best quote of the week? ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
joflo singing "i'm dreaming of a white...pizza!"
the annual christmas eve shindig is still in progress.pallasathene82 is probably just getting to her folks' house, and there is still a lot of aural chaos on the first floor.
aural chaos is a primary anxiety trigger for me, so i've escaped to my bedroom for a bit.
i didn't get enough time with my friend laurie, and i was foolish enough to decide that all the ornaments needed to go on the tree, which meant that i was the last one decorating it. which would be fine, except i'm allergic to christmas trees.
but i did get to escape a bit earlier with a five-year-old whose 23-year-old brother had been tormenting her. we read "the story about ping," (which she read to me -- probably just as well), and then we spent about a half-hour playing with the NORAD santa tracker. for the record, i have no idea whether she believes in santa; it is highly probable that we were both just pretending she did for the sake of the other. but it was a worthy charade, especially since she was so into looking at the map's pictures of the various places in the world santa had already been. "it's so pretty!" she said about pretty much every city. even the one that was basically an ice field with an oil rig.
another story:
there's a long-time family friend who blogs as OneSaneVoice. i mention this so that i can quote her while kinda preserving some sort of anonymity.
anyway, OSV and her family integrated with ours back when my brother N and her daughter (K) were in preschool together. K is one of the few "Other-Sisters" we have (we have many "Other-Brothers" in our family). our families are close enough that i think my sibs and i were more upset about OSV's splitting from K's dad than K was.
so i gave K and OSV each a photo for a gift, and OSV handed me an envelope. "thanks for the card," i said.
"it'a kind of a hanukkah card," she said. "it was drawn by children from the holocaust."
"oh, well i haven't opened it yet. but that's cheery, isn't it?"
"well, you know, just to keep you smiling," she said.
"yeah," i said. "it could always be worse!"
and... the two of us cracked up. like, full-on mirthquake. "i'm so going to blog this!" i said.
and maybe OSV will blog it too.
(btw, y'all should totally check out OSV's blog; i've made the LJ rss-feed, so you could even addd it to your flist!)
joflo singing "i'm dreaming of a white...pizza!"the annual christmas eve shindig is still in progress.
pallasathene82 is probably just getting to her folks' house, and there is still a lot of aural chaos on the first floor. aural chaos is a primary anxiety trigger for me, so i've escaped to my bedroom for a bit.
i didn't get enough time with my friend laurie, and i was foolish enough to decide that all the ornaments needed to go on the tree, which meant that i was the last one decorating it. which would be fine, except i'm allergic to christmas trees.
but i did get to escape a bit earlier with a five-year-old whose 23-year-old brother had been tormenting her. we read "the story about ping," (which she read to me -- probably just as well), and then we spent about a half-hour playing with the NORAD santa tracker. for the record, i have no idea whether she believes in santa; it is highly probable that we were both just pretending she did for the sake of the other. but it was a worthy charade, especially since she was so into looking at the map's pictures of the various places in the world santa had already been. "it's so pretty!" she said about pretty much every city. even the one that was basically an ice field with an oil rig.
another story:
there's a long-time family friend who blogs as OneSaneVoice. i mention this so that i can quote her while kinda preserving some sort of anonymity.
anyway, OSV and her family integrated with ours back when my brother N and her daughter (K) were in preschool together. K is one of the few "Other-Sisters" we have (we have many "Other-Brothers" in our family). our families are close enough that i think my sibs and i were more upset about OSV's splitting from K's dad than K was.
so i gave K and OSV each a photo for a gift, and OSV handed me an envelope. "thanks for the card," i said.
"it'a kind of a hanukkah card," she said. "it was drawn by children from the holocaust."
"oh, well i haven't opened it yet. but that's cheery, isn't it?"
"well, you know, just to keep you smiling," she said.
"yeah," i said. "it could always be worse!"
and... the two of us cracked up. like, full-on mirthquake. "i'm so going to blog this!" i said.
and maybe OSV will blog it too.
(btw, y'all should totally check out OSV's blog; i've made the LJ rss-feed, so you could even addd it to your flist!)
Micah 5:2 – 5a
For the past few years I have identified most, if not all, of the ministry work I do as peace work. This peace work takes many forms.
• Being an interim pastor
• Being an activist for LGBT rights within Christian denominations
• Co-facilitating workshops on sustaining your spirit
• Blogging
• Leading discussions on the intersectionality of oppressions
All of these things I do for the sake of peacemaking.
I struggle, though, with the notion of peace. What is it? I use the word to sign off emails, in workshops, in prayer, in sermons … but what is it. Is peace an it ... a thing. Is it an event? A state of mind and spirit? A community experience?
