PLEASE READ THIS!!!

iMonk has a fantastic post today that I'm asking you to read and consider. It's about the opportunity that mainline churches have to reach out to evangelicals who are tired of the shallow, a-historical, stage-oriented, programmed worship and church life of the evangelical movement.

I am about to post a series on returning to the mainline. This article would be an excellent place for us to start talking.

Read it HERE, and join in the discussion. Please.

Sermon: Attend to the Baby

Our pastor graciously asked me to preach this morning while he and his family traveled to visit relatives. My sermon is about keeping the season of Christmastide, from the Gospel text for the day, Luke 2.22-40.

If you would like to read it, you may access a PDF copy HERE.

Why Don't We Go to Church on Christmas Day?

In my experience, I have found it rare that churches hold services on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve, yes, but not on December 25.

Why is this? Christmas is arguably the second most important holy day in the church year, behind Easter Sunday. On Christmas Day we mark one of the most remarkable events in human history: God taking on human flesh to inaugurate his promised salvation and new creation. Should this not be an occasion of highest worship?

What do our practices say about our real feelings regarding Christmas? I read one question and answer column where it was asked, "Does your family go to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?" A respondent replied, "No, for us Christmas is to be spent with the family, not with the priest." As a pastor, I heard that sentiment many times.

It tells me that our cultural celebration of Christmas owes more to Charles Dickens than to the Biblical text or church tradition. In the early 19th century, the author almost singlehandedly transformed and revitalized the holiday as an occasion for family, feasting, and charity through his story, "A Christmas Carol."

While Dickens saw his work as complementing and applying the message of Christ to confront the sins of his own society, isn't it striking that the church plays no role in his ethic?

Scrooge's transformation of heart leads him to value good things: human kindness, the simple gifts of home and hearth, compassion for the poor and needy, concern for the conditions of workers, and a spirit of joy, optimism and cooperation. These are all aspects of our mission as the church scattered in the world, and we must not neglect them. But is there no place for the church gathered on Christmas Day?

I would love to hear comments on this.

Christmastide, or the Twelve Days of Christmas

I saw signs in the retail community this year advertising "Twelve Days of Christmas" sales. For the twelve days leading up to Christmas, the stores that held these sales had certain items at special prices each day so that shoppers could get ready for the holiday. This reflects a common understanding of the Twelve Days in our culture—that they lead up to and end on Christmas Day.

However, the Twelve Days of Christmas actually begin on Christmas Day. In the Christian Year of the Western Church, it is Advent season that leads up to Christmas, and then comes Christmastide, a twelve-day feast of our Lord's nativity. Christmastide ends with Epiphany on January 6, which celebrates God's revelation of Christ to the Gentiles in the story of the magi. The last night is traditionally known as "Twelfth Night," a feast that includes removing Christmas decorations. In different cultures and throughout the centuries, this season has been marked in various ways, but the point is that celebrating Christ's birth takes place over a SEASON, and not a single day.

Here is a prime example of how following a church-year pattern of spirituality can form us and transform us in Biblical ways and help us not be conformed to the ways of our fallen culture.

For most people, Christmas is over. After Thanksgiving, a season of shopping and special events builds up our spirit of anticipation toward the day for which we are all waiting. That morning, we run down the stairs, pass around gifts and open them until the room is inundated in a sea of paper and ribbon, and then we go to the grand feast. That's Christmas. The day after, when in our view Christmas is over, is "gift return and exchange" day, when we eagerly begin a new season—the season of post-Christmas sales.

However, in the liturgical tradition, Advent preparation for Christmas involves meditating on God's promises of salvation and the coming of Messiah. And Christmas Eve and Christmas Day usher in a period of almost two weeks to consider the wonder of the Incarnation. Christmas is the beginning of our walking in the Good News of great joy for all people which has come among us.

