Monday, January 6, 2014

The Rev. Deacon Holly Hanback
Youth Ministry Leader

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
3 Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Lift up your eyes and look around;
   they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
5 Then you shall see and be radiant;
   your heart shall thrill and rejoice,*
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
   the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
6 A multitude of camels shall cover you,
   the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
   all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
   and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
9 For the coastlands shall wait for me,
   the ships of Tarshish first,
to bring your children from far away,
   their silver and gold with them,
for the name of the Lord your God,
   and for the Holy One of Israel,
   because he has glorified you.

Devotional

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.”

I love this scripture! Arise! Shine! What a beautiful invitation from God. An invitation to share with the world who we are and whose we are.

“Lift up your eyes and look around.” How often these days do we have our heads and shoulders bent? Bent over computers, ipads, iPods, iPhones, i-whatevers. How often do we miss out on what our children, parents, spouses, friends, co-workers are saying to us and we respond, “just a minute”, “wait a second”, “let me check my e-mail real fast”, “hold on while I finish sending this word to beat my opponent in Words with Friends”, “wait I just have to beat this level in candy crush”? And then we do look up and the room is empty. The children have gone to bed, the parents have left the house, the spouse is now bent over a screen, the friends have moved on and the co-worker is bent a bit more at the shoulder and walking away. And then we bend over a bit more saddened at the missed moment we know we can’t get back, wishing for the conversation we can no longer have, realizing we missed out on the hug that would have changed our whole day and lifted our spirit.

In our gospel the wise men seek out the Christ child, they find him, they see him, they are seen by him and they are overjoyed. They are so overjoyed they open their treasure chests and give all they have to him. We too can feel the joy of the wise men. We can search out the Christ child and we can find him, we can “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.” We can raise our heads, we can look deeply into the eyes of the person in front of us, we can hear them, we can see them and we can offer the treasure of hearts to them. It is truly when we see the Christ in others that we recognize the Christ in ourselves and we feel bold and confident enough to share who we are and whose we are.

Additional Readings

Psalm 72:1-7,10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Daniel Hellstrom
9am band and soloist, REACH, Youth Group

Listen to this Devotional.

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
   to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
   my King and my God.
4 Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise.
          Selah
5 Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.*
6 As they go through the valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
   the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
   the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
          Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
   look on the face of your anointed.
10 For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than live in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favour and honour.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
   from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Devotional

Together with the holy spirit Daniel is using his gift of music singing "Better is One Day" by Kutless for his interpretation of Psalm 84.

Please click here to listen to it.

Additional Readings

Jeremiah 31:7-14; Ephesians 1:3-6,15-19a; Matthew 2:13-15

Saturday, January 4, 2014

John Walters
10:45 Verger and Server Ministry Leader,10:45 Worship Team

Joshua 3:14-4:7

When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,* were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

4When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: 2‘Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, 3and command them, “Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.” ’ 4Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. 5Joshua said to them, ‘Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, 6so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, “What do those stones mean to you?” 7then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial for ever.’

Devotional

It has been said that a journey begins with a single step. We hear in this lesson how the people followed their priests from a life of uncertainty to one of hope and promise. They put their faith before them and crossed the River Jordan in a manner unknown to those whose trust was in worldly things, not that of promises made and kept by a loving God.

We find ourselves once again at the beginning of a new church year, a new journey of faith and trust, manifested in a meek and humble child, a promise made to us by a loving and patient God.

How will we approach this new beginning? Will we accept a new journey in ways previously unknown, or will we chose not to follow the humble beginnings and quiet strength that was revealed in our Lord Jesus. The quiet of that winter’s night brought so much hope to a people who were traveling to a greater life much as we are today. But, have things really changed so much since then? I imagine that if we were to enter- or re-enter –that solitude and listen to what Jesus is saying to us, we would be able to live the message that God meant for us to know and take to heart, a life made abundant on the journey in this life and the next.

Outward silence. Inner peace. Renewed strength. The coming of promised salvation now living amongst us. It is truly all around us- if we look and listen. Alleluia!

Additional Readings

Psalm 85; Eph. 5:1-20; John 9:1-12,35-38

Friday, January 3, 2014

Theresa Luby
Co-leader Girls Group, Co-leader Woman’s Ministry

Listen to this Devotional.

John 6.1-14

6After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.* 2A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 3Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 4Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 5When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ 6He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 7Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages* would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ 8One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ 10Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they* sat down, about five thousand in all. 11Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ 13So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 14When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

Devotional
 
Recently, I have had frequent, sporadic contact with a woman in my neighborhood. I can't say what it is, but she makes me uncomfortable. There I said it. I really can't even say why.

I take on a new role and hers is the first email I receive. I am at a gathering and in she walks. I have tried unsuccessfully to back away, move around, even hide, but there she is again. So I ask God, "What are you asking of me? What is the plan for me with this woman?"

I know that God has a plan for me, but sometimes I have a love hate relationship with these words. God has a plan for me. I know that there are times when I fight the plan - like with this woman. My type-A personality also has a plan.

