Introspection: Goals Unmet and Lessons Learned

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Goals Unmet and Lessons Learned

I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9 (NRSV)

I will dedicate and sacrifice my everything
For just a seconds worth of how my story's ending
And I wish I could know if the directions that I take
And all the choices that I make won't end up all for nothing

From "Crawling in the Dark" by Hoobastank

In years past, as New Year's Eve drew near, I made it a point to look back on the past year to see where I have been and to consider where I might be heading.  In recent years, with all that has happened, I haven't really wanted to spend much time looking back at the end of the year.  All that said, I'm starting to think that some sort of healing might have happened within me, though I'm not exactly sure how it happened.  This year, I did not experience the anxiety and bitterness I typically experience during the holiday season, and, in the last few days, I found myself actually wanting to look back on the past year.

As I looked back over the introspections I've written this year, I noticed a few recurring themes.

In January, I spent some time looking back at how God seemingly led me out of a job that brought me a lot of shame and led me to my current job in which I can actually take pride.  I concluded that, though I no longer feel the same joy I felt when I first accepted my current job and though my job has recently become a bit more stressful, I still have a lot of reasons to be grateful for it.  Then, in February, I confessed that, despite the fact that my job is not a bad fit for me, for various reasons I actually don't like being associated with computers.

In September, I confessed that I had made little progress toward achieving my New Year's resolution.  Reaching this goal might have resulted in a significant change in my life, especially regarding my career.  As the year went on, I became less and less certain that it was the right action for me to take.  Truth be told, I've become less and less certain I ought to be doing a number of things I'm currently doing.  I did not achieve my goal, but I can still work toward it next year if I discern that I should do so.

Simply put, this year I've been wrestling with my identity and my purpose in life.

In April, I shared my reflections from Easter.  Years ago, I thought my life was headed in a particular direction, but some real or perceived mistakes on my part caused me to abandon that path.  On Easter Sunday, as I read about the Resurrection of Christ and the commissioning of the Disciples,¹ I realized that, in the same way that the Disciples' abandoning Jesus when He was arrested didn't nullify the Disciples' calling, my own mistakes don't nullify my own calling.  All that said, a lot has happened since that time in my life, and I do not think I actually want to continue on that particular path.

In October, after writing a sermon and a number of perspectives on forgiveness, I realized that, regarding the aforementioned "real or perceived mistakes" I had made, I need to own my actions, whether they were right or wrong, and to stop blaming the people who put me into the difficult situations that led to those actions.  I suppose that, if my mistakes don't nullify my identity or my purpose, it is safe for me to confront what I've done.

In May, on Pentecost Sunday, I shared some reflections on an Ascension Sunday sermon I've preached a number of times in the past.  In my sermon, I suggest that the Disciples might have been feeling a bit bewildered or lost when they watched their Teacher rise into the sky and vanish into the clouds.²  I realized that I was projecting my own feelings onto the Disciples, comparing their "graduation" from discipleship to my own graduation from college.  I also realized that, in the same way that the Ascension of Christ wasn't the end of the best part of the Disciples' lives, my graduation wasn't necessarily the end of the best part of my life.  God can do some amazing things through my life going forward, in the same way that God did amazing things through the Disciples' lives.

In August, I realized that I had been misreading a story from the Book of Genesis about the birth of a person with whom I share a name.³  I realized that my middle name Benjamin does not mean "son of my pain," as I had previously thought.  My middle name actually has connotations of fortune or favor.  The experience was a reminder that there is more to my life than the painful parts.

This year I was reminded once again that I need to be mindful regarding the story I'm telling myself about my life.  I should not think of my story as a tragedy; I should not think that the best parts of my story are behind me; and I should not think that I've screwed my story up beyond repair.

In June, I delivered a sermon at my church in which I shared the story of my journey into ministry as a layperson.  I went on to share more of the story, highlighting the people who believed in me and supported me over the years.  In July, when I attended a conference for work, I was scared to death that I might catch a virus and be unable to deliver the sermon I was scheduled to preach after I returned.  The fact that I didn't catch anything at the conference was a reminder that, if God calls me to do something, God will make sure that I am able to do it.

This year I was reminded that, wherever my journey takes me going forward, I can be assured that I will not journey alone.

Last month, I noted that, though I wanted to start blogging more consistently after struggling for the last few years, I had started to struggle once again.  I went so far as to hint that blogging was actually becoming somewhat burdensome for me.  I want to continue blogging, but I also want to enjoy it.  All that said, I need to take some pressure off myself, so I have decided that next year I will write one fewer blog post per month.

