Advent Devotions
All are invited as we Make Room this Advent season.
Hoping for Hope
Today’s author is Prince of Peace member, Bob Reichman.
Ezekiel 37: 1-14 (Valley of Dry Bones)
The story of the Valley of Dry Bones is ultimately about hope against all odds. I included this song/poem I wrote as a teenager in the Adult Forum that Marilyn and I did on the subject of hope on Nov. 30. It’s an illustration of my determination to be hopeful despite an inclination toward cynicism. I identify with both of the characters in this poem, but I strive to be more like the old guy. If nothing else, I’m starting to get the “old” portion down.
“The Decrepit Old Man”
The decrepit old man I had known long ago
stumbled toward me remembering not my name.
So, I told him, “I’m Bob, the young boy you once taught to read.”
He said, “No, you’re not he, my friend.
He was full of the morning sun.
You have but the moon as your companion.
Once there were flowers and streams in your eyes,” he said.
“Why have you abandoned yourself?”
“I have not abandoned myself.
I have become older and wiser in the ways of life,” said I.
“I have no time for the dreams of youth.”
He sat down and gazed at the ocean sky that day.
“I wish I could explain,” he said.
“The excitement of hope. The thrill of hope.
Someday, when you become as old as I am now —
if you are fortunate, sooner, perhaps —
all this you will understand.”
I cried, “But what have you that I have not?
Am I not more fortunate than you?”
He slowly stood and said, “When you sometime have your own children,
watch them, and recall how you, too, believed in spring.”
Prayer
Loving God, sometimes it’s hard to hope, but we know that you will always be with us through all disappointment, pain, discouragement and tragedy. And that’s a pretty good place to start.
Previously…
Who Are We?
Yesterday following worship, our congregation gathered to make some important decisions about our future. On the surface, the questions before us were simple and straightforward- do we dedicate a portion of our resources for the sake of serving our neighbors? But it’s also true that these decisions would define the shape and nature of this community of faith that we will experience together in the years to come.
Aha! on a Mountain
One week ago today, I was sitting in a chalet, perched at the 11,000’ summit of one of the peaks in Wyoming’s Teton mountain range. As I was listening to two other church leaders explore ideas of leadership in the future church, I experienced a real “aha! moment.” As they were discussing the effects of the uncertainty during the pandemic and the continuing ambiguity we’re experiencing, I recognized a resonating strain of this same reality for the church I am called to serve.
Prince of Peace Congregation Wrestles
A congregation never stops wrestling with the question, “What must we hold on to and what needs to be changed.” As citizens we have many opportunities to vote, as we also have decisions to make as church members.
What does it mean to wrestle?
When I hear the word wrestle, I think of the sport of wrestling. Webster’s definition for a wrestling match is when the opponents struggle hand to hand to throw each other to the ground without striking blows. Another definition in the dictionary is: a struggle or fight with; a contest.