Webster has a few definitions.
1 : a state of tranquility or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom
2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3 : harmony in personal relations
4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
5 used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell
If these are the definitions of peace, then they are the definitions of what I hope my work, and our work, will accomplish. I think about the lion eating grass like the ox and laying down with the lamb to cuddle. That is the Christian picture of peace that I carry around with me. That is the promise that I heard over and over as a child and a young adult.
I think about the lion and the lamb; what they represent. The lion is a predator. The lamb is the prey. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Jesus is also the Lamb of God.
In the book of Micah, little Bethlehem of Judah is promised to be the birthplace of the one of peace. According to the text, this peace comes in the form of Israel as a flock being fed and protected; the people of Israel living securely and being able to rest. Sweet rest. Isn't it nice to be able to rest securely?
Resting is different than being idle. One might be idle ... having nothing to do ... bored ... jobless … but that one probably isn't resting. Most likely that one is agitated and anxious. Just as rest isn't simply not doing work, peace is more than not fighting. Peace is more than being quiet. Peace is more than a pact between governments. Peace is more than the dictionary definition. The dictionary definition is a starting place. But peace includes all the spheres of being. It is a resting, I think, in one's thoughts, emotions, spirit, and body. Peace also includes communities and the planet. Chaos, unrest, and violence are inflicted across the board of creation. Peace, I think, is resting securely in wholeness.
Passing laws does not require someone's position to change on matters of racism, heterosexism, classism, violence, privilege and the like. But they are a starting point. A peace pact isn't peace, but it's a starting point. Learning how to sit or walk in mindful quietness is not peace, but it's a way to start.
Jesus as the Prince of Peace, says that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He himself is not going to enact peace in the land. His actions and his teaching will more likely cause unrest and division as people sort out how they think and feel about how this Messiah is going about being Messiah. This baby whose birth ... whose embodiment we celebrate because of the promise of who he is and what he will accomplish ... this baby whose mother was unwed yet the angels heralded his birth to her, to her fiance, to shepherds ... this baby as a man says – no, that's not what I'm doing. I'm here to heal people on the Sabbath in front of religious authorities; to feed way too many people with way too little food; and to give power to many so they too can heal and feed and stand up to those who are greedy in the name of God.
Being a peacemaker doesn't tend to involve much that looks or feels like peace.
Peace itself may look like a tranquil winter scene with a horse pulling a wagon, the snow on either side remaining undisturbed. But peacemaking looks more like standing in the way of non-peace for the sake of future rest, probably for someone else. Peacemaking means stepping in the way of violence; domestic violence, military violence, legalized violence, religious violence, environmental violence ...
Jesus as the Prince of Peace walked in the middle of harm's way and he provoked his followers to do the same.
We are not unlike little Bethlehem ... a small community in the midst of a larger one, insignificant by many standards. But from us the Prince of Peace is born ... is embodied. Peace still has not arrived. We are still in the midst of much struggle and little secure resting.
Jesus provided healing, food, and spiritual shelter for so many, as well as causing much distress as families were divided over whether or not to follow him. We are to carry on his legacy of peacemaking, which means that we are sometimes to be the source of division. We are to stand in harm's way. We are to offer the secure resting place of acceptance.
We are not here to simply be nice and smooth the wrinkles. I think we are here to ruffle feathers. We are here to make a statement that there are choices available. We are not to swim along in the stream of convention, being complicit with our own oppression or the oppression of others. We are to build dams to stop that stream.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, so threatening as a baby that one of the narratives says he had to be whisked away to Egypt because Herod was on the hunt for him. Herod was so determined to kill him that he mimics the story of Pharaoh in Egypt on the hunt for Moses. In both accounts, there is a massacre of babies 2 years old and under. In the Gospel story, it is Egypt which is the refuge.
For those in power, peace is very threatening. Peacemaking is dangerous. But it's our call, as the followers of Jesus the Christ.
As we approach the day where we celebrate the birth of our Christ on this earth and the subsequent birth of our own selves as christs as we are filled with the essence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, I ask you to consider this: how shall we stand in harm's way for the future securing of rest? How do we continue the work of the Prince of Peace? Individually, what decisions do we make to faithfully participate in this action? Communally, what decisions do we make to faithfully participate in this action?
This radical reaching out of acceptance where all who come may be healed and fed causes division. Do we have the strength to be that radical? Do we have the vision to endure the criticism that comes with that kind of peacemaking?
