winter's light

a joyful epiphany!

today is epiphany. the epiphany, called "theophany" in the eastern churches, celebrates the manifestation of christ to the gentiles and the visit of the wise men to the christ child.

o god, on this day you revealed your son to the nations by the leading of a star. lead us now by faith to know your presence in our lives, and bring us at last to the full vision of your glory, through your son, jesus christ our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god, now and forever.

one of the great pieces of music celebrating epiphany is bach's christmas oratorio, part VI. enjoy these excerpts as you join the Magi and believers all over the world in worshiping christ today.
 

 

I stand here at your crib

O Little Jesus, my life;

I come, bring and give you

What you have given to me.

Take it! It is my spirit and mind,

Heart, soul and courage, take it all

And may it be pleasing to you!

Chorale, J.S. Bach, Christmas Oratorio VI

happy new year!

Note: this post also appears at Internet Monk, where I continue to serve as guest blogger.


Happy New Year.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places… (Eph 1:3)

On the calendar, today is the beginning of a new year and a new decade. I can’t think of a better text of Scripture upon which to meditate than this one from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

merry christmas!

 
Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see,
Evermore and evermore!

i am thankful for all of you, family and friends and readers i have not yet had the pleasure of meeting. may god bless you with his very best gift—himself—during this Christmas season.

merry christmas.

today's church year art
giotto di bondone, nativity, 1310s, san francesco, assisi

advent IV—dec 20, 2009

fourth sunday in advent (year c)

resources for this day

today's readings
Micah 5:2-5a
Luke 1:46b-55
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45

today's bach cantatas
bwv 132, "prepare the course, prepare the way"
bwv 147a, "heart and mind and deed and life"
bach's magnificat

collect for the day (bcp)
we beseech thee, almighty god, to purify our consciences by thy daily visitation,
that when thy son jesus christ cometh he may find in us a mansion prepared for himself;
through the same jesus christ our lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the holy spirit, one god, now and for ever. amen.

advent III—dec 13, 2009

third sunday in advent (year c)

resources for this day

today's readings
zephaniah 3:14-20
Isaiah 12:2-6
philippians 4:4-7
luke 3:7-18


today's bach cantatas
bwv 186a, "fret not, o soul"
bwv 141, "this is now the gospel truth"

collect for the day (bcp)
stir up thy power, o lord, and with great might come among us;
and, because we are sorely hindered by our sins,
let thy bountiful grace and mercy speedily help and deliver us;
through jesus christ our lord, to whom,
with thee and the holy ghost, be honor and glory,
world without end. amen.

journey to the cradle, III
question: why is the third candle on the advent wreath pink or rose-colored?

answer: in the liturgical tradition, today is known as "gaudete sunday". gaudete is a latin word that means rejoice, and the third candle on the advent wreath is rose to mark this sunday as a special day of rejoicing.

like lent, the 40 days of fasting and preparation for holy week and easter, advent is primarily a penitential season of readying the heart through repentance and self-denial. midway through lent is a day known as "laetare sunday" (o be joyful) or "refreshment sunday". worship on this day provides a respite from the somber, penitential character of lenten discipline, giving a sense of hope to god's people that the day of celebration is coming. likewise, midway through advent gaudete sunday encourages us that god's coming is near, and calls us to shout for joy in glad anticipation.

the three texts from zephaniah, isaiah, and philippians proclaim this theme exuberantly.

the gospel passage (luke 3:7-18), describing john the baptizer's preaching, is not so transparently about joy. it begins by describing john's preaching and giving an example of what some might call a "fire and brimstone" sermon of judgment and repentance. however, even this strong message seems to awaken a desire for god in the hearts of his hearers, and they eagerly ask john how they can conform their lives to what he is calling them to do.

then, this word: "...the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the messiah..." (luke 3.15). john points them to jesus, and luke's narrative ends with the baptizer faithfully continuing his proclamation of the good news.

gaudete sunday is designed to heighten our sense of expectation, and thus increase our joy. like children who find it hard to sleep on christmas eve, we yearn with exquisite longing for the coming of our savior, the revealing of his eternal gifts, and the satisfaction of an endless holy day with god's forever family.


today's church year art
birth and naming of john the baptist
giotto di bondone, Peruzzi Chapel, Church of Santa Croce. 1313/14

advent II—dec 6, 2009

second sunday in advent (year c)

resources for this day

today's readings
Malachi 3:1-4
Luke 1:68-79
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6

today's bach cantatas
bwv 70a, "watch! pray! pray! watch!"



