Let the Son Shine
Friday is a holiday.
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2: 30-32
Some Christians do not take down their Christmas decorations until after this day. It is also called Candlemas because people bring their candles to their church and present them for a blessing. They are used throughout the rest of the year to represent the light of Christ. For a fun review of customs around the world check out the Candlemas page of Wikipedia.
While Groundhog Day suggests that seeing the light of the sun, and thus our shadow, means that the winter is a long way off, this Christian feast day invites us to rejoice in the providence of God in any season. Even though, or perhaps because, we know our shadow side (the sin and darkness all around and within us) we honor the gift and calling to be light in the world as Christ is the light.
Here’s a devotional ritual and a blessing for your candles. Maybe you can offer a dinner time ritual with your family and shadows or not, dedicate yourselves to letting your light shine.
(light a candle)
Read John 1: 1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.
Read Matthew 5: 14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Talk about: What parts of yourself would you like to hide from? Where do you see yourself a light that helps others? If you came out of hibernation, and saw the light of Christ, and your shadow, would you crawl back in bed and hide from yourself and the world? Or would you come out rejoicing in the light you see and bear?
(pray)
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Children, Couli, and Christ
January 25, 2024
I’m watching a children’s baking show. A bunch of 9- to 12- year old kids are making amazing food in a 3-hour time limit in a TV studio with lights and directors and cameras and people they have just met. I don’t even know what a “couli” is and they are designing, and creating deliciousness without recipes!
Are we too careful with Christ, with the good news of Jesus? How can churches better empower youth and children to lead? Is it possible we’ve created the bread of heaven for adults who fit our prescribed criteria in such a way that by the time you’ve gotten to fourth grade you realize the church has less confidence in your potential than anyone else in your whole world?
Jesus said we should let the kids come to him. The Bible says a child shall lead us. Indeed, he was only 12 when he stupefied the Temple preachers of the law with his wisdom and understanding.
What might we learn about, “Jesus loves me,” if we hear from the kids instead of talking down to them? I don’t know if I have the answers—because I probably haven’t listened to them well enough. Shall we?
Thanks be to God for the kids in our lives who remind us to “taste and see the Lord is good!”
“Let the little children come to me, Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer, Las Vegas, NV” by Haydn Blackey is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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Venite adoremus Dominum
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Come let us worship the Lord! The snow lay on the ground;
the stars shone bright, when Christ our Lord was born on Christmas night.”
This became my favorite song this Christmas. Mostly the refrain. I found myself humming it over and over. Of course it helped that we did actually sing the tune throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons. However, when I looked out the window this week, with the snow on the ground, and the moon shining bright, I felt a certain peace as I hummed the song. Even now, as I write, and listen to the video, I have a smile on my face and calm heart.
Congregational singing, and congregational memorization of songs and prayers and scriptures, have power to help us through tough times, to refresh us during tiredness, and to enhance the joy of a special moment.
When we recite particular phrases, or sing refrains, doxologies, glorias, over and over, we are teaching one another to hold onto pieces of faith that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Between now and Ash Wednesday, I encourage you to practice during the week the refrains of sharing God’s peace with one another.
Hymn 609: Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow
Hymn 448: Peace of God Be with You
You might even try memorizing a Scripture:
just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world
to be holy and blameless before him in love. Ephesians 1: 2-4
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Don’t Give Up Hope
If your resolution has hit some bumps in the road, don’t give up hope!
(and yes, I have mirror). From hunger to war, grown-ups need to be better adults! Thousands die from war and random gun violence, millions die of malnutrition, and millions more remain in poverty, unable to escape or rise above the conditions of their birth.
It gets better.
If Paul tells us that we hope in what we cannot see, Rosling is saying, “Look, look back and look at the reality then and now so that we can find hope for the next millennium, the next century, the next generation, the next decade, the next day, in the bits of progress that are becoming reality.” Rosling is criticized for an overly optimistic view. However, read carefully, “Factfulness,” is an invitation to let small change give us the hope of what we dream but cannot see and spur us forward in hope.
The condition of the world for our children is terrible, in places, horrifically apocalyptically catastrophic. In those places, we must intervene with immediate resolutions of food, water, peace. Peace. Peace.
The Christian response
and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.” Mark 8: 35
You probably made a resolution that involves letting go of something. Don’t give up. Letting go is a spiritual discipline. Add to your resolve the prayer of hope, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4: 13 This prayer glorifyies God in all things, and proclaims the gospel in all circumstances. Here’s Paul’s situation:
“I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need, for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.” Phil 4: 10-12
Images: “Gaza-boys-fenced-in” by AlphaBetaUnlimited is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. ; “Peace on Selby Avenue” by sarahkarnas is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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Joy to the World, and you!
Are you happy?
Ecstatic, pleased, content, celebrating, enthused—these are a few of the ways we can describe “happiness.” “Joy,” is not included in my list. 
For the six weeks of Advent and Christmas we have been asking, “How does a weary world rejoice?” I want to ask you a new question.
Are you full of joy?
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How do you love God?
12/28/23
The children’s catechism called, “Belonging to God,” asks, “How do you thank God for this gift of love?”
Answer: “I promise to love and trust God with all my heart.”
Q: “How do you love God?”
A: “By worshipping God, by loving others, and by respecting what God has created.”
If you are now striving toward a new year’s resolution, perhaps this line of thinking is more than adequate. And a better choice than, “Lose 10 pounds by Valentine’s Day.”
It doesn’t exclude healthy lifestyle changes. Respecting the divine creation that is you is important. It does include a commitment to gathering in a community for praising the Creator. It does mean working to grow the ways in which you do love for others, toward others, in tangible expressions of your love for God. And respecting what God has created—so many options!
Water conservation, less plastic, more intentionally diverse friendships, nature walks, new ways of speaking to spouses or children, or co-workers, adopting a fur-baby, minimizing car-trips to the store….
What part of the created world, people, things or places, are dear to you? How might you in 2024 give praise to God for this, show your love of God by loving it more intentionally, and grow spiritually in your respect for this aspect of creation?
Let it be resolved—for one month. Yes, it’s okay to make a very short-term, time-limited, relevant, achievable, measurable, specific commitment. Yes, this is a SMART resolution. You got this!
Pick up your STAR WORDS in worship on Sunday! Find a guiding light for the coming year.
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2022 Blog Posts are archived HERE.