Candles and Carols

Friday, December 8, 2017

Candles and Carols

1 Kings 19:11-13

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

I ask you the same thing.  What are you doing here?  Are you distracted by the earthquakes and fires of life? Are you able to listen for the gentle whisper from the Lord?

Are you able to take a deep breath and patiently listen for the gentle whisper? Please do it right now while the lights fade and you focus on the Christ candle. How can we take a deep breath and when we exhale, we exhale life to those around us?  What are the whispers of life we will hear echo today and tonight on our campus? What do we say to one another and about one another in the midst of our differences?

“Are you okay? I’m not sure I understand. This is challenging for me.

I want to know you more. Can we talk sometime?

I trust you. I respect you. You are valued. You belong here. I love you.”

Will we believe in God more because of how we will see Him work amongst us? Will we be able to affirm that God is real and active and alive here because of how we love one another in the midst of our differences?

Will others see us and think “There is nothing different about them at all” or will our chorus of gentle whispers to one another cause others watching to pause and to think…to wonder and remark that there IS something different…because we ARE different.  We have been adopted into this family of Christ together.  We are brothers and sisters in Christ.  In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.

This is the Incarnation, that God came to earth and is living and active today and we belong to him, and by calling Jesus Lord together we are One in Christ.

If you can hear my voice let me tell you all who are truly listening…there are many differences between us, but let me assure you, you belong here, for such a time as this, you belong here!

You are of great value and you are loved…every single one of you.

In a minute, we will light our individual candles and it is representative of the light of Christ that unifies us, gives us life and shapes the decisions we make as we proclaim Him Lord.

Now I ask you…just you, not the person to your left or your right, just you:

How will you produce a gentle whisper for the chorus of the Incarnation?