By the time you get to the end of the week, you will be tired of shopping, tired of listening to all the background Christmas music, and tired of the endless advertising urging you to buy more and more. Would you like to sit for a while, listen to great music, and tune out the advertising? Then this is the perfect opportunity:
Grey Eagle UMC is hosting a piano and organ concert on Saturday, December 16, at 2:30 PM. Wife and husband, Dr. Zhiyu (piano) and Dr. Eric Bigalke (organ), will perform works by Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, and selections from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet. Together, they will perform some 4-handed arrangements of Christmas Carols. The concert will dedicate a 5'3" Cristofori Grand Piano given to GEUMC by Dr. John and Corrine Vener. For more information on the concert and about Drs. Zhiyu and Eric, go to this page on GEUMC's Facebook account: Free Concert
This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent. We will be continuing our sermon series "All Earth Is Waiting" with the focus on "Discovering Joy". The lessons we will be reading for this sermon are:
Isaiah 61:1-3, 11 - See comments for Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 below.
Joel 2:12-13, 21-24 - The prophet Joel has witnessed the destruction of the lands of Israel and Judah by swarms of locust (a nastier version of grasshoppers and crickets). All creation cries out for what was once fertile now lies in utter destruction. In this plague, Joel sees God's punishment for the sins of the people. In our reading, Joel reports the Lord calling all peoples to return with weeping, mourning, and fasting. Rend your hearts, the Lord says, and not your clothes. Joel reminds the people that the Lord "is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing." (verse 13) In verses 21-24 Joel urges the soil to be glad and rejoice and the animals to not fear. God will provide the rains so that once again the trees and the vines will bear fruit, the grains will grow in abundance.
Luke 1:46-55 - This passage is known as "The Magnificat". When Mary visits her relative Elizabeth and the full implication of what her pregnancy mean, she begins a poem/song with "My soul magnifies the Lord." She understands that the birth of her son, Jesus, will portend disaster to the rich and powerful and great things for the least, lost, and left-out of society.
The readings assigned by the Lectionary and my comments on them in 2014 are:
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 – In Luke 4:16-30 Jesus visits his synagogue in Nazareth and is asked to speak. He asks for the scroll of Isaiah and he reads the first couple of verses from Isaiah 61 (leaving off the vengeance line). What is Isaiah saying to his people and to us? Are we a part of the hope for a future in which there will be honest, fairness, and justice for ALL peoples? Do you see in the world, despite all the injustice, war, violence, Ebola, poverty, etc., that God is causing “righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations”?
Psalm 126 – I think that the old Gospel Hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves” is partly based on this Psalm. On the one hand the Psalmist speaks of God having restored the people and nation of Israel so that the people rejoiced. On the other hand, the Psalmist asks God to restore their fortunes so that those who cry will become joyful. “They shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying (bringing in) their sheaves.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 – How are we to live lives as Christians in a world that seems to be dominated by so much evil and suffering? Paul is succinct: “rejoice always, pray unceasingly, give thanks in all circumstances, do not quench the Spirit, listen to the prophets, test everything, keep what is good, and abstain from evil.” Seems a bit hard, but I think the key to all of this is not quenching the Spirit. Let the Spirit guide you in all that you do and the Spirit will show you these things. Paul also asks God to “sanctify us entirely” so we may be blameless when Jesus returns. Finally, it is not about our faithfulness but is all about God’s faithfulness. “God will do this.”
John 1:6-8, 19-28 – Wait one doggone moment! Where’s Jesus? Why are we reading about this John guy again? Isn’t this Christmas? If you are asking these questions you stand with millions of Christians who go to churches that follow the Church calendar and the Common Lectionary, as we do. It is all about Advent, waiting, and preparation. This John guy (the Baptizer or the Baptist) was the one who came to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. John’s ministry, in the Christian view, was all about Jesus although there we many of John’s followers who thought otherwise (some of whom pop up in Acts). As we continue to prepare for the coming of Christmas and the next coming of Jesus, how are you preparing? John tells the Pharisees that there is one standing in their midst who will change everything. This Advent time, do you see the One standing in your presence who will change everything? Do you see Jesus in the lowly, left-out, least, and last of people? How will you respond?
Psalm 126 – I think that the old Gospel Hymn “Bringing in the Sheaves” is partly based on this Psalm. On the one hand the Psalmist speaks of God having restored the people and nation of Israel so that the people rejoiced. On the other hand, the Psalmist asks God to restore their fortunes so that those who cry will become joyful. “They shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying (bringing in) their sheaves.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 – How are we to live lives as Christians in a world that seems to be dominated by so much evil and suffering? Paul is succinct: “rejoice always, pray unceasingly, give thanks in all circumstances, do not quench the Spirit, listen to the prophets, test everything, keep what is good, and abstain from evil.” Seems a bit hard, but I think the key to all of this is not quenching the Spirit. Let the Spirit guide you in all that you do and the Spirit will show you these things. Paul also asks God to “sanctify us entirely” so we may be blameless when Jesus returns. Finally, it is not about our faithfulness but is all about God’s faithfulness. “God will do this.”
John 1:6-8, 19-28 – Wait one doggone moment! Where’s Jesus? Why are we reading about this John guy again? Isn’t this Christmas? If you are asking these questions you stand with millions of Christians who go to churches that follow the Church calendar and the Common Lectionary, as we do. It is all about Advent, waiting, and preparation. This John guy (the Baptizer or the Baptist) was the one who came to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. John’s ministry, in the Christian view, was all about Jesus although there we many of John’s followers who thought otherwise (some of whom pop up in Acts). As we continue to prepare for the coming of Christmas and the next coming of Jesus, how are you preparing? John tells the Pharisees that there is one standing in their midst who will change everything. This Advent time, do you see the One standing in your presence who will change everything? Do you see Jesus in the lowly, left-out, least, and last of people? How will you respond?
May the Spirit of God lead you into entire sanctification and may you see Jesus in the people you encounter this week.
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary Taylor
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