I Am the Light of the World.

 Sermon John 8:12-20 March 12, 2022 Lent 2

I Am the Light of the World.

Jesus said, “I Am the Light of the World.” He said that in a time that electricity did not exist. He said that in a time when people relied on candles or oil lamps for illumination. If any of you lost your power in our wind, rain, snowstorm yesterday you may understand that candlelight or oil lamp light is not very illuminating.

Our lives are so filled with light that we can get up in the middle of the night and all the little LEDs or power lights of our appliances, TVs, hallway nightlights, brighten the space so much that we have no need to turn a light switch to find our way. We are flooded with light from the streetlamps, to the computer screens, iPads, cell phones, and bright overhead fluorescent lights.

Light for us is a given. Light, very bright light is expected. In your imagination when we hear Jesus say he is the Light of the world, what kind of light are you thinking he is?

Do we imagine him as bright as the sun on a hot summer day shining upon us to keep us comfortable and to warm our days with goodness? Do we imagine him as a light from our cell phone helping us look under the bed for our lost earring? Do we imagine his light for the world to be bigger than our own needs and a light to shine our way forward?

When God created the world light was the first words God spoke, “Let there be light.” And when the gospel of John begins, we hear the words, “What came into being was life and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” Clearly, light is an important announcement That Jesus was, is and will be the beginning and the end of the world and for the world. He is the Alpha and the Omega.

But if we know all this already about Jesus, why is he repeating it again here in chapter 8? Jesus was not sharing this message among the disciples in this chapter but among those who disputed his validity. There are many who need to hear God’s word revealed to them in places where it is rejected. Jesus began to speak out and speak up in places where he knew there was resistance to his claims. He spoke up about his claim in a place where he knew he would be rebuked. Jesus recognized that anyone could shine light among willing listeners. But to shine light in the dark halls of hate and injustice, that’s a different league. He demonstrates for the future generations of his church how important it is to shine clearly on areas of the world where there are people who harm others, to shine and expose systems that betray and take advantage of others.

Light has a way of shining on those whose lives have only known darkness. Evil only knows darkness and Jesus threatens to bring light there. And friends, when the threat of revelation coming to light occurs among the darkness of evil all the legions of evil let loose, and it can become very dangerous.

We are continuing to live in challenging times. There doesn’t seem to be one moment’s rest from either the problems in our homes, schools, workplaces, communities, then we turn around and witness all ‘hell’ breaking loose across the world.

I ask myself, ‘Where is this precious light of the world Jesus bringing the peace and harmony we so yearn for and desire?’

I then reread the words of Jesus as he defends himself before his critics.

I realize in his words we find our hope.

We have our hope from a God who descends from heaven to shine a light on our path for eternity.

In God’s entrance into the world through the incarnation at Christmas, God chose death at the birth of Jesus. Because God knows-all flesh dies.

God who created the world with the words, “Let there be Light”, became the Light of the world in Jesus. Long before the cross became the death of Jesus his entrance into our world to be our light sealed his fate in death.

As we walk this Lenten path, let us remember that.

God’s incredible desire for us is so strong that God chose to shine his light through his physical presence. It’s that kind of love that God is willing to give up to bring life to those who receive his light. Friends, that is some marvelous hope!

I cannot help but think of the little girl singing the song ‘Let it Go’ from Disney’s movie Frozen as she was sheltering in a bunker hiding from the bombs going off outside. Those signs of light that illuminate the darkness of our world restore us to want to do and to be more than who and what we are at the moment.

Jesus provides us with constant examples about how to live in his light and to carry on his light. Today I offer two take aways to consider. One is not to shy away from the need to speak the truth of his love even when it is dangerous. Another is to continuously bring the light to the dark places of our lives and of the world.

Jesus didn’t come into the world to win a popularity contest or to try to make everyone happy. He took his responsibility as the Son of God to show God’s love through his healing, his teaching, his message of grace. He also called people to repentance and rebuked those who were harming others. Showing grace and mercy is not about pleasing people so they feel good. It is about revealing the truth of God’s love so one’s life can be transformed and turned around.