collect for the day (bcp)
merciful god, who sent thy messengers the prophets to
preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation:
give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins,
that we may greet with joy the coming of jesus christ our
redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the holy
spirit, one god, now and for ever. amen.

journey to the cradle, II
zechariah's benedictus is one of the great songs of scripture. its themes are captured by two lines, one at its beginning and the other at the end. both speak of god "visiting his people" to provide redemption and peace for them (luke 1:68, 78). (unfortunately, the nrsv translation misses this key word, substituting other terms.)

god visits us. he does not wait for us to come to him. he does not require that we meet him on his ground, rather, he knocks on our door and comes personally to see us. he enters our world—the word becomes flesh and dwells among us" (john 1:18). jesus does not remain far off in heaven but humbles himself, and takes the form of a servant in human flesh (philippians 2:5-11).

the first appropriate response to the initiative he has taken in coming to us is to offer him hospitality, to welcome him, to embrace him and invite him into our lives. "o come to us, abide with us, our lord emmanuel." receive the good news! god has come to visit us!

the second appropriate response is to go with him as he visits others. this is an especially apt word on this day, which marks the feast of st. nicholas. nicholas, the bishop of myra in the fourth century, was noted for his generosity to the poor and needy, and especially to children. like st. nicholas, god calls all of his people in christ to visit our neighbors and bless them with humble, loving acts of service. share the good news! join jesus in his mission to visit the world!

In his seventeenth century manual on pastoral ministry, george herbert said that the true minister of christ does not "disdain to enter into the poorest cottage, though he even creep into it, and though it smell ever so loathsomely. For both God is there, and also those for whom God died."

during this holy season, may we both receive the divine visitation and, in turn, visit those in need to share the love he has given us.


today's church year art
annunciation to zacharias
giotto di bondone, Peruzzi Chapel, Church of Santa Croce. 1313/14

have a culture-war christmas!

ponder anew has a post worth reading, called, "a season of wonder, a season of silliness". here's an excerpt:

The whole Advent season leading to Christmas is all gospel, tinged with wonder.

For the past few years, the beginning of the Advent season has also marked the beginning of the battle cry from Christian culture warriors.

You know the drill. Somebody gets all in a lather over store clerks wishing people “happy holidays” or as in Kentucky, calling a Christmas tree a “holiday tree.” Buttons are worn and bumper stickers are placed and “sign this and pass it on if you believe in Christmas” petitions are circulated on the internet.

And now, Focus on the Family has actually developed a web site called Stand for Christmas. The basic idea is that costumers can log on and rank various businesses as “Christmas-friendly”, Christmas-negligent” or “Christmas-offensive”. There’s a constantly updated percentage for each category listed for dozens of businesses, and as soon as someone sends their comments, an e-mail is automatically generated to the business itself.

...OK. But…really? Is this the primary thing that those of us who have received the gospel gift want to broadcast during this season?

count me out. how about you?


today's van gogh
half figure of an angel (after rembrandt), 1889

the weekly discussion--november 30, 2009

in my 35 years as a christian, i have watched (and participated) as more and more evangelicals and non-liturgical communities have discovered how marking special days on the church calendar can be helpful in celebrating and forming our faith. since the christian year tells the story of jesus, it is a great way to become more "jesus-shaped" in our approach to life, worship, and mission in the world.

as eugene peterson said,

when we submit our lives to what we read in scripture, we find that we are not being led to see god in our stories, but our stories in god's. god is the larger context and plot in which our stories find themselves.

most are introduced to the christian year via advent, the period of preparation before christmas.

today's discussion question is simple:

how have you, your family, and your church practiced advent?

it is hoped that we can be of encouragement to one another as we seek to inhabit the story of god and let it form our lives in jesus.


today's van gogh
shepherd with a flock of sheep, 1884

advent I—nov 29, 2009

first sunday in advent (year c)

resources for this day

today's readings
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36

today's bach cantatas
bwv 61, "come now, savior of the gentiles"
bwv 62, "come now, savior of the gentiles II"
bwv 36, "raise yourself up joyfully"

collect for the day (bcp)
almighty god, give us grace that we may cast away the
works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now
in the time of this mortal life in which thy son jesus christ
came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when
he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the
quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through
him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the holy ghost,
one god, now and for ever. Amen.

journey to the cradle, I
happy new year! some of you may think this premature. however, there is more than one calendar by which to mark the years of our lives. on the church calendar, today marks the beginning of liturgical time for the year to come. today, we begin again to hear the story of jesus.

the texts chosen for this first sunday set our course for the journey...

