Meditation for the Third Sunday in
Advent 2012
Philippians 4:4-7
***
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will
say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do
not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)
***
Vicki Soto wasn’t thinking about her own safety on Friday. She was
trying to shield her students from a man who walked into Sandy Hook Elementary
School in suburban Newtown, Connecticut, and started shooting.
Vicki was trying to usher her first graders into a closet when she came
face to face with the 20-year-old gunman. She was killed when she put herself
between the gunman and the children.
“Miss Soto,” as her students called her, was only 27. She had been
teaching 5 years. The kids, whose lives
she saved, say she was “really nice” and “funny.” She liked to chew gum,
something that wasn’t usually allowed in school. And when her students teased her about it,
she playfully teased them back.
We heard about the tragedy on Friday as Jim and I drove to Mankato to
pick up our son from college and bring him home for his winter break. We felt
shock and disbelief as we heard how 28 people had been shot and killed at the
elementary school in Connecticut; 20 of them were children. And all my little
disappointments and frustrations of the last week, beginning with the
cancellation of worship because of a snowstorm, seemed very trite, indeed.
As a former teacher of young children, and as a parent, I feel such
sorrow for the families and community that is struggling with this terrible
loss and will be for a long, long while.
And here it is – almost Christmas.
How will these families find the
strength to go on? How will they deal
with their grief and anger? How will the young survivors heal?
Will they ever feel safe in their school again?
***
Paul, in our Epistle reading, offers help for those who struggle with
grief, loss, and fear. Paul writes to the Philippians from his prison cell in
Rome. He knows they are discouraged,
sad, and afraid as they, too, have been victims of persecution. They sent him gifts
to encourage him when they heard he was in jail. One gift was a man from their church who
would help care for Paul in prison. But
this man became gravely ill, so Paul sent him home to recover. Now Paul doesn’t
want the Philippians to worry about him in prison or find fault with the man they
had sent to care for him.
In Paul’s time, a prison sentence was often a death sentence. The incarcerated were treated cruelly, and
not adequately fed or provided with clean water. They rarely received medical help. Jails were dirty, horrible places. And Paul,
imprisoned for witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and salvation in
His name, tells the Philippians, “Rejoice
in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!”
How can Paul tell those who love him to
rejoice when they know he is suffering and probably will not live much longer
without someone to care for him?
Well, Paul doesn’t just say, “Rejoice!”
He says, “Rejoice in the Lord
always!” Rejoice in your salvation—which has already happened and can never
be taken from you. And rejoice in what is to come—when the Lord returns to
gather His Church. Paul reminds them in his letter of his own love for them and
their call to love one another. He is
concerned for their unity and their witness to Christ. So he says, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.”
Of course, Paul knows they will worry.
So he encourages them to pray, instead of worrying. And give thanks to God as you make your requests known to Him. For the Lord is faithful and will respond in
our need.
And what is the promise for those who pray, rejoice in the Lord, and
make known their gentleness to everyone?
Peace. A peace that goes beyond human understanding.
And this peace is not just a good
feeling. This peace is power! It will
“guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” It will protect us and keep us—until the Lord
comes again.
On Friday morning, before I had heard about
the tragedy at the Connecticut school, I called my father in Florida. He was lonely because my mother is in
Maryland visiting my sister.
His mood lifted, however, when he asked about our snowy weather. This
triggered a shared memory. Dad reminded me about the year we visited my
grandparents in Florida for Christmas. I
was only 3 or 4. We didn’t know it, but 18 inches of snow had fallen on our
home in rural Maryland while we made the 2-day drive back. As the station wagon neared our home, we
discovered the long gravel driveway had completely disappeared under the snow!
And the wind had lifted and piled the snow much taller than 18 inches in places
so our front yard looked like waves in the ocean.
I couldn’t believe the sea of white!
No footprints in the snow!
Anxious to make my own, I jumped out of the car and tried to follow my
family who were unloading the car. But I
only sunk down deep. The snow was up to
my waist and I couldn’t move. I cried out!
And then, a feeling of freedom and peace swept over me, as my dad lifted
me into his arms. He carried me all the
way to the front door. As he walked, I
looked back and marveled at how big his footprints were! How easy it was for
him to walk through the deep snow, when I could not, alone, walk at all.
This image came to mind later as I considered the tragedy at the school
and Paul urging us to “Rejoice in the Lord.” How will all those who mourn the
loss of loved ones –now, when it is nearly Christmas—find hope, healing, and
strength to go on?
The same way we find peace, a peace that goes beyond human
understanding, when we are sad, discouraged or afraid. When we feel we don’t have the strength to
walk any farther, we cry out to the Lord.
And Christ lifts us up and carries us easily to safety, like a father
carrying his child through the deep snow. And looking back, we will see God’s
great big footprints on our lives. We will remember how the Lord embraced us in
His arms and showed His love through the gentleness of people around us.
And we won’t see our footprints at all.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, thank you for
carrying us and caring for us not only when we are sad, afraid, discouraged or
weary, but always. We rejoice in our
Lord, Your Son, who is our salvation.
Thank you for your loving arms that hold us tightly and never let us
fall from your grasp. Thank you for the
peace of Christ, our Redeemer, that heals us in our brokenness. And thank you for your Spirit that leads us
on. Lord, we pray for the families and
community that suffered the loss of 28 people—20 of them children. Lord, heal them and help them forgive. Draw them closer to You. Protect the students
and staff as they return to school next week.
Remind them that You are with them always and will help them through any
frightening or painful thing they might experience. And we pray you would prevent the senseless
violence that visited this Connecticut community from happening ever
again. In Christ we pray. Amen.
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