We all need someone in our life to point out places where we can grow. Sometimes that is hard and difficult. I know that sometimes people go to see counselors and then quit going because the counselors challenged them to discover some depths of themselves that shed light on things that made them uncomfortable. It then made them angry and they quit. Sometimes the truth of Jesus shedding light on our lives can also be uncomfortable. He comes to bring us new life. And sometimes that means changing the way we are living.

Part of the reason we use candles in the church is to be reminded that the light of Christ is with us. And when we leave, we carry the light with us into the world. We have been restored to new light in worship and that grants us what we need for the next week to shine our candle of grace to those around us.

Today as we suffer through the effects of the time change for daylight savings time, we know the reward tonight will be lighter a little longer. Let us begin to be encouraged. We are moving to longer days and brighter lights.

Let’s ask Jesus to reveal to us how we can shine.

Let us ask Jesus to restore our souls so they ignite with joy.

Let us ask Jesus to recreate the spark of wonder in our hearts.

Let us go out in faith as we walk in the light together. Amen.

 

Benediction.

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World”. Jesus also said, “You are the light of the World.” Go and be light.

 Resources: NIB Commentary John's gospel.

Words and quotes property of Monica Gould

Eye has not Seen

 

Meditation 1 Corinthians 2:1-13; Nehemiah 8:5-6 March 9, 2022, Wednesday Ecumenical Lenten service @ HT

“Eye has not Seen; ear has not heard what God has ready for those who love him. Spirit of God give us the mind of Jesus, teach us the wisdom of God”. anthem Teach us the Wisdom of God

Greetings to the beautiful people of Holy Trinity! It is a gift to return among you and it feels like coming home again. We have served together in the community in so many ways and today rings with the memory of such joy.

We’re here today in this blessed season of Lent. We are here to worship our Lord who brought us into a life of faith and wonder; a life of joy and adventure. We are here to raise our voices and our praise to the One who is watching us and who is receiving our worship. May we honor the name of Jesus our Lord today in our words and our deeds.

Paul is our witness this morning to the testimony of Jesus Christ as he speaks to us through his letter to the church in Corinth. Paul arrived in the bustling metropolis of Corinth around 50 AD. Here he miraculously unified the most diverse people into a one unified church of Jesus Christ. From the beginning, the church was in constant need of the reminder of who brought them together into a unified faith. From the beginning the people of the church of Corinth were in constant dispute among themselves. It was the largest blended family experience and experiment in the Christian faith.

And yet, somehow this eclectic group of people became a powerful witness to the world as a united body through the power of the body of Jesus Christ.

Last week the Reverend Willie Justus reminded us to remember. It’s true! If we can’t remember where we came from as people of faith, we don’t have the shoulders of those precious saints who came before us to stand on. We need them. They pray with us every time we pray. There is a legion of angels and saints waiting for us to pick up the prayer train and pray and witness and testify to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Friends, we are standing on the threshold of the future church. It is up to us to do something. It is up to us to stop being afraid of the open door and cross over into the next phase of the church of Jesus Christ.

You see we have to ask ourselves the question-are we ready? Are we willing? Are we able? To do what God has ready for those who love him?

Because he promises what ‘eye has not seen, what ear has not heard God is ready’ to launch the Spirit within us to unimaginable sights and heights.

I believe as people of faith we need a reset. We need to take our remembering from last week and reset our minds  and our hearts this week so that God can fill us with his wisdom and restore us and send us out over that threshold with boldness and with courage and without fear. If the church is unified and strong-the world can be too.

The assault on the church has been great. It has been so great that it is suffering today more than it has in decades. People have stopped coming to church and we have no understanding of how to get them back in the pews. We are suffering because we can’t remember our witness story. We can’t remember our testimony to preach. People have so many choices in their lives and they’re not choosing church. They’re choosing online church of a variety of styles but they’re not choosing in person church. They’re choosing chat rooms and other faith experiences but not church. We have no idea how to bring them back into the pews. We feel lost. We are confused. We have no idea how to navigate this chaos of order around us. Minister colleagues and lay leadership are baffled and struggling to find the way.

