Rejoice, Rejoice!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope this message finds you well as you read. I am sitting in my office on the 22nd of December getting ready for the holiday by putting some finishing touches on my message for our Christmas Eve service. The sun is shining into the south windows of my office making it deceivingly warm in here even though the temperature outside is still well below zero. Maybe it's because I'm not used to North Iowa winters, but I'm not sure the temperature should ever be below zero if the sun is shining. Just my personal opinion.

I write this message to simply wish you a merry Christmas. I write this because we can rejoice in the fact that Christ has come. We can rejoice that Christ is coming back again. We can rejoice that the beautiful creation we live in is under the watchful eye of a loving creator. A creator that also sustains and governs creation and, even when there are winter storms, God is sustaining the world and all which dwells within and outside its boundaries.

I write this message because I know rejoicing in this time is still hard when the news still pours in of a world that is hurting. Cholera in Zimbabwe, a new Humanitarian crisis brewing in the Central African Republic, economic upheaval in the United States and now even abroad.

Many of you know my favorite Christmas/Advent Song is "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." It is my favorite song for this very reason: that because we needed and still need a savior like we need oxygen for our next breath, Christ came into the world. "Rejoice, Rejoice Emmanuel has ransomed captive Israel," sounds the triumphant chorus. No matter what we are captive to, like the people of Israel so long ago; captive in Egypt, captive in Babylon, captive in their own land under Rome, we rest in knowing that our Lord hears our cries and has come to redeem the world. Rejoice, Rejoice!

Merry Christmas to all and, as always, Grace and Peace

the picture above is the work of Botticelli, Sandro (click the link to learn more about him and this work) The Mystical Nativity

Darkness to Light

Christmas is usually a time of family get togethers and joyous reunions. But for many the holidays bring up pain, sorrow and suffering. This advent we at Rolling Acres are exploring how Jesus came to set the world to rights; to bring Hope out of despair, Peace out of war, Joy out of sadness and Love out of hate. Even if this holiday season is a dark time, we gather together to celebrate Jesus who shines light into our dark places.

This is the goal of the believing communities. We are supposed to be this for one another. When someone is feeling down, we are supposed to gather around them and help them through their dark nights. Now I realize the Church has not been that for many people and it has actually been very much to the contrary. Yet, this is what we strive for as the Church. To be the very real presence of Christ in the world. So, I hope as Advent is wrapping up this season that we as the Church take time to remember and prepare for Christmas. And, that we take time to be the presence of Christ in the world for those to whom the Christmas season brings pain, sadness and suffering.

This artist's rendering above is based on Isaiah 9:2 "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined."

May you see and experience light this season.

Grace and Peace

An Afternoon with Harold

The stories people carry with them often let us in on some of the truest pictures of God. Sometimes the true nature of God, albeit a mystery, can break into our world and, does so through the lives of people. I had one such experience today. I was visiting one of our beloved co-workers in the faith at the Hospital. I walked through the main entrance that faces Highway 122, made my way to the elevators and ascended to the fifth floor. As I entered the room, I noticed the sunlight that was blazing through the window and illuminating my host. Even though the light made the room feel warm, the ice and snow on the road far below reminded us both of the below zero temps.

After we greeted one another, I asked Harold all the questions that I had been dying to ask him ever since I met him that first weekend in October when I first came to the church. Harold, like myself was an ordained minister in the Reformed Church in America. At my request he began to unfold the story of his life, where he served and the people he came in contact with. He also spoke lovingly about the beauty that he found in each place.

Then he spoke about growing up in Chicago. He told me about his young life and how he had not always known God or who God was. He told me about one day he went for a walk and strolled to the local fire station. Upon arriving to the building, he walked right up to the outer wall and looked up. As he looked up he realized, as a young boy of six that he was small. He looked up past the building, toward the sky, and realized that the world was bigger yet and he was smaller yet. It was at that moment that he said to me, "God was kind enough to show me that he exists."

Let me say that again because we might have just glossed over that comment. "God was kind enough to show me that he exists."

What a comment! What a concept! The thought that an expression of God's Love could be extended to us in something as simple as a reminder of divine existence is humbling indeed. God is constantly at work in this world and it is the lives of people that this is most evident.

I don't know what exactly Harold saw, nor do I know what the sky looked like over Chicago on that particular day. However, what I do know is that I am thankful that God expressed divine kindness to Harold. I am thankful for this kindness and I am thankful that, for whatever reason, God sometimes chooses people to express the true nature of the triune God in the world.

As I left Harold's room today, and returned to the bitter cold, I couldn't help but think of psalm 8. "O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!...what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"

"God was kind enough to show me he existed." How kind God is!

up and running...i think

I don't exactly know if there is a correct way to begin blogging or, if there is a proper way to introduce oneself to the larger blogging community. However, one thing I do know, since I don't know if there is proper protocol, is a greeting that is common in my tradition and in the larger tradition of the Christian community. This is the introduction I desire to extend to you.

"Grace and Peace."

That's it. Grace and Peace to you. Grace because no matter how you view the state of human nature, we cannot help but see the pain and hurt in this world. Something has gone seriously wrong. Grace is the gift we have been given from God to allow us to still have relationship with God in the midst of this brokenness. It allows us to have union with our creator.

Peace because it is what we need. Peace because peace is a step toward restoration, a step toward deeper relationship with God. Peace is a conscious movement in opposition to the war that plagues this world. Peace is a state in which we hope to see the world live.

Grace and Peace because that is all we have to cling to in this world. Grace and Peace given to us by the Love of God in the name of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

So to everyone who reads further, I hope this will do for an introduction.

Grace and Peace