Advent Devotional 9

Pausing for Peace

By Kathy Sievert

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

In the frenzy leading up to Christmas when I’m consumed by my to-do list--shopping to finish, presents to wrap, packages to mail, parties to plan, dinners to host, gatherings and events to attend, the tree and house to decorate, cookies to bake, Christmas cards to write - I forget about God’s nearness and the true gift of this season. It’s easy to be swallowed up by anxiety and discouragement, knowing I’ll never complete all these preparations. And I wonder is it even the right way to get ready for Christmas? Have I become too distracted by mundane activities? Am I too busy to be aware of God?

The other day I found my stash of Christmas cards. I bought several boxes last year during the post-Christmas sales. Every single card design I selected seemed like a whisper from God: “Wishing you the blessing of Peace at Christmas and always.” “Peace on Earth.” “May peace and gratitude be yours this Christmas and throughout the year.”

I took a deep breath. Peace is more than an absence of conflict; peace is an attitude toward life. The prophet Isaiah tells us that those who trust God have peace. (Is 26:3) Jesus, the Prince of Peace, gives us inner peace and a way to have peace with others. I can’t avoid all the troubles, conflicts and difficulty in my life, but I can choose to trust God, to open my heart and feel God’s presence in the concern and compassion, in the simple pleasures and quiet moments, in nature’s beauty and the kindness around me. I can choose to be at peace by asking myself some questions: What does all this holiday busyness really mean? What do I need to release and give to God? Why is so hard for me to pause and accept God’s peace? What happens when I stop and turn toward the Prince of Peace?

It’s easy to feel hopeless about the possibility of peace on earth and inner peace. Yet all around us, there are clues to cultivating a peaceful spirit. When I take the time to really listen to the words of the Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1863 poem, I discover a path to peace. In the lyrics, someone hears the bells pealing

more loud and deep:

God is not dead, nor does God sleep,

For Christ is here; His spirit near

Brings peace on earth, good will to men.

The carol concludes with a call to faith to overcome the darkness.

Oh, hear God’s voice, and turn from sin.

The Prince of Peace then enters in,

And grace imparts within their hearts

His peace on earth, good will to men.

I’m setting aside my to-do list for a while to reflect on this mystery. God is with us. I will quietly marvel at the birth of the Prince of Peace and what it means for the world.

God of Peace, Emmanuel, God with us, help me to slow down and open my heart so I can rest in your presence and know your peace in these times of global turmoil and personal distress. Amen

St. John member Kathy Sievert is a Stephen Minister.

Advent Devotional 8

Sharing God’s Peace

By Lisa Wells

Out of the depths of the American Civil War came one of my favorite Christmas hymns. “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1863. As he hears the bells ringing on Christmas morning, Longfellow laments:

And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

How those words still resonate today! I cannot help but wonder, how are we to be joyful when so many are suffering, when wars rage, and hate seems to be ever present? Where is Peace?

The poem continues:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

The poem references Luke 2:14. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.” Wait, what? What did the angels mean, saying “peace among those with whom he is pleased?” Why not peace everywhere? But, just as the poem says, that doesn’t mean God is dead, or asleep, or indifferently observing us from a distance. Instead, God is very much alive and active in our world. God craves being intimately involved in our lives. When we live in an authentic relationship with God (when we live in a way that pleases him), we receive that promised peace. 

Now, if you overthink things even half as much as I do, you’ll wonder, “but how do I know if I’ve done enough? How do I know if God is pleased with me?” Good news! God did that work for us!

Jesus continually uses the word Peace as a greeting to his disciples after the resurrection. In the Old Testament, the word for “peace” is shalom. Shalom refers to a state of wholeness and harmony, spilling over into all our relationships. More fundamentally, shalom means a reconciliation with God. “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him [Christ], and through him to reconcile to himself to all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20, emphasis mine). God repairs that broken relationship with us through Jesus Christ. Shalom/Peace is experienced through our complete well-being – emotional, spiritual, social – flowing into all our relationships, made possible by God’s gift of grace.

The angels did not proclaim a world free from war or heartache or greed. They proclaimed a new world filled with the peace of reconciliation with God, gifted to us in the form of a tiny baby.

