" Is Baptism Necessary? "

Was anyone here today baptized as an infant? 

How many of you were baptized as a youth or adult? 

The reasons for Baptism can vary depending on the denomination you attended at the time.   For those who were baptized as adult or youth, can you tell us what prompted you to get baptized?  

Jan 7, 2018 Reading:   Mark 1: 1-12   The Baptism of Jesus

Throughout the Christmas season, Advent through to Epiphany, we read and hear about the different ancient prophesies of a great King, a messiah that was to be born and would change the history of the world forever.  Isaiah one of the great Major Prophets made several predictions concerning the birth of a messiah 600 years before it actually takes place.  Someone was to prepare the way for these predictions to come true. That person was to be Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist as found in Luke 1: 39-43.  John now a grown man at the Jordan River, quotes the prophet Isaiah’s prediction and makes claim to be the one who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry and His mission. 

Baptism is one of two sacraments for many of the protestant denominations including Methodist and United Church of Canada.   The other being the Sacrament of Communion of which we will be taking part in later this morning.  

The baptism of Jesus must have been a very significant event as all four gospels recorded this important moment in Jesus' life.  It is hailed by many theologians today as the moment of His anointment, for ministry and mission.  He comes up from the waters, anointed by the spirit and the voice of God assures Him and all who hear, this is my Son with whom I am greatly pleased.   Those who witnessed this anointing are instructed to trust in Him and to follow in His ways.

What then is the meaning and significance of baptism for us as individuals within the Methodist Church today?   We claim it to be one of the sacrament and profess that a sacrament for us is, a religious ceremony or act of our denomination that is regarded as an outward and visible expression of an inward divine presence of God in our lives.  When we accept baptism we are making a commitment to begin the process of learning how to following Jesus and His ways.  Baptism for us is the beginning of our spiritual journey and ministry as we follow.  For the baptized, our ministry and mission is to be a living example of Christ in the world.  Living stones as Paul puts it 1 Peter 2: 5   

It starts with a commitment to seek a personal relationship with Jesus.  Then we make other commitments: to follow in the ways of Jesus, to attend a Christian fellowship of our choice, to learn, serve and worship with other Christians. We are to seek justice and walk humbly with our God, Micah 6:8.  After the anointing of blessed Holy Water, we begin our spiritual journey, mission and ministry.

As we commit ourselves to Christ and to God, a change in attitude begins to take root within us as we learn from and begin to study the scriptures.  The inward knowing, that the presence of God is with us, begins to take it root.  As we continue to grow spiritually, others will see the outward and inward expressions of our Baptism within our daily lives.   Often because of a change in attitude to social justice issues, compassion for the poor, sick, lonely or lost you will be told by friends and family that somehow you now seem different.  They may see you as being more confident, peaceful, assured, contented and balanced.  Did you know that there are others who do not want you to change and because of their fear they my ridicule the changes in you?  Fear sometimes comes out in ways of making fun of those who are different.  You may even get labeled as, gone religious on them.  In my family after I decided to answer the call to full-time ministry some of my family and old friends keep me at arm’s length for some time unsure of what this new me meant for our relationship.  It was a time of testing and a struggle for me.  I don’t know if you noticed in the reading from Mark 1: 12-13, after His Baptism, Jesus is immediately lead into the desert to have a face to face encounter with the Devil who would attempt to break Him.  I truly believe this is a challenge that we, the baptized will continue to experience throughout our lives.  The temptation to deny our Baptismal commitments.   If you resist this temptation, this process will eventually transform you and others as the fruits of "your mission and ministry" begins to show Christs love to neighbor and foe.

May I suggest that there are three major questions that you could ask here about baptism?  

1.  Who is qualified to perform such an anointing?

2:  Do I need to be baptized in order to get into heaven?

3.  Should anyone be refused baptism?

There is nothing in scripture that seems to suggest that a formal religious education was necessary to offer baptism.  It appears that the only qualification for those who were commissioned by Jesus was to be a committed follower.  There also is no mention of baptism being a sign of salvation {a ticket to heaven}  nor are there any rules that would exclude any person from this righteous act if they choose to ask.   It simply is for us, as it was for Jesus, a public beginning point, an anointing which begins our ministry and mission.  A celebration of our commitments to follow in the ways of God found in Christ Jesus.  Jesus simple tells John that baptism is a proper and righteous thing to do, as found in Matthew 3: 15.   In other words mimic and follow me, so that God’s will can be fulfilled in your life.  Jesus goes on to tell His disciples in Matthew 28: 19, go now, baptising in the names of Father Son and Holy Spirit.  As we prepare for the sacrament of communion let us reflect on our baptismal commitments.

