At All Times, In All Places

15 days. Don’t panic, but there are 15 days of preparation left. 15 days to get ready. Presents to buy and wrap, laundry to fold, school work to finish, leaves to bag, bills adding up, dishes piling up, deadlines approaching, children getting sick, more leaves falling…In response to the pace at which we try to live life, Rev. Kathleen Long Bostrom asks “Where do we even begin to try and settle our frazzled nerves?” “The edges of our souls are starting to fray and unravel.”

Our lives are goal oriented, driven, and too often, frantic. Unless we intentionally ruthlessly eliminate hurry, we will go throughout Advent “rushing headlong down [the road to Bethlehem] with Christmas as the goal,” instead of pausing along the road to ponder the one we meet there and his central message. Emmanuel, God with us.

At all times, in all places, God is with us.

John is beckoning us to prepare to behold him, to adjust so that when we see the light that overcomes darkness it isn’t so bright in our eyes that we have to turn away. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John is calling us to see him coming and clear away everything that stands in the way – make the path straight.

On Hooper Street in Marblehead, Massachusetts, a small town of winding roads not quite 20 miles north of Boston, there’s a house with a missing corner. It’s a normal house otherwise, two stories, clapboard siding, one big rectangular box, with a chunk missing. The second story is complete, hanging over a void on the ground floor. Legend has it that In 1824 General Marquis de LaFayette came to visit. He was met at the harbor and was given a tour of the town in a carriage pulled by six white horses. Now this particular house sits at the corner of five converging streets. It was a rainy day and the mud alone made it hard for the horses to navigate. They could not make the turn and so legend has it that someone took an ax and started chopping away at the corner of this house, making it possible for the General to pass. And to this day this is known as The Lafayette House. (Janet Hunt, Dancing with the Word, Prepare the Way…)

In the same way, John beckons us to chop away everything in our lives that hinders Jesus’ path to us. Hate, bitterness, selfishness, lies, idols, ….What corners in your life need to be chopped away? What corners of your life are harboring darkness and hindering the way of the Lord?

The first line of Ann Weems’ poem “In Search of Our Kneeling Places” forces me to pause every time I read it, “In each heart lies a Bethlehem, an inn where we must ultimately answer whether there is room or not.”

How will we prepare him room? How will we receive Emmanuel, God with us, in our lives? Last week, the first week of Advent we were reminded to breath, ruthlessly eliminating hurry. This week we are invited to Behold, Emmanuel and center ourselves in him.

You have in your bulletin 5 cards that say “Emmanuel, God with Us.” Over the coming 15 days, I invite you to put those cards in the common places of your life – on your bathroom mirror, on your dash board, on your desk, above the kitchen sink, in your wallet – and every time you see one of the cards, pause and behold.

Where is God? Have you seen him? Have you seen light breaking in where there was darkness? Have you seen hope sprouting like a seed and forcing its way up toward the light? Have you seen peace settling over a troubled situation? Behold, Emmanuel. God is with us: in all times. in all places.

Hear the invitation from the last verse of Ann Weems’ poem: This Advent let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us. In the midst of shopping sprees let’s ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts. Through the tinsel let’s look for the gold of the Christmas Star. In the excitement and confusion, in the merry chaos, let’s listen for the brush of angels’ wings. This Advent, let’s go to Bethlehem and find our kneeling places.

Amen.