As you adore the baby Jesus, and adore him I hope you do, I beseech you to say yes to his calling of peacemaking toward a future secure rest in wholeness.
For the past few years I have identified most, if not all, of the ministry work I do as peace work. This peace work takes many forms.
• Being an interim pastor
• Being an activist for LGBT rights within Christian denominations
• Co-facilitating workshops on sustaining your spirit
• Blogging
• Leading discussions on the intersectionality of oppressions
All of these things I do for the sake of peacemaking.
I struggle, though, with the notion of peace. What is it? I use the word to sign off emails, in workshops, in prayer, in sermons … but what is it. Is peace an it ... a thing. Is it an event? A state of mind and spirit? A community experience?
Webster has a few definitions.
1 : a state of tranquility or quiet: as a : freedom from civil disturbance b : a state of security or order within a community provided for by law or custom
2 : freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
3 : harmony in personal relations
4 a : a state or period of mutual concord between governments b : a pact or agreement to end hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity
5 used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell
If these are the definitions of peace, then they are the definitions of what I hope my work, and our work, will accomplish. I think about the lion eating grass like the ox and laying down with the lamb to cuddle. That is the Christian picture of peace that I carry around with me. That is the promise that I heard over and over as a child and a young adult.
I think about the lion and the lamb; what they represent. The lion is a predator. The lamb is the prey. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Jesus is also the Lamb of God.
In the book of Micah, little Bethlehem of Judah is promised to be the birthplace of the one of peace. According to the text, this peace comes in the form of Israel as a flock being fed and protected; the people of Israel living securely and being able to rest. Sweet rest. Isn't it nice to be able to rest securely?
Resting is different than being idle. One might be idle ... having nothing to do ... bored ... jobless … but that one probably isn't resting. Most likely that one is agitated and anxious. Just as rest isn't simply not doing work, peace is more than not fighting. Peace is more than being quiet. Peace is more than a pact between governments. Peace is more than the dictionary definition. The dictionary definition is a starting place. But peace includes all the spheres of being. It is a resting, I think, in one's thoughts, emotions, spirit, and body. Peace also includes communities and the planet. Chaos, unrest, and violence are inflicted across the board of creation. Peace, I think, is resting securely in wholeness.
Passing laws does not require someone's position to change on matters of racism, heterosexism, classism, violence, privilege and the like. But they are a starting point. A peace pact isn't peace, but it's a starting point. Learning how to sit or walk in mindful quietness is not peace, but it's a way to start.
Jesus as the Prince of Peace, says that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword. He himself is not going to enact peace in the land. His actions and his teaching will more likely cause unrest and division as people sort out how they think and feel about how this Messiah is going about being Messiah. This baby whose birth ... whose embodiment we celebrate because of the promise of who he is and what he will accomplish ... this baby whose mother was unwed yet the angels heralded his birth to her, to her fiance, to shepherds ... this baby as a man says – no, that's not what I'm doing. I'm here to heal people on the Sabbath in front of religious authorities; to feed way too many people with way too little food; and to give power to many so they too can heal and feed and stand up to those who are greedy in the name of God.
Being a peacemaker doesn't tend to involve much that looks or feels like peace.
Peace itself may look like a tranquil winter scene with a horse pulling a wagon, the snow on either side remaining undisturbed. But peacemaking looks more like standing in the way of non-peace for the sake of future rest, probably for someone else. Peacemaking means stepping in the way of violence; domestic violence, military violence, legalized violence, religious violence, environmental violence ...
Jesus as the Prince of Peace walked in the middle of harm's way and he provoked his followers to do the same.
We are not unlike little Bethlehem ... a small community in the midst of a larger one, insignificant by many standards. But from us the Prince of Peace is born ... is embodied. Peace still has not arrived. We are still in the midst of much struggle and little secure resting.
Jesus provided healing, food, and spiritual shelter for so many, as well as causing much distress as families were divided over whether or not to follow him. We are to carry on his legacy of peacemaking, which means that we are sometimes to be the source of division. We are to stand in harm's way. We are to offer the secure resting place of acceptance.
We are not here to simply be nice and smooth the wrinkles. I think we are here to ruffle feathers. We are here to make a statement that there are choices available. We are not to swim along in the stream of convention, being complicit with our own oppression or the oppression of others. We are to build dams to stop that stream.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, so threatening as a baby that one of the narratives says he had to be whisked away to Egypt because Herod was on the hunt for him. Herod was so determined to kill him that he mimics the story of Pharaoh in Egypt on the hunt for Moses. In both accounts, there is a massacre of babies 2 years old and under. In the Gospel story, it is Egypt which is the refuge.
