That we may shine

John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." (John 1:26-27)

That we may shine

He always stands among us, this One for whom we wait, ever near, waiting to be recognized.

We were not present along Jordan’s stream where John, the Baptizer, prepared human hearts and minds to receive the Christ soon to appear. But the Spirit of he who is Life and Love breathes in people and places you do not know, a mystery living among us whom we dare not miss lest we miss our life.

For he is our life; he is Life itself, the source from whom we come and to whom we go when this life is done with us. The soul’s joy and fulfillment, the final satisfaction of our hearts rises within us as we see and know him.

So surprise us, blessed Christ; startle and wake us from sleep that we see and love you in every place of our habitation. Grant that we may know your love in the curve of every smile that lifts our hearts.

Open our hearts to every soul we meet, especially those most in need, for you wait there, eager for us see and love you who are Love … that the everlasting circle of Love’s self-giving may course among us.

Open our eyes to see you in the ebullient blue of sun-kissed winter mornings, even as we wait, impatiently, for earth’s greening to come once more to announce the resurrection you bring to us every morn … and in every moment of seeing you.

We need to wake to your presence and feel you present within us, for you are Life. You are our peace.

So shine, would you please, on this new day. Reveal your face that ours may shine, too.

Pr. David L. Miller

As the year turns, see

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)\

Seeing him

Yes, we have seen glory, the glory of a Love of supernal proportions, and we dare believe this Love is our truest identity, our surest companion and the final destination of our being.

Jesus, the Christ, is the eternal Word God speaks that we may know the grace of the Everlasting Love who is forever for us.

He touched and healed, welcomed and blessed, bled and died, enduring human perplexity and hardness from friend and foe alike, forgiving their worst and inviting their best.

Seeing him enchants the heart, hungry as we are to know a Love beyond all others, a Love that frees from the fears that keep us from sharing the hope and hurt, love and joy hiding beneath the carefully curated faces we show the world.

Seeing him excites desire to know more, feel more, love more and crowd closer to his heart, for there we know we are safe. We know a truth that doesn’t change as the calendar page turns.

He is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

So we offer our New Year prayer to see him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly in the year to come. It is this we most need, lest our souls grow cold in this world so desperately needing the warmth of his divine heart … and ours.

And we look for him in the faces of friends and strangers, hoping to see to see some reflection of the Love he is, needing to be reminded that he walks with us even when we are least aware of his nearness.

Seeing him awakens our love for the Love who is our hope every day … and especially as the years turn.

Pr. David L. Miller

Waiting & knowing

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age …. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. (Luke 2:36-38)

We have seen God’s salvation. We have heard the tale once more and imagined Jesus’ infant face in a dark stable.

Having seen him, we remember the tenderness of our own children, tiny hands clutching our finger, the comfort of flesh-to-flesh, wordless love filling our eyes with tears of wonder and praise for the Source of life.

Those moments teach us salvation’s truth, the wholeness of a love that can fill the soul beyond any capacity. This is redemption of our humanity, the awakening of a love that fills every corner of our being, flushing out every doubt, all despair and any cynicism we feel about the emptiness of life or absence of God.

And now, having been touched again by the miracle of his love, we wait. This is our life, the life of faith. We see and know that God is faithful to the promise of presence. The Holy One comes in this child that we may see and fall in love with him that every broken place in our hearts and history might find healing.

We wait and hope, like old Anna, that this faithful God, who loves beyond our imagination, will come to us again … and again … and again ... long beyond our Christmas celebrations.

And like her we pray and watch, doing so as those who know, who have been graced with moments of Love’s fullness redeeming our humanity, forgiving every sin, lifting us from every failing, reminding us that the One who comes will again. 

Every day. Just watch. It’s a promise.

Pr. David L. Miller