We welcomed a new baby into our family this year, about a week before Christmas. One thing we know—life is different now. Suddenly, we don't make decisions without considering the baby. New thoughts, new concerns, new priorities mold our choices. And even though the child is small and, at this point, devoted mainly to eating and sleeping, we have found ourselves taking time—time to hold him, look at him, ooh and aah over him, rock him, kiss him, tend to his needs, and make sure at all times that he is safe and secure in our care.

Christmas is not over, it has just begun. Take time these twelve days and give attention to Jesus, the newborn King.

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Prayer

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born this day of a pure virgin: Grant that I, who have been born again and made your child by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

The Eve of the Nativity

The Prayer of the Church on this Christmas Eve...

O God, you make us glad by the yearly festival of the birth of your only Son Jesus Christ: Grant that I, who joyfully receive him as my Redeemer, may with sure confidence behold him when he comes to be our Judge; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Tuesday

The angels who greeted the shepherds on Christmas night proclaimed Good News for all people. Today's psalm, Psalm 67, reminds us that God's plan of salvation is deep and wide—transforming people's spirits and changing the whole world.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him. ^{23 57}

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When, with the ever-circling years,
Shall come the Age of Gold;
When peace shall over all the earth,
Its ancient splendors fling,
And all the world give back the song,
Which now the angels sing.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Monday

Today's reading comes from Psalm 22:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
"Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help."^245781011

Once more, our reading takes us from the cradle to the cross. The Christ who came at Christmas was born to die. First, Bethlehem had no room for him. Finally, people had no use for him. Born an outcast in a manger, he died a criminal's death.

Yet, through it all, he trusted in God. And he who became sin for us, rejected of men, and forsaken by his own Father, was made the righteousness of God for all who believe.

The Fourth Week of Advent: Sunday

The Adoration of the Magi
Bartolo di Fredi, 1380's

The readings for Sunday of the fourth week of Advent encourage us to think about God's light, which has come to fill this world of darkness. In the days of Israel's kingdom, God's people considered Mt. Zion, the city of Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount the center of the earth, the hilltop from which the glory of God shone. This is reflected in today's Vesper's psalm, Psalm 48:

We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
Your name, O God, like your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the towns of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
Walk about Zion, go all around it,
count its towers,
consider well its ramparts;
go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide for ever.

(Psalm 48.9-13)

^10111314God's name, like his praise, reaches to the ends of the earth. He so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. The Good News proclaimed by the angels was for all people. The Gospel of Matthew illustrates this by introducing us to the magi, Gentiles from the east, as the first people who bowed before the newborn King. God intended the light of Jesus to reach all people and fill all his creation.

To shine this light, Jesus came to be the New Temple, the meeting place for God and human beings. John tells us, "And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth" (John 1.14). When the apostle says that Jesus "lived among us," he uses the word for "tabernacle," thus linking the First Testament Tent of Meeting with the Word Incarnate. As the shekinah glory filled the tabernacle and later the Temple, so God's glory filled Jesus and became apparent to those who met him.

This psalm encourages the people of Israel to thoroughly familiarize themselves with Mt. Zion and its sacred places, in order that they might more fully know and love the God of glory. In the same way, the more deeply we know Jesus, the more we will say, "This is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our Guide forever."

The Third Week of Advent: Saturday

Today's reading, Psalm 68, portrays the awesome might of God in battle, overcoming his enemies and then returning triumphant to his throne amidst the cheers of his people.

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel;
and whose power is in the skies.
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.

(Psalm 68.32-35) ³³³⁴³⁵

This exhilarating song is filled with vibrant imagery that stirs the imagination to martial heights. However, in Psalm 68 we also read some of the tenderest descriptions of God and his saving grace in Scripture:

Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
God gives the desolate a home to live in...

Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy...

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up...

(Psalm 68.5-6, 9-10, 19)⁶¹⁰

Blessed be the God of might and mercy!

