watershed: a community church

A couple of thoughts for Christmas...

The birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it.
-Frederick Buechner "Listening to Your Life," Christianity Today, Vol. 37, no. 15

Life is a constant Advent season: we are continually waiting to become, to discover, to complete, to fulfill. Hope, struggle, fear, expectation and fulfillment are all part of our Advent experience.

The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us-as one of us-give us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned.

May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transformation and fulfillment into the Advent of our lives.

-Life Is an Advent Season, Connections, 11-28-93

May you have eyes to see your Savior and respond to his gift of love during this Christmas. I'm thankful for all of you who are part of this journey with us.

Thanks to my friends the Reynolds for sharing these quotes with me.

"The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.'" -Luke 2:10

Who would have thought that the Glory of God would be delivered into poverty and dirt?! The Son of God belonged in a palace, on a throne - certainly anywhere but a stable. Jesus entered this world vulnerable and with no material glory. The blue-collared shepherds were the first to see respond to t the good news of Jesus' birth.

Throughout Jesus' life, he is constantly challenging the powerful and indentifying with the weak and poor. The political and religious leaders were consistently angered by Jesus' words and actions, but it was always good news for the poor - the broken, the discouraged, the sick and homeless. His message was always full of hope and healing for those in need.

How are we poor? If not financially, where are we most aware of our need? Are we poor in spirit - recognizing our need for God's love and grace and humbled by our unworthiness of God's good gifts to us? The comfortable and successful have little need for a Savior. How might we submit ourselves to this love, realizing that it is more powerful than our personal kingdoms, our wish lists, our careers and families? How might we submit to this love that can alone bring light and life to someone else? Jesus is building a Kingdom, and love is a key the city.

The coming of Christ remains good news, an act of love. He is still the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Where have you witnessed the good news of Jesus in your life?

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." -Matthew 5:3

Portions adapted from "Peace is Here" by Jars of Clay.

I recently came across this beautiful reflection on what it means to hope at Christmas, written by Jars of Clay frontman Dan Haseltine.

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." -Luke 2:19

Christmas comes each year with its dangerous invitation to hope. Yet for most of us this invitation feels more like an inconvenience and a burden. We see this burden from the very beginning, as Mary herself pondered the meaning of all these things. I wonder how many of her personal hopes and dreams were on the altar at this moment. Surely this was not the life that she had dreamed for herself, and who could possibly understand the road that she was about to walk? Who would go with her? As she began to consider all that she would lose along this journey the invitation to hope must have felt callous and far-fetched.

If you are like me this is where most of my adult Christmas' have been spent, burdened and heavy under the Hope that promises much but asks for everything along the way. Maybe this is your story this year, maybe your losses have been deep and painful. Maybe you stand in the reality of every Christmas from now on being a bitter reminder of those that are no longer with you, and things that have been lost along the way. If this is you take courage from Mary who somehow found a way to move from peep pondering and introspection to singing. Somewhere along the road the question of her life ceased to become "If you knew me and love me God how could you ask this of me" to "God who do you see when you look at me?" Somewhere along the way her hope was unfettered to all those good things that she had hoped her life would be and became anchored to God's hopes for her.

"For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed," -Luke 2:48

Where do you need hope this Christmas?  How can we be a portrait of hope to the Stoughton community?

Last week we began considering how the coming of Christ invites us to a life where we can worship more. Christ came to give us full access to life with God. This kind of life changes the way we see and experience the world around us.

You are a worshiper. So am I. We all are. Every day, all day, in every place you and I worship. We all worship something. We can't help it, because we were made to worship.

You may not consider yourself a worshiper, or may not think that you worship all the time, but think of it this way: worship is about what we value; worship is our response to what we value the most.

So, worship isn't just about singing or about what we say. It's more about what we do.

This thought comes crashing home during the Christmas season. For many people this is the time of year that they think to themselves, "I'll finally take time to focus on the important things in life. This Christmas season I'll discover how to really worship. I'll finally rise above all the everyday stuff to find real meaning in it all." But in a few short weeks, or days, they give up feeling like they've once again failed. They think of worship as some grand act that will elevate them beyond the "everydayness" of life.

In his book The Air I Breathe Louie Giglio suggests another way...

Most people find themselves in places that don't seem all that spiritual. Or worshipful. Jobs that seem pointless apart from paying the bills or filling the time.... If you've ever felt like that, I've got great news. You can worship God wherever you are...doing whatever it is you do. Your attitide of worship can turn any mundane task into an offering to God.

Perhaps our greatest acts of worship come during the "everydayness." Trusting and following Jesus gives us a new relationship wit God and shows us a way to live in close connection with him in each moment. Giglio goes on to say

Our lives are filled with gifts from God, little miracles. The trees that line the road we take to work. The car (new or not so new) that gets us there. A chance to work. Eyes to see. A place to sleep. His faithfulness in days gone by. All these should keep us worshiping moment by moment.

When we see the greatness of God in all these everyday moments, we can't help but worship more. We're invited to a moment-by-moment connection of personal worship that's as much a part of our lives as the air we breathe. That's the life that the coming of Jesus makes possible.

The Christmas story is about so much more that Christmas, isn't it?