Today’s Readings: Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13; Isaiah 40:1-11; Mark 1:1-8; 2 Peter 3:8-15a
One of my favorite holiday activities is to participate in a white elephant gift exchange. I know that some of you may not be familiar with that activity (or might know it by another name) so let me take a moment and explain what the activity is. Individuals in a group are asked to bring a wrapped gift to the party. Usually the gift is in a certain price range. Some individuals will bring serious gifts and others, gag gifts. The wrapped gifts are then placed under a tree. Each individual then draws a number. The individual who drew number one goes first. He/she then selects a gift from underneath the tree and then unwraps it. The person who drew number two goes next. He/she has a choice: he/she can either chose an unwrapped gift from under the tree and unwrap it him/herself; or – if he/she likes the present person number one just opened - then he/she could take person number one’s gift. If person number one loses their gift, they get to chose an unwrapped gift from under the tree to replace their “lost” gift. Then you move on to person number three. The game continues in that fashion until all the gifts are dispersed. The fun of the game is that it reveals the personality of the individuals who are participating. You can see those who are willing to take a risk for what might be in the unknown box, and those who would rather play it safe and take something that has already been fully revealed. In today’s Gospel reading from Mark, one can see that individuals in Jesus’ day were confronted with a similar choice. They could either go on with the version of life as they already knew it (that would be choosing the equivalent of an already unwrapped gift), or they could risk everything and follow John the Baptist’s call to a baptism of “life-change” – one where the individual would be asked to turn “your old life in for a kingdom life” (Mark 1:7 from The Message). That would be the equivalent of taking a risk and choosing the unwrapped gift. The only difference between the two scenarios is that the people of Jesus’ day didn’t have to risk choosing a gag gift – the present they opened in choosing a baptism of life-change revealed the fullness and the goodness of all that God had to offer. This Advent season, I would invite you to examine your approach to your spiritual life. Do you continue to play it safe and simply settle for life as you have known it, or do you make the most of the opportunities you have to take a risk and reach for that “kingdom life”? Til next time…
One of my favorite holiday activities is to participate in a white elephant gift exchange. I know that some of you may not be familiar with that activity (or might know it by another name) so let me take a moment and explain what the activity is. Individuals in a group are asked to bring a wrapped gift to the party. Usually the gift is in a certain price range. Some individuals will bring serious gifts and others, gag gifts. The wrapped gifts are then placed under a tree. Each individual then draws a number. The individual who drew number one goes first. He/she then selects a gift from underneath the tree and then unwraps it. The person who drew number two goes next. He/she has a choice: he/she can either chose an unwrapped gift from under the tree and unwrap it him/herself; or – if he/she likes the present person number one just opened - then he/she could take person number one’s gift. If person number one loses their gift, they get to chose an unwrapped gift from under the tree to replace their “lost” gift. Then you move on to person number three. The game continues in that fashion until all the gifts are dispersed. The fun of the game is that it reveals the personality of the individuals who are participating. You can see those who are willing to take a risk for what might be in the unknown box, and those who would rather play it safe and take something that has already been fully revealed. In today’s Gospel reading from Mark, one can see that individuals in Jesus’ day were confronted with a similar choice. They could either go on with the version of life as they already knew it (that would be choosing the equivalent of an already unwrapped gift), or they could risk everything and follow John the Baptist’s call to a baptism of “life-change” – one where the individual would be asked to turn “your old life in for a kingdom life” (Mark 1:7 from The Message). That would be the equivalent of taking a risk and choosing the unwrapped gift. The only difference between the two scenarios is that the people of Jesus’ day didn’t have to risk choosing a gag gift – the present they opened in choosing a baptism of life-change revealed the fullness and the goodness of all that God had to offer. This Advent season, I would invite you to examine your approach to your spiritual life. Do you continue to play it safe and simply settle for life as you have known it, or do you make the most of the opportunities you have to take a risk and reach for that “kingdom life”? Til next time…
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