So here we have Paul in Corinth, who brings amazing hope to this crazy band of gentiles, Jews, and Roman pagans and tells that that they are powerful force of witness to the world around them. He lets them know that the gospel is its own power of testimony, and they can be renewed in that wisdom. Who doesn’t need some wisdom today?

Perhaps, that’s part of our Lenten journey-to hear the voice of wisdom, to see the way of God. We pause in this season to restock, reset and to restore.

When Mike and I are on our passages with our sailboat we have to stop and pause too. When we come into port we assess our situation. We go around the boat and look for places of chafe and damage. We repair what needs repairing. We reprovision our fuel, our water, and our food. We make sure the boat is fully restocked to complete the next phase of our passage making. And then we reset-we rest. We make sure we are fit for travel again. We reset and recalibrate our instruments. We sleep. We get our land legs again. We interact with the world around us. And through that process we are restored for another season of passage making. That’s what Lent does for us.

In another age before Paul there was a need for a restoration of faith and courage and testimony. In Nehemiah 8:5-6 Nehemiah calls on Ezra to bring out the Law-the then known Word of God and read it to the people. As Ezra stands before the sea of people, he picks up the book of the Law. As he begins to read it the people STAND! They stand, they get up. They respond automatically. Their bodies literally raise themselves up in awe of God’s Word. It is one of the most incredible testimonies to the power of God’s word. It is the power of wisdom, the power of the Spirit at work within the people to restore their faith. To renew their hearts. To fill their souls with the goodness of God’s love. Not only did the people stand when they heard God’s word they then bowed down and wept, they wept because the words of God’s grace were fresh and new on their ears. Sometimes that’s all we need is to hear the words of love and grace read to us one more time and we too weep as we are restored to the bosom of God’s embrace.

So, friends, in this age of uncertainty, where are we standing? 

Looking back? Yes-to remember the saints and to stand on their shoulders. 

Looking forward? Yes-to look with hope and anticipation, not fear, of the future church that God is calling us to envision and provision. 

Looking to the present? Absolutely-for it is in the present that we live. In the present we build, we sustain, we encourage, we act, we live with joy and we do not hesitate. 

You see, in the present we trust the Spirit to grant us wisdom as we believe the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ to be true and to be our story to tell.

Be of good faith. We have the Spirit of God within us. Be restored. Live a holy Lent. Amen.

Resources: NIB J. Paul Samply- Corinthians commentary.

Words and quotes-Property of Monica Gould.

The Call of Jesus-Love Your Enemies

 Sermon  Luke 6:27-38 February 20, 2022

The Call of Jesus-Love Your Enemies         

Today is the last Sunday of the series of Scriptures from Luke. We won’t return to Luke until after Easter.

Last week I shared that Jesus was talking to the people on the plain and all became a level playing field for the listeners and for hearers then and today. I mentioned that Jesus didn’t tell anyone what to do but he helped people to discover their identity.

Today as we go further in the text, we hear Jesus begin to tell the hearers and the listeners to do something!!

 We know that Jesus has given the commandments to love one another. But Luke makes this love command almost impossible.

He tells us to love our enemies.

He tells us to turn the other cheek.

He commands us to give someone the shirt off our back.

He tells us to give to people whatever they ask. And

he tells us to not ask for the things back that have been taken from us!

 

You and I both know we can’t make a living like that. This instruction from Jesus is way too dangerous for us to consider for a minute. This way of life leads to vulnerability and leads to possibilities for abuse. We have to be careful of the call of Jesus when he tells us to love our enemies. We could end up dead or worse. How do we navigate these commands and hold onto life? The power of the words from Jesus comes from his insistence on mercy.

There is a tension between the giving up of everything of our own and the giving over, running over, pouring out of all God’s mercy to others.

