December 24 Jesus is Light of the World: John 1:1-14

Carry Your Candle - Go Light the World 

(click link to hear song)

Jesus is Light of the World. This is it. This is what we've all been waiting for - the shining star above the manger. Today, the Light of the World comes to us. He comes to our lives to dispel the darkness. The darkness can be a scary place. The link below the picture is to a song that I suggest taking five minutes to listen to. The story it tells is one of hope and one of challenge. Jesus came into this world to be one of us. He comes to us in the Eucharist to dwell within us. Therein lies the challenge. While He is the light, He has given us the challenge to go light the world. We must light the candle of others in order to spread the light. 

Let's talk about the darkness for a minute. When the darkness is prevalent, it feels so heavy, so oppressive. One time in my life (I'll never do it again!) I went caving. I don't mean in one of those highly advertised, safe caverns with tour guides. No. My friends and I found a place outside of Kutztown PA where there was a cave. A real one. Without any lights. We squeezed through a little hole and with our flashlight and an abundance of courage, we crept through the tiny crevices and rocks. Yes. It was incredibly dumb. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but for some reason, the person with the light had to leave us for a short while. I don't remember if we got lost or if they were just going ahead to see where we were going. I just remember the complete and utter darkness they left behind. My companion and I tried to talk a little, but even that became difficult to do. At first, I was in wonder because it was the first time I had ever truly been in complete darkness. I remember holding my hand in front of my eyes and could see nothing. My companion moved and I could see no movement. Then, the darkness started to put pressure on me. My ears began to pound. My breathing became a little labored. The darkness became like a weight on my chest that nothing could remove. 

When the person with the light returned, he found some other people in the cave and wanted to bring us to them. He found a large cavern. What was so cool about that was that with only a small lantern, the entire cavern was lit. We could clearly see each other's faces, the large open space, the beauty of the stalagmites and stalactites. Just a little light, joined with our little light overcame even the darkest dark. Still, the claustrophobia kicked in and I wanted out of that cave. The light was a bit too artificial and the fear that the batteries would die overcame me. I had to get out and see the real light. The pure, fresh, bright light of day. As I said, I'll never do that again. I found out that I'm afraid of the dark. The real dark. 

There were lessons to be learned in that cave that day. First, never let your light leave you. Second, no one can take the darkness away without the light. My companion's chit chat did not make the mood or the atmosphere any lighter. It made it more desperate. I couldn't see her. I didn't know where she was. Her words didn't mean anything to me because they were just noise in the cave. It was only the light that brought me relief. 

I also learned that there is great comfort in joining your light to others. Seeing the light in others eyes, reflecting off their faces, brings a tremendous sense of relief. It lets us know that we're not alone. Others will carry our light when we can't. 

Finally, I learned that no matter how much artificial light we carry, we must - absolutely must - get to the true light. We can look for the light at church or doing the good works we're supposed to be doing, but until we find the light inside of us every day, it's artificial. Jesus, the Light of the World, is the only one who can do that for us. However, it is our job to carry that light to others and join their light until they find the light within themselves.

My prayer today is twofold. First, I'm so thankful for all who have carried the flame to light my candles throughout my life. My family and friends who have been there when my candle was extinguished but who joined their light to mine. I'm thankful to Jesus for keeping that fire lit inside of my heart and always, without fail, lighting it when I blow it out. I'd also like to pray that Jesus will show me others who need me to light their candles. I pray that your candles are lit today and that you and I both light as many candles as possible to make sure the Light of the World is brighter than the sun and shines on in the hearts of all.  I hope this blog has been a blessing to you as it has been for me. It makes me a little sad that today is the last day to hang a symbol on the Jesse Tree for 2013. But I am hopeful that the lessons we've learned through this journey will light our way into 2014. Merry Christmas! 

December 23 Jesus is Emmanuel: Isaiah 7:14; 33:22

Jesus is Emmanuel  - God with us. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the words of Isaiah. He clearly stated that a virgin would bear a son and call Him Emmanuel. When I was younger, I thought that this was a glitch in the system. Why didn't Mary call him Emmanuel if that's what Isaiah said she would call him that. I found the loophole. How in the world could this be the prophesy fulfilled when she called him Jesus. Fortunately, youthful challenges can be defeated. When the angel came to Mary, he told her to name him Jesus. Clear, straightforward. Isaiah was referring to what all would call Jesus - not what He would be named. Jesus is God with us! Jesus' nature and being was prophesied in many ways and by many titles. It wasn't until the Angel Gabrielle made it official that Emmanuel's name would be Jesus.

But what does God with us really mean? Think about that for a minute. God - our creator, our redeemer, our King is with us. Put that into perspective for a minute. Think of all our earthly "Kings" and imagine how we would feel if they were here, living with us every day. What if Pope Francis, or King Charles or King James (LeBron, of course ... that's a "king" my son would be impressed with) decided to move into our neighborhoods and live like us. It would be startling, wouldn't it? For these very special people to lower themselves to be one of us, wow. God did just that.

When Jesus became man, He allowed himself to understand everything we go through. Mothers know that Mary can relate to what they go through from childbirth to child death, and everything in between. We can talk to Mary as a mother because she was one - because of Jesus. Fathers can talk to Joseph as a father, because he was one - because of Jesus. Jesus became one of us in every sense of the word. He showed us selflessness beyond measure. He showed us love unparalleled. And He's still with us today. Every day. Our only burden is making sure we recognize Him.

Back in Jesus' day, it was easy to see Him. He was flesh and blood. But yet, still many did not see Him for who He was. As Catholics, we can see Jesus every day as well - in flesh and blood - at Mass. Our Holy Eucharist is not a symbol. It's God. Body, blood, soul and divinity. Our judge, our caregiver, our King. God with us!

My prayer today is to recognize Jesus in the Eucharist. I want to recognize Emmanuel at Mass. Sometimes we grow so accustomed to receiving Communion that it becomes routine. I pray that Catholics everywhere can see Christ in the Eucharist. For those who are not Catholic, I pray that you find Jesus in your lives in a very real sense every day. If we can truly do this, our souls will be satisfied. Our hearts will sing. Our lives will be forever changed every day.

December 22 Jesus is King of the Gentiles: Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20

Jesus is the King of the Gentiles. When I first started thinking about today's passage, my thoughts went immediately to Pope Francis. Jesus is the God of everyone. Of course, so many news media sources jumped on the "controversy" when the Pope seemed to be accepting of a gay lifestyle and even was open to atheists. How scandalous and shocking. Probably just as shocking as it was to the Pharisees when Jesus opened his mind and heart to prostitutes and tax collectors. I was going to try and write today's passage as one of acceptance and tolerance. There's plenty of fodder for that these days. However, in my humble opinion, most of the tolerance issues are not those that the mainstream say we have, but I believe there is an anti-tolerance issue against Christians.

But then, I realized - this is not a political blog. Then it really hit me. Jesus as King of the Gentiles is not about THEM. It's about US. Yes - look in the mirror. Unless you are an Israelite; unless you descended directly from one of the twelve tribes of Jacob; unless you are Jewish....you're a Gentile. That's the category I fall into. I'm a Gentile.  And Jesus is my King.

The recommended symbol for today is a crown or scepter. When I came across the crown of thorns and the Israeli prayer shawl, I thought it symbolized Jesus' Kingship even better than one with diamonds and rubies. Jesus spent his time with the chosen ones. He was a Jew. He opened his mind and heart and love to every person who came into His presence and He continues to do so today. His death was for every one of us. He did not discriminate against me...an Irish woman. Although I am unworthy of everything He has given to me. He said that He became my father and would give me an inheritance that far exceeds anything I could imagine.

The bible passage for today says that Jesus broke down walls and barriers. He came to preach peace to those who were far and those who were near. Through His crown of thorns, He became the great equalizer. He became not only the King of the Jews, but the King of the Gentiles as well. We are no longer foreigners or strangers. We are fellow citizens and members of God's household. Each one of us.

My prayer today is to help me remember that I too am a Gentile. I hope today that as I encounter all other Gentiles that I can share the love of Jesus and enjoy His inheritance with all of my Gentile brothers and sisters.

