"Sometimes.... There are No Words"

Every day of my life is filled with words..... words I write, words I preach, words I read and probably the most important words of all, those I listen to from people who share their lives with me.

But, sometimes, there just are no words, or at least adequate words.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Community Chorus' performance of "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace". My reaction was immediate and one of deep feeling: I wept and was touched. It was a wonderful and moving experience. But, my response was much deeper, in fact, indescribable. I know that I am truly different after that night. I am still pondering what this will mean and what I need to learn, but I am sure that I will be a fundamentally different kind of peacemaker from now on.

Holocaust survivor and theologian Elie Weisel says that there are no words..... to describe or explain or make sense of the holocaust. People with HIV have consistently told me there are no words when they learned they were HIV+.... only white noise. When I was pregnant with Avary, people would say that having a child fundamentally changes your life. There were no words to describe how my whole life would change.... it just would.

We usually cannot describe the events in our lives that profoundly change us or even those events that change the world. We can only respond as a new person.

In Sunday's text, Mark describes Jesus' calling of the first few disciples. The silence of the disciples is startling.... Not a single word. And, yet their encounter with Jesus changed their whole lives.... and ours. As you prepare for worship, think on those times in your life for which there were no words. Think of how God used those times to change you.

I look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

Jonah 3:1-5, 10

+Psalm 62:5-12

I Corinthians 7:29-31

*Mark 1:14-20

Extremists for Love

In April of 1963, eight white Alabama clergymen wrote a statement to "strongly urge our own Negro community to withdraw support from these (civil rights) demonstrations." "We do not believe that these days of new hope are days when extreme measures are justified in Birmingham." Click here to read the full letter.

In response, Martin Luther King, Jr. composed his Letter from Birmingham Jail, a profoundly compelling challenge to white Christians. It includes oft-quoted lines like, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair." Where the white clergymen argue against "extreme measures," King calls us to be extremists for love and justice. "Was not Jesus an extremist for love?" "Was not Amos an extremist for justice?"

This Sunday, we'll celebrate the baptism of Jesus, an extremist for love, by remembering our own baptism and baptizing little Brandon Andree. And we'll look at the prophetic life and ministry of Martin Luther King, Jr. through the lens of baptism, the Christian sacrament that affirms that every human being is precious to God. I hope you'll join us for a time of worship and reflection as we seek to be extremists for love.

Scriptures for Sunday:
Mark 1:4-11
Ephesians 4:1-6

Blessings,
Manda

"Prepare to Be Surprised"

If you know anything about archetypes, you will readily recognize the magi as 'heroes'. From the time of earliest hunter-gatherer civilizations, humankind has created myths about those (usually men) who leave the tribe to go on a mystical quest or journey. We know these heroes by many names: Hercules, Sir Galahad, Gautama Buddah, Pilgrim and from the Bible - Abraham & Sarah, Joseph.......

On Sunday, we will celebrate and re-member the magi, the three kings or wise men or even astrologers, who went on a particular quest. They were seeking God. It so happens that God beckoned them with a star and like other heroes, they went on a long and probably arduous journey. Like other heroes, they faced the powers and principalities (King Herod) and like others, they were prepared to greet a wealthy, pampered heir in a palace, for whom they had brought suitable gifts. Instead, they got a BIG surprise - a poor, peasant child in a stable!

The magi trusted in the beckoning star and in the journey. They trusted the revelation of this baby instead of the one they imagined. And, they offered their gifts (seemingly unsuitable).

There are many lessons we may learn from these heroes, but one is most certainly that when we trust in the surprises God offers and we offer the best we have to give, we are the ones who are truly blessed. For the magi, the star told a story, but they had to take the journey to get to the surprise ending. So it is with us. Let us spend the coming year watching for the signs of God. Let us take the journey together. Let us offer our gifts because we are so very blessed!

I hope you will all join us on Sunday as we marvel at our puppet kings and as we celebrate the heroes of our faith.

Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Isaiah 60:1-6

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

Ephesians 3:1-12

*Matthew 2:1-12

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

A New Year Approaches

As we move toward Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we are also moving toward a new year. The beginning of a new year means new calendars and remembering to change the year in our check-writing, etc. But, it also gives us a chance to reflect a bit and plan a bit.

For me, the past year has been wondrously busy and full and it has been touched with precious memories of many things. I am grateful for so much of our church life marked by special worship services, Feed My Starving Children, new ideas, new faces and especially having most of a year to work with Manda on our team. 

Personally, there have been wonderful books and movies, times with Avary and with friends, my continuing education week at Cape Cod and more. There have also been times of loss and disappointment. And, I would suspect this is true for all of us - another year of ups and downs and for some of you, serious and sad downs. And, through it all, God has blessed us with the gift of others, family, friends, church members, neighbors.....

