"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness — without it no one will see the Lord." + Hebrews 12:14
Here are some recent highlights:
When we handed these books out to our congregation, this is part of the note we included inside each one:
This might seem at first
to be a peculiar Advent devotional.
But saints often are peculiar people
who stand out in a particular time and place.
In fact, the times when saints shine
the most are times of darkness.
They give glimpses of Jesus’ Light,
which darkness cannot overcome.
Advent begins in the dark.
And we, as part of Jesus’ Church,
are called to live as Advent people
who anticipate Jesus’ coming
into our darkness today to overcome it.
Ultimately, our hope rests in the God of Advent
who drew near to us in Jesus’ first coming
and will come again
to take away the darkness forever
and be our eternal Light. That hope is what saints have embodied
as our sisters and brothers across time,
ethnicities, Christian traditions,
nationalities, and more.
As we step into this next year,
our prayer is that we will shine
all the more with the holy light
of Christ in us and through us.
And we pray that we
“being rooted and firmly established in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the length and width,
height and depth of God’s love.”
After all, “the Father has enabled us
to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light.
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and
transferred us into the Kingdom
of the Son He loves.”
This post features an excerpt from Our Church Speaks so that you might also walk some of this journey with us with reflection, prayer, and anticipation for how the Light of the world might shine in your life during this season.
Joan of Arc Mystic & Soldier
When the French cried out to God for deliverance from English oppressors, God raised up a humble peasant girl named Joan as His messenger. Joan lived in a farming region of northeast France during the Hundred Years' War. In this war, English nobility with ancient Norman / French ancestry fought with native French over land and property. The French peasants suffered many evils while the nobility fought over ancient claims. By the time Joan was thirteen, England had gained the upper hand in the war. God began speaking to Joan at this time through the voices of angels and saints. God was grieved by the injustice suffered by the French people and had heard their prayers. He gave Joan a daunting mission: she was to install an embattled Prince Charles as the next king of France and lead France to victory over their oppressors.
At age sixteen, Joan put on armor and journeyed eleven days to Charles's court. She told Charles that he was destined by God to be king and asked for an army that she would lead to liberate the city of Orléans. This bold, unprecedented act was bizarre to all at Charles's court. Charles's advisers said Joan was a delusional teenager. Charles ignored them and gave Joan an army. Riding a white horse, Joan led the French to victory over the English at Orléans, and Charles was crowned king. The tide of the war was turned.
Joan continued to receive visions and fight against English oppression. At age nineteen, she was captured by the English and condemned to death for witchcraft and heresy. As the flames consumed Joan's body, she issued her final words, calling on the name of Jesus. An English soldier said to those nearby, "God forgive us: we have burned a saint." Twenty-five years after her death, a Church investigation exonerated Joan of heresy. In 1920, the Roman Catholic Church officially recognized Joan of Arc as a saint.
Scripture
"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." + 1 Timothy 4:12
Meditation: Too Young to Be Used by God?
Jospeh, Samuel, Ruth, David, Esther, Daniel, Mary, John, Timothy — what do they have in common? They were all "too young" for the work God called them to. The Lord calls and uses all types, young and old, men and women, rich and poor; but the too-young seem to have a special place of affection in His heart. The too-young person is obviously inadequate; they don't have enough life experience to be wise, and they rarely have enough resources to be effective. The too-young are, therefore, often the perfect kind of person for God to manifest His strength in weakness.
It is common sense for local churches and denominations to have rules about how old someone must be in order to take certain steps: make a public profession of faith, be ordained for ministry, teach, lead, etc. But Jesus' Church must also remember that she serves a Lord who loves to use the too-young and therefore must always be ready to make an exception to the general rules and regulations. You never know when you might have another Timothy or Joan of Arc on your hands!
What if Charles had listened to his advisers and dismissed Joan as the inexperienced teenager she was? What if Pharaoh had not listened to Joseph? What if Eli had not listened to Samuel? What if Samuel had not anointed David? What if Joseph (and Mary's parents!) had rejected her? What if the other disciples had rejected John (who was likely somewhere around fourteen years old when he became a disciple)? What if Paul had rejected Timothy?
What if you do not listen to the too-young people who are called by God in your life? What opportunity might you or your congregation miss if you are not open to God calling the too-young?
Prayer
pgs. 103-104
Additional Advent Resources:
Many blessings of peace and presence,
Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan
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