Advent 1 - Feast of Saint Andrew - November 30, 2011

Text: John 1:35-42 (see below)

Today is the feast day of Saint Andrew, one of the disciples of Jesus. Andrew was a fisherman from Bethsaida and the brother of Simon Peter. In the Gospel of John, Andrew is the first to be called by Jesus to “come and see”. Following the Day of Pentecost, it is believed that Andrew travelled to Greece and there preached the Gospel of our Lord. In the Greek Church, he is referred to as the “Protoclet” or “first called.” Legend states that Andrew was crucified outside the city of Achaia on an X-shaped cross sometime during the reign of Nero. Andrew is the patron saint of Russia and Scotland.

The Gospel lesson for today is one of my favorites! John is standing with his disciples, of whom one is Andrew, and Jesus comes walking by. “Behold, the Lamb of God!” John exclaims. Andrew and another of John’s disciples go off following Jesus.

Our Lord turns around and asks, “What are you looking for?” The English translation always makes me laugh. It appears as if Jesus has startled the two men for the best answer they can come up with is: “Where are you staying?” What! They have just been told by their master, John, that here is the Lamb of God and the best thing they can come up with is “Where are you staying?”

Well, their question is actually a brilliant one for in the Greek the inquiry means: “Who do you abide with?” or better, “With whom do you dwell?” For a fisherman, that is truly an astute theological question. It is clear that Andrew and his friend are on a sincere spiritual journey. They are eager to find the truth that will set them free.

I appreciate Jesus’ response. No creedal formula. No doctrinal evidence, No Sunday School lecture. Just a simple invitation: “Come and see.”

That is what Christian evangelism is all about – a simple invitation to come and see.

When we begin to see in this way that evangelism is a uncomplicated trouble-free request, it takes away all of the fear and anxiety we might have in talking about our faith or offering an invitation to someone to attend church with us. And look what happens, Andrew and the other disciple follow and stay with Jesus for the rest of the day. The author of the Fourth Gospel believes that this is such an important moment that he indicates at exactly what time the two men leave John to follow Jesus – four o’clock in the afternoon.

One final thought about this amazing text. In John’s Gospel, discipleship is not complete until the person brings someone else to know Jesus. Andrew will invite Peter to come and see. The Samaritan woman at the well will bring her entire village. The gentile officer will bring his household. And on and on and on.

This is how it has always been in the Church; people inviting others to experience the love and compassion that they have found in Jesus with a simple invitation: come and see.

Love One Another - Brian

Encounter

Jerry Levin

I entered captivity during the Iranian War as a hostage--shackled, blindfolded, in solitary confinement--for eleven and a half months. I entered captivity an atheist. All I had was a Bible. I came out having encountered Jesus Christ, knowing freedom, joy, hope, endurance, wonder.

Jerry Levin was one of those taken prisoner in the infamous 1979-1981 "Iran hostage crisis."

Source: Letter to a friend

John 1:35-42

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

Advent 1 - Tuesday, November 29, 2011

November 29, 2011

Matthew 21:1-11 (see below)

The walk from Bethpage over the Mount of Olives into the city of Jerusalem is not very arduous. Pilgrims begin at the Church that remembers when Jesus mounted the donkey to begin the procession of the palms. You walk up to the crest of the Mount of Olives and see the great city of Jerusalem. There is only one road that winds down into the Kidron Valley. On the left are the Jewish cemeteries and on the right the churches remembering specific moments of our Lord’s last night.

There have been two times in my life when I have had the great opportunity to spend the entire day on that mount and walk that ancient road. The text from Matthew’s Gospel reads, “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’”

What a significant question for every Christian to ponder in these days of Advent. As we prepare to welcome the Christ child, it is important to take some time to answer the question for ourselves: Who is this man? What is the message that he has come to proclaim? Will I follow in his way? How will Christ’s presence make a difference in my life?

Love One Another – Brian

The Choice

John Dear

The Gospel offers us a choice: We can join Jesus' mission or we can reject it, as the congregation in the Nazareth synagogue did two thousand years ago. We can risk our lives proclaiming the good news to the poor, releasing the imprisoned, giving sight to the blind, offering liberty to the oppressed, and seeking justice, economic conversion, disarmament and the transformation of society. Or--we can respond to Jesus' demand for justice for the poor like the angry crowd: with anger, resentment and violence.

Hypocritically, we can continue to attend religious services while benefiting from systemic injustice, the oppression of the world's poor and the business of war. Through our silent complicity with the world's violence, we can try to kill Christ again.

Source: Jesus the Rebel

Matthew 21:1-11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
   humble, and mounted on a donkey,
     and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
   Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Advent 1 - Sunday, November 27, 2011

Today was the first Sunday of Advent. The Season of Advent is when Christians prepare to honor the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a special time of preparation, anticipation, and joyful thanksgiving for the coming of the Christ, the Anointed One. The word Advent comes from the Greek word adventus which means “a coming”. The roots of this season date back as far as the sixth century CE.

I attended services this morning at a small church near the center of the State of Ohio. Gathered with about thirty people, the first lesson was read from the prophet Isaiah: “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8) I was reminded of a couple of times in my life when I had the good fortune to work with clay on a potter’s wheel. The process of turning a piece of lumpy clay into a bowl is much more difficult than I originally had thought. To form a pot takes careful attention, a skilled hand, and the willingness of the clay to be shaped and molded to the potter’s wishes and desires. I sat in church this morning wondering how willing am I to be formed and shaped by the potter’s hands? Do I insist more on my own way? Or do I allow myself, free myself, to become all that potter desires?

Lord, help me in this season of preparation to be placed in your hands – shape and mold me as you desire – that I may become all that you are calling me to be.

Brian

Advent

Todd Outcalt

The leaves have at last slipped from the trees
And capped the snail trails along the concrete steps,
With winter tasks completed, windows caulked
Beside the smooth inebriations of chimney smoke.

We feel a portent wafting on cold breeze:
An omen marked by frost upon the panes.
The wind snatches the notes that we once spoke,
And in the silence children huddle like refrains.

The fires are stoked, the quilts folded with ease
Around the margins like an envelope,
And every hearth that opens its mouth to sing
Emits a fear not greater than its hope.

Source: The Christian Century (Dec. 14 2010)