Christmas! It's the most wonderful time of the year! And so the song goes. I am truly blessed with grandchildren to grace our home for Christmas. Their little faces are such a joy to behold on Christmas morning as they rip throuugh their presents from Santa. It is truly amazing because has so many toys for them that they just don't all fit under the tree at home..
This morning, both my daughters came to the house with their families. My mother and father were there as was my mother in law who had stayed with us the night before. They coulddn't wait to open their gifts.... It was over in a flash!
Afterwards, we all ate breakfast together. My son in law had to go to work and my youngest daughter went home to go to the childen's (other) grandma's house. My oldest daughter stayed here with her two boys. Around noon, we all fell asleep for a well deserved nap.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
Mark 1:1-8 1The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Perhaps I am just going through a confusing time in my life, but it seems ever so much more difficult for me to figure out which direction God leads. It seems to me that in this culture, there is a growing trend to meet God through "self-awareness" or the presence of God in nature or one another. In some respects, I can understand this trend since we are indeed made in God's image and have been given God's Spirit in our hearts. So in essence, there is God with us and God among us. But as I look deep within myself, I do not see God. Instead I see blackness....sinfulness abounds. Even the goodness that comes from within is marred by my own sinful motivations.
And so, my journey begins with recognizing this about myself and others. My journey begins with baptism, washed clean by the power of God. Even now, I feel as if I am in the wilderness...tempted to do great things. But I am afraid bec ause unlike Christ, I have not recognized Godly timeliness....Jesus knew that turning rocks to bread was not necessarily a bad thing....he did it for the crowds who gathered to hear him. Jesus knew that he was not to throw himself off of the mountain...and yet he threw himself into the arms of the Roman and Jewish leaders and submitted to death on the cross. In the end, he recieved kingship over the world...not by worshipping Satan, but by discovering the gift of God's timeliness in all things.
The message of this day and age confuses me. I cannot look within to discover God's direction. And so, I look to my baptism, to the sharing of Christ's body and blood in Holy Communion, and to the cross where the perfect one suffers for my sake. It is where I get a glimpse of God's direction for faithful living and it is where I find the forgiveness to keep searching for the right direction.
Perhaps I am just going through a confusing time in my life, but it seems ever so much more difficult for me to figure out which direction God leads. It seems to me that in this culture, there is a growing trend to meet God through "self-awareness" or the presence of God in nature or one another. In some respects, I can understand this trend since we are indeed made in God's image and have been given God's Spirit in our hearts. So in essence, there is God with us and God among us. But as I look deep within myself, I do not see God. Instead I see blackness....sinfulness abounds. Even the goodness that comes from within is marred by my own sinful motivations.
And so, my journey begins with recognizing this about myself and others. My journey begins with baptism, washed clean by the power of God. Even now, I feel as if I am in the wilderness...tempted to do great things. But I am afraid bec ause unlike Christ, I have not recognized Godly timeliness....Jesus knew that turning rocks to bread was not necessarily a bad thing....he did it for the crowds who gathered to hear him. Jesus knew that he was not to throw himself off of the mountain...and yet he threw himself into the arms of the Roman and Jewish leaders and submitted to death on the cross. In the end, he recieved kingship over the world...not by worshipping Satan, but by discovering the gift of God's timeliness in all things.
The message of this day and age confuses me. I cannot look within to discover God's direction. And so, I look to my baptism, to the sharing of Christ's body and blood in Holy Communion, and to the cross where the perfect one suffers for my sake. It is where I get a glimpse of God's direction for faithful living and it is where I find the forgiveness to keep searching for the right direction.
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