December 21 Jesus is the Radiant Dawn: Psalm 19:6-7 (in older Bibles this will be Psalm 18)

Jesus is the Radiant Dawn. How true is that? When we think of Jesus, invariably we must think of Light. He is the Light of the World. When I was selecting an image for today's post, I was tempted to choose a traditional sunrise. Every one is a work of art. My favorite sunrise is one rising above the water. But then, I realized - that's too narrow. Even the one I chose is too narrow. The bible passage for today tells us that the sun rises from one end of the heavens and sets at the other end. It spans everything. It touches everyone. On earth, there are very few places that the sun doesn't touch - the deepest underground caves, anything buried underground and maybe in the very deepest part of the ocean. But even though the sun doesn't touch those places directly, it feeds plants and animals on the surface that can bring food even to the deepest places.

The second verse in today's reading talks about reviving the soul and making the simple wise. I'd like to expand a little on that. When we think of the deepest caves in our hearts and our souls, we must remember that Jesus can penetrate that with His radiant dawn. He can revive the soul and bring wisdom to the lowest. As I reflected on today's symbol, I wondered for a minute why the symbol isn't just the sun. Why the dawn? Why not the sunset? (More people see sunsets than sunrises I would bet) Then, I realized that figuratively, Jesus is the end of our night time. He encourages us to arise from our slumber, to leave the night behind, to face each new day with a bright outlook and new eyes.

Full disclosure - I live in Florida, so I do awake to sunshine almost every day. This post is a little easier for me to write because of that. I used to live in Pennsylvania and awoke to gray skies more often than bright blue ones. My enthusiasm may not be so great if I was staring at a gray sky every day, but when you do have an opportunity to enjoy that sunshine, it's like something grips you. Your soul wants to sing. Your face wants to smile. Your feet want to dance. That's the way it is when Jesus comes to us and turns our night into day.

I've thought of situations where we struggle with seeing the light - even though it is always there. Where are some of those windowless caverns in our lives that make us wonder whether it's day or night? Physically, it could be office buildings where we bury ourselves so deeply in work that we miss the day. We drive to work in the pre-dawn and stay beyond the daylight. What light are we missing? Jesus' light, our families, our friends? What about casinos? I've never been in one in Las Vegas, but I hear that people have no idea if it's day or night inside. What about depression? The darkness envelops those who can't raise their eyes to see the light. Addictions. These can cause our eyes to close and it seems that nothing can shine brightly enough to open them.

There is most definitely hope though. Today's message tells us that nothing is untouched by the heat of the radiant dawn. Nothing. There is nothing that is impossible with God. Just as the sun nourishes the plants that nourish the animals that go into the cave, so does the Son nourish us. Although you can't look at the sun, you can certainly gaze upon everything it touches. Don't live in the shadows. Live in the light.

For all my northern friends reading this, my prayer for you is that no matter how gray (or white!) your day may be, look at everything the light touches. Watch the beautiful snow flakes or the shiny icicles. Each one is a piece of masterful art. If it's too cold to go outside, look at the sunlight in your loved ones eyes. If you are alone, open God's word and bask in its light. For my friends in these warmer climates, look around at everything you enjoy. Watch the birds. Listen to the trees rustling in the breeze. Take deep breaths and enjoy the warmth.

I admit I'm a little guilty of not appreciating what I have. I was a bit disappointed that we were going to reach the mid 80s this weekend and nearly 80 on Christmas day. I wanted a dip in the temperatures to make it feel more like a northern Christmas. My prayer today is to appreciate every minute of what I have. Instead of a warm fire and big dinner, we're going to be grilling steaks and sitting outside enjoying what we have this Christmas. We'll be sharing our time with family and friends. That's what Christmas is all about. Not the weather. I pray that Jesus, the radiant dawn, shines on each of us today and we turn our face toward that warmth and thank Him.

December 20 Jesus is Key of David: Isaiah 22:22

Jesus is the Key of David. According to today's passage, what Jesus locks stays locked and what Jesus unlocks stays unlocked. At first, thought today's symbol was pretty straight forward until I started to really think about it. I tried to think about the things that Jesus would lock forever and unlock forever and it kind of alluded me. I guess on a big scale, He holds the keys to heaven and has forever unlocked the gates so that through Him, we can enter. But what has He locked that cannot be unlocked?

I think that Jesus holds the key to our hearts. We sometimes lock that door, but He can unlock it. He can open doors that seemed to us to be shut forever. Sometimes, maybe He closes doors on things that aren't good for us and if we trust Him, we never try to open that door again. Maybe that's what this means.

Imagine walking down a long hall with Jesus and you come to a door. He unlocks the door and allows you to enter. During your stay behind the door, you may develop relationships and have experiences that make an indelible mark on your life. Some good, some bad. Maybe that's where the locking part comes in. As we surrender our lives to Christ, we give Him the ability to lock away things that we no longer want or need in our lives. I look back at the many lives I've encountered throughout my lifetime and realize that although there were some that remain with me always, there are others that I have locked out forever. Toxic relationships that did nothing but cause me grief or encourage me to fail - those are forever locked out of my life. But the only way to get away from that poison was to ask Jesus to lock that door. Once I've surrendered that to Him, I realized that I never have to look back. I never have to go back through that door.

On the other hand, there have been many doors that seemed closed to me. I never thought I would be able to solve a problem or accomplish a goal, but once I remembered that Jesus was the one holding the key, I'd find that the door would swing wide open. I think that is the point of this.

When I read the passage last night, I was immediately reminded of the verse in Matthew where Jesus gives the keys of heaven to Peter and informs him that all he binds on earth will be bound in heaven and all he loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. That key can open and close, bind and loose.

We all have bad things happen in our lives. We all make mistakes we wish we hadn't. We all do or think things of which we are not proud. As children of God, we can ask Jesus to bind those things up. To lock them away. We also have things that we have bound up inside of us. We may be withholding forgiveness or love. We can ask Jesus to unlock that and allow those things to gush forth. Jesus is the key.

My prayer is that Jesus will lock away all the things in my life that do not lead the way to Him and that He will unlock all of the love, compassion and forgiveness I may be holding in my heart.

December 19 Jesus is Flower of Jesse: Isaiah 11:1-3 Symbols: flower, plant with flower

But a shoot will sprout out of the stump of Jesse. Growing up, I heard so much about how Jesus' life was foretold. I heard in church that He came to fulfill the prophesies of old. However, growing up Catholic, our primary exposure to the bible happened at Mass. The bible was that big dusty thing we had up in the closet that looked to be about 150 years old with lots of thees and thous in it. Not something I was ever going to read. My other exposure to the bible came from my baptist friend's parents and their friends. Often when they found out I was Catholic, they'd show me their bibles with all the highlights and notes. I was a bit appalled. I thought it was a sin to write in the bible. I went to Catholic school and am a tried and true cradle Catholic. And I never read the entire bible until last year. To my credit, I did actually try reading Isaiah and still never really got the prophesy about Jesus.  I read the part about the suffering servant, but it just didn't click with me until much later. Now, today's passage is one of those times when God kind of whacks me in the head and says, "Do you get it now?"

How much clearer could it be? These passages describe Jesus to the "T" .  The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. Check. A spirit of wisdom and understanding. Check. A spirit of counsel and strength. Check. And it keeps going. My favorite part of this reading today though is the last sentence in verse 3. Not by appearance shall he judge nor by hearsay shall he decide. Now THAT's the Jesus I'm talking about. He doesn't judge the book by its cover. He doesn't rely on someone else's opinion. He forms His own opinions based on truth.

And oh, how hard that is for us to follow. We can sanctimoniously say that we are non-judgmental, but I'll betcha we aren't. I'll bet most of us form opinions pretty darn quickly just by what we see or hear. Don't believe me? What do you think of when you hear the name Miley Cirus? Britney Spears? Lindsay Lohan? Pope Francis? Nelson Mandela? Barack Obama? Ronald Reagan? Abraham Lincoln? Did you think what I thought? Probably pretty close on most of them (maybe not the political figures - we may differ on those, but...)Now raise your hand if you've ever met any of those people above. My hand is not raised. We listen to what others tell us about people. We assume we know a lot about them because of their PR. Being a PR professional, I know that some images are earned and some are created. And some are created to hide the ones that are earned. We love scandal and we love selflessness. But do we really know anything about those we have opinions about?

