A Christmas Movie...

As a pre-Christmas treat yesterday (and because we did not go to the local Festival of Trees this weekend) we all  went to see The Star. 

As we have watched the commercials over the last few weeks one daughter told me, repeatedly, that she really wanted to see it. In part because she loves the Christmas story (every year she buys a Nativity scene tree ornament) but also (and related) in part because she wanted to see what they got wrong so she could tell them.

SHe has a bit of attitude that one, and is definitely a PK.

Anyway we took a wintry afternoon and went to the theater.  Lived here for 7.5 years and this  was the second time I had set foot in the movie complex -- we don't do movies very much.

It was good. Even the daughter who wanted to see what they got wrong only had one complaint -- that they told the story well enough that she had nothing to complain about (did I mention she has a bit of attitude?)

There are a lot of additions to the tale as told by Matthew and Luke, but you have to do that because there is not enough detail in the Biblical text to make a whole movie. And I really wish we would stop telling Christmas stories that try to pretend that  Matthew and Luke are telling the same story or try to merge them into one narrative. On the other hand I was impressed that they included Herod's murderous intentions --many people would try to ignore that part (though it did give a sense of conflict into the tale). But on the whole they stayed consistent with the Biblical text of the "greatest story ever told".

It would be interesting to watch the movie with children less schooled in the story.  Because of the chracterizations and the genre I am sure any child would like it but for our girls knowing the story made a lot of difference.

Might have to suggest that it become part of the church library if/when it comes out on DVD.

The Christmas Snail

Each year the girls buy Christmas Tree ornaments at the Ten Thousand Villages sale here in town.  This year Eldest bought a snail, and dad was given the challenge of writing the story of the Christmas Snail.  Here is what developed:

 

They didn't even see me. But then I am used to that. Nobody ever sees us snails. Or when they do the make rude noises and squish us or run away as if we were some disgusting monster. I think only spiders get treated worse than us.

At any rate I saw it all. From beginning to end I was there. Unlike those uppity other animals you might hear about I don't think I had anything to do with what happened. I just watched it. And I will never forget it. I don't really understand, because I am only a snail. But I will never forget it.

It almost made me run and jump. But, well, you know, snails aren't really great at that.

Do you want to hear my version of the story?

It was a strange day. There I was in Nazareth, creeping along, trying to stay moist, when this foot just missed me. It was a man leading a donkey. Then the donkey hoof just missed me on the other side. Around then I decided maybe I would stay still. You know, to recover from the fright. But fate, it seems, had other plans.

As the donkey's back hoof came by it kicked me forward. At the same time a bundle of cloth fell off the donkey's back. The bundle and I landed together in a heap. Grumbling about how far they had to go and the delay and the time, the man stopped and bent over to get the bundle of cloth, and of course I got scooped up along with it. Before I knew it I was stuck on the back of the donkey, heading who knew where.

That was a horrible journey. Day after day in the hot sun! I was sure I would get fried. Luckily there were lots of nooks and crannies in the baggage so I could find a place to hide. And between the morning dew and the donkey sweat and the occasional splash of water while the man and woman were drinking I got just enough moisture to keep from totally drying out.

I had no idea where we were going. It appeared they did not want to go but they said that they had no choice. The woman was very pregnant. The man was very worried. The donkey was smelly and tired. The woman was tired. The man was getting anxious. The donkey just wanted to stop, the man had to keep urging it forward.

Finally we came to another city. Bethlehem I think the man said its name was. It was late in the day. Thankfully the sun was almost down and it was getting cooler. I was starting to shrivel up. The man sounded much more relaxed when he said:
“Tonight we will have a real bed in a real building. No more sleeping on the hard cold ground. And maybe a real meal for a change. I still have family here, I am sure one of them can take us in.”

In her gentle voice the woman said:
“That will be nice.” Then suddenly she groaned with pain. “Joseph, I think the baby is coming, my water just broke.”

By that point I had started to slide down the donkey. And suddenly I was almost washed off by this rush of fluid that came at me. I was able to hold on, and to be honest I was very happy for all that refreshing moisture.

