a moment of love

We have been waiting; we have been watching; we have been preparing, and hope has come. Emmanuel, God with us. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. A promise is fulfilled! A promise of love that began before time as we know it.

For a second, I imagined what may have followed the scene in the humble stable. First, I imagine all the excitement and joy of those who traveled to bear witness to the splendor of the birth of the Messiah. Then I imagine Joseph and Mary, socially saturated, needing rest, and baby Jesus needing to be fed. Finally, everyone tired after the visitation will turn and head home.

I think about the conversations on the way out. “That was so awesome! Good to see mother and baby looking so well. I hope the gifts we brought are what they needed.

And maybe there are questions like…What does this mean? What do we do now? Do you feel different? What should we do tomorrow?

Would those who traveled to this momentous occasion go back to their everyday lives? Would they be transformed? Do we feel transformed? What do we do now? How do we hold onto the joy that we felt just moments ago?

Happiness is a condition of circumstance, but joy is a condition of the heart. Joy comes not from achieving what we long for—-but from moving toward it. Transformation takes place not from our willpower and action but from allowing grace and love to fill the places of our hearts that feel most unlovable. And joy comes when we accept that we are part of a whole that began at creation—God – us – community.

In John’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus has always been. “In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was at the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and not one thing came into being without him. Life has come into being in him, and life was the light of all people.”

Jesus has always been with us. Yet this baby, vulnerable and small, born into the risky business of being human, changes everything. The moment in the modest stable was a happy one, but the joy that lasts beyond this moment comes from the continual movement toward that which we long for. God is always moving toward us. So we, longing for unconditional, vulnerable love, must also move into this risky business of being human, vulnerable, and loving.

David Benner, in his book “Surrender to Love,” says
“Regardless of what you have come to believe about God based on your life experience, the truth is that when God thinks of you, love swells in his heart, and a smile comes to his face. God bursts with love for humans. He is far from being emotionally uninvolved with his creation. God’s bias toward us is strong, persistent and positive. The Christian God chooses to be known as love, and that love pervades every aspect of God’s relationship with us.”

Jesus comes as a child with a heart wide open, loving, and forgiving. This child carries transformational love.

Receiving love while trying to earn it is not transformational. We often act as if we have some control over how much we are loved. But God’s Love for us has everything to do with who he is, not who we are. He loves us not because of who we are; —–we are because he loves us. And he pursues us with great desire and hope that we will surrender to His Love.

We will make mistakes, and those mistakes can make us feel unlovable. Those places where we feel most unlovable cause us pain. But pain is not the enemy.
It leads to self-discovery.
It leads to a deep need for God.
It leads to a need for others.

Mistakes are made, and we will continue to make them. However, the transformation that began at the birth of our savior was the transformation of the heart and what motivates us to move about in the world the way we do.

In Galatians, we hear that God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts. “Crying, Abba, Father!” We are no longer slaves but children of God. Jesus transforms our motivation from fear of discipline to the pursuit of love and surrendering to it. Surrendering to love begins in the heart and expresses itself in our behavior.

A child, this child, teaches us how to love. Love opens our hearts to joy.

We are no longer under disciplinary law. We are no longer slaves. Our actions are no longer centered on avoiding sin, no longer motivated by self-protection, fear, and seeking approval.

WE are children of God. We are heirs. We are created in love, by love, for love. When we live into this love, our motivation for action becomes love. Our actions become a movement toward God and each other.

Jesus didn’t come into the world afraid he didn’t come into the world self-protecting. He came in vulnerable and small and his parents, motivated by love, set out to provide for this child, who will give his whole life to provide for us an example of what love as a motivator looks like.

Surrender in safety, abandon fear, control, and unworthiness.
Practice gratitude, compassion, courage.
Intimacy is vulnerable. Love and allow the joy that comes–to shine into the dark places of your heart and mind. Then, like the child wrapped in his parents’ embrace, trust everything will be okay.

Love is the light that shines in the darkness. Jesus is the light of the world. With him, and all things came into being, and not one thing came into being without him. In the presence of light, darkness cannot exist.

