"The Grass Withers..."

Sunday takes us to the second Sunday of Advent where the typical focus is on John the Baptist. But let's look instead to the magnificent words of Isaiah 40 - words that the Gospel writers echo when they refer to John as the herald who prepares the way. The Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah has been called the "fifth Gospel." Its words especially sing throughout the Advent season. Who can read "comfort ye my people" without hearing Handel's music singing along?

As I prepare to share this text with you on Sunday, you can help me. In verse 6 a frustrated prophet declares: "All people are grass... The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it." What do you think?

• When have you felt like grass? 
• When have you felt withered and trampled upon? 
• What does it feel like to be abandoned by God? 
• Where did you find life and hope? 

I welcome your responses; they can truly help me in my preaching - and if you'd rather not share them with everyone, just let me know. My preferences are set up to review all  comments before they are posted.

The Gift of the Church Year

It's Christ the King Sunday - almost. This Sunday marks the climax of the church year before we begin all over again on the first Sunday of Advent. Growing up as a Baptist, the church year was a foreign concept to me. Perhaps that's one small reason why it's so fascinating now. When incarnation becomes real, when we realize that we worship a God who is still active in our world, the church year isn't just a collection of lovely rituals. It is living history. The past is present and the future is now!

What we think of as a fixed calendar actually evolved over time - from three separate festivals - Easter, Pentecost, and Epiphany - to two complete cycles:
The Paschal/Easter Cycle - telling the story of death and resurrection with Lent as a time of preparation and the great Fifty Days as a season of celebration culminating with Pentecost.
The Incarnational Cycle - telling not just the story of the birth of the Messiah, but those amazing moments when that divinity shines through humanity - the adoration of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding at Cana. Ironically, in the history of evolution of the church year, the season we celebrate first was the last to be added - Advent.

If you need a reminder of the basics, here they are:
Advent: four weeks before Christmas
Christmas: 12 days of celebration between December 25 and January 5
Epiphany: January 6 and the season after leading up to Lent
Lent: 40 days of preparation for Easter - not counting the Sundays
Easter: the high holy days of Christian faith including the great Three Days - the Triduum - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday PLUS the Great Fifty Days that follow.
Pentecost: fifty days after Easter marking the coming of the Holy Spirit of power upon those first Christians and the season after leading us back to Advent

We are going to sing through the church year on Sunday - along with celebrating the gift of music. So - let me know: which season delights you best? What traditions have you known that drew you into the mystery and wonder of any of these seasons and celebrations in the gift of the church year?

Numbers in the Joseph Story

You've been patient with me during a very busy week at Seneca Presbyterian Church. My apologies for not posting this week. But - as we finished up with the Joseph story this morning, I posed the following number questions from the Joseph story. Check and see if you knew the right answers.
What is the number of:

• Jacob's sons - 12
• Joseph the dreamer (age) - 17
• Joseph, second only to Pharaoh (age) - 30
• Joseph forgotten by Pharaoh's butler (years ) - 2
• Years of abundance - 7
• Years of famine - 7
• Number of dreams - 6 
• Number of sons who travel to Egypt from Canaan - 10
• Number of portions for Benjamin at Joseph's feast - 5
• The span of Joseph's life (years) - 110 

Thank you for your gracious attention to this series. The stories of Joseph the dreamer are fascinating - and open to a variety of interpretations. Feel free to post YOUR reflections on "the end of the story." 

The Kid Makes Good

Happy Thursday morning! We are back in the Joseph story for this Sunday at Seneca Presbyterian Church - and dreams figure prominently once again. This time they carry an ominous meaning. If not heeded Egypt - and the world around - will experience a famine that would be a threat to life including the lives of God's family and Joseph's. But with  wisdom supplied by God, Joseph is able to interpret the dreams and avert disaster. Read Genesis 41 for the details. Then ponder these questions - and share your reflections, please.

• Who is responsible for averting disaster - Joseph or God? In other words, how do divine revelation and faithful human action combine? 
• How does God reveal God's divine will to those in seats of power and authority, in Joseph's day and in our own? 
• What moral responsibility do those in power have for those they rule - according to the biblical standard? 
• Should we be suspicious of "Pharaohs"? Who are the pharaohs of our world? 
• The seventeen-year-old Joseph has grown and matured. What evidence to you see of that and what experiences do you think had the greatest impact? 
• We have skipped over chapter 40, but you might like to read it through. It provides a scene that sets up Joseph's rise to power. Apparently ancient Israel was fascinated by life in Pharaoh's court.Chapter 40 introduces us to two men with vastly different opinions of life around the seat of power. 

I wonder...

• what Pharaoh thought of Joseph's God? 
• why Pharaoh was willing to share so much power with Joseph? 
• how Joseph's faith was impacted when he married the daughter of an Egyptian priest?
• how God can preserve life in our world by relying on human faithfulness? 

The ancients set great store on the power of dreams to communicate divine will. Have you ever experienced a dream that you believed to be a direct revelation from God?