For those in power, peace is very threatening. Peacemaking is dangerous. But it's our call, as the followers of Jesus the Christ.
As we approach the day where we celebrate the birth of our Christ on this earth and the subsequent birth of our own selves as christs as we are filled with the essence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, I ask you to consider this: how shall we stand in harm's way for the future securing of rest? How do we continue the work of the Prince of Peace? Individually, what decisions do we make to faithfully participate in this action? Communally, what decisions do we make to faithfully participate in this action?
This radical reaching out of acceptance where all who come may be healed and fed causes division. Do we have the strength to be that radical? Do we have the vision to endure the criticism that comes with that kind of peacemaking?
As you adore the baby Jesus, and adore him I hope you do, I beseech you to say yes to his calling of peacemaking toward a future secure rest in wholeness.
please, god, let america have had the taste to vote for nota, instead of having the legions of 'bubs fans vote millions of times each.
we are about to find out if my weekend prayers have worked.
YAY!!! america wasn't stupid and juvenile! they know the difference between sound and spectacle!
we are about to find out if my weekend prayers have worked.
YAY!!! america wasn't stupid and juvenile! they know the difference between sound and spectacle!
This is the 4th Sunday of Advent. I will be talking about peace and angels. Peace. What is peace? Is peace not-war? Is it not-chaos? Reducing peace to a thing, event, single experience, or theory does not seem right to me.
As most Christians interpret Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and yet according to Matthew 10:34, Jesus did not come to bring peace to earth, but a sword. The text continues with Jesus promoting his set of family values.
Matthew 10: 35 - 39
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
And yet, here is another statement of family values from Jesus, Matthew 15:4-6
4 For God said, "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, "Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,' then that person need not honor the father. 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.
Prince of Peace
Lion of the Tribe of Judah
Healer
Thrasher of the Temple
Is peace standing in front of a tank, using your body to say "Stop this war!"
Is peace protecting a woman being beaten by a man by taking her into your home or standing between them?
Is peace healing on a Sabbath day on purpose to provoke religious authorities to hate you?
Is peace a man being nailed to a cross because he was not cowed by the religious and political manipulators of his day?
Is peace a tranquil winter scene with horse pulling a wagon, the snow on either side remaining undisturbed?
Do we live peace?
Do we enact peace?
Do we experience peace in a passive way?
Is peace deep?
Is peace on the surface?
Is peace freedom from illness?
Is peace watching yourself die from your illness?
Can peace include Violence? Blood? Passion? Sleep? Breathing? Chaos? Order?
Peace ... is there such a thing as peace? Can we find it in a food? In a relationship? In music?
As most Christians interpret Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and yet according to Matthew 10:34, Jesus did not come to bring peace to earth, but a sword. The text continues with Jesus promoting his set of family values.
Matthew 10: 35 - 39
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
And yet, here is another statement of family values from Jesus, Matthew 15:4-6
4 For God said, "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.' 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, "Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,' then that person need not honor the father. 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.
Prince of Peace
Lion of the Tribe of Judah
Healer
Thrasher of the Temple
Is peace standing in front of a tank, using your body to say "Stop this war!"
Is peace protecting a woman being beaten by a man by taking her into your home or standing between them?
Is peace healing on a Sabbath day on purpose to provoke religious authorities to hate you?
Is peace a man being nailed to a cross because he was not cowed by the religious and political manipulators of his day?
Is peace a tranquil winter scene with horse pulling a wagon, the snow on either side remaining undisturbed?
Do we live peace?
Do we enact peace?
Do we experience peace in a passive way?
Is peace deep?
Is peace on the surface?
Is peace freedom from illness?
Is peace watching yourself die from your illness?
Can peace include Violence? Blood? Passion? Sleep? Breathing? Chaos? Order?
Peace ... is there such a thing as peace? Can we find it in a food? In a relationship? In music?
seriously. i think i might need to get a twitter account just to follow him and tom felton.
DAN PAYSON-LEWIS IS MY NEW GAY!SINGING!DRACO MALFOY!!!
listen to the track above, and tell me he's not. also, have a picture!
Dan's on-his-own picture off of the band's FB page.
for the uber-dorks on my flist, i'm imagining him in
annafugazzi's "volunteers" and "ember to ember," and in romaine24's "double-edged sword."mmm, gay!singing!draco....
(ps-- i'm still catching up on the show via hulu -- i had "next to nowhere" tix on monday and "messiah" tix last night...)
