Seeking Jesus

Mark 13:32-37


³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Beware, keep alert;^[f] for you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. ³⁵ Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, ³⁶ or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”


It seems strange that the first readings for Advent come from the end of the Gospels. Before we come to the weeks telling about his first coming as a baby so long ago, we are reminded that he will come again, that we are to expect him to come, even now.  And that is a great comfort, because there are so many places that need his presence, so many hearts waiting to be healed by his love.

As a parent, I am encouraged by Jesus' words to his disciples.  How many times do we not know the answers to our children's questions?  Over the years, I have grown more and more comfortable saying to my children, "I don't know,"  just as Jesus responds to his disciples when they ask him about his return. 

Sometimes, my "I don't know," is the end of the answer, but sometimes I go on to say, "Let's find the answer together."  What if today, we tried that answer with our children in response to this question?  When will Jesus come again?  "I dont' know, why don't we find out together." 

The passage helps us to remember, that we are looking for Jesus to come at any time, not just on December 25 or a long time in the future, so let's stay awake and look for him today.  I know that at this time of year, I am so busy looking for the perfect gift, planning for the next event, that I am asleep to the gift in front of me, the event that is happening right now. 



Little Girls and Jesus
by Jean Keaton

What if we challenge ourselves and our children to look for Jesus each day?  Will we find him at school? in the store? at work?  Will we find him in the face of a friend? a family member? a stranger?  Will he need our help or will he help us?  I think the more we seek...the more we will find

that Jesus is among us even now.

Begin the day with wonder. 

Where will we find Jesus today?  "I don't know, let's look together."

End the day with sharing. 

Where did you find Jesus today?  "Oh!  Let me tell you!  He was everywhere!"

Here is a song to accompany your wondering and your sharing.  Sleepers Awake!
Won't you share with us?  Where did you see Jesus today?

Come Lord Jesus, light the candle of hope.

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us;
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art,
dear desire of ev'ry nation,
joy of ev'ry longing heart.

In our church and perhaps in your home during Advent, there is a circle of green, a wreath.  It has no beginning and no ending, reminding us of God's presence with us always.  Made of evergreen bows, it helps us to remember our everlasting life in Jesus.  Adorned with 4 candles around and one candle in the middle, it marks the weeks of waiting for the coming light of Christ, the light that stands at the center of all things and dispels all darkness and fear.

Today we light the first candle, the candle of HOPE!  Throughout scripture, we are reminded that Christ is our everlasting hope.  Read with your family these passages of scripture and remember the hope we have in Jesus. 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.

Psalm 130:5

 

11 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.² The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.³ His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;

Isaiah 11:1-4a

 



Think together about people and places who need the hope we know in Christ and pray together for the light of hope to be kindled in their lives.  Think together about the places in your own life where fear and sin have overshadowed the light of hope.  Pray for God's light to enter those places too.

A Prayer to Share at Meal Time
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest; let these gifts to us be blest. 
Keep us always in your sight; be our joy our hearts' delight.  Amen

A Prayer for Children at Bedtime
God in the night
God at my right
God all the day
God with me stay
God in my heart
Never depart
God with thy might
Keep us in thy light
Through this dark night.
Amen.

(from Come, Lord Jesus: Devotions for the Home by Susan Briehl)

Traveling Home

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.

 

 

Today or tomorrow, many of us will be traveling home.  As a prayer, I give you  Psalm 121 a traditional for travelers. 

 

For fun to fill your trip, I offer you three fun car games.  I wonder what your family plays?

 

Related

One person says a word, like "cat."  The next person says a word they think is related like "fluffy."  Keep going around the car and see where your thoughts take you.

 

I Prefer

The caller asks, "Which would you prefer, crunchy or creamy... rainbows or puddles... fireplaces or firepits... snowcones or icecream... etc.  Its a fun way to learn more about each other and can last as long as your ideas.

 

Snoggleblat

Every person in the car picks a thing they will see frequently, but not too often, on the side of the road.  Like a billboard.  Without telling the rest of the passengers, they assign that thing a silly name and everytime they see it, they say the silly name.  The rest of the passengers must try to guess what their silly word refers to.  Everyone in the car can have a different thing and a silly word at the same time.

 

With you, I pray for your safe journey and for the safety of all those who travel this day. We pray also for those who have no home to travel to, for those who live in cars or tents or shelters. May the Lord watch over our migration, fill our paths with joy, our way with peace, and guard us under a sheltering wing, until we are all home again.  Amen.

Come, Lord Jesus

 

Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Isaiah 2:1-5

This morning I awake with the luxury of imagining how I might spend this day.  For it is not a school day, not a work day.  It could be a shopping day, a reading day, a playing with the children day, a visiting with relatives day. 

I am aware that as I write this, many have been awake through the night, stocking shelves or making lists, preparing for the shopping of the day,. That right now, there are folks waiting at the doors eager to get the bargain that will be just the right gift and that will propel retailers’ books  into the black. 

Many of you, I imagine have traditions for this day, even as you have traditions for Thanksgiving and for the days and weeks leading up to Christmas.   I wonder what your tradition is?  As a child, my grandmother packed a picnic of pimento cheese and hot chocolate for me and my sisters, my dad, my grandfather, my uncles and my cousins and sent us off to the horse races at Churchill Downs. While we were cheering on our horses, my grandmother, my mom and aunts went out to lunch and shopping.  How lovely it was to have a day, just to enjoy family, with no worries about what the next day would bring. How good it is to have a day after the big feast making and before the travel home, before the return to routine and the beginning of the rush of December. 

I pray that whatever you are doing this day, you will find a quiet time to think and even talk with your family about the way you will begin the new year that is coming, a new year  that for us in the Christian tradition begins on the first Sunday of Advent, which falls this year on December 1. 

