Beginnings....

Mark 1:4-11

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."

Beginnings--whatever they are--are important.  They tell us who we are, and they often tell us where we are going in this life. Think of a time in your life when something important happened…when you encountered a new beginning; the birth of a child, buying your first car, moving into your first home, meeting your first grandchild. We know that there is something sacred and holy about beginnings.

The Bible has a story about the beginning and some of us know it by heart. We heard it read as part of the readings appointed for today:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God* swept over the face of the waters.

I love that scene, that image! I love to think of God getting up close and personal, going into the midst of the formless void, the darkness. God looking into the storm tossed waters, the chaotic waters and making sense out of chaos. If we pay attention, if we listen carefully we hear of a God who is personally connected to the creation, not a God that is removed, and far off, but a God who is intimately close at every beginning. In this story of beginning we hear God parting with a part of the divine self in order to bring forth something new, something beautiful and good. This story of beginning speaks a truth to us that is beyond the simplicity of this story.

I often hear friends of mine who are not into Church complain that they can’t believe in a literal creation of the world because it is not scientific, it doesn’t make sense to them; it doesn’t fit with our understanding of evolution and geophysics. Well it’s not supposed to. The Bible is not a scientific text book or a geophysics compendium; it was never meant to be. This story and the bible, are meant to convey a deep truth that is beyond the “facts”.

The thing is the people who wrote these ancient books we have put together in one volume and called The Bible didn't think they were writing textbooks and they certainly weren’t concerned with the facts. They were writing about the experience of the holy in their life and what that experience was like in the life of a whole people; how that experience changed who and how they were. They were trying to make sense out of their common experience of encountering God as a people.

What they wrote down wasn’t a detailed account of God but rather how they came to experience God. Like us they tried to make sense of their world in the only way they knew how; in poetry, ancient stories, angry letters, legal documents, prose. Even a couple of old love songs wound up there. These stories, encounters, these writings were an attempt to capture a truth about God.

Even in the book of Beginnings –Genesis -we see the people of God struggling to make sense of the creation, to make sense of their beginning. Genesis may be the first book in the bible but it is the youngest Old Testament writing. The people of Israel believed themselves to be created at the Red Sea, in the escape from Egypt. Genesis was written while the people of Israel were in captivity and needed to be reminded that God was with them, that God created them that God was an intimate part of who they were from the beginning. This beginning story was a story to reassure the people that when their lives and the world around them was in chaos –it was not meant to be the facts of the creation because no one was looking over God’s shoulder taking notes.

I think we need this story of beginning because it is the most important kind of beginning, a story that shows us God staring down chaos and making beauty.  Because when the world feels like chaos, when we find ourselves trapped in the formless void, in the deep waters of loss or grief or despair, when God seems to us to be nowhere...in that time when we are desperate for a new beginning, we have this story.  We have a Creating God who reshapes the chaos into order, even into beauty.

You see beginnings are important.  They tell us who we are and they tell us where we are going.

One of the mistakes that most Christians and our culture often make when we read the Bible is that we think that the Bible only has one beginning.  In fact, the bible is a book that has dozens of beginnings, maybe hundreds, and many of them echo this same theme.  God creates order out of chaos. 

That is where John the Baptizer comes in. John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness shouting, demanding that people rise up to take responsibility for their lives and for the state of the world.  John didn't show up in a world where everything was going just fine.  It was a world scarred and disfigured by the oppression of the many by the few, by state-sponsored violence, by greed, by the exploitation by the powerful of the powerless.  John showed up there, standing in the waters of the Jordan calling the people to see the chaos around them and to make a change. 

And then Jesus wades into the water next to John. And just as before, in Jesus there was light in the darkness.  God proclaims “You are my son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased”. As it was in the beginning, here God was in the world, creating order from chaos.  This time it was by proclaiming good news to the poor and release to every captive. 

God was in the world to speak peace to the world's strongest army, to feed the hungry as others hoarded their excess, to restore dignity to all in a world that afforded dignity to some and stripped it from others, to forgive us our sins and free us for love.