The man made the donkey go even faster then. He led us from one house to another, asking if he and the woman could stay there. They all said no. Finally he turned to the woman and said:

“Its no use Mary, none of my cousins remember me or my father. I guess we will have to try that inn over there”

And so he led the donkey across a square to an old inn. It sounded very busy. There was lots of light pouring out the windows and doors. The man left us on the walk and went up to the door. I could just barely hear him pleading with the innkeeper, saying that his wife was having a baby and they needed a place. He was gone a long time. All the while the woman kept groaning. It seemed she was about to fall off the donkey.

Finally he came back. He didn't sound happy.

“Well they say they are full, and I don't have enough money to change their minds. But they told me we can go out back and stay with the animals.”

The woman said:

“That will be better than the middle of the street. Hurry Joseph, I need to get off the donkey. It is almost time.”

So the man Joseph led us around behind the building. There was a little shelter back there with a few animals tied up inside. Joseph helped the woman off the donkey and settled her on a pile of straw.

“Is that ok Mary? Are you going to be alright?”

All the woman could do was grunt.

Then there were voices approaching. Women were coming. When they got to where we were one of them said:
“Thee innkeeper sent for me. I am the local midwife. I am here to help. Let me see how things are going.”

I sort of lost track for a while then. Joseph started to unload and brush off the donkey and in that process I got flung off into a corner. But at least there I was safe. Nobody would step on me over there. While I couldn't see anything, I could hear everything.

It appears the woman was having her baby. It seems much easier to just lay eggs like us snails do. But apparently that is not how it happens with humans. There was a lot of screaming. The woman who called herself midwife kept trying to calm Mary down. Meanwhile I found a nice little puddle in my corner and settled in.

Still I listened. I heard Mary say that this was a special baby. She talked about a visit from an angel who told her that the baby was God's baby. It didn't sound like the midwife believed her. Joseph talked about a visit he had from an angel who told him the same thing. They talked about how this baby was going to change the world. I have to admit I didn't really know quite what they mean. After all, I am only a snail and really don't know much about the world.

Then it was done. The baby was born. Did I mention that laying eggs seems much easier? Anyway everybody was very happy. The baby let out a loud scream and then quietened down. But there was something odd.

From my corner I saw this bright light shining. And I was sure I could hear music. And for some reason I felt just so happy. Everybody's voices had gone quiet, and all the animals too. At that point I knew I had to see the baby. So I started to move over toward the light.

As I crept over toward the manger two things happened. The light got brighter and the music got louder. At first I thought it was just music but as it got louder and clearer I could hear voices. Sweet soft voices singing the baby to sleep. The pigeons in the rafters joined in the song. I can see why. You just couldn't help but sing when you heard that song. It drew you in somehow.

And the light. How can I describe it. Normally when you spend your life so close to the ground you see a lot of shadows. All the lights are up high and blocked by people or objects. But this was different. The light seemed to just be there, no shadows. I think it was coming from the baby but even then there was no shadow from the manger. The light just shone through everything and everybody.

Just as I started to get closer to the manger, almost close enough to start thinking about climbing up one of the legs, there was a new noise. A bunch of shepherds came rushing up yelling and shouting. They were very excited. And they had big clumsy feet. I had to slide under a piece of wood to avoid getting squashed.

The shepherds rushed in, but as soon as they saw the baby they stopped dead. They just stood there in silence for a while. Then they told a story. They talked about angels appearing to them. They said they had been told that this baby was the Messiah. They said that they had been told to find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped up in bits of cloth – just like this baby here.

The shepherds started to sing “Glory to God in the Highest! Peace on earth, good will to men”. They said this is what the angels had sung to them. They stayed and watched the baby sleep for a while. Eventually the sheep came wandering in and laid down beside the manger. Then the shepherds gathered the sheep and headed back out of town. I could hear them singing and shouting as they went, telling everyone what had happened that night.

Still there was the music and the light. Making things seem so calm, so special.

Just as dawn was breaking I finally got to the top of the manger. And I could see the baby. Even with all that light shining, light that should have blinded me, I could see him. And looking at him I was sure that somehow things would be alright. Even for us snails.