My prayer today is to try not to listen to what others say about people, but observe on my own. I don't want to judge others. Jesus never judged others unfairly. He accepted them warts and all. He loved them even if they were perceived as unlovable. He shunned those who were popular or self-important. He just wanted people to love Him. He wanted people to live in His kingdom. He wants everyone - ugly, pretty, fat, skinny, athiest, believer, sinner, saint. He wants us all. My prayer is to open my heart and accept everyone and remember that everyone is lovable in the eyes of God and that my delight is in the fear of the Lord. (Fear as in Awe!)

December 18 Jesus is Lord: Ex. 3:2; 20:1

Jesus is Lord. Today's passages are well, shall we say, sparse. Less is more. Short on words. The first passage - "There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up."  The second one said even less. "God spoke all these words."

Uuuuuhhmmm. So, what do the two verses have to do with today's Jesse Tree Symbol - Jesus is Lord?Well, the obvious link to the first one is that an angel of the LORD (caps included) is a direct link. I think maybe, this is the part where we link the Old Testament to Jesus. In fact, after a little research, I found out that these symbols are "typos" or "types" of Christ. The preview of Christ. So, the symbols for today are the burning bush or the cement slabs of the Ten Commandments. I'm hoping the Holy Spirit is with me for my interpretations or "types" associated with Jesus.

The burning bush as a symbol of Christ is the way His presence can truly burn in our hearts. When we listen to Jesus' word, it is all consuming, yet we are not consumed. Our hearts can burn, but we are not harmed. Or, at least, I wish I felt like that all the time. Sometimes, too many other things get in the way and the fire seems to be just embers. Other times, when I am able to focus only on Christ, the fire burns almost out of control. I wish I was a faithful enough person to always have that fire stoked. That's something I need to work on. 

The stone tablets. The commandments. The rules. In some ways, Jesus was the rule breaker. He didn't come along to follow the rules like a mindless sheep. Instead, he shed light on the rules - like a shepherd. He never went against the 10 commandments. Instead, He questioned the interpretations some put on those commandments and outright rebelled against the nonsense some of the pharisees tried to make as laws. There are 10 pretty straightforward laws. It's man who put the gray area into these laws. What would the world be like if everyone followed the commandments? As Lord, Jesus is the Law. If we follow what He says - "He spoke all these words" - our life will be pretty golden. 

So, for today, yes, Jesus is Lord. He's our fire inside. He's our law. My prayer today is to be able to stoke that fire and follow His commands. And if I can follow commandment number one first of all, that fire should be blazing! 

December 17 Jesus is Wisdom: Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus in old Bibles) 24:2; Wisdom 8:1

Throughout the remainder of the Jesse Tree days, each passage will be about Jesus. These may be a little more challenging to write because they are not necessarily about people - but concepts. Jesus is Wisdom. According to the passages, Wisdom is not afraid to make herself known.  (Wisdom is depicted as female - sorry guys.) She stands in front of God and His angels. She spans the entire world and governs all things well. And Jesus is Wisdom.

I'm really relying on the Holy Spirit for this one today. The passages aren't much to go by. Single sentences. That's it. My first thought when I read the passages are that Wisdom must not be present in our current government structure. I don't get the feeling that Wisdom argues over petty things or makes decisions based on political polls. Wisdom doesn't worry about popularity. Wisdom just knows. Knows what's right and what's wrong. What's good and what's bad. What's just and unjust.

I believe we all have our share of Wisdom. We just sometimes don't call upon her when we are making decisions. Sometimes, she asserts herself as if she was standing in front of God. At those times, when we are heading down a path that we know is wrong, Wisdom is the one making our stomachs grumble and our heads ache and our pulses quicken. Wisdom is the one asking, "What are you doing and why are you doing this?"

When we think of Wisdom as Jesus, it gets even more complicated. As Christians, we want to develop and maintain that relationship with Jesus. We want to do what He commands. But here's the conundrum. Jesus speaks in a quiet voice. We only hear Jesus when we are quiet enough to listen. Wisdom can be a bit more demanding. It's easier for us to say, "I just didn't hear what Jesus wanted." It's much harder to say, "I didn't realize that Wisdom was telling me not to...." Of course, my nearly 14 year old son has a very difficult time understanding Wisdom. I'm beginning to believe that Wisdom has chosen to speak a foreign language to him.  He and many of his friends do not understand Wisdom. They believe Humor and Wisdom are the same. Why did you.....? "Because I thought it would be funny!" Sigh. I do believe I read somewhere that Wisdom does regain a foothold in boys brains at around the age of 25. Only 11 more years.

But here's the thing about Wisdom and Jesus. As a parent, I am obligated to try and translate Wisdom to my son (and my daughter of course, but remember, Wisdom is a she, so they speak the same language most of the time.) It's best if I do it in Jesus' gentle manner. I also have to figure out the best time for him to be receptive and to listen. When we share Wisdom, that's the key. Timing and delivery are everything.

I'm praying hard for Wisdom. This Christmas, I want to do something. Wisdom seems to be struggling with this decision. It feels right...every part of it. But there's a tiny voice that's casting doubt. Not sure if that's Wisdom or fear putting the doubts in my head. I'm going to pray long and hard about it and pray that the decision I make is what Jesus as Wisdom would want.

December 16 John the Baptist: Mark 1:1-8

Make way the path of the Lord! John the Baptist spent his entire life saying that. From the moment he was first in the same room with him, he jumped for joy while in Elizabeth's womb. He spent his entire existence telling people, "You may think I'm great because I say lots of really amazing things, but you ain't seen nothing yet."  I wonder if John had any interaction with Jesus when they were children. You would think they would being cousins and all. What were those times like? According to yesterday's gospel in the Catholic Church, (Matt 11: 2-11), I can only assume they were just like all other boys. John sent a message to Jesus from jail asking "Are you the one I've been crying out in the desert about or is there someone else coming?" That puzzles me a bit. Don't you think he would have known? Clearly Jesus didn't perform any public miracles until the wedding feast at Cana, so did he just act like a little boy? How did he react when John talked about his coming? Maybe John acted just like a little boy too. Maybe John wasn't moved to his ministry until he was an adult, but the whole leaping in the womb thing threw me off.

Either way, John had a mission. It was to tell everyone to prepare. Get ready. This is it. This is the big one. This is what we've all been waiting for! Make way. Make the paths straight, fill the valleys, make the mountains low. The visual I get from this is so appropriate. John was of course, speaking about our hearts - not the landscape. He wanted us to make it easy for the Lord to journey to us. He wanted us to remove all obstacles, all areas of sin, everything that would impede the Lord's way into our hearts.

Since it appears that John didn't know beforehand that his cousin Jesus was the Messiah, I wonder how it felt when he realized it was Him. Did he doink his forehead and say, "Duh, of COURSE it's Him! Now I see it." Think of how excited he must have been when it was revealed to him. Jesus! My cousin! HE's the one! Wow. How cool is that? God had great plans in store for John - he gave him the gift of speaking the truth - even when it was unpopular and would eventually get him beheaded. But he did his job very well. He led people to Jesus. He pointed the way to Jesus. He always focused on the coming of Jesus. If they did have interaction as children, I'll bet John's heart was always stirred when Jesus came. He just maybe didn't understand. But whatever happened, he realized that the greatest human being to ever walk the earth was here and he wanted everyone to know about it.

Imagine what it would be like if our hearts were stirred even a tiny bit as much as John's was. We'd be yelling from our rooftops that Jesus is coming! He's on his way! Symbolically, we believe His coming happens on Christmas day, but in our hearts, we have to remember that He's coming every day. He's here! He's here! During Advent, we need to prepare our hearts for that symbolic coming. We need to fill those valleys that sometimes run so deep we can't see the bottom. We need to remove those mountains that sometimes seem so high that we can't get over or around them. We need to make straight the way of the Lord so that He can enter our lives and our hearts without any impediment.