"God Is Not Out There??"

I often find the morning meditations by Richard Rohr insightful and provocative.  This one in particular speaks to me from the many passages in the gospel of John where Jesus is trying to explain that God, He and We are all one within each other.  John 14: 20 and John 10: 30.  That God is not out there as so many Christians have been brain washed to believe.  God is not separate from us out there in the heavens somewhere.   Take a few moments and listen to his morning devotion from Jan 5, 2018.

Where Is God?

When I was on retreat at Thomas Merton’s hermitage at Gethsemani Abbey in 1985, I had a chance encounter that has stayed with me all these years. I was walking down a little trail when I recognized a recluse, what you might call a hermit’s hermit, coming toward me. Not wanting to intrude on his deep silence, I bowed my head and moved to the side of the path, intending to walk past him. But as we neared each other, he said, “Richard!” That surprised me. He was supposed to be silent. How did he know who I was? “Richard, you get chances to preach and I don’t. Tell the people one thing.” Pointing to the sky, he said, “God is not ‘out there’!” Then he said, “God bless you,” and abruptly continued down the path.

The belief that God is “out there” is the basic dualism that is tearing us all apart. Our view of God as separate and distant has harmed our relationships with sexuality, food, possessions, money, animals, nature, politics, and our own incarnate selves. This loss explains why we live such distraught and divided lives. Jesus came to put it all together for us and in us. He was saying, in effect, “To be human is good! The material and the physical can be trusted and enjoyed. This physical world is the hiding place of God and the revelation place of God!”

Far too much of religion has been about defining where God is and where God isn’t, picking and choosing who and what has God’s image and who and what doesn’t. In reality, it’s not up to us. We have no choice in the matter. All are beloved. Everyone—Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Muslim, black and white, gay and straight, able-bodied and disabled, male and female, Republican and Democrat—all are children of God. We are all members of the Body of Christ, made in God’s image, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, whether or not we are aware of this gift.

Can you see the image of Christ in the least of your brothers and sisters? This is Jesus’ only description of the final judgment (Matthew 25). But some say, “They smell. They’re a nuisance. They’re on welfare. They are a drain on our tax money.” Can we see Christ in all people, even the so-called “nobodies” who can’t or won’t play our game of success? When we can see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own.

Jesus says we have to love and recognize the divine image even in our enemies. Either we see the divine image in all created things, or we don’t see it at all. Once we see God’s image in one place, the circle keeps widening. It doesn’t stop with human beings and enemies and the least of our brothers and sisters. It moves to frogs and pansies and weeds. Everything becomes enchanting with true sight. We cannot not live in the presence of God. We are totally surrounded and infused by God. All we can do is allow, trust, and finally rest in it, which is indeed why we are “saved” by faith—faith that this could be true.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Creation as the Body of God,” Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth, ed. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (The Golden Sufi Center: 2013), 235-241; and

Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer (The Crossroad Publishing Company: 2003), 58-59, 117-119.

The Wisemen Were Not There?

This is the Sunday we will celebrate as our Epiphany.  Anyone know what the season of Epiphany is?  The Epiphany marks the end of the 12th day of Christmas for Christians.   It started on Dec 25^th and runs through to Jan 6^th the day of Epiphany.  The word Epiphany comes to us from the Greek language and means "manifestation". Since the 4th century, Christians have associated the day of Epiphany, the 12^th day of Christmas as the day the Magi came, which suggests that they could not have been there at Jesus’ birth.   Matthew is the only Gospel which recorded their journey and visit.  When you hear the reading from Matthew today I want you to listen very closely to his account.  You may just get a surprise and hear the revelation.    

Dec 31, 2017 Readings:  Ephesians 3: 1-12, Matthew 2: 1-12

From the Matthew reading, did anyone hear something new?     

First question: How many of you still have your Christmas tree up?