I slid down into the hay he was lying on. And just sat there looking at him, listening to the song, and feeling very content. But it was exciting too. I knew why the shepherds had been singing and shouting. I wanted to dance and sing! Sadly I can't do such things. So instead I sat there and watched and listened.

After a few days the family left. I stayed behind. I had had enough traveling for the lifetimes of many many snails. But every time a new animal comes in, as we rest in the night, I tell the story of the Baby. And sometimes, as I tell it, I hear the song again and the manger seems to glow a little bit...

NABloPoMo --- Advent

Hope
The world grows dark
Despair fills the news
What leads us forward
What keeps us trying
We light a candle and pray for --
Hope

Peace
Or at least the Prince thereof
We look for it in vain.
Racism, injustice, whose lives matter?
A second flame flickers into life
We look for the Kingdom
We await the Kingdom, and pray for --
Peace

Joy
A world filled with tears.
Laughter that sounds hollow
We look for something beyond.
Great tidings, for all the people
We sink into trust.
We live by faith, by prayer,
and our eyes reflect the candle light of --
Joy

Love
One flame waits to burst forth
One great driver lies penned up in our hearts.
Dare we let it out?
Can we live its richness?
In the face of fear and hatred
One thing stands alone
And so we commit ourselves to --
Love

Christ
A young couple
A full inn
An Imperial edict
And a baby
Shepherds and angels
Great news of great Joy.
THe Prince of PEace
The Child of Love
The Source of Home
Born in the midst of fear and suffering
Christ

Thanks be to God.

NaBloPoMo -- Remembering

Words written a century ago. by a Canadian Army Dr, words that have been a part of our remembering ever since.

Then there are some other words that come to my mind this day:

The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Far-called, our navies melt away;
On dune and headland sinks the fire:
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
(from Rudyard Kipling's Recessional)

It is the 11th day of the 11th month. A day of remembrance. A day of prayer. A day of sorrow. A day of hope.

What do we remember? What do we pray for? What do we hope for?

AS we stand in the cold watching folks place wreaths of poppies against a stone cenotaph and think of 1000's, nay 1 000 000's, who died before their time on battlefields or in bombings or in displacement camps, or ... where do we go from here?

When I was growing up I remember clearly the words of hope that were shared every November. Never Again.  That is our hope, that is our prayer, that is our challenge.

We remember those whose lives were forever changed by warfare on this day not to romanticize war, but to bring its harsh reality back into focus.  We remember that we, the children of God, including those who follow the Prince of Peace, fall SO SO short of what could be. We remember that sometimes the world falls apart, and lives are blown apart in the hopes that we will eventually learn a new way.

Despite the evidence we hope that the people of the world will learn a new way of being.

We remember many form various places and various eras and various roles. Because not all veterans are elderly.  Some are young.  Not all affected wore uniforms. Some were civilians living in the middle of battle, some were left behind to wait and worry. (see this article) And let us always remember that those affected by war on ALL sides, not just "ours".




Today is a more than a day off (and it isn't even a day off for everyone). It is a day of faith. It is a day when we need to name the fact that the kingdom sometimes seems far far away.  But as a person of faith, as a person who believe that God is bringing the kingdom closer, I believe that today is a day to remind us of the possibility.  Never Again. And the wolf will lie down with the lamb....

But in the mean time:
Lord God of hosts, be with us yet
Lest we forget -- lest we forget

What REALLY Happened...

10 days ago, after worship on the 4th Sunday of Advent when this sermon was presented (here is a podcast of the actual presentation), a comment was made: "maybe one year you can preach about what really happened--though maybe Christmas isn't the right time for that".

The comment has stuck with me.  What might that sermon be?  (And in point of fact I think that the Sunday before Christmas or the Sunday after Christmas would be a fine time for it--but not Christmas Eve.)

I think I need to start these thoughts with the statement that I do not think there is any remembered historical event in either Matthew or Luke's stories of the Nativity.  I think it is all theology.

BUt the only reason I can make that statement is that the "born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit" line is not vital to my understanding of Jesus as the Christ.  If that was not true then I would have to find historical accuracy in order for my faith to make sense.


