One Small Candle

      The year is drawing to a close, Advent is upon us, and Christmas is coming again.  I could tell that today and it didn't have anything to do with Christmas sales or programs or commercials.  I would have known even without all of those markers and even without the church year calendar turning to a new month and beginning the cycle again.
       What was it that was such a sure sign of the season?
       As I was going across the hall from my office to teach confirmation, I paused to turn on the hallway lights.  It was already getting dimmer at 3:30 and would be nearing dark by the end of class.  The days are much shorter now.  That fact along with the cold seeping from the doorway are sure signs of the coming dark and cold of winter.
       It is into this cold darkness that Advent invites us to light a candle for each week as Advent progresses toward Christmas.  It is not much light; just one small candle this week, and two next Sunday.  It surely isn't enough to really make a difference against such cold and darkness.  Why bother?
       When I was a child, I saw the lighting of the Advent candles as a countdown to Christmas.  I was impatient and it took too long.  Advent calendars were better, there was a window to open for every day we got closer to Christmas, but I could still only open one a day.  Now, there is an ornament that counts down the weeks, the days, the hours, and even the seconds.  But what does it count down to: Sundown on December 24th and the beginning of Christmas Eve? Midnight and the beginning of Christmas Day? Sunrise on the 25th?  Christmas worship? Opening presents? Christmas dinner?
       I have a feeling that the ornament's zero hour and mine would be very different.
       I think I will stick with my candles: one candle for each Sunday and the larger white candle in the center for the coming of Christ at Christmas.  The flare of the flame recalls the beginning of worship and invites me to contemplation and prayer.  It is a small light, only one candle this week and so we draw closer to each other and to its' light.  As the candle flickers in any draft, it reminds me of the cold and dark outside and how fragile life can be outside this time of year and I remember those who are cold, hungry, or homeless.  When the candle is blown out, the smoke of the candle floats into the air and the smoke is like the incense of evening prayer rising to God.
       Gather four candles into a circle or make a simple wreath and keep watch with me this Advent season.  Use it for your personal prayer time and as a family at your evening meals.  As the darkness and cold advance, the lights increase as the time for Jesus comes closer.  Open your minds and hearts to include service to those in need as a way to give thanks.  Your devotions and prayers can be as small and simple as the candle burning on your table.  Read Psalm 141: 1-4, 8.

On Thanksgiving Day

       Here are some ideas for giving thanks this week as you gather as family.
       Celebrate Thanksgiving Day, fix a meal together and share it with family and friends, remembering the meaning of the day.  It came about as a time to give thanks to God for getting through hard times, for bountiful harvests, and working and learning together with other people.  I invite you to take this day and make it a time of gratitude and sharing. 

Some activities for the day of Thanksgiving:

(** 2 stars indicate child friendly activities)

            **  begin the meal with prayers such as:

                 Come Lord Jesus, Be our guest, And let these gifts to us be blessed.

                 Blessed be God who is our bread, That all the world be clothed and fed.  Amen

            **  decorate a 3”x5” card on the blank side with stickers, or stamping, or pasting fall leaves.

            **  Set a card at each plate.  Have people write down things for which they give thanks.

                 Share them out loud, include them in prayers, and/or take them home as reminders.

            *   If you use Grandma’s jello bowl, or mom’s recipe for pumpkin pie, etc…, share those memories around the table.  Even better, write them down and make copies for everyone!

            **  Before or after the football game, turn off the TV and share family stories.

                 Starters: funniest thanksgiving, most embarrassing moment, most favorite, best food, worst food disaster, biggest storm…

            **  Buy blank cards and envelopes, set out markers, stamps, stickers, ribbons, etc…; decorate cards and send them to relatives who weren’t able to join you or for service men and women deployed overseas.

            **  Involve as many people as possible in making the meal from bringing dishes to share, peeling potatoes, setting the table, folding napkins… give thanks to the cooks by having the non-cooks clear the table and clean up after the meal.

            **  Take a post-dinner walk together, taking time to enjoy all of the natural wonders you find.  If walking isn't an option, take a slow and scenic drive and look for the same things.

                Variation: make a game of being the first to spy something we thank God for: a bird, pretty leaves,  a tree, animals, etc…    Bonus win to the person who spies a wild turkey!

           **  At the end of the day, take a moment to read Psalm 100 and pray a prayer of thanks.

                May God bless you all and keep you safe in your travels.  

God's Variety

      I love to watch people in all their infinite variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and decoration.  It's a great way to pass the time at an airport or to relax while sitting at a mall.  To me, it is akin to birdwatching or going on a scenic drive so I can enjoy the wonders God has made.  This hobby is one of the things I inherited from my mom.  She also liked to sit and watch people but if one of her sisters were around, they also like to comment on them in Norwegian which I neither speak nor understand.  Perhaps because of that, I didn't get into the habit of people watching as an exercise in judgment.
       It's a very common thing to do, to comment on what someone is wearing, or how tight their pants are, or their hair, etc.  Sometimes it is complimentary but more often than not, it's negative.  The judgment is often based on stereotypes, gender or racial or class bias.  Young people hear it from elders; "My mother wouldn't have let me out of the house in something like that".  All of this judging is often based on the attitude that there is a right or better way and that being different is seen as a negative value.  It is amazing to me that when we look at he scenery around us, we are amazed and refreshed by the variety around us: the leaves turning color or multitudes of blooming wild flowers but when we see the same variety in people, we react negatively.
       There are many ethical, moral, spiritual reasons not to engage in such judgment of each other.  It is divisive, hateful, demeaning, destructive and often leads to or is the excuse given for much violent behavior.  When we participate in the judgment of others who are different or when we stand by in silence when others are belittled, we hurt others and destroy community.  We can share basic values and ethics without requiring everyone to be alike.
       Just as there is an amazing variety of animal and plant life in the world, people too are different.  For me, enjoying the variety is a spiritual exercise in learning about the nature of God.  It is not about the judging others by our biases; it is more about the vastness and complexity of God.
       I go back to the first chapter of Genesis, verse 26: "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness".  And going on, it records, "in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them."
       Our diversity as people is not only intentional; I truly believe it is part of what it means to be created in God's image.  Even that which is created in God's image is different from the every beginning.  People are fragile vessels, we are incapable of holding, containing, or even naming the divine creator and yet we are each made in God's likeness; our very differences are reflections of the vastness of God.  Instead of seeing our differences as faults to be brought into line with one another, we should celebrate and give thank for them; they are gifts from God that make us stronger and benefit us in community.
       Are we imperfect reflections of God? Yes; our imperfections are both inside and out, how we are made and affected by the choices and chances of our lives.  And yet we are beloved by our creator, forgiven and redeemed.  I know for myself, I have learned the most and become stronger not only in spite of but sometimes because of the very parts of myself I tend to see as imperfections or faults.
       Our different gifts and abilities are together what gives us strength and beauty as a community.  God created a world where no two trees are alike, each one grows according to the sun and water it has received and is shaped by the wind and exposure, and the room it has to spread gain height.  So too, each of us is different from the beginning and then affected by and shaped by the circumstances and world around us.  May God help us to see each other as belonging to God and to recognize and celebrate our different gifts.  Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-7