ONE MORE WALK Love Letters

 I've been thinking about letters; love letters in particular. Not the romantic variety but the agape variety. The kind of letters that come from family, friends, church folk, or sometimes even complete strangers. The kind that when they arrive come as a tangible means of God’s love and grace. They're those cards and letters we receive, that we know, when we read them, are visible reminders of God’s presence and care.

I think The Gospel writer Luke was a love letter writer. In the first chapter of his Gospel, and its sequel, The Book of Acts, we learn he is writing to Theophilus –whose name means: Friend of God, which I love. Because it doesn't take long to realize that Luke’s letter to his Friend of God is really a love letter to both Theophilus and the world. In fact, Luke's entire Gospel is a love letter. But one whose Love seems most tangible and visible in Chapter 2. It's so multilayered with meaning, pictures and grace that we can't miss Luke’s love for his friend and God’s love for the world. So much so, that on any given day, when we doubt God’s faithful love and care of us or the world, we only have to go to Chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel and read God’s Love Letter to the world. We only have to sit with this oh so familiar story to see again- the lavish, crazy, makes no sense at all, save the world, kind of Love that God gives.

Like the kind of love God gives to the poor and displaced Joseph and Mary and the lowly and marginalized shepherds. Or the kind of love that makes a way where there seems to be no way; and makes room when there is no room; it’s the kind of perfect love that chooses to come and live among the horrid brokenness and sin of the world as a human being so that we might know and see God’s love up close. It’s the kind of love that says,

“I’m with you. I’ve not forgotten you. I’m here for the long haul."

I'm mindful of Isaac Watts, the beloved pastor and hymn writer. After beginning his pastoral ministry, he became quite sick to the point he was not physically able to carry out his parish duties with his growing congregation. In not being able to serve them physically he chose to write them letters. I can't help but wonder what he wrote in those letters...

“I’m praying for you today."

"I’m thinking of you."

"I’m sorry you’re not well."

"Thank you for being faithful in your love of Christ and one another."

But more than wondering what his letters contained, I love knowing that his church members received tangible and visible reminders of both his and God’s faithful love and care for them. It must have brought them great comfort and encouragement to pull their letters out and read them again and again.

But this is our blessing as well. On any given day we too may pull out God’s Love Letter to the world and read it again and again to receive comfort, guidance, and encouragement...

“I have loved you with an everlasting love. I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

” Jeremiah 31:3

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and  when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:17

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and mountains fall into the heart of the sea....The Lord Almighty is with us." Portions of Psalm 46

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-l  laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk hmbly with your God." Micah 6:8

"...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind your neighbor as yourself. " Luke 10:27

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." John 1:14

“The shepherds returned, praising and glorifying God for all that had seen and heard as it had been told to them.” Luke 2:20

"Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19

Luke’s love letter to his friend can remind us of God’s great saving Love Letter to us and the world. It graciously compels us to see "ourselves as love letters" that we may continue to write and be by the way we live our lives. Love letters of prayers, visits and service. Love letters of time we spend with our family, friends and someone in need we meet on the street. Love letters of sacrifice, growth and challenge. Love letters of forgiveness, mercy and grace. Love letters of mission, of being a means of grace, with God’s help. Love letters that  can make a way where there seems to be no way; and makes room when there is no room; or the kind of love that chooses to go and live among the horrid brokenness and sin of the world as followers of Jesus so that we might help others know and see God’s love up close. .. the kind of love that says, “I’m with you. I’ve not forgotten you. I’m here for the long haul.”  The kind of love that has Christmas written all over it. 

Dear Friends, by the saving Love that comes to us in Christ we may be such Love Letters for one another and the world. May it be so today, at Christmas, and always. Thank you for all the ways you are already making this true.

Christmas Blessings, Leslee

ONE MORE WALK Joy Joy Joy Did I Mention Joy?

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which pases all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

(Philippians 4:4-7)

Over the years I’ve made numerous trips to Ohio to visit my family. From here, it’s about a 9 hour mostly interstate drive. And while the trip is always long, one of my favorite places along the way is crossing over the Ohio River near Point Pleasant into Ohio. From the moment I drive across The Silver Bridge onto Ohio soil I know I’m getting close to home. I know that I only have a few more hours to go. I know I will soon be there. Some of the people I love best in the world are near. The same is true on the return trip as well. As soon as I cross the North Carolina State Line, the sleepy numbness that comes with long trips falls away, and I find a reserve pack of energy and adrenaline I didn’t know I had. The familiar landscape becomes a welcome and hospitable friend to my weary traveling self. I know I’m getting close to home. I know I only have a few more hours to go. I know I will soon be there.  Some of the people I love best in the world are near.