For me the "what really happened" sermon would be more about "why was the story told this way".  Mind you for me that is often the sermonic question.  PArt of that is because I find the "what really happened" line to be a fruitless trail.  Because we can never know for certain, there is simply no source of information to answer the questions, we are likely going to find the answers we expect to find.  And in the end the question of faith is more about meaning than event.

But the question was what really happened.  And I think there are only a few things we can say with great certainty.  WE can say there was in the tradition a sense that there was something different about Jesus' birth.  I think there are signs that there was a hint of impropriety about the birth, that the child was born "too soon" -- and there have always been children born "too soon" relative to marriage dates.  We can, I believe, say with a degree of certainty that there was a conflict between the understanding that Jesus was a descendant of David as well as a plausible tradition that he was (or that the Messiah would be) born in Bethlehem and the lived reality that he came from Nazareth (a conflict that Matthew and Luke resolve in two different ways).  Other than that I think it is all theology.  After all the primary point of the Gospels is not history/biography as we understand it in 2014.  The point is to proclaim the Good News that the Messiah has come, that the Kingdom of God is at hand.  And for Matthew and Luke that means starting with conception and birth (for Mark the story begins with Baptism, for John Jesus its the Primeval Word who was in the beginning).

SO why might Jesus have been born too soon?  Maybe Joseph and Mary had a shotgun wedding?  Maybe Mary had another beau on the side, one she may have preferred but a different arrangement was made?  Maybe Mary was a survivor of sexual violence?  All possibilities.


But for me the question is always WHY.  Why did Matthew and Luke tell this story this way?  How did they see God active in Jesus of Nazareth, who they knew as the Risen Christ?   I think that in the Nativity stories we see the development of a different Christology, one that eventually develops into the classic formulation of wholly human and wholly divine.  I think that in the absence of a fully remembered story humanity tends to fill in the details based on what they have learned/experienced about the person.  [In point of fact I think much of humanity does this even where there is a clear account of an event--they just re-tell the story in a different way.  Memory is a funny, and sometimes unreliable, thing.]

ANd one final thought about the sermon I have not ever preached (I have done Christmas trivia to point out how much of what we "know" about the Nativity Story comes more from Carols and Pageants than what Matthew and Luke actually tell us but that is a bit different).  It is my belief that the real basis, often, behind the question is in fact a much more philosophical discussion about Christ, about how God is active in the faith story, about miracles vs science than about the actual events.  Why do we make the faith claims we do?  This is why the answer we come to is so often pre-determined by our philosophical viewpoint on those issues.

CHRIST IS RISEN!!!!

He is Risen Indeed!

HAPPY EASTER 

Newspaper Column for December 27

What's It All About Anyway???

Here we are on the third day of Christmas. Did your French Hens arrive this morning? Mine neither. Just as well, I have no room for them anyway.

By now the wrapping paper has been bagged and tossed, the Turkey leftovers are stuffed in the fridge, many of us have eaten more chocolate than we really should (but can you ever eat too much chocolate?), and maybe we have time to sit and reflect a bit. One of my favourite moments in Christmas television is Charlie Brown screaming “Can ANYBODY tell me what this is all about?”, partly because I don't think we talk about that question enough. Maybe now we can pause and ask ourselves what all the hustle and bustle and noise of the last month has been all about.

The Grinch had it all figured out, or so he thought. Christmas was all about presents and toys and food and noise. But he was wrong.

Scrooge had it all figured out too. Christmas was a poor excuse to pick a man's pocket every year. It was a waste of time and money. But he was wrong.

Some in the church have it all figured out. Christmas is about insisting that the story is all important and factual and fighting against Santa or “Happy Holidays” or anything that draws attention from the baby born to a virgin and lying in a manger. Turns out they may be wrong too.

And so I come back to the question Charlie Brown asks; “Can anyone tell me what Christmas is all about?”. Is it the gifts? The holiday? Family? The story?

