By Luke Gascho, director, Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, professor of sustainability/environmental science at Goshen College
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Things are out of sorts. Following regional, national and global news is a reminder that there is much brokenness in the world. Fragmentation comes into our personal lives too. We wonder how love can overflow in a time when there are such pervasive issues? Can mending occur? I step back from this reality and reflect on a different construct. I remember that the universe was called into being as an expression of God’s love and mercy. This is a statement that raises awe and wonder in my spirit – and reminds me that every part of God’s creation declares the very mercy and love that comes from God. When mercy and love are not evident, I seek to understand how restorative acts might bring love into expression again. A first step is to re-member that which has been dis-membered. The texts for this week refer to a vision for righteousness. I often found righteousness to be an off-putting word until I started to see it as the concept of making things right. As N.T. Wright frequently states, righteousness is “putting things to rights.” This is a process that God pursues passionately – and invites us to join in that same action. The prophetic call for John the Baptist was to “prepare of way.” I am inspired by the concept of re-creative actions in the landscapes of the world. As a messenger, he fostered the way to peace, which is truly a “putting things to rights.” This is a remaking of the channels for mercy and love to flow freely again. Like John the Baptist, I am committed to putting God’s creation right. I am grateful to be a participant with God in these actions. Restoration processes take time, but at the same time are amazing. A year ago I planted native prairie seed in a strip along my new gardens and orchard in Goshen. The seed fell on quality prairie soil – soil that had only supported grass and weeds for more than 50 years. I was inspired to see the native flowers and grasses begin to emerge this summer. Life was returning to this strip of land – a grand showing of mercy and love. The selected flowers will attract native pollinators, which will add to the diversity and health of my small landscape. My planting story is representative of many other restorative actions I take in my life, the community and the world. God’s mercy and love are what brings life to my actions. As the texts for the week note so clearly – change is afoot. Commit to being on the path of “putting the world to rights” and anticipate the harvest of righteousness.
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By Regina Shands Stotlzfus, assistant professor of peace, justice and conflict studies at Goshen College
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Scripture: Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV) Jesus’ words sound so ominous in this passage. Did Jesus want us to be anxious and sick with worry as we scan the sky for messages in the heavenly bodies? Did he want us to read the headlines and assign catastrophic meaning to each world event as it unfolded? History has shown us that people have taken these words to hide themselves away from the world, or taken up arms to try and vanquish enemies – those who are not like “us.” We do live in a time when the nations are in anguish. We indeed are perplexed. We long for a resolution to the many, many things that are troubling in this world. And I believe that Jesus speaks into the anguish and fear and uncertainty; not with a warning of coming terror, but as a way to remind us who we are: When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Remember God is always with you. Do not be anxious but instead be at work doing the things that make for peace. In these days don’t hide yourself. In these days don’t run for cover. In these days shine forth with the love of the Creator of the universe and offer your hand to the ones who need it. Open your heart for those that need love. Stand in solidarity with those who are marginalized and abused. The kingdom of God is near, and you are a part of it. Scripture: Luke 21:25-36 (NRSV) There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Then he told them a parable: Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. By Becky Horst, Goshen College registrar
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (NRSV) Today is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. My extended family, like many others, is gathered at my sister’s house to eat too much and talk across the table. I brought the cranberry salad. Mom will bring pies, as she always does. This year we are celebrating Martha’s second birthday, which happens to fall on Thanksgiving Day. Recently, after a family meal, little Martha leaned back and smiled. “I’m happy. I’m so happy,” she said. In the best situations, gratitude is the centerpiece at our Thanksgiving tables. Conversation is warm and welcoming. Like the apostle Paul in today’s scripture, we thank God for the joy that others bring us. But many gatherings today will be tinged with tension or pain. Death. Divorce. Betrayal. Addictions. Political and religious landmines that erupt with one wrong step. This year is our first Thanksgiving without my Dad, who died of brain cancer last spring. If you are facing a sad or painful day, pause and name aloud three things that you are thankful for, right now. As you focus on gratitude, may hope take root in your heart. Today, more than ever, we echo the apostle Paul’s prayer: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all. . .” Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 (NRSV) How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you? Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith. Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we abound in love for you. And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. By Ann Hostetler, professor of English at Goshen College
