Are You Going Home for Christmas?

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Elizabeth

Are you going home for Christmas?

It is, perhaps, a time of year when we most think about home. Many of us think back to a particular place, a place where we were given gifts of peace and compassion, grace and love. We think of those people, or perhaps one person in particular, who gave those gifts to us. Those who were not given such gifts had at least, perhaps, the dream of such a home.

We try, in our own ways, to create that sort of a home in our adult lives, yet it is difficult sometimes to believe that such a home can exist in this world, this world that makes it hard to believe in much of anything at times.

In every home, however, no matter how full of beauty and love, there is something missing. Something small but crucial. Perhaps we can’t fully describe what that something is, but we search for it and long for it our entire lives. It is something that gives us a sad and lost feeling, something that makes us feel a bit homeless wherever we happen to be.

This small but crucial missing piece is what the author of Hebrews talks about at the end of that great chapter detailing those who lived by faith. After naming some of the greatest heroes and heroines of our faith, the author writes,

These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

And so home is, after all, only where Christ is. Home is at the manger where even the oxen kneel at midnight. Home is at the foot of the cross and at the door to the empty tomb. Home is the place we will find when we finally know even as we are fully known.

I believe that…the home we long for and belong to is finally where Christ is. I believe that home is Christ’s kingdom, which exists both within us and among us as we wend our prodigal ways through the world in search of it. ~ Frederick Buechner

Are you going home for Christmas?

On Them Has Light Shone

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Elizabeth

We are people walking in darkness.

Our souls are dark with selfishness and pride. We are blinded by our own interests so that we cannot truly see anyone else, so that we cannot see God. We seek and chase after happiness, darkened in our false understanding that we can find anything good outside of Jehovah.

We dwell in a land of deep darkness.

We live in a world where children are born needing new hearts, where babies emerge into poverty and hunger. We ache with the knowledge that storms destroy, that hurt people wound, that cancer kills.

We hang our heads to the ground in shame and weep in this darkness brought about by our own turning away from God. Where is hope?

Lift up your head, world that is heavy with darkness. Look up and see a great light.

Rise up from the ground, you who are burdened with shame. On you a light has shone.

A light has dawned. A great light has emerged out of the darkness. His name is Christ the Lord. He is Savior and Messiah. He is Mighty God and Prince of Peace. He brings peace to this world and peace to our souls. He is Ruler and King, He is Servant and Love.

We no longer must dwell in darkness but can run strong in the light.

Unto us a son is born, unto us a child is given.

The light has come and we are free. Free from darkness, free to love.

Where is hope? Hope is here.

For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Christ is here.

Christ has come!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

(Isaiah 9.2)

Art credit: Fifth and last photos by Kirk Sewell Photography.

Waiting

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Elizabeth

Waiting. Breathless. Hopeful. Fearful.

Watching. Gazing intently at this flickering light. It is a light that at times appears so feeble it sometimes seems that it could be extinguished by a whisper.

At times we blow gently, hoping the light will flare up and blaze forth to push out the darkness. At other times we hide in the dark, weeping a prayer, desperate not to let our deep, ugly parts be known.

We desire the light and we fear it. This light is love. It is not a weak, self-centered, human love. This is mighty and humble, king and servant, cross- and pain-bearing love.

This is Love who will take that flickering candlelight and fan it into flame that overcomes darkness, even our own. Flame that someday will refine and purify our entire world, purging away dross and imperfection, giving to all of us redeemed perfection results.

And we wait. Wait for Christmas. Wait for Christ. Wait to be known. Wait to be redeemed.

We wait with our breath held. We wait with a labored kind of waiting, waiting with pregnant hope for our world to be reborn.

And while we wait, we work. We serve. We keep our eyes fixed on that flickering light.

We still weep and fear, but more than that, we love. We can love through our fear because we who wait have seen the end. And this fearful love that will destroy our world and even our very selves will bring out of the ashes a world and a self that is truer and more beautiful than any we could have imagined. Love Himself will bring us through.

And the waiting will be over.

There are wild things
just beyond the creche.
Pry loose an Advent
candle from its round
wreath and walk straight
past the doe-eyed virgin,
deeper into the world
he was born to save.