My prayer today is to be able to open my heart to God and feel the joy John must have felt the day he discovered that Jesus was the one. As the Jesse tree progresses to Christmas Eve, all of the stories are about Jesus. I hope that the next nine days are filled with wonder and expectation for the coming of the Lord.

December 15 Mary: Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38

When I found this image of Mary, I was astounded at how well it captured what I believe would have been her response to the news that the angel Gabrielle gave to her. Yes, she had strong enough faith to agree to what the angel told her. Yes, she was willing to do as God asked. Yes, she had just agreed to completely alter the entire rest of her life. I wonder sometimes if she had second thoughts. I wonder if she really believed it was going to happen to her. I wonder if after she said yes, her next thought was, "What did I just agree to?"

I can't begin to imagine her emotions. I'm sure fear was pretty high up there. My reason for believing this was the fact that she didn't go running to Joseph and her parents saying, "Hey! Guess what just happened to me!!!" She remained silent and asked to go to her cousin Elizabeth. She needed time to think. She needed time to prepare for this uncharted journey. I think her trip to see Elizabeth may have been in some ways a confirmation to her of the message she received. She was told that she was carrying a baby. When a woman is told that she's pregnant, it's very hard to comprehend even when the circumstances are far more traditional than Mary's. You take stock of your body and try to decide if you feel differently. For the most part, you don't feel any different at all. Then, you probably feel sick and tired. But even with the minor changes you recognize, until you actually feel that baby kick or experience the amazing technology of ultrasound, it's hard to believe there's an actual baby growing inside you. Mary was left to believe that not really knowing what to expect. Someone who is pregnant by traditional means can talk to her mother or sisters or friends and ask all the questions of what to expect when you're expecting. Mary couldn't really do that. By going to see Elizabeth, she could reap two significant benefits. Number one, she could see with her own eyes if what Gabrielle said about Elizabeth was true. Number two, if it was true, which would likely mean that the part about her conceiving a child by the Holy Spirit was also true, she could have another female to discuss this with. Surely Elizabeth would be open to Mary's story if she had experienced a miracle conception.

God took all the awkwardness away from Mary when she entered Elizabeth's tent and Elizabeth knew Mary was carrying the savior. She blurted it out before anyone else could possibly know. Another emotion for Mary - Relief. Finally, she would be able to share her thoughts, anxiety, joy and hope with another human being without fear of judgement.

I try to imagine the evening chats with Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also a highly favored daughter of God. To carry John the Baptist and give birth to the one who would go before the Lord is pretty darn amazing. I wonder if their evening talks pondered what Jesus would be like. According to prophesy, He would be the King of Kings. He would be the long-awaited Messiah who would save Israel. At the very least, He would be famous. However, because both women were probably well-schooled in their faith, they must have also recognized the parallel prophesy of the suffering servant. I wonder if Mary had any idea how deeply her heart would be pierced. If she worried about Jesus' future. If she was concerned about how to raise a king. Elizabeth probably gave her great comfort. She probably reassured Mary that God had chosen her for a reason. He would not just leave her on her own.

Mary's trip back to Nazareth must have been challenging. I imagine her heart racing. I imagine her rehearsing in her mind all the ways she would tell her parents and Joseph. I imagine she must have prayed. A lot. None of us wants to disappoint those we love and surely she knew her news would not be received with joy. She had to have unwavering faith in God that He would turn the hearts of those she needed. And of course, He did. I imagine her looking Joseph right in the eye and saying, "I was not unfaithful to you." Looking her parents in the eye and saying, "Your grandchild will have greatness beyond anything any of us could possibly imagine. You'll have to trust me on this. I'm still pure." This was her first test of courage and she completely relied on God.

My prayer today is to face frightening circumstances and confrontations with God at my side. Using Mary as my guide, looking my problems straight in the eye and saying, "Here's how God wants it, so here's how I'm going to do it." I hope to find we can all find those special women in our lives who were put there to guide and support us. I also hope that I go against my nature a little and take time to ponder instead of jumping right in.

December 14 Joseph: Matt. 1:18-25

Joseph, the carpenter was a pretty remarkable man. For anyone who has had their heart ripped out when they feel like they've been cheated on understands his pain. He loved Mary. She was such a pure and beautiful young woman. He knew her family and understood that she came from a decent home. How in the world, could his sweet little flower come back from visiting her cousin and be pregnant? How could she betray him like that? How could she shame her family? Back then, Mary's "sin" was punishable by death. When he heard her preposterous story, he couldn't take the step to accuse her but would just divorce her and break the betrothal. He probably thought the poor thing was delusional as well as unfaithful. And, I'll bet he really really loved her. Even though he felt betrayed and defeated, he tried to do what was honorable. Then, in a dream, he found out from an angel that her story was true. That it would be ok. That he shouldn't fear taking Mary as a wife. God had this handled and he just had to play his part ... if he said yes.  There is rightfully much written about Mary's yes. Joseph's yes, not so much. Mary had a real live vision. Joseph had a dream. And yet he said, yes.

There were a few thoughts that came to my mind when I read Joseph's story. The first thing I really hit on was TRUST. Every good solid relationship must be built on trust. I'm not even talking at this point about the trust between Joseph and Mary. I'm talking about the trust Joseph had with God.That relationship must have been very strong for Joseph to believe in a God who would allow his precious Mary to become pregnant without his help. He had to trust that he, Joseph, was not going to be stoned for defiling her prior to marriage. He had to trust that if he took this woman as his wife that she would not be stoned. He had to trust that this baby she carried in her womb would not be the spawn of some earthly man, but by the Almighty God! That's a lot of trust.

The other thoughts I had were of Joseph's profession. He was a carpenter. I think about how he used his skills to maneuver through this dilemma. First he'd use what he learned from his hammer. Once he decided that he was going to listen to the angel, he used his hammer to pound out all fear. By using his hammer, he was able to piece together all the scattered parts of his heart and rebuild it to house more love than he thought possible.

His planer. There were a lot of uneven parts to the story Mary told him. Things weren't smooth. They had splinters and bumps and knots - all of which had to be made smooth in order to finish his project. That planer slowly but surely stripped away each burdensome flaw in the wood he used to rebuild his heart so that it would be true and strong.

Finally, I think of his measuring instrument. My how that one must have been used. The carpenter's rule is to measure twice, cut once. He had a lot of measuring to do. He had to measure how much time it would take before he was able to fully heal from his hurt and really begin the rebuilding process. He had to measure how much Mary would need his support. Back then, men didn't have a whole heck of a lot to do with birthing processes. I'll bet he never expected to be the one helping her deliver that baby! He had to measure the amount of love he would be able to give to this woman and her child. I believe those things became immeasurable. I don't think God would have chosen Joseph if he didn't have the capacity to provide a life for His son that was filled with unconditional love and trust for his mother. But the measure I think Joseph probably struggled with the most was his ability to measure up to whatever the future would bring. Would he be a good enough father for ... GOD. Would he be a good enough husband for GOD's mother? I wish I could meet Joseph just to understand how great of a man he was and thank him for providing such a wonderful example of fatherhood for my own father.

My father was a huge fan of St. Joseph and looked to him as a role model. Surely there were times when my father wasn't sure what God's plan was for him, times when he wasn't sure he measured up, times when he wasn't sure he was capable of fulfilling his role (I was the last of six kids - six years younger than my next sister, born when my parents were 42 years of age. I think I might have been a challenge.) My father often talked to me about Joseph and how much he admired him. Most men feel like they need to be in control. They need to be the head of the household. They need to be the strong one who ultimately is responsible for the family. What a scary undertaking. It takes a powerful man to become a father. It takes amazing courage and strength. A good father is one who, when things get tough and everyone is frightened or nervous, comes in and calms everyone down. Even if he's afraid, he'll never show it while he's in the daddy role.