In the end Christmas is sort of about all those things and yet more than that. It is about the giving of tokens of love and affection to each other. It is about taking time away from being “productive” to spend with those who are important in our lives. It is about a story, a mixture of myth and legend and faith, told in words and songs and pictures of a special baby. But, for me, none of these quite answer Charlie Brown's question.

What is my answer? What does Christmas mean for me? Christmas is about birth. Christmas is about God breaking into our lives. That is the story we tell. That is the reason for our praise. We aren't celebrating the birth of a child over 2000 years ago. We celebrate the fact that here, now, as 2013 turns into 2014, something new is being born.

We don't find the meaning in Christmas by complaining about commercialism. Nor do we find it in the crowds of the pre- or post-Christmas sales. We don't find it in arguments about what “really happened” when Jesus of Nazareth was born. We don't find it in songs about silent nights or songs about bells jingling on a one horse sleigh.

We might find it in the grin on the face of a loved one opening a gift. We might find it in the peace we feel as we gather with friends and family to hear again the story of God being with us in a new way. We might find it in a surprising way, when suddenly we see a glimmer of hope, a spark of light, in a place where once there was only darkness and despair.

The great promise and hope of Christmas is that in the midst of our crises and troubles we hear of God breaking into our world and our lives. We are reminded that there is a light that no shadow can overcome. We listen for the song that brings “good news for all people”. The birth we celebrate may come in a way and place we don't expect, but our story reminds us that God rarely does the expected. Still there is light, there is hope, there is joy.

What is being born this Christmas? Where do we hear angel song? What hope is being awoken? And how will we react?

Now that the hustle and bustle are over the work of living Christmas hope begins. How will you carry Christmas hope, Christmas promise, Christmas light into the New Year?

God Bless US, Every One. Merry Christmas, and a Blessed New Year.

Plan B -- A Newspaper Column

We have come to the crowning weekend of the Christian year. This weekend people will gather for worship on Thursday to tell the story of a leaders who washes the feet of his friends. People will gather on Friday to tell the story of a man who was so passionate about, so committed to, his vision of the world that he willingly went to his death. And then people will gather on Sunday to tell the story of a God who overrides the wishes of the world, who shouts a glorious and triumphant YES in the face of the world that said NO.

It is the heart of Christian faith, this Easter celebration. It is when we proclaim that life defeats death, that hope defeats despair, that light overcomes the darkness. Easter, the reality of resurrection is what creates our faith. And yet it is a celebration that raises questions.

Every year about this time someone somewhere starts a discussion by asking something like “Why Did Jesus Have to Die?”. One common answer in Christian thought is that Jesus had to die to save us, to pay the price for our sins. This suggests that the whole reason Jesus is born is not so much to teach and preach but to be a willing sacrifice. The true effect of Easter then seems to be accomplished as much in the death as in God's act to defy that death.

Some of us, however, find that answer troubling. At least one author has gone so far as to suggest that a God who sends God's own Son just to be murdered is guilty of divine child abuse. Some of us find it hard to believe that this is how God works. And so I find myself wondering if maybe Easter as we know it was in fact Plan B.

During the last week of his life Jesus told a story about a hopeful landowner and the tenants who defeated his hope. You can read it for yourself, Luke 20:9-18. A common understanding of that parable is that the landowner is God. God who has sent many messengers to remind people who they could be. God who sends one last messenger. But even then the messenger is rejected and murdered by the tenants who think they have a better way.

Maybe God's hope was that Jesus would be the prophet that caused the world to be transformed through his teaching and preaching. Maybe the hope was that Jesus' preaching that the Kingdom of God is here now would take hold and become a full reality. Maybe the hope never included torture and execution.

So why did Jesus die? Jesus died because the world is NOT what God would have it be. Jesus died because when you are bold (some might say foolish) enough to challenge the authorities in the world they will push back. Jesus died because God's hope did not pan out, because the people of Jesus' day did not launch the great transformation that Jesus proclaimed. And so the powers around Jesus brought him down and executed him as a traitor, a brigand, a troublemaker, a rabble-rouser. The killed him because he threatened to upset the system. Did Jesus expect to be murdered? If he understood the system and the challenge he was to that system he must have known the system would kill him.

