This Sunday, churches that use the revised common lectionary will read and hear the story of God calling Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-10). As I read Jeremiah’s call story, I am reminded of a Wednesday evening in August 2004. (This passage reappears as a lectionary option in August of Year C.) That night, as I sat in midweek worship service, I heard this passage read and then the pastor spoke about God’s call for Jeremiah and for us. Be prepared, this Sunday, many of you will hear a sermon on this topic. But back to August 2004, I left that service with the distinct feeling that I had been set up.

One loaf of bread
Is a reminder.
Although we are many,
We are one body.
God’s children are
One family.

It doesn’t matter
Where we live,
What we have,
What we can do,
What we believe,
We are one family.

A myriad of differences:
Eye color, height,
Sense of humor,
Ability to curl our tongue,
or throw a Frisbee.
We are one family.

If one is grieving,
Mourning a loss
Of a loved one,
A house, a job,
A possibility…
The family is sad.

If one is suffering,
Injured in an earthquake,
Going to bed hungry,
Shivering in the cold,
Enduring abuse,
The family is hurting.

If one is missing,
Lost, abandoned,
Disconnected,
Shut out by barriers
Real or perceived,
The family is not complete.

God’s children must
Help each other,
Care for one another,
Strive for justice,
Work toward healing
And wholeness.

We are one family.

~Sally Hoelscher

The course of my life changed after a visit to Haiti. It was the summer of 1986, and a campus ministry group I was part of traveled there to learn about extreme poverty and do a bit of service work. Having grown up in rural Wisconsin, I was not completely unfamiliar with what it meant to be poor; indeed, one of my friends literally had a dirt floor in at least one room of his house. But Haiti, which was the first country I had ever visited outside the U.S., was certainly victim to another type of poverty altogether.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucastheexperience/ / CC BY-ND 2.0

Although many things on that week-long trip caused a shift in my being—seeing people living in trash dumps, holding  infants who were being treated for TB, bartering with local artisans who traded me a carved wooden bottle for a half-used bottle of sunscreen and a worn-out pair of hi-tops—nothing sticks in my mind more than a story I heard at the very end of the trip.

In the tile at the hotel, I see a farmer wearing a hat;
his hat resembles a marshmallow on a plate.
Every Sunday at church, I see a profile of a dog in the rock wall;
some Sundays I search for the skier, too.
In the bruise on my leg, a tiny heart appears on the third day.
The barista creates a fan-shaped design on top of my chai.
In the clouds, I see an alligator that morphs into a fire-breathing dragon.
Two trees fell to the ground where they now form a cross.
Liquid on the counter resembles a Rorschach blot;
spilt milk provides an unexpected diversion.
A squirrel is burying nuts in my yard;
its tail resembles a question mark.

Surprises awaiting discovery.
Little blessings that make me smile.

"Open my eyes so I can see what you show me of your miracle wonders." Psalm 119:18 (The Message)

~Sally Hoelscher

In the past three weeks, I've been to three churches that had three different approaches to Advent. (Perhaps one of them is like your congregation!)

On the first week of the start of the church year, I saw the "Recognition-Avoidance" approach. The nondenominational church's worship leader made a passing reference to the fact that it was the "start of the Christmas season in the church. (Pause) Or, actually, it's the start of Advent." He then went on to read a "traditional Advent scripture," (which he immediately tied to Easter!) and thus end-eth the Advent/Christmas references for the rest of the hour. On Sunday 2, I saw the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" approach when I attended a United Methodist Church that sings Christmas carols during a pre-service hymn-sing but faithfully sticks to Advent themes within the service itself. And last Sunday, I witnessed the "Chris-adven-tmas" approach when I visited a Baptist church where we read a brief Advent liturgy, sang a few Christmas carols, heard a long sermon that was vaguely Advent-ish, and closed with "Go Tell it On the Mountain."

Did you catch the common theme? Like a child that can't avoid poking the presents under the tree, all three had a hard time with waiting to celebrate Christmas.

Although he wasn’t born in a stable, the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist were certainly unusual. Elizabeth was old, and considered to be barren, when she became pregnant. Zechariah was struck mute until the baby was named. And his parents went against tradition and named him John instead of Zechariah! Is it any wonder that people asked, “What, then will this child become?” (Luke 1:66)

You are invited...

Dear God,

It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I am bombarded from every side by advertisements urging me to spend, spend, spend…the kids are home from school…the calendar is full…church activities, school concerts, volleyball games, Christmas pageant, sleepovers and more…there are six loads of laundry waiting…my daughter wants to go shopping…snow is on its way…there are bills to pay…and worries about whether there is enough money to pay them…and then there will be additional bills that Christmas shopping will create…the dog wants outside…I am feeling overwhelmed…I’m tired…my son wants to go to the library…there is grocery shopping to be done…and meals to be fixed…every day…the dog wants back in…our annual letter needs to be written and printed and folded and stamped and mailed…and I’ve agreed to take on another responsibility…what was I thinking…my best friend has moved…to another state…and I miss her a lot…the cat wants to help me type…when did Christmas become less about the Christ child and more about shopping...the car’s oil needs to be changed…the dog wants to go for a walk…there are 12 years of photos waiting to be put into albums…and then there are things that I want to do…

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, NRSV)

After saying these words, Jesus further explains that, just as God feeds the birds and clothes the lilies of the field, God will care for human beings. Don’t worry; God knows what you need.

Every day I have a choice.