My father was an incredibly gentle man. Although we heard about some of his "hell-raising" when he was a young man, I don't think he'd ever hurt a fly. When called to be the disciplinarian, he'd whip off his belt, snap it a few times and beat the crap out the steps - never once touching the kids. Again, being the youngest, I don't know exactly how my older siblings were treated, but I was only spanked once in my life by my father. It was enough. But what I remember vividly when I was a child was when my gentle father grabbed a crow bar and walked down the street to the house where all the motorcycles were to ask the scruffy motorcycle guys to stop roaring up and down the street because he was afraid they were going to hit one of his kids. Actually, that's a little too dramatic. He was working under the hood of his car at the time (my father was an accountant, not a mechanic, but in those days, dads had to multitask)  Whatever instrument he had in his hands was what he walked down the street with. He didn't call for back up. He didn't hesitate. He just trusted God and acted. I remember being scared to death. My mother was worried too. She shouldn't have been. I don't know exactly what happened that day at the house down the street. But I do know that when he came back, he calmly went back to working under the hood, the motorcycles stopped roaring up and down the street and the scruffy men down the street called him Sir after that. I guess a powerful father can demand that kind of respect without ever using a weapon. I'll bet Joseph did the same thing.

His little family was going to face some unbelievable criticism. They probably taunted and teased and maybe even plotted to hurt him or Mary because of the situation. I'm betting he picked up whatever carpenter's tool he was using at the time, took a walk down the street and had a talk with them. From that point on, the taunting stopped and they called him Sir. God chose Jesus' earthly father wisely. I'm so glad my father used him as an example of how to be an incredible father. And I'm glad my father as able to be a role model for my children's father. Even if it was only for a little while.

December 13 Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28

A sword can make all the difference. It can cut down an enemy, it can intimidate a foe or it can cut straight to the truth. In King Solomon's case, two women - one devious, one honest were faced with a sword that would destroy a lie. One woman gave birth to a healthy baby - one to a baby who died. The two women claimed that the baby who died was the other woman's baby. One said that she awoke to find her baby dead, but realized it wasn't her baby. UGH, women problems brought before the king. Luckily for the baby, that king was the wisest that ever lived. When King Solomon ordered the live baby to be cut in half with each half given to one of the mothers, the real mother would not allow her child to be harmed. She'd rather see the baby raised by a lying, conniving woman than to have it die. King Solomon recognized that this selfless response came from the real mother.

There are several ways to go with this story - the pain of the mother, the deception of the other woman, the wisdom of Solomon. But what struck me about today's passage was Solomon's innate wisdom that encouraged him to ask God for wisdom. Imagine God asking you today - whatever you want, my child, I will give to you. What would you ask for? Solomon knew what he needed - not what he wanted. He looked upon his leadership position and realized that what he needed most was wisdom to guide the people. He could have asked for strength or money or power or whatever else, but instead, he looked at what he perceived as his main weakness. He wanted wisdom. And God gave it to him in abundance. 

It takes a lot to examine our inner selves and figure out what we really need. If we really were sitting across the table talking to God, what is the thing we need most. Not what we want most, but what we need. God does tell us to ask Him for what we need. Sometimes, what we need most is food, clothing or shelter. Sometimes the need for that overshadows all other needs and until those are met, we are unable to look past them. But through it all, wisdom is the most important thing we need - above everything else. If we have wisdom, we'll figure out how to get the other things we need. Wisdom will bring us out of poverty - whether that means spiritually or financially, it makes no difference. Wisdom will shed light on friendships and relationships that may be causing us to think we need something else. Wisdom will guide us when we are forced to choose a path. So perhaps, we don't need to pray to get the next meal on the table, but the wisdom of how to get that next meal. Wisdom can obtain for us all of our desires and the ability to understand if those desires are real or imagined. If they are good for us or bad for us. 

Several years ago, I worked for a woman who was diagnosed with cancer. I had only been working for her about a year and a half and it became apparent that I was the only one who could run her business while she was in recovery. She prayed for me to have the wisdom to do that. I mean she really prayed. We sat in her office, closed our eyes, she laid hands on me and prayed for the Wisdom to handle this new venture. And God obliged. She could have prayed for her business to stay afloat. She could have prayed for her clients to remain loyal. She could have prayed to be cured so that I wouldn't have to be in charge. Instead, she prayed that the person leading her business would have wisdom to do it right. I think it worked. Although I eventually left her after she recovered and became cancer-free, I believe that prayer kept that business flourishing while she was in treatment. I couldn't have done that without that prayer for wisdom.

My prayer today is to remember to always pray for wisdom first, then everything else will fall into place. I pray to know how to use that sword to cut to the truth in every matter.

December 12 David: 1 Sam. 17:12-51

My favorite boy wonder of the Bible - David! In my youth ministry class, we covered David at great length and I love every minute of his life as outlined in the Bible. He was a little boy when he defeated Goliath. He was a humble anointed king when he respected the unscrupulous but nonetheless elected King Saul. He was a staunch defender of God and His Kingdom and he was a sinner. In fact, he did some pretty bad things and he was punished mightily for them. Just because God loves us, doesn't mean we get away with murder (and sleeping with thy neighbor's wife). David sometimes seems superhuman. If it wasn't for his inadequacies, we would have a hard time relating to him. He loved the Lord. He defended the Lord. He ignored the Lord. He sinned against the Lord. He repented and turned back to the Lord. When you put it in those terms, I think most of us can relate.

What I love most about David though, is the passage suggested for today. He looked his giant in the eye, called on the Lord and slayed the giant. Just like that. No drama. No fanfare. He didn't want the "clothes" he was supposed to put on. He didn't want the weapons he was supposed to use. Nope. He had God at his side. If God is for us, who can be against? But the David and Goliath story is much more than an entertaining story, it's a challenge for us to face whatever giants are standing in our way, hovering over us, taunting us and trying to frighten us into submission.

When we covered David and Goliath in my ministry class, we used Max Lucado's book, Facing Your Giants. I'm not going to go through his analysis of the battle, but it's very good. As part of our teaching, we gave each of the students five stones - my son still carries his five stones in his soccer bag. See, he realized through the class that his giant was soccer. First, I need to tell you that he is very very good at soccer. He wants to be a professional some day and I believe he just may have the talent and drive to do it. But it was also consuming him. He was miserable if the team lost. I get that. But he was also miserable if the team won and he didn't score any goals. Or if the refs were bad. Or if he missed a shot. Or whatever. Once he started to use David's techniques, his enjoyment of the game improved (and so did his game!)

Today I was going to write about all kinds of flowery David stories, but instead, I have to go to a funeral. THAT stopped me in my tracks. This afternoon I'm going to pay respects to a woman close to my age who lost her husband. The giant she must face now is awfully scary.I feel like one of the people on the sidelines of the David and Goliath story - cheering him on, but thinking, "I'm glad that's not me out there fighting that giant." I've been married to my husband and best friend for 21 years. I can't imagine life without him. Now, my friend has to wake up every morning with a horribly ugly, mean giant staring her in the face and she has to deal with that giant beating her up every minute of the day, then smacking her around a little every night before she goes to bed. That giant has several names - Grief, Despair, Loneliness and I'm sure there are many others. I am so thankful that she is a woman of faith. That's the only possible way for her to defeat that giant every day. She is ironically the same person who plans the funerals at our church and ministers to the families. Now, she is in the opposite position - one I'm sure she didn't expect to be in. I pray that she finds her five smooth stones and keeps them in her bag to nail that giant as many times as she has to until she can go over and chop off its head. That could take some time, but God has helped her defeat lions and bears in the past - just like He did with David. He'll help her again, I'm sure.

As far as other giants go, my heart goes out to all who are facing them. Giants of cancer, of broken marriages, of death, of feelings of inadequacy, of despair, of defeat, of powerlessness, of lack of faith, of impurity, of fear, of poverty, of bullies, of hopelessness.... I'm sure there are many. My prayer today is for every giant to be slain in the name of God. My prayers is for unwavering courage like David's to face those giants and hit them right between the eyes. May all of our giants be destroyed today and may our courage be renewed to face and defeat the giants of tomorrow.

