Klock, Phyllis 5

Scripture: John 1:14 (MSG) – “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Message: Sometimes it’s helpful to read often-quoted Bible passages in new translations. That certainly was the case when I recently read the verse quoted above. As much as I love Christmas with the baby Jesus, angels, little lambs, shepherds, and stars, this passage challenged me to question if I’m not in danger of taming Christmas with sentimentality.

Think about “the neighborhood” into which the baby Jesus moved. It certainly wasn’t a warm, posh home but rather a cold, dark stable. It wasn’t a time of peace, justice, and joy. Instead it was a time of hardship, sorrow and suffering.

In an essay published in the New York Times on Christmas Day 2012 entitled: “Having a Hard Christmas? Jesus Did, Too”, Pastor Tish Harrison Warren wrote, “What astounds me most about the Christmas story is not merely the notion that God became a baby or that God got calluses and cavities, had fingernails and friends and enjoyed good naps and good parties. Christians proclaim today that God actually took on or assumed our sickness, loneliness and misery. God knows the depths of human pain not in theory but because he has felt it himself. From his earliest moments, Jesus would have been considered a nobody, a loser, another overlooked child born into poverty, an ethic minority in a vast, oppressive and seemingly all-powerful empire.”¹

The story of God “moving into the neighborhood” is the truth of a God who never leaves us alone in our doubt, our desire for truth and justice, our illness, our stress, or our longing for peace and joy and enduring relationships.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You are able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for Your purposes. What a blessing to know that You are always with us and will never leave us. Amen.

Phyllis Klock

1. “Having a Hard Christmas? Jesus Did, Too” by Tish Warren Harrison. 2012 © Copyright. New York Times December 25, 2012. Partial quotation used by permission of New York Times and Pastor Tish Warren Harrison, Anglican Priest, Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others.

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Scripture: Luke 2:4-5 (NLT) – “And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was obviously pregnant by this time.”

Message:¹ How often do we focus on the destination and not the journey? “When will we get there?” is not just a repeat chorus from children in the back seat on the family vacation … we adults do it too. The Bible, however, shows us that within the journey itself lies the message.

Imagine long days and dark nights on foot, balancing atop a donkey. That was just one of Mary’s journeys. Then, fleeing by night for Egypt, trying to travel incognito with the knowledge your only child could be murdered along with you if you were discovered. Her journey was a lifetime of watching her firstborn grow, flourish, suffer, then standing by while He was tortured and killed.

The many miles the wise men traveled, led only by a star, was an incredible journey. There was the journey by the shepherds on that miraculous night, not knowing exactly where they would end up or what they would find once they arrived.

Think of the journeys of the Disciples, how they dropped their nets and followed Him. Their path led them to amazing miracles, crowds of admirers, and great peril. Their earthly journey ended in ridicule, exile, and horrible deaths.

What can we learn? When faced with the unimaginable, they carried on. None of them turned back. Did they doubt? Maybe. Did they reject what was before them, hide out in fear, or lose faith and simply give up? No. They believed. Their paths were long and arduous. What are we willing to endure, to overcome in our own journeys? Can we hold fast to faith? Through it all, our Holy Father never left their sides. He will never leave ours!

“When will we get there?” The destination is the future, the journey is one step at a time, and that journey is now.

Prayer: Dear Lord: I pray that You will slow me down and redirect my thoughts so that I will understand the message in the journey. Amen.

Phyllis Klock

1. Message is an excerpt from a meditation for the community of St. James UMC Atlanta © Copyright. Used by permission.

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Scripture: Luke 12:20 (NLT) - "But God said to him, 'You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?'"

Message: This passage comes at the end of the parable in which Jesus spoke about the rich farmer whose fields produced so much that his barns were overflowing. The farmer planned to tear down his barns and build bigger ones that could contain all he owned. He thought to himself, "Now I can relax! I can eat, drink, and be merry."

