Archives: Episode

Our Epiphany Season Theme, “Belonging to One Another” fits into a larger narrative on what it means to be “Neighbor”. Jesus calls us to love God and love neighbor as ourselves. The tone we set in our community of faith helps us to live in community with neighbor. We encourage you to take some time in the week(s) ahead to reflect upon Jeff Chu’s article, entitled “What Happens When We Share a Meal?”.

You can listen to an audible recording (thank you Tori Tyndall and Ryan Corbitt) or read the article. We will use Jeff Chu’s honest reflection as a conversation starter around tables.

Scripture Reading:  If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil work; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. (Isaiah 58:10)

God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)

Meditation:  Among my fondest Christmas memories are the Christmas Eve services at Fredericksburg Baptist Church –the traditional hymns, the candles, the sense of family, big and small.  It is a time of great joy when we allow ourselves to think about new beginnings and hope for a better world.

In many ways that is the essence of Christmas.  It is a journey toward hope.  But God’s call to each of us is to put hope into action.  It would be a mistake to only see the joy and hope that the baby Jesus represents and not listen to the rest of the story, the story of God’s call to reconciliation for each of us and for those whose lives we touch every day.  Our response to the journey after Christmas must be, “Here I am Lord, send me.”

Thus, as we celebrate this holy day, we must recognize that the journey to Christmas was to prepare us for the hard work of the journey from Christmas.  The road is long and filled with trials but the Jesus we meet on Christmas Day travels with us, if we choose to let Him.  And He transforms us on the journey. 

 These words from John Westerhoff, III say it well:

We have been called into a visionary community to risky, laughable lives of tomorrow’s people, to live in and for God’s dream, to witness to a world of peace and unity, freedom and equality, of justice and well being for all people.  We are called to accept the cost and the joy of discipleship, to proclaim the word and deed of the good news of God’s dream come true.  God promises us courage and strength in the struggle for peace and justice; God forgives us our failures and lifts us up to new possibilities; God is present in our trials and rejoicing and hopes from this day forward.

Prayer:  Oh Lord, thank You for the joy of Christmas and Your gift of hope wrapped in swaddling clothes.  Please travel with us on the journey ahead and continually remind us that if we are faithful to the trek, not only will we find friends along the way, not only will we find the beautiful and the true and the good and the lovely and the delicious tastes and sounds and smells and sights given to us by the Creator of the journey …but we will also catch a vision of what is at the end of the road.  Amen.

      (paraphrase from Ken Medema)

For additional information about our Advent devotions and their authors, click here. 

Scripture:  Tears may flow in the night, but joy comes in the morning.  (Psalm 30:5b)

 I have come that you might have life — life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)

Meditation:  Michael was nearly dead when he came to the Christ House medical recovery facility for the homeless.  Years of poor choices had all but destroyed his body, and he languished in bed for days.  Gradually, with rest, proper nutrition and hydration, and the introduction of appropriate medications, his body began to respond.  His vital signs improved, and he was finally able to take his meals in the dining room with the other patients.  He began spending more time out of bed, helping with daily chores and getting to know the staff and other patients.  A ready smile and laugh and a sense of humor began to be revealed.  Michael was rising from near death in more than just a physical way.  He completed the facility’s drug rehab program and was then able to move into Kairos, the long-term housing program of Christ House for former patients committed to recovery.

When Michael put on more strength-giving weight and muscle he could often be seen on weekends helping to strip and re-wax the floors, giving other patients haircuts, or giving a hand in any number of jobs that needed doing.  He became a regular in the Christ House worship service, too, serving communion, reading scripture, or sharing from his heart when called upon.  He seemed to have opened some previously-shut doors of his life to God, and God, in turn, seemed to be filling him with abundant life.  The addiction to drugs was displaced by the much more powerful high of God’s abundant blessings.