Second question: On the top of your Christmas tree, did anyone have a star or an angel?   The reason I asked the first question is this:  to establish the Christmas season.  For Christians the spirit of Christmas is celebrated not just on one day, but for 12 days.  It starts on Dec 25^th runs to Jan 6^th.  Now if you took your tree down early that's OK folks because trees are nice but they did not exist in the early middle east celebrations.   The 12^th day of Christmas is known as Epiphany and because it falls usually on a week day, we usually celebrate it on the Sunday before.    This is the day Christians would set aside to commemorate the visit by the Magi.  Matthews’s gospel is the only written account of their visit and it suggests that they were not there during the birth but arrived at a home in Bethlehem some time later to visit Mary and the child. We know this to be true because Herod ordered after the Wisemen did not return to him that all male children up to two years of age in the region including Bethlehem, be killed.          

The reason I asked the second question is: It has been suggested that there are two types of Christmas people, star people and angel people. Let me explain. 
Biblically, the Angel represents a messenger.  In the Christmas story, Angels always seem too appeared to those who, not only knew the ancient prophecies but also had enough faith to believe that they would be fulfilled.  On the other hand, it was much different for the star gazers, those who knew of the prophecies but only believe them as legends or stores.  Angels show up early in the Christmas story and continue right through until the birth of Christ.  Marry and Joseph were the first and the shepherds were among the last.  Angels did not point the way to Christ but spoke to persons specifically about who, what and where they were to find the awaited messiah.  The significance of an Angel meant a great deal too the Hebrew people of Jesus’ time.  

The Star also had it significance, it was a sign of those searching, not only those who were of Jewish descent but those who were of a different culture and religion.  Star people were curious seekers interested in knowing but were still unsure, with doubt and questions.  The star represented those on a quest to find out about this mystery and its message from God.  A divine child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manager?   I believe we are a mixture of both angel and star people.

In the story Angle people are people with roots that are already planted deep in scripture and their faith has become unshakeable.  Angel people believe not because they need to see, but because the voice of God has somehow spoken to their hearts.  Star People are seekers, curious by nature yet sill a little unsure, their roots are seeking to go deeper into the mystery of faith but they are not there yet.  What we must remember here is this:  God meets people wherever you are on your faith journey. 

The Magi or Wiseman in the story were guided by the star.  Because the Star did not speak, it only pointed the way for them, as they journeyed to Bethlehem.    

There are two very important points that are generally missed from the story of the Magi:  The first point is this: preparation.  We often do a great job preparing for the secular Christmas but what about the real meaning, how did your preparations do there?   It is important to note, that the Magi must have spent a great deal of time and energy studying the Hebrew Scriptures and the ancient Jewish prophecies before they began their journey.   The second point is this: these scriptures were not part of their background or their religion.  They were people of the stars, astronomers, astrological thinkers, possibly Greek.  Today we might call them men of science or visionaries or people who think outside the box.  They were seekers of the mysteries of creation, seeking a new kind of King and His Kingdom.   They were apparently open minded to foreign ideas and religions.   They were not confined by a religious tradition or doctrine as so many Christians are today.   They were true seekers and in the end, they were finders.  That, I believe is the lesson for us today, you cannot find the Jesus you need to know personally, by relying on religious tradition, doctrine or one interpretation of faith.  Nor by listing to a weekly sermon or by watching others who seem to have great faith.  It starts with preparation, reading and studying the word of God that is rooted in the Christ, this is where you will find the wisdom to guide you in life.  It is Jesus’ reflection shining through us that is attractive to others as we live out God’s peace, joy, hope, and love for them to see.

So I believe these two things are significant in order to make a connection with our Lord and they are again:  the willingness to personally prepare oneself by reading and studying, and to be open to the spirits leading so you can live out your faith by doing as Jesus did. 

We need the scriptures just as much as we need to see His light cast by faithful disciples and witnesses doing the work of Christ in our world today.

 Do not be afraid to think outside the box, for when you do this, you to just might find “The Christ” in your midst.   May the Lord Bless and Keep you as we conclude our Christmas season and begin the new year of 2018.   

The Christ in Evolution

Ilia Delio, a Franciscan sister and scientist, describes the positive foundation we have in the Universal Christ:

Franciscan theology on the whole . . . emphasized the incarnation as the love of God made visible in the world.  Bonaventure did not consider the incarnation foremost as a remedy for sin {as has been the focus for some Christians} but the primacy of love and the completion of creation.  He recapitulated an idea present in the Greek fathers of the church, namely, Christ is the redeeming and fulfilling center of the universe.  The Christ does not save us from creation; rather, Christ is the reason for creation. . . . Christ is first in God’s intention to love; love is the reason for creation. [1]