When John and Jesus arrived, the earth had again been covered in darkness.  But when God's Spirit moved on the face of the waters, God was making order from chaos through Jesus.

There's not one beginning in the Bible; there are so many.  But they contain echoes of the same theme:  when the earth was a formless void, God ordered the chaos and made a good creation. When injustice reigned in human life, God gave us Jesus to reorder lives from the inside out.  When the earth was dark and its Savior had been laid in a tomb, on the third day he rose again from the dead to show once and for all time that there is no disorder that the love of God cannot remake, there is no chaos that God's love cannot turn into something beautiful.

The same is true for us –there is no chaos in our lives, in our world that God is not able, through Jesus, to make new. We are always and everywhere given a chance at a new beginning. Beginnings are important because they tell us who we are, where we are going and remind us of whose we are.  God is calling your chaos into a new beginning. Thanks be to God. Amen. 

The Rev. Deon K. Johnson

Preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Brighton MI January 8, 2012

Jesus born at K-Mart

Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

I have to admit that I love Christmas. Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Not because of all the gifts and cards and chocolate cookies that get baked this time of year. I love Christmas because at this time of year everyone seems to be just a little bit nicer, a little bit smile-ier, a little bit more hopeful. We get into the Christmas Spirit this time of year…

I was reading about the Layaway Angels online the other day. In case you haven’t heard about this there are a number of people who have been going around to department stores, particularly K-Marts, and paying off the lay away balance on people’s accounts in time for Christmas. I don’t me just paying off a dollar or two here I mean paying in-full the entire account.

From the Daily Mail Online:

A Californian man is the latest layaway angel to embrace the spirit of Christmas charity by paying off $16,000 still owed to one shop for presents.

David Wilson, a car dealer from Laguna Beach, contacted the K-Mart in Costa Mesa…he asked the manager to tally up the balances on all the accounts with balances of $100 or less, then wrote a check for $15,919.61 to pay off the whole lot. The manager of the Costa Mesa K-Mart, Tricia Lawrence, then spent the whole weekend calling customers to let them know that they could come in and collect their presents.

‘The funniest thing is that I haven’t been called a liar so often in my life,’ she said…
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2077521/Christmas-layaway-angel-David-Wilson-pays-16k-accounts-K-Mart-store.html#ixzz1hTMXbxHh

We don’t often expect miracles, or random acts of kindness but at Christmas we don the spirit of possibility. This weekend people all over the world will hear the Christmas story once again, a story in which angels brought “good news of great joy” to a young woman, her betrothed, her cousin’s husband, and some shepherds. They will listen once more to the song of the angels and the greetings of the Wise Men.

The story of that night became far more than a story. For over 2000 years many have been inspired to live and walk in the light of that story and its subject, Jesus: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” [From John 1]

What Jesus’s birth reminds us is that God’s messengers are everywhere, in everyone who lives the message of the Jesus story, in anyone who finds a way to make light shine in the darkness.

Christmas reminds us why God came to us as a child weak and helpless. Because as we go through our regular everyday lives we don’t look for random acts of kindness, we don’t expect miracles but God reminds us that the best miracles, the greatest joy, the lights that shine brightest in the darkness are the ones unexpected. There is so much for us to be cynical and sad about in our world right about now; the economy, our job security, the environment, political gridlock, famine, war, heartache, broken relationships, loss…the list goes on and on. But at Christmas in the Child of Bethlehem we recognize God’s greatest miracle.

A few weeks ago one of our kids here asked me “Why did God come as a baby?” And I have to admit that I was at a loss for words for a little while. I could explain the incarnation and all that goes with it theologically but how do you make all that make sense for a 4 year old? So I said “God comes as a baby because everyone loves babies.”

And therein lies and eternal truth: God came as a baby because we love babies and needed a bundled miracle.

