Happy New Year! Now What?

One of my favorite authors is a woman named Jan Richardson. She writes in a way that shapes her words into pure inspiration. I find myself returning to her words again and again as I travel this journey of faith and life. A couple of years ago, Richardson lost her husband after a brief and complicated illness. Over the past couple of years, Richardson has explored her grief as she has wandered the path of love and loss and anger and sadness and resurrection. What I am most grateful for in Richardson’s words is her honest and straightforward heading as she has undertaken her own journey into the unknown, unplanned world she never expected to entertain. So…in celebration of the season of Epiphany – the appearing of the Magi and the overwhelming presence of the light of Christ upon the world – I leave you with these words, written by Richardson, as a blessing in these first days of the new year. May God bless your journeys – each and every step.

For Those Who Have Far to Travel ~ An Epiphany Blessing

If you could see the journey whole
you might never undertake it;
might never dare the first step
that propels you from the place
you have known toward the place you know not.

Call it one of the mercies of the road:
that we see it only by stages as it opens before us,
as it comes into our keeping step by single step.
There is nothing for it but to go and by our going take the vows the pilgrim takes:
to be faithful to the next step;
to rely on more than the map;
to heed the signposts of intuition and dream;
to follow the star that only you will recognize;
to keep an open eye for the wonders that attend the path;
to press on beyond distractions
beyond fatigue
beyond what would tempt you from the way.

There are vows that only you will know;
the secret promises for your particular path
and the new ones you will need to make
when the road is revealed by turns
you could not have foreseen.
Keep them, break them, make them again:
each promise becomes part of the path;
each choice creates the road that will take you to the place where at last you will kneel
to offer the gift most needed—
the gift that only you can give—
before turning to go home by another way.

May the light of the star over the manger shine light on a new road in this new year. To God be the glory!

Rev. Chris Marien

(This article was written for the January 2018 Newsletter).

A Star Shining in the Night

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ~ John 1:9

Merry Christmas! Still in these first days of this new year we hear the words Merry Christmas as the church celebrates the season of Christmas through January 6 when the feast of Epiphany arrives and the Magi arrive at the manger.

It was an awfully full schedule: travel arrangements to Bethlehem, lost hotel reservations, a stay in a manger, a birthing room without medical insurance or assistance, and early visitors smelling of sheep. Then, just as we expect Mary and Joseph to take time to rest, the Magi knock on the door. “More visitors,” shouts Joseph. Mary pulls herself together one more time and pastes on a plastic smile to greet the visitors from the East. The Magi come bearing gifts, but more importantly, they arrive with stories of a star that appeared around the time of the birth of Mary’s son – a star that shines brighter than the rest and calls the Magi to follow. It is the same star that calls us to follow.

Once again, we have followed the star to the manger. Once again, we pray for the hope of God to overwhelm us. Epiphany is the season of light.  And after 2016, I am in desperate need for the light of God’s promise to continue to call us and the rest of the world – first, to the manger and then to go into the world to tell the story of God’s love and promise. As the star shines in the sky, may the light of Christ shine in us and through us. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it!”
Peace be with you,
Rev. Christian Marien

(This article first appeared in the January 2017 newsletter).

Days of Light

What joy to celebrate the birth of our Savior once again in these Christmas days. It always fills me with wonder and awe to see the body of Christ gather to sing the old songs while experiencing the story and love of God in new ways through the journey of Advent darkness to Christmas light. Even as the world often does not know what to do with the birth of our Savior, you and I hear the call of God to be witnesses to the light of God coming into the world.

Now we find ourselves on the edge of the season of Epiphany – the season of light. I am filled with peace in these days of light – each day a reminder of God’s presence in my life and in the life of the world. When we see the difficult and painful realities of our world, our hope in Jesus gives us strength to face the days before us.

Some of us are experiencing a broken relationship; some of us are living with the consequences of a decision made long ago; some of us are afraid to reach out to someone in need; some of us are wondering how we will get through one more day; and some of us are fearful of the seemingly downward spiral of a world in turmoil. Through all of these fears and worries, the light of God in Jesus Christ shines chasing away the dark night of our fear.

Our invitation is to trust God and follow God from the manger to the temple to the River Jordan to the healing and saving work of God on the cross and through the gate of death to the other side of the empty tomb. The old Norwegian hymn, “I Am So Glad Each Christmas Eve” reminds us of God’s promise.