December 11 Jesse: 1 Sam. 16:1-13

Jesse - the one from whom all of this stems is today's symbol. But the passages recommended don't talk much about Jesse. This is the story where Samuel goes to Jesse's house to anoint God's chosen one - and my favorite Old Testament person - David. Jesse has a bunch of sons and when he finds out that Samuel is there to anoint one of his sons, he parades them out - one by one - each one is rejected. He probably had some impressive sons - Samuel was sure the first one was the chosen one because of his stately stature. God said, "No, I'm not looking for stately stature."

I struggled quite a bit with my reflections today. The passage doesn't talk much about the man, Jesse, but more about his sons. I tried to think of how Jesse may have felt when Samuel kept dismissing his sons. The sons Jesse thought were worthy of anointing. Jesse probably completely dismissed David. He was little. God surely wasn't going to choose him, was he? Samuel knew though - right away.

How does this relate to my life? That's a little tougher. I had a hard time understanding what today's message was, then it hit me. Don't judge by what you see. David was the unlikely King. I wonder how many things I've dismissed before really understanding what's at stake. How many people have I overlooked without realizing how important they are to my life and to the world in general. Last week, Nelson Mandela died. He was just a poor black man in South Africa and he changed the world. Pope Francis - a humble cardinal from Argentina - is changing hearts all over the world. Mother Theresa - a woman who turned away from all her worldly comforts to dedicate her entire life to the poor and sick of India - changed minds and hearts. It seems like God has a trend of choosing humble little people to change the world. The ultimate humble little person was Jesus, of course, but in today's world, we keep searching for big "saviors" and leaders who look the look and walk the walk. If only we could find one that leads with convictions of heart rather than power, who walks the talk.

Jesse overlooked his humble little person. That humble little person became greater than I'll bet Jesse ever thought he would. Isaiah 11:1-3 tells us: "And there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear" 

My prayer for today is that God will open my eyes and heart to see through the superficial stuff and focus on the important stuff. Recognize the wonders and ignore the nonsense. Enjoy the moment and not worry about the future. See the King, not just the little seemingly insignificant boy. 

December 10 Samuel: 1 Sam. 3:1-18

Samuel! Samuel! Samuel!  Poor Samuel. He was so confused. He kept hearing his name being called, but Eli, the only person who would be calling him, was sound asleep and said that he didn't call Samuel. I wonder what Samuel must have been thinking. He probably thought Eli was having him on. Imagine him, shaking his head at first thinking, "I must be hearing things."  By the second and third time though, he must have thought, "That crazy old man. Why does he keep waking me up for no reason." Finally when Eli told him to answer the Lord, he was given a most unpleasant message. The Lord said, and I'm paraphrasing here..."Eli's house has been doing really terrible things and they will suffer because of it. I've already given my warning and now, no matter what they try to do, it's going to happen. Too little, too late. My patience is gone."  Uh oh. The next morning, Samuel had to be be the bearer of bad news. Eli would not accept any platitudes. He wanted it straight from Samuel... "What did He say?"  Eli had already received the warning from God. He had tried, but apparently unsuccessfully to get his sons to behave, but they wouldn't. God didn't accept the excuse. Eli didn't try hard enough. He didn't make the hard decisions that he had to make in order to set his house in order. He accepted his fate on several levels. First, he allowed the evil to go on. Second, he simply accepted that the Lord was gonna do what the Lord was gonna do.

I had to read passages around the recommended one for today again. First, I couldn't remember why Samuel was with Eli. Second, I didn't remember what his house did that was so distasteful to God. Samuel was the son of Hannah. She was barren and teased incessantly by her husband's much more fruitful wife. She begged God for a child and promised she would turn him over to God to live his life in service to him. As far as Eli's sons - they were designated as priests at the Temple. Instead of honoring God, they desecrated the offerings brought by the people. The best analogy I can make of this - even though it's not completely accurate, but would likely spur the same ire from God and his followers - is if the priests consecrated the hosts at a Catholic Mass, then used them as poker chips. For those who are not Catholic, the consecrated hosts are the Body of Christ. We take that very seriously. Anyway, Eli's son's were stealing the sacrifices and eating them instead of allowing worshipers to offer their sacrifice to God. You can imagine how that went over with God as well as his faithful followers. And Eli kind of scolded them for it, but he was not an effective parent. He didn't stop his sons from committing their sin. He didn't try hard enough.  Anyway, in the end, Samuel's conversation with God turned out to be exactly the way things turned out, which made him an honored and trusted prophet.

I wasn't sure what today's reflection was saying to me until I finally got to the part about Eli not doing his best to keep honor for God. As a parent, we are constantly challenged to keep our children in line - even the adult ones. Just because the world says something is ok, doesn't make it right. Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn't mean we as parents have to acquiesce and allow our children to do it. Just because we may have committed the same sins we are rebuking, doesn't mean they are any less sins. Sometimes we have to be firm when firm isn't popular.

As far as Samuel goes, I think sometimes God calls our name and tells us things we don't want to hear or share. Sometimes we have to be the bearer of bad news. We simply have to have the faith that God has entrusted us with the message. Surely He will give us the wisdom and courage to deliver it with grace and honesty. Today's prayer is that I hear God's word and have the courage to share it - even if it's unpopular.

December 9 Moses: Ex. 2:1-10

Moses did not have it easy right from the beginning. If one were to read just the recommended verses for today, the story doesn't seem to make sense. Why would Moses' mother keep the baby for a few weeks, then dump him in the Nile? That seems barbaric. But if you read Exodus 1, you'll see that Pharoah was alarmed at the tenacity of the Isrealites and wanted to kill the sons. He ordered the midwives to kill all male babies born and save all female babies. The midwives ignored his order and said that Hebrew women gave birth before they got there, so it was too late. Then Pharoah told them instead to put the male babies in the Nile. That's what Moses' mother did. She let him get a little stronger, then put him in the basket in the Nile. 

This was in today's standards, an adoption. Moses' mother had no choice but to try and save her baby. Pharoah's daughter was moved with pity for the poor infant and adopted him as her own. She knew she was going against what her father commanded because she recognized that the baby was a Hebrew baby. I thought it was a nice touch that God provided for Moses' mother to nurse the baby until he was able to be turned over to Pharoah's daughter. But how devastatingly difficult it must have been for his mother. I think that's probably how difficult it is for any young woman who sees that her options are very limited, but she must choose what's best for the baby. Adoption is the most caring thing any mother can do who cannot take care of her baby, for whatever reason. The prayer is that someone like Pharoah's daughter will pick that baby up out of the Nile and provide for him or her the very best that she can. 

What struck me today was the message today of courage. Not Moses' courage, because frankly he was too young to have courage. There are three women here who showed immense courage. First, as I mentioned, his mother. She gave birth and had the courage to defy Pharoah until Moses was stronger. Then, she had the courage to let God take care of Moses. As a mother, I had to pray for that same courage when I sent my own daughter off to college (or when I sent her on her very first solo driving trip - lots of prayers to God to take care of her then!) I know that the enormity of setting your child adrift on a river, not knowing if the basket would sink or alligators would eat your baby or your baby would starve is different than sending one away to college, but in my heart, they were pretty darn similar. Will she sink or swim in college? Will she be taken advantage of or destroyed by people I can't protect her from? Will she have enough to eat? Will someone pluck her out of the Nile and love her and care for her like I do? 

Next is his sister. She followed that basket to find out what happened to her brother. Then, she approached Pharoah's daughter and made an outrageous suggestion that was amazingly simple. Even though she didn't say it in these words, she said, "Can I please get this baby's mother to nurse him for you? You'll be taking care of him for the rest of his life, but will you please let my mother have the opportunity to nurse her own child? See her heart has been ripped from her body and this just might help heal her a little."  I can imagine it had to be a little scary to approach Pharoah's daughter. She was a powerful woman. The courage Moses' sister showed gave her mother a chance to heal and her brother a chance to live. 

Finally, Pharoah's daughter. She saw a baby and had tremendous compassion. She likely disagreed with her father's order to kill babies, but knowing how women were regarded at the time, I highly doubt he would have paid any attention to her concerns. However, Pharoah definitely had a soft spot for his daughter and gave her what she wanted. She knew that if she wanted to raise this baby, she would be granted permission. She would just have to keep things quiet. The bible doesn't go into the details of how she got away with having a baby and Pharoah not noticing. He just seems to have accepted Moses as his grandson. Until Moses killed an Egyptian, then he tried to kill Moses, but that's another story.

