Ministry in Motion

Do you make a New Year’s resolution?    I not very good at keeping resolutions;  I've tried and failed, miserably. Resolutions this time of year tend to “activate hope and expectations for what we hope to achieve going forward. With a new year comes a sense of renewal," says psychologist Mariana Strongin, PsyD. Just last week while singing Christmas carols, I poorly sang:  🎶 O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight 🎶 As I consider the new year and the faith I profess, I pray: Lord I am prone to be forgetful. May your ever present Spirit remind me, yet once again, that my hope rests in You; that my fears are extinguished by your presence and your unfailing love.  May it be so, I pray… Amen   #pkes      #MinM

The claim—God has become flesh—is so radical that it is virtually unthinkable and illogical. Christianity is the most radical of all world religions because it takes matter seriously as the home of divinity. —Ilia Delio   #pkes       #MinM

The  l yrics of the classic Christmas song  O   Holy   Night , express the joy and gratitude of the birth of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. You can almost hear the angels' voices singing: [Verse 1] 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 appears and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born O night, O Holy night, O night divine! [Verse 3] Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His Gospel is Peace Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother And in His name, all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us Praise His Holy name Christ is the Lord; O praise His name forever! His power and glory evermore proclaim His power and glory evermore proclaim. O Hol

When we speak of Advent or preparing for Christmas, we’re not just talking about waiting for the little baby Jesus to be born. That already happened two thousand years ago. In fact, we’re welcoming the Universal Christ, the Cosmic Christ, the Christ that is forever being born (incarnating) in the human soul and into history. ~ Richard Rohr #pkes      #MinM

Before we can fully appreciate the joy of Christmas, it’s important we try to remember and enter into the longing, waiting, aching of Israel - starving for a Savior, the Messiah.   Advent, it has a historical significance. It’s also filled with joyful anticipation, for us, today. It’s about waiting for the fulfillment of our heart’s desire. It’s about being ready to be blown away by the beauty and awe of the announcement: “unto us in borne this day … a savior, who is Christ the Lord” “And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called  Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Peace be with you...#pkes

Advent, the four-week season of anticipation that guides us into the celebration of Christmas.   “Advent teaches patience in a white noise, highly charged culture. Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting.” ~ J Meyers Waiting during Advent. Waiting is not doing anything. Advent   waiting is slow, deliberate, intentional. Advent waiting is contemplative, reflective enough to discern what God is doing.   Unless we intentionally cultivate some contemplative slowness in our soul, it doesn't matter if God acts, because we'll most likely fail to recognize what God is doing.   We can almost say that God seldom arrives until we wait.   And so we sit. Come long expected Messiah;  come Lord Jesus come…#pkes