Lacking an understanding of the Good News of "The Christ", few have the vision to perceive any coherence between the Source {God} and the Goal {Universal Christ Consciousness}. The Christian message has had less and less significance for thinking people, for scientists, philosophers, social workers, and those trying to find a purpose for the universe.  Unfortunately much of Christianity became merely another moralistic religion.   Its main focus was to “win” over other religions and countries.  This practice, overwhelmingly aligned Christianity with a history of “empire building” not only in Europe but eventually in the Americas through colonization.  This became the acceptable norm rather than representing the whole of creation and cherishing humanity as one in the same. (Romans 8:18-21).  [18] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. [19] For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. [20] For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

Without the cosmic notion of The Christ, Christians can’t understand that God is inherent in life itself, that God is the life force of everything who grows things from the inside.  Hence a tree and it's fruit within the seed or all of humanity both male and female within a single seed.  The Indwelling Spirit was our way of saying that God creates things that create themselves from within! “And the two shall become one to conceive another” In humans and animals this is experienced as sexuality, in plants as photosynthesis. Elements participate in the creative process through electromagnetic fields, fusion, and bonding.  Even celestial bodies experience death and birth. The creative process encompasses growth and growth will always be folks, death is simply a trans-formative stage, a womb of new birth if you will.

Not surprisingly, many Christians ended up tragically focused only on fighting evolution, or singled out social justice issues as the primary focus around human-rights struggles—slavery, women’s suffrage, desegregation, racism, classism, homophobia, policies regarding refugees and immigrants, mass incarceration, and climate change. We had no evolutionary notion of The Christ who is forever “groaning in one great act of giving birth” (Romans 8:22).   [22] We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Yet we should have been on the front line of all of these issues, so our bold proclamation of love and justice could have pulled humanity forward.

The Christian religion was originally intended to grease the wheels of human consciousness to lead us into a way of living out unconditional love, nonviolence, earth care, and justice rather than believing in a system of sayings, rules and rituals.   Mature spirituality serves as a conveyor belt for the evolution of human consciousness. Immature religion stalls us at low levels of well-disguised egocentricity by fooling us into thinking we are more moral or holy than others by what we say rather than what we do.

“Indeed God is not far from any one of us.  For ‘In God we live and move and have our very being’” (Acts 17:27-28).  If this is true, then it has to be true everywhere and all the time.   Small truth is not big enough to save a very large universe folks.

 References:                                                                               

[1] Ilia Delio, Christ in Evolution (Orbis Books: 2008), 6.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi (Franciscan Media: 2014), 217-219.

"A Love Without Strings!" Isn't that impossible?

Tell me three things you love about Christmas?  Isn’t love great?  Well today, my hope is, to introduce you to the greatest love of all time!

Dec 24 2017 Readings:  Romans 16: 25-27,  Luke 1: 26-38

One of the great theologians and renowned author of our time, Karl Barth, was asked to be a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Divinity School.   Dr. Barth being quite elderly and not well sat quietly in a chair near the podium.  The organizers, out of concern for Dr. Barth health decided that rather than opening the floor to many questions, after his speech, the Presider would ask one general question for all.  The Presider turned to the renowned theologian and asked, "Of all the theological insights you have ever had, can you tell us which do you consider to be the greatest of them all?    It seemed the perfect question for a man who had written literally tens of thousands of pages of some of the most sophisticated theology ever put into print.  The students waited in awe, what great insight would this theological giant offer to them.  Dr. Barth closed his tired eyes, and he thought for a minute, and then he half smiled, opened his eyes, and said to those young theology students, "The greatest theological insight that I have ever had is this: "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so”

Karl is right folks, for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest love story ever written!  If it weren't for Christmas we might never have known the intensity of the love that God has for each and every one of us.

Mary and Joseph, far from home because of imperial rule, a peasant very young mother giving birth in unsanitary substandard conditions... There was no fanfare, no religious delegation and no royalty in attendance.  The Lowly shepherds were the first to lay eyes upon the miracle.  Mary just gently laid her newborn in that manger, amazed at the miracle of new birth, gauzing in joyful celebration as they looked at his little face, just like every new parent does.   But this child would be different for He was to be the sign of God’s true unconditional love for the world to see and to know personally. This love would be different because it would have no strings attached. 