God has lots of plans for us. It takes courage and trust in God to carry out His plan. My reflection today is to ask God for the courage to do what He wants me to do. 

December 8 Joseph: Gen. 37:23-28; 45:3-15

Joseph! The very first thought I had when it came time to read about Joseph was my experience many years ago of watching my fourth grade daughter perform with Patrick Cassidy and one of the American Idols (and of course a bunch of other people) when Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat! came to Fort Myers. (This link is not from Fort Myers - I couldn't find any video of that particular show.)  It was a full Broadway show and as is their practice, they chose a local elementary school to cast the children in the play. It was an experience of all of our lifetimes! My most vivid memory of that show was at the end when Joseph came out with a new and improved dreamcoat. It sparkled and glimmered and caught every single stage light. It dazzled. The audience took in a collective breath. It was the most beautiful dreamcoat anyone could imagine.

Interestingly, the bible passages recommended for this day don't dwell on that coat though. The coat was just a means to an end. Because of the coat, the brothers got jealous. Because the brothers got jealous, they threw Joseph in a well. Because they threw him in a well, they felt guilty. Because they felt guilty, they pulled him out of the well and sold him into slavery. Because they sold him into slavery, God used his life to save many others. Because God used his life, he forgave his brothers and saved theirs. All because of the coat they tore off of him in anger. God's good at using bad situations for good.

I was always struck at Joseph's ability to completely forgive his brothers. They tried to kill him. They shunned him and sold him. I can't think of too many things brothers can do that are worse than that. Instead of moping around and giving up, Joseph instead kept searching for God's hand in this situation. As Joseph rose in stature, he found himself in a place where he could save many from starving. He relied on God. He identified his brothers' actions not as an act of jealousy, but instead as a necessity to complete God's work. I'm betting his brothers didn't feel that way when they saw him. No, likely they hit themselves in the forehead and said, "Doh!" They remembered all of Joseph's dreams and their jealousy. They remembered that Joseph foretold all of this, but they didn't listen.

How many times do we face adversity and instead of asking God, what do you want me to do with this situation? We plead and moan and say, "Why me?" How many opportunities do we miss because we are so busy feeling sorry for ourselves because of a predicament that we're in instead of finding a way to do God's work and exploit the situation for God's glory?

In my reflections today, I'm going to try to find God's hand in some of today's tragedies. The anniversary of Newtown is coming up. What can we learn from that? Nelson Mandela was jailed for 25 years before becoming president -a s we reflect on his life now, why was that jail sentence necessary for his amazing accomplishments? Those are some big things to reflect on. I may not be able to find all those answers, so maybe I'll try to reflect on some of the little annoyances or obstacles that are in my life today to see if I can find God's hand. What good will He do today and how does it fit into the big picture? I'm going to look for that new and improved dreamcoat.

December 7 Jacob: Gen. 25:1-34; 28:10-15

I was so looking forward to today's reflection. Jacob's Ladder! When I was a kid at Our Lady of Charity elementary school, I wished and wished that I would be assigned his ladder to bring in as an ornament for the Jesse tree. For some reason, I thought that was the coolest ornament. I didn't get it. I was assigned something else- don't remember what, but I was disappointed that I didn't get it. Little did I know at the time that as an adult, I still don't get it. Usually, when I read the passages that accompany the symbol, I understand how it relates to my life. Jacob's ladder story is different. I didn't remember the story at all when I read it. Basically, it talks about Jacob sleeping on a stone as a pillow (ouch) and dreaming about a ladder going from heaven to earth with angels heading up and down it. God was either next to Jacob or on the ladder depending on which account you read. Ummm, how does this relate to us? I'm not very good at interpreting dreams. So, for this entry today, I had to do a bit more research. It appears that I'm in pretty good company. There seems to be a lot of different interpretations. I found Jewish, Christian and Muslim interpretations of Jacob's ladder. Some said the ladder symbolized a link between heaven and earth. Some said the angels were symbolic of prophets. Some said the angels were symbolic of us. But even still, with all these interpretations, I couldn't quite fit Jacob's ladder into my life and my experiences.

Then, I found one thing that finally struck me. Maybe it's not the right interpretation, but I found a bible verse that connected the dots for me a little. First, lets start at the first set of readings. These are the types of Old Testament readings that make my eyes glaze over. This one was the son of that one who had these sons by these wives....etc. etc. etc.  It also established the relationship between Jacob and his older twin, Esau. Jacob talked his older twin into surrendering his birth right as first born to his younger twin brother. The thing is, that was foretold when his mother Rebekah went to the Lord after being sterile and said, "If I knew this was going to be this hard, I'd rather die." That's when the Lord told her that she had two little babies swimming around in there. Call it the divine ultrasound. However, the Lord didn't stop there. Instead of determining her due date, He told her about the two little boys that would be her sons. The older one would be stronger, but would serve the younger one.

Then, Jacob and Esau became enemies because Esau felt that Jacob stole his birth right. But that part of the story isn't included in the recommended readings for this symbol. After you read about Esau selling his birth right, the next thing you read is Jacob traveling, getting tired, grabbing a nice comfy rock, falling asleep and dreaming. If you don't read between these passages, the two don't seem to have any link. However, clearly, God had a plan for Jacob and He intended to fulfill it. The lineage to Jesus was well established. Jacob received the blessings of his father, Isaac and his grandfather, Abraham. Back then, that was a really really big deal. Not only did that birth right come with the worldly riches and land, it came with God's personal blessing. God promised to be with Jacob always. That's a mighty blessing that Esau willingly gave up for some lentil stew. No wonder he had regrets. Don't we all when we give up God's blessing for something earthly?

With all that background, I realized that I was being refocused on the purpose of writing this blog about the Jesse tree. The Jesse tree is basically a family tree that leads from Abraham to Jesus. This is the first real reference to that. The first thing that struck me was that some of the family tree were called Arameans. I wonder if they were related to Joseph of Aramithea - the one who gave his grave to Jesus. Other than that, there is a much greater link between Jacob's ladder and Jesus.

In John 1:51, Jesus Himself makes the link. He uses the same words that describe Jacob's ladder to describe Himself. It goes like this:

And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Jesus is the real ladder that connects heaven and earth. The only way to get to Heaven through Him. There are many scholars who are much smarter than me who gave much more detailed interpretations about Jacob's ladder, but I'm forced by my lack of theological training to take the much simpler approach. This is the first link to Jesus on Jesse's tree. And each step we take with Jesus at our side is another step up that ladder. The Muslims say that the ladder symbolizes the straight path that one must take to get to Heaven. Of course, there are fundamental differences between Christian and Muslim beliefs, but in the end, we Christians believe the same thing. There is a straight path to Heaven and it's through Jesus.

December 6 Isaac: Gen. 22:1-14

As a child, the story of Abraham and Isaac truly left me shaken and confused. How could God mess with Abraham that way. I often thought about what my own father would have done if God told him to sacrifice his youngest child. That would have been me. I was angry with God for telling Abraham to do something so abominable and I was angry at Abraham for so willingly agreeing to do it. I had to content myself that back in those days, maybe fathers didn't love their children as much as they do these days. I'm sure that wasn't the case. In fact, other than the sadness a father in this situation would feel, he would have lost a lot more. Children in those days were far more important to the future of the family - especially a boy. Abraham wasn't only willing to sacrifice his son, he was willing to sacrifice his future. 

I guess this story is meant to demonstrate in the most dramatic way that we have to be willing to give to God whatever He asks of us and frankly that scares the hell out of me. As a child, I feared that He'd tell my dad to sacrifice me. Now, I fear that He'll take my own children away from me. If He wanted me to give up the most important thing in my life, that would be it. I think a parent's biggest fear is losing their children. Maybe that's the point. God didn't in fact want Abraham to sacrifice his son - only God was willing to do that. What God wanted was Abraham's willingness to do so. As God's children, we have to be willing to sacrifice anything that is more dear to us than God. We may have to sacrifice our egos, our selfishness, our pain, our worldly goods, our comfort - whatever we are clinging to - in order to attain true joy. 

