Out with the Old, in with the New

2 Corinthians 5:17
New Living Translation (NLT)
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
As a kid, I was awkward at best in sports. So I loved it whenever someone would yell, "Do-over!" because it meant I got a second chance at whatever it was I had failed at the first time.
Many of us view the new year as a sort of cosmic "do-over;" a chance to start with a clean slate, a fresh page to write a new chapter of our lives upon. We write resolutions to get out of debt, lose weight or stop some bad habit. Interesting that most resolutions are negative in nature, statistically speaking. Very few people resolve to be more joyous or to laugh more.
As Paul tells the church at Corinth, we Christians can enjoy a sort of "do-over" every day, indeed, every minute of every day in Christ. For though the old has passed away, and a new creation is in its place, I find in my life something old in me crops up from time to time that has to pass away and be recreated again. Old traditions I have to let go of. Old ideas that have to give way to new creativity. As I watched a movie on TV this week one of its characters said "If you hold on to something old and dear too tightly you just might choke it to death." A part of being reborn is the ability to let go. A part of welcoming in the new is releasing the old. A part of becoming the new creation is dying. The old must pass away that the new might live. Just as the barren landscape around us reminds us that winter gives way to spring, the barrenness of our souls languishing in the wilderness gives way to resurrection and new life.
So as you say good bye to 2011 and hello to 2012, claim the new creation God intends you to be and allow the old to truly pass away in you as Christ forms in you the newness of life. Peace, health and happiness to you in 2012!

The Light Shines

"In him was life, and the life was the light of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overtake it...And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:4-5, 14)
This Friday I will turn 54 years old! Unbelievable! I am now officially old! Next year I can join AARP! One of the "gifts" of growing older (wonder why they call it growing?) is that you can't see a thing! You need more and more and more light!
When I was younger my grandfather used to tell me to turn on the lights or I'd ruin my eyes. He must have been right, 'cause my eyes are definitely ruined! It takes so much light for me to read, I feel like I need to walk around with one of those miner's helmets!
We need a great deal of light to see spiritually, as well. Light that will shine into the dark places of our lives. Light that isn't afraid to move among the shadowy places we keep hidden. We keep them hidden from others out of fear and shame. We may even keep them hidden from ourselves, afraid to face the unknown, afraid to face the consequences of our actions, or just plain afraid of what we might find. We may even deceive ourselves that we've hidden those deep dark places from God.
How foolish we must seem to the all-knowing One! When His heartlight searches our innnermost darkness, He fills us with grace and mercy, peace and forgiveness, warmth and light. He knows EXACTLY what is in our hearts and in our minds. Yet, He waits for us to yield to His warm embrace. He will not force His way into our hearts anymore than His son forced His way into an inn in Bethlehem. He enters only where we make room for Him.
Every home that shines with lights this Christmas, turn on the light in your hearts first! Every time you plug up the tree or light the candles, pause to look within at the places you hold back from Him and let go. Turn on the lights. The darkness of jobs lost, families split, substance abuse, fear, loneliness and economic burdens cannot overcome the light of Life found in the Prince of Peace. May the Word become flesh be born in your hearts anew this day. Merry Christmas! Pastor Caren

Back to Bethlehem

Deck the halls with boughs of holly
lights, colors, inflatables jolly.
I wonder if my dollar store decorations
are a good enough celebration
for the Savior of all the nations...

But if I go back to Bethlehem,
I can see the only decor
is a star in the sky and a dirt floor.
There's hay on the ground;
and the glory of the Lord shines all around.
And it's the best celebration of all!

There's no place like home for the holidays -
if you can figure out where home is these days.
Is it mom's or dad's?grandma's? Or the streets?
A place I stuff my face with goodies and sweets?
Is it the place I pray for enough to eat or drink?
Or where family dysfunctions drive me to the brink?

But if I go back to Bethlehem,
I see home is where Jesus is.
No room in the inn, still Jesus lives!
Where hearts receive and seek to be filled,
The Christ-child enters still.
And it's the best home of all!