Meekness and majesty
Manhood and Deity
In perfect harmony
The Man who is God
Lord of eternity
Dwells in humanity
Kneels in humility
And washes our feet

O what a mystery
Meekness and majesty
Bow down and worship
For this is your God
This is your God

Father's pure radiance
Perfect in innocence
Yet learns obedience
To death on a cross
Suffering to give us life
Conquering through sacrifice
And as they crucify
Prays: 'Father forgive.'

Wisdom unsearchable
God the invisible
Love indestructible
In frailty appears
Lord of infinity
Stooping so tenderly
Lifts our humanity
To the heights of His throne


by Graham Kendrick
© 1986 Kingsway's Thankyou Music

The Third Week of Advent: Friday

Psalm 84 is chosen for today's Vespers psalm. This song of pilgrimage describes the joy of those who went up to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. It expresses delight in God's House and anticipates experiencing the presence of the Lord there, which is what makes Zion such a special place. In this psalm we also read a prayer on behalf of the king (vv. 8-9), and echoes of wisdom teaching that affirm the blessedness of those who trust in the true and living God (vv. 11-12).

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Selah
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

(Psalm 86.1-7)

²⁴ During Advent, we sing about God coming to us. However, this psalm tells the other side: it pictures believers coming to God in worship, fellowship, joy and delight. It all comes together when they arrive in Jerusalem, for there God meets them in the Temple and blesses them with his presence.

Worship is the place where we meet the God who comes to us. As the angels stirred the hearts of the shepherds to run to Bethlehem to see the Savior who had come to earth, so God's grace and mercy stir up our faith today and move his people to gather before him in praise and adoration.

O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!

Welcome to the World!

Welcome, Kian Jerome Yates.
Born December 17, 2008
Congratulations, Hannah and Rob.

The Second Week of Advent: Wednesday

Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
Selah

(Psalm 24.7-10)
⁸⁹¹⁰

Psalm 23, the most familiar of all psalms, ends with this affirmation of faith: "And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long." The author's focus is on the Temple, the dwelling place of God, where the true and living God met with his people. Today's reading from the next psalm, Psalm 24, picks up this theme and presents a gathering song for worship at the Temple...

• Proclaiming that the God who meets with his covenant people is the Creator God, who made heaven and earth (vv. 1-2).

• Setting forth what it means to belong to the company of those who would come before him in worship (vv. 3-6).

• Anticipating the advent of God's presence as he enters the Temple in power and glory (vv. 7-10).

This same God, the King of Glory, is the One we worship. We, the company of those who seek him, also desire that he form and transform us into holy worshipers. We too eagerly anticipate his marvelous appearing.

Of course, at Christmastide, he comes in quite the unexpected fashion! The King of glory, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, the Lord of hosts descends in a most curious disguise—that of a helpless infant in a cattle stall, who will grow up to demonstrate the even mightier power of love and self-giving.

Infant holy, Infant lowly, for His bed a cattle stall;
Oxen lowing, little knowing, Christ the Babe is Lord of all.
Swift are winging Angels singing, Noels ringing, Tidings bringing:
Christ the Babe is Lord of all.

Traditional Polish carol
Translated by Edith M. G. Reed, 1925

The Third Week of Advent: Tuesday

Today's reading is Psalm 40. Here are David's words in the first eight verses:

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt-offering and sin-offering
you have not required.
Then I said, ‘Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.^*
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.’ ^{2357 8}

• These words tell of the king's vindication—his deliverance from the pit of despair.
  

• In turn, the king makes a proclamation—a new song of praise that celebrates the benefits of trusting in God.
  

• Finally, we see the king's dedication—he delights in doing God's will from the heart, not simply offering external sacrifices.

The King who came for us in the Incarnation, the King of kings, came to fulfill his Father's plan as it was written "in the scroll of the book." Throughout his life and ministry he announced the Good News of God's wondrous works; his invasion of history to bring salvation and make the world new. Ultimately, though rejected by his own, God raised him up from the pit of death and gave him all authority in heaven and on earth. As we look to him and give him our heart's loyalty, we share in his victory now and forever.

"Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."