I do not know where the next year will take me, but I hope that, as I continue to wrestle with certain things in my life, I will remember the lessons I gleaned this year.  I want to thank you, dear reader, for letting me share some of my journey with you, and I want to wish you a happy 2024.


Notes:

1. Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20
2. Acts 1:6-11
3. Genesis 35:16-20

The photograph featured in this introspection was taken by PJ Osorio, and it has been released to the public domain.  The photographer is in no way affiliated with this blog.

Christmas Perspective: The Word of Love

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

The Word of Love

The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11 (NRSV)

---

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14 (NRSV)

This, this is Christ, the King
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing
Haste, haste to bring Him laud
The Babe, the Son of Mary

From "What Child Is This?" by William Chatterton Dix

In the Gospel of Luke, we read that one night, in a field near the town of Bethlehem, some shepherds are watching over their flocks.  Suddenly, a heavenly messenger of God appears to them, and the glory of God lights up the sky, turning night into day.  The poor shepherds are frightened out of their minds.¹  The messenger says to them,

Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.²

The shepherds are then surrounded by a massive army of angels who are singing praises to God.³

One does not experience the kind of thing these shepherds experienced and then return to business as usual.  Naturally they decide to find the child the messenger of God described to them.  They go to Bethlehem and start searching stables until they find a swaddled Jesus lying in a feeding trough, surrounded by His parents Mary and Joseph.  The shepherds then proceed to tell everyone who will listen to them that their Savior has been born.⁴

In All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas, Rev. Dr. Amy Valdez Barker notes that "each time you open the Bible, you will find some story of messengers who were called forth by God to deliver some message to God's creation that is intended to bring them back into alignment with God."⁵  In the story of the Nativity, a heavenly messenger of God informs some shepherds that their long-awaited Savior has just been born, and then these night-shift shepherds become some of the first earthly messengers to announce the birth of Christ to the rest of the world.

God's messengers are always entrusted with a "word" from God to share.

The Gospel of John begins with a hymn that describes the Word who was God and who was with God in the beginning, the Word through whom everything came into existence.⁶  This Word is compared to a light "which enlightens everyone" and a light that shines amid the darkness and can never be extinguished.⁷  The hymn tells us that "the Word became flesh and lived among us."⁸  In one translation of the Bible, we read that "the Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood."⁹

Preacher Brian Zahnd likes to say that, as the Word, "Jesus is what God has to say."¹⁰  On Christmas Eve, Zahnd shared with his congregation that one day, when he found himself in awe of creation, he prayed that he might live "in a constant state of wonder."  He believes that God immediately answered him, saying, "This is the greatest wonder of all: the Word became flesh."¹¹  It is indeed mind-blowing to think that the almighty Creator of the universe once became a helpless baby - a baby who was born in a stable, of all places.

A word is a message.  Valdez Barker suggests that Jesus is "the love letter to humanity from the Creator."¹²  She writes,

Jesus is the message of love.  God's unfathomable love for us is so deep that it took God's presence on earth for humanity to begin to understand the perfect nature of the Creator, a nature so deeply engulfed in love that there are very few other meanings or stories behind this message.  The heart of God's message through Jesus is love.¹³

God is love,¹⁴ so, as the embodiment of God, Jesus is the embodiment of love.

During these twelve days of Christmas, may you, dear reader, be filled with wonder as you remember the story of the Nativity, and may the love God has shown us in Christ inspire you to reflect God's love to other people.


Notes:

1. Luke 2:8-9
2. Luke 2:10-12
3. Luke 2:13-14 (NRSV)
4. Luke 2:15-18
5. Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choi, and Sangwoo Kim.  All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  2021, Abingdon Press.  p. 104
6. John 1:1-3
7. John 1:5, 9 (NRSV)
8. John 1:14 (NRSV)
9. John 1:14 (The Message)
10. Brian Zahnd.  "Jesus Is What God Has to Say."  BrianZahnd.com, 02/12/2015.
11. Brian Zahnd.  Christmas Eve Homily.  Word of Life Church, 12/24/2023.
12. All the Good, p. 110
13. All the Good, p. 111
14. 1 John 4:8

Announcement to the Shepherds was painted around 1600.

