“I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.” -Psalm 40:10 (NRSV)

It was the week after Easter in 2008. The pastors in the Montana Synod of the ELCA were gathering at Chico Hot Springs for a retreat (along with their spouses and a handful of kids), and I was sitting at a table with Jessica Crist (the bishop for Montana Synod), her husband, some synod staff, and my former husband Jon (then an ELCA pastor). I was describing 2J’s, an “interesting” grocery store in Great Falls that is similar to Trader Joe’s, and one of the synod staff commented sarcastically that people can be positively evangelical about their grocery stores but not about Jesus. I pulled myself up to my full 5’1” stature and told him that he would know that I can totally speak the same way about Jesus if he bothered to ask me. (Yes, I’m sure that all of you who know me can picture this vividly.)

While I don’t evangelize people at Haggen on my weekly shopping trip (I’m far too shy!), my weekly grocery shopping trip has been one of those things that have saved me during the pandemic. As much as I love Daniel, I needed a break from him occasionally, and the shopping trips were my break. I would make finding certain items like PPE and flour into a game while navigating supply chain issues, and I found that pacing the aisles at Haggen became relaxing for me. Best of all, I would occasionally run into St. Paul’s folks there, and that would make doing church online somewhat less isolating.

Thank heavens for the ways in which basic survival things can bring us life!

Gracious God, thank you so much for pharmacists, pharmacy techs, cashiers, and all who are essential employees that keep the world going during times when the rest of us have to stay home. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

“The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” -Psalm 37:40 (NRSV)

Who is “them?” I presume the “them” referred to in the psalm are those being abused and mistreated by the wicked. I am always uncomfortable painting with such a broad brush. In fact, when it comes to painting, I leave the broad strokes and paint-rolling to others. Give me the skinny brush and let me cut in the corners and trim. I would rather spend two hours painting a single window, cutting in all the mullions, sashes, and such whatnot than to spend that same time rolling all the walls in the house. Why? Because I like precision. I would rather backspace forty percent of the time to correct a grammatical or spelling error than to let autocorrect do it. Why? Because I don’t care about the rules. The words in a document mean what I want them to mean, the way I mean to say them. I know what the rules are, and rules are important, but they are secondary to the precision with which I wish to speak. Having said that, however, I am also gravely aware that I am not the keeper of my destiny or captain of my soul, but the servant of God, so I gladly flee to the only refuge that matters because, well, because God knows the rules, but has found them secondary to the love which God has for us AND for the world. God has taken the time to cut in the corners, mullions, and sashes of our twisty crazy lives and transform us – so that we can open, close, and, by God’s grace, let the light of God shine through to a dark and dingy world during this Advent season.

Gracious God, you who paint sunrises, sunsets, and the seasons in their courses – you paint our lives as well. Whether black and white or with boldness of color, we are your artwork; the earth is your fridge. May the world see you when they look at us, and may we never be ashamed of who we are, what we are, or whose we are. Amen.
– Fr. Keith Axberg

“Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your judgments are like the great deep; you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.” -Psalm 36:6 (NRSV)

Salvation during the pandemic has come in many forms for me. One of the most important, and I hope enduring, is finding a time and place for silence, stillness, and meditation. Life can get very busy with lots of things tugging for attention. In closing many doors, the pandemic helped me open another one that I am relishing and appreciating.

With nowhere else to go, my yard became a place of observation and restoration. I began to notice more carefully all the animals and birds that come and go. Despite their voracious appetites for the roses, the doe and fawn garnered my watchful appreciation for their graceful movements. Pulling weeds became therapeutic and planting herbs, vegetables and flowers restored my body, mind and spirit.

Following the advice of a dear friend, I began to read Fr. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations to begin my day. Today’s Psalm contains a summary of many of his meditations. He speaks often of righteousness and justice with concrete suggestions on how to work towards a more equitable and just society. As a Franciscan, he recognizes our interdependence with animals. (Click here for one.)

Dear God thank you for opportunities to know you through interactions with animals and people. Help us to participate fully in the healing and restoration of the world. Amen.
-Cathey Frederick

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” -Psalm 34:18 (NRSV)

Close to this day in 1531, ten years after the Spanish had overthrown the Aztec empire and imposed foreign rule and religion, an Indigenous man whose Spanish name was Juan Diego, was on his way to Mass one morning when he had a vision. The vision repeated itself two more times, and in each one, the Virgin Mary, speaking tenderly in his own tongue, sent him to the Spanish bishop to ask for a shrine to her honor on the top of Mt. Tepeyac, that had been sacred to the goddess of hearth and fertility in Aztec times. Finally, after a miracle of roses in December and an image on a garment, the Bishop’s heart is converted, and on this day, December 12th, the shrine is ordered. The vision has put the conquered and oppressed Indian in charge in a very different kind of conquest. It is the beginning of the emergence of a new kind of spirituality, one that blends aspects of the ancient ways with those of the new conquerors. Juan Diego is saved.

As I watch what is happening in the world today, I see the same kind of very different conquest going on. I see increasing numbers of commercials featuring people of color. I hear more confident use of languages other than English in the streets. Some of the commercials merely put people of color in positions normally occupied by whites. Some of them reflect cultural values and practices that are decidedly not white. Guadalupe reminds me that these changes can be redemptive if I will look for them. This is what is saving me this Advent.

Loving God, remind us that social changes do not change your love for all your children. Give us the strength to love as you love, each for the people they are, and all for the rainbow colors of culture that they create as they refract your image in the world. Show us our place in this emerging human family, and we will take it up, grateful for the company of those who differ from us most, through Jesus Christ your Son, who by the power of the Holy Spirit, taught us what your love looks like. Amen.
-Fr. Paul Moore

“Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.” -Psalm 31:2 (NRSV)

For the last three weeks, I have been spending a few hours each evening sprawled on a fleece blanket on the floor of the guest room in the dark. Why, you ask? Well, we adopted a beautiful tabby cat named Doc when my parents’ elderly tabby Jethro passed away, and Doc is a bit of a scaredy cat. We can hardly blame him as he is adjusting to his new home, and my mom and I had to pull him out from under the guest bed daily to medicate him for the first few days that he was home. My mother has gotten him to be affectionate with her by bribing him with cat treats, but he tends to be leery of me.

I have discovered a secret about him though: he goes absolutely insane with a laser pointer. It has become our bonding activity to play with it during my time on the guest room floor. I have been able to get him to come out from under the guest bed into the middle of the room, and he does just fine until he realizes that I can see him. At first, he will flee behind an afghan on the floor (which doesn’t cover him, but it’s still very funny), and he will get more comfortable with me as the evening progresses. He has also gotten comfortable enough with me that he will roll around on the floor under the guest bed and be silly. I will be playing Words with Friends on my phone and look under the bed to find him six inches away looking at me upside down. During his more playful times, he will bat my feet with his sharp little paws.

This is saving me right now because it is unspeakably wonderful to watch Doc come out of his shell. He has the cutest little squeak for a meow, and his eyes are so soulful. It makes me smile to see him being silly and not completely terrified. He finally let me pet and scritch him a few days ago, and we finally took the risk of introducing my bratty black cat Minion to him. Thankfully, the two of them hit it off, and we are looking forward to watching them become buddies.

Lord, thank you for kitty cats and the joy they bring to our lives. Amen.
-Jen McCabe