December 5, 2015

“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 fulfill 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!” Matthew 21:1 – 9

“Sometimes I feel that the whole world is alive with G*d’s comings – quite literally. A close call on the interstate highway and I’m grateful that he provided the lull; a bathrobe catches on a door knob and rips – and what’s G*d got against me this morning? This if frivolous, self-centered, verging on the superstitious – I know that! But I wonder if it isn’t better than assuming that G*d speaks to us only in crisis, or only in scripture and in church. As if we could limit G*d so!” (From Death to Birth, Edmund A. Steimle, [1907 – 1988] “For All The Saints” volume III [p. 11 – 12]

It is easy to see G-d in the extraordinary, in the sacred, and in the beauty of the earth. It is not so easy to see G-d in the ordinary, the everyday, the dull, the dim, and the dank. Yet, if we proclaim that G-d is in all things, then we should see G-d in ALL things. I did not have a good summer this year. Many things were happening all at once that gave me a tsunami of feelings, and emotions and fears. It was not a good time for the everyday workings of my life, but G-d was ever present –alive in so many ways that it was easy to see the hope and the promise through the problems and tribulations. Just because I am having a bad spell in my life does not mean that Christ has abandoned me. What I have learned is, if I feel as if G-d has forgotten about me, then I need to pay more attention to G-d, and then I will see that Christ is still active, in the midst of the bad, and in the presence of the good, and in the mix of the mundane. Christ is always there, I just need to find ways to keep my eyes on the prize, yes when all is good, but also when the storms rage, and when the boredom is profound.

Pastor Dave