The Third Week of Advent: Monday

The psalm portion for today is from Psalm 44, which combines a historical review with a communal lament.

• The first part of the song looks backward and recalls the "days of old," when God displayed his mighty power in setting the people free, overcoming their enemies, and planting them in the good land he promised to give them. This was all of God's grace: "for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your countenance, for you delighted in them" (v.3).
  

• The second half of Psalm 44 is a song of lament and supplication:

Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
and have not gone out with our armies.
You made us turn back from the foe,
and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves.
You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
and have scattered us among the nations.
You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughing-stock among the peoples.
All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

...Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Awake, do not cast us off for ever!
Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

(Psalm 44.9-16, 23-26)

^{101112141516242526} As Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann puts it, they have moved from a place of orientation, where all seems right with the world, to a place of disorientation, where their world has been turned upside-down and their experience seems to contradict God's goodness and promises to them. They cry out for reorientation—that God will arise and act once more to set them on their feet again.

In Advent, we long for reorientation. We pray for God to come and set the world—and our lives—right once more.

Away with sorrow's sigh,
Our prayers are heard on high;
And through Heaven's crystal door
On this our earthly floor
Comes meek-eyed Peace to walk with poor mortality.

In dead of night profound,
There breaks a seraph sound
Of never-ending morn;
The Lord of glory born
Within a holy grot on this our sullen ground.

Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary 1736.

Translation: Charles Williams 1839

The Third Week of Advent: Sunday

Adoration of the Shepherds
Hugo van der Goes, c. 1480

Today we enter the third week in the Advent season, the time of watching and waiting for the promised Messiah to come. Christ-followers around the world are preparing their hearts and lives to celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas in the manger at Bethlehem. We are also anticipating his Second Advent, the parousia, when he shall come to put his creation to rights.

In our daily meditations, we have been taking the psalm chosen for the evening Vespers office in Phyllis Tickle's prayer book, The Divine Hours. This resource is also available online, with a wonderful tool that enables one to search time zones and pray with our brothers and sisters around the world.

Today's psalm is Psalm 63, a worship song that expresses deep longing for God to come to us. Here is the first portion of this psalm:

O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.⁶⁷⁸

Here once more we see exhibited the faith of King David. The heading invites us to read this psalm in the light of one of his wilderness exiles, while pursued by his enemies. Yet in the midst of uncertainty, fear, and stress, we read here that he feels a deeper hunger, a stronger thirst—his desire to experience the presence of God in worship. And so, even in the wilderness, King David finds a sanctuary, as he discovers that his Lord is there too, an ever present help in time of trouble.

Jesus also spent time in the wilderness and was constantly under pressure from those who opposed him. However, his Father's presence and sustaining grace was ever a comfort and help to him. He clung to God, and God's right hand upheld him.

No matter where we find ourselves geographically or situationally during Advent, we may find a place for worship. God is with us and will satisfy our hunger and thirst.

In the shadow of his wings, we may sing for joy.

The Second Week of Advent: Saturday

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
You are a hiding-place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

(Psalm 32)

Here is a wonderful psalm upon which to meditate as we prepare our hearts for worship tomorrow on the third Sunday in Advent.

• David's exemplary faith teaches us not to hide our sins but rather to confess and acknowledge them to the God who knows all about them anyway, and who stands ever ready to forgive.
  

• We may take refuge in God, not only from the troubles that surround us, but also from the brokenness within us.
  

• The only impediment to a free and open relationship with God is our own stubborn refusal to deal honestly with him.

Let us open our hearts to God today and prepare them for Advent worship!

The Second Week of Advent: Friday

The Apostle Paul described his life as a Christ-follower in these terms: "and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2.20).

I have become convinced that the penultimate phrase in this text should be translated, "I live by the faith of the Son of God." The emphasis of the verse is not on OUR faith in Christ, but on CHRIST'S faith (or faithfulness) in loving us and sacrificing his life on our behalf. We live by his faith and faithfulness.

