Emily Dickinson once wrote:
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Hope is a powerful force and one that can change everything from a broken spirit and uncertain mind, to a bitter attitude and selfish perspective.  In the gospel of Luke, chapter three, John the Baptist raises his voice against those of political authority, cultural status, and financial influence and calls to the people of God: Thunder in the desert! Prepare God’s arrival! Make the road smooth and straight! Every ditch will be filled in, every bump smoothed out, the detours straightened out, all the ruts paved over.  Everyone will be there to see the parade of God’s salvation. (Luke 3:5-6 The Message).

Advent is that time of preparation.  This passage reminds believers what we are preparing for, and it is not simply the birth of a baby.  It is the promise that baby has come to fulfill. The promise that every low place in our lives will be filled in and restored.  Every rough spot smoothed out and renewed. Every confusing or uncertain path made clear. In this promise we find our hope and that hope changes us.  It changes how we view the world around. It changes how we face hardships and tragedy. It changes how we navigate the tough times and handle the broken pieces of our lives or the lives of those we care about.  It changes our perspective and gives us the courage and strength to carry on.

If we prepare our hearts and minds to encounter the holy and cling to the promise God gives us through Jesus, then we have no reason to doubt and every reason to hope!  It doesn’t mean it's easy or that there won’t be challenges and disappointments, but it does mean we are not alone and that things will be better, the pain won’t go so deep, the tears will lessen, love will return, joy is possible, and all will be well.  

Have hope people of God.   Have hope those who are young and old.  Have hope those who are ordinary and quirky.  Have hope those who are grief stricken and weary.  Have hope those who are accepted and rejected. No matter what,  have hope.  

For all will be witness to God’s salvation…hope changes everything. 
Pastor Jenothy Irvine

​

The prophet Jeremiah was trying to proclaim hope in the midst of a very dark time in Israel, during a time of uncertainty and instability, when the Babylonians were preparing to destroy Jerusalem. 

Throughout the period leading up to the Babylonian Exile both Israel and Judah had experienced good times and bad times, good kinds and bad kings. There were good times with good kings like Josiah and Hezekiah who carried out great religious reforms, and there were bad times with bad kings like Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, who oppressed the poor, corrupted worship, and persecuted the prophets. It is King Zedekiah who has placed the prophet Jeremiah in prison (33:1). 

And yet, it is from his prison cell that Jeremiah now speaks “a word from the Lord,” saying that “the days are surely coming” when both Judah and Israel will enjoy a truly righteous ruler in the line of David, one who will demonstrate justice and righteousness (33:15). This new king will save Jerusalem and will do so in a way that will bring glory to God (33:16). This new king will keep and fulfill God’s promises and remind the people that God’s word will stand forever, that God’s word does not come back empty (Isaiah 40:8, Isaiah 55:11). There will come from the stump of Jesse a shoot and out of that shoot a branch, and God will raise up a king who will rule in righteousness and goodness. 

In other words: Hope is coming! God will cause “a righteous Branch to spring forth for David” (33:15), and it will be a Branch that will fulfill God’s purposes and communicate hope to the people. Indeed, in Advent, hope is coming and his name is Jesus, God’s righteous Branch! Despite what ails the world, there is hope to mend and heal the world (John 3:16) and provide hope to whatever is confronting God’s children. Hope is coming!

How may we keep hope alive in our hearts? How may we demonstrate hope to a broken and sinful world?
​
Pastor Andy

In the Gospel of Luke, we read about Jesus and ten lepers who are cleansed, but only one returns to show gratitude, to say “Thank you.”
It is truly an important event as barriers are being broken between Samaritans and Jews, as well as between the clean and the unclean. But it is also an event where only one person receives salvation. Indeed, the whole story reminds us that there is more than cleansing taking place here, and that there is a connection between gratitude and salvation, or between gratitude and being made whole (Luke 17:19).

For that’s what salvation means: it means being made whole, or being made well. The Greek word for salvation means wholeness; and wholeness not just in the physical sense but in the communal sense as well, for when we read the text we read how not even the lepers were going to get close to Jesus. They couldn’t. They all had to keep their distance, as they were considered unclean by Jewish law (Luke 17:14). To return into the fellowship of the community they had to go to a priest to receive purification and once they did that they could worship and fellowship with others again. 