Texts: Zephaniah 3:14 - 20 and Luke 2:8 – 20
This is the third week of Advent, which is the week of Joy and of the Shepherds. We light a pink candle instead of a purple candle. As we anticipate the celebration of Jesus' birth ... of Jesus bursting into the lives of humans in an eye to eye / spirit to spirit / soul to soul kind of way, this week we focus on Joy and we focus on the Shepherds.
This joy and these shepherds are not superficial concepts. They are complicated and we must wrestle with their complexities. We are also given the Zephaniah text with which to wrestle.
The Zephaniah text is kind of a cheerleading text. "Sing aloud. Rejoice and exult with all your heart. Do not fear. Do not let your hands grow weak. I will remove disaster from you. I will change your shame into praise."
Jerusalem is going through a tough time. They are despondent, weary, and not praising God. Zephaniah is trying to energize them, telling them all the good things that they may have temporarily forgotten about the God with whom they are in relationship.
The shepherds are doing their job in the fields. It is night when suddenly an angel and the glory of God come out of nowhere, terrifying them. The angel calms them down by sending them on a kind of treasure hunt with a promise that this treasure is from God. Then the text says a multitude of heavenly host appears and praises God. After this praising, all that suddenly appeared leaves, returning to heaven. The shepherds are once again alone in the field.
They want this good news to be true. They believe in what they have just seen. So they go in search of the baby in Bethlehem. Upon finding this treasure just as they were promised they would, they return to their fields glorifying and praising God.
There's a notion that if it takes you seeing the promise to rejoice then your faith is little. We get that idea from passages like Thomas doubting, wanting to see Jesus' wounds and touch the hole in his side. But there are many other passages that talk about seeing the promise as the means for bringing joy and praise.
There are many of us here that would like to see a promise fulfilled. Some of us would just like to hear a promise made on our behalf. There are so many hard things happening – the war, the economy, health insurance, personal tragedy, community tragedy, the list can go on and on.
Christmas is touted as being "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year," but studies show that it is also a time of severe depression and hardship for oh so many. The expectation of what Christmas should be in comparison to how Christmas actually plays out in our lives can alone be depressing.
Yes, this is a time where like the shepherds we are working in the fields. It is a time like in Zephaniah where some of us do not feel the hope and the presence of our Divine Beloved in our lives. It is easy to go through the motions of Advent and Christmas, saying the right words and singing the right songs all the while covering up our sorrow and our disappointment.
This week we are to focus on Joy. For those of us whose circumstances are dire, we may find it difficult to believe in joy. For those of us who are just working in the fields, joy might also be difficult to latch on to.
I don't know how long it took the shepherds to get to the manger. The text makes it sound like they were there in a half hour, but I doubt that. They were walking and they couldn't just leave their flocks behind. They had to lead those flocks to wherever they wanted to go. As they were journeying ... as they were leading their flocks to see this promise they had been given, I suspect periodically they might have questioned their belief and maybe became frustrated with the journey taking so long.
Christian Advent is a tradition that has been passed down generation after generation since about the Middle Ages. The weeks that we celebrate have their meanings from long ago. It's interesting to know and understand why we do what we do. But, why do we continue the tradition and how does it give us meaning today?
Can we relate to the shepherds being given a promise and then sent on a treasure hunt to find that promise, bringing with them all the sheep that were in their charge? They were still responsible for everything they had been responsible for, but now they had this promise and a journey for the promise to be fulfilled.
Can we relate to the pain and suffering of Jerusalem as Zephaniah reminded them that their God was a good and loving God who really was on their side?
Has the promise of the embodiment of Jesus the Christ been fulfilled within you ... you as the embodiment of Christ? Can you get in touch with that? Does getting in touch with that fulfilled promise which is mostly intangible help you find joy? Not circumstantial happiness? Joy. Deep true joy. This joy which abides in the isness of our soul – based not on how this world works or how our life plays out, but rather on the trueness of our being in relationship with our Divine Love.
We can not base our Advent tradition or the call to Joy solely on the traditions of the past. We must know why today we bother to wait in hopeful anticipation of the celebration of the birth of the Christ. If we don't attach meaning to this for today, then the tradition is hollow instead of hallowed.
Finding the deep joy in our souls when things around us point to despair, is I think what Zephaniah was cheerleading Jerusalem to do. Last week we read Baruch 5 which was also a cheerleading kind of text. "Take off your garment of sorrow and affliction. Put on forever the beauty of the glory of God."