If you read past today's bible passage, it goes on to say that because Abraham was willing to do as God said, He would bless him with offspring that outnumbered the stars in the sky and the sands on the sea shore. That's the thing with God. He may ask us to do difficult things, but when we do, He is far more generous than we can even begin to imagine. 

For today's reflection, I'm going to try to figure out what I can sacrifice to God. I will need to reflect and wait to find out what He wants me to sacrifice. Then, I pray that I have the courage to be willing to do what He wants, no matter how difficult that task may be. 

December 5 Abraham: Gen. 12:1-3

Abram is how he started. Abraham is how he finished. I always find it fascinating that when God called some of his followers, they got a whole new name. Surrender everything, including the name you've known for 75 years. Then, God told him to do something that even a much younger person may have been hesitant to do. Pick up everything and move. Just move everything to a new land. You won't know anyone, but eventually, this land will go to all of your offspring. Oh, and you'll be blessed. If anyone doesn't bless you, I'll curse them. If they bless you, I'll bless them.

I chose this symbol for Abraham because I believe it captures the thoughts of Abraham. He doesn't look worried so much as he looks to the sky. He isn't worried necessarily about what he has to do, but is considering how he will do it. He was an old man. Imagine that conversation with Sarai, his wife. And his father who was surely much older still. "Honey, we have to go now. Pack everything you have, bring your people - Dad, you'll be fine here without me. Good bye." Whew. But those promises from God sure were compelling. He said, "Your offspring..." How could that be? Abram didn't have any children. When he left, he brought his wife and his nephew. No mention of sons. And of course, his wife was way too old to have children, so what could God possibly mean when he referred to his offspring inheriting the earth?

It is that faith that was so prevalent in the Old Testament that always intrigues me. Maybe its the way in which it was delivered. Perhaps if God stood in front of us in a pillar of fire or clouds or if he spoke out loud to us we'd be more likely to comply easily. Maybe God spoke to Abraham in his mind when he was praying, but the line says, "The Lord said to Abraham...." In other biblical accounts of God's discussions with people, it clearly says if its through dreams or visions or while they were praying, so it appears that this discussion happened between God and Abraham as it would between friends.

It is our challenge to block out all the noise we hear in our minds and hearts and work hard to LISTEN to what God is asking of us. Imagine the promises we might be missing because our minds are so cluttered with nonsensical things and worries. Then, when we do hear the voice of God, even if it's a tiny whisper, we have to have the courage to say, "OK God, whatever you want."

Some people believe they are too old to change. Too old to improve. Too old to try something different. I believed that for a while when I was working at a job that was unfulfilling and heard God's voice urging me to "Depend on Him." I was unhappy with my job and begged God for two years to show me the way, but the only answer I heard back from Him was, "Depend on me." I argued with God for a long time, saying, "I am depending on you! What do you want me to do?" His maddening reply was, "Depend on me." It took me two years to finally open my eyes and realize He meant, "Depend Solely On Me!" I thought, "I'm 42 years old, God. Are you really saying that I should quit my secure job and steady paycheck in the middle of a recession?" I believe He smiled then because the light bulb finally went on in my head. He simply said, "Depend on me."

As soon as I actually acknowledged what He said and what He meant, I did what He instructed. I spoke to my husband who was amazingly supportive, I quit my job and I started my own business. The blessings have never stopped since. Whenever I get stressed out or worried, I remember his words, "Depend on me!" and things just work out.

So today's reflection for me is to try and really listen to what God is telling me to do. I'm not expecting a voice from Heaven or a pillar of anything, I just need to surrender my worries and concerns and always Depend on Him! And I didn't even have to change my name!

December 4 Noah: Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22

It's hard for me to think of Noah's and not think of the movie Evan Almighty. In that show, a modern day Noah, who goes by the name of Evan is told by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark. As you can imagine, all of Evan's friends and coworkers think he's nuts. In the end, spoiler alert, the ark saves lives and proves to be the work of God and they all live happily ever after. I've often thought of what Noah's friends and neighbors must have thought of him. Because I have a really hard time getting my mind around the accuracy of the story - all the creatures on a boat? for 40 days? I like to think of the ark story as more symbolic.

God told Noah to do something, and he did it. He didn't argue with God. He didn't doubt God. He didn't worry about what others thought of him. He just did it. No wonder God liked him so much. The fact that God was really angry with the human race is not so far fetched. He created us and we went hog-wild. No scruples, no ethics, no compassion, no obedience, no responsibility. Sounds frighteningly like today to me. I often wonder how God thinks about our society today. Everything is acceptable. Nothing is morally off base unless it's politically unsavory. It's a good thing for us, that rainbow appeared or we'd all be floating right about now. God made a promise that He would not destroy all human life again. I don't know how He keeps that promise. Maybe there are still some of us humans left who are flawed but still lovable. Abraham, who sounded surprisingly like my 13-year-old, made absolutely sure he understood God's plan for destroying the earth when he kept asking Him, "What if 50 are good, will you spare us? What about 20?  What about 10? What about 1?"  I believe there are at least a few of us who are good. In fact, I believe there are a lot of us who are good. As usual, it's the evil who get the spotlight.

I sometimes get disheartened when I read the news. Today, I read about how mass murders affect children. Why does this have to happen? Why do children have to deal with mass murders? The stories I read made me sick to my stomach. How can we as a society possibly survive? Oh, yeah. The rainbow.

I am sickened to hear about millions of babies killed in abortion. Babies. Other babies who are born, yet abused often to death. How can we survive this? Oh, yeah. The rainbow.

Hate crimes, bullying, weapons of mass destruction, How can we survive this? Oh yeah. The rainbow.

There are so many evil things out there that if we dwell on those awful things, we find ourselves drowning in despair. Instead, God gave us a rainbow to cling onto. Without that rainbow, without God's unending love, we will die. We will drown. Instead, for all who ask, he throws out that life preserver. Today's plan is to always look for that rainbow when I feel like I'm drowning. What a beautiful reminder that God is still with us even though we are all broken.

December 3 Fall of Man: Gen. 3:1-7 and 23-24

This is the post I wish I didn't have to write. Oh what the world would have been like if only evil didn't rear its ugly head. When reflecting on this part of the Jesse Tree, it struck me about how clever satan really is. Although he is the father of lies, he is so careful to use enough truth to make it seem like he's not lying. "Eat of the fruit, surely you won't die," he said. They eat the fruit, and sure enough, they are still alive with more knowledge than either of them ever really needed or wanted. They did not die physically, but spiritually, they died that day. God created beauty and love, joy and peace. Satan hates that. Ever since that first encounter with free-will and sin, satan has been infiltrating the love between two people every day. The very minute we choose our will over God's, we fail. Think about that for a minute. This doesn't mean that God is a puppeteer telling us what to do every single moment of our lives, but there are some non-negotiables. For example - God said to love one another as He loves us. When we put love of ourselves or of our "idols" ahead of love of one another, the relationship fails. Satan loves that. How many marriages and friendships have failed because of selfishness? How many times have we listened to the half-truths of satan only to realize too late that we took our eyes off God and ate again of the tree of good and evil? Every day we have a decision to make - Listen to God's commands and surrender ourselves to His will or listen to satan's half-truths and sometimes even blatant lies and surrender ourselves to our own will or worse yet, satan's will. God made us beautiful, satan convinces us we are ugly. God made us courageous and powerful (dominion over all creatures), satan makes us believe we are powerless and fearful. God gave us everything we need, satan makes us believe we need more. I don't really think satan is a serpent - I believe that's just a symbol, but I do believe he slithers into our lives just like a serpent. He coils himself around our hearts and minds and squeezes out rational thought and compassion. During this Advent season, I'm going to pray to regain my own personal Garden of Eden where God is the only thing that I have to be concerned about. Where peace settles in after a long day of toiling. Where I am thankful for all of the abundance God has given to me. Go away satan. You're not welcome here in my Garden.