The First Baptist Church of Redlands
T A PE S T R Y
DEC 2018
Wo v e n To g e t h e r I n L o v e : C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 2
Issue No. 12
A Message from Pastor Shawn
what d o we d o while we w a i t ? 10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?” 11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.” 12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.” 14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers. John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.” Luke 3:10-14 It’s possible that you spent some time with family over Thanksgiving, or you may be anticipating such a gathering over the Christmas season. I have heard stories of families having to set rules about topics of conversation in order to keep peace at the dinner table. Maybe you don’t have formal “rules,” but you have those unspoken ones that keep people from entering “danger zones” that could lead to hurt feelings or, at least, indigestion. These days those forbidden topics tend to be in the realm of politics. Nobody is going to bring up what everyone already knows, that a bunch of you cancelled out the votes of the rest of you in the last election. People aren’t going to talk about the times that one member of the family offended other members of the family by posting a meme or an article on Facebook. Frankly, it seems like more than the “normal” family disagreements about politics. It seems like every day there is a barrage of news and information about what is going on in our country and in our world that feels overwhelming. Our minds and our hearts try to process
the information. Our sense of right and wrong, our sense of what can be compromised or not, our sense of what is “normal”—all of these are on overload right now…no matter where we are on the political spectrum. Add to that, we hear the news of people being murdered while worshipping, or shopping, or just doing their job. And then there are the “natural” disasters, like wildfires consuming whole neighborhoods and even cities, causing us to ask what we have done to cause such devastation. Deep down many of us are feeling the unrest deep in our souls and asking the question, “How long?” Just this week I have heard several people say, “These must be the end times.” As we bring all of these longings, questions and feelings into the season of Advent this year, we are reminded that it is not the only time in history when people have asked the questions, “How long?” It is not just those of us in Redlands asking that question. I think about the mother who has left everything she knows, not knowing what the future holds, but will do anything to remove her child from the violence that is rampant in her home. And so they walk hundreds of miles, with only what they can carry, dependent on the kindness of those they meet along the way, for the basics of life. I think about children who have never experienced anything other than life in a war zone. How long? Advent is a time of asking “How long?” It is a time that represents those times when we ask, “How long?” We are reminded of a people, chosen by God to bring light to world, moving from exile to captivity to subjugation, living in hope of the day that
God would send the Messiah. We look to a day when evil and death will be destroyed in the Reign of God. We live each struggle in our own lives with the hope that comes with the presence of God and the company of God’s people. So what do we do in what seems like an everlasting season of “How long?” As John the Baptist prepared the way of the One that would follow, he said to repent. When asked what that looked like, he told people to live with integrity, kindness and generosity. I wonder if we began with questions of, “What does it mean to live with integrity, kindness and generosity?” what our dinner conversations would be like, even with people with whom we disagree politically. But more than that, I wonder if we began and continued to be involved in actions that are rooted in integrity, kindness and generosity, if it would bring a sense of hope to the deep longings of “How long?” I wonder if such involvement would bring us together and maybe even change some of our perspectives as we broaden how we see the world through the eyes of another. The prophet said that what God requires of us is to “seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.” And so as we live in this season of “How long?” may we involve ourselves in daily, intentional practices that cause us to walk humbly with our God. May we find strength in our God and in each other as we live in hope during this season of Advent. May we follow Jesus together in integrity, kindness and generosity. Grace and Peace in Christ, Pastor Shawn