Advent means “to come.”  In this season leading up to Christmas, we prepare for three comings, three advents of Jesus.  The first is the coming of Jesus over two thousand years ago, to a faithful people, Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Miriam and Aaron, King David and prophet Isaiah, Elizabeth, Zachariah, Simeon, Anna, shepherds and kings, the simple and the wise, who watched for the coming of God’s promised Messiah.

we can be awake and alert standing on tiptoe, wide eyed and watchful, ready to receive him whenever he comes

 

The second advent is the coming of Christ among us now.  We know that every day, Emmanuel, God-always-with-us, comes to us in the waters of baptism, in the breaking of bread and wine, in the reading of God’s word, in the fellowship of disciples, the delight of creation, and in the least expected places.  Christ surprises us, coming to us in unexpected places, through people we least expect, blessing us with new life.

The third advent we prepare for in this season is the advent yet to come.  Christ will come again, at the end of time, gathering God’s people, healing all wounds, mending all that has torn us apart.  As author Susan Briehl writes in her excellent Advent devotional, “as with the coming of Christmas Day, we cannot make it happen sooner because we are eager, nor can we delay it because we are not ready.  However, we can be awake and alert standing on tiptoe, wide eyed and watchful, ready to receive him whenever he comes.”  (Briehl, Come, Lord Jesus, 8)

We affirm these three advents in the prayer we pray before sharing communion, the Prayer of Great Thanksgiving, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”  And in this season we pray with hopeful hearts, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Daily devotions through Advent will make us attentive to the way that Christ has come among us, the way that he comes among us in the midst of our ordinary and busy lives, and the hope we have in his ultimate coming.  May the days ahead be filled with wonder and joy at the coming of our Lord, and your table be a place of sharing the wonders God has shown you.   

On this day, no matter how you have chosen to spend it, may you be met by the One who has come, the One who comes even now and the One who will come again!

 

I look forward to this walk with you in the light of the Lord! 

Please feel free to post here your thoughts, reflections and family experiences as we watch together for the coming of our Lord!

Week 4 - Christmas Eve Night

Tonight We Light the Christ Candle

December 25

In those days, a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to their own towns to be registered.  Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was decended from the house and family of David.  He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:1-7

Something to talk about:
What do you notice about this part of the story?  I wonder what part stands out to you?

When I read this part of the story, I am impressed.  I am impressed with its simplicity.  People were simply going about their business, tending to their taxes, traveling. 

In the midst of this every day life, there comes a man, and a woman, and a baby to be born.  At this point, no one in Bethlehem knew that this was a special baby, so they didn't make a special place for him. He was born in a barn and laid in a manger, while the bustle of the city was still going on.

There are many things that distract us from noticing the baby that is born this night.  There are many things to distract us from the daily ways that God enters our life.

How will you find time this day, and in the days to come to make a special place for this baby to be born?

Something to do:
Gather your family around your Advent wreath or around your nativity scene.  Quietly light the Christ Candle or place the baby Jesus in the manger.  Each person take turns sharing why you are glad that Jesus was born.

Dear God,
We thank you that you sent your extraordinary son into the midst of our ordinary lives.  Come again, Lord Jesus, to all the places where people are busy, lonely, anxious, tired, homeless, sick, afraid and to the places that are happy, hopeful, peaceful.  Come Lord Jesus, be born in us today.  Amen.

Week 4

Love

December 23

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but should have ever lasting life.

John 3:16

Something to talk about:
What is the best gift you have ever received?  What is the best gift you have ever given?

At my house, we are busy selecting or creating gifts for one another.  This is hard work finding just the right thing for a person we love.  The first Christmas gift ever given, was a baby, who would grow to be a child, who would grow to be a man.  This baby, Jesus, would grow up to show us God's love.  He was wrapped in simple bands of cloth, not shining wrapping paper.  At first, he didn't do much, just ate and slept, and cried.  But one day, he would tell stories about God and God's kingdom.  One day, he would walk on water.  One day, he would calm a storm, and another day, he would feed the many who had gathered to hear him.  One day he would heal a man born blind, and one day, he would die on a cross.  Because he loved us, he came to us, told us about God, calms our storms, feeds our hungers, helps us to see, and gave his life for us.

Something to do:
Cut out a paper heart.  Find or draw a picture of yourself and glue it on the heart.  Write on the heart,
"Because God loves ______ (your name)so much, he gave his only Son, so that ________ (your name) might have life!"  Hang your cross on the Christmas tree.  OR  Make a similar heart, find or draw a picture of someone you would like to give a gift to, and write the same words with your friend's name on them.

Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of your love!
Amen.

Week 3

Joy

December 16
 

I am bringing you good tidings of great joy for all the people!

To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

 

Something to talk about:

I wonder what makes you smile? I wonder if you have ever had some great news to share? What was the news? Who did you tell?

What excitement there must have been in heaven when the news was shared! He has been born! The angels must have been bursting to tell! And so they all went to tell… the king? No. The queen? No.  They told the good news to shepherds, waiting under the starry skies, tending their sheep.  To shepherds, who might have been cold, and lonely, who might have been huddled around a fire singing songs, telling stories.  To shepherds who must have been awfully surprized to be visited by angels.  To shepherds who were ready, to get up and go see what the angels had told them.
Something to do:
Someone is waiting to hear the good news that Jesus has been born, that God is with them.  Who will you tell?

Dear God,
Help us to hear the good news with fresh ears, with the ears of shepherds.  As we hear the story again this year, fill us with joy! Show us someone who needs to hear the good news and help us to tell it.
Amen.