Sustained by the Lord

'It was no messenger or angel

but his presence that saved them;

in his love and pity 

it was he who redeemed them;

he lifted them up and carried 

them all the days of old."

(from Isaiah 63:7-9)

The week of December 13, 2025, was one filled with tragedy and violence.

The tragedy and violence began when a gunman entered Brown University and began firing on students taking their final exams resulting in two student deaths, and nine seriously wounded.

The motivation of the shooting at Brown University seemed to be related to a professor at M.I.T.

As the weekend progressed, two gunmen attacked Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, resulting in 15 deaths with numerous wounded. Occurring on first night of Hanukkah, the probable motivated was anti-Semitism

The most tragic event, for me as a fan of “All In The Family”, was the murder of Rob Rainer and his wife by their son.

With this difficult week of tragic events and senseless violence, I began searching the Scriptures for stories of God’s faithfulness in tragedy.

As I read through the Exodus story with the Israelites facing hardship and distress, God remained their savior and stood by them, living among them keeping an unwavering presence.

Continuing past Exodus, God sends messengers – angels- to intervene and act on behalf of God’s people: God stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, guided Lot out of Sodom, sent Gabriel with a message to Daniel, to Zachariah, Mary, Joseph, and shepherds.

God, however, was personally involved in the fullness of salvation.

Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us God’s promise remains true: 

“I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

Isaiah 46:4 reminds us of God’s promise:

Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

As tragedy and violence unfold around us, God’s mercy and presence sustains us.

Worshiping in Paradise

Mt. Mansfield, Underhill, VT

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

    as the waters cover the sea. 

(from Isaiah 11:1-10)

At 1:30pm on October 26, 2018, an ordinary church service began in The Hague, Netherlands. 

The worship service lasted until January 30, 2019. One continuous worship service for 96 days.

Dutch law states that no legal action can interfere with or disrupt a religious service. 

Sheltered within the walls of Bethel Church was an Armenian family — the Tamrazyans — who, after living in the Netherlands for 9 years under asylum claims, after winning their case in court twice, recently had their case overturned and were set to be deported, despite credible death threats in their home country. 

So our siblings in Christ at Bethel Church in The Hague did what Christians are uniquely equipped to do — they started worshipping and they just…didn’t stop.

At first, it was hard to line up liturgists, musicians, preachers from within the congregation. By halfway through the pastor reports, “‘Even from abroad we’ve gotten help — there have been sermons held in English, French and German…It’s quite moving to us. I often see a pastor handing over the service to another pastor of another denomination who they would ordinarily not have anything to do with, liturgically.’”

The worship service only concluded when the leaders of the church received word that that the Tamrazyan family’s petition was granted and they would be allowed to safely remain in the country. 

Fearful reaction or retaliation, escalation didn’t keep the Tamrazyan family safe. 

Worship—and, more to the point, the One they worship—kept them safe. In the meantime, they learned the language and practices of hope through worship. And hope always brings reinforcements.

(from Center for Excellence in Preaching)

Camel's Hair, Wild Honey, and Warning

John the Baptist

From  Matthew 11:2-11

December is full of cozy things—twinkling lights, Christmas trees, cookies, and carols. 

But then John the Baptist shouting, “You brood of vipers! Repent! The kingdom of heaven is near!” 

Repent! God's kingdom is coming!

“Something huge is happening!!! Repent and be baptized!!!”

Crowds see John emerging from the wilderness, hear his yelling and repent and are baptized by him preparing for the coming kingdom of heaven. 

Baptism in the Jordan River is a reminder of Israel’s entering the promised land.

John’s presence and wake-up call message from the wilderness’s silence is an urgent, thundering cry “repent and be baptized!! “

Get Baptized! God's kingdom is coming!

Prepare yourself with genuine self-examination and transformation for a new beginning! 

You will need a true inner change shown through actions, not just words.

John tells-off religious leaders, those brood of vipers who misuse power, reminding everyone claiming heritage or labels is inadequate—true repentance is lived out practically. 

The day of the Lord includes judgment!

Because of Jesus, Feed the hungry do more than bake cookies.

John the Baptist’s urgent call disrupts December’s cozy preparations, inviting deep, meaningful change instead of mere custom.

The still wilderness is broken for the healing of societies rejected as they are joined into the community.

 This critical moment requires real change of actions: God’s kingdom is coming.

John the Baptist emphasizes accountability: living out your faith means honest speech, listening to God, and letting Jesus guide your life.

Prepare to endure!

Produce "fruit” that reflects God’s will 

And All Shall Be Well

 "All shall be well, 

and all shall be well,

 and all manner of thing shall be well,"

Julian of Norwich  

(1342-1416+)

In the fourteenth century, a woman named Julian was living the solitary life of an anchoress.

An anchoress was a woman vowed to chastity and stability of abode. She was enclosed in a cell until her death. Her life’s purpose being contemplation and unceasing prayer focused on God.

Her cell was one hundred square feet with three windows for viewing the sacrament and taking communion. 

There Julian lived and prayed, ate her meals and slept, worked at some simple task such as needlework, meditated on her revelations and wrote her book for the next twenty, thirty, perhaps forty years, never leaving the cell.

At age 30 she was struck with severe illness, nearly dying.

A priest called to her bedside to administer the last rites, held up a crucifix before her face.

Suddenly, she felt all pain cease.

During the illness, she received 15 visions of God and reflected on their meaning for the next 20 years in a book she wrote, Showings of the Revelations of God’s Love.

During the time she wrote, medieval England was facing trying times with economic collapse, bubonic plague, and dynastic wars such as the Hundred Year’s Wars.

People were experiencing anxiety, fear, pessimism, and God’s punishment.

As Julian was writing, even in the suffering illness and pain, God said to her: “All will be well. You will see it yourself, that every kind of thing will be well.”

Our times have very different categories of suffering.

We’re struggling through stressful times: economic uncertainty, anxiety, food insecurity, and fear.

God’s powerful words of hope for Julian are just as powerful and certain, and hopeful for us.

 “And all will be well.  In all manner of things, all will be well. 

The Unknown Day and Hour

Preti, Mattia, 1613-1699

Therefore you also must be ready, 

for the Son of Man is coming 

at an hour you do not expect.

(from Matthew 24:36-44)

Never, perhaps, has this Advent gospel been timelier. “Watch!” Jesus says in the closing to his apocalyptic warning.

It's timely as our North American culture becomes increasingly secular and “mainline” churches are shrinking, being sold for condos and housing, or abandoned.

But even where the church is thriving—in many parts of Asia and Africa, for instance—violence that denies the peace of Christ, along with the suppression of Christian faith, is real. 

Whatever the situation Jesus tells us to “stay awake”—to keep eyes, hearts, hands, and minds on the hope of his coming.

Since we don’t know when “the day of the Lord” is coming we need to keep watching, working, and living by grace.

My way of working and watching in hope is through feeding those who are hungry.

Each Sunday, before the beginning of our worship, I see people bringing food donations and placing them in the “Food Pantry” container.

Perhaps the greatest sign of hope for me was the parishioner who, each Sunday, carried his oxygen pump along with his food donation, and placed the food in the container.

He did this until he could no longer attend worship.

Stay awake!!!