When Michael heard that a group of Christ House staff persons and Kairos residents were going to the Christian community of prayer, scripture, and singing in Taize, France, he jumped at the opportunity.  Taize draws thousands of persons, mostly young people, from all over the world at a time.  Three times a day the bells of Taize ring out to summon the pilgrims to worship.  During one evening worship time in Taize, Michael found himself standing before this group of several thousand pilgrim worshippers telling them how God had saved and was still working in his life to give him an abundance of blessings he never dreamed possible.  Afterwards, scores of young people crowded around him to get to know him better and hear more about his changed life.

One of the saints of old has written that “we have not because we ask not.”  Michael did ask.  He was asking of God by opening his life to God’s seemingly impossible possibilities.  And who could have imagined the abundant, mega-joyous results?

Prayer:  Gracious God, on this Christmas Eve ripe with joy and promise as we await the celebration of Christ’s birth, let us not forget that You are the great Dreamer of joyful dreams, the supreme Lord of joyful imagination, and that with You, nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible.  Amen.

For additional information about our Advent devotions and their authors, click here. 

Scripture:  But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid!  I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.  This very day in David’s town your Savior was born – Christ the Lord!  (Luke 2:10-11)

You will leave Babylon with joy: you will be led out of the city in peace.  The mountains and hills will burst into singing, and the trees will shout for joy. (Isaiah 55:12)

Meditation:   C. S. Lewis once wrote that “joy is the serious business of heaven.”  My understanding of that “serious business” grew substantially as I served on Fredericksburg Baptist’s 1995 mission team to Prague.

When the first request for team members came out in the church newsletter I felt a tug at my heart.  But I quickly talked myself out of it.  “I probably don’t have enough vacation days at work,” I thought, “and Dad is really sick, and it probably costs too much.”  A day or two later a good friend and member of the congregation, called and said, “I think you should apply for the Prague mission team.”  Her calling “out of the blue” caused me to open my heart and mind again to that possibility, and the result was great, great joy for me.

The joys were almost too many to count—seeing the beautiful, old, and historic city of Prague; helping to renovate the site for the International Baptist Theological Seminary; bonding with church members I hadn’t known well before; and meeting Christian people from many countries. Then there were the joys of opening my suitcase to find a note for each day from my husband and daughters; receiving notes from church members; and “running into” an old friend from our former church in Phoenix who was also working at the seminary.  I think the very apex of my joy there came one evening as we all sat on the patio and sang familiar hymns in our varied languages.  “Amazing Grace” is even more beautiful when the English is sung together with Czech, German, Russian, and Italian.  I thought to myself that this must be part of what heaven will be like.  I didn’t want the evening to end.

Not long after the team returned to Fredericksburg, my friend and I had lunch together and I said to her, “What if you hadn’t obeyed the prompting of God’s Spirit to call and encourage me to go to Prague?  I would have missed out on all that joy.”  She offered that she thought that we all probably miss out on lots of joy because we fail to listen and respond to many of the Spirit’s callings in our lives.  Think of what we miss.

So as you stand on the brink of Christmas 2019, give yourself  the gift of deep and lasting joy by inviting Christ into your life if you’ve never done that before, and  by listening for God’s intimate dialogue with you through scripture, prayer and meditation, sermons, books, music, the words of fellow Christians, etc., etc.  Then make a New Year’s resolution to respond to those tugs at your heart, perhaps to become involved in one of the new ministries of the church, or perhaps in one of longstanding.  Either way, God is eagerly waiting to bless you with joy!  

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, we thank You that the serious business of heaven and of heaven on earth is joy.  Now help us to get serious about this serious business, for Your glory and our sakes.  Amen.

For additional information about our Advent devotions and their authors, click here. 

Scripture:  Then [Jesus] poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist . . .  “I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet.  You, then, should wash one another’s feet… Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!”   (John 13: 5, 14, & 17)

Meditation:  A life-sized bronze statue of Christ stands outside the Christ House building on Columbia Road in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood of northwest Washington, DC.  It is a statue of the “Servant Christ” kneeling with a bowl of water to symbolically wash the feet of whoever passes by.  

