John the Baptist Born

Luke 1:57-80

Ah! What delight when a healthy baby is born! The certainty on the part of the parents that great things will be accomplished by this exceptional child! She could become the first female president of the United States, we might say. He might be the ambassador to the United Nations.

Perhaps, as our babies are born, we will look upon them as gifts from God who will one day “give light to those who sit in darkness,?to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Jesus, the baby for whom John would prepare the way, taught us about such life.

PRAYER: Thank you, God, for the joys in life brought to us by newborn babies. Enable us to reflect that joy all around us. Amen.
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Mary Alice Kemp

God’s Peaceful Kingdom

Isaiah 65:17-25

Do we dare believe a day will come when God’s promises to us will be fulfilled? When will that day come? Are we living our lives the way God says we should? Do we listen when God speaks to us? These are some of the questions that arise when I read Isaiah 65:17-25.

We live in a world that rarely fits the description of this scripture. However, trusting God to fulfill the scripture’s promises is our only hope for a better world. Fortunately for us as Christians, we have the birth and life of Christ to fortify our faith.

In this season of expectations, we trust that a loving God would only sacrifice his son for us if he intended to fulfill his promises. Let us take heart in this demonstration of love for us and return that love by trusting God. Nothing pleases God like a faithful servant.

PRAYER: O God, strengthen us that we may be better disciples of your word. Replace our doubts with strength of knowing, our fear with courage, and our cynicism with overpowering love. Open our ears that we may hear you calling. Amen.

Jon Colgrove

Preaching to People in Exile

Isaiah 40:1-11

Have you ever wondered why we humans love grass and flowers so much? We admire grassy hills and meadows in bloom. We surround our homes with such plantings. I often enjoy looking at our lawn at Christmas despite the brown grass and faded flowers. In the winter-dulled land- scape I see the promise of the coming spring, when new green shoots replace the withered “leaves of grass” and new flowers spring forth.

Isaiah 40:1-11 is rich with metaphors, but to me grass and flowers are the most vivid. Over time we all wither like grass, and our glory fades like flowers in autumn. However, the comfort of the metaphor is the Lord’s promise of renewal, and His word stands forever.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, even in the season of Advent it is difficult to feel optimistic in a world filled with conflicts between and within nations, economic concerns, and personal distress. Help us to hear anew the Good News of the birth of the Good Shepherd heralded by the angels at the first Christmas, and restore our faith in your message of comfort and renewal. Amen.

Chet McQuaide

Jerusalem Falls

2 Kings 24:18-25:21

This Old Testament passage tells of Judah’s king, Zedekiah, who made choices that were evil and angered God. The results were violent and severe against the king and many others in the country. Most were killed or carried away, except for the “poorest people of the land,” whom the soldiers left in Judah “to be vinedressers and tillers of the soil.” These words about the poorest people foreshadow Jesus’ Beatitude, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20). It reminds me that we are called during Advent to wait in a spirit of humility, love, and compassion.

PRAYER: Dear God, help us to affirm your ideals of humility, love, and compassion that Jesus taught as we await the celebration of his birth. Please help us mirror these values in our lives and as we share our gifts with others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Jessie Bond

Mary visits Elizabeth

Luke 1:39-56

This is a Communion of Unlikely Joy. Two women embrace in celebration of their exciting, awkward pregnancies. Both have kept their realities under wraps — no one else, except the other, could understand what they are experiencing. When they do finally come together, there is delight, relief, even ecstasy between them. They spend the next three months together.

The hardest thing in the world is to feel alone. It’s common. We feel like we’re the only ones doing the right thing while others cut corners; we feel like we’re the only ones who see truth where others perpetuate a lie; we feel like the truth of our lives is too complicated for anyone else to understand us or empathize with us. Then, magically, we are able to be with someone who “gets” us — maybe an old friend who has known us forever; or a sibling; or someone who shared a similar, unique, life-changing experience. These friendships are deeply nourishing. To borrow from St. Paul, “we know even as we are fully known.” It’s deep, powerful, joyful, unlikely communion.

PRAYER: God, thank you for putting people in our lives with whom we experience deep communion. Much of the time we feel lonely and we pray to stay strong and persevere. But times when we are together with people who understand us-those are the times that make us understand that we are not alone. We are in community; we are in communion; you are with us. Amen.

David Lewicki