How many of you have held a new born baby? Whether it’s your child, grandchild, Godchild or a stranger’s baby you know the feeling you get when you hold a new born baby in your arms for the first time. They are so tiny, so frail, so fragile. But in that little squirming tangle of feet and fingers is a world of possibility, a long road ahead that is turned towards hope and love. You can’t help but smile when you hold a new born baby. You’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. I remember holding my oldest niece for the first time. She was born premature and she was tiny. I was almost afraid to hold her in case I did something to hurt her. But once that little bundle found the nook of my arm it was over; your heart races, your breath quickens and smile breaks across your face because in that little tiny child is all the possibility in the world. I have seen the biggest, burliest of men reduced to tears the moment you put a baby in their hands.

As weak and helpless as they maybe, babies how the power of miracle; the power of possibility. That is why God came to us as a child, that is why we needed a savior that shared our life and our world because in a child we see possibility, we see hope, we see love made real. The coming of Christ into the world announces the wonderful news that God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.

There is indeed something special about this season and how it inspires people to do good, to help others, to care for the poor, the weak and the sick. It is the season when we acknowledge that God draws near to the earth to be with and for all of us. It is the season when perhaps we understand most clearly that we are the new messengers, living God’s story in home and school, in work and world. Even at the layaway counter in K-Mart.

In that child of Bethlehem we are told in no uncertain terms that miracles happen! That God loves us deeply and dearly! That Christmas is not just a moment in time a few millennia ago but every day we draw breath. Christmas doesn’t end tomorrow. Christmas doesn’t end with Epiphany, or Lent, or Easter; Christmas is God’s continuing gift of God’s presence with us, and Christmas is our challenge to prepare room in our hearts, and in our lives.

And do you know why? Because as much as we hear about taking Christ out of Christmas what’s important is that Christ can’t take YOU out of Christmas… you are the reason there IS a Christmas- you’re the reason that Jesus was sent here the first place- because of God’s great love for you…because of God’s love for US! “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son!” For God so loved each one of us… because God loved, Jesus came to earth- bringing with him the foundations of everything he knows- love, joy, hope… and possibility.

And truly I tell you- that God loves you so very much- that tonight, and tomorrow and every single day that you are willing, (and even when you’re not willing…) when you’re singing carols, or heading back to work, or just watching the game you will be reminded that in you God sees infinite possibility and tremendous hope.

So as we pack up our ornaments for another year, fill the garage with boxes labeled “Christmas,” think about how your life in January and February can continue the work of Christmas. As you pull the tinsel off the tree and put away the Frosty the Snowman videos, imagine who is lost, who is hungry, who needs peace in March and April. When the shepherds are back with their flock in the box, remember their surprise and joy, and find someplace to offer the song of the angels to someone who needs it in June. As Santa Claus makes his way back to the North Pole, think of how you can carry the giving of Christmas to those in need of Christmas miracles in July and August. Christ is the Christmas baby for all seasons in you.

As Howard Thurman puts it this way in his poem “The Work of Christmas”:

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

So just remember…if we can find the love of God’s birth at the layaway counter in K-Mart how much more can it be found in you? Merry Christmas! Amen.

Our Lady meets Lady Gaga

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

How many of you have ever heard of Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta? I suspect that most of you probably never even heard the name. What if I told you that she could teach us a thing or two about Mary? Here is something written by Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta:

Click to find out...

That’s right, Stefani Germanotta is none other than Lady Gaga (Here begins your requested Lady Gaga Sermon).

 Those of you who may not know who Lady Gaga is, she is the Queen of Pop. She is the most searched, most googled, and most twittered person alive. If you’re wondering what Twitter is, it has nothing to do with birds. Lady Gaga is shocking, outrageous and unpredictable….she showed up at an awards ceremony wearing a meat suit…with real meat. 

But as strange and outlandish as Lady Gaga might be she reminds us that like Mary, underneath the makeup and glitter and "outrageousness" is an ordinary person called by God to be part of something extraordinary.

Whether we like it or not we serve a shocking, outrageous and unpredictable God that goes well beyond meat suits and over the top incandescent high heels.

