Advent 4 - Love

Before this week is completely gone, a quick post about love. We use this word WAY too flippantly in the 21st century, in my opinion. We use it to describe our feelings on food, politics, clothes, music styles - I could go on for awhile yet! Part of the 'problem' is that English does not have a wide variety of words for this feeling/emotion. We hear a great deal about love at this time of year and for this post I'm going to quote the words of a seldom heard carol. As is the case with many carols and hymns, this one began as a poem, and such beautiful poetry it is!

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and angels gave the sign.

Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, love divine;
Worship we our Jesus:
But wherewith for sacred sign?

Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

Rossetti also wrote the words to another favourite carol of mine, "In the bleak midwinter".

Advent 3 - Joy!

I am obviously a little behind here... someday I'll learn how to write ahead and have Blogger put up my post on a certain day. So, how am I doing in the 'joy department'? I've come to realize that the third week of Advent is generally my 'panic' week - the week during which I fret that nothing will be ready on time, that I've bitten off more than I can chew, etc. Joy seems to sprout wings and fly off to some other, less busy, less frantic home! Or does it? What is (or should be) the Christian believer's definition of joy? I'm open to comments and suggestions, my readers...

Advent 2 - Peace?

Advent is a time of preparation and waiting for the coming of Christ. This time of year for a church musician brings extra preparation (at least it feels like 'extra') for St. Andrew's Christmas Eve service and all the glorious music of the season! I'll be the first to admit, it wouldn't seem like Christmas without the music. Still, that brings its own stress and weariness and over the weekend, I got the worst sore throat I've had in awhile. Good thing I'm not a singer...

St. Andrew's is in its own season of preparation and waiting as well. On January 8, 2012 we will have our last service at our current location before we move into a partnership with Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Many decisions have been made and still need to be made before this actually takes place. I think it's safe to say that the biggest decisions are behind us and what remains is a lot of little decisions - not sure which is more tiring! Both require a great deal of prayer, thought and planning and God's hand is evident as we take steps on this journey.

By now you may be asking, "What does all this have to do with peace?" I think sometimes we casually define personal peace as being relaxed, in a blissful state, without a care in the world. May I propose something different? I believe God's peace is an underlying sense of reliance on Him, and that God's plan and purpose are being worked out, sometimes/often in ways we cannot see or understand. During this busy season, I rely on that.

Through gates of pearl...

We sometimes hear the expression "the pearly gates", often in connection with a joke that mentions Peter and someone seeking entrance to heaven. Today, for All Saints' Day, we sang the hymn For all the saints (words by William W. How) and the line that grabbed my attention this year was in the 8th verse: "...through gates of pearl streams in the countless host..." I think the reason this line stood out to me today is connected to what I witnessed at the women's conference I attended in May. You can read about that here. At the end of the message this morning, each one in the congregation was invited to come forward and light a candle representing someone (a saint = Christian believer) who had influenced them in their spiritual walk in the past. The candle would also represent someone that we hope to influence for Christ. Although we are a small group, it was moving to see each flickering flame and realize that those candles represented a miniscule portion of 'the countless host' - some of whom have gone before and some who will come after us.

Merry Christmas! (for real)

We are now firmly planted in the 12 days of Christmas. These are my relaxing days; the musical demands of the season are behind me now and I can listen to carols and enjoy them!

Last year, I wrote a little on the subject of sentiment and/or emotion in the carols we sing. The Victorian writers were especially good (it seems to me) at glossing over the hard reality of Jesus' birth. I was challenged by a friend to write something that was more realistic but still singable.

Asleep in the manger; there's no other place
for Mary to put Him. There's dust on His face.
The cattle are noisy! She just needs to rest
with Joseph and Jesus; she feels very blessed.

But wait! There are shepherds who come now to see
the Babe in the manger and His family.
'Twas angels that told them - well, that's what they say.
It would have been nice if they'd come the next day.

The Baby is crying again; is He wet?
Or hungry or cold? Mary's not sure, and yet
she loves Him and holds Him and sings Him to sleep
accompanied by sounds from the goats and the sheep.

Advent 4 - Love = God with us

I am so thankful for God's love,
shared with us in the unique form of His Son, our Lord, Jesus.
Emmanuel = God with us!

Advent 2 - Peace is coming

Last Sunday we lit the second Advent candle, the candle of peace. I have been thinking about the many aspects of peace over the days since. I have especially been remembering the point that was made in the sermon that we have (very generally speaking) some ideas about what 'peace in the world' will look like. There will be no war, no violence, nations and people will live in harmony with each other. However, just as the Jews in Israel had some misconceptions about Jesus as their King, setting them free from Roman rule, so we may be mistaken about Christ's eventual reign of peace. With the hectic pace of life, particularly at Christmas time, do we feel peace in our lives? In our homes? In our world? How can we promote peace between ourselves and others? These are some questions to ponder during Advent as we actively wait for Christ's coming.

Merry Christmas!

The Christ candle burns bright and clear; we celebrate the birth of the Baby whose life continues to change the world! Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Making Candles (2)

I'm new to blogging and didn't get these photos attached to the blog below. Some of the 'equipment' I use for making candles is what my Mom used 30-40 years ago, like the pan holding the water on the left of the photo. The hexagon and round molds are my own and less than 10 years old.

Making Candles = Epiphany?

All of last week seemed to fly by and I missed posting something for Epiphany. (I thought about it, but that was about as far as I got.) To begin writing today, I thought I'd look up the Oxford Dictionary definition of the word 'epiphany' - and I was a little surprised at what I found:

"Epiphany = manifestation of Christ to the Magi, festival of this (6 Jan.); (epiphany) manifestation of a supernatural being."

What surprised me was what wasn't there - no mention of 'having an epiphany' or of 'epiphany moments' or any of those expressions we sometimes hear. That got me thinking; what do we mean when we use those phrases in common speech? The way I've used them, or heard others use them, is to mean that I've had an 'aha' moment. The light has dawned! I understand! To the Magi this revelation of Christ was much more than an 'aha' moment. Their realization of who Christ was and their dream afterward was a life changing experience which even made them alter their route home to avoid telling Herod what they had discovered.

By now perhaps you are wondering how all this connects to candle making. I usually make candles before Christmas, sometimes for gifts. I couldn't let the (extended) season go by without making any, so I began a couple days ago. Somehow it seems appropriate to be creating a source of light when we are celebrating that the light has dawned -the Light of God's love, Jesus.

Advent: Preparing for Christmas (3)

Our time of waiting is more than half over. Christmas draws near! This morning during worship we lit the third candle of our Advent wreath. Here's what was in today's bulletin.


"Here at St. Andrew's we have been lighting one candle each week during Advent (the 4 Sundays preceding Christmas). There are many symbols associated with this tradition. The wreath, an unending circle, has long represented eternal life. Gerry Bowler suggests in The World Encyclopedia of Christmas that it may also foreshadow Christ's crown of thorns. You will notice that 3 candles are purple - the liturgical colour for Advent. They represent Hope, Peace and Love. This week we'll light the one pink candle - the liturgical colour for Joy. As the darkness of December deepens, the candlelight grows until Christmas Eve when we will light the white Christ candle. God has sent us the Light of lights!"

Symbols and visual aids are useful in worship. They help us 'see' our faith in new ways. However, if the symbol is to stay meaningful, we must know the history behind it. This is why I feel it is so important to keep teaching others, and learning things myself, about worship, how and why we do what we do. I'm sure at some point this thought alone will provide material for a post or two!

The days are still getting shorter; the darkness grows longer. Look ahead, my friend, your redemption draws nigh!