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Following the holidays, it doesn’t take long for exercise, diet, and nutrition ads to come out in full force, encouraging us to consider new habits for the new year. “Its a new year! It’s time for a new ‘you’!” ads seem to suggest. Which, isn’t all bad. Sometimes we need a fresh start in order to critically think about what we’ve been doing (or not doing) and how that impacts who we are and our relationships with others. 

But even as you consider possible resolutions or habits that might need to be tweaked, consider this: Jesus doesn’t desire a “new you.” You don’t need to be new and improved like the greatest Tide pod that just came out on the market. Instead, Jesus simply desires you to be the best “you” that you can be. And in Jesus’ eyes, that’s enough. In fact, it’s more than enough: it’s considered beautiful and honored and precious. Because as baptized children of God, we have already been made new by the grace of our Lord Jesus who came to live among us. 

So as we enter into the second full week of 2023, don’t feel as though you need to be someone you’re not. Rather, consider habits that would help you be even more who God already created YOU to be. But don’t think you have to do all that on your own. Instead, dedicate yourself to join with others in community as we remind each other of our identity in Christ, and push each other to grow more and more as disciples of Jesus. 

This past Sunday, in addition to celebrating New Years, at Shepherd we also celebrated the Epiphany of Our Lord. Epiphany is a day often associated with the coming of the wise men – bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh – and the spread of Christ’s light to all nations. 

During our worship, we were reminded that as the wise men were directed to Christ by a star, there are many signs and practices that direct us in faith and life. Scripture, the sacraments of baptism and communion, and our prayer practices, have the potential to lead us on our quest in life and in faith. 

As a part of the sermon, those in worship were given the opportunity to experiment with a creative prayer practice as they sought to follow Christ. If you were in worship, put the word you received somewhere where you’ll see it each day. Reflect on it and open yourself to God’s invitation to you.

If you weren’t in worship and want to experiment with us, go to this Facebook post or download the entire list of star words. The idea is that these star words are a list of intention words – or guiding words – that can act as a centering point, an invitation, for the coming year. Those in worship received a word at random. If you’re doing this on your own, aim to choose a word as randomly as possible. After selecting a word, consider these prompts:

1. Craft a definition of the word, using your own words
2. What experiences do you have of this word? What does it remind you of?
3. Do you feel inclined to draw near to this word or keep it at a distance? Why?
4. How might God use this word as an invitation to you in the new year? What is that invitation?

There is the potential for so, so much to be in store for each of us in the coming year. So, as you consider what may be ahead, consider also listening to God’s invitation to you as you open yourself to God’s guiding Word upon your life. 

“Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.”
~ Psalm 96: 2-3

On Christmas Eve night, we gathered to adore the birth of Christ our King. But now that we have come, now that we have seen, and now that we have heard the news, now what? 

Well, now we have the opportunity, like the shepherds, to “make known what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2:17). How? Using our psalm from Christmas Eve night, we do so by telling of God’s salvation, declaring God’s glory, and witnessing to God’s marvelous works. 

But again, how? What does this look like? Well, think of the shepherds: after the shepherds saw the Christ child, they continued to be shepherds. Their identity didn’t change. But now, they had a different purpose. They had a different reason to travel to new grassy areas, and a different impetus to keep on moving, and growing, and believing. 

As we move into the (short!) Christmas season, we – like the shepherds – are summoned forth to tell of what we have seen and experienced in our Lord Jesus Christ. To do so, we don’t need to pursue a career change. Instead, just as the news of Christ’s birth permeated the shepherd’s being, informing their purpose in what they were already doing, we are summoned to allow the news of Christ’s birth infuse our being, informing our purpose in what we are already doing. 

Blessings to you all as you bask in the glow of Christ’s light this season, and blessings as you allow the news of our Savior’s birth fill you – to the brim – sending you forth and giving you reason to keep on moving, and growing, and believing.

For weeks, Christmas music and carols have surrounded us. Appropriately so, we’re all getting excited for the joy of Christ’s birth at Christmas!

But before making our final trek to the manger in Bethlehem, I invite you to heed the words, and music, of an Advent hymn that often is left forgotten: the song of Mary. 

This past weekend in worship we heard Mary’s song. After travelling to her relative, Elizabeth’s, house, she was greeted with a blessing. From that blessing flowed Mary’s song: a song of profound trust in God’s promises fulfilled in her and for her people. 

