​God’s sense of time and place is much different than ours. What’s normal to us may be quite odd to God, while God’s presence comes to us in ways we’d never suspect. Pastor Dave explains that how we perceive and talk about the world can make a huge difference in our understanding of the divine purpose for our lives.

Ep. 102 - Is a "personal" relationship with God enough? Are we really judged by the content of our hearts or is faith something more? A Christmas song and New Year's resolutions provoke Justin and Dave to examine what's inside us and how we interact with the world.

The Geek and Greek podcast is a show where two reverends talk honestly and clearly about faith, Christianity, scripture, and life. 
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Ep. 101 - Justin and Dave try to talk about Christmas stress, but get derailed into church decision-making, national politics, and the foundations for communities of faith existing in the first place...which might also have something to do with Christmas and how we celebrate it this year.
The Geek and Greek podcast is a show where two reverends talk honestly and clearly about faith, Christianity, scripture, and life. 
Follow us at GeekAndGreek.com!

One of the many themes that we often attribute to the season of Advent is that of waiting. In this year of 2020 we may feel like we have done our fair share of waiting. We have been waiting to gather again with family and friends, waiting to worship in person, wait for a vaccine and now vaccine distribution, waiting for things to return to “normal,” if there is a normal to return to. This Advent our cluster here in the Treasure Valley is doing prerecorded mid-week evening prayer together, and last week I gave a brief reflection, the theme of the week being “Wait” and the scripture being 2nd Peter 3:8-15a. One of the commentaries I read on this passage talked about the early Christians who were hearing the letter from 2 Peter. They struggled with patience and waiting. The early Christians were waiting for Jesus to return like he had said and they thought it should be happening in their lifetime. Jesus had said “this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place,” so where was he? They had waited and waited for Jesus and he still hadn’t returned. In their waiting they were growing weary and beginning to doubt Jesus was really coming back. Some even went as far as saying that Jesus coming again was a fable and a myth. That Jesus wasn’t really coming back.

The author of 2nd Peter was writing to remind the people that God’s time is not like ours. Reminding them, that for God one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. God had not forgotten them, God keeps God’s promises, and in God’s time Jesus would return. The author also reminds them that in their waiting they shouldn’t let their faith become stagnant. That they should practice what I am calling active waiting. To keep living their faith out in their daily lives. Living lives of faithfulness and hope, of kindness and compassion, of expectation and watchfulness. To continue to live out the love Jesus taught, as they awaited his return. That even when things were hard they could continue to live out love as they waited.

Still today we live in this in-between time of the now and not yet, and that is not always easy. In a year that has brought so much chaos, violence, and death, we can wonder where God is, and what God is up to in and through this? In all of our waiting it can be hard to see where God is present and active in our lives. We can feel weighed down and weary from all the brokenness we see in the world around us. As we wait we can still live lives of faithfulness and hope, by living out Gods love to those around us. We can cling to the promise that God’s time is not like ours. That God has not forgotten us. That God keeps God’s promises. That God is present with us in and through the ups and downs of living in the in-between of the now and not yet.
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As we continue our journey through this Advent season, as we await the celebration of Jesus’ birth, as we also wait for Jesus to return, may we embody active waiting. Anticipating with hope, but also continuing to live out our faith through loving our neighbor. Living lives of faithfulness and hope, lives of kindness and compassion, lives of expectation and watchfulness as we wait.

Blessings,
​Sara

​Hearing a story once isn't sufficient. Why we should treat the Bible more like a conversation on the couch with friends than a textbook.

The Luke account offers some interesting ideas when we consider the shepherds.  They were confronted by an angel of the Lord and they are terrified.  Why?  Had they missed a few too many Sabbaths?  Maybe it was their understanding of this God of theirs, a God of vengeance, a God of the apocalyptic of Daniel.  We can be assured that they had no more insight to what God was up to than the traditional Hebrew understanding of that day.  As shepherds, they were probably not the most welcome in the synagogue, so perhaps they had even less knowledge than we first thought.  But let's give them the benefit of the doubt.  So they think they know God.  Now all of a sudden one of God’s messengers is talking to them and they know him so well they are, terrified!
Terrified! ! !  Why should they be terrified?