Do you feel as uncomfortable as I do when I read this parable? Even if my closets aren't bulging at the seams and my garage isn't so full that there's no room for our cars, I recognize that I (and maybe most of us) have just too much "stuff".

Last year a photo on the internet captured my attention. It pictured an ordinary large black trash bag, but one with a brightly colored bow. Below were instructions to put a similar trash bag in the closet, fill it with one item each day during Lent, and then donate the bag to a charity of my choice. My immediate reaction was that this would be a meaningful Lenten "giving up" and "taking on" something with just one twist - it was easy. However, as Lent progresses it continues to make me think more deeply about eliminating if I did, examine my priorities, reinforce gratitude, diminish my attachment to "things", and pray for those who would receive the contents of that trash bag. If not something to undertake during Lent, perhaps this is mine to consider.

Prayer: Father God, enlighten me through Your Word. Help me to come to know You more and to deepen the gift of faith in my life. Show me Your plan and place my feet upon the path You have chosen. Amen.

Phyllis Klock

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Scripture: Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) – “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

Message: When we read these familiar words, I suspect that most of us don’t pay much attention to the word “wait.” Perhaps that’s because waiting typically isn’t something that we like to do. We’re frustrated when we must wait for an answer to prayer, wait at the stop light, wait in the checkout line, or wait for an email response. This year waiting has taken on even more significance as we wait for life “to return to normal” with a vaccine against COVID-19.

Regardless of the cause, waiting feels like time wasted. We have a results-oriented lifestyle, and we want those results immediately. But Advent is all about waiting. The time that Mary waited from the angel’s announcement until Christ’s birth mirrors those centuries when God’s people waited for the fulfillment of His promises to send them a Messiah.

Perhaps instead of looking at waiting as a problem, we should consider it as a gift. I recently read some reasons why a little waiting actually is a good thing.

· Waiting reminds us that we are not the center of the universe. It gives us the opportunity to remember that other people have plans and priorities. That doesn’t make our plans unimportant, but it does put them in perspective.

· Waiting reminds us that we are not in control. God is. Answers will come in His time.

· Waiting reminds us that life is a gift. We have a choice when we’re forced to wait. We can complain, or we can remember that those “wasted minutes” were a gift from God that we can use for His glory.

· Waiting reminds us that the present matters, but the future is bigger than we think. It reminds us that this life is part of something much larger. In the light of eternity, is a two‑minute wait in a line at the store really that significant a problem?

Prayer: Holy God, we so often complain that we’re tired of waiting. Help us to know that waiting can be a beautiful, sanctifying and hope-giving time. You are with us in the waiting just as You are with us at all times. We give You thanks. Amen.

Phyllis Klock

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Scripture: John 13:4-5; 34-35 (NIV) - "So He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

Message: In the days of dusty roads and open shoes, foot-washing was a routine, mundane, ordinary activity. Upon entering many homes guests washed their own feet with water provided by their host, while in the homes of the rich this activity would be performed by the lowliest of menial servants. This is why the disciples were so shocked when Jesus began to wash their feet. Most likely they would have been happy (or at least willing) to wash Jesus' feet, but washing each other's feet was something far beyond their conception. Yet here was their Lord doing just that! By His action, Jesus was demonstrating that true greatness in His Kingdom comes from humility and service.

If we continue further in this chapter, though, we read an even more significant message about serving. Jesus commands His disciples and us - to love one another. That should be our reason for serving. Of course, we can serve for all the wrong reasons - doing it because we're made to feel guilty if we don't, doing it to garner recognition and praise, or even doing something so humiliating that it becomes its own type of attention seeking. Although this type of service may benefit the recipient, it doesn't follow Christ's example. In these instances, we are serving without loving

On the other hand, we can't love without serving. Serving others God's way imposes no conditions and expects no rewards. It's often doing those routine, mundane, ordinary things that go unnoticed. By His act of foot-washing, Jesus calls us to serve God's way - in love for all.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we thank You for showing us to love and serve just as we have been loved and served. May we strive each day to follow Your example. Amen.

Phyllis Klock

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