You see the thing about Our Lady and Lady Gaga is that God doesn’t often call the powerful and the exceptional God calls the ordinary. Mary was not chosen to be the mother of Jesus because she was special. She was chosen because she was the spitting image of ordinary; A young girl of marriageable age, living an ordinary life in an ordinary town in an ordinary country with nothing to special or exceptional about her. There were probably hundreds of other girls who could easily have taken Mary’s place.

But yet each year around this time we ponder the question; Who is Mary? Depending on your background there are a million different ways to answer that question. Mary is either to be held up as being almost divine or simply the mother of the greatest man that ever lived.  To our culture Mary is by and large a distant figure, silent, immobile, gazing at the manger; plastic. She is there untouchable. We don’t often see her as a real person; we see the image of her that we have created.

When I was growing up we had a little plastic nativity set that was carefully stored away during the year and lovingly unwrapped around Christmas. The figures were nothing special; they were made out of cheap hard plastic with paint. But to me those figures were priceless. I loved the ritual of taking those little figures out and placing them somewhere near our little plastic tree (no Douglas Firs in Barbados). But of all the figures I like Mary the best. The plastic look on her face that conveyed such love and hope and devotion for her little plastic cast son in a manger was endearing and engaging all at the same time.

I have no idea what happened to those plastic figures but they tell a story of how to connect with the Divine. That little blue and white figure of Mary, as plastic as she was made her a real person to me; She was much more than the Mary I knew from the prayers (Some of you can probably recite with me without much thought “Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.)My little plastic Mary took her from the realm of being the big, awesome Mother of God and made her human for me.  She was more than the Mary of prayers.

This ordinariness is what makes the Mary’s story so extraordinary. How could someone so common give birth to a child that would change the world? How could a child that would reflect the Divine be born into such ordinary circumstances, grow up under such plain-jane parents, and do such ordinary work (carpentry)? The answer, I believe is simply this: God’s Reign, God’s presence, God’s very self does not come through extraordinary people. God’s vision stands or falls on ordinary people embracing it and living it out in their daily lives.

What was significant about both Mary and her son Jesus was the Reign of God that came into the world through them. This is why Mary’s song never once mentions Jesus. It praises God for the justice and grace, the love and peace that God is bringing into the world through her (See Luke 1:46-55). None of this is intended to deny the unique nature and mission of Jesus. It is simply a challenge for us to recognize that if Jesus’ incarnation was an extraordinary thing, that was done to us, it would have little impact on our lives now.

If Jesus came as some sort of superhero swooping in to save us, then he would have had no need to call anyone to follow him. The Gospels are nothing if not a call to ordinary people to embrace the vision of God that was present in Jesus’ life and to live it out as Jesus did in lives of compassion, grace, love and sacrifice. Scripture is filed with ordinary people going about their lives and together reflecting all the awe, and beauty and hope and joy and peace and grace of an awesome and awe-inspiring God. From Adam right down to YOU God is in the business of calling ordinary people to the work of extraordinary love.

What this means is that Mary was not a unique human being who was uniquely chosen, and who we must simply watch and celebrate. No, Mary is all of us – ordinary, loved and called. We are all visited by God. We are all overshadowed by God’s Spirit. We are all parents of God’s Reign. Which means that it is time to stop waiting for the fantastically and extraordinary to save us. Mary reminds us that it is time for us all to accept the “calledness” of our ordinariness, and begin to give birth to God’s Reign in our own small way. It is time for us all to choose, daily, to bring Christ and the Reign of God that Christ revealed, into our world.

Mary was not extraordinary. Stefani Germanotta is not extraordinary. We are not extraordinary. Beneath the myth of Mary, the makeup of Lady Gaga and the masks we create for ourselves lay the truly ordinary people that God has called by name. It is not the extraordinary people that God needs. The history of God is filled with ordinary people who recognized what God was doing and joined the movement. 

Seeking to be relevant or to matter?

This week's meditation comes in the form of a reblog...yes that is allowed. IN thinking about all that goes on in our world and what happens in our faith the question of the future of the church always comes up. One of the blogs that I follow had the following post around what young peole across all denominations want out of faith. Take a read.