I think this is what it’s like to find our selves near the Third Sunday of Advent. We are close to home. We only have a few more miles to go. We will soon be there. The One Who loves us best in all the world is near. And as we look back we can see that we’ve already come a long way. We’ve journeyed through winding roads of apocalyptic prophecies and prophetic words of hope, a detour by way of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s house, and have traversed wild and precarious paths in the wilderness with the one we know as John. 

         But the road before us now is not long.. Today, just 10 days shy of Christmas, we find ourselves being escorted out of the wilderness by the Apostle Paul onto some very familiar soil. His words come like a reserve pack of energy and adrenaline we didn’t know we needed or had. And in Paul's words we hear some faithful direction for our remaining trip to the manger.

They are not the Christmas words we hear on Christmas Eve but words- all the same- that let us to know that it will not be long before we see Mary and Joseph on the road beside us.  They are words that tell us The Lord is near, that Bethlehem is on the horizon, that even now there are shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night, that a nearby cave will serve as a shelter for Jesus and His family, that the trough the animals eat from in this cave will serve as Christ’s bed, and that the greatest gift of love the world will ever receive is soon upon us. All of this familiar and life giving territory is the reason we are rejoicing. The Lord is near. He is just up ahead.  And knowing that he’s just down the road lets us know we’re getting close to home. It’s what we’ve been preparing for, celebrating and planning for. It’s why, in liturgical circles, the third Sunday in Adavent is known as Gaudete (Gau da te) Sunday….Gau-da-te  being the Latin word for “REJOICE.” In Philippians 4, Paul offers this word and others as a farewell blessing to guide us on our way:  “Rejoice in the Lord always;” he says.  “Again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.  Rejoice, The Lord is near.”

Perhaps this can be Paul’s way of offering hope and encouragement, at a time- even though we know we're getting close- when we’re not sure we can fully see or trust the joy before us.” It’s as if we can hear Paul say, “Don’t give up. Hang in there.  You’ve almost made it! The Lord is near!!”

           Like some booming television announcer shouting… “We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to hear a word from our sponsor God”…These 'joy marked days" before us come as a faithful reminder of why we celebrate this Holy season. It is not a season, however, where we're being told to tighten up our bootstraps and proclaim, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” We are not being told to rejoice for “rejoice’s” sake. This time has not been gifted to us so that we might sweep under the rug all of the darkness and despair the world produces and knows. No. We are not being asked to manifest joy when we do not feel joy.

         Rather, we have cause to rejoice because we are fast approaching the time when we will celebrate again God’s steadfast and saving love for this broken world. We are drawing near to that time when we are asked to wonder and believe anew what it means that, “The Word-Jesus Christ- the Son of God was made Flesh and dwelt among us.” “The Lord is near” are words given to trigger and embolden our faith… to help us know more faithfully that, in facyt, "THE LORD IS NEAR," not only down the road in a manger- but near as the One who defeated sin and death on a cross... whose love knows no end… whose presence is with us on our best days and on our worst…. “THE LORD IS NEAR” are our fighting words- they are our light and hope against all in this world that is dark, evil and full of despair. They tell us what the Apostle Paul trusted and believed in spades:  “That nothing will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” The prophet Zephaniah says it this way: “The Lord is in your midst: you shall fear disaster no more.”  “You shall fear disaster no more… “ Because the Lord is near. He is on duty. It is His watch. It is forever His watch.  And THIS is what gives us cause to rejoice.  

         In her book, Through the Advent Door, Jan Richardson says it this way”

“Advent is a season for remembering that the joy that makes its way toward us does not depend on mere happiness. Joy is made of stronger stuff than this. Joy is what comes when, in days that tempt us toward despair, we choose to celebrate—not in denial of the causes of despair, but in defiance. In hope. In delight. In gladness for the One who comes to sing for us and with us, ever renewing us in his love.”

Friends, let us “Rejoice!  Again I say Rejoice for indeed, THE LORD IS NEAR.”

We are getting close to home. The One who loves us best is near…But wait, He's not only near He is ALSO already HERE. He is HERE with His love that knows no end. He is HERE with an eternal presence that will not let us go on our best days and on our worst. HE IS HERE which gives us every reason to rejoice and empower us to meet every need before us with hope and love. HE IS NEAR and HE IS HERE! ""Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! May we follow Paul's lead and live as he guides. May it guide all we say and do. The hope for this world is counting on us to do so.

Advent Blessings Friends.