True love accepts us for who we really are; there are no good conditions on this love.  God chooses to love us precisely because we are all His and because we are all subjected to our human nature, no one escapes these truths.  So then, let us set aside the myth that we are loved only if we are good, for if that were true, none would be loved.  Let us also set aside the myth that if we are bad we are not loved, for if that were true none would be loved.   How come the same?  Because Jesus' unconditional love brakes all the rules of our human conditional love.  Mary and Joseph had nothing to offer but their obedience to a calling beyond themselves and that is precisely all we have to offer, a calling beyond ourselves.  It is an invitation to trust and surrender our lives over to the care and control of something greater than ourselves. 

Jesus was to be the Son, the true Son of God so patiently waited for, and now, to be born into our world.  This child would be the ONE, the one who was willing to finally embody God’s unconditional love for all to see and experience personally.  Not just some of the time, not when it was convenient, but in every waking, breathing minute of every single day of your life.  Don’t you see, Christmas it is the birth of that love into your world, that is what we are to celebrate folks.    It’s not about being bad or good.  It’s about a love so unconditional that its power transcends good and bad, life and death.   Who would have ever guessed that this crossing of paths, this intersection of the divine and the human, would take place in the remote village of Bethlehem within the Middle East ?  That a child would be born into our world, who would fill His life so much with the love of God, that in Him , thousands upon thousands would be moved to make the incredible claim that they had actually met their God in person.   On Christmas night God would send out a love letter of cosmic proportions.      Unfortunately for so many in our world this cosmic love story still takes second place when compared to the love myth of the big guy in the red suite, Jolly Old Saint Nicklaus.

In fact it is Jesus who breaks that myth and shows us that God’s unconditional love is not based on whether we are bad or good, nor does it demand perfection.  This love offers a forgiveness that isn't given away sparingly either, but recklessly and indiscriminately even to those who have hurt, abandoned or forsaken us.   Unconditional really means unconditional, there are no strings attached.   All who are gathered here this morning fall within the embrace of that love, and that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God found in Christ Jesus.   Romans 8:38.   You see,  that is where the hope, peace joy and love of Christmas is to found folks. 

For on that night and in that baby, the Divine and the human miraculously cross paths.   The infant Jesus is our living, breathing sign of the immeasurable love that God has had for all of us from the very beginning.  It is from this story that our mystery and the magic of Christmas should come.   For John 1 tells us that “Before the word was created, the word already existed: He was with God and He was the same as God”

Christmas is the living promise that we are never ever alone.  Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  No matter where we are in life, no matter in what condition we find ourselves, no matter how far we might stray, or how unfaithful we are, God in Christ, the supreme lover, will pursue us in love for eternity!    Christmas for us should be our beacon of hope, a light that never stops shining for you.

May God in Christ bless each of you and those you love this Christmas.  

What Child Is This

This is my rendition of this wonderful old Hymn, hope you enjoy

Joy and Suffering are companions??

Maybe you have heard it said that money cannot buy you happiness.  But, a friend of mine didn’t totally agree with this and said: it would give you the opportunity to buy you a big yacht and sail up to it real close. 

When you hear the word “happy” what companion would you associate with it?  In other words, what makes people happy?  We often associated it with some body or some- thing.

When you hear the word “JOY” what comes to mind for you?  

Regardless of how you see either of these two words, Joy needs a companion also, what would you think it might be?    

Dec 14 2014 Readings:   Isaiah 12: 2-6 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-28

Have you ever heard that Happiness and joy are not the same?   Most of us have experienced happiness as fleeting, it doesn’t stick around for long, it is illusive, a product of the mind.   Worldly expressions of Joy are sometimes called happiness, but happiness comes and goes just like your pay check Folks.  One minute you have it the next minute some body or some “THING” has it.  The Joy found through faith in God and taught by Jesus, is not fleeting and does not require happiness as a companion.    Does that surprise you? 

The Advent Joy is deeper than happiness, once you get it, it is a lasting joy and it is not dependent on you being with or attached to a person or thing.  Joy radiates from its source and your relationship to that source.  Try and think of it as a  knowing, something of the heart, a very present help in times of trouble. Psalm 46: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  IF you know that, it is a major part of your “JOY”

 When you accept this joy, it’s yours forever and no circumstance has the power to take it from you, although you do have the power to refuse it or reject it.   Once you have accepted this joy, the words of scripture begin to speak volumes, not just to your head, but deep within your heart.  Such as Psalm 27: God is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? God is the stronghold of my life: of whom shall I be afraid.  You see the Joy our Advent offers us dispels death, darkness, and quiets our worldly fears. 