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10 (NRSV) Psalm 25, attributed to David, is an acrostic poem in Hebrew, each line beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Inspired by this form, I created an abecedarian poem in response, weaving in titles from the songs of Godspell. Through a reading of Psalm 25, I was deeply reminded that only our trust in a merciful, loving God can move us beyond panic to wise action in such distressing times. In this advent season, as we contemplate the theme of “freedom bound,” let us honor those around the world who are fleeing terror and grant them hospitality in the spirit of our Lord. Psalm for November 13, 2015 After Godspell I went home singing Bless the Lord oh my soul checked the computer, discovered terrorist attacks in Paris every where people crying out—I feared the apocalypse. God of goodness, how can such hatred exist, children bearing bombs embedded in their bodies, hoping to blast themselves to heaven? Justice is complicated today, kindness a luxury. Yet, the psalmist reminds: Learn your lessons well, trust the Merciful one, who does Not count the sins of our youth against us. Open our hearts to compassion, Prepare the way of the Lord Quiet our anguish Restore our trust in you. Save the people: turn us from urge to understanding, move us beyond vengeance to wisdom. We beseech Thee x-tinguish our fear with Your peace. Let us share it zealously. Scripture: Psalm 25:1-10 (NRSV) To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me. Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 15In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord is our righteousness. By Jim Brenneman, Goshen College president
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV) Our hearts broke when we saw the little child, face-down in the sand, washed ashore, as part of the tragic flight of some four million Syrian refugees from their war-torn homeland. Even as I write this devotional, we still behold hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing economic impoverishment and political oppression the world over. These flights to freedom are, sadly, true-to-life enactments of Advent without the edits found in our “living” Christmas pageants. It’s way too close for comfort. Indeed, one hears in these real-life cries for freedom, the cries to God of the Hebrew slaves under Pharaoh’s ruthless regime or the cries of parents when Herod slaughtered their infants. Joseph and Mary were swept up in that refugee crisis in order to protect their little son, Jesus. Jeremiah describes the land of Judah much like we see in newsreel footage of parts of Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere today: “The streets of Jerusalem are desolate,” he writes, “without inhabitants, human or animal” (33:10), and all that can be heard is “Rachel weeping for her (slaughtered) children” (31:15). Heart-wrenching! To such bleak and troubling circumstances, to greater and lesser heartaches, and to all life-altering sorrows, suffered by us or anyone else, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims that God makes a promise. God will fulfill the “good promise” of a new regime, new beginnings, new life, led by “a righteous Branch,” also called “the Lord our righteous savior.” God promises to “do what is just and right in the land” such that Judah and its capital, Jerusalem, and by extension all who call on the name of the Lord “will be saved” and “live in safety” forever and ever (33:14-15). Christians everywhere celebrate in this advent season the beginning of the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s good promise, born in Jesus Christ, “the Lord our righteous savior.” It is not God’s intent that there be any refugees of any kind, any time, any place. It is God’s promise to ensure just and equitable, safe and secure homelands of the heart and body, for all God’s children. Period. Therefore, let us sing with “mirth and gladness” alongside the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah and all those for whom a better world is yet a hoped for promise or a promise already fulfilled (33:11): “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for the Lord’s steadfast love endures forever!” Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV) The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. By Bob Yoder, Goshen College campus pastor
Reprinted from Advent Devotions Recently on our campus we planned a Service of Thanks for chapel. A month prior we held a Service of Healing and Anointing where a list of student doubts, struggles and questions were read before the time of anointing. It was a beautiful service, though had a “holy heavy” feel. Originally when I titled the Service of Thanks chapel back in August for mid-November, I had assumed that it would have more of a “holy light” feel. But as with “original thoughts” go, one could not have imagined the various world events that would occur this Fall, including some events a handful of days prior to our Service of Thanks. As the worship planners reflected together on plans for this service, we recognized that painful and challenging realities continually exist for many. How do we bring those realities to God during a Service of Thanks? We planned a service holding various paradoxical realities before God and us, including the following words from a student-written litany of response to Jeremiah 33: “We grieve and wonder how we can be thankful when the indigenous people of this land faced genocide to make room for settlers. We wonder where you [God] are now, in times of trauma, in the face of natural disasters and environmental crises. We wonder where you [God] are when your people kill one another, in the midst of violence enacted in the name of religion and dogma.” d6add324-ee9a-4f55-a937-138e20aaa58fBut as this prayer went on, we were reminded of the “Reconciling God” who has unconditionally loved us and fills us with hope. Then, we were invited to not only offer God thanks for what God has done, but also to recall people in our lives for whom we are grateful. We wrote the names of those individuals onto a “paper leaf” and placed those onto a “paper tree.” A wonderfully colorful visual displaying gratitude and hope for all to soak in! Prayer O Loving and Hope-Dispensing God, fulfill your gracious promises to us so that we might love more, understand better, and bear the hope we yearn to inhabit. |
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