• the story of jesus begins with god's promises, spoken to a world that needs saving. "the days are coming," says the lord, "when i will fulfill the promise i made to the house of israel and the house of judah" (jeremiah 33:14). the promise involves a kingly person who will put the world to rights again, who will save those who trust in him and cause them to live in his safety forever. his name will be called, "the lord is our righteousness," and he will spring up like a branch from the tree that is king david's line.

• the story of jesus encourages us to look for god's promises with expectation. in the words of david himself, we pray, "lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the god of my salvation; for you i wait all day long" (psalm 25:5).

• the story of jesus instructs us to use the time of waiting as a time to share his holy love. the time of waiting is not meant to be a time of inactivity or selfish preoccupation. paul prayed for his friends in thessalonica, "and may the lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. and may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our god and father at the coming of our lord jesus with all his saints" (1thessalonians 3:12-13).

• the story of jesus reminds us that the days of his coming will be tumultuous, and we must stay alert and ready. life in this broken world involves constant upheaval. some days, it seems the very stars may fall from the skies. "be alert at all times," jesus says to us, "praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the son of man" (luke 21:36).

this is god's advent agenda. this is what the journey to the cradle involves—hope, expectation, love, endurance. day by day throughout this first season of the church year, we learn to walk and wait like this for the coming of our king.

today's church year art
the visitation
giotto di bondone, scrovegni chapel, 1302-05

what a weekend...

it was a weekend of...

• tracing memories that elicit smiles,

• enjoying much good and edifying family togetherness and interaction,

• gorging ourselves on loads of great food,

• relishing the most perfect november weather one could wish for,

• living and dying with all the ups and downs of an amazing football game,

• wiping away the tears of realizing that this is the last time we'll attend a sporting event on a home field for one of our children,

• swelling up with pride for all that our son is becoming, and continuing to pray that he and our other children will find themselves, through christ, established in life, established in faith, and filled with love for what is good,
  

• being grateful for family and friends that have supported and encouraged us throughout the years,

• worshiping with gratitude on sunday and praising the true and living god, who created all things good and gave them to us to enjoy with thanksgiving.

"For what God gives I thank indeed;
What He withholds I do not need."
(Martin Luther)

the cruelest month...

t. s. eliot was wrong—it is not april, but november.

it is november that sucks the color out of the world.

it is november that brutally strips the brilliant textured sweater off the tree and leaves it naked, shivering against the gray, cold wind.

it is november, when sky becomes steel, earth becomes stone, grass a wire brush, breath fog, each day a more rapidly drawn shade.

it is november, when time changes, and daytime suddenly drops into darkness before our supper is prepared.

it is november, when baseball ends, gloves are oiled, grass is covered, and stadiums sit silent and empty, too bleak even for ghosts to want to have a catch.

it is november, when the porch is stripped of furniture, the hose and bird bath put up lest they crack, the gutters emptied of fallen sky, a stretch of street with yards forsaken like the dormitory hall at lights out.

it is november, all gray and brown.

it is november, hangover after the harvest party, period of mourning after autumn's exquisite expiration.

it is november, the time between—between the joy of ingathering and the wonder of incarnation—when darkness gathers, unwilling yet to be dispelled.

the month, of course, has its joys but they are humble—smell of wood smoke rising, tears for the young gone off to war, college football's rivalry games and the beginning of basketball, a homely and heartwarming feast of thanksgiving, the quiet inauguration of advent and a new year to live within god's story.

three of the most wonderful women in my life have birthdays in november—my mother, my wife, and my oldest daughter. this november will mark the final season of watching my children play on sporting fields, as my oldest son completes his college football career. life will move more and more inside closed walls. we'll begin rehearsing our annual worries about how to keep the heating bill down and what we're going to do for the holidays. the shivering begins.

november is the cruelest month. between time, gray and brown, it sucks the color out of the world.

Yea, I have looked, and seen November there;
The changeless seal of change it seemed to be,
Fair death of things that, living once, were fair;
Bright sign of loneliness too great for me,
Strange image of the dread eternity,
In whose void patience how can these have part,
These outstretched feverish hands, this restless heart?

William Morris, "November"

today's van gogh
lane in autumn, 1884

autumn in central indiana...

for more pix, visit my share site.