As strange as this may sound, biblical Joy is fruit that is produced because of some struggle or suffering in your life.  Does that disturb you?!!   Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, Jesus, any of His disciples and ordinary people like me or you can attest to that.  In James 1:2  we hear:   My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, ³ for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is joy and the ability to endure.  You can’t have one without the other, suffering and joy are companions.  The struggle here is that your mind doesn’t want you to see them as companions.    Yet Joy and suffering as buzzer as it may sound to some are, much the same as hot is to cold or darkness is to light.  As we read the story of Jesus’ birth there is a mixture of pain and suffering for both Mary and Joseph in the beginning, yet on the other side of their difficulties the results are great joy for both of them and the world.   Jesus' death on the cross was a facsimile of this joy.  The brain on its own cannot comprehend joy because it is contained within the heart.  The bible tells us that the Joy offer to us in Advent, the joy of the lord, would be a joy the world would reject.  Somewhere deep down in our hearts we know that you can’t really appreciate light until you have been in the pit of darkness.  You can’t feel relief, unless you have experienced the pain.   Joy and suffering are companions, they go hand in hand.  That is why we sing:   “When the storms of live are raging I hear music in the air.  The song “Over my head I hear music in the air.”

You can’t really appreciate the joy of living that the bible teaches us, until you have learned to work with and appreciate the bitterness of life.  Again, what did James 1: verse 2 say:   My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, ³ for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is joy and the ability to endure.

We also know that continual happiness is a foolish dream, a fragment of our imagination and besides, it’s illusive.  Have you ever wondered why that is so true?    Well, happiness requires tangible things, to hold on to.   Joy on the other hand required you to let go of your things.   One of the greatest examples comes to us from the Christmas story with Mr. Screwed.  As he goes through the reflections of his life with the angle of death he is portrayed as being chained to things.  There he is, dragging them along as the angle of death takes him back through his life.  In the end when he realizes his folly in life, only then are the things he is chained to released and thankfulness and gratitude floods his soul and “Joy takes root in his life.”   

Joy bring you something much greater than happiness.   In joy you will find contentment; people, things and circumstances lose their power over you allowing the greatest gift of Advent to invade your life, “love”.   For Screwed, things became gifts to give rather than to receive.    Now I know that might not be good news for some people, but it should be good news for the people of God.  

I want you to think about this for a moment folks, happiness does not bring contentment, because the feelings are short lived.  The folly of happiness is where it is planted.  Happiness plants itself in a superficial soil where it cannot take root.  The proof in the pudding as we often say is this: soon we slip back into old patterns of wanting someone to fill the whole in my life or the need for more things, so we can be happy again.  It is a vicious circle of unending, happiness then unhappiness.   With happiness contentment is always eluded, you can only get close up to it with your yacht as I joked with you earlier.    Now for the good news folks:  The Advent joy that is offered to us, if accepted, can become rooted because of where it is planted.   Once planted it will begin to take root.  The key to Joy is its soil.  Where do you think it finds its roots?  Anyone want to take a shot at it.  If you do this small exercise every morning Joy will begin to flood your soul just as it did for Mr. Screwed.  Make your Advent new year’s resolution for joy, this:  begin a gratitude journal.  Its that simple!!  True Joy takes root and grows in the soil of gratitude, thankfulness. If you were to take a few moments at the beginning of every day and write just one or two things you are grateful for in your journal you will begin to sense this joy.  As you reflect daily on what you have written and by adding to the list each morning, you will soon begin to see how your “JOY” takes root.  This Joy cannot be taken from you because the roots begin to go deep.   It doesn’t come from people or things, Joy doesn’t just make you happy it begins to fill that emptiness people often express in their lives.  Once you receive it you begin to understand the meaning of a joy-filled life.  

 One of the great examples to illustrate this is; a women going through a full term of  pregnancy.  Often the joy of finding out turns to fear, then you become uncomfortable, your body begins to loose it shapeliness.  Often rashes brake out; there’s morning sickness, and major mood swings often occur.  It doesn’t stop there either: soon you feel the pains of labor, then and only then comes the JOY?   Mothers tell of the overwhelming joy at the birth of a child, Great JOY!  You can bet your boots that Mary experienced all these things before the birth of her baby Jesus. 

This was the experience of Mary and Joseph on that wonderful night.  Joy did not mean that their troubles were over, but the joy Jesus would bring to the world would last for eternity.  Joy is the quiet confident assurance of God’s love and work in your life.

Isn’t that GREAT!