Tis the season! Let's interact with the season and the realities that are in front of us! Theme Difficult Realities: Prayers and response: You became human and born in a troubled land- You came to judge the poor with justice- You came to bring us hope and courage- You came to speak the human word of God's care and tenderness- You came to restore to us new life with you and with one another- Brad..... Longing and Ache... What is Advent? A candle lighting? A Scripture reading? Is Advent is something to be tolerated? Is it a count down? Observation on Advent- Adventus - Coming / Arrival of something long awaited. The longing for God to show up! Come face to face with longing..... to understand what..... to name them. When you are in touch with your longings you are in touch with your deepest self. Where do you need God to show up? Long History of Kings using Advent to announce there kingship and how good things will be. A new god has arrived! They were the one to come. The one we waited for is here. This is one of the greatest human feeling. Longing for a Savior to come. To make things better. The Messiah (Jesus) comes. Mark 1:14 "The time has come. The Kingdom of God has come near." "So repent and believe the good news." No destroying, or killing. No hit list. So different that what was expected. The people that were longing the most for it, missed it. (Jews of the time.) God shows up in ways that we don't expect. Ed Dobson: Stories.....The healing did come, but it wasn't in the mode that he expected. We weeped, we ached, we mourned... What did you learn? Sense God's presence....but we hadn't sensed his comfort. God comfort was with others. You have been the face of God. You need to hold you longing loosely. You have to realize that God will show up in unexpected ways. Jesus....in his life seems to leave things un-done. I wonder if he not so much worried about getting things done, but joining people in there longing. Joining us in your longing. Longing is a disposition of the heart. When you lose the reality of you longings...watch-out. God want's to join you in you longings. Let your longings remind you of your need for God. My insights: There is a beginning, a middle and an end. What are you going to do to make the middle worth it? We long for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. Create a world of hope in us. In touch with your ache, so we can become a good steward of it. Light the hope candle. What is your candle about? Mine is the celebration of the Middle. That God has used us in ways that we can't even imagine. We leave the legacy of life. What has happened in the middle in the key! Hope that the last years of life can be a reflection on the joy of what is in the middle!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lord let us celebrate the start, give us peace in the end, and a longing for good in the middle. Share, care and play fair! |