Joy comes from knowing that love is present in all things. Therefore, we must be in pursuit, and whatever else happens, love will prevail.

In verse 4 of Psalm 147, we hear just how detailed God’s Love is; “He counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.” No matter how many people have walked this earth, we each have value and purpose. We each can bring light by loving.

The star in being a star brings light into the world. We being children of light, bring light into the world. As we return to day-to-day routines, we may continue to do the same activities. However, our actions are no longer acts of will; they are a response to love.

What has been concealed in the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament. We have moved from hope to joy! We are transformed!

Like Mary and Joseph, we are asked to respond to love with love.
Love has come. Emanuel God with us, vulnerable and open.
Will you cherish, nurture and help him grow?
Will you surrender to love and let love transform you?
Will you allow the joy that fills your heart to penetrate deeply?
Will you go out into the world as light?

When the risky business of being human seems too much, love holds you, protects you, strengthens you, and cherishes you just as you are.

A moment for the tangible

Tangible: Perceptible by touch.

I have to admit, though the thoughts in my head are plentiful, I have found putting them into words very difficult lately. Hoping for some kind of clarity or inspiration, I have spent a great deal of time in scripture and prayer and still, radio silence.

What am I longing to have? It hit me this morning. I am longing for something tangible, perhaps in the form of clear answers or a visible sign. Maybe that is what you are longing for too.

Toilet paper is tangible. Perhaps the borderline crazy paper product purchases are signs that others are also seeking something tangible.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:24-29

I’ve heard and read this story so many times it has almost become cliche. And yet, it comes to mind again, as a powerful message of Christ’s compassion amid fear and doubt, and his desire to offer tangible evidence to a fearful group.

In the passage before Christ appears to Thomas, the disciples have hidden away, with the doors locked, for fear of the Jewish leaders. We, similarly, are hidden away confined to our homes, keeping the outside world out, keeping to ourselves, and perhaps somewhat fearfully.

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. John 20:19-21

Peace may not be, by definition, tangible, but I can certainly feel it as I read this scripture. I can close my eyes and sense the change in the room where the disciples were. I then can feel the essence of the place I am in altered.

If we again back up in the scriptures, we will be with Mary, who, upon seeing Christ did not recognize him until he called her name. Then there was no holding her back.

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:18

The visible Christ may not visit us as he did those whose stories are told in the scriptures, but we can be the tangible Christ to others. In this time, when leaving our homes poses a threat to ourselves and others, we can still reach out in tangible and safe ways.

We can make the phone call to someone we haven’t talked with in a while.

We can dust off that stationary that has been sitting idle and send a tangible note of care and concern.

We can take a few groceries and drop them off on the doorstep of someone we know could use them.

We may not be able to touch the hands of our neighbors, but we can still touch their hearts with compassion and peace.

A moment in your story

As the year 2019 comes to a close, a moment to remember all that has been could be beneficial. For many, it was a tough year with struggles and worries that threatened to be all consuming. Take a moment to look back. If you can see growth, understanding, a better sense of self, or a life changed or touched by your simple yet complex existence, hold fast to that vision. Imagine yourself as a character in a movie, allow those visions to flash through your mind until they become an invisible essence that, in the next brief moment, forms the expression on your face. What would that expression be? Would your face show contentment, anguish, frustration, or joy? For the character in the movie, that is never the ending. It is usually the beginning of something new, a new determination, a time of celebration, or a new understanding of what was, what is and what could be. And then the movie continues as the rest of the story unfolds.

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

Isaiah 43:18-20

A moment of uncertainty

How can I share your love,

When I feel such loneliness?

How can I share your peace,

When I feel such unrest?

How can I say rest in you,

When I am full of worry?

How can I say trust in you,

When my heart is full of doubt?

How can I say have courage,

When all I want is to hide?

How can I say have patience,

When there is so much to be done?

How can I do anything,

Without certainty?

How can I wait?

How can I not?

I wait.

For in everything, O Lord, you have exalted and glorified your people, and you have not neglected to help them at all times and in all places.
Wisdom of Solomon 19:22 (NRSV)