Many of Jesus' friends must have believed that the cross was the end of the story. Jesus must not have been the Messiah they thought he was, there was no concept of a Messiah who would die on a cross. Decades later Paul refers to the problem of Jesus' death by calling it a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. The story was over, the hope was gone, the light was extinguished.

Enter God, Stage Right.

The plan has not worked. So we need another plan. And God chooses to act. God chooses to raise Jesus from death. God chooses to prove that God's YES is more powerful than the world's NO.

This is the glory of Easter. We continue to live in a world that falls short of God's hope, that is not yet what God would have us be. But God continues to say YES, it is possible. The power of Easter is not shown on Friday. Friday only reminds us that we continue to block God's hope. The power of Easter is when people of faith experience the Risen Christ. The power of Easter is in life, not death.

It may not have been the original plan. But God took the failure of the world and turned it on its head. And God continues to do that. Thanks be to God! Happy Easter!

Christ Has Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

Death is defeated, God's YES has beaten the world's NO!

Happy Easter!

Is there a blessing for...?

In Fiddler on the Roof, when Motel gets his new sewing machine he asks the Rabbi if there is a blessing for a sewing machine.  And the rabbi obliges.

Along the same lines is this story (the link was posted on my FB wall):

The glow of gizmos cut through the darkness of a modest Halifax-area church Sunday as parishioners raised their cellphones, laptops and GPS units toward the heavens for a special prayer.
"Lord God, we thank you for the many gifts and tools you give us, all those electronic gadgets that make our lives easier in so many ways," Rev. Lisa Vaughn said before a small crowd at St. Timothy's Anglican church in Hatchet Lake on the eve of Labour Day.
Vaughn said the idea to hold a blessing of electronics came after hearing about an old English tradition called Plough Monday in which farmers would drag their tools to the church's door to receive a blessing for a good harvest.

Actually I think that the idea has merit.  It also can be a chance to reflect on the role gadgets play in our lives and our addiction to them.

A SOng of Hope

Tomorrow we as a faith community celebrate the 85th annniversary of the United Church of Canada.  Although this piece was written for Hannukkah I think it speaks to our future as a denomination.  I plan to use it for special music (and it is hard to go wrong with Peter, Paul, and Mary)...

A Strange Faith

In many ways Christianity is a faith with some very strange aspects.


Our central symbol is a tool of execution (not a plus sign as the prosperity gospel folks seem to think).  Our central faith observance includes the story of a man who was condemned to an excruciating, tortuous (sp???) death for suggesting that God had another plan for the world.

And then there is the end of the story....


Tomorrow morning I will stand in front of a congregation and proclaim some of the strangest things.  I will tell them that life is stronger than death.  That peace is stronger than violence.  That ideals are stronger than pragmatism.  That love is stronger than fear.  That justice is stronger than greed.  Despite all the evidence to the contrary all those things are true -- in the end.


It is a statement of belief that defies the evidence.  Just as it defies the imagination to talk about and empty tomb and a Risen Christ.  But we are a resurrection people.  We are a people of hope.  The cross is not the final word.  God still has a plan for how the world can be and that plan can not be stopped.  Surely it can be delayed.  People can and do work against it.  But it can not be stopped.  In the end, in God's time, you simply can't stop the kingdom.

Thanks be to God!  Hallelujah!

Celebrate! Good Times! Come On!

That is the title of my reflection for Thursday.  ANd of course the first thing Beloved thought of (and it was in my head as I wrote it in the bulletin to be honest) was this song (which one of Beloved's friends thought I shoud sing a la Glee during the service--trust me that will NOT happen):



But for the longest time that was about the only thing that was coming to mind.  Then last week I realized that what I really needed to do was change the first 2 exclamation points to question marks.  Punctuation makes a big difference after all.  But think about it Celebrate? Good Times? Come ON! makes a very different statement doesn't it.

But really isn't that the message of the world around us?  In this place 2 of our major employers have been defunct for 2 years now.  Globally we are still struggling out of what is considered by many the deepest recession since the 1930's.  LAst week's conclusion to the Copenhagen summit was very unsatisfactory to many.  Afghanistan and Iraq still build up a body count.  There is much around that puts the question mark in place of the exclamation point.   THese are good times?  WE have something to celebrate?  Srsly?

