hears this voice. It is early in the morning when the psalmist makes an appeal and watches for God.  So, too, it seems for me.  In the midst of the darkness of the night we can be awakened by dreams or concerns, by worries and thoughts, but when light comes it feels to me like God has heard these prayers, these dreams, concerns, worries and thoughts.  In the early morning I see the pink sky before I can even see the Sun.  In the morning we may see signs that God is with us, even before we can really grasp it with our rational brains.

Do you take time to pray?  Do you ever find time in the morning to "cry out for help"?  Do you ever find time in the morning to "make your appeal and watch" for God?

This season of Advent is one that is imbued with the theme of darkness and light, of night and day, of the expectation and the preparation for God's celestial light to break in among us and within us.  These weeks of Advent are something like that time before the sun arises, but when there are glimpses of the light even in times of darkness.  God is showing us signs and wonders even in our own time, even where we are now, if only we would have eyes to see and ears to hear.

~Peter

God, in the early morning I make my cry to you, and you hear my appeal.  In the midst of darkness, you allow light to shine, in the midst of sadness, you bring joy, in the midst of scarcity you give us an abundance of light and love.  Allow me to have eyes to see your many wonders.  Amen.

Advent reflections at "Advent at St. Paul's" blog

A few years ago, I wrote daily reflections in Advent (http://adventemmanuel.blogspot.com/) based on some of the Daily Office (Morning and Evening Prayer) readings for the day and found it to be a way to delve deeply into the scripture, to prepare for the coming of Christ, and also to bring me to a place of contemplation in the swirl of the holiday season.

I have decided to re-start this project as we begin a New Year in the Church's liturgical calendar, and to post a bit of scripture, a brief reflection, and a prayer.  I hope you might also find some way to delve into this season of preparation and expectation and find some calm in the midst of the holiday storms.

You can find the "Advent at St. Paul's" blog HERE or http://adventatstpauls2012.blogspot.com/

Advent Blessings,

~Peter+