Whatever the year, whatever course it has taken, we can all be thankful for those we love and who have loved us. And so we turn ourselves to the new year ahead, thinking of the things we plan and hope for and perhaps, even some of the things we might dread, but underneath it all are the possibilities of loving and caring and hope.

So, I wish you all a whole lot of loving this year as we work together to share the love God offers us every day of every year!

New Year's Blessings  to you all, Laura Lee

"Jesus Came to the Older People"

As we near the end of Advent and our focus on those who were first told of Jesus' birth, it strikes me that Zecheriah and Elizabeth and now this week, Simeon and Anna were all very old. I have thought this wasn't accidental and have reflected on this fact over the weeks. And then, last week, I read this beautiful poem from the Iona Community in Scotland. The first verse reads:

It was to older people that Jesus came,

that they might know their place and learn his name,

and upset notions of whom God may choose,

to change the world or celebrate good news.

 Perhaps this is the poet's way of telling us that the older people were wise enough to be surprised by the unexpected working of God. Perhaps they had lived long enough to notice the wonder in simple life - like watching a woman feed pigeons on the square. Perhaps, they could see the restlessness of God in the restlessness of the young. Perhaps they knew God might come as a babe. How grand! We often say that Christmas is for the young, but I think our Biblical story reminds us all that Christ is for everyone, maybe especially for the old!

I hope to see and celebrate with all of you on Sunday! Blessings, Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+Psalm 104:26-35

*Luke 2:25-40

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.

Behold the God-Bearer

"Here we are, approaching the third Sunday of Advent, in the midst of a season of waiting, introspection, anticipation and longing. It is the pregnant pause, where we expectantly wait for God to break through with something new."

This was the beginning of my sermon one year ago, and most of you didn't hear it - I was preaching at Newark Valley UCC, so that the search committee could hear me preach before introducing me to all of you. For me, it was definitely a time of expectant longing and anticipation. For many of you, I imagine it was as well. At that time, I hoped that this year I would be spending Advent with you - and I could not be more happy to be living into that hope with you.

Yes, we're "living into" it, because we are always hoping that the world will be transformed, that our church will be renewed, and that our individual lives will be more fulfilling. We're seeing many things come to birth in our church, and we are, as a community, bearers of God to the world around us.

Individually, we are also God-bearers. The profound truth of the incarnation is not just that Mary gave birth to God-in-the-flesh in Jesus, but that each of us embodies God. Barbara Brown Taylor translates incarnation as "en-meat-ment" - we are the meat, the flesh and bones in which the Spirit - the Breath - of God dwells. And when we all come together in community, we have even more power in the flesh.

This Sunday is Music Sunday, we have the opportunity to experience one particular way of God-bearing, through musical voices and instruments. We'll add 4 new members to our congregation. And we'll pray together and worship together and be the Body of Christ together. When I see each of you, I look forward to saying, "Behold, the God-Bearer!" What new thing will God bring to birth in you this year?

Blessings and peace,

Manda

Texts for Sunday:
Psalm 97
Luke 1:26-56

"What are you waiting for?"

Advent is the proclaimed season of waiting. And, I certainly got a big dose of waiting over Thanksgiving - airports - Ithaca, Newark & San Francisco! While I was waiting, I pondered waiting. I decided it is distinctly un-American to 'proclaim' waiting! We just don't do it well - not in airports, not in traffic, not in doctors' offices or store lines. So many of us pace and agitate and act crabby. We just don't seem to be able to wait well - or at least most of us don't. But, some people take advantage of the waiting time - they read or knit or even just sit and talk with someone else.

As I observed all of the airport waiters, it occurred to me that waiting is a state of being. We are always waiting for something - for Santa to come, to graduate from high school, to meet the right life-partner, to get the right job..... And, as Christians, we are always, always waiting for the coming of God. So perhaps, it is good for us to proclaim our state of waiting. Perhaps it is good, in this busy, busy season to remember that waiting can be good and productive time.

On Sunday, we will explore the story of Zecheriah and Elizabeth, faithful servants who spent long  lifetimes waiting... waiting for the fulfillment of the promises of God. It would be good for you to read their story and to think a bit in this season of waiting....What are you waiting for? And, what do you do while you are waiting????

Hoping to see all of you on Sunday - Laura Lee

Texts for This Week:

+ Psalm 71:16-24
* Luke 1:5-25&57-80

Note: The texts in bold type will be read in the worship service and the one with an asterisk will be used as the focus for the proclamation of the word.