If we have to do any of this on our own it would fail.

We are incapable as human beings of accomplishing even an iota of what Jesus is telling us to get out there to do.

Here’s our chance to come to this moment of his words and to say to him-“but Jesus, I’m broken. I’m tired. I’m in a place that I’ve had enough of what is going on in this world. Everything out there feels like an enemy. Wherever we turn there are things, events, people, emotions, heartaches, pain, suffering tearing up our lives and you want us to turn around and embrace these enemies as if they are our friends? Lord, we are not capable. I am not capable.”

When we are faced with these conditions of hardships, we want to claim justice and seek retaliation. We just want to get back at those enemies to make it right. But Jesus is claiming there is another way to do something.

To love the enemy, we will have to know who or what the enemy is. We will have to understand what it means to do good to those who hate you. In our polarized society it might do us some good to examine ourselves in those relationships. Who are we calling our enemy?

Other enemies, I would offer, are of our own making. Other enemies are within our own heart-enemies of anxiety, fear, hatred, sin, vanity, selfishness, and anger.

Jesus in his command to do something, offers us the freedom to start over. (Rev. Dr. Sara Dingman)

Jesus offers us the ability to look to him for the example of loving, giving, and doing. We do not need to be afraid to give of ourselves to share or to risk when we are covered by his grace. Fear as the people of Trinidad are experiencing can stall a whole nation.

Currently the people of Trinidad are highly afraid. It has become an enemy. It has become something the people need to learn to embrace and face and choose to do something.

Children in Trinidad have not been to school for since March of 2020. A beautiful article in the local paper the Guardian was written by Annalisa Alcazar, M.A. Mental Health Therapist Child Specialist describes how fear has gripped her people.

She writes, “Anxiety can become the driver of all things. We must ensure we do not let it steer the wheel. Often, fear and anxiety are not logical. Fear is always a component within these disorders, as well as in our everyday lives. Once triggered, the brain experiences a heightened fear response, and this often leads to a pattern of avoidance. However, what most do not understand, is once you avoid something you are afraid of, the fear is then maintained or amplified.

Worrying, many do not know, is also an active form of avoidance, which increases fear and anxiety. It is used to avoid problem-solving and decision-making. Instead, you ruminate over and over, without solving anything and you remain stuck. Those of us who worry excessively feel like we cannot turn off our minds, and it can be debilitating.

Anxiety takes a piece of the truth and twists it; then catastrophizes it and tells us the bad thing will most definitely happen. So, for something that is highly unlikely to happen, now our anxiety tells us it will definitely happen. And of course, it will happen to us. Therefore, we become highly afraid and avoid the circumstance.”

 

We do not need to avoid the call of Jesus to practice love. I believe we are in a place where these strong words of Jesus to do something are meant for us in this day and time.

Fear is our enemy.

We are our own enemies.

We do not like ourselves.

Jesus tells us to love those who hate you. If that is ourselves it is time to go to the mirror.

We need to look in the mirror and tell ourselves that Jesus loves us.

If we are frozen with anxiety, unable to make decisions to move forward and follow the call of Jesus to show his love, he pours out his mercy on us.

His mercy is great.

Notice that these words from him to do the impossible

come with the guarantee of his mercy to take us there so we can.

 

Jesus is telling us that there is plenty of room for mistakes and his love is generous enough for me and you and everyone else. So, no matter what or who our enemies are, Jesus can give us what we need to do and show the love he commands. We can share our coat and offer a shirt. We do not need to be afraid to do what Jesus asks.

Yesterday, thanks to the digital space in which are able to worship, I was able to attend the funeral of a colleague of mine from Indiana. The Rev Kevin Scott Fleming from First Presbyterian Church Evansville Indiana where he served as their pastor for 25 years.