They are told that the Messiah, the Anointed One, is born in the city of David.  “This will be your sign, a baby wrapped in strips in cloth.”  They then witness a very cool demonstration in the skies, including a great number of angels saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all men.  If they weren't nervous before they sure should have been by now.  So they decide to leave the sheep with the angels and head for town. 

The thoughts they shared on the way could have been these: "Let’s see, what did they say now, a sign was to be a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger." said the first shepherd. The second shepherd thought, "This is just a sign, the prophets told us through the scriptures what great and mighty things God will do.  Surely our God wouldn't start our Messiah out in a feed trough, it's only the sign of the birth, right?"  A third shepherd suggested, "Well, the prophet Micah did say that out of Bethlehem will come the ruler of all Israel."

The first shepherd assured, "We must be in the right place!  Isaiah says that he will bring justice to the entire world. I’m for that, besides, I’m sort of tired of being a shepherd anyhow.  He can get us out of our rut.”

“But we’re going just to see a baby, right?" said the second.  "Yes, that's the sign of the Messiah's coming.  You must be right, it's only a sign."

They all agreed.

On to Bethlehem, and after some searching they found a hotel.  They were greeted coolly by the inn keeper, surely they smelled rather bad.  "We're looking for a sign.” said one shepherd.  The innkeeper pointed to one just above the doorway they were standing in saying that it was in fact an inn.  “No”, they said, "We mean a baby sign." Now the inn keeper knew why they were shepherds. 

He moved to close the door, but they questioned again.  "We are looking for a new baby, perhaps you know of one?" "Oh yes, responded the keeper, "perhaps the ones you are looking for are out in the stable.  I sent them out there earlier; I’m full up in here.”

So the shepherds went around back and sure enough, there was a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, in the manger. This is exactly what they had been told to look for.  This was it! There could be no mistake now; they were in the right place, no doubt about it.  The angels were right, God has come through, and this IS the sign.  The Messiah we have waited for is coming.

They ran out of the stable and into the streets, praising God for, all they had heard and seen, telling everyone whom they met of the sign, of the angels and how they were right down to the last detail.  This truly was the sign.  The Messiah is here …………………. somewhere.

After the initial excitement had settled slightly they went back to the stable to see again.  They were beside themselves praising God.  He had come through.  God had come through.  All that God had said in the scriptures was true; it was all possible, the prophets were right.  God promised himself in the covenant with Abraham, and now it's true.  He is truly faithful.  We see it, we've seen the sign.

But wait! What did the shepherds see?  Did they see that their God was a righteous God, a God of promise and fulfillment?  Did they see that all that had gone on with the prophets was fulfilled?  Did they see dawn of a new creation in this little child, lying in a manger?

It is understandable that the shepherds saw the continuing fulfillment of Gods portion of the covenant, but their comprehension of all this ended with the Hebrew understanding of Gods relationship with His creation.  They couldn’t begin to see that the Kingdom of God was upon them, or, know the message of Christ's Gospel.  This was only, to them, a sign.

What do we see?  Do we see a God of promises fulfilled? Do we see the love of our God given to his creation through this little child?  Do we see the whole gift of God in Christ or only parts of it?

In this Advent season, do we see only the child, the manger, and all that comes to mind when we think of this scene?
Too often we forget and only see what the shepherds saw.

Do we see our God as a God of promise and faithfulness, a God of unending love toward this creation? 
 
What do you see?

​Credit to Bob Parrish

Ep. 100 - For the 100th episode of Geek and Greek, Justin and Dave talk about their own Christmas traditions, how they connect with the holiday story, and open the door for many ways of interpreting the message of the Savior come to earth.