Advent Perspective: Rediscovering Advent (Part 2)

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Rediscovering Advent
(Part 2)

Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

Luke 1:38 (NRSV)

I have traveled many moonless nights
Cold and weary with a babe inside
And I wonder what I've done
Holy Father You have come
And chosen me now to carry Your Son

From "Breath of Heaven" by Amy Grant

As I noted last week, during this Advent season I've enjoyed encountering the stories associated with this time of year in my personal Bible studies and gaining new perspectives on Advent.  Previously, I shared some of the things I learned from the stories of the elderly priest Zechariah and his son John.  At that time, there was still one story I had yet to encounter, namely the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus.


A Time to Believe

In the Gospel of Luke, we read that, six months after a messenger of God named Gabriel gave a certain elderly priest some news that left him speechless,¹ the same messenger appears in Nazareth to a young woman named Mary.  He says to her, "Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you."²  Gabriel can see that Mary is wondering why he would approach her with such a greeting,³ so he says to her,

Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.⁴

Gabriel is basically telling Mary that she will soon give birth to her people's long awaited Messiah.

Mary is engaged to a man named Joseph, and, since she has not done anything that would result in a pregnancy, she wonders how she could possibly be having a baby.  She says to Gabriel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"⁵

Gabriel says to Mary,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.  And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.⁶

Mary's becoming pregnant will be miraculous, because the Son whom Mary will bear will not be an ordinary baby boy.  Twice Gabriel has told her that her Son will be called the Son of God.

Mary says to Gabriel, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."⁷

In the last week or so, I've found that there is a lot to be learned from Mary's interactions with Gabriel.

It is worth noting that, of all the women God could have chosen to bring the Son of God into the world, God has not chosen anyone wealthy, powerful, or famous.  God has instead chosen a peasant from a backwater town.  Preacher Troy Hatfield recently suggested that Mary's question to Gabriel might not be merely a question of biology.  Maybe Mary is wondering how she of all people could possibly be the mother of the Messiah.  Hatfield suggests that, when Mary says, "Let it be with me according to your word," she is submitting to "a pronouncement of truth that is greater than the one she is familiar with."⁸  God can see in us what we might not see in ourselves.

Dr. Jung Choi points out that Mary exhibits the "seemingly contradictory virtues" of "obedience and boldness."⁹  She writes,

Mary's obedience to God's will in her life - to have a baby through the Spirit - is a fierce one: It is not for the faint of heart.  In a world colonized by the Roman Empire, to be a woman in such a society was really hard on so many levels.  She could have imagined that there would be gossip and misunderstanding about her.  In this way, Mary's obedience and faithfulness serve as a model for many people of God who come after her.  This fierce and bold obedience must have come from her relationship with God, her trust in God, who leads and takes care of God's people as God promised.¹⁰

Like Mary, all of us are called to do things that will require not only courage but also radical trust in God.

Preacher Adam Hamilton recently pointed out four things Gabriel says to Mary that all of us need to remember, especially if we are going to respond to God's call as Mary did.¹¹  First, Gabriel encourages Mary to be joyful.  The Greek word translated as "greetings" in some Bibles can also be translated as "rejoice."¹²  Next, Gabriel reminds Mary that God is with her.  Then, he encourages her to not be afraid.  Finally, he assures her that "nothing will be impossible with God."¹³

Perhaps this time of preparation called Advent is a time to believe.  We can prepare for what God is doing in our midst by believing what God says about us, by believing that God has called us to participate in what God is doing, and by believing that God is with us to empower us.


A Time for Praise

Mary heads south to Judea to visit her relative Elizabeth,¹⁴ who in her old age is now six months pregnant.  As Gabriel had told her husband Zechariah, their child will be "filled with the Holy Spirit" even before he is born,¹⁵ so, when Mary arrives, the child starts kicking in the womb.  Elizabeth is then empowered by the Holy Spirit to prophesy, so she blesses Mary, saying, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb...  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."¹⁶

Mary also begins to prophesy.  First, she praises God for what God has done for her, saying,

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.¹⁷

Next, Mary praises God for God's favoring the humble, saying,

His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.¹⁸

Finally, Mary praises God for God's faithfulness, saying,

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.¹⁹

Mary's song of praise, which is also called the Magnificat, has been used in Christian prayer liturgy, like the Benedictus, the song of Zechariah.²⁰  Choi points out that, in both of these songs, God is praised for God's mercy.  The Greek word eleos, which is translated into English as "mercy," means specifically "compassion and mercy to the unfortunate and the poor."²¹  Advent is a time for praise, as many of the songs that are sung this time of year are songs of praise to God.  Like Mary and Zechariah, we can praise God for what God has done for us and for God's faithfulness and kindness.