Today's Advent psalm, Psalm 31, is an exposition of this truth. It describes the Faith of the King. Here are the first five verses:

In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,
take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.²⁴⁵

Jesus found in King David's words such a statement of his own faith in his Father that he used them when he was dying on the cross.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23.44-46)

This is why our Savior came into the world at Christmas. He came to live by faith in his Father and to be faithful to his mission, which meant loving us and giving himself for us.

We live by the faith of the Son of God.

The Second Week of Advent: Thursday

Why does God bless his people? Why does he help and sustain those who trust in him? If we experience God's blessings and favors during this Advent and Christmas season, what are we to do with them?

The answer to these questions is found in today's psalm, Psalm 67.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us,
Selah
that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him. ^{23 57}

God, the greatest Giver, always gives to his people so that they in turn may give to others. God blesses us, that we may bless the world. God's gifts are not only for our enjoyment, but also that we may practice hospitality and generosity to those around us, near and far.

This psalm reflects many First Testament gospel texts, including Aaron's benediction upon Israel (Numbers 6.22-27) and the promise to Abraham that his Seed would bless all the peoples of the earth (Genesis 12.1-3). God's plan from the beginning was to restore his blessing to all nations, and, indeed to all creation, not just some small remnant of people.

One day, people from every tongue and tribe and nation will honor him. And one day, the trees themselves will clap with joy, the mountains sing, and the wolf lie down with the lamb in a new creation of righteousness and peace. This is why, at Jesus' first Advent, the eternal Word himself took on real flesh and entered this material world and experienced true humanity and life within space-time history. This is why Paul and the other apostles took the Good News and hit the road, proclaiming it to the ends of the earth. This is why, in our Christmas hymns, we call upon "heaven and nature" themselves to sing and affirm that "He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found." This is why we announce,

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love.

The nations, ALL nations, will experience God putting things to rights and filling them with his steadfast love. And the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the seas. Until then, our calling as Christ-followers is to seek God's blessing--not for ourselves alone--but for the sake of our families, our neighbors, our communities, our world.

"Let all the peoples praise you!"

The Second Week of Advent: Wednesday

Psalm 36 is a psalm of two widely divergent perspectives.

In its beginning and ending, the focus is on the transgressions, the godlessness, pride, corrupt and deceitful speech, and evil plotting of those who oppose God. A "dark" perspective of spiritual conflict in a fallen world frames this worship poem. Worship does not, like Polyanna, ignore or fantasize away the reality of evil. Nor should we be afraid to talk about it in frank terms. Too many who call themselves believers simply avoid the subject. The Book of Psalms will not allow that option.

However, in the central portion of the psalm is an entirely different point of view.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your salvation to the upright of heart!

Note the strong words that fill this section of Psalm 136: steadfast love, faithfulness, righteousness, judgments, refuge, abundance, delights, life, light, salvation. In the middle of this flawed and broken world, there is another reality--a light that shines in the darkness and enables us to see light. These words do not take us OUT of brutal reality. They sustain us in the midst of it. Furthermore, they send us out into its midst, that we may exhibit and proclaim these truths.

As you mark Advent, may you find that bright center amidst the darkness.

The Second Week of Advent: Tuesday

Today, we read a portion of Psalm 43. Most Bible scholars consider Psalms 42-43 to be a single psalm. Note the repeated refrain in 42.5, 11; and 43.5. This is a psalm of exile. The unnamed psalmist is far from his home and from the worship he loves at God's house. He finds himself among those who taunt his faith and wonder mockingly why God won't come to help him. In his distress, the psalmist tries to stir up his own spirit to remember that the living God is real. He is his true hope, and will be his help and the restorer of his joy.

Psalm 43.3-5 concludes this psalm with an appeal for the light of God's truth to shine in the darkness, to lead us home again.

O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel!

The Second Week of Advent: Monday

The Story, of which Jesus' first Advent is the climax, goes back further than the Exodus, which we thought about yesterday.

