"Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." (Isaiah 60:1, NRSV)

Isaiah spoke to the Israelites as they returned from exile to find their beloved Jerusalem in ruins. The message was one of light, hope, and abundance. Isaiah called the people to remain faithful to God and reminded them that, "the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you."

As we move into 2010, we also need to hear a word of hope. The season of Christmas brought us once again to the angels' declaration of, "peace on earth and good will to all humanity." In spite of this, we live in a world torn apart by war while we cry out for peace. While our personal circumstances may be comfortable, we are surrounded by men, women, and children who are hungry, homeless, and without hope. Though many of us celebrated the season of light this Christmas, there are many others sitting in the darkness of grief, sorrow, and great loss.

Many years ago I found myself in a very dark place covered in sadness and hopelessness. I had given up on God's plan and descended into a place where God could not find me. Family and friends could not reach me in this place, but they kept praying and loving me until God's light found its way into my darkness and hope returned to lead me home. I believe this is what Isaiah is doing…he is affirming God's promise to a people lost in darkness. He says to them, and to us, "Don't give up hope. Just because you can't see the light doesn't mean it's not there. Keep praying, trusting, and reaching toward the light of God's love."

In a recent Sunday school class discussion, we talked about how we have only a limited view of what God sees completely. The meaning of events in our lives cannot be completely understood until God's work is completed. What we may view as injustice, disaster, or tragedy should remind us that people of faith trust that the Lord's work is not yet complete. We wait for its fulfillment. In other words, we may bring lemons to the party, but God will eventually make lemonade. No matter what, there is always hope for a future filled with the bright Light of God.

I realize that this view of the world may offer small comfort when we are in the midst of our own grief; in fact, this may offer little immediate relief for our sadness or anesthetic for our pain. But, our Christian view of God who is still present – Emmanuel, God with us – and still in control can bring us to gradual acceptance of the fact that we cannot see the whole picture. It can help us to release our hopelessness into the hands of our God of hope.

Frank Johnson writes, "God does not cause hurt or will the suffering of innocent persons. But, when these events occur they must be understood within the larger framework of our lives. God can turn sorrow into joy, defeat into victory, and death into life. Faith in God involves patience, trust, and confidence that God will prevail."

Today I pray that we will begin the year filled with hope, confident in God's abundance, and looking to His Light. We cannot see what the future holds, nor should we try to speculate; what we can rely on is a God who knows exactly how things will work out for us. One of my favorite scriptures is Jeremiah 29:11 – "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." This is a certainty – "surely" – God has a plan for the welfare of each one of his children; a future of hope, not harm. Wow! Every time I call on that passage I am overwhelmed with wonder at the awesomeness of the God who loves me that much. With the certainty of that promise, I have no worries about what the future holds. This is the way I choose to greet January 2010 – with the sure and certain hope that God's plans are perfect. It doesn't matter that we don't see everything that God sees; we trust that God's vision is better than ours. "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." Isaiah was right to offer this message of hope. It is a message for a Happy New Year for Christians everywhere!

God bless,
Pastor Don

What is piety?

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." (Hebrews 5:7, NIV)

What does piety mean for us?

If you have visited many different churches you have probably been exposed to a wide variety of worship styles and traditions. Within the United Methodist Church you can find worship services that span the spectrum from very traditional "high church" to very contemporary "charismatic" worship. You can find people who raise their hands and shout "Amen!" standing next to folks who would rather remain quiet during worship and keep their hands in their pockets. There are churches with pipe organs and there are churches with rock bands. The contemporary worshipers often criticize the traditionalists for being "too pious" and the traditionalists may criticize the contemporary worshipers of "false piety." People outside the church simply criticize all church as being "afflicted" with piety. Elton Trueblood writes about the church this way: "The real trouble is that its piety is not deep enough!" I think what has happened is that the word "piety" has come to mean something bad, something distasteful – something derogatory. The dictionary defines piety as: religious devotion and reverence to God. In other words, piety is simply a term of respect. That doesn't sound like a bad thing to me at all. Maybe the problem is that we have too little piety in our lives.

Think about it: we say a few hasty prayers, we sing a nice hymn or two, and we read snippets from the Bible. Does this really amount to reverence for God? Is this adequate evidence of our respect for our Creator and Savior? To develop and maintain a close personal relationship with God requires more effort than that. We need a massive dose of piety if we are to be healers of the world in Jesus' name. The seat of our disease, says Helmut Thielicke, "is not in the branches of our nerves at all but rather in our roots which are stunted and starved." Thielicke reminds us that Martin Luther prayed four hours every day, "not despite his busy life but because only so could he accomplish his gigantic labors." To work without praying is like a tree reaching out its branches higher and higher with no adequate root system to keep it from toppling over. Piety, respect and reverence for God, leads us to spend time in prayer and study so our roots are developed in strength and power to support us through the times of our life.

February 17^th is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. This six week period offers us a wonderful opportunity to prepare for the events of Holy Week – the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no better time than the Season of Lent to renew our piety…to renew our reverence and respect for God. This is the perfect time to get in the habit of spending more time in daily prayer and Bible study. It's your chance to re-commit your life to Christ and to get back in the habit of weekly worship attendance. It might be the time for you to join a Sunday school class or start attending our Monday evening Bible study group. Maybe this is your chance to join the choir. Lent might be when you will shout "Amen!" in the middle of a sermon for the first time in your life. However this season affects your practice of piety – showing respect to God – your life will be transformed. Transformation, after all, is what our relationship with Jesus Christ is supposed to be about isn't it?!

I pray that you will give this some serious thought. The six weeks of Lent are an opportunity for all of us to develop a deeply pious relationship with Jesus; to strengthen and deepen the roots of our faith; to stand up and give in to the transformation that God promises us through Jesus Christ. This is our chance to respond to what God is calling us to do as a church and to be as Christian disciples. Piety – reverent submission to God – gives us the courage we need to allow God to truly lead our lives, all our lives. Jesus offered prayers with loud cries and tears. The Psalms tell us to pray morning, noon, and night. Daniel knelt in prayer three times a day. Paul tells us to pray continually. Church history has countless examples of the call to prayer in the early morning and late evening. We are called to talk to God as we begin each day, as we go to work, and as we end the day. There is no wrong time for prayer. It seems to me that prayer is the perfect means of showing reverent respect for God and of cultivating the deep roots of our relationship. That is true piety. It's not a bad thing at all. It means many things and is manifest in different ways for different people. Piety is the deserved respect we show to the God who loves us so much that He would die for our salvation. How will you let piety be manifest in your life today?

God bless,
Pastor Don