The Geek and Greek podcast is a show where two reverends talk honestly and clearly about faith, Christianity, scripture, and life. 
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Follow us at GeekAndGreek.com!

Ep. 99 - Christmas is coming! Justin and Dave take a long, hard look at the scriptural Christmas stories, comparing them to the one we usually tell through traditional Christmas Pageants. Who is commercializing Christmas? As it turns out, it might be the church!

The Geek and Greek podcast is a show where two reverends talk honestly and clearly about faith, Christianity, scripture, and life. 
​
Follow us at GeekAndGreek.com!

When I was growing up my grandfather was involved in the local Scandinavian club. Each December the Scandinavian club would host a Julbord feast, on the Sunday closest to December 13th, the feast day of Santa Lucia. It was a giant holiday potluck with many traditional Scandinavian dishes from pickled herring to kransekake and many thinks in between. One of the main parts of this annual gathering was the Santa Lucia pageant and carol singing. All the young girls and boys would participate, the tallest girl getting the honor of being Lucia and having the candle crown. We all had candles and would enter into the room where the lights had been dimmed singing the Santa Lucia song. This time of year those memories come flooding back from the many years of Julbord feasts. I find myself humming or singing the song. As a child I did not know the words to the song and would just hum along as I learned the tune. Over time I learned how to sing the Swedish:

     Natten går tunga fjät runt gård och stuva. Kring jord som soln förgät, skuggorna ruva. Då i vårt mörka           hus, stiger med tända ljus. Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia. Då i vårt mörka hus, stiger med tända ljus Sankta        Lucia, Sankta Lucia.

      Night comes with heavy steps through our land, calling. Sunlight, the earth forgets; shadows are                     falling.  However dark the night, rising with candles bright, Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

At some point over the years as my grandparents aged we stopped attending Julbord but pieces of that tradition continued on with us. Over time holiday traditions change and mold to where we are at in a given year, in a given time and place. This year many of our holiday traditions won’t be happening as usual and it will be hard to grieve the loss of some of those things. In a year where we have lost so much it can be hard to think about giving up our Holiday celebrations. Yet at the same time this year is allowing us to be more creative in the ways we connect with those near and far, and it is also giving us an opportunity to keep things small and intimate with our immediate household. We can take pieces of our usual traditions and use them to create something new and special.

I haven’t attended a Julbord or formal celebration of the feast day of Santa Lucia in years, but I still tend to celebrate it in my own way, whether listening to or singing the Santa Lucia song in Swedish, or making spritz cookies like I did with my mom and grandmother when I was growing up, or reflecting on the many years of memories while locating where I hung my Lucia ornament on my tree. Though these may be small things they bring me back to the traditions and memories from my childhood.

In this year of so much loss it is ever important to find ways to hold to tradition or to recall traditions from the past. Finding hope and joy in the memories of years past. Maybe remembering an old tradition that you can bring back this year with those in your household. Just because things will be very different for many of us this year doesn’t mean that the memories won’t be as special when we look back in years to come and remember the year we created new traditions or brought some old ones back in a new way. I feel that more than just being what we always do to celebrate the holidays, our traditions are about the relationships and time spent together with those you love, that is what makes whatever you are doing special.

Yet, I write this knowing that there will still be many for whom this won’t be a possibility, whether it be distance or loss that makes this year even harder. That there are those for whom the holidays are always hard. If you know someone who struggles this time of year or who you know is struggling with the holidays this year reach out. Check in with them. Even if you don’t know reach out to your friends and family, maybe a cousin or uncle you haven’t talked to in a while, or a friend that you have lost touch with. We all need each other and connection to community, and I think we need it more than ever this year.

However you will be spending your holiday season, I pray that you find moments of peace and joy, moments of laughter and reflection, and that you find connection and love with those around you (whether physically or on a screen).

Advent Blessings,
Sara