Jettison your meekness.
Cup your hand over the
flame, you’ll be exposed.
No, don’t look for a star.
Instead listen for the carol
of the trees as the wind
repeats its sounding joy.
You’ll feel more lost than
saved but that’s how the
prophets say it will feel
the closer your journey to
the coming arrival.

~ The Beautiful Due

Mary’s Soul

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Elizabeth

There is a stillness and a hush.

There are words that shred her heart.

It is after the man of light, speaking words of miracle.

It is after the shepherds of dirt, speaking visions of angel army chorales.

It is after the star of God, shining spotlight on her baby.

It is after the scholars of heavens, laying rich treasures down.

There is the temple and the sacrifice and the consecration of a baby.

There is a man who raises hands and speaks words of praise to God.

There are words that shred her heart.

And a sword will pierce your own soul too.

There is a stillness and a hush.

And ever after, she lives and follows Him, trusting that God will keep His promises. She is faithful in her trust.

And she stands at the foot of a cross, watching her innocent child as He is brutally tortured and murdered. As He is pierced with a sword.

And her own soul is pierced as well.

It cannot have made any sense at all.

The murder of innocents never does. Death itself never does.

There is a cross.

There is ugliness and pain and sorrow and grief.

There is beauty and rescue and hope and the promise of life for all time.

There is faithfulness and trust in a God Who keeps His promises. Always.

In the stillness and the hush,

In the joy of angels singing

as well as in the piercing of your own soul,

Trust in our God whose Word never fails.

I pray for a joyful Christmas for all of you, worshiping the God who makes all things beautiful in His time.

art credits: snow photo by Kirk Sewell; The Nativity by Correggio; The Three Crosses by Rembrandt; Cross photo by Asta Rastauskiene; Annunciation to the Shepherds by Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem; Pieta by Michaelangelo; Advent wreath photos by Elizabeth Giger

I Am Waiting

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Elizabeth

I am waiting.

I am waiting for orders to arrive so that they can be made beautiful with paper and ribbon.

I am waiting for this beautiful new life within me to be born into this world.

I am waiting as my Papa fights this cancer.

I am waiting.

We wait each evening, eyes bright with candlelight, watching Mary wind her way around to Bethlehem.

Advent. Waiting.

As I am still and wait in this Advent, I dimly grasp that all of life is waiting.
I am waiting for peace on earth.

I am waiting for joy to fill up our world.

I am waiting on God.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret–it leads only to evil.

I am waiting for Christ to come and for all to be made right again.

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.

I wait in Advent for Word to become flesh.

I wait in Time for Word to return again and repair this broken world, heal my sin-broken heart.

I am waiting for a tiny baby to come quiet in Bethlehem. For an angel to sing glory. For shepherds to rush breathless. For wise men to bow humbled.

I am waiting for Christ to come.

As I wait, I find that He has, in truth, been Emmanuel, God with us, all through the full time of our waiting.

I am still.

I am waiting.

The Word of God

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Elizabeth

The Word of God.

God spoke His Word and light exploded out of the dark.

God spoke His Word and our earth was filled with life.

God spoke His Word and law was given as a mirror to show His people their soul-dark, their sin-death.

God spoke His Word

and His Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Word of God.

Sent to us who have walked in darkness to bring us into the grace of His light.

God sent His Word, Himself, in the soft, touchable skin of a baby. His Christmas gift to us.

Joy to the world! The Word has come!

The Word of God.

Light of lights! All gloom dispelling,
Thou didst come to make thy dwelling
Here within our world of sight.
Lord, in pity and in power,
Thou didst in our darkest hour
Rend the clouds and show thy light.
Praise to thee in earth and heaven
Now and evermore be given,
Christ, who art our sun and shield.
Lord, for us thy life thou gavest,
Those who trust in thee thou savest,
All thy mercy stands revealed.
St. Thomas Aquinas

May we worship Him alone, our light, our gift, God’s Word.

Jesus.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Be Still and Wait

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Elizabeth

Be still

Hush

Wait

Advent

Do you hear it?

It is a whisper in the darkness.

He is coming!

Can you feel it?

It is a gentle touch on your heart.

Love is coming!