It’s hard for me to believe that this scripture was chosen to be preached at the funeral. But Rev. Dr Sara Dingman, Synod executive of the Synod of Lincoln Trails preached from this text and our hearts were moved. She said, Rev Kevin Scott Fleming would have preached this had he been in the pulpit. It was only appropriate that she followed his ways. She then said the words that hurt and rang harsh in our ears. “Rev Fleming will never preach from this pulpit again.” She said it twice and it hurt so much to hear it that we, the listeners, wanted to shut out the noise of those words. But she went on to share that we feel broken, pressed down, shaken together over the shock of his sudden death. She comforted us with the knowledge that God’s mercy is the key to these commands from Jesus.

Mercy gives room for error.

Mercy allows for forgiveness.

Mercy leads to generosity which leads to life.

And to know that is to also know that mercy is good for the church.

Friends, we are not perfect people. We are not as saintly as we would hope we could be. We are not the church without problems or challenges or struggles. There is no church like that except through the mercy of Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls us to follow him.

He calls us to be his disciples.

He calls us to obey his commands.

He calls us to listen.

He calls us to know whose we are.

He calls us to do something.

Friends let us give and love and live. Let us do something! Through his mercy now and forever.

Amen.

 Monica Gould copyright February 20, 2022

Resources: Funeral sermon Rev Kevin Scoot Fleming given by Rev. Dr. Sara Dingman Synod Exec Synod of Lincoln Trails; Podcast Working Preacher, Rev Matt Skinner, Rev, Rolf Jacobson, Rev Karoline Lewis; NIB Luke, Rev R. Alan Culpepper; Article the Guardian Trinidad, Annalisa Alcazar, M.A. Mental Health Therapist Child Specialist 

Hats Off to you Pastors!! May Jesus Christ be Praised!

 

Hats Off to you Pastors!! May Jesus Christ be Praised!

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times and the strength of salvation Isaiah 33:6

I want to write an article that encourages pastors who are out there doing the hard work of the church. All we have to read about are the articles that warn about burnout. The articles that let pastors know they have all been living in a war zone are so depressing. They perpetuate discouragement saying there are so few of them left. My question is-Has anyone acknowledged the courage of those who have chosen to be in it for the long haul? Has anyone written about old fashioned commitment because that is what we do when we make our oath at ordination? Has anyone written about the call to duty and the strength of living with honor?

Even the current cultural climate has taken away the importance of living a sacrificial life. We have forgotten the ethics of Jesus. (But, that’s a soapbox for another time.)

These two years of ministry have been hell on earth. There’s no denying that. Pastors have had the closest confidents turn on them because of the difficult decisions of when to shut down and when to open the church for in person worship.

Choirs and music have suffered at the hand of these decisions too. Perhaps large congregations with multiple staff and as many more opinions have suffered more than the smaller and more rural congregations. Small congregations are used to conflict and struggle. Just staying open and viable is a concern every year. Small congregations who have withstood the test of times are the ones who have lived out adaptive leadership.

Hats off to you pastors who are still in your post. Hats off to you pastors who have planted your feet firm with your congregations. Hats off to you pastors who have not been swayed by the loudest voices but discovered what has been best for your little group in your unique place. Hats off to you pastors who have worked hand in hand with both the contrary and the compliance members of your leadership. Hats off to you pastors who have sought to find a way to make worship feasible and safe and fulfilling for all your people. May Jesus Christ be praised!

In 22 months more congregations have launched unimaginable forms of ministry. Creativity soared beyond anything any pastor or church leader could have planned for in advance. Hats off to the quick thinkers that kept church alive in the most unusual ways. Take your under-pressure leadership skills and dust off the rejections and pat the affirmations and move forward into this new year with gusto. You now have a skill set that’s sellable. You now have knowledge that’s shareable. You now have faith that’s unshakeable. You have done remarkable work for the sake of Jesus Christ. It’s not about you or me or even the members. It’s about the church of Jesus Christ and you have been faithful to keeping her going against all odds.