That has to come from somewhere. I believe we are created with a deep well of hope and peace and joy in our soul. Sometimes it flows better than others. Sometimes it does not seem to be flowing at all. The call that I hear from these texts is to reach out with whatever we can and believe the promise of good for our souls, our life circumstances notwithstanding. Reaching out with whatever we can may be called faith. It may be called determination. It may be called foolishness. Seeing the promise sure does help give us the ability to rejoice. The challenge is to see the promises we have already been given – the promises we have already seen and experienced – and then, to hold that joy in our hearts as Mary treasured and pondered the words of the shepherds in her heart. This deep well of joy that we hold in our hearts can then be accessed when we need it most.
This Advent, as we wait for the celebration of the breakthrough of the Christ to the people of earth, we also struggle with so many adverse situations. I am here to cheerlead you toward joy. Find the deep joy that sustains you. Call upon the true love of your God for the fulfillment of the promises for your soul. Remember that you are the Divine's beloved! Hold the joy in your heart as you journey field after field toward the next divine promise yet to be fulfilled.
This is the third week of Advent, which is the week of Joy and of the Shepherds. We light a pink candle instead of a purple candle. As we anticipate the celebration of Jesus' birth ... of Jesus bursting into the lives of humans in an eye to eye / spirit to spirit / soul to soul kind of way, this week we focus on Joy and we focus on the Shepherds.
This joy and these shepherds are not superficial concepts. They are complicated and we must wrestle with their complexities. We are also given the Zephaniah text with which to wrestle.
The Zephaniah text is kind of a cheerleading text. "Sing aloud. Rejoice and exult with all your heart. Do not fear. Do not let your hands grow weak. I will remove disaster from you. I will change your shame into praise."
Jerusalem is going through a tough time. They are despondent, weary, and not praising God. Zephaniah is trying to energize them, telling them all the good things that they may have temporarily forgotten about the God with whom they are in relationship.
The shepherds are doing their job in the fields. It is night when suddenly an angel and the glory of God come out of nowhere, terrifying them. The angel calms them down by sending them on a kind of treasure hunt with a promise that this treasure is from God. Then the text says a multitude of heavenly host appears and praises God. After this praising, all that suddenly appeared leaves, returning to heaven. The shepherds are once again alone in the field.
They want this good news to be true. They believe in what they have just seen. So they go in search of the baby in Bethlehem. Upon finding this treasure just as they were promised they would, they return to their fields glorifying and praising God.
There's a notion that if it takes you seeing the promise to rejoice then your faith is little. We get that idea from passages like Thomas doubting, wanting to see Jesus' wounds and touch the hole in his side. But there are many other passages that talk about seeing the promise as the means for bringing joy and praise.
There are many of us here that would like to see a promise fulfilled. Some of us would just like to hear a promise made on our behalf. There are so many hard things happening – the war, the economy, health insurance, personal tragedy, community tragedy, the list can go on and on.
Christmas is touted as being "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year," but studies show that it is also a time of severe depression and hardship for oh so many. The expectation of what Christmas should be in comparison to how Christmas actually plays out in our lives can alone be depressing.
Yes, this is a time where like the shepherds we are working in the fields. It is a time like in Zephaniah where some of us do not feel the hope and the presence of our Divine Beloved in our lives. It is easy to go through the motions of Advent and Christmas, saying the right words and singing the right songs all the while covering up our sorrow and our disappointment.
This week we are to focus on Joy. For those of us whose circumstances are dire, we may find it difficult to believe in joy. For those of us who are just working in the fields, joy might also be difficult to latch on to.
I don't know how long it took the shepherds to get to the manger. The text makes it sound like they were there in a half hour, but I doubt that. They were walking and they couldn't just leave their flocks behind. They had to lead those flocks to wherever they wanted to go. As they were journeying ... as they were leading their flocks to see this promise they had been given, I suspect periodically they might have questioned their belief and maybe became frustrated with the journey taking so long.
Christian Advent is a tradition that has been passed down generation after generation since about the Middle Ages. The weeks that we celebrate have their meanings from long ago. It's interesting to know and understand why we do what we do. But, why do we continue the tradition and how does it give us meaning today?
Can we relate to the shepherds being given a promise and then sent on a treasure hunt to find that promise, bringing with them all the sheep that were in their charge? They were still responsible for everything they had been responsible for, but now they had this promise and a journey for the promise to be fulfilled.
Can we relate to the pain and suffering of Jerusalem as Zephaniah reminded them that their God was a good and loving God who really was on their side?
