Good Question.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.”

   Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. 

After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. 

And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

   

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

--1 Kings 19:11-13

It's the end of another year, and we assume another one is just around the corner. Most of us, over the last month or longer, have engaged in too much. 

Too much eating. 

Too much spending. 

Too much rushing about looking, buying-- returning.

We work and worry about so many things in our lives. We wonder if that guy in the next cubicle is after our job. We are sure the person that just whipped around us on the highway is out to get us-- it's all personal.

Elijah kind of had that going on, as well.

Jezebel, one Queen Bee, was out to get Elijah-- literally. Wanted him killed as quickly and horribly as possible. Elijah ran, fast and far, wound up in a cave. The Lord sent angels to care for him, strengthen him-- and still Elijah fretted and worried.

Finally, the LORD told Elijah: Be there or be square. I AM about to pass by.

Seems Elijah got Somebody's attention. Now if only God can get Elijah's attention.

Elijah is looking for the Creator of all that is. He is expecting an arrival like that of an earthly king, only more. An all-powerful wind perhaps. No, not God. An earthquake-- nope. Fire? Not there, either.

No, for Elijah, the God of the Universe arrives as a still, quiet whisper. One so small, so ordinary, that if Elijah had not been desiring it, looking for it-- he would have missed it altogether.

Christmas is nearly behind us. This celebration of an ordinary miracle of God-become-human, of the King arriving not with pomp and circumstance, but with the cry of new life; born not to a princess in a palace, but in a lowly cattle stall. Ushered in not by courtiers with brass horns, but by the soft sounds of the stable, a cacophony of moos and baas-- and an olfactory assault decidedly unfit for a king.

Children's author Hans Christian Anderson put it this way. "The whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to seeing them, we call them ordinary things."

This, friends, is how our God chooses to engage with the children he loves. And this is how he arrived to pass by when Elijah was deeply troubled. 

But here's the clinker. Here's where I am stopped in my tracks. 

God passes before Elijah, comes to him as a small voice designed not to terrorize, but to comfort, and then asks this question:

"Elijah, what are you doing-- here?"

And then he sends Elijah back, back from whence he came, reminding him that he does not go alone. Reminding him that God goes with him, just as he travelled before the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Always present. Always.

What are you doing-- here?

Have you thought about that lately? Are you in such a hurry to get there, that you are neglecting here? 

Or, as Mary Oliver puts it, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

Happy New Year. May 2012 find you peace-filled, seeking the Lord in the ordinary, finding beauty in the moment. 

Thanks for reading. Tell your friends : )

What if. . . ?

“‘For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. ¹² As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. .  .  . I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. . . . I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing." (From Ezekiel 34)

I am sitting here in my cozy living room, watching fat, fluffy snowflakes doing their best imitation of dancing sugarplums, and wondering. What if?

What if the Lord is reminding us of his many blessings-- in the snowflakes?

Imagine-- too many blessings to even begin to count. Each one a little different from all the others. Together, more beautiful than we can imagine. Everywhere! And sticking to us, clinging like cat hair to a pair of dark pants. . . .

Ever taken a blessing for granted-- or failed to see a blessing for what it is? 

Ever looked at all the beauty before you, perfect reminders of God's provision-- and grumbled because you had to shovel the "blessings" out of the way to get on with what is so very, very important in your life?

Slow down for a minute.

Step outside. (All right, grab a coat if you must. Shoes-- definitely.)

Tip your head back, and look up. If you're in my neck of the woods-- watch the flakes dance and swirl, in rhythm and time to some unheard music, perhaps played on the lyre by unseen angels. 

Go ahead. (Forget what Lucy Van Pelt told Linus-- they're ripe.) 

Open your mouth. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Are the flakes sticking? Take a walk. Watch and listen as your feet work their way through the snow.

Stop and make a perfect imprint of your boot. (Too bad this is the only time we see those patterns!)

Ready . . . set . . . lean back, a-l-l-l-l-l the way, till you land (carefully) in the center of a pristine patch of powder. 

You remember how. Arms and legs, all together now. A Christmas angel in the snow. And just like the flakes, each one is a wee bit different, each one a reflection of the creator.

Ezra Jack Keats wrote a book about this. A Snowy Day. Peter knew just what to do. Snuggle up with your favorite little one and read this book together.

Seasons change, time marches on. But stop and look around you. The beauty and bounty of the Lord never fades, for those with eyes to see.

Blessed Advent! Merry Christmas! Happy Holy Days! Amen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ 

Love, Love, Love.

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” --Matthew 22:36-40

The (United) Methodist Church holds a General Conference every four years. Delegates elected by their respective conferences travel from around the world to praise God and be about the business of the church. In 2000, the General Conference was held here, in Cleveland, Ohio.

A pastor friend was given the privilege of chauffeuring Bishop Kulah, from Liberia, back and forth, from the airport, to the hotel, to meetings, etc.

At that time, many many people-- most, maybe-- believed that this was the year, now was the time when the conversation over homosexuality would come to a head, and there would be a schism in the United Methodist Church in this country-- over homosexuality.

So during these drives back and forth, my pastor friend had opportunity to speak with this Liberian bishop about this matter, whether or not the African church felt there would be a split in the church. His reply has stayed with me.

He said, in essence, that in Africa thousands of children are dying, because they have no clean water. Poverty is rampant, off-the-charts. Children are being killed in civil wars, dying of HIV acquired from their parents, a death sentence from birth-- borne out of innocence. As all these tragedies are happening, America is worrying about who is sleeping with whom.

He said perhaps the church needs to look at a bigger picture and expend its energies helping solve the issues of poverty, taking a stand against civil wars, offer greater health assistance and education to stave off the spread of HIV.

Bishop Kulah said perhaps Americans need to look at a bigger picture.

What is making God weep today? Are we weeping, as well? Are we seeing a bigger picture?