God Coming

God Coming

 “When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately, he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they do not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” Mark 6:47-52.

         This has been my experience. God often comes to us in the early morning if we take time to get up and listen and read or just look or sit outside. God comes when he sees us “straining at the oars against an adverse wind.” God comes in some miracle, almost as if he were walking on water. It may be a word, a letter, an email, or a call from someone I would least expect to hear God’s word.

“By chance,” we meet someone not on our agenda for the day. God may speak in the actual scripture reading. God may be the wind at our side, the sun bringing light to the chilly dawn, or the first bloom on a barren tree. We may perceive God as a ghost and not recognize the occurrence as a message from the one who cares so much for us. We may ignore it because it is not part of our busy plan for the day. We may even cry out. We may be terrified by what we hear or see.

Talking to spiritual friends helps us see God in these places we were blind to God’s presence. Somehow, if we stay present in the moment and say our prayers, fear will leave us. Fear is afraid of prayer.

God literally gets into the boat where our life is sailing on, and the storm in our mind and our body ceases. We may be astonished. We do not realize why we are comforted, for our heart is still hardened. This happens daily. God does not give up on us and our hard hearts.

This is the message of Advent and Christmas and Epiphany.

Joanna   joannaseibert.com   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Mary and Elizabeth: Spiritual Friends

Mary and Elizabeth: Spiritual Friends

"When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.'

And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'" — Luke 1: 41-42, 46-47.

This visit of Mary to Elizabeth in Luke is one of our most descriptive scripture passages about what it is like to be and have a spiritual friend or soul mate, seeking connection to Christ through each other. The response by our neighbor may sometimes be just as miraculous as joyfully singing of the Magnificat!

The story in Luke tells us that seeing Christ in our neighbor is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We are to put ourselves in position to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit, realize Christ in our neighbor, and honor Christ in our neighbor. The Spirit enables us to look, listen for, and celebrate the Christ in those we visit. The story of Mary and Elizabeth promises that when we see and reflect Christ in our neighbors back to them, they may also envision Christ in themselves and be enabled to live out, and even sometimes sing out, the Magnificat. 

What does it mean to sing out the Magnificat?

         "My soul magnifies the Lord,

         and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

         for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant."

The words are clear. It is living out a life of gratitude and praise, and being open to God working in our lives, even in times of great stress when we have no idea what will happen next. Our role model is an unmarried, pregnant teenage girl empowered by her older relative's love to eloquently express her faith in her God. The fruit of the Spirit that springs forth when we see Christ in each other is gratitude and praise. This is our sign that we are indeed connected to the Holy Spirit.

         What a difference we could make in our own lives and our neighbor's if we could each be an Elizabeth to the Marys we visit daily at home and work. Then, when we see Christ in our neighbor, our true self, and our God connection within us, we will also "leap for joy!"  

 Modified from Seibert, The Living Church, May 25, 2003.

Joanna   https://www.joannaseibert.com/

learning to walk in the dark

Learning to Walk in the Dark BBT

“Our light bulbs have burned out, and the fixtures are hanging from the ceiling by a bare wire. Before we get more artificial light, see if there is a message in the dark. God has done some of his best work in the dark, including resurrection.” Barbara Brown Taylor, Festival of Homiletics, Nashville 2013, from Learning to Walk in the Dark.

 I have learned so much from Barbara Brown Taylor. I read her first book of sermons on the gospel of Matthew, The Seeds of Heaven, in a book group in the 1980s. She magnetized all of us by her use of words and her intimate gospel message. She taught me how to be a narrative preacher, seeing God at work in the stories of the Bible, and how these stories are true in our lives. I attended every conference she led for years about preaching and writing, especially at the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral and Kanuga. I have read almost everything she has published that I could get my hands on. In recent years, she has taught me about seeing God in the world, pluralism, seeing God in people of other faiths, and seeing God in the dark.

Finally, she has taught me to be me, not a Barbara Brown Taylor copy, but to find my own voice and be the person God created me to be. Likewise, as spiritual friends, it is our job to help each other become the person God created us to be, not what we think our parents, children, or spouses want us to be, not even the person we most admire. However, a person we admire may give us a clue about some qualities that may be hidden in us that are part of the person God created us to be. We are called daily to thank people like Barbara Brown Taylor for this insight.

The darkness of Advent with shorter sunlight and the darkness of those times in the pandemic taught us much about being the person God created us to be.

The days are shorter.

We are starkly aware of the possible shortness of life.

Now is the time to take off the masks we have worn for so many years and become our true selves, who God created us to be.

Joanna   joannaseibert.com  https://www.joannaseibert.com/