In Matthew 5:9, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” What a promise! Jesus, the Prince of Peace, declares that anyone who follows his lead is accepted into a state of wholeness and reconciliation with God. “For those that are led by the Spirit of God are children of God,” (Romans 8:14).

Realistically most of us lack the ability to change the entire world, but we can each be led by the Spirit to share God’s peace in our small corner of it.  

Let’s put some of that peace into practice:

Right now, think of someone who you know, but not necessarily very well. Maybe you don’t even know their name. Maybe you’ve been told their name multiple times, but you’ve forgotten it each time and now you’re too embarrassed to ask yet again. Or maybe it’s someone you knew, but then lost touch with years or even decades ago. Think of that person, and hold them in your heart right now, and ask for God’s peace on them.

Most Holy God,

May the barista who was working at Kaladi’s this morning feel your love and peace surround her. May people be kind to her. God, you know her name. You know her heart. Bless her with your peace, and remind her that she is your beloved child. May she experience wholeness and harmony in her relationships. Thank you for bringing reconciliation to her life through your son Jesus. May she be led by your Spirit and reflect your peace.

Now pray that same prayer for yourself.

Most Holy God,

May I feel your love and peace surround me. May people be kind to me. God, you know my name. You know my heart. Bless me with your peace. Remind me that I am your beloved child. May I experience wholeness and harmony in my relationships. Thank you for bringing reconciliation to my life through your son Jesus. Lead me by your Spirit that I may reflect your peace.

Was it harder to pray for someone else, or yourself? Who else is God calling you to pray for during this week in Advent?

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased. 

Shalom.

St. John member Lisa Wells is a Certified Lay Servant and plays in the handbell choir.

Advent Devotional 7

Practicing Hope

By Pastor Andy Bartel

I love to be outside. Riding my bike, running on the trails, skiing through the woods. I love to be outside. Except … I don’t. When the mercury falls and the darkness descends, it can be difficult to motivate myself to go outside. It’s too cold. It takes too long to get dressed and undressed. I’ll go tomorrow.

It seems easier to make excuses, than to just go and do the thing that I say I love. I remember Pastor Emily once saying, “I’ve never regretted a run.” Those words grabbed my attention. For all the mental calisthenics I may put myself through to avoid doing the thing I say I love, once I do it, I never regret it. I’m always grateful and thankful to have gone outside, and so I’ve learned that there will be plenty of times I don’t “FEEL LIKE” going outside, but if I just discipline myself, and do it anyway, even when, ESPECIALLY when I don’t feel like, I’ll be glad.

Hope is like that. Sometimes it’s hard to find. Sometimes it’s hard to feel hopeful, and those are the times I find I have to DO hopeful. Like biking, or running, or skiing, hope takes discipline and intentionality. Hope takes practice. And you know what’s amazing? Just like getting outside, choosing to practice hope never leaves me disappointed.

In the fifth chapter, the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Rome: “… suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us …”

My friends, this Advent season, when you feel overwhelmed by the suffering of the world, choose to practice hope. I promise, like going out for a run, hope never disappoints.

Andy Bartel is lead pastor at St. John UMC.

Advent Devotional 6

Holding Fast to Hope

By Lindsay Watson

“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

I know this is a devotional about hope, but let’s be honest, hope, faith, and love are intertwined, and it’s difficult to delve into one concept without touching the others. So I’m going to start with love.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the current state of Christianity. It seems that, at least in the eyes of many, Christian has become synonymous with hypocrite. I understand that the Christians who are garnering national attention right now aren’t representative of the whole, but I’ve also spoken with enough Christians, and attended enough churches, to know that we’re allowing our biases to dictate our faith, our words, and our actions. How can we claim to follow the teaching of Christ to love our neighbors (Matt. 22:39) when so many Christians are choosy about which neighbors they love? 

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King, Jr. criticized the white churches of his time for staying silent in the face of segregation. He writes that he “... watched white churchmen stand on the sideline and mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid [the] nation of racial and economic injustice, [he] heard many ministers say: ‘Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.’” Sadly, not much has changed. Today, I think there are mixed reactions among Christians to social injustice and Jesus’ commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” There are those who are uncomfortable accepting people who are different from them (be they a different race, nationality, income level, gender, or orientation), so like the Christians of the 1960s, they stay silent when they see injustice. There are those who openly ostracize others, allowing their ideology to supersede their theology. And finally, there are those, a seeming minority, like many of the people I’ve met at St. John, who truly love their neighbors – all of their neighbors – and because of this, face the scorn of fellow Christians.