I'll have a blue Christmas without you.
I'll feel empty inside when I think of you.
The traditions we built together.
The storms we weathered.
The bonds we tethered.
All gone now that you aren't here.
There's no spirit of Christmas cheer.

But if I go back to Bethlehem,
I am surrounded by loving hearts.
I don't feel pulled apart.
I feel a part of -
Changed by love -
And it's the best love of all!

Santa Baby, slip a sable under the tree for me,
an X-box, iPad or maybe a Wii;
don't they grow on trees?
Credit now, worry later, it's the American way,
until the reckoning day
THEN I remember to pray.
I forget God's name and God's will
until I'm covered up in bills.

But if I go back to Bethlehem,
I see the gifts are simple and real.
A touch, an embrace, shepherds kneel,
Incense, perfume, gold,
A warm blanket in the cold,
And they're the best gifts of all!

Rockin' around the Christmas tree
in a winter wonderland,
I wish you a Merry Stress-mas
as I worry and over plan.
Mistletoe kisses and the jingliest of bells -
even Santa's letters
can't make me feel better.
Rudolph can't lead me through this dark night
to find my purpose
and make me feel right
Will someone just clean up the mess
and turn out the lights?

But if I go back to Bethlehem,
I see a bright star.
It tells me where we are.
Mary, Joseph, shepherds, kings, and I,
if we look to the sky,
see the clearest of guideposts
placed there by the one who loves us most -
A brilliant light calling to me
Come back to Bethlehem and see
It's Jesus - the best of all - and all you need.

Waiting

We are currently in the season of the church year known as Advent. The Advent countdown begins with the four Sundays leading up to Christmas day. Some churches light one candle each week in Advent marking the time as we wait for Christ to come. Advent is all about the waiting. The scriptures talk about the second coming of Christ and how the church waits in anticipation of that event. The story of John the Baptist is told, and how he prepared the way for Christ's public ministry by telling the people to repent while they waited for Christ to come. The stories of Mary, Elizabeth and Joseph are told. And still we wait. We wait until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day to hear of the birth of Christ, and the dawn of a new day of hope and love.We as a people don't like to wait. This year, I was hearing Christmas music on the radio before Halloween - I kid you not! In this day of instant gratification, we want what we want and we want it NOW, so why wait? In fact, I would submit, we've forgotten what it is to wait; especially to wait upon the Lord.
Last Tuesday, my husband was in surgery in CMC Main for 5 hours. The surgery was supposed to take 3 hours. He was in recovery for 3 hours. I was supposed to be able to see him in recovery after 2 hours. After two and a half hours I went to the desk in the waiting room. I chatted with the staff I have seen many, many times in my capacity as a pastor. Only this time, I wasn't there as a pastor. This time it was my John. All day long friends and family were facebooking and tweeting prayers and support for us. I knew we were covered in prayer.
Finally, I told my friend at the desk that my anxiety level was getting a little high. He looked at his little screen and promised to let me know something "soon." I returned to my corner of the waiting room. And I continued to wait. And wait. Finally, I was called up to the desk and told I could go to my husband's room on the 10th floor. Confused, relieved, and exhausted, I gathered my things and headed for the elevators. Finally, after 12 hours, I walked into his room and saw my husband smile at me. The wait was over, and worth every minute to know he was cancer free.
The Hebrew people had waited a long time to be free. Jesus was worth the wait. The prophet Isaiah said "The people who lived in darkness have seek a great light." We can wait, too, for things that are worth it. We can take an extra 30 minutes before leaving the house to pray and get balance for the day. We can wait for God to give us direction before making major decisions in our lives.
We can wait deliberately, creatively, and purposefully. We can make a daily ritual of stopping and waiting to hear the voice of God by lighting and Advent wreath, or creating a home altar, or going on a devotional walk each day.
Because some things are just worth the wait.....