I have learned a lot about the season of Advent over the last few weeks, but I know that there is so much more that can be said about it.  Advent is, among many other things, a time for silence, a time for prayer, a time for doing good works, a time for belief, and a time for praise.  I hope that this time of year is meaningful for you, dear reader, whatever meaning you find in it.


Notes:

1. Luke 1:5-25
2. Luke 1:26-28 (NRSV)
3. Luke 1:29
4. Luke 1:30-33 (NRSV)
5. Luke 1:34 (NRSV)
6. Luke 1:35-37 (NRSV)
7. Luke 1:38 (NRSV)
8. Troy Hatfield.  "How Will This Be..."  Mars Hill Bible Church, 12/10/2023.
9. Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choi, and Sangwoo Kim.  All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  2021, Abingdon Press.  p. 94
10. All The Good, pp. 82-83
11. Adam Hamilton.  "Angels and Annunciations."  Resurrection: A United Methodist Church, 12/10/2023.
12. Blue Letter Bible: "chairō"
13. Hamilton, "Angels and Annunciations"
14. Luke 1:39-40
15. Luke 1:15
16. Luke 1:41-45 (NRSV)
17. Luke 1:46-49 (NRSV)
18. Luke 1:50-53 (NRSV)
19. Luke 1:54-55 (NRSV)
20. All the Good, p. 54
21. All the Good, p. 84

The Annunciation was painted by Domenico Beccafumi in the 1500s.

Advent Perspective: Rediscovering Advent (Part 1)

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.
Comments are always welcomed.
If you find these thoughts helpful, please share.

Rediscovering Advent
(Part 1)

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)

Come, thou long expected Jesus
Born to set thy people free
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in thee.

From "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" by Charles Wesley

It is now the middle of the season of Advent.  Advent marks the beginning of the Church calendar, and, because my personal Bible studies are based on the Church calendar, for me it also marks the beginning of a new devotional journal.  As I noted recently, my usual reading plan tends to be rather repetitive, so, this liturgical year, I have decided to change things up a bit.  I have incorporated into my studies a book my mother gave me a couple of years ago, All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  This book was written by four Methodist seminary professors and church leaders.¹  I have also been listening to Advent sermons from various churches and incorporating them into my studies as well.

What I have especially enjoyed about my studies this Advent is encountering the stories associated with the season.  I also feel like I have gained some new perspectives on Advent in general.

A Time for Silence

At the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, we read that one day a priest named Zechariah is chosen to burn incense in the temple.  While he is in the sanctuary, he is frightened when he suddenly sees a messenger of God standing by the incense altar.  The messenger says to the priest, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John."  The messenger goes on to tell Zechariah that his son will be "great in the sight of the Lord" and will be "filled with the Holy Spirit" even before he is born.  He will grow up to "turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God" and "make ready a people prepared for the Lord."²

Zechariah and Elizabeth have not been able to have children, and now they are both old, so Zechariah naturally has some trouble believing what the messenger has told him.  He says, "How will I know that this is so?  For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years."³

The messenger then says to Zechariah,

I am Gabriel.  I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.⁴

Zechariah emerges from the sanctuary, unable to speak.⁵

When we encounter this story, we might tend to think that Gabriel is punishing Zechariah with muteness for his disbelief.  I would like to suggest that maybe Gabriel is actually giving Zechariah what he needs the most at this time.  Maybe disappointment over never having a child has left Zechariah a bit jaded and cynical.  Maybe the stranger's news initially sounds like a cruel joke to him.  Maybe what Zechariah needs most is a season of silence, so that he has to watch God's plan unfold without giving voice to any of his negativity.

Perhaps, in spite of the hustle and bustle of this time of year, Advent is actually a good season for silence, especially for those of us who tend toward skepticism and pessimism.  Perhaps this season is a good time to adopt the practice of quieting such voices within ourselves so that we can see God at work in our midst.


