12/20/09 - Advent 4 - Love

On this final Sunday of Advent, after having experienced and extended to others the gifts of hope...peace...and joy...we focus our attention on "love".

The Christmas holiday can be important for many different reasons:

to the young children it may be the time Santa Claus brings special toys;

to older children it may be a welcomed break from school;

for retail employees it may mean long hours and extra pay;

for business owners it may be year-end profits;

to others it may be a chance to spend time with family

Christmas is all of those things and more. For us, as Christians, it is a time to grasp, to consider, to marvel at how much God values each of us and to contemplate God's unconditional love.

This is a season of gift-buying and budgets, a season where we are looking at products and assessing their worth for purchase as gifts. We are considering our lists and our resources and trying to align the two. We are rationalizing, balancing, assessing, considering, thinking of each person, and trying to give him or her just the right gift that will also fit within our means. And when it comes to gifts, assessing value has its place.

Our culture/world does the same thing when assessing a person's value. Often the unproductive, the unattractive, the needy, the poor, the inconvenient, they are often considered as "less than", less worthy. Whereas the achievers, the physically beautiful, the doers, the glamorous, the wealthy, the go-getters, the more able, the less needy - these are often considered as "more valuable" more worthy. Of course, we know this is not right, we all try to avoid such narrow judgments, but it's easy to do. And it's easy to do even to ourselves - to assess our own personal worth based on some internal scale inside our heads.

It was through Christmas, through a little infant in a pile of straw that God said - I have a different perspective, my perspective of value, or worth, is not as you would assume.

The words of that famous Christmas song "O Holy Night" express it well:

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining, it is the night of our dear Savior's birth.  Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, til He appeared and the soul felt it's worth."

During this holy season, don't miss the opportunity to contemplate the unfathomable value God places on you, on your life, and the life of every one created in God's image.  This week, reach out to people in your world with tangible expressions of LOVE - unconditional love.

• Perform kind deeds anonymously...
• give sacrificial help...
• perform chores that are someone else's responsibility...
• meet the eyes of others as you talk with them...
• smile at strangers as a way of recognizing their value as a child of God...
• be generous on the roadways...
• be patient when others see Christmas differently than you...
• make selfless decisions...
• put others first...
• share your home with someone...
• say I Love You...
• park in the back leaving choice spots for other shoppers...
• call store clerks by name recognizing them as people...
• pick up the tab for someone at a restaurant...
• don't let your head get in the way of your heart...
• when you return your grocery cart back to the store, take someone else's cart too...
• pick up trash in your neighborhood...
• let Christmas be messy and noisy, throw away your script for how it has to be...
• make memories...
• savor each precious moment in God's presence...
• try to squint and see the world as God sees it - lovable and precious.

May the peace, hope, and joy of God wash over you...and may you bask in the love of God. Merry Christmas!

Leanna Schulz, 2009

12/13/09 - Advent 3 - Joy

• anonymously leave a gift for someone
• pay a utility bill for one in need
• provide a bag of groceries or a treat for someone
• do something with a child that would bring them great joy
• give tickets to a family for a Christmas program or a Christmas movie for a night out together
• tell the people you love that you love them
• express gratitude to a spouse or parent or child not for what they do but for who they are in your life
• listen to joyful music, laugh!
• Be silly, put on a fun show for your family
• say life-giving things to others; read the Christmas story together
• make a craft with someone
• say Merry Christmas to folks as you shopbe generous with yourself and your resources
• leave an enormous tip not related to the service received at a restaurant
• smile at people you pass on the street
• make someone laugh

12/06/09 - Advent 2 - Peace

We are continuing to light the Advent Wreath. Last week was the first Sunday of Advent and we discussed being Bearers of Hope. How did your week go? How were you able to be a bearer of hope in your world? Did you consciously or intentionally try to bring hope to someone? If so, before you leave today, I invite you to place a small handful of hay in the manger to symbolize how we are preparing the way for the "second" coming of the Lord.

In this second week of Advent, we focus on being bearers of peace. The classic Christmas card messages and lyrics in Christmas songs lift up the idea of "peace on earth, goodwill toward men and women."  Was this a promise that the birth of Jesus would literally bring peace on earth? Jesus Himself says in Matthew, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." What then are we to make of these contrasting verses? There's a lot of talk about peace at Christmas time. Even those who don't care much about the celebration of Jesus' birth like to promote peace at this time of year. Hearts seems to be a bit more tender toward the idea of peace. Of course, newspaper headlines don't confirm that - violence continues to occur in our cities; arguments, strife and disharmony happen in the workplace, your neighborhood and maybe even your home. What then is this "peace on earth" business? Why did Isaiah call Jesus the "Prince of Peace"? The entire announcement in Luke 2:14 says: "Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased." Now that sounds like peace isn't offered for the whole world, but for those who have put their trust in Jesus and committed themselves to Him. Or then again, are the angels saying that this birth of God's Son is a gesture of peace from God to us and that God offers us the chance to be at peace with the divine?

What is God's peace? Is it the absence of conflict? Is it found in stillness or quiet? Can peace be rowdy? Is God's peace something we can only know in relationship with another, or can it be experienced by ourselves? What is your understanding/experience of God's peace? I invite you to consider these questions this week - What does peace on earth look like, can you make it known, can you magnify peace and can you be a bearer of peace?

Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

• Let go of your anger at long lines in the stores, traffic jams and Christmas lights that won't work.
• Cultivate kindness with tired, crying children.
• Take the first step to reconcile a difficult relationship.
• Offer an apology where needed.
• Give forgiveness generously.
• Speak the truth in love.
• Try to see someone else's point of view.
• Confess your brokenness to God and accept His peace.
• Don't run away from conflict, but prayerfully learn to talk things through.
• Offer someone the gift of quietness by offering to babysit their children.
• Invite someone over to listen to Christmas music with you by candlelight.
• Count your blessings.
• Build bridges in your world instead of walls.
• Connect with a new neighbor or an old one you've been avoiding.

Ask God to reveal to you this week, where God can use you to be a bearer of peace. Be aware of opportunities. Be courageous with new challenges. Christmas can be a dark time for the lonely and the grieving. Bear the presence of Christ as you move out into your world carrying the gift of peace.

Leanna Schulz, 2009