Wait.

In the stillness, we feel it — His movements. In the stillness, our hearts leap — His coming! In the stillness, we know it– what falls down upon us — breath of heaven. ~ Ann Voskamp

Will you be still?

Will you give God this one gift, the gift of you, of your full presence?

In the excitement and the sparkle.

In the loneliness and the hurt.

Wait.

For just a few moments, hush and listen. Listen for that small whisper in your soul. Pause to feel God’s Spirit love your heart.

Love.

Peace.

Joy.

He comes!

We wait…and find that He has been Emmanuel, God with us, all along.

art credit: The Nativity by Antonio da Correggio; Advent Wreath carved by 15-year-old Caleb Voskamp (click on the link to order your own…he gives all proceeds to Compassion)

(If you are viewing this via email/in a reader, may I suggest that you click here to view this video?)

Are you going home for Christmas?

We try, in our own ways, to create that sort of a home in our adult lives, yet it is difficult sometimes to believe that such a home can exist in this world, this world that makes it hard to believe in much of anything at times.

This small but crucial missing piece is what the author of Hebrews talks about at the end of that great chapter detailing those who lived by faith. After naming some of the greatest heroes and heroines of our faith, the author writes,

These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

And so home is, after all, only where Christ is. Home is at the manger where even the oxen kneel at midnight. Home is at the foot of the cross and at the door to the empty tomb. Home is the place we will find when we finally know even as we are fully known.

I believe that…the home we long for and belong to is finally where Christ is. I believe that home is Christ’s kingdom, which exists both within us and among us as we wend our prodigal ways through the world in search of it. ~ Frederick Buechner

Are you going home for Christmas?

We are people walking in darkness.

Our souls are dark with selfishness and pride. We are blinded by our own interests so that we cannot truly see anyone else, so that we cannot see God. We seek and chase after happiness, darkened in our false understanding that we can find anything good outside of Jehovah.

We dwell in a land of deep darkness.

We live in a world where children are born needing new hearts, where babies emerge into poverty and hunger. We ache with the knowledge that storms destroy, that hurt people wound, that cancer kills.

We hang our heads to the ground in shame and weep in this darkness brought about by our own turning away from God. Where is hope?

Lift up your head, world that is heavy with darkness. Look up and see a great light.

Rise up from the ground, you who are burdened with shame. On you a light has shone.

A light has dawned. A great light has emerged out of the darkness. His name is Christ the Lord. He is Savior and Messiah. He is Mighty God and Prince of Peace. He brings peace to this world and peace to our souls. He is Ruler and King, He is Servant and Love.

We no longer must dwell in darkness but can run strong in the light.

Unto us a son is born, unto us a child is given.

The light has come and we are free. Free from darkness, free to love.

Where is hope? Hope is here.

For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Christ is here.

Christ has come!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Waiting. Breathless. Hopeful. Fearful.

Watching. Gazing intently at this flickering light. It is a light that at times appears so feeble it sometimes seems that it could be extinguished by a whisper.

At times we blow gently, hoping the light will flare up and blaze forth to push out the darkness. At other times we hide in the dark, weeping a prayer, desperate not to let our deep, ugly parts be known.

We desire the light and we fear it. This light is love. It is not a weak, self-centered, human love. This is mighty and humble, king and servant, cross- and pain-bearing love.

This is Love who will take that flickering candlelight and fan it into flame that overcomes darkness, even our own. Flame that someday will refine and purify our entire world, purging away dross and imperfection, giving to all of us redeemed perfection results.

And we wait. Wait for Christmas. Wait for Christ. Wait to be known. Wait to be redeemed.

We wait with our breath held. We wait with a labored kind of waiting, waiting with pregnant hope for our world to be reborn.

And while we wait, we work. We serve. We keep our eyes fixed on that flickering light.

And the waiting will be over.

There are wild things just beyond the creche. Pry loose an Advent candle from its round wreath and walk straight past the doe-eyed virgin, deeper into the world he was born to save.

~ The Beautiful Due

There are wild things
just beyond the creche.
Pry loose an Advent
candle from its round
wreath and walk straight
past the doe-eyed virgin,
deeper into the world
he was born to save.