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Contents:
December 18, 2005
Pending
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Earth teach me stillness / as the grasses are stilled with light.
Earth teach me suffering / as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility / as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring / as the mother who secures her young.
Earth teach me courage / as the tree which stands all alone.
Earth teach me limitation / as the ant which crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom / as the eagle which soars in the sky.
Earth teach me resignation / as the leaves which die in the fall.
Earth teach me regeneration / as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself / as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness / as dry fields weep with rain.
Ute Prayer
Those mourning in Zion would possess new symbols of their status replacing
the old symbols:
flower garlands rather than ashes, oil to soothe the skin rather than mourning,
mantles to wear rather than a fainting spirit.
The consequences for those blessed would be a new status;
They would be a new planting for a new day.
In turn, the new status would bring a new task -- the rebuilding of the cities
and the restoration of the ruins to remove the results of years of devastation.
John Hayes
If I were alone in a desert / and feeling afraid,
I would want a child with me.
For then my fear would disappear / and I would be made strong.
This is what life in itself can do
because it is so noble, so full of pleasure / and so powerful.
Meister Eckhart
There is flame / at the center, / gold center / of each bud.
Sometimes we see it, / when blooms are spent.
Kathleen Norris, from “Giveaway”
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As long as we think /
about John / like that
—
preaching
in his own country / two thousand years ago –
his preaching / remains
distant / and very far away.
Let us try / to get that
wilderness / and also John’s word
nearer home, / so that
it can cut us / to the bone.
Let us speak / about
the wilderness / in which we live.
And let us think / not
only of sin / but of the world
we are accustomed / to.
– Joseph
Donders, “Get Ready”
Repentance is
not passive waiting but active expectancy characterized by the alignment
of one’s whole being with what God is doing in the world . . . . “Repent,”
John insists, for repentance is the sine qua non for expectant watchfulness
and for being received into the imminent reign of Yahweh. Thus repentant
obedience is absolutely indispensable for the hopeful expectancy of Advent.
– Richard Dickinson
Che Jesus,
/
They told me that you came back to be born every Christmas. / Man, you’re
crazy! / . . . with this stubborn gesture of coming back every Christmas
/ you are trying to tell us something:
That the revolution
that all proclaim begins first of all in each one’s heart, / That it doesn’t
mean only changing structures but changing selfishness for love, / That
we have to stop being wolves and return to being brothers and sisters, That
we . . . begin to work seriously for / individual conversion and social
change / that will give to all the possibility of having bread, / education,
freedom, and dignity.
That you have a message
that’s called the Gospel, / And a Church, and that’s us -- / A Church that
wants to be servant of all, / A Church that knows that because God became
human one Christmas / there is no other way to love God but to love all
people. / If that’s the way it is, Jesus, come to my house this Christmas,
/ Come to my country, / Come to the world of men and women. / And first
of all, come to my heart.
Anonymous,
Cordoba, Argentina, at Christmas, 1970
The least we can do
is to make his coming / not more difficult
. . . than the earth
makes it / for the spring when it wants to come.
Rainer Maria Rilke
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On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.
On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the end of the lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.
And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed,
And those who expected signs of archangels’ trumpets
Do not believe it is happening now,
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.
Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world.
There will be no other end of the world.
Creslaw Milosz,
“A Song on the End of the World,” 1914
The regularity of Christmas makes genuine expectancy difficult, at least
for adults. Perhaps facing the unexpectedness of the ultimate divine invasion
can lift believers above institutionalized expectations to a more vital watchfulness.
Mark 13 speaks to those who expect too much and to those who expect too little.
It is especially pertinent for those who for those who have forgotten to expect
anything at all.
Lamar Williamson, Jr.
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“Poem for November,” Arnold Kenseth
Now the air holds its gray stiffly,
Making a structure of cold over the fields;
And, birdless, the grass bristles in frost,
So that we know, in the chinked marrow
That surrounds the soul, how winter comes.
Geese went off over the pageant trees
Taking their sails toward some warmer south.
And, for a time, we gathered like high priests
Among the bonfires, autumn reds, and smoke,
Until the days grew dark at four o’clock.
Now, at the edges, the soul feels the wither.
Our watery eyes peer after snow;
While cities, chilly in old newspapers, blow
Dust towards the ends of the earth,
As the white sun shivers against its dream.
■ ■ ■
Imagine a sermon that begins: “Blessed are you poor. Blessed
are those of you who are hungry. Blessed are those of you who are
unemployed. Blessed are those who are going through marital separation.
Blessed are those whoa re terminally ill.”
The congregation does a double take. What is this? In
the kingdom of the world, if you are unemployed, people treat you as if
you have some kind of social disease. In the world’s kingdom, terminally
ill people become an embarrassment to our health-c are system, people to
be put away, out of sight. How can they be blessed?
The preacher responds, “I’m sorry. I should have been more clear.
I am not talking about the way of the world’s kingdom. I am talking
about God’s kingdom.
“In God’s kingdom, the poor are royalty, the sick are blessed.
I was trying to get you to see something other than that to which you have
become accustomed.”
. . . We can only act within a world we can see. Vision is the
necessary prerequisite for ethics.”
(Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon)
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November 13, 2005
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And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed
are the dead who from now on die in God.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,
and their deeds shall follow them.”
(Revelation 14:13)
When great souls die, / the air around us becomes
light, rare, sterile. / We breathe, briefly.
Our eyes, briefly, / see with / a hurtful clarity.
Our memory, suddenly sharpened, / examines,
gnaws on kind words / unsaid, promised walks never taken
. . . .
And when great souls die, / after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always / irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of / soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never / to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. / We can be. Be and be
Better. For they existed.
(Maya Angelou, from “Ailey, Baldwin,
Floyd, Killens and Mayfield”)
BE MERRY, REALLY MERRY!
THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE A PERPETUAL JUBILEE,
A PRELUDE TO THE FESTIVALS OF ETERNITY!
(Theophane Venard)
The saints are standing row on row / engulfed in light and peace,
/ stand face to face with God their King / whose love will never cease.
// King David sings with harp and lyre / he’s cantor of the town, / and
Mary sings Magnificat / before her lowborn son. // Now Simeon begins his
song / with tambourine and drum / while Miriam and Hannah sing / ta-rum,
ta-rum, ta-rum. // And Luther sings just like a swan, / while John Sebastian
Bach, / the great, great Bach directs the choir . . . // There’s Louis
Armstrong with his horn / and Israel with its psalms. / The pious take their
usual place / and gravely wave their palms. // From every nation they have
come / to sing in this great choir, / their music raise up to God / whose
face is like a fire.
(Author unknown, translated from Dutch by
Gracia Grindal)
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There’s a dark cloud arising from the desert floor
I packed my bags & I’m heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost & brokenhearted /
I believe in a promised land
The dogs on Main Street howl / ‘cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man
And I believe in a promised land
(Bruce Springsteen)
I am delighted to see each of you here tonight in spite of a storm warning.
You reveal that you are determined to go on anyhow. Something is happening
in Memphis, something is happening in our world . . . The masses of people are
rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in
Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta,
Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee – the cry is always the
same -- “We want to be free” . . . We are determined to be people. We
are saying that we are God’s children. And that we don’t have to live
like we are forced to live . . . We need all of you. And you know what’s
beautiful to me, is to see all these ministers of the Gospel. It’s a marvelous
picture. Who is it that is supposed to articulate the longings and aspirations
of the people more than the preacher? . . . It’s alright to talk about “long
white robes over yonder,” in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people
want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It’s alright
to talk about “streets flowing with milk and honey,” but God has commanded us
to be concerned about the slums down here . . . Let us rise up tonight with
a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination.
And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America
what it ought to be . . . I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised
land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight,
that we, as a people will get to the promised land . . .
(Martin Luther King Jr., 3 April 1968)
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. . . Tonight I will sleep beneath
your feet, O Lord of the mountains and valleys, ruler of the trees and vines.
I will rest in your love, with you protecting me as a father protects his
children, with you watching over me like a mother watches over her children.
Then tomorrow the sun will rise and I will not know where I am; but I know
that you will guide my footsteps.
(A Sioux Prayer)
When we are made aware that all around us changes, and that those we cherish
must pass away, the human spirit yearns for the constant and the lasting.
Then more than ever we need to find a relation to something reliable and
enduring as a refuge from all that is not. (James
Luther Mays)
The ache for home lives in all
of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.
It impels mighty ambitions and dangerous capers. We amass great fortunes
at the cost of our souls, or risk our lives in drug dens from London’s Soho,
to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. We shout in Baptist churches, wear
yarmulkes and wigs and argue even the tiniest point in the Torah, or worship
the sun and refuse to kill cows for the starving. Hoping that by doing
these things, home will find us acceptable or failing that, that we will
forget our awful yearning for it.