Has the promise of the embodiment of Jesus the Christ been fulfilled within you ... you as the embodiment of Christ? Can you get in touch with that? Does getting in touch with that fulfilled promise which is mostly intangible help you find joy? Not circumstantial happiness? Joy. Deep true joy. This joy which abides in the isness of our soul – based not on how this world works or how our life plays out, but rather on the trueness of our being in relationship with our Divine Love.
We can not base our Advent tradition or the call to Joy solely on the traditions of the past. We must know why today we bother to wait in hopeful anticipation of the celebration of the birth of the Christ. If we don't attach meaning to this for today, then the tradition is hollow instead of hallowed.
Finding the deep joy in our souls when things around us point to despair, is I think what Zephaniah was cheerleading Jerusalem to do. Last week we read Baruch 5 which was also a cheerleading kind of text. "Take off your garment of sorrow and affliction. Put on forever the beauty of the glory of God."
That has to come from somewhere. I believe we are created with a deep well of hope and peace and joy in our soul. Sometimes it flows better than others. Sometimes it does not seem to be flowing at all. The call that I hear from these texts is to reach out with whatever we can and believe the promise of good for our souls, our life circumstances notwithstanding. Reaching out with whatever we can may be called faith. It may be called determination. It may be called foolishness. Seeing the promise sure does help give us the ability to rejoice. The challenge is to see the promises we have already been given – the promises we have already seen and experienced – and then, to hold that joy in our hearts as Mary treasured and pondered the words of the shepherds in her heart. This deep well of joy that we hold in our hearts can then be accessed when we need it most.
This Advent, as we wait for the celebration of the breakthrough of the Christ to the people of earth, we also struggle with so many adverse situations. I am here to cheerlead you toward joy. Find the deep joy that sustains you. Call upon the true love of your God for the fulfillment of the promises for your soul. Remember that you are the Divine's beloved! Hold the joy in your heart as you journey field after field toward the next divine promise yet to be fulfilled.
I'm going to be trying some weight watchers friendly cookies this Christmas, including some delicious chocolate meringues recipe courtesy of jecklar! So I told her I'd post my fabulous Chocolate sorbet recipe.
I haven't tried to figure out the weight watchers points but I bet it's not bad.
“Mew’s” Chocolate Sorbet
6 oz really good dark chocolate (Scharfenberger 70%), melted
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 ½ cups water
¼ cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1. Melt chocolate in double boiler until completely melted and smooth.
2. Stir in oil.
3. In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve sugar.
4. Combine warm melted chocolate with hot water mixture and mix well.
5. Pour into a blender; add corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Blend well.
6. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to freeze. Blend for a few seconds before pouring into the ice cream maker.
Note: This is fantastic! It’s really dark chocolate flavored so if you don't like very dark chocolate maybe try a lighter chocolate? The original recipe is as written except you also add 2 Tbs instant espresso coffee powder to the chocolate mixture. (In a pinch I’ve used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Chips and that works ok)
jecklar! So I told her I'd post my fabulous Chocolate sorbet recipe.I haven't tried to figure out the weight watchers points but I bet it's not bad.
“Mew’s” Chocolate Sorbet
6 oz really good dark chocolate (Scharfenberger 70%), melted
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 ½ cups water
¼ cup sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1. Melt chocolate in double boiler until completely melted and smooth.
2. Stir in oil.
3. In a small saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve sugar.
4. Combine warm melted chocolate with hot water mixture and mix well.
5. Pour into a blender; add corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Blend well.
6. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to freeze. Blend for a few seconds before pouring into the ice cream maker.
Note: This is fantastic! It’s really dark chocolate flavored so if you don't like very dark chocolate maybe try a lighter chocolate? The original recipe is as written except you also add 2 Tbs instant espresso coffee powder to the chocolate mixture. (In a pinch I’ve used Ghiradelli Double Chocolate Chips and that works ok)
- Mood:
hungry
So here's the thing I've noticed lately. While LJ has its benefits over Facebook, there are a number of things that are just simply easier to post to FB (links, photos, random short thoughts or one-liners). So I post them there and forget to say anything about it here, because I've already said it and it has therefore been checked off in my brain as "done." But FB is much more of a disposable format; a status update has a readership lifespan of maybe a couple of hours (half a day at most). Meanwhile, my LJ posts are indexed by The Great Gazoogle, so there are a number of posts that still get read months or years later.
Meanwhile, despite the truncated shelf-life of a Facebook post, I have a more active readership there. Part of it, of course, is that the posts are shorter and easier both to read and to comment upon; LJ is more conducive to long discussions, but not too many people in my demographic have a lot of time these days for involved discussions on the intertron. Myself included.
