Monday, December 5

Amos 7:1-9

Psalms 9, 15, 25

Revelations 1:1-8

Matthew 22:23-33

   

My father’s career was mainly in the corporate world but he loved to build and fix things with his own hands.  Daddy had a very enviable workshop filled with all kinds of tools.  It is hard to say if I was more fascinated by the many specialized pieces he had or if I just wanted any chance to tinker with him.  l was a girl child of the 50’s and it probably never occurred to him that I was interested in being out working in the garage so my opportunities were often limited.  I still have the distinct memory of him teaching me about a plumb line, what it was used for and how it worked.  His was a metal orb with a point at one end and a loop at the other for tying the string.  I remember him telling me that it needed to be sturdy, to have enough weight to straighten the string and hang straight.  What a simple design; a true straight line from above.

The Psalmist in today’s reading prays, “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths.”

Amos tells us that the Lord Said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel.”

God sent us Jesus; the perfect straight line in which we are to build our lives.  God sent Him to be the standard.  When we wander from the standard we are out of plumb.  Lost and swinging sometimes at the end of our rope.  I could go on and on with the imagery but my prayer is to continually recognize when I am off.

Dear precious God, as we prepare again for the coming of your son, let us open ourselves to learn his ways and walk in the path he has for us.  Amen

Jennie Perry

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Sunday, December 4  

Amos 6:1-14

Psalms 114, 115, 148-150

Thessalonians 1:5-12

Luke 1:57-68

“Praise be to the Lord . . .

because he has come to his people and redeemed them.”

Luke 1:68

At first glance, today's readings have two common themes—praise to the Lord in all things and punishment for complacency.  Or is that really only one theme—that while we might praise the Lord, we can still become complacent?  Are we taking God for granted?  We believe, we praise, we show up at church most Sundays.  But are we doing the work that God calls us to do?  Are we resting on our laurels?  Are we waiting on someone else to do God's heavy lifting?  In anticipation of his arrival to redeem us, are we actively looking for ways to do God's will in the world?

 Mary DiFiore Crowe

Saturday, December 3

Amos 5:18-27

Psalms 20, 21, 110, 116, 117

Jude 17-25

Matthew 22:15-

 Jude 17-25

In this reading, Jude tells Christians how to grow in their knowledge and love of Jesus. Then they can help other Christians do the same. 

Jude is offering encouragement and reminds the children of God this is not something unexpected, that we were warned by the Apostles that there would be “mockers” of the faith in the end times and that they would live to satisfy their own ungodly lusts.  Men who would present themselves as great spiritual leaders, but they were in fact, driven by their own desires, or there were those who are considered “scholars” who look down upon those who do not believe as they believe.  They are, as Jude says: “barren of life and twice dead.”

Characteristics of:

FALSE TEACHERS                                   GOD BELIEVERS

1. Empty of God or Spirit                       1. Humble children of God

2. Put on a “show” of their “faith”        2. Childlike belief in God’s word

3.  Believers can lose their salvation      3. Salvation is ours through Jesus

God gives us the resources to overcome these “false teachers.” He gives us his word, his truth.  And we must use those tools to build a strong common faith, then together with God, we can overcome these who would have us live as they live.

It is easy to become discouraged as a God believer when it seems “evil” is winning, but our salvation is in Christ Jesus. We must maintain a healthy relationship with God through spending time with him, praying to him, listening to him, and desiring to please him.

Our task is to be faithful and to defend the faith that has redeemed us and thereby bring glory to our Lord and Redeemer.

In this time of transition as a church family, we must be open about our faith, honest about our beliefs, and hold each other up in prayer and thought, and action.  There is strength in unity and power in community. For as Christ loves us, we must love each other.

Carrie Speich-Davis

Friday, December 2

Amos 5:1-17

Psalms 16, 17, 22

Jude 1-16

Matthew 22:1-14

Parable of the Wedding Feast

As a parable, of course this reading is not about a fashion faux pas, but then what mistake was made by the poor man who was “thrown outside into the darkness?”  He did attend the feast to which he was invited, so what was wrong?  Perhaps he was just going through the motions of life, just as we can as Christians.  Sure we attend church, call ourselves Christians or Episcopalians, help with service projects, even offer heartfelt prayers for help.  But maybe we’ve never accepted Jesus’ invitation to know him personally as our Lord and savior.  Maybe we go through the motions of being a Christian, but we’ve just never actually acknowledged that we need a savior.  After all we really are a good person.  Bottom line – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus”  (Romans 3:23).  We need to be sure we are properly dressed for the party in heaven.

Ok so what if you are “clothed in his righteousness?”  How does this parable pertain to me?  The first part of this parable is sometimes said to speak of Israel’s rejection of Jesus, but I think it can also refer to our going through the motions of daily life as a redeemed child of God.  Maybe like the first group I sometimes refuse to go to the banquet.  Well maybe I am there physically, but how often is my quiet time interrupted by my need to write something else on my “to do” list?  Or as I am walking up for Communion am I trying to figure out what we’re doing for lunch today?  Why are Christmas Eve services always at such inconvenient times?

Let us pray, 

Heavenly Father, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of your Son, Our Savior, help us to not become entangled in trite traditions, but to keep the true celebration of your love for us at the forefront of the banquet. Amen.

Bernadette Ellis

Thursday, December 1

  Amos 4:6-13

Psalm 18

2 Peter 3:11-18

Matthew 21:33-46

Jesus’ parables are my favorite part of the Bible.  Stories with teaching points – some would call them marching orders – often with an unexpected twist.  In today’s reading from Matthew, Jesus tells leaders of his day, some priests and elders, the uncomfortable story about the vineyard and the ungrateful tenants who turn on the master’s representatives.  “When the master comes” to make things right, Jesus says, “What should he do?”  The response is that the owner of the vineyard should “kill the evil men.”  Jesus then chides the priests and elders for their lack of scriptural knowledge before completing his message.

In the reading from Peter, we’re warned to prepare for the Day of the Lord.  To expect it and to be at peace with God and each other as we wait.  Amos, writing 700 years before Christ, tells of God’s power and warns that His judgment is coming.  In the long Psalm 18, we learn of David’s deliverance from God, his dutiful acceptance, and his ultimate reward as king of his people with God as his ruler and conscience.

In Matthew, after telling the story of the vineyard and the violence – which is a metaphor for accepting God and taking a gentler approach to life – Jesus says, “The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you.”  He closes by saying the Kingdom “will be given to a people who will produce the proper fruits.”

We are those people.

Ed Spaulding