Thursday, March 12, 2015

Matthew 1:18-21

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Believe the dream

Thanks, Joseph. Thanks for believing the dream. Your dream is a gift to me. It lives in me, no … in us.

You dreamed that God truly is the Love who conquers the distance between our souls and the Soul of God—that we may know the fullness of God’s loving presence.

But your dreaming is even more audacious, for you dream that your quiet little life will serve a role in making God’s dream come true.

You believe it, and do what needs to be done to protect Mary and the child who is the presence of God’s heart on this earth. You did what God’s dream called you to do and because you did … we know the heart of God.

Joseph never speaks in the Bible, not one word. He appears at this important point in the story of Jesus birth then disappears from the scene. He is not around when Jesus is dies on the cross. He certainly never knew of the resurrection. By then he had finished his job likely had died long before.

He is like so many of God’s people who live quiet lives serving their church, sharing the love that is in them through their jobs and families, faithfully worshiping, giving to causes that serve the needy.

Their efforts, often in the background, keep Christ’s church alive and ticking so that it can love and bless God’s world in ways they may not ever see.

But they do it anyway because they believe God is working … even through them … to make God’s holy dream come true.

Pr. David L. Miller 

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

 Philippians 2:5-6

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited, 

The gift of Love

Moments come when I am aware of Christ’s mind within my own. I do not possess it, nor do I do anything to create it. It is just there, a Great Heart within my own, filled with love, pulsing, warm and wanting to be given away in love for this crazy world and its myriad needs.

Sometimes it comes in the presence of someone’s need. Sometimes it is awakened by the painted sky of a spring sunrise, brush strokes of pink and purple over a pale blue horizon.

At other times, the mind of Christ fills the heart when one knows great love, a love that is the gift of the One is the Great Love.

Bible stories say Jesus sometimes slipped from the crowds and his friends to be alone, to listen to the waves, to watch the moon finish its course and to hear to the Heart within his heart. He went to pray and know union, holy communion, with the Love that filled him, the Love he called Abba, Father.  

Oneness with the Love God is set Jesus free to give himself to the purpose of God. He surrendered to suffering and a brutal death not as an act of will but from the fullness of heart that comes when one knows God’s all-surpassing love.

The mind of Christ is the gift of the Great Love. It blossoms as we take time and make space to listen for the Heart within our own heart … and know the Love who holds us.

Pr. David L. Miller

Monday, March 9, 2015

Psalm 31:14-16

But I trust in you, O Lord;
   I say, ‘You are my God.’ 
My times are in your hand;
   deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors. 
Let your face shine upon your servant;
   save me in your steadfast love.

Always, with hope

I saw Bette today, and I blessed her but not nearly as much as she blessed me.

She will soon pass into your arms, Loving Mystery. Blessing her was not hard, for she is dying the same way she has lived—with grace and great love for her family and friends.

She opens her arms to receive me, filled with loving gratitude for the beauty of life and the rich goodness of all she has received in her 87 years.

She knows what Jesus knew as he faced the end of his ministry—her days and years, moments and final hours rest … always … in the hands of grace immeasurable, love unspeakable, beauty indescribable.

We sing Amazing Grace and say the Lord’s Prayer, and she receives the blessed sacrament one more time. Marking her head with the sign of the cross, I remind her … one more time … that she is yours, Holy One … in life and death.

All is well, even here as she lies in the bed from which she will soon pass into your arms. She knows your loving face has shined on her even in her most difficult moments and years … and always will.

The grace she has received fills her with grace even now.

Blessed are your saints, Loving God. They teach us how to live--always with hope, knowing … our times are in the hands of a Love greater than we know.

Pr. David L. Miller