thinking on the Word, or more accurately, the tradition

On or around this Sunday, Epiphany is celebrated in many Christian denominations and traditions. Epiphany recognizes, remembers and celebrates the moment that the wise men arrived to meet the baby Jesus and recognized him as the Christ. Epiphany is the day the world found out the good news. Epiphany is the coming of the light into the world. It's the "go tell it on the mountain" moment.

I've always loved Epiphany. I love everything about it. Don't get me wrong, celebrating the birth of Jesus is wonderful, but I sometimes wish the Epiphany got the bigger celebration. In many ways, I think we have our celebrations all mixed up - but let's not get started down that rabbit trail.

In my own life, moments of epiphany have been a big deal. The everyday lightbulb moments and the even bigger moments of radical discovery have sometimes (and this is no exaggeration) changed the course of my life.

I celebrate these little moments personally, right in the moment of course. But I have also found so much joy in celebrating with others. My joy is multiplied in the sharing. So it is now with each new discovery and milestone that Cordelia makes. It is almost as if these things don't really fully happen until I share them with someone or catch them on a video or picture. I felt SO BLESSED the first time Cordelia giggled because Doug was there to witness it with me. It just wouldn't have been the same if he hadn't been there. And so it is with each new thing.

During the holiday we travelled to California to be with my parents. Doug's mom, best friend and brother all met us there for little visits too. And during that time, Cordelia had a developmental growth spurt. She started feeding herself, saying NO, imitating our sounds and actions more closely (like saying "tweet, tweet"), walking holding fingers and pulling up on everything, and many more things. These little building blocks of development were celebrated with much rejoicing by Cordelia's family of big fans. Maybe they happened because there was so much love and attention showered on her. But in any case, there was much rejoicing in my heart over all of this. Much, much more than if we had reached these little milestones at home together, just the two of us.

The LIGHT is coming into the world. We know it and we are sharing it. Let our joy and wisdom be multiplied!

thinking about the Word - week 2

I have always loved the prophet Isaiah. The words are comforting at times and totally discomforting at times. There is a hopeful, rabble-rousing quality. Make it better! God will help!! You've got a long way to go, but you will do it!! There is poetry here to soothe and inspire. These words are set apart from others in the sacred text for me, somehow.

When I read these familiar words this morning, I was inspired and comforted. I was blown off course and set to rights. What I heard was, "Trust. Trust. Be quiet and listen. God is making and doing more than you could have possibly hoped, more than you could imagine." I have come to expect this from the prophet Isaiah.

What I didn't expect was what jumped off the page at me, straight away. The latter part of verse seventeen - "the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind." Oh. Okay. That is a challenging word for me today.

For, though I love to hear these prophetic words, though I seek to follow and to trust, I do not let go of the past so easily. I'm kind of a keeper of memories and stories. I remember the times when I suffered and the times when I was filled with joy. I understand my life because I have kept these stories written on my heart. Now, I don't think the prophet is asking the people to wipe their memories clean - although I'd have to do some serious research to find out (and I'm pretty committed to my temporary retirement in this area). I believe the spirit of the prophet's message (as I hear it) is to start fresh. Give God a chance. Live in freedom and let go of those weighty grudges, fears, disappointments and misconceptions that keep us from living the gift that this life is.

To be clearer (maybe), if I apply this idea to my life, what I let go of are the things which hold me back. Say, for example, I am lonely and I meet someone who could be a friend. If I open my heart to this person, really let myself be known and know them in return, despite past hurts and disappointments then I am letting go of the former things. If, on the other hand, I close myself off because I have been hurt in the past - well, then you see I am letting the "former things" direct my life rather than letting what God has prepared for me come into it.

I have learned about vulnerability - you might say I've learned the hard way, just like everybody else. I don't want that to sound bitter, it is merely a statement of fact. I got hurt because I made myself vulnerable, more than once. Remembering these former things, these aches and pains is part of what makes me human. What I hear from the prophet today is that it is safe to let go of these former things because what is being created for me is so good, so beyond my imagining. No need to hold onto that old baggage, folks, you will be safe, whole and protected from harm. I know you can't imagine it, says the prophet. Just give it a chance. You might even take it a step further and say that, if we do not let go of these former things, we won't really get to this promised place, at least not in its fullness. But that might be a topic for another time.

Isaiah 65:17-25
17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD-- and their descendants as well. 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent--its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

thinking about the Word

There is no end to the irony of timing. This situation isn't terribly ironic. But really, it does feel a little silly that the first time I consult the lectionary (with an intent to write) it doesn't do anything much for me at all. This evening I feel a lot like some of those Saturday evenings where I attempted to squeeze something, anything, out of the text that was enough for a sermon. Now that I'm doing this for FUN, I'm thinking, "are you kidding me?" I mean.. is anyone even reading this? But I digress... part of the discipline of preaching from the lectionary is encountering texts that seem difficult, mundane, ridiculous. This time, I am digging for what it is that I am to find in the text, not what I need to find to share with a community. It is a different perspective for sure.

The text that stood out to me the most was the one that spoke to a community (continuing with the irony!). The writer reminds the people that God has been faithful, will be faithful and will always be the holder, keeper and bestower of blessing. The best is yet to come. That is the message I hear. Do not fear what is happening now. Do not fear what is about to happen. God is in charge and you will be blessed, just as you have been before. Get to work and keep it up!

And... that's all folks. Really, that's it. Abundance. Go!!

Haggai 2: 1-9

2:1 In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, 3 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.