I am so glad each Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus’ birth! Then like the sun the star shone forth, and angels sang on earth. The little child in Bethlehem, he was a king indeed!
For he came down from heaven above to help a world in need.

“He came down from heaven above to help a world in need.” This is not a future promise to God’s creation, it is a promise already fulfilled. Thanks be to God! In our daily lives, our invitation is to trust what God is doing because of what God has already done. Now there is a promise fulfilled that I can take comfort in during challenging days.

After the Advent Concert Worship weekend, a member of the congregation sent a reflection to the office. I found her words full of the faith we are invited to engage trusting that God is at work in the world. Here are her words.

When I attended the Christmas concert on Dec. 13, I was so moved by [the] production and message I received of Christ’s coming to earth to be among us, I felt I had to say something about it. We had the children singing to the glory of God, the choir at its best singing the joy to the world, instrumentalists playing, the Bell Choir ringing their hearts to God, the Folk Choir singing, and Ben and the Praise Band singing for us. The message Pastor Angela read to us was the message that means Christmas to me. I was overwhelmed with joy. As I sat there, I pondered the budget cuts and the many changes in our church in the past several years and I feel that our church is going in the right direction. There is no way we can make changes for the future without stepping on someone’s toes. Unfortunately someone gets hurt.

My prayer for 2016 at Ascension is that we all can work together and we can nd ways to make up the shortfalls in our budget. We all need to listen to our Lord who speaks to us through the holiday season and all year. Remember my favorite Bible verse, ‘I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength.’ We can do it, I know we can! ~ Arlene Davis

What I appreciate most about Arlene’s words is her unwavering trust in God. In the midst of worship and praise of our God, Arlene saw the light of a manger overflowing with God’s love for a world in need. We will never know a day in our lives without a deep and definite need for God’s presence. I am grateful to serve among a community of faith where joy is shared; where faith is active; and where our faith finds grounding and strength through the worship of God.

May these days of light in this season of Epiphany bring you joy and peace.

~ Pastor Chris Marien

(This article was originally published in Ascension’s January 2016 newsletter).

The Light of Epiphany

Dear People of God,
I am borrowing the words of one of my favorite poets, Ann Weems, to share with you the hope of this new year. She has an incredible gift to describe with such clarity my feelings of these days after Christmas. She writes:

3 wise menI must admit to a certain guilt about stuffing the Holy Family into a box in the aftermath of Christmas. It’s frankly a time of personal triumph when, each Advent’s eve, I free them (and the others) from a year’s imprisonment boxed in the dark of our basement. Out they come, one by one, struggling through the straw, last year’s tinsel still clinging to their robes. Nevertheless, they appear, ready to take their place again in the light of another Christmas. The Child is first because he’s the one I’m most reluctant to box. Attached forever to his cradle, he emerges, apparently unscathed from the time spent upside down to avoid the crush of the lid. His mother, dressed eternally in blue, still gazes adoringly, in spite of the fact that her features are somewhat smudged. Joseph has stood for eleven months, holding valiantly what’s left of his staff, broken twenty Christmases ago by a child who hugged a little too tightly.The Wise Ones still travel, though not quite so elegantly, the standing camel having lost its back leg and the sitting camel having lost one ear. However, gifts intact, they are ready to move. The Shepherds, walking or kneeling, sometimes confused with Joseph (who wears the same dull brown), tumble forth, followed by three sheep in very bad repair. There they are again, not a grand set surely, but one children (and now the grandchildren) can touch and move about to reenact the silent night. When the others return, we will wind the music box on the back of the stable and light the Advent candles and go one more time to Bethlehem. And this year, when it’s time to pack the figures away, we’ll be more careful that the Peace and Goodwill are not also boxed for another year!

The days of Epiphany call us to bask in the light of Christmas. Not the light of a star, but the light of a Savior. Here, the darkness is chased away by the promise of new life. The long nights of winter are beginning to give way to days filled with increasing moments of light. For many of us, the darkness seems to overwhelm us. It is only when we remove our hands covering our eyes and lift up our heads that we are able to see the light of Christ that surrounds us. May you be blessed by the hope that God has already placed within you in these days of Epiphany – these days of light.

Peace be with you,

Pastor Chris Marien