“Just tell the devil, the old deceiver: ‘But I am baptized!
​          And I have the promise that God loves me and saves me. Get away from me.'” -Martin Luther

This is one of my very favorite Martin Luther quotes. It is a great thought as we transition from the reflective time of Lent to the celebration of Easter. Remember that you are baptized, marked with the cross of Christ forever. Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Luther’s overwhelming concern is how does he know that he is saved? That he is right with God? It was not until he was studying the Psalms and Romans that he understood that it is not what he does that makes him right with God. It is what God does.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

​As I am considering the new year, these are not the first verses that come to mind. But they make sense. January is a month of transitions. A new calendar year has begun, even as in the church calendar we transition from the baby Jesus born to bring salvation to the ministry and teachings of Jesus.

​My favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving. Christmas rates high for Maitland’s awesome standing rib roast and having family around. Easter is a favorite for breaking out into the joy of the resurrection and new life, but Thanksgiving is the best. My earliest memories of Thanksgiving are going to Grandma and Grandpa’s house with my family. My two aunts and their families would also be there. I got stuck at the kids’ table, but it was worth it for the feast and for the fun of playing with my cousins. As we grew up, Thanksgiving shifted to my mother’s house. I looked forward to it every year. All my family was there, but family also included whoever walked in the door. We all knew that Mom would always have room for one, or two, or a dozen more. The only challenge was pacing what food went on my plate so there would be room for pie and other desserts later. 

I know that riding a tandem bicycle with my husband builds us up both physically and spiritually. So why is the first verse that comes to mind when I think of tandem riding “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers” (2 Cor. 6:14a)? Why not something that sounds more positive like “Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing” (I Thess. 5:11). The reality is both are true.

​When we were dating Maitland and I were riding our bicycles out on the Centennial Trail out of Snohomish. He says, “Look at that. Isn’t it beautiful?” and points to a custom made tandem on the trail. I looked at him and said firmly, “No.” 

​“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Ps. 19:1)

​I will get to the heavens, but first I want to share God at work on the earth. Last evening a doe wandered into the field in front of our house. As my husband and I watched out the window, it became clear that she had a new baby with her. The little one could not have been more than a day or two old. It was tiny with spots. They grazed for a few minutes. Then the doe’s head went up.

​It is still April. Outside my window are multiple shades of green and a soft gray sky. Around the corner is May. May is when the colors explode as spring flowers appear everywhere. I am thinking of figurative and actual colors and flowers. 

The Gospel of Mark ends with the young man sitting in the tomb saying, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

​So naturally the women who heard him fled away in terror and amazement. This is a pretty lousy ending to the Gospel, and Mark really does end there. The sixteen verses following this scene were added later because, well, it was a pretty lousy ending to the Gospel. The church wants to focus on the victorious resurrected Jesus. We want to see Jesus. The thing is, Mark says, if you want to see Jesus, you need to follow him to Galilee, where the work of living as disciples of Christ begins.

“And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:27-34
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These words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount came to me as I was thinking of where we are in this season. As I write this... 

     Thanksgiving is behind us (the holiday, not the practice) and we are headed toward Christmas. In between we have that season, which seems shorter every year, of Advent. Advent is from the Latin adventus "coming or arrival.” As I am being installed as your pastor the first Sunday in Advent, I wonder what is coming for us as community. I am excited to find out and look forward as we share that journey together.
     I am also mindful of the season of Advent. It is a threefold coming that we anticipate. The baby Jesus coming as God incarnate in Bethlehem; Immanuel, God with us now; and the second coming of Christ where God will be manifest clearly and not dimly as we see the inbreaking of God at work in the world now.
​     Each week we light a candle...