The Hebrew Bible begins at the absolute beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1.1). The following meditation on God's subsequent creative work (Genesis 1.2-2.3) portrays Him as a Master Craftsman and Temple Builder, who formed a special land, filled it with living creatures, and set human beings there as his representatives to live and rule in his blessing. The high point of this account is when God creates humans in his image and blesses them.

Today's Vespers psalm, Psalm 148, reflects on God's works and calls them to praise their Maker:

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!^2468101214

Why was Jesus born at Christmas? Why will he return in power and glory to reign? To fulfill God's original plan for the works of his hands. Jesus has come and will come again to restore God's blessing to all creation. Indeed, this present creation will be purged of all sin, evil, corruption, and death, and a new creation will emerge--a new heavens and new earth, in which righteousness and peace dwell.

What is at stake in Jesus' coming is set forth in Ephesians 1.9-10: ¹⁰"He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

Joy to the world! The Lord is come:
Let earth receive her King,
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns:
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sin and sorrow grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground:
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness
And wonders of his love.

Original Version by Isaac Watts
Psalm 98, Part 2
The Messiah's coming and kingdom

The Second Week of Advent: Sunday

Nativity
Piero della Francesca, 1470

When Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
The sea looked and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.²⁴⁶⁸

These words, from Psalm 114, remind us that Jesus' Advent is one chapter in a great Story—an historical narrative that reaches back in time and is recorded in the pages of what I like to call "The First Testament."

"When Israel went out from Egypt," the psalm begins, and we are suddenly transported back into the days of Moses, nearly 1500 years before Jesus was born. The Exodus event was Israel's great salvation story. God broke their bonds of slavery, exhibited his judgment upon the gods of Egypt, displayed his mighty power to deliver at the Red Sea, called his people into covenant relationship at Mt. Sinai, preserved them in the wilderness, and brought them to the Land of Promise.

The New Testament portrays Jesus as the new Moses, who saves his people through a New Exodus. His part of the story begins with the people in spiritual exile and once more under the thumb of their enemies. John the Baptizer goes to the Jordan River and appears like the prophets of old. He calls Israel to be baptized, that is, to cross the river once more—to leave the wilderness of their sins, re-enter the Promised Land and look for the One who will bring them the rest that Moses and Joshua could only foreshadow.

Then Jesus, the new Moses, comes, not with laws written in stone, but with the life-giving Spirit to bestow. Not with rituals involving priests, sacrifices and the Tabernacle, but as our ultimate High Priest, our Passover Lamb, and as the Word who took on flesh and "pitched his tent" in our midst (John 1.14)—the one Mediator between God and humans.

This is the high point of God's Story, his "D-Day" invasion of the world. We look back on this Advent coming with wonder and amazement, as did the author of Psalm 114 when he considered the Exodus. And still we look forward to "V-Day," the second Advent of our Redeemer and the consummation of his victory.

The Lord of might from Sinai’s brow
Gave forth his voice of thunder;
And Israel lay on earth below,
Outstretch’d, in fear and wonder:
Beneath his feet was pitchy night,
And at his left hand and his right
The rocks were rent asunder.

The Lord of love, on Calvary,
A meek and suffering stranger,
Uprais’d to heaven his languid eye
In nature’s hour of danger:
For us he bore the weight of woe,
For us he gave his blood to flow,
And met his Father’s anger.

The Lord of love, the Lord of might,
The King of all created,
Shall back re-turn to claim his right,
On clouds of glory seated:
With trumpet-sound, and Angel-song,
And Alleluyas loud and long,
O’er death and hell defeated.

by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

SATURDAY SPORTS WRAP: Grizzlies' Dream Season Ends

Today, the field at Franklin Community High School was transformed into a frozen tundra that became the stage for a Division III Football Quarterfinal match between Franklin College and Wheaton College. The game was played on the HS field because of its turf surface and because Faught Field at Franklin College had been badly damaged in the final regular season game, played in rainy conditions.

