Someone once wrote, "The coming of Jesus is the greatest intrusion in human history, and the greatest intrusion in your life. Jesus makes all things new." How many of us really like an intrusion — a sales call while eating dinner; someone asking you for a ride totally out of the direction you are heading; visitors at the door trying to persuade you to help support their cause or religious beliefs? So how can we "get our heads and hearts" around the fact that "intrusions can sometimes be great?" In the 13th chapter of the gospel of Mark, we are reminded that Advent is — the Season of Surprise. Our God is a surprising God, who has acted in surprising, unpredictable ways since the creation of

As hard as it is to believe, the season of Advent awaits us shortly, whether we are ready for it or not! During Advent, our worship services will help us to be prepared for the arriving of the Messiah — the Christ Child. So what exactly is Advent? "The season of Advent, which comes from the Latin word adventus meaning 'coming' or 'visit,' begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year for Christians. Although we are accustomed to celebrating Christmas on a single day, in both Christian tradition and on the Church calendar, the Christmas season lasts sundown on December 24 (Christmas Eve) through Epiphany of the Lord (January 6).

During your holiday meal when you expect more people than usual who gather around your table, do you grab some "extensions" for the table to make it bigger? It is nice to have the opportunity to expand a table so everyone can sit around it. John Pavlovitz, author of the book, A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community, shares about how Jesus "extended the table" to allow everyone to sit at it. What struck me when I began to read the Gospel stories was Jesus' table ministry, the way he so often used the act of sharing a meal, the act of breaking bread, as a way of letting people know that they were seen and heard and known and respected. With great regularity

In our remembrance we know silence is not enough to change the world. I have come that you may have life and life to the full. In our remembrance we know silence is not enough to bring peace to the world. Behold I make all things new. In our remembrance we know silence is not enough to change the minds of leaders. Your light must shine before people. In our remembrance we know silence is not enough to change the way we do things. This is what I command you: love one another. In our remembrance we know silence is not enough to convey the truth of war. Every tree is known by the fruit is bears. The mouth speaks what the heart is full of. In our remembrance we know silence is not enough but you

When I see that phrase, Big God, Small Table, I quickly get melancholy. I feel this way because I am trying to figure out how American Christianity (in particular, the Protestant part of it), got to this point in our history. What started as a movement of the Pax Christus (the power of Jesus) has become a movement that seems to be content with following the Pax Romana (the power of Rome). By that I mean, the church of Jesus Christ should be about a Big God and the need for a bigger table not creating ways to reduce the size of the table or who is allowed to sit at it! The church should be about offering extravagant hospitality to everyone- no matter their gender, sexual orientation, politic