And that’s exactly what they did. They all went to the priests, and they all were cleansed (17:15). But only one returned to give thanks. Why? 

We don’t know. It could be that they had parents who didn’t teach them manners. Or maybe they simply had other commitments. Or maybe they were too busy and simply forgot. All Jesus simply told them to do was to go to the priests. He didn’t say anything about returning to him. They were certainly not required to do so. Once cleansed they could return to the life of the community and do what they wanted.

And yet, it is in the returning of the one Samaritan-leper that the story takes a twist, for here Jesus offers salvation to someone whose identity excluded him on three-fronts: first, he was a Samaritan, second, he was a leper, and third, he was a foreigner. If there was a person we would least expect to show gratitude, or if there was a person we might not expect to receive salvation, it was a Samaritan-leper-foreigner. 
But isn’t that like Jesus to surprise us, showing us how it is typically the least likely person to accomplish God’s purposes? Isn’t that how Jesus operates?

How may we allow God to use us this week to share words of gratitude? How may we take time and express gratitude to others? Let us know what you plan to do. We are praying for you.
​
With gratitude,
Pastor Andy

Generosity Lesson 1: She had a stern face but sad eyes and her body language told anyone listening to watch out.  She was one of 6 or 7 kids in the family and on the tail end of birth order by the looks of her hand me down clothes and worn out shoes.  The weather started changing, getting colder, and I noticed her shoes had holes in the toes. First year teachers don’t make much but I went to our local shoe store with the intent of buying some off brand, inexpensive shoes for her.  Of course none of those were on sale, or they didn’t have her size, or they simply sold out. I ended up paying more and buying the brand name shoes. The smile that broke across that stern little face said it all. It wasn’t about the money, it was about a little girl who needed to feel seen, known and important enough for a new pair of shoes and not leftovers. 

Generosity Lesson 2: She had 5 kids of her own.  Countless foster kids. The occasional kid or two from family members that needed a place to stay.  And on top of all that, one never knew what or who mom was going to bring home from the jail. She was known to bring home the stray cat or dog that was dumped by the river near the jail or left at the doors of the building.  She was also known to bring home an occasional inmate that was in process of being transferred or had just been released and needed a safe place to stay for a night or two. I don’t know how it all worked, but there was always enough spaghetti to go around, hot dogs or hamburgers to fill your plate, veggies from the garden and milk in the fridge.  And if that didn’t do it, there was always, always, a jar of peanut butter, some jelly and a loaf of bread on the table. I can’t imagine what my parents grocery bill was, but I learned from mom, it was never about the money, it was about making sure that those who society often discarded (human or animal) were given some love and acceptance before they walked back out the door. 

What did these experiences teach me? 
 Answer: Extravagant generosity is not a money issue, it is a heart issue.
A hard lesson for anyone to learn, but especially a person of wealth and status.  In Mark’s gospel, we read of a man known only as the “Rich Young Ruler.” And rich he was according to society’s standards.  He had wealth, possessions, status, influence, and power. He worked hard and made a name for himself and he was a good man. He followed the rules, obeyed the law, and believed in God. Yet, with all that he had, he felt like something was missing and he asked Jesus, “is there something else I must do to follow you?”  Jesus looked at him with great love and then told him, “sell everything, give the money to the poor, and come follow me.” (Mark 1017-27) Could you do what Jesus asked? Neither could the Rich Man and he walked away devastated.

It doesn’t take long to see we, like the Rich Man, like our stuff too!  We have lots of things and stuff and then we buy stuff to put our stuff in and then we get a storage unit to put the stuff we put our stuff in for safe keeping.  We like having stuff and we don’t like to give it up. We earned it, worked for it, own it, and it’s ours. The crazy sad thing is however, that we are no more satisfied with our extra stuff than we were without it.  In fact, research says we are less happy, less productive at work, and less content in our relationships. The more stuff we have the more unhappy we become.