The conditions ended up favoring Wheaton today. Their powerful ground attack, stingy red zone defense, and solid special teams play led them to a 45-28 victory over the Grizzlies.

Both teams ended the day with 11-2 records. Wheaton will advance to the Final Four to play undefeated and #1 ranked Mt. Union, which defeated Cortland State 41-14. The Grizzlies will go home downhearted at the loss, but gratified that they had the finest season in school history, going farther into the Division III playoffs than any team in HCAC conference history.

Congratulations to Coach Mike Leonard, the seniors (especially record-setting QB Chad Rupp), and the entire team for a magnificent season that we all enjoyed watching.

The First Week of Advent: Saturday

We conclude this first week of Advent by looking at a portion of Psalm 9, which is the Vespers reading for this evening in The Divine Hours.

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before you.
For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement.
You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever and ever.
The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
he has established his throne for judgement.
He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.
The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.²⁴⁶

It is only fitting that this portion repeats many of the emphases we have looked at this week from the Book of Psalms.

• God is at work, putting the world to rights.
• God has vindicated his King, and saved him from his enemies.
• The Lord reigns over all the earth and will one day consummate his works of salvation and judgment.
• Those who take refuge in him will find safety and security, now and forever.

One of my favorite passages from Psalm 9 is verse 10: "And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you."

• The name Jesus reminds us he is Savior.
  
• The name Emmanuel assures us that "God is with us."
  
• The name Son of David announces that he is the Messianic King promised by God to gather his people and restore God's blessing to the whole world.
  
• The name Son of God proclaims that he is one with the Ancient of Days, the Creator and Lord, the great "I AM"—very God of God as well as very Man of man.
  

The First Week of Advent: Friday

Psalm 2, today's reading, is one of two psalms that introduce the Book of Psalms.

• Psalm 1 tells us that this collection of worship poems, first used by individuals and worship leaders in the service of God in Israel, have now been put together to be read as "Torah"—God's instruction to his people.

• Psalm 2 gives us the content of this divine instruction. Though the world rages against God and his ways, the Lord reigns, and will install his Messiah on the throne. This Anointed King, the "Son of God," will receive the whole world and all its nations as his inheritance, and he will put the world to rights. The psalm concludes by calling everyone to bow down before this King and take refuge in him.

The entire Book of Psalms is The Book of the King and should be read in this light.

Why do the nations conspire,
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.’
He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’
I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
today I have begotten you.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
with trembling kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.^2356891112

Joy to the world!
The Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing!

The First Week of Advent: Thursday

Psalm 7 is today's passage from The Divine Hours for Vespers. The majority of psalms in Books I-II of the Book of Psalms (Psalms 1-41/42-72) have David's name attached to them. Since Psalm 2 identifies the main message of the Book of Psalms as God reigning through his chosen King (Messiah), we discover in reading the first two books that David is set forth as the ideal king, the model for the final King to come.

In Psalm 7, as in many other psalms, we learn some interesting characteristics of this king, the circumstances of his life, his trust in God, and his ultimate vindication by God's righteous judgment.

O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust.
Selah
Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgement.
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat on high.
The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.
God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.
If one does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;
he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.
I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.^{245 78101113141516}

At his first Advent, the King came into a world which opposed and pursued him. Though innocent, they surrounded him like lions and dragged him away to the cross. In the end, however, God proved to be his shield; he saved the upright in heart and raised him up to reign. He brought the evil of the wicked to an end and established the Righteous One.

Still, we pray with him for the consummation of his righteous reign. Still, we await the day when the peoples will be gathered before him for a final accounting and the full establishment of justice and peace. And as we wait, we live under his reign and promote his purposes.

This is Advent.

The First Week of Advent: Wednesday

The images of "darkness" and "light" are integral to Advent. In our hemisphere, the days are growing darker as we move into winter. The Advent Wreath gets brighter each Sunday as we mark the time until Christmas. But darkness and light, of course, are also potent spiritual symbols. In Scripture, darkness represents ignorance, evil, and separation from God. Light, on the other hand, speaks of God's revelation, the purity of virtue and the glorious presence of the Holy One.