ONE MORE WALK In This Very Room

For me, Advent feels a bit like coming upon an old, door. Here we are traveling the familiar landscape of our lives with all its varied tasks, responsibilities, and cares, and then all of a sudden, some dates change on the calendar and we’re in a new country whose border is marked by a very old door. And while it’s a country we’re pretty sure we’ve visited before, it still comes as something of a surprise, startling us out of our preoccupations and life as we have known it to be. And yet, we choose to stop all the same. We hit pause on all that has been….. and cautiously reach for the well-worn handle on the door. And even before the door is opened, we hesitate, wary of "who" and 'what" we may find on the other side. We’re perhaps uneasy, anxious, disturbed even, maybe a little frightened... somehow knowing that the rooms behind this door and those we will find in them… will not be safe.  

I'm mindful of Aslan, the lion, in CS Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and a conversation that took place between Mr. Beaver and Susan. 

Mr. Beaver: “Aslan is a lion- THE Lion, THE great Lion."

Susan: "Ooh. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous

aboout meeting a lion."                             

Mr. Beaver: "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver ..."Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe.

But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

Maybe we too sense that the rooms we find in Advent will not be "safe" but "good." Oh, so good. This first room, in particular, is one we wish we could avoid altogether. We have a vague recollection it is not one we will enjoy or like. From the threshold of the door, we can see other rooms, beyond this first one, that hold hope, warmth, joy and light but we won’t be able to get to them without first moving through the dark room before us.  And IT IS dark. It’s a space where, “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken…. Heaven and earth will pass away.” (Mark 13:24-25) And yet, if we are to get to all those other rooms where the light is brightest- we must first step into the dark. As we do, that’s when we know we’ve stepped into Advent.

It helps, I think to remember that at the time Mark wrote his Gospel, the world was a terrifying mess. The Temple lay in ruins, civil strife was everywhere, families were being torn apart by differing loyalties, and the persecution of Christians- as promised by Emperor Caligula- was being carried out. With this… false messiahs and false prophets were doing their best to confuse and tempt followers of Jesus. “This IS the Second Advent: I am Christ returned”, the false messiahs would say. As for the false prophets, they had all the answers.... and certainty was on their side.... or at least they thought so: “The signs are right… this IS the end”, they would say. What were the followers of Jesus to do? They were living in a time torn between despair and reaching for anything that offered some hope.

Does their plight sound familiar? It should. The world, at least as I think about it, has not changed all that much. Christ’s Church is not in ruins- far from it- but her witness struggles to reach the hearts and lives of those who feel judged, discarded, and ridiculed by her. Unrest, discord, and horrific realities of war fill our news feeds daily. Some families wrestle for time together amid heaping responsibilities while others wish they simply had responsibilities and a family or somebody, somewhere to wrestle with and love. And given this past year… have we not wondered- even if privately to ourselves- “Jesus must surely be on His way. How much worse can it get?” Have we not been a bit enticed, like those before us, to follow or at the very least listen to some false prophets, as they tell us, with all certainty,  what will happen when the end of the world takes place? Do we not listen in, maybe with one ear and think maybe they’re right? “YEP!”, we think. "If 2023 is any indication, it can’t be long now. Just look at the signs.”

More than this, have we not from time to time been happy, elated even, to have somebody else tell us what to do in such times? Have we not sought out such self-help gurus through countless books, webinars, newsletters and TED talks because we really want to believe THEY have the answers we can’t seem to find…Maybe THEY can be Jesus for us in His absence?  We may not actually say this or believe it…but I  do wonder if in some small way, we hope for it.  I wonder if we want a messiah to come save us…even if it is not the right one.

Friends, please hear me here. I welcome the knowledge and wisdom of others. I intentionally seek it out because I know I don’t have all the answers and I need the council, accountability, and experience of others to guide and encourage me. Like you, I try to read books, seek out conversations, subscribe to newsletters, and do anything else I believe will help me to follow Jesus more faithfully. But here’s the thing. I have to work hard to not let those I’m learning from become my messiah. I have to wrestle with whose voice I’m really hearing… Is it the presenter’s, my own or the voice of Jesus? Because this is what I know about me. I know when I’m hurting, discouraged, and depleted I am more than happy to have somebody else come along and tell me what to do. I am more than willing to let someone else take on the work and pick up the fight.  And I don’t think I’m alone in this.  I think some of Jesus’ earliest followers struggled with this as well. Remember, Mark is writing to folks who no longer had Jesus in front of them, they were being persecuted, and…. the world around them seemed to be falling apart. Of course, they were confused, despairing, and afraid. Who wouldn’t lean toward something better even if were not the real thing?

And yet, here we are and as hard and uncomfortable as this apocalyptic room of Advent may be for us, I think it’s among Advent’s best FIRST gifts to us. I think it matters that we begin in the dark. For here, in this dark despairing space…. where we’re told the cosmos is coming apart….. we are made to see in graphic detail our vulnerability and need. When life is humming on all cylinders, we can’t see it. But here- where there is no light, we can see what we don’t want to see. Here, no matter how clever and creative we may think ourselves to be, we see, we are not in control. We may think our smarts can fully predict the timing of things but they can’t. Even Jesus and the angels didn’t know when God would end things. And if Jesus doesn’t know, well… I don’t think somebody else is going to jump to the front of the line ahead of Him. 

