The year 1739 marked at turning point for Wesley, though.  A few of those who had made the salvation “transaction” with God found that the promise of salvation after life in this world wasn’t enough.  They wanted more.  They wanted to experience not only an assurance of their future, but their present.  They wanted to go deeper in their life with God by pursuing a life of holiness.  It wasn’t enough to know their sins were forgiven, they wanted to know they could overcome them.

Wesley’s wisdom was to give them advice about overcoming sins, to remind them that assurance was an inner reality promised by God through Paul that “The Spirit witnesses to our spirit that we are children of God,” and that they should meet in groups for supportive accountability.  Now, not only would they be accountable to God for their sin, they would open themselves to be accountable to each other for growing as Christian disciples.

Further, it was not enough to just seek a deeper faith.  Knowing the content and focus of the New Testament book of James, faith must be lived out in one’s life by the way one lived.  A response to grace included more than a desire to flee from God’s judgment, faith that did not create in the person an urge to do good with and for people around them was a “gospel of straw.”

Now, I believe we understand that as well as any congregation could.  We know what it means to do all the good we can, since we have opportunities to help in mission almost every month.  However, I wonder if we missed what motivated Wesley and the people in his movement at the very beginning.  Are we folks who fled from the wrath that is to come, and yet have become comfortable with who we are and what we do?  Would we ever sit in a room with other loving and supportive Christians who would help us grow by asking us how our walk with God is REALLY going?  Would we ever trust one another that way? Perhaps our doing good is only a diversion or distraction from something we know we need on a deeper level.  Do we need to grow?

See you soon, in the place where He calls us from comfort to challenge.
Pastor Mark

Speaking of Joy, that indeed is the theme of our services this week as we look at more of Isaiah’s prophetic words to God’s people.  His words were intended to bring hope, peace and joy to people living in very troubled times.  We will light the pink candle in the Advent wreath this Sunday.  It is intended to remind us of the Joy of the coming of Christ.

I am often asked, “Why pink?”  As I understand church history one of the stories that comes from the early years of the church involves a priest and a group of parishioners living in difficult economic times. Times that were unimaginably difficult, not times like ours where we are just trying to cut back on consumption, but times when believers were shut out of the economy and jobs simply due to their faith.

As the story goes, the priest noticed the despair of his congregation, so at the annual Christmas day celebration and modest meal, he was somehow able to procure a bundle of pink roses.  As everyone sat for dinner, he began to give every female a pink rose.  The gesture created such an uplift of faith for them that the modest celebration turned into a real party and the carryover of inspiration it is said, made everyone joyful to be part of the Kingdom of God, regardless of what the world was handing them.

Another, and perhaps less sentimental reason, is this one: The season of Advent, was for a number of centuries, a great deal like the season of Lent.  Purple was the color of penitence and the season was one of self-examination before God so that one might be prepared spiritually for the receiving of Christ once again into our lives.  The season was not only one of self-reflection; it was one of prayer and fasting.  However, the third Sunday was the one Sunday in the season where Christians were allowed to break their fast and celebrate their life with God and one another.  The pink was a reminder that for one week, they should be able to “rejoice” about their life with Christ and the celebration of his coming.  The return to self-reflection was a better experience with a little joy and the third Sunday began to be known as Gaudete Sunday – gaudete is Latin for rejoice.

Whichever story one believes, I wonder what would give us that kind of joy in this season of Advent?  It surely will not come from the consumptive culture we experience during the season.  Most likely it will come from slowing down and remembering who we celebrate.

See you soon, in the place where rejoice is our common experience.
Pastor Mark