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,… the things that God has for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Many of you, perhaps without knowing it, put disaster management and Heifetz leadership into effect immediately. The three core responsibilities of leadership are to provide-direction, protection, and vision. During the discomfort and fear of the upheaval of this crisis it was your responsibility to help people find a way to tolerate and live through the storm. It was important to recognize the context of the values and belief systems of the people you were guiding and leading. You were helping your people move from status quo and being stuck to moving safely into the risk of new ways of maneuvering while maintaining connections of faith and community. The greatest risk was doing something new, and something not done before. The hardest things you did with them was to determine the things that were essential, and the things that were allowed to be left behind or undone. You were able to break through the ‘right or wrong’ of things and help people to see a vision of what ‘will or should be’. You were amazing! You also did the challenging thing of making a few executive decisions of no and yes.

When your feelings got hurt, you withstood that. You went back to scripture and listened to the story of Jesus being chased toward the cliff. You turned around and realized it wasn’t really the people sending you there it was their fears, their anxieties, their inability to adjust to the unknowns and uncertainties of the world. You brought them hope Sunday after Sunday and day after day. You kept the vision of a brighter day before them

And when you really got low and discouraged; when you really thought you could throw in the towel you were reminded that this call to ministry is not about power or control, or about feeling good and getting affirmation; this call isn’t even about being popular and liked. Those were the dark days. They were days that challenged. They were days that screamed-“Give up!” But, you didn’t!

You remembered your vows were to Jesus to uphold his church and you stood the test knowing how much he loves you. You have a toolbelt filled with tested equipment for the storms that will come again. Trust yourself and your dedication to the work of the Lord. It has not gone unnoticed.

You have given your people a great gift. You have shown them a path that can be followed even during the most turbulent times. You have given them vision and hope, sustenance, and sustainability. You have enriched their faith and strengthened their resolve to stick with Jesus always. You have shown them and yourself to set your course by the promises of God. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

Hold fast friends! Amen!!

 Monica Gould copyright January 18, 2022

Resources: The Practice of Adaptive Leadership Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky. NRSV Bible

A Story to Tell-the Road Home

Sermon Luke 2:15-20; Mathew 2:1-2, 9-12; Acts 26:13-23 January 2, 2022 

An Epiphany Moment 

 A Story to Tell-the Road Home 

 We celebrate Epiphany today. It happens officially on the sixth of January. 

But we are here at the crossroads of time once again; 

the end of Christmas of 2021

 and the beginning of Epiphany of 2022. 

At these crossroads we are faced with the moments of experience and anticipation. All through Advent we anticipated the birth of Jesus to come. On Christmas Eve he came and on Christmas Day we rejoiced at his presence with us. Throughout all of it we were witnesses to the light. The light of hope, of joy, of peace, and of love. We were witnesses to the light of the angels, the light of the star, the light of God shining from heaven through Jesus his son. 

There has been brightness all around us. 

 Our scripture readings today reveal the presence of light in the life of people. 

The shepherds encountered the light of God through the angels. 

They went straight to Bethlehem to meet the Savior. They were so changed by the experience that when they returned home they had a story to tell. The road home led them back to their lives of shepherding sheep but it was through the lens of a new and changed life. 

They went home but on new terms. 

They went home with renewed hope. 

They went home but with eyes wide open to the joy that brought them back to where they could tell the story of wonder, the story of miracle, the story of promise! 

photo credit Megan Ames

 The magi saw the great light in the sky and followed it until it shone upon where the baby lay. They came and bowed down before the tiny king and paid him homage. 

They were changed forever by the light of the star. 

They went home and down the road with a story to tell. 

Their ability to risk everything to chase after a light brought them into the presence of the Promise. 

The did not stay at the manger or linger hoping for more. 

The encounter with the baby Lord filled them with the abundance of new life. 

It gave them hope and strength, resilience to get back on the road with this newfound love to share and tell those from which they came. 

 It’s the most wonderful news to know that we encounter Jesus at Bethlehem every year and he smiles upon us and refreshes us and sends us on the road home with another story to tell. 

 

The loss of Desmond Tutu and the loss of Betty White broke my heart this past week. 

