Life Preservers & Crash Helmets

Anna shared this with me the other day, this is great.

“On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake someday and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return. ”

― Annie Dillard

The Wisdom of Mary’s Song

“He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
                – Luke 1:39-56

I imagine Mary singing her song loudly with tears of joy.  I also imagine the questions this raised for her.
What? How? And why?

I took this in 2009 of The Immaculate Conception at the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth (Israel)

The combination of joy and uncertainty stir up a song of praise deep in Mary’s soul.  The song is not a song of glory for herself or the miracle she carries.  The song is a praise offering for God’s steadfast love from generation to generation.

I wish we could solve the world’s problems, eradicate poverty, bring about eco justice, and fix the global economy. I wish acting justly and loving mercy were easy plans for us to execute in our own power. But they are not.

Mary reminds us to submit to God and to seek the Lord patiently with praise and thanksgiving.

God’s promise is that God has shown up and will show up to make all things right.  Our longings and our needs will be met. God’s faithfulness always endures. Mary’s song is a celebration of God’s action, not her own.  She trusts in God’s past, present, and future faithfulness towards a world that might seem hopeless.

As Christmas draws near, our eagerness and excitement grow.  Our hearts are full of joy because we know that in the Christ child’s arrival, the world will not be left the same.  I love Advent because we can remember that God is with us, has not forsaken us, and will come again in glory and power.

O Come, o come, Emmanuel,
Charlene

Advent Joy (Psalm 126)

“Indeed, we cried as we planted our seeds,
Now let us reap a joy-filled harvest.
We cried on the journey to plant our seeds,
But now we will celebrate and sing
As we return with an abundant harvest.”

-Psalm 126, translated by Amanda Diekman
Read the whole psalm

My memory is too short. My imagination is too dull. It is too hard for me to remember hope when I am in the middle of despair. In my moments of forgetfulness, grief and anxiety overwhelm me, and hope slowly slips away. Joy feels far off, and I want to do nothing. In these moments, I long for delight and joy. I beg and plead with the Lord for restoration. I ache for something different.

But there is hope.

The psalmist in Psalm 126 remembers his past joy and imagines the coming harvest. Instead of sitting in his despair, the psalmist plants seeds of hope and waits for them to spring forth. He proclaims the joy he felt in the Lord’s deliverance and declares the future harvest. Watering the seeds with tears and anticipating a harvest, the psalmist gives praise to God. In the middle of despair, he waits for God’s restoration.

Waiting on the Lord is hard. As we light Advent candles each week, we are reminded that at one time we were overcome by darkness and in a desolate land. But with each lit candle, light and joy break forth. Where we once felt alone, we realize that God was with us all along.

During Advent, we anticipate our future hope and Christ’s return in glory. But we rest in the fact that God has always been with us.

Whether you are full of joy or sadness, God is with you.

This Advent, remember and imagine. Remember the great things the Lord has done and God’s deliverance. And anticipate the coming of our Lord.

Come thou-long-and-expected Jesus, come,
Charlene

The In-Between (Psalm 63)

“my body desires you
in a dry and tired land
with water nowhere

i’ve seen you in the sanctuary
i’ve seen your power and glory”

Psalm 63, read the rest here

We are in Advent, an in-between time marked by longing and waiting.

Over the last year we have been praying and discerning our call as a church.  It seems like we are living in an in-between time.  The Holy Spirit has stirred in us a vision for ministry and partnership down Roxboro Road, and we are excited.  Yet, we are in Advent, the in-between.  What we know for sure is that God is with us and continues to be with us.

Like the psalmist in psalm 63, we’ve seen ‘God in the sanctuary, we’ve seen God’s power and glory’, and we find ourselves in an in-between.  Whether in the life of our church or our own personal lives, we often find ourselves in an-between phase.

Waiting for a visit.  Waiting for a job.  
Waiting to hear what post-graduation plans will turn up.  
Waiting to hear from the doctors. 
Waiting to see what this new church will look like.

We are thirsty, we desire more of God, and we want the wait to be over.  The psalmist reminds us in psalm 63:

“I will bless you as long as I’m alive.”

Whether we are thirsty or fully satisfied, our life together operates in seasons like the liturgical calendar. Waiting is hard, but it teaches us patience and trust in the Lord.  Like the psalmist and the prophets, we get to seek and wrestle with what it means to seek after God.  We don’t rest with what we’ve seen because we know there are glimpses of God’s glory in the waiting.   It is in God that our thirst is fully satisfied.

Stand firm in God’s love and faithfulness in the waiting.  As we pray through the Psalms and hope this Advent, may your prayers be full of expectation and joy in the glimpses you catch now and for the future that will be.

Grace and Peace,
Charlene

Everything but Praise on my Lips (Psalm 34)

“i will bless the lord at all times, his praise shall ever be on my lips” -Psalm 34

It’s around this time of year that driving makes me anxious.  This is the season where everyone is traveling.  Drivers leave home a few minutes too late and often try making up that time on the road.  Traffic lingers and folks are changing lanes without signaling, speeding, and driving irresponsibly.  Caught in these traffic traps, praise and blessing are not the first things on my lips.  Anger and irritation release other not-so-polite words to roll easily off tongue.

Reading Psalm 34, I am surprised by David’s song, “I will praise the Lord at all times; his praise shall ever be on my lips.”  In the midst of intimidation and uncertainty, his response is praise.

We know that God is ever mindful of us (Psalm 8:4).  Yet, in moments of despair God’s nearness to us is easily questioned, and prompts other words and feelings to roll off of our tongues.  To bless the Lord at all time calls for an awareness of God’s faithfulness and presence with us.  To give God praise in the midst of our stuff involves trusting in the One who is with us even when we cannot feel it.

This Thanksgiving, as you remember what you are thankful for, may you bless the Lord.  If you need to write it down, put it in a place where it is easily accessible—add on to it.  And if you find yourself in place of uncertainty, remind yourself of God’s faithfulness.

in all things, give thanks
Charlene