Sweet Spots
Ideas and messages from Len Sweet.
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Pastor’s Prayer for 18 December 2016
“Lord, our God and Father, give to many, to all, and to us as well, that we may celebrate Christmas like this: that in complete thankfulness, utter humility and then complete joy and confidence we may come to the One whom you have sent, and in whom you yourself have come to us. Clean out the many things in us that now that the hour has come have become impossible for us, can no longer belong to us, may, must, and will fall away from us, by virtue of your Son , our Lord and Savior, entering into our midst and creating order.
Have mercy on all of those who either do not yet or do not fully know you and your kingdom, who perhaps once knew everything and have either forgotten, misunderstood or even denied it! Have mercy on all of humankind, who today are once again especially plagued, threatened and haunted by so much foolishness. Enlighten the thoughts of those in both the East and the West, the South and the North who are in power and who, as appears to be the case, are today in complete confusion and despair. Give the rulers and representatives of the people, the judges, teachers, and bureaucrats, give even the media in our homeland the insight and sobriety that are necessary for their responsible work. Place the right, necessary and helpful words on the lips of those who have to preach during this Christmas Season, and open then also the ears and hearts of those who hear them. Comfort and encourage those who are sick, both in body and spirit, in hospitals, as well as prisoners, and those who are distressed, abandoned or despairing. Help them with what alone can truly help them and all of us: the clarity of your Word and the quiet work of your Holy Spirit.
We thank you that we are permitted to know that we do not pray and will never pray to you in vain. We thank you that you have let your light rise, that it shines in the darkness, and that the darkness will not overcome it. We thank you that you are our God and that we may be called your people, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
–Karl Barth
White Trash
White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America
Nancy Isenberg
Review by Paula Jones
As a child, I completely accepted the idealized American myth. You know the one: America is a land of equal opportunity, a country where anyone can get ahead if they are willing to work hard, a classless nation where one’s future is not predetermined by one’s birth. As I grew older, I learned that even though it is a lovely myth, accepting it as true has a very dark side: Those who do not ‘succeed’ simply do not try hard enough. They are lazy, and because they have brought poverty upon themselves, offering them any help will only enable their slothfulness further.
Winston Churchill famously said, “History is written by the victors,” and like other victors, America prefers to feature her most flattering side in her histories. Nancy Isenberg, however, plunges deep into the murky waters the American story as she examines almost five centuries of white, European life on this continent, retelling the glittering story from the perspective of the underdogs. Reminiscent of Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, she depicts an elitist, upper class gentry prevailing alongside a permanent underclass of the terminally poor. Known at various times as waste people, rubbish, mudsills, scum, squatters, crackers, rednecks, and trailer trash (among other demeaning slurs), Isenberg uses the all too familiar phrase ‘white trash’ to describe their less-than-inspiring history. read more…
Community and Culture
“One thing is clear to me, that no indulgence of passion destroys the spiritual nature so much as respectable selfishness.”
– George Macdonald
As climate change uproots communities, innovation can rescue culture
Summary: In a world where natural disasters and human neglect of the environment can cause a community’s cultural artifacts to be lost technological innovation is helping keep those stories alive for future generations.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN13A0ZE
Digitally scouted from reuters.com read more…
Keep Silence
As Advent unfolds, and we continue to watch and wait, this ancient hymn calls to us: let all mortal flesh keep silence!
Silence is so difficult. Silence is so foreign. Silence is so … abnormal! But sometimes, silence is exactly what is required.
This text is a poetic rendering of Habakuk 2:20, “Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Its earliest use was in the Byzantine liturgy, dating from about AD 245. The English translation of the Greek text shifts the emphasis toward the miracle of incarnation, a slight, but significant shift from the original, which was clearly a Eucharistic hymn focusing on Christ’s sacrifice, and presence in the bread and cup. Despite its establishment now as an Advent hymn, when we hear these words, we cannot help but be immersed in the whole story, from the separation of light and dark through the final celebration of the Lord Most High! read more…
Messengers
Messengers Story Lectionary 11 December 2016 Pregnant Hagar Encounters God as the Angel of the Lord Who Gives Her a Message (Genesis 16 and 21) The Angel of the Lord Speaks to Abraham Regarding His Sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) The Betrothal of Isaac and Rebecca (Genesis 24) The Angel…
The Final Four: Joy
The Final Four: Joy Lectionary 11 December 2016 Third Sunday in Advent Isaiah 35:1-10 Luke 1:46b-55 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 Text to Life The day Christmas is over, many of us start prepping for the next one. Some of us set up “Christmas clubs,” putting aside a bit throughout the…
No Message Like Jesus
Sometimes, especially at the holidays, we try to come up with a “new” message to give people about Christmas and Advent. But never forget, Jesus IS the message. No matter what spin you put on it, what container you present Him in, what new style you try, your message is…
Pastor’s Prayer for 11 December 2016
Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.
I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.
I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.
In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.
I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.
I am a sinner; you are upright.
With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.
Therefore I will will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give.
Amen.
–Martin Luther
Hidden Christmas
Hidden Christmas:
The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ
by Timothy Keller
Review by Teri Hyrkas
It seems to be true that the best place to hide something is out in the open, in a very public venue. This is the case with Christmas, says Timothy Keller in Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ (Viking 2016). In the introduction to his book, Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, NY, states that Christmas “is the only Christian holy day that is also a major secular holiday — arguably our culture’s biggest.” The public/secular celebration of Christmas shares many of the same ideas related to the Christian holy day, says Keller, such as light in the darkness, giving gifts to those in need, and trusting in a better future. The author writes, “These are powerful themes, but every one of them is a two edged sword… Every year our increasingly secular Western society becomes more unaware of its own historical roots….Yet once a year at Christmas these basic truths become a bit more accessible to an enormous audience.”
How can the hidden meaning of Christmas be made more discernable to an uninformed public? In his book Keller makes use of the numerous signs of the season, especially light, music, and the Nativity story, to reveal the message of Christmas. Keller also says: “We will look at passages of the Bible that are famous because they are dusted off every Christmas, at the one moment every year when the secular society and the Church are, to a degree, thinking about the same thing.” read more…
Mystery and Mysticism
“Mysticism keeps men sane. As long as you have mystery you have health; when you destroy mystery you create morbidity. The ordinary man has always been sane because the ordinary man has always been a mystic.” GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy
Penn & Teller Reveal Secrets Never Lose the Magic
Summary: Noted magicians and atheists Penn & Teller “delight in experiencing the sense of wonder that comes as a result of simply not knowing all the answers.” It seems even the most jaded still enjoy a sense of mystery. read more…