For Mary, to declare in her song that God would act on behalf of her people was a bold move. She, and her people, had every reason to abandon hope – no longer believing that God would fulfill God’s promises to them. But still, she had the guts to believe that the Spirit of the Lord was upon her, and through the birth of Jesus, God’s promises would come to fruition for her, for her people, and for the entire world.

When we look around our lives and our world today, to boldly believe that the promises God offers to us will come to fruition may seem ludicrous. And yet, as we near the end of Advent, we are encouraged to hold onto hope – recognizing where and how God is at work within us and within the world, and looking forward to the day when all God’s creation will be joined in wholeness and peace. 

So in the remaining days of Advent, dwell in Mary’s song. Read it, or listen to various musical interpretations of it (try this link, or this one for a totally different feel). May your final days of Advent be blessed as you prepare for the fulfillment of God’s promises given to us at Christmas. 

This past weekend in worship we heard the story of the angel appearing to Joseph, telling him that Mary was going to give birth to the Messiah. Before the angel appeared, Joseph had already resolved to dismiss Mary quietly. In Jewish culture, it was the “right thing to do,” and it was the most respectful choice for Mary, for her family, and for Joseph’s family. 

But after a dream, Joseph makes the courageous choice to choose a better way. That way would not be easy. In fact, it would be challenging. It would require more of Joseph, and it would launch Joseph into an entirely new direction as the adoptive father of the Son of God. 

Each and every day, we make a host of decisions. Some decisions are quite small, while others have lasting implications. As you continue your preparations this Advent season, take a moment to reflect on a time you made a difficult decision: How did you find your way to the choice you made? Who was involved in helping you make a choice? And how was God at work in that experience?

Even when we least expect it, God is moving, and God is speaking to us. At times we may choose to dismiss God’s leading. But time and time again, in compassion, our God will continually come to us, summoning us to choose a better way…to choose the truth and life of living in relationship with Christ our Lord. 

Christmas is definitely “in the air” in the Muscatine area! In the past weekend alone, Muscatine hosted the Jingle and Mingle holiday stroll downtown, the symphony played a concert full of favorite Christmas tunes, and the Christmas train pulled into Pearl City Station down at the river front. Christmas is not only coming, but it seems as though Christmas is already here. 

With all these events, there’s joy. There’s laughter. There’s good company. And there’s good memories to be made. All fantastic, fantastic, things. But in the words of one of my violin students this past Monday, by the time we get into December, it can be easy to feel and say: “I’m already Christmas-ed out.”

Right now, on December 6, perhaps you don’t resonate with that statement quite yet. But if we’re a bit honest, it probably isn’t that hard to think of a year in which when you finally sat down with the family around the tree and you were just ready for the extra commitments to be over. Or, by the time you pulled the Christmas ham out of the oven you were just looking for some space to yourself. 

Now, before I sound like I’m degrading Christmas traditions and gatherings, I’m not. The way we spend time with people around the holidays can be food for the soul. But all too often, by the time we get to Christmas, we actually miss out on seeing – and experiencing – the joy that the angels sing in the fields to the shepherds. 

So this year, as you prepare for Christmas, consider what it is that you need to prepare for Christ’s coming. If that means coming to our Shepherd Christmas party, join us! (it’ll be a great night!) If that means dedicating yourself to worship to hear God’s Word spoken to you, join us! If that means carving out 5 minutes to be still, or to pray, do it. And, if it means taking one thing off your calendar so that you feel a bit less rushed this December, do it. 

There are plenty of “things” that we might feel pressured to do, or be a part of, this season. But this Advent season is meant for preparation. So before completely skipping ahead to the glitz and the glam of Christmas, pause for just a moment. Because there might be something right here, in this season of waiting and hoping, just for you. 

Ever feel as though you’re running from one thing to the next? With barely enough time to think about what comes next, let alone be present in the moment? 

In full honesty, I find myself in such a mentality more often than I care to admit. But always looking toward the next thing, and then the next thing, and then the next thing, it becomes almost impossible to be attentive to the people around me, to the situations around me, to what’s going on within me, and to movement of God. 

I have to force myself to give myself “gap times” in my day so that this habit doesn’t become a snowball that goes out of control. Thankfully, most days I have the luxury to do so. I clearly respect that the ability to build in “gap times” is not something as easily done for each person, especially for those caring for kids or other family members. 

But even with these other demands on our lives, what would happen if we just gave a bit of space? What would we notice? What would we hear? 