YEs. Srsly.  THat is the point of Christmas Joy.  It doesn't mean happiness (I would note that nowhere in the faith story are we promised happiness).  Christmas Joy comes from noticing that GOd is being born in the midst of this horribly troubled world.  Christmas JOy comes from the promise and hope that God is still breaking into the world.  So yeah, Celebrate!  Good TImes!  Come ON!  THe angels once again are singing a song of good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people.

ANd even better, now I have a way in.  A dialogue between a preacher trying to wrestle with the title in a troubled world and GOd who has called the title forth.  Assuming the dialogue gets written Beloved will record the GOd parts and then I'll have the dialogue using the recording and the computer on Thursday night (God as a disembodied voice).  OR maybe we'll record the whole thing and just play it as a radio show.  Naw, probably recorded and the pause button....

Column for the Christmas Paper

What's It All About Anyway???

The Grinch had it all figured out, or so he thought. Christmas was all about presents and toys and food and noise. But he was wrong.

Scrooge had it all figured out too. Christmas was a poor excuse to pick a man's pocket every year. It was a waste of time and money. But he was wrong.

Some in the church have it all figured out. Christmas is about insisting that the story is all important and factual and fighting against Santa or “Happy Holidays” or anything that draws attention from the baby born to a virgin and lying in a manger. Turns out they may be wrong too.

And so I come back to the question Charlie Brown asks; “Can anyone tell be what Christmas is all about?”. Is it the gifts? The holiday? Family? The story?

In the end Christmas is sort of about all those things and yet more than that. It is about the giving of tokens of love and affection to each other. It is about taking time away from being “productive” to spend with those who are important in our lives. It is about a story, a mixture of myth and legend and faith, told in words and songs and pictures of a special baby. But, for me, none of these quite answer Charlie Brown's question.

What is my answer? What does Christmas mean for me? Christmas is about birth. Christmas is about God breaking into our lives. That is the story we tell. That is the reason for our praise. We aren't celebrating the birth of a child over 2000 years ago. We celebrate the fact that here, now, as 2009 turns into 2010 something new is being born.

The great promise and hope of Christmas is that in the midst of our crises and troubles we hear of God breaking into our world and our lives. We are reminded that there is a light that no shadow can overcome. We listen for the song that brings “good news for all people”. The birth we celebrate may come in a way and place we don't expect, but our story reminds us that God rarely does the expected. Still there is light, there is hope, there is joy.

What is being born this Christmas? Where do we hear angel song? What hope is being awoken?

THis Looks Neat!

Want a new Advent experience?

How abotu an online Advent Calendar?

Check it out here

I am thinking we will do it in this house

Lest We Forget

A Germinating COncept----or Weed?

Being in a small congregation means that most of teh Christmas pageants that one finds are essentially useless.  Many of them are written with the "find speaking parts for the most kids" mindset,  but when your regular Sunday School is 5 children in Grades 3 and under with a couple of youth you may be able to get to help that mindset just doesn't fit.

ANd so each year I toy with writing something.  But thus far I have always been fortunate enough to find something that will work.  ANd that is good since often I don't start thinking about it until NOvember.  But this year I have started thinking early and am tempted to try to write a whole service/pageant for White Gift Sunday.

So far I have an idea to have 4 speakers:

1. A narrator/liturgist
2. Scripture Reader
3. An older woman remembering fondly what Christmas in the church used to be
4. A young man/woman who is struggling (possibly homeless???) economically and wondering what CHristmas will bring this year.

The service would intersperse carols and spoken bits and prayers as we talk about the Christmas story and lead into the sharing of gifts for the Food Bank or Christmas Cheer.  NOt sure what to do about the "traditional pageant" piece.  THe kids we have could be granchildren or children of the speaking parts or some sort of pageant tableau could be worked in.  Do we have to have a stable scene for it to be "proper"?

My tentative Advent theme as a whole is looking at what is being born.  Writing our homegrown pageant could allow it to fit that theme????