(Maya Angelou)
“Pax,” D. H. Lawrence
All that matters is to be at one with the living God
to be a creature in the house of the God of Life.
Like a cat asleep on a chair / at peace, in peace
and at one with the master of the house, with the mistress,
at home, at home in the house of the living,
sleeping on the hearth, and yawning before the fire.
Sleeping in the hearth of the living world
yawning at home before the fire of life
feeling the presence of the living God
like a great reassurance / a deep calm in the heart
a presence / as of the master sitting at the board
in his own and greater being, / in the house of life.
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Those who are great in the kingdom don’t seek greatness.
They are good at being unnoticed; they are generous and gracious and quiet about
such actions. Those who are great suffer the way of the cross, take up
their cross, or help shoulder another’s burden. They show greatness by
forgiving, understanding, being merciful, faithful, enduring and meek, nonviolent
and attentive to the needs of those worse off. They defer to others in all things
that are not definitive in the world. They let God love them, choose them,
care for them, embrace them, and call them into the divine presence. They
respond gratefully, thankfully to others because of what God has done for them.
Megan McKenna:
Not Counting Women and Children
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You that do truly and earnestly repent
of your sins to Almighty God, and be in love and charity with your neighbors,
and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking
from henceforth in God’s holy ways; Draw near, and take this sacrament to
your comfort; make your humble confession to Almighty God, and to God’s
holy church here gathered in God’s name, meekly kneeling upon your knees.
(“Invitation to
Communion,” Book of Common Prayer, 1549)
God’s invitation is most gracious; all are invited, both bad and good.
But just because all are invited does not mean there are no standards, no
expectations of the guests. A wedding garment (kingdom talk for new
life, righteous conduct) is expected.
(Fred Craddock)
You have turned my wailing into dancing;
You have cut off my sackcloth and clothed
me with joy.
(Psalm 30:12)
Put on this robe, for in baptism you have been clothed in the righteousness
of Christ, who calls you to his great feast.
(Rite of Baptism)
Now we join in celebration,
at our Savior’s invitation,
dressed no more in spirit somber,
clothed instead in joy and wonder;
for the Lord of all existence,
putting off divine transcendence,
stoops again in love to meet us,
with his very life to feed us.
(Joel Lundeen)
Our good Lord is our clothing that, for love, wraps us up and winds
us about, embracing us, all beclosing us and hanging about us, for tender
love.
(Julian of Norwich)
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Isn’t that what religion is all about? I think so – to tell you how to behave.
God made a covenant with our people, that’s what we learned the other day
in Hebrew School. Moses was given the Ten Commandments, and that’s the biggest
time in our history, when that happened. Just because we can’t get all A’s,
make a perfect record, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.
(Tony, age 11)
Let me say it as radically and provocatively as possible. We cannot be
Christians without first being Jews, or more accurately, without knowing
the method of the Jew.
We cannot understand the meaning of forgiveness unless we first throw ourselves
into a radical concern about the nature of right moral action.
We cannot be delivered from the curse of the law unless first of all we
know, contemplate, and strive to keep the law.
We cannot comprehend acceptance and grace unless we have first felt the
intensity of the Jewish experience of God’s command to fulfill the law.
(Don Browning)
The purpose of the laws of the Torah is to promote compassion, loving-kindness
and peace in the world.
(Moses Maimonides)
This chalice and paten . . . are the pottery of tears because they symbolize
the sorrows of a people exiled by Executive Order 9066. When we use them
in the act of communion, the objects become holy by bearing the blood and
body of Jesus Christ, while at the same time they make sacred the story
of our people . . . .
In using the pottery of tears, we bring to God’s table memories of our community’s
suffering in an unjust land, our struggle for dignity, and our fight for
justice.
Remembering our past is an act of healing, an act of gratitude for the strength
of those who have gone before, and an act of resolve that such injustice
can never be allowed again . . . .
In recalling our history we see signs of God’s presence even in the midst
of incarceration . . . . Our story is testimony of God’s promise never to
leave us.
(Courtney Goto, Excerpts from “Pottery of Tears: A
Theological Interpretation,” dedicating new communion set made from soil
of three Japanese internment camps – Sacramento Japanese United Methodist
Church, 24 April 2005)
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