A Time for Prayer

Zechariah's wife Elizabeth becomes pregnant, just as Zechariah was told, and nine months later she gives birth to a baby boy.  When the time comes to name the child, the family wants to name him after his father.  Elizabeth says that he is to be named John, but the family objects, since nobody else in the family has that name.  Zechariah motions that he wants something on which to write, and, when he is given a tablet, he writes, "His name is John."  Suddenly, after months of silence, Zechariah is finally able to speak once again.⁶

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Zechariah begins to prophesy.⁷  First he proclaims,

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.⁸

Zechariah goes on to say to his newborn son,

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
by the forgiveness of their sins.⁹

Finally, Zechariah proclaims,

By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.¹⁰

Dr. Sangwoo Kim writes regarding the Canticle of Zechariah, which is also called Benedictus,

The lyrics of Benedictus are both Zechariah's and the Holy Spirit's words.  In this song, divine and human agency do not compete with each other; they are not mutually exclusive.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can find our own words of prayer are not just ours; they are also God's words given to us.¹¹

It seems that there is more going on when we pray than we often think.

I recently learned that Zechariah's song has been used in the Church in daily prayer liturgy, along with two other songs from the Gospel of Luke that are commonly associated with Advent and Christmas.¹²  Kim writes,

We can learn how to pray by borrowing words from the church's prayers: the Lord's Prayer, Psalms, canticles, and liturgy.  Those borrowed words become ours, and they eventually become who we are.  Those who are experienced in prayer not only have acquired good habits of prayers but have been transformed by those words.¹³

During Advent, we hear a number of different prayers and proclamations of the season, making it a good time to spend some time praying and being formed by prayer.


A Time to Be Fruitful

Gabriel and Zechariah have both prophesied that something big is on the horizon and that Zechariah's son John will have a role to play in it.  John grows up to become a fiery prophet who ministers to people in the wilderness near the Jordan River.  He calls people to repent and invites them to be baptized in the river as a sign of their penitence.¹⁴

John says, to the people who come to him in the wilderness, "You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruits worthy of repentance."¹⁵  When people ask him what they should do specifically, he gives them some practical instructions.  He instructs people who have more than enough food and clothing to share with those who do not have enough; he instructs tax collectors to collect only what they are required to collect and no more; and he instructs soldiers to refrain from exploiting their authority and to be satisfied with their pay.¹⁶  Basically, John calls people to be merciful and just.

John Wesley, the founder of my particular branch of Christianity, urged people to bear two specific kinds of "fruits worthy of repentance."  The first kind of fruit consists of "works of piety" like prayer, Holy Communion, Bible study, and fasting.  The second kind of fruit consists of "works of mercy."  Some of these works meet people's physical and psychological needs like "feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, entertaining the stranger, visiting those that are in prison, or sick, or variously afflicted."  Others meet people's spiritual needs like "endeavouring to instruct the ignorant, to awaken the stupid sinner, to quicken the lukewarm, to confirm the wavering, to comfort the feeble-minded, to succour the tempted, or contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death."¹⁷

Both works of piety and works of mercy are means of experiencing God's grace.  Dr. Laceye Warner writes,

Practicing the means of grace is similar to tending a garden...  The gardener participates in the cultivation of the growth and fruit.  However, the miracle of the seed, its growth, and its fruit come from God...  When we read biblical texts, pray in silence, worship, and serve together, we participate in God's reign while God pours out divine grace and love into our lives and the world.¹⁸

Advent is a good time to draw close to God through works of piety and to serve others through works of mercy.


Advent is meant to be a time when we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Lord at Christmas.  I'm learning that there are many ways we can prepare ourselves this season.  We can prepare ourselves by quieting ourselves, especially the voices of negativity within us.  We can prepare ourselves by spending time in prayer and allowing our prayers to transform us.  We can prepare ourselves by being fruitful - by drawing close to God and by serving people in need.


Notes:

1. Laceye Warner, Amy Valdez Barker, Jung Choi, and Sangwoo Kim.  All the Good: A Wesleyan Way of Christmas.  2021, Abingdon Press.
2. Luke 1:8-17 (NRSV)
3. Luke 1:7, 18 (NRSV)
4. Luke 1:19-20 (NRSV)
5. Luke 1:21-22
6. Luke 1:24, 57-64 (NRSV)
7. Luke 1:67
8. Luke 1:68-71 (NRSV)
9. Luke 1:76-77 (NRSV)
10. Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)
11. All the Good, p. 54
12. ibid.
13. All the Good, p. 56
14. Luke 3:2-3
15. Luke 3:7-8 (NRSV)
16. Luke 3:10-14
17. John Wesley.  Sermon 43: "The Scripture Way of Salvation."
18. All the Good, p. 38

The photograph of the Advent wreath was taken by me in 2014 at Bethel United Methodist Church in Greenville, South Carolina.