There’s nothing quite like a good apocalyptic confrontation to get us in touch with our own brokenness and sin. And this is why, I think it’s good to begin Advent here… in this room first…. In the dark.…because the thing is, darkness is something we all know. Words like…War, Pandemic, Racism, Division, Death, Unemployment, Economic Downturn, Abuse, Prejudice, Hunger, Depression, Suicide, and Cancer, can remind us of the dark place our world can sometimes feel and be. So dark in fact, it’s tempting to dismiss it all for the better rooms that lie ahead. Can we just skip this room, lock the door, and never look back?

I’m mindful of how some have had their Christmas trees up since the first of November declaring the sentiment most of us have been thinking and maybe singing… “We need a little Christmas right this very minute! Yes, we need a little Christmas NOW!!”  We get it, don’t we? Who wants to stay in a dark room like this, when we can have rooms full of Christmas? Who would ever conceive to willingly choose to come to such a ROOM… to such a world? 

Well, MERCIFULLY… God. God has and will continue to come to such a room and world as this.  This is why we need to begin in the dark. If we can’t see our need for God there’s a good chance we'll miss God's coming. We can’t begin to fathom God’s great LOVE for us until we see how lost and dark we and this world can be. Who else but God could bring light and life to the dark ROOMS we know and see?

Ron Harris, a Christian songwriter tells the story of being in New Orleans where he had been working as a conductor. After the show one night, alone in his hotel room, after talking with his family and missing them deeply, he became extremely lonely and couldn’t sleep. Instead, Ron Harris wrote the words to the song, "In This Very Room."

In this very room there's quite enough love for one like me,

And in this very room there's quite enough joy for one like me,

And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power

to chase away any gloom,

For Jesus, Lord Jesus ... is in this very room.

And in this very room there's quite enough love for all of us,

And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all of us,

And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power

to chase away any gloom,

For Jesus, Lord Jesus ... is in this very room.

In this very room there's quite enough love for all the world,

And in this very room there's quite enough joy for all the world,

And there's quite enough hope and quite enough power

to chase away any gloom,

For Jesus, Lord Jesus ... is in this very room.

Countless choirs have now sung this song and yet, 350 recordings later and with over a million copies of the song in print, many still wonder WHICH ROOM the song is about. Is it just about that lonely hotel room? When asked, Ron Harris said, “The song will always be about whatever room it is sung in at any given moment.” Which leads me to believe this…. anywhere faithful folk are gathering in praise and thanksgiving, are out serving and giving or are seeking to dispel the darkness of this world by sharing God’s saving light and love…these places are THE VERY ROOMS where God’s love in Christ is present… ROOMS like the sanctuaries we worship in, the parking lots where we gossip, wherever choirs are singing to shut-ins at the nursing home, every Sunday school room, our own family rooms, the soup kitchen down the street, the hospital across the way, the local school, the nearby prison, Congress, The United Nations, a dirt floor hut in Guatemala, a park bench where somebody sleeps, a kitchen where there is no food, a house where there is no heat, a marriage without love, a child without a family, a drug house with no hope…. In these very rooms and countless more Ron Harris reminds us that "...there's quite enough LOVE for one like me, there’s quite enough LOVE for all of us… there’s quite enough LOVE for all the world. There’s quite enough HOPE…quite enough POWER to chase away any gloom.

For Jesus, Lord Jesus ... is in this very room."

And unless we can find a way to believe that such a thing is true, we’re left only with the darkness. So, let’s wait and see. Let’s stay put, for the time being in this very room. It may not be where we want to be but let’s wait and see. Let’s see what enough LOVE can do and bring even in some of the darkest rooms we may know or conceive. …Let’s keep watch…NOT for the end of things…but for HOW we might be a part of such LOVE….for how we might work alongside Jesus in ALL the ROOMS before us. Let’s embrace our “assigned tasks” faithfully, steadily and expectant of the next outpouring of God’s love in Christ.

Dear friends, we’ve been granted this unexpected Advent room to help us embrace the darkness we and this world knows. Not to bring us to our knees in fear but rather in thanksgiving for the ONE who is already present with us in the dark….who even now is helping us find our way.  Beloved, The Good New is Jesus, Lord Jesus ... is in every  room we may know and see and every room we may not know and see.  He’s in all of them. And because He is, we can face whatever comes along with the many challenges this world has to give. More than this we can enter the darkest of rooms, knowing the ETERNAL LIGHT is ever present and is leading the way.  Thanks be to God. Welcome to Advent, friends. Welcome.

Blessings, Leslee