Messengers

by Pat Russell

As I look back on Advent days I have paired two rather different readings in my time with the Scriptures.  One is Jeremiah, the weeping prophet of the Old Testament.  The other is Luke, a joyful Gospel writer.  Strange combination, but God has been speaking to me of His heart through both of them. 

In the book of Jeremiah, the messenger to God’s people is Jeremiah, a human being.  In Luke, the messenger to God’s people is Gabriel, an angel.  Both speak for the living God.  Both speak the heart of God to His people.  Jeremiah delivered a message of coming destruction.  (That must have been fun.)  “Enough is enough (my paraphrase)!  You have not changed your corrupted ways,” Jeremiah says with anguish in his voice.  “Destruction is coming, but it is not too late.  God says, ‘I will not be angry forever, only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.  I will not look on you in anger for I am merciful.’”  Through Jeremiah, God pleads with his loved people to return to Him.  He misses them!

Gabriel, a messenger of another created order, also came to God’s people with a word from the Lord, but this time God spoke of coming hope – reconstruction not destruction!  Gabriel spoke of the coming of John, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, who would prepare the way for Jesus, Son of the Most High God and Mary.  John would also be a messenger who spoke of repentance and Jesus would speak of the hope of the reconstructed life through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Both Jeremiah and Gabriel were obedient messengers who shared the heart of God for his people – a heart that beats continually for relationship with them; a heart that never gives up; a heart that is merciful.  “Come back, return to me!” and “I am with you.  I am sending Someone who will make all things new.”

As we all consider Advent, and our recent celebration of Christ’s birth, may we hear both voices – Jeremiah’s and Gabriel’s so that we might know the heart of God that calls us into His mercy and the hope of the life-changing Presence among us. 

All Things Pumpkin

By Pat Russell

I like all things pumpkin. I like the color of pumpkin, the shape of pumpkin, the smell of pumpkin, the season of pumpkin; but mostly I like the taste of pumpkin. Not sure where that came from.  Maybe the fact that I grew up with a garden in my back yard and fall included a pumpkin harvest. Or perhaps it came from finishing up my chemo in the fall, and pumpkin became my comfort food. I remember a good friend of mine bringing me a couple of fresh baked pumpkin pies – yummmm.

Last spring I planted some pumpkin seeds in my garden but I forgot what they were. My husband and I had debates on whether the large, green orbs were pumpkin or watermelon until they began to turn a beautiful yellow-orange color. After they ripened, I luckily rescued them from the deer. Today I was baking and blending the “meat” for my freezer and for gifts. I was thinking, “I am so proud of my pumpkins! What fun to be able to process them and make goodies with them and give them to others. Aren’t I great!”

And then I remembered: I only planted the seeds. I did keep the weeds down around the vines, and put water on the garden, but I did not make them grow – no, I had nothing to do with that. In fact, I even forgot what I planted. Only an incredible Creator could take a seed and change it into a pumpkin that is lovely to behold, wonderful to smell, and delicious to eat, not to mention very healthy for humans.

I was reminded of Paul’s comments to the Corinthians about growing their spiritual lives. He said that he planted the spiritual seeds of Christ within the Corinthian community.  Another guy named Apollos watered the seed, but GOD grew the seed into a community of people who were becoming the image of Christ – lovely to behold, wonderful to “smell” (we are the fragrance of Christ), and delicious to “eat” (Christ dwells within us). Not to mention that these people could impact the world for good, too.

I want to be God’s “pumpkin.” How can I grow into Christ’s likeness like a pumpkin seed grows into a pumpkin? It takes a daily, intentional partnership of being available for the seed of Christ to grow within me in various ways; but the sprouting, the growth, the wonder of a new life is God’s doing. And he loves to do just that! We may forget that the seed has been planted, but He won’t. He will do his miraculous work in us when we partner with him. We will become the image of Christ! We will become lovely to behold, wonderful to smell and delicious to eat, not to mention a blessing to the world around us. 

So, as you take a bite of your pumpkin pie this holiday season, remember how it came to be. Here’s to the glory of pumpkins!