From All of Us to All of You

Merry Christmas!
Joy to the World! The Lord is Come!

Sermon Opener and NOtes For Dec 21, 2008

Songs of Justice

I think I should let you all know that you have just done something that has been banned. Oh not here in Atikokan. But it has been banned by somebody at one time or another. Of course that in and of itself is not unusual. In our lives we all do a variety of things that have been banned by someone somewhere. This may mean dancing, or drinking alcoholic beverages, or eating ham, or celebrating Christmas. But what is notable is what this banned activity is and why it was banned.

We have just read a banned piece of poetry. Again not unusual. Many pieces of writing have been banned over the years. We have just read something that was banned because it was seen as breeding sedition. And that was? The piece of Scripture commonly called the Song of Mary or the Magnificat.

Yes. You heard correctly. A piece of the Christmas story was declared seditious and banned from being read aloud. It was in Guatemala in the 1980's (and I believe the government in question was an ally of the United States). And do you want to know the really surprising thing? They were right! Mary's song is in fact seditious, or at least revolutionary. The words in it call for a total upturning of the world, a “new world order” to borrow a phrase. Like most of Scripture Mary's song is an indictment of the world as it is and a promise of the world as it could be. It is a song of God's justice.

• Look at what the words actually say. What do they call for? Where is the “peace, order and good government”, the “peaceably and in good order”?
• Scripture as counter to the domination and imperial systems of the world – from Moses on.
• God's passion is justice. Justice that sees the world totally differently than the powers and principalities.
• Martin Luther King Jr. The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends inexorably toward justice.
• Medical Mission Sisters On a dark day deep in the present, grinding the loneliness and plight of the poor. Only the clean of heart dare to remember, the poor were his Gospel and their hope is sure.
• Liberation theology Preferential option for the poor
• Bruce Harding In every age through time unfolding your constant love abounded; for through your great subversive power the proud they are confounded...The mighty ones they lose their privilege, you sanctify the lowly. You cry that all need food abundant for every child is holy.
• Jesus as revolutionary, Jesus' passion is God's passion, Jesus' passion for King-dom of God
• Luke reads back his experience of Jesus, Luke the gospel of social justice.
• Christmas as start of the revolution. Christmas as sign of God's justice breaking into the world.
• Christmas revolution calls for more than charity. Revolution calls for real change, calls for challenges to structures, calls for real actions not just to feed the hungry but to ask why they are hungry.
• Dom Helder Camara When I fed the hungry, they called me a saint. When I asked why people are hungry, they called me a communist.
• Play My Soul Sings by the Hardings
• Read from my 2002 column:

On Christmas day we celebrate the birth of the child that sparked Mary 's song. As an adult this child would proclaim his ministry with words that echoed his mother's cry for justice (Luke 4:18-19). If we follow the path he followed, then we need to join in the struggle to fill the hungry with good things, to lift up the lowly, and to free those who are oppressed. On Christmas we mark the beginning of the revolution that will bring on the age of peace, the age where lion lies down with lamb and all have that which they need to live.

Christian faith is not mainly about individuals feeling good about themselves. It is not mainly about life beyond this one. Christian faith is mainly about how we live together in this life, it is about community. The path laid out by the Christ child is one of justice in this world. At Christmas we are flooded with requests for charity. But to truly celebrate Christmas we need to do more than write the cheques and donate the food.

The true Christmas gift is to make changes in society so that people don't need our donations to make it through the cold winter. What will our gift be this year?

This year, as we prepare once again to sing about angels and shepherds, I urge us once more to hear Mary's song of revolution. This year let us join in the revolution of faith - a faith that calls for a world renewed, a people restored, and a hope fulfilled.

• Where will the Christmas revolution take root in our lives?

Christmas MEssages

(cross posted from Riverview Rolls On)

We in the United Church of Canada are blessed with a wonderfully wise moderator, the Right Reverend David Giuliano. Here are some seasonal messages from him:

David has written a prayer for peace in Bethlehem. Read some background about this here

Or you could read the Observer piece Our Place in the Pageant

ANd then there is David's video message from the United Church YouTube channel Watch it below: