What's Coming to You...

(Note: This post was originally written for my church's newsletter.)

It happened this past week in mid-November. Both my kids at different times asked the age-old question, “When is Christmas going to be here?” They are already anticipating the presents, decorations, and food that heralds the heralds of Christ’s birth. And who can blame them? In spite of the stress that some of us feel before Christmas, it’s still a joy and wonder to wait for what we all know is coming. 

I was reminded this morning by a devotional reading that the very name the Church gives for the weeks before Christmas — Advent — means “coming.” It is a time that we live with patience and preparation (and excitement!) for what will soon arrive. One of the things that I love about Advent is how it represents the way we are meant to live as Christians all the time. We are always looking with hope and excitement towards the future, always keeping an eye on what’s coming. 

I find this an important reminder for myself as we head into another Christmas, a new year, and another (early) winter. There are always reasons to be pessimistic about…almost everything, and this year is no different, with ISIS and Ebola causing havoc and heartbreak, Russia seemingly focused on another Cold War, domestic politics that are as partisan and bitter as most of us can ever remember, and so on. (Like, why is it this cold in November?) 

But as Christians, we are called to live in the now and the not yet. While we seek to love and serve in the present, to ease suffering and care for those in need, we also speak of the not yet, the coming Kingdom of God (or, as I like to call it, “God’s Reality”) where joy and love will prosper and suffering and trouble will end. Christmas happens just after the shortest day of the year and for generations, the Church has used the circumstance as a metaphor that once Jesus appears, light in the world increases.

In October and November of this year, I’ve preached on a lot of texts from Matthew where Jesus describes his eventual return. Many of these have images that can seem threatening and scary (Matthew is very fond of the phrase “weeping and gnashing of teeth”), but for Christians, these words carry a great promise: God doesn’t want the world to be suffering and unjust and some day Jesus is coming to fix it all. All the things that cause us fear and heartbreak — near or far, big or small — are temporary compared to the promises of God. Therefore, we look for the coming of Jesus just like we wait for the coming of Christmas: with joy and excitement. When is Christmas going to be here?

In God's Amazing Grace,

Pastor Ari

“Blah blah love and war.” -The Rescues, “Did It Really Even Matter”

God's New Year Resolution

Every year, two things happen in January.

First of all, many people make New Year resolutions where they promise to make themselves better in some way this year.  "I will exercise more." "I will eat healthier." "I will laugh more... spend more time with my kids... quit smoking..." And so on. I generally do not make resolutions (the list of needed improvements is longer than can be tackled in one year), but I do usually at least think about what I'd like to see improved.

The second thing that happens every January, though largely ignored by everyone except church nerds like me, is Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. Baptism of Our Lord Sunday is always the Sunday after Epiphany on January 6 and is meant to remember the baptism of Jesus by John in the Jordan. It can also be a day to remember and celebrate the baptisms of all believers and I usually like to have a celebration of baptism be part of worship on that day.

What has never occurred to me until this year is how these two things can be linked. Martin Luther talked about baptism as a daily renewal, a constant source of God working in us to make us more holy. Daily we are justified (meaning "put in line with God") by our baptism. To Luther, baptism isn't a one time event, but a way of living, a daily practice and reminder of God's work in us to make us who we are meant to be.

In other words, baptism is a daily New Year resolution. But it's not a resolution we make on our own; it's one that God has made to us and God partners with us to shape us into the best version of ourselves. It's also one that doesn't get abandoned after a month or two because God's promise to us doesn't disappear.

And here's the even deeper connection between these two things: most all the things we resolve to do for New Year's can be ways of honoring and serving God. Taking care of our bodies and making them healthy is caring for the dwelling place of God because "you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16). Have a healthy body also makes us better able to help and work for others. Spending more time with family and friends builds the loving relationships God calls for us to have. Getting our finances in order removes a distraction (and an idol?) and can free us to be more generous with our resources.

Being baptized into Christ means that God is constantly resolving to make us more healthy, whole people, both spiritually and physically, internally and externally. We are called to live baptized, to constantly be renewed and improved by the Spirit, not just in the New Year, but every year, every week, every day.

“I don’t want to leave unchanged.” -Shaun Groves, “After the Music Fades”