GraceStreet- a company of exiles

First Advent Candle

 Today we light the first candle in the advent wreath. This is the candle of hope. This candle in many ways is a redescription of the cynicism that surrounds us. It calls to mind PRESENCE and allows us to lingering for a moment at the notion that God is present. May we recieve the light of this candle in the words of the poet/prophet Isa:

"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."
-- Isaiah 9:2

Jesus is our hope. Amen.

Wal-Mart death: 'It was a real mob' Wal-Mart worker dies in shoppers stampede. It seems that Black Friday lives up to its name....

vs.

Advent Conspiracy of giving PRESENCE...

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
And the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne and over hit kingdome,
establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (NIV)

---Isaiah 9: 6-7

Ineffable wonder, unparalled hope for the world.

Morning 11.29.08

The political narrative that brings God into the world is a community of those who serve instead of ruling, who suffer instead of inflicting suffering, whose fellowship crosses lines instead of reinforcing them. This new Christian community in which the walls are broken down not by human idealism or democratic legalism but by the work of Christ is not only a vehicle of the gospel or only the fruit of the gospel; it is the good news. It is not merely the agent or the constituency of the mission agency. It is the Mission (Yoder). 

If you have a minute check out Curtis Roundy's blog at   http://imagoeyes.blogspot.com. He has a great link to a site www.followthestar.org. 

“ To do them justice, the people who crucified Jesus did not do so because he was a bore. Quite the contrary; he was too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have declawed the Lion of Judah and made him a housecat for pale priests and pious old ladies.

— DOROTHY SAYERS

A blessing for those in leadership

May the gift of leadership awaken in you as a
vocation,

Keep you mindful of the providence that calls you to
serve

As high over the mountains the eagle spreads its
wings,

May your perspective be larger than the view from the
foothills.

When the way is flat and dull in times of gray
endurance,

May your imagination continue to evoke
horizons.

When thirst burns in times of drought,

May you be blessed to find the
wells.

May you have wisdom to read time clearly

And know when the seed of change will
flourish.

In your heart may there be a sanctuary

For the stillness where clarity is
born.

May your work be infused with passion and creativity

And have the wisdom to balance compassion and

challenge.

by John O'Donohue

Thanksgiving 2008

  Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him,
and bless his name. For the Lord is good..."
Psalm 100:4, 5a

William Shakespeare
Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.

Today is Thanksgiving. We are grateful for small cheer and great welcome. Some of us gathered last evening to have a meal together. I was struck by the grace and diversity of conversation that hovered over the room. It seemed to small (at first glance) to hold 70 people and 20+ volunteers. Until you saw the smiles. The staggering beauty of the African language(s) and the lilt of Franco-American that holds a distinct and noble sense of place. A young family of Lafrances (6 in all) served and snuck a little fudge, a grandmother and her grandson carried on a legacy of givng and serving in this community. A violin and a cello slipped into the air and it seemed that this place became a Thinning Place, a place where God was and is and was making himself known. In the eyes of children and the tears of a volunteer. One whispered to me "this is it, this is what makes our worship make sense." Coram Deo (presence of God) and its triune insistance on hospitality. 

Thanksgiving holds out the idea of Great Welcome. May you and those you love enjoy the company of each other. Remember, we live in difficult times where many are struggling financially and spiritually. Addiction, mental illness and displacement are no respector of holidays. Many will wake up this morning suffering. Pray for those you know and let's hold out the idea that the kingdom of God is present and active and welcoming.

“We always treat guests as angels — just in case.”
– Brother Jeremiah

Dis-Function-al

 

The church often bears an uncomfortable resemblance to the dysfunctional family.  There is the authoritarian presence of the minister - the professional who knows all of the answers and calls most of the shots - whom few ever challenge either because they don't dare to or because they feel it would do no good if they did. 

There is the outward camaraderie and inward loneliness of the congregation. 

There are the unspoken rules and hidden agendas, the doubts and disagreements that for propriety's sake are kept more or less under cover.

There are people with all sorts of enthusiasms and creativities which are not often enough made use of or even recognized because the tendency is not to rock the boat but to keep on doing things the way they have always been done.  ~Frederick Buechner

Good words

Word on BBC recently that combined Oscar Romera and Theresa of Avila.

Christ has no Body now but yours

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which he looks

Compassion on the world

Yours are the feet with which he walks

To do good

Yours are the hands with which he blesses

All the world.

Yours are the hands

Yours are the feet

Yours are the eyes

You are his body

Planning in the Kingdom

It helps, now and then, to step back

And take the long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts

It is even beyond our vision.

Lord, we know in whom we believe

We accomplish in our lifetime

Only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise

that is God’s work

Nothing we do is complete,

which is another way of saying that the

Kingdom always lies beyond us.

Lord, we know in whom we believe

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith

No confession brings perfection

No pastoral visit being wholeness

No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission

No set of goals and objectives includes everything

Lord, we know in whom we believe

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted

Knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development

We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

Lord we know in whom we believe

We cannot do everything

And there is a sense of liberation in realizing that

This enables us to do something,

And to do it very well

It may be incomplete

But it is a beginning,

A step along the way, an opportunity for the

Lords grace to enter and do the rest.

Lord we know in whom we believe

We may never see the end results,

But that is the difference between

The master builder and the worker.

We are workers,

Not master builders,

Ministers,

Not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future

Not our own.

(Oscar Romero)

Lord, we trust in you

To eternally renew our belief in you

In ourselves and in each other

In this is our joy. Amen

Yours are the hands

Yours are the feet

Yours are the eyes

You are his body.

Christ has no Body now but yours

No hands, no feet on earth but yours

Yours are the eyes through which he looks

Compassion on this world

Christ has no Body but yours.

Moving toward advent...

The extraordinary thing that is about to happen is matched only by the extraordinary moment just before it happens. Advent is the name of that moment.

The Salvation Army Santa Claus clangs his bell. The side-walks are so crowded you can hardly move. Exhaust fumes are the chief fragrance in the air, and everybody is as bundled up against any sense of what all the fuss is really about as they are bundled up against the wind chill factor.

But if you concentrate just for an instant, far off in the deeps of you somewhere you can feel the beating of your heart. For all its madness and lostness, not to mention your own, you can hear the world itself holding its breath.

Frederick Buechner

Meditation from Northumbria community Day 10

WHAT MEAN THESE STONES?

Land of my fathers,
how I long to return,
to touch thy earth,
and find again thy sacred paths,
well-walked with the Gospel of Peace,
veiled now in the shadow of mediocrity.

'What mean these stones'
which beset thy coastline,
who in twisted agony cry out
in praise and supplication of Him
and the renewal of the faith
that bled to secure them there?

Yet we would walk again
thy sacred paths,
repair thy ancient ruins,
restore thy broken altars,
raise up the foundations
of many generations.

Hear this, you lands of the South
who hold many in captivity
by your empty words
and well-worn myths,
who neglect to see justice
for the poor, the widow,
the fatherless.

Look to the North -
for lo your Redeemer comes,
clothed in the poverty of the few
who dare to speak His name,
without vanity,
in a whisper,
lest the earth should tremble
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord.

Poor of Yahweh, arise,
take up the ancient mantle
which has awaited your day;
clothe yourselves within its humility,
for you have been set
as a stumbling block for many.