These were two remarkable world changing people. 

In very different ways of course. 

But, all I could think about was these two people were so important to the world because of who they were. 

And we expected, hoped, prayed that they would never leave us. 

Imagine having so much of an impact on others that dying at 90 or 99 is too soon. 

Who are the people we expect to never leave us, to always stay with us, to be an icon around us, because if they dared to leave at anytime it would be too soon? 

We’ve ended 2021 with much the same way we ended 2020. 

We lost people too soon. 

We were challenged at times beyond our capacities. 

We were in situations of turmoil, grief, and struggle that God never intended us to be in. 

And yet, there we were. 

And this year couldn’t end soon enough for us. 

 The question for us as we enter into this year of 2022, ‘has the encounter with Jesus in Bethlehem of 2021 impacted us in a way that we don’t want Jesus to ever leave us?’ 

Somewhere along the way we experience Emmanuel. 

We meet the incarnation of God through his Son Jesus on our road of life. 

We experience the epiphany, the aha moment of Jesus alive within us, at Christmas or through the story of the wisemen, or the shepherds as they witnessed the promise of God come alive. 

Perhaps, our epiphany, our awakening to God happened at our confirmation, 

or at church camp, 

or through choral singing, 

or at a retreat, 

or in quietness of our own room. 

**We all meet Jesus face to face in our life in a moment so necessary to our life that it alters our life forever.**

It’s at those moments we recognize the God who promised to always be with us has been holding us in the palm of his hand through all the times we thought were too much for us to handle. 

 The amazing story of encounters with the light of Jesus continues beyond his birth and after his resurrection. 

Paul was blinded by the light of Jesus so boldly it took three days for his vision to return. 

Jesus turned Paul’s life upside down. 

Jesus came face to face with Paul and in that moment he was changed forever. 

 We are changed by face to face encounters. 

Paul had a story to tell and took the road home and faced all the people he had persecuted before and all the people who had taught him and he told them about Jesus no matter the cost it had on his reputation.

Because Jesus had given him a new identity and a new call in life. 

That’s what he does, 

he radically changes us to want to live only for him. 

He changes us so that all that matters 

is to bring hope, joy, peace, and love to the world through him. 

 As humans we are social creatures with a social culture. 

We need encounters. 

We need face to face experiences to learn, to grow, to be nourished, to be alive. 

Whales are also social creatures requiring a social pod to experience and live life. 

As we watch them in nature we discover that they value families and sharing most. 

They serve each other and work together for food. 

They adore their children and protect each other’s children. 

They experience joy, they mourn, the play. 

An Orca whale lost her young and swam around for days with the body of her child and made weeping noises. The other Orcas of the pod swam with her to provide comfort and support. 

 As humans we must have these physical social cultural interactions. 

They are necessary for our survival. 

They are necessary for our faith. 

They are necessary for our encounters with Jesus in worship. 

As we pack up our journey to Bethlehem and get on the road home, 

remember we have a story to tell. 

Let’s not forget to go home with changed hearts 

and refreshed souls to sing 

and dance and share. 

 And we pray the prayer of Howard Thurman 

 A Prayer For The New Year 

 God, Grant that I may pass through the coming year with a faithful heart. 

There will be much to test me and make weak my strength before the year ends.

 In my confusion I shall often say the word that is not true 

and do the thing of which I am ashamed. 

There will be errors in the mind 

and great inaccuracies of judgment. 

In seeking the light, 

I shall again and again find myself walking in the darkness. 

I shall mistake my light for Your light 

and I shall drink from the responsibility of the choice I make... 

Though my days be marked with failures, 

stumblings, fallings, 

let my spirit be free so that You may take it 

and redeem my moments 

in all the ways my needs reveal. 

 Give me the quiet assurance 

of Your Love and Presence. 

Grant that I may pass through the coming year 

with a faithful heart. 

Amen 

Meditations Of The Heart

Resources: NIB Acts. Online news source-ABC

Original quotes and sayings of Monica Gould