Why?  Because we were born for something different.  Something better. We were born not to consume, buy up and take on more.  We were born to give, share, and let go.

Genesis 1 tells us that humankind was created in the image and likeness of God.  John 3:16 tells us that the image and likeness of God is love and generosity. “For God so loved the world that he gave…”  Doesn’t it stand to reason then that we were born in the image and likeness of a loving and generous God therefore we were born to embody love and generosity in the living of our lives?  

Generosity is not about giving up your possessions, status, or your wealth.  It is about giving up control; the need to control our stuff and the control our stuff has over us.

​

When we read the letter to the Philippians, we read how Paul is grateful for the relationship he has with the Philippians (1:9). He loves the Philippians, and he rejoices over the way they and others are proclaiming the kingdom, even if it is out of false motives (1:18). He knows that God is using them and him to share in God’s mission (1:12). He is both joyful and grateful, and he is certain about what God is doing through the Philippian church: that, despite his imprisonment, the gospel is being advanced.

Upon closer inspection, however, we also ready that Paul is also a bit uncertain. He says as much in verse 22: “I am hard pressed between two choices,” that is, between two ways: that of living and that of dying (1:21). And then he write: “And I don’t know what I prefer” (1:22). What shall Paul choose?

In Paul’s mind, if he continues to live “in the flesh,” if he continues to live on this earth, he will continue to carry out his ministry, bearing the fruit of Christ (1:22), and, hopefully, continue to bring honor to God (1:21). That is a wonderful goal, and he hopes the Philippians will join him in this endeavor.

But if Paul departs this world and dies, if he is executed, he will also be with Christ (and that is not bad either), for the ultimate goal here is to glorify Christ, whether in life or in death (1:20). This is why dying is gain: dying is gain because it will bring Paul into a “nearer and fuller union with Christ.” Not because he wants to die, but because, even in death, he knows he will bring glory to God, for he knows that nothing can separate him from God (Romans 8:38).

That’s the logic: nothing can separate Paul (or us) from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord: whether in life or in death, we belong to Christ (Romans 14:8)! And Paul is not going to waver from this commitment! His top priority is to live Christ! His whole existence will focus on Jesus as Lord, as Savior, as King, as Messiah – as the very foundation of his life. No worldly possession, no sport, no school, no earthly ruler, no celebrity, no country, no-thing – will be able to compete with Jesus!

How may this witness cut against the grain of our society? How may it also give hope? How may we walk in the assurance of God’s peace and grace in this world and in the world to come?
​
Pastor Andy Kinsey

In John’s Gospel, we read that Jesus wept (11:36). A great deal is taking place before he raises Lazarus. 
However, one of the things we learn from this passage is that tears are not like a water facet where we can turn them on and turn them off. Our emotions are so much more complex – as with Jesus, whose own heart was in God and God’s heart in him, (John 15:4) and whose own life was affected by what others said and did – as when he saw the hungry masses and responded out of compassion (Matthew 9:36), or as when he responded in anger to other religious leaders (Matthew 23:13-15).  

But Jesus also responded by what others did not say or do as well: as when folks did not display compassion (Luke 10:25-37), or as when they did not see the presence of God’s kingdom among the least of these, our brothers and sisters (Matthew 25:40). Jesus wept.

There is in the Scriptures the portrait of a God whose love is very much in tune with the hurts and sorrows of the people and with the disobedience of the nation too. There is weeping when the innocent suffer (Luke 23:28); and there is weeping when justice is not carried out (2 Samuel 24:1); and there is weeping when the poor are not treated with dignity (Leviticus 19:31-34), or when the stranger is welcomed with respect (Hebrews 12:3). 

This is a familiar theme in the Bible. 

Indeed, the prophet Jeremiah is often called “the weeping prophet” because he sees how lost his own nation had become, and in this own way, he gave voice to God’s own sorrow over God’s judgment to come. His tears were ones of sadness in that his very own people could not hear God’s call to obedience and faith. Jeremiah wept too (Jeremiah 1:1-15). 

Is God weeping today? How are we to weep with those who weep as well? 
​
Pastor Andy Kinsey