Marie worked as a cook at Christ House, and she learned the truth Jesus was teaching when He washed His disciples’ feet.  She acquired the servanthood of love.  Her smile lit up any room, and her cheerful willingness to alter or add to her already-busy schedule bore witness to her inner light of love.  For instance, there were occasions when a Christ House patient would develop a need for a special dish or diet such as chicken soup or clear liquids.  Marie wouldn’t just open up a can of soup; she would make some from scratch!  She lived out Christ’s command to be a willing, loving servant to others.

Marie was born in Kenya, and over the years she saved up enough from her modest pay to obtain a better home for her father who still lives in that African country.  When others needing homes moved in with him, she saved again to enlarge the dwelling.

The salt and light of Marie’s life made me want to give my best to the work at Christ House.  Thus, she became a leader for me through her servanthood.  Often on my way into work at 7:00 a.m. I would see Marie walking to early Mass, knowing she had a full day of hard work in the Christ House kitchen ahead of her after worship.  I had to admit to myself that I probably would have slept later most of the time instead of going to early church on a workday.

As God’s glory was shown 2,000 years ago in the lives of the humble Mary and Joseph who were willing servants of God, so the glorious love of the Savior was shown in the life of the humble cook, Marie.

Prayer:  As this holy season approaches, may we learn better to tread the journey of humility and servanthood which You, dear Lord, have journeyed before us.  May we learn in the doing of it, that loving servanthood is, paradoxically, the road to joy.  Amen.

For additional information about our Advent devotions and their authors, click here. 

Scripture:  Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this.  A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”  (Matthew 13:33)

Meditation:  I was not a very good steward of my piano-lesson days.  I didn’t practice enough!  (Great thanks to Judy Fiske and Ryan Corbitt and others who were and did!  You bless us so much.)  But God didn’t get angry and give up on that part of me.  One day the Spirit encouraged me to offer up what little bit of ability I did have to be used for God’s Kingdom.  The young boy in the Bible with the little lunch of loaves and fishes came to mind:  with Christ’s blessing the boy’s meager gift ended up feeding several thousand people, with baskets-full left over.  This story encouraged me, even though I knew in my heart that my musical ability was about the size of a minnow!

Several weeks later I saw a longtime member of Fredericksburg Baptist Church who, for many years, had been involved with the church’s Special Friends class for adults with cognitive disabilities.  He asked if I played piano.  I told him I wasn’t very good, but that I played a little.  The class needed someone to play, and I agreed to give it a try.

Well, God took my little “musical minnow” and somehow made it grow like a batch of rising bread dough.  With many wrong notes and all, God turned the music into a thing of great joy for the Special Friends and for me.  Sunday after Sunday we would “raise the roof” with praise for Jesus, singing, “Jesus in the Morning,”  “Do Lord, Oh Do Lord, Oh Do Remember Me, “  “Jesus Loves Me,” and “I’ve Got the Joy,  Joy,  Joy,  Joy Down in My Heart,”  to name just a few selections.

No matter when I would arrive in the class, early or late, the Special Friends always greeted me with joyful enthusiasm.  Other teachers, friends, and guests enjoyed the same heartwarming reception.

George Will, the well-known political commentator and columnist, has a special son about whom he once wrote a column in Newsweek magazine.  He wrote that his son and others like him have a special, outstanding ability for joy!  Like George Will’s son, the members of the Special Friends class have a special ability for joy, and surely they have been teachers in this gift of the Spirit on many occasions.  

Prayer:  Lord, help us to give more of both our very small and our larger talents and gifts to You.  Thank You for the joy in our lives.  Forgive us, Lord, when we forget all that You have done and are doing for us daily.  Forgive us for becoming complacent about the greatest gift of joy — Your Son.  Amen.

For additional information about our Advent devotions and their authors, click here.