Musings for Advent 1

Sunday, November 28, 2010
First Sunday of Advent
Midweek Musings
Reflection by Patrick McGrath

INTRODUCTION

The new church year begins with a wake-up call: Christ is coming soon! In today's readings both Paul and Jesus challenge us to wake from sleep, for we know neither the day nor hour of the Lord's coming. Isaiah proclaims the day when God will gather all people on the holy mountain and there will be no more war or suffering. Though we vigilantly watch for the promised day of salvation, we wait for what we already have: Christ comes among us this day as the word and meal that strengthens our faith in the promises of God.

Prayer of the Day (ELW)
Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. 
By your merciful protection save us from the threatening dangers of our sins, 
and enlighten our walk in the way of your salvation, 
for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and forever.


First Reading Isaiah 2:1–5
The visionary message presented in this reading focuses on a future day when God establishes a universal reign of peace. Divine decisions will make war obsolete, and the worshiping community responds: "Let us walk in that light of that Lord now!
"

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2In days to come
the mountain of the LORD's house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3Many peoples shall come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
5O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the LORD!

Psalm (ELW) Psalm 122
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." (Ps. 122:1)
1I was glad when they | said to me,
"Let us go to the house | of the LORD."
2Now our | feet are standing
within your gates, | O Jerusalem.
3Jerusalem is built | as a city
that is at unity | with itself;
4to which the tribes go up, the tribes | of the LORD,
the assembly of Israel, to praise the name | of the LORD. R
5For there are the | thrones of judgment,
the thrones of the | house of David.
6Pray for the peace | of Jerusalem:
"May they pros- | per who love you.
7Peace be with- | in your walls
and quietness with- | in your towers.
8For the sake of my kindred | and companions,
I pray for | your prosperity.
9Because of the house of the | LORD our God,
I will seek to | do you good." R

Second Reading Romans 13:11–14
Paul compares the advent of Christ to the coming of dawn. We live our lives today in light of Christ's coming in the future.


11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Gospel Matthew 24:36–44
Jesus describes his second coming as a sudden, unexpected event that will bring salvation or judgment upon people caught up in the usual affairs of daily life. He urges people to be alert and expectant.


36But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Reflection
Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” In the introduction to this lesson, it is said that we wait for what we already have, as Christ is here. As I reflect on this message, I wonder how often that is the case for other aspects of our lives. We wait and long for things, like material items, promotions at work, positive reinforcement, etc. Sudden, catastrophic changes in our lives result in our re-evaluation of what is important to us. Gretchen’s father was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and we are faced with his potential passing in a relatively short period of time. It has made me look within and see that I am blessed with a wonderful, caring family, a workplace that values me and others that are employed and served by it, and a safe and warm home that is full of happiness and love.

“…you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” I hope I will take with this experience the ability to be purposeful to see that what I have been given is a blessing, and Christ is with me in my journey.


Life is short, God's way of encouraging a bit of focus. ~Robert Brault
Visitor's footfalls are like medicine; they heal the sick. ~African Proverb

Let us pray:
For the sick and the caregivers
For those facing unexpected challenges
For all of us to appreciate the gifts that we have been given

Musings for Pentecost 25

Sunday, November 14, 2010
Lectionary 33
Proper 28
Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Midweek Musings

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

INTRODUCTION
The end is near. There is no doubt about it. The warnings are dire. The tone of today’s texts is ominous. But the baptized know how to live in the "meantimes." The baptized are strengthened for the living of these days in word and sacrament. The baptized rally around the invitation of the apostle: "Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right."

Prayer of the Day (ELW)

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without you nothing is strong, nothing is holy. Embrace us with your mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide, we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

First Reading

Malachi 4:1–2a

Malachi, whose name means "my messenger," warns that the day of the Lord is coming. On that day, the evil will be destroyed like stubble in a fire, but the "sun of righteousness" will shine on those who fear God.
See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. ²But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.

Psalm (ELW)

Psalm 98

In righteousness will the LORD judge the world. (Ps. 98:9)

¹Sing a new song to the LORD, who has done ^| marvelous things,

whose right hand and holy arm have ^| won the victory.

²O LORD, you have made ^| known your victory,

you have revealed your righteousness in the sight ^| of the nations.

³You remember your steadfast love and faithfulness to the ^| house of Israel;

all the ends of the earth have seen the victory ^| of our God.

⁴Shout with joy to the LORD, ^| all you lands;

lift up your voice, re- ^| joice, and sing.

⁵Sing to the LORD ^| with the harp,

with the harp and the ^| voice of song.

⁶With trumpets and the sound ^| of the horn

shout with joy before the ^| king, the LORD.

⁷Let the sea roar, and ^| all that fills it,

the world and those who ^| dwell therein.

⁸Let the rivers ^| clap their hands,

and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD, who comes to ^| judge the earth.

⁹The LORD will judge the ^| world with righteousness

and the peo- ^| ples with equity.

Second Reading

2 Thessalonians 3:6–13

Some members of the Thessalonian community, because of their belief in the nearness of Christ's return, had ceased to work, living off the generosity of other members of the community. Paul warns them bluntly that if they want to eat, they need to work.
⁶Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸and we did not eat anyone's bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. ⁹This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹²Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

Gospel

Luke 21:5–19

As history moves toward God's fulfillment there will be frightening signs and events. Before the end, believers will draw strength from their relationship to God and shall be given the words they need to testify and to endure without fear.
⁵When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ⁶As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down. ⁷They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" ⁸And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. ⁹When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately. ¹⁰Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. ¹²But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³This will give you an opportunity to testify. ¹⁴So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; ¹⁵for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. ¹⁶You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name. ¹⁸But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Reflection

You can tell Advent must be near, the lessons in the lectionary turn toward end times, dire predictions and the impending reign of God breaking into the world. They speak of uncertainty, anxiousness and for some, hopelessness. I read Gospels and lessons such as these and say to myself “It’s hard to get happy after that!”

Yet, the Gospel is not about getting happy so much as it is knowing that we are getting right with God through the merits of Jesus Christ and because of his grace and love, we have nothing to fear; not even a hair on our head will perish! Think about it!

I often do on the worst of days, when things seem to be collapsing about me, when I think that just as I thought it couldn’t get any worse it does and when I say I can’t take any more and I do. The single thing that keeps me going is the hair on my head. Not really, it’s the knowledge in faith that I will not perish because God stands firm. It’s the realization that the One who calls me claims me and keeps me in safety and love.

On the best of days it’s cause for celebration, on the worst of days….even more so!

Let Us Pray

To know the ever-present love of God

For civility among elected leaders

To understand more deeply what it means to be disciples of Christ

For all who mourn the loss of a loved one

With thanksgiving for those who celebrate hopeful transitions

Quote

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly. Anonymous