Then I remember that I can also find peace in these words. Sometimes, it feels so comforting to know that He's got it - especially when I am not sure that I do. I see that in today's reading, "He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do." ~John 6:6

God has a plan for me and it is good - even if sometimes it makes me uncomfortable. God has a plan and nothing is wasted. "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." ~John 6:13

So I still do not know what His plan is for me with this woman, but I do know that whatever it is, it will be good.

Additional Readings

Psalm 68; 1 Kings 19:9-18; Eph. 4:17-32

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Maureen Carey-Back
Lay Pastoral Assistant, Postulant for Holy Orders

Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people.’

9 (When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Devotional

I, Maureen Carey-Back, am a disciple of Jesus. I committed myself to this way of life in 1968 when I was in second grade. I recall it like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful crisp fall afternoon at St. Frances Cabrini School in Piscataway. I was in our little church. It was after first Friday Penance as I kneeled and prayed that I heard “follow me” for the first time. It was almost immediately I sensed the particular and peculiar calling that God had in store for me. Follow me was clear. I did not know what specifically it meant but all I knew in my heart was I was to follow. This was not something I could escape, even if I had wanted to; even those times that I tried. That does not mean that I try to live my calling as a duty or an obligation. Nor was it simply a choice of career or profession. For me, this path of discipleship has become a way to fill my life with meaning and blessing. It is, for me, the presence, the power, and the glory of God working in me, in His way, in His timing. There are joys and there are trials. There are tears and there is laughter. Something has captured me.

I feel that my story is part of what we hear in the opening verses of Ephesians 4:

“I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness.”

There is something in that “prisoner of the Lord” bit. I think this comes close to what the prophet Jeremiah talked about when he referred to the “fire in his bones” and his experience that he could do nothing other than what God had called him to do.

There was a book I read years ago, “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson. For me it is one of those life-changing books. I knew when I was reading it that it had deeper meaning for my life that I would come to understand. There is a quote from that book that speaks to my soul, like the prophet Jeremiah but in mere mortal words: "There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.” For me this is exactly what I began to feel. I could not escape it no matter how hard I tried. Believe me I tried!

Not all of us are called to ordained ministry. We are all called to be disciples – lay ministers to contribute in some way to the building up of the body of Christ. We are each filled with the Spirit and empowered with certain gifts. We are reminded in today’s reading:

“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

The calling to which we have all been called is to be the Christ to all the world. We cannot be the Christ—God’s visible presence on the earth—if people do not see us and experience us living the gospel in what we say and do. What the world should see is a diverse group of people who are connected through love and peace. As this love and peace overflows, it takes in more and more people, touching more and more lives, so that those around cannot help but take notice and they too feel this love. What they end up seeing is God’s Spirit radiating through us. This is the incarnation.

Our calling is also not limited to what occurs within the walls of the church, or through the programs of our community, or the activities covered by our annual budget. You live out your calling every day in your home, your school, your neighborhood, your workplace, that community organization you volunteer for, that person that you encounter in the store and the homeless person on the street corner here in Ashburn—and yes, even in our schools.

At Christmas we rejoice in the birth of Jesus. What does that mean for us today?

The incarnation is the presence of Jesus in our joyous and wounded world. Jesus is born into our lives too. Each year as we are reminded of his birth, we are reminded of new life. Jesus born in us also brings promises of new life in the spirit of healing of wounds and love, despite suspicion or hatred and compassion instead of impatience, and joy where there is sadness.

Jesus born in the world brings promises of faith that turns into action—living the gospel with gentleness and truth born into our leaders; compassion and justice for the poor and oppressed.

What is your calling?
What is that thing which holds you prisoner with a joy that you cannot escape?
What is the fire in your bones that has been rekindled Christmas?

Go forth and bring your light to the world. Let it sparkle!

Additional Readings

Psalm 34; 1 Kings 19:1-8; John 6:1-14

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Macy Narvid
St David’s Youth Group

Matthew 1:18-25

18 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. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But 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. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ 22All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,and they shall name him Emmanuel’,which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son;* and he named him Jesus.

Devotional

Macy’s drawing is an opportunity for you to reflect on the above readings.

Additional Readings

Psalm 103; Isaiah 62:1-5,10-12; Rev. 19:11-16

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Jerelyn Walters
Flower guild Ministry Leader, Altar guild, Lay Reader, Restoring Eden,Lay Eucharistic Visitor

Matthew 9:35-38

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

Devotional

This is our call to service in Jesus’ name. I don’t think anyone has ever explained this call better than St. Theresa of Avila (1515-1582). To paraphrase her famous prayer:

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which his compassion will look upon the world. Yours are the hands and feet with which he goes about doing good. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

We are Christ’s body – if we do not serve his purpose in the world no one will. If we do not look with compassion on our suffering world, no one will. He has prepared the field for us; we have only to harvest what his love has sown. The work needs doing. We are called to the harvest.

Additional Readings

Psalm 119:57-64; Isaiah 60:4-9; Romans 8:15-23