Today's Vesper's Psalm, Psalm 12, describes the spiritual darkness in which we find ourselves.

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?’
‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’
The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation for ever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.²⁴⁶⁸

In the midst of the darkness of ungodliness, unfaithfulness, lies, deception, flattering and the proud boasting of those who claim they are in charge of their own lives and destinies, the God of Light rises up and speaks pure words of salvation to those whose hearts shiver in the night.

O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The First Week of Advent: Tuesday

Each day in Advent, we are preparing our hearts to celebrate Christ's coming at Christmas. We are also anticipating his parousia, his personal return. This is the heart of the season--anticipation, expectation, preparation. Today's psalm reading, from Psalm 16, whets our appetite for his glorious presence.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures for evermore. (verses 5-11)

God's presence is what makes the difference in the world and in our lives. Like the Levites of old, God's people are not those who possess lands or riches, but God himself, as their inheritance. In the darkness, we embrace the light of his counsel. Along the paths of daily life, he keeps our feet steady and our gait strong. When we pass through the door of death, we fear no evil, for instead of darkness and isolation, we find that we are "with Christ, which is far better" (Phil 1.23).

Psalm 16 is yet another testament to the God who made what some scholars call the Tripartite Promise (of which there are over 50 references in the Bible): "I will be their God, and they will be my people, and I will dwell in their midst."

• When Jesus came into the world, the angel told his parents he would be called, "Emmanuel," which means "God with us" (Matt 1.23).
  

• Before the risen Christ ascended to heaven, he told his followers, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28.20).
  

• Looking forward to his return, he promised, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14.3).

We long for Jesus to come to us in specific ways during Advent. But we must never forget that he is really and truly present already: in the Word, in Spirit, in the worship and sacraments shared by his people, in the works of mercy and love that disciples do in his name. All these provide tastes of the "fullness of joy" and "pleasures forevermore" that await us when he comes again.

The First Week of Advent: Monday

Today's psalm reading is from Psalm 112.

Whereas yesterday's words focused our attention wholly on God as the One who shines his face on us in salvation, bringing light to our darkness, today's Scripture emphasizes that those who receive his glorious grace reflect that light to those around them through acts of love and mercy.

Praise the Lord!
Happy are those who fear the Lord,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures for ever.
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered for ever.
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever;
their horn is exalted in honour.
The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.^2345678910

This psalm of wisdom, of course, does not tell the whole story of life. Certainly the righteous suffer and their case is not always heard in this fallen world. And we know that the wicked prosper, often frustratingly so to those who long for justice. Nevertheless, Christian believers hold to a longer view, an ultimate sense of the right, the rewards of virtue, and the just punishment of evil. We look to a God who will one day put the world to rights, who has indeed taken the major step toward doing so in the first Advent of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

To follow him in Advent means to be partners with him in this work. Today. Each day. Until he comes again.

The First Week of Advent: Sunday

Psalm 80 is the Vespers Psalm for Advent Sunday I. Verses 1-7 form the reading in The Divine Hours for this day.

Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.
O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn^* of our neighbours;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

²Even in the excerpt you can see that this community lament is marked by a refrain: "Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved" (see verses 3, 7, 19). Note that this refrain is not only repeated, but also developed throughout the psalm.

• In the first instance, Asaph appeals to "God"
  
• In the second, he cries out, "O God of hosts"
  
• In the final refrain God is designated, "Lord God of hosts"

These poetic variations suggest a growing apprehension of the greatness and power of God to intervene and save his people. In the darkness and distress of their exile and devastation, they pray that his face will shine forth upon them; that the light of his grace and mercy will break through the darkness and set them free.

As the days grow darker during Advent, gradually swallowing our days, we pray that the light of God's presence and power will grow among us, delivering us from the forces of darkness and death.

Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.