This is not an "I'm abandoning LJ for FB" post, just a comment on what I've noticed lately regarding my own usage patterns. So if you only read my LJ, you might not know that the feep mugs and shot glasses are live in my eBay store, for instance, and you still might not if you're just skimming this post and don't really bother to read down this far. Also you might not care, but that's another matter entirely. (And, for the record, I feel squeamish enough as it is about pimping my wares, since I hate just about everything about being a salesman, so reposting pimpery requires actual energy because I'm somewhat embarrassed by it.)
One last thing - at this point pretty much my whole family (including aunts, uncles, and cousins) is reading my Facebook, so there's a certain degree of self-censorship that goes on over there. Not because I really have anything to hide from them, but because I just feel awkward broadcasting to my extended family about spending the weekend in the bathroom on my hands and knees, shoving caulk into every available crevice.
Meanwhile, despite the truncated shelf-life of a Facebook post, I have a more active readership there. Part of it, of course, is that the posts are shorter and easier both to read and to comment upon; LJ is more conducive to long discussions, but not too many people in my demographic have a lot of time these days for involved discussions on the intertron. Myself included.
This is not an "I'm abandoning LJ for FB" post, just a comment on what I've noticed lately regarding my own usage patterns. So if you only read my LJ, you might not know that the feep mugs and shot glasses are live in my eBay store, for instance, and you still might not if you're just skimming this post and don't really bother to read down this far. Also you might not care, but that's another matter entirely. (And, for the record, I feel squeamish enough as it is about pimping my wares, since I hate just about everything about being a salesman, so reposting pimpery requires actual energy because I'm somewhat embarrassed by it.)
One last thing - at this point pretty much my whole family (including aunts, uncles, and cousins) is reading my Facebook, so there's a certain degree of self-censorship that goes on over there. Not because I really have anything to hide from them, but because I just feel awkward broadcasting to my extended family about spending the weekend in the bathroom on my hands and knees, shoving caulk into every available crevice.
that is, virtually all of you...
here, have a youtube video. it's almost as fun as the gamers 2: dorkness rising.
this was brought to you by the ever educationalpallasathene82. the vid was made by and stars her friend osirusbrisbane.
here, have a youtube video. it's almost as fun as the gamers 2: dorkness rising.
this was brought to you by the ever educational
pallasathene82. the vid was made by and stars her friend osirusbrisbane.My friend Ray VanTilberg makes fabulous (and sometimes funny) shirts. I got 2 lovely denim shits with dragons embroidered on them for the boys from his clearance section using this deal!
Heads Up Procrastinators! We
Tell em Mew sent ya! ;-)
Heads Up Procrastinators! We
want to help you get shirts from OffWorld Designs under the tree before
time runs out! From now until December 20th use coupon code LastMin for 20% off all orders! Do your last m...inute Christmas Shopping here at offworlddesigns.com. We've added 5 new designs in the last two weeks so check out what's new and get your shopping done with style. Coupon code is case sensitive & good for one use per customer until Midnight (CST) December 20th, 2009.
Orders must ship by 12/21/09 to be delivered by Priority Mail in time
for Christmas so don't wait!
Thanks and Happy Holidays from OffWorld!
Tell em Mew sent ya! ;-)
- Mood:
busy
Which language(s) do you currently speak? If you could learn only one other language, what would you choose, and why? Submitted By |
I speak English, German and Spanglish (stop laughing, it's a legitimate new york dialect, I tell you!), and read those, Latin, Masoretic Hebrew, and a smattering of any Romance language you put in front of me, as well as fumble my way through Aramaic with extensive help from a lexicon.
If I had to choose only one more language, it would probably be Arabic. I almost said koine Greek, so I could round out my Christian theological languages, but Arabic is also a major theological language, and probably more useful in this day and age.
Profile
- fishonthesand
- fishonthesand
- Website
Page Summary
- songquake : scattered christmastime thoughts... [+0]
- revjohnny : Prince of Peace and Division [+0]
- songquake : a quick prayer [+2]
- revjohnny : Mulling my sermon [+0]
- songquake : more fangirlish squee [+4]
- songquake : guh. [+1]
- revjohnny : Holding Joy in our Hearts [+2]
- folkmew : Want some healthy ice cream for the holidays? (yeah I know - it's supposed to be cookies but...) [+1]
- ndrtoon : Meta post! [+2]
- songquake : for all my gaming friends (you know who you are) [+2]
- folkmew : Last minute gift idea! (fannish t-shirts!) [+1]
- songquake : Writer's Block: Voulez-vous parler ... [+8]
Designed by chasethestars
chasethestars