This Advent season, I encourage you to create some “gap times” in your life. Have kids? Create “gap times” for them, too. It’s amazing what research shows us about kids having some space to rest before moving onto another activity. In Sunday morning worship, we’ll be creating some “gap times” as well. Often, we move from one element of worship to the next, and to the next, and to the next, without much of a chance to digest what we just said, or what was just read, or what was just sung. So this season, especially around the Scripture readings, we’re going to have some silence. For the first few weeks, if that silence feels intimidating, don’t be alarmed. We aren’t too used to silence in our culture. But the more we practice taking a moment of silence, the more rewarding it might become. 

God is still speaking. And God is still working within us and among us. We just might need to create some time…to listen. 

This coming Advent season, we will gather around the theme “From Generation to Generation.” Mary sings in her hymn of praise after receiving the news that she will bear God’s Son: “Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

From generation to generation, we tell the story of Christ’s birth; and from generation to generation, we carry forth the work of God that is unfolding within our lives. It’s out of that notion of unfolding and being brought together in unity that the above image is our logo for the season. Upon first glance, the logo may look like nothing other than a flower. But take a second glance, and each petal (and dot above it) is a person. 

This season, as we prepare to gather around the manger of Christ, we are summoned to join hands with one another…from generation to generation. No character in the story of Christ’s birth lived on their own, and neither are we created to live on our own. We are created for community, and we are created to center ourselves around Christ as our one true light as the movement of God radiates through us. 

So as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving later this week, and then re-gather with our Shepherd family on Sunday, link up with those around. Remember those who have come before you. Look with hope for the generations to come. And watch as we witness our stories weave together, displaying the beauty of God’s continued unfolding creation.

Recently, I have been supporting a friend, Amber, who was preparing to run her first marathon. Through texts and social media, I held Amber accountable to her training plan, gave her encouragement on the days that seemed more challenging, and cheered her along the way. Well, two weekend ago, she ran that marathon and crushed it. In her words, she didn’t complete it with ease. But, the training she endured allowed her to achieve her goal. 

This past weekend in worship, we heard Jesus say at the end of our Gospel lesson, “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21:19) Much as we’d maybe like to have endurance with the snap of the fingers, to build up endurance takes time. And, it takes energy. I’m sure Amber would’ve loved to  get up one day and run a full marathon. And yet, only a very select few have the capacity to do so. 

So if it takes time to develop endurance physically, should we expect anything less spiritually? A colleague of mine said it this way this week: “As disciples of Jesus, we train. We learn various practices that strengthen our faith. And, we do those things when we’re healthy, so that when crisis hits, we have something to fall back on.” Sometimes, it may seem easier to turn to our faith when we are seeking something or when we feel uncertain. But it’s also in the everyday, “normal” moments that we are summoned to exercise our faith and build our spiritual muscles. 

So this week, think about the “exercises” that you practice for your faith life. Just as much as we are encouraged to establish a rhythm of exercise, a healthy diet, and rest, so too are we encouraged as disciples of Jesus to establish a rhythm of connecting with our God. 

This past Sunday we commemorated All Saints Day: a day in which we remember the saints who have gone before us and the saints who have been added to our number through baptism. 

But in addition to those other saints, we also remember ourselves as saints. Through baptism, we have already been given new life. And, like the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead, we claim that we too have been called by name and summoned forth to live in newness of life…now. 

But, having received this gift of life, now, what are we doing with it? 

Looking to our Gospel from last Sunday, though Lazarus came out of the tomb alive, he was still bound by strips of cloth that enwrapped his hands, feet, and face. It took time for him to unwrap all those signs of death, and it took the help of those around him to unbind him so that he could live…fully. 

Which, I wonder, if the same is sometimes true for us. Certainly, Jesus has called our name and given us newness of life. But we still may be bound by grief, pain, uncertainty, death, or even ourselves. And sometimes, we may not even be aware of what it is that holds us captive. Which is one reason we need community. We need those around us. And we need the communion of all the saints to help us peel back layers that may be inhibiting us from living…fully. 

So if you’ve been feeling a bit isolated lately, stretch yourself to reach out to another in the body of Christ. Join us for worship and fellowship on Sunday mornings. Or consider being a part of a small group, intended to surround you with fellow companions on your journey of faith. Much as we might like to travel this journey on our own, that is not how we were designed to live. So take a step to surround yourself with people who care, and people who are willing to help you see what you might not be able to see yourself. For in that space, you just might find something new springing forth.