Here’s where hope comes into play. As some of you know, I teach high school English. Through essays, speeches, class discussions, seminars, and one-on-one conversations, I get a pretty in-depth look at what the younger generation believes. Some of my students are Atheists. Some are Christians. A few are Muslim. One is Jewish. Despite their theological differences, nearly all of them acknowledge and are infuriated by the injustice they witness, and they are standing up for what they believe in. Sometimes this is through testimony at School Board meetings. Sometimes this is through opinion pieces submitted to the ADN. Sometimes this is through volunteering at agencies that allow them to help those who are suffering. The younger generation is far less judgmental than the older one, and when given agency, they are powerful.

So, I have hope. I have hope because God is faithful. I have hope that we can love and cherish one another despite our differences. I have hope that the minority voice in the church can become the majority, and Christians will once again be known for their love.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you’ll guide our thoughts, words, and actions so that they glorify you and demonstrate your love for ALL people. Let us speak and act in ways so that others will know we are Christians by our love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

St. John member Lindsay Watson is an English teacher at South High School.

Advent Devotional 5

A Confident HOPE

By Laurel Poff

Read Romans 5:1-5; Hebrews 11

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” [Romans 5:5]

The Mexican Gray Wolf is the smallest gray wolf subspecies in North America. Once common throughout parts of the Southwestern U.S. and Mexico, the Mexican Wolf was nearly eliminated from the wild in the 1970’s due to conflicts with livestock. In 1976, the Mexican Gray Wolf was listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act and a bi-national captive breeding program was initiated to save the Mexican Gray Wolf from extinction. In 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the first captive Mexican wolves into the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in Arizona and New Mexico.

Schoolchildren in Flagstaff, AZ recently named one special wolf, Mexican Wolf 2979, “Hope” – a symbol of resilience and a reminder of what could be – a thriving, balanced ecosystem that defies outdated ideas of where wolves belong.

Hope, along with another Mexican Gray Wolf known as “Mystery”, left their wolf pack in July this year and were recently seen travelling outside of the Experimental Population Area north of Interstate 40 - near the Grand Canyon. Decided evidence for many conservationists of a rebound of the under-dog into its natural habitat.

Until November 7th, 2024, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that Hope was tragically found deceased. The fate of her companion wolf is still a Mystery.

The death of Mexican Wolf 2979 is a dashed Hope, a tragedy to all who saw her as a symbol of recovery for the Endangered Species.

As Christians, we are not immune to dashed hopes and defeated dreams. People fail, expectations fall through, and circumstances don’t pan out the way we wish. When we place our hope in people (or wolves), the weather, changing circumstances, even the best-made plans, we become vulnerable to failure and defeat.

Yet, there is an unwavering hope described in Scripture that does not fail. Romans 5:5 describes a hope that “does not disappoint”. How do we secure this hope? By placing our hope in the One who Does Not Fail. Jeremiah 29:11 describes confidence in a hope and a future placed in God’s Hands, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to give you a future and hope.” The One who is known as Almighty God, Redeemer, Light of the World, The Way, The Truth, Life, Love, Good Shephard, Messiah, Prince of Peace, King of Kings, Who does not falter or change like the wind or shift like sand. Immanuel, God (Always) With Us. We find confidence that the God of the Universe is with us this Advent Season, through the heartache and the hurt of unmet expectations and dashed dreams. He is With Us. He is Faithful. He is True. The One who promises to never leave us or forsake us [Hebrews 13:5]. This is a Hope that we can rely on.

How does knowing that God is with us through the Hard provide Hope?

Hebrews 11:1 describes Faith as “Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  How does this idea of Faith in God being connected to Confident Hope provide comfort and peace during this advent season?

Dear God, thank you for your promise to never leave us or forsake us. Thank you that we can place our hope in You, Immanuel, God With Us.

St. John member Laurel Poff is a U.S. Forest Service employee.