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Advent Week 1. Reading 2

You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Isaiah 64:5-9

 

You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Isaiah 64:5-9

Advent Week 1. Reading 2

You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Isaiah 64:5-9

 

You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O LORD, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Isaiah 64:5-9

Advent Week 1. Reading 1

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence-- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil-- to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! 

When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.  

From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him.

Isaiah 64:1-4 (NRSV)

11.28.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

1On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! 

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

He did not merely tell us that death need have no terror for us--He rose from the dead, and lo, the tomb now glows with light. Many teachers of the world have tried to explain everything--they have changed little or nothing. Jesus explained little and changed everything. Many teachers ahve tried to diagnose the disease of humanity--Jesus cires it. Many teachers have told us why the patient is suffering and that he should bear it with fortitude--Jesus tells him to take up his bed and walk. Many philosophers speculate on how evil entered the world--Jesus presents Himself as the way by which it shall leave.  He did not go into long discussions about the way to God and the possibility of finding Him--He quietly said to men, "I am the Way." Many speculate with Pilate and ask, "What is truth?" Jesus shows Himself and says, "I am the Truth.". . . Jesus defines life itself, by presenting Himself and saying, "I am the Life." Anyone who truly looks upon Him knows in the inmost depths of his soul that he is looking on Life itself.  

E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

   

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."  Revelation 21:1-5

Revelation 22:20-21 (The Message)

  He who testifies to all these things says it again: "I'm on my way! I'll be there soon!"

   Yes! Come, Master Jesus!

  The grace of the Master Jesus be with all of you. Oh, Yes!

70.  If you’re young find an older person at your church and ask them about their life. Listen to their stories. Really listen. You’ll learn a lot and love them in the process.  If you're old, invite a young person to your home, listen to them and tell them your story- invest in them. 

11.27.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

 

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.           

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

He did not merely ask men to turn the other cheek when smitten on the one, to go the second mile when compelled to go one, to give the cloak also when sued at the law and the coat was taken away, to love our enemies and to bless them-- He Himself did these very things. The servants struck Him on one cheek, He turned the other and the soldiers struck Him on that; they compelled Him to go with them one mile--from Gethsemane to the judgment hall--He went with them two--even to Calvary. They took away His coat at the judgment hall and he gave them him seamless robe at the cross; and in the agony of the cruel torture of the cross He prayed for His enemies, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 

E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

69.  Post this phone number (888-3737-888) and this website (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/) around your community, in your church, in public bathrooms, etc. to let those who are victims of slavery know where they can get help. 

11.26.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

36Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

 37"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.

      Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."          

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

He did not paint a Utopia, far off and unrealizable--he announced that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us, and is "at hand" and can be realized here and now. He did not discourse on the beauty of love--He loved. We do not find him arguing that the spiritual life should conquer matter--He walked on the water. He greatly felt the pressing necessity of hte physical needs of the people around Him, but He did not merely speak in their behalf--He fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes.  

E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

68.  Get a group of people together and map your community for possible slave trafficking.

11.25.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

He did not teach in the schoolroom manner the necessity of humility--He girded Himself with a towel and kneeled down and washed his disciples feet... He did not teach in a didactic way about the worth of children--He put his hands upon them and blessed them, and setting one in their midst tersely said, "Of such is the kingdom of God," and He raised them from the dead. he did not argue the worth of womanhood and the necessity for giving them equal rights--he treated them with infinite respect, gave to them His most sublime teaching, and when He rose from the dead he appeared first to a woman. He did not prove how pain and sorrow in the universe could be compatible with the love of God--He took on Himself at the cross everything that spoke against the love of God, and through that pain and tragedy and sin showed the very love of God.

E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

67.  Seek advice from someone who is a different race/ethnicity and/or gender than you. Really listen to what they have to say.

11.24.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

 18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

      because he has anointed me

      to preach good news to the poor.

   He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

      and recovery of sight for the blind,

   to release the oppressed,

    19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."[a]

  20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

 

We do not find Him discoursing on the necessity of letting one's light shine at home among kinsmen and friends--He announced His program of uplift and redemption at Nazareth, His own home, and those who heard "wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth. 

As He came among men He did not try to prove the existence of God--He brought Him. He lived in God, and men looking upon His face could not find it within themselves to doubt God. He did not argue as Socrates, the immortality of the soul--He raised the dead.

He did not speculate on how God was a Trinity--He said, "If I by the Spirit of God cast out devils, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Here the Trinity--"I," Spirit of God," "God"-- was not something to be speculated about, but was a working force for redemption-the casting out of devils and the bringing in of the Kingdom.  

E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

  

 66.  Do a “water only fast” where you stop drinking anything but water (yes that includes coffee, soda and alcohol!) for a set period of time and donate that money to an organization that is providing clean water for those in places without it. (World Vision is a good option again. So are Water Wells for Africa, African Well Fund and The Water Project.)

11.23.09

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

 

16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

He said in one place, "The Son of man must suffer many things"--of course He must; if He is the Son of man, for the sons of men suffer many things. If the Son of man enters into all these things, as indeed He must if His love is as broad as the human race and as deep as the deepest pit of suffering and sin to which men descend, then, of course, the Son of man must be "the Single Heart through which are forced the else unfelt sorrows of the world.". . He came not to proclaim the decrees of Heaven, but to be Heaven entering into Earth with all its pains and sorrows and sins. Being the Son of man he must suffer many things. But in suffering many things He becomes the very revelation of the Heart of Things. E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road.

65.  Buy gift cards to local restaurants and give them to those holding signs on the corner or that ask you for money in a parking lot. Then ask if they’d mind you joining them for the meal.

11.22.09

THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

Lift up your heads, O you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

Luke 1:30-33 (NIV) 
30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

The transcendent Image of Brahman,

Blossomed and mirrored in the full-to-overflowing

Eternal Intelligence--

Victory to God, the God-man.

Child of the pure Virgin,

Guide of the Universe, infinite in Being

Yet beauteous with relations,

Victory to God, the God-Man.

Ornament of the Assembly

Of saints and sages, Destroyer of fear,

Chastiser of the Spirit of Evil--

Victory to God, the God-Man.

Dispeller of weakness

Of soul and body, pouring out life for others,

Whose deeds are holy,

Victory to God, the God-Man. 

Priest and Offerer

Of his own soul in agony, whose Life is Sacrifice,

Destroyer of sin's poison--

Victory to God, the God-Man.

Tender, beloved,

Soother of the human heart, Ointment of the eyes,

Vanquisher of fierce death--

Victory to God, the God-Man.  

Brahmabandhab Upadyaya (1861-1907)

64.  Start a business and only hire those who are homeless or ex-felons to work there.