"The young adults I talk to are not looking for easy answers, vague spiritualities, dumbed-down theology, slipshod worship, therapeutic relativism, private faith, or a mono-cultural God. They are desperately searching for a Church that offers an encounter with the Holy that transforms, convicts, inspires, and draws them in.

They are searching for a Church that demands their best. Whether it is in mission, worship, theology, or daily life, they want a Church that is relevant not because it tries to tell them only what they want to hear but because it offers them a vision of the Holy and its transforming power. A Church that reaches for and preaches relevance is a Church that makes itself irrelevant. The quest for relevance is the mark of quiescent extinction.

This does not mean we quietly make our way off to the Grey Havens exiled in our own sense of righteous irrelevance as a new age dawns. It means that questing for relevance, as if it is a goal worth achieving in and of itself, is a sad and tired pursuit. It is not relevance that defines a people, that marks transformational leadership, but passion and purpose. It is passion for God that shines through and marks a Church as Holy, as set aside for God’s use, and as deeply and overwhelmingly relevant.

There is a profound difference between a Church that is “relevant” and a Church that matters. We are relevant only insofar as we offer a way for our believers to have their lives formed to the pattern of Christ’s own life. We are relevant only insofar as we offer cruciform living and it is only in offering that transformation that we matter.

Young people are not looking for the easy path in life. They don’t mind a challenge – it is too often us who fear the challenge. They are not looking for the path of least resistance.

Look at the number of young people Occupying across the country or those joining Teach for America, the Peace Corps, the Episcopal Service Corps, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Americorp, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, and the countless other service programs out there that call young people to live sacrificial lives in the service of others. These young people are not trying to find an easy path – they are trying to find a path that makes a difference both to themselves and to others.

The Church must honor that deep desire by offering more – by offering them all that we have ever had to offer – the life-changing encounter with Christ. "

The Rev. Robert Hedrickson

Interesting to say the least. What has your experience of church been? Has it been an attempt to be relevant or to matter in the lives of those who would follow Jesus?

Stressing out on Stress...

"Stop the world…I want to get off." The familiar quote from Anthony Newly comes to mind way too often these days. There are so many things going on in the world that is it is hard to figure out sometimes which way is up.

With economic news changing daily, default concerns in Greece and Italy, earthquakes in Turkey and Japan, poverty rates going up in the United States, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…the list goes on and on. Add to the many things swirling around in the world out there our own personal  crises. It seems sometimes that stopping the world would be a good thing to do.

So what to do when everything seems to be spinning out of control around you? Well for me, when things get stressful and seemingly out of control, creating "sacred space" becomes extremely important. Often in the gospels Jesus "retreats to a quiet place" to escape the demands of his day to day ministry. We are not so much different. If the Son of God needed time away we doubly need time to ourselves.

So a few suggestions on finding or creating your "sacred space".

1. Find a spiritual practice. One of the things that I have done and continue to do is end the day with washing the dishes. I know that that doesn't sound exactly spiritual but trust me it is. Having that quiet time at the end of the day to let my mind go blank and wash the stress of the day way is simply spiritual. It is a time that I can focus on letting go and opening my mind to God's presence. My point is that whether it's washing the dishes or finding a quiet place to meditate, create space in your day to simply be; to commune with your soul and with God.

2. Create something with an end. I have found that doing some activity or project that allows me to see its completion takes me away for a time from stress.  It forces me to focus on one thing and see it to the end. Think of Paul writing all those letters to the baby churches throughout Christendom. Paul knew that the possibility of persecution was around every corner and that he would never see the fruits from the seeds of faith he had planted. How different are we from Paul in our need to see something to its end?

3. Find out what helps you de-stress. When I find myself stressed my house miraculously becomes spotless. Cleaning seems to be a great way for me to let things flow. But find something that allows you to release to God those things over which you have no control.

4. Pray. Need I say more? 

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7 

A Case for waiting for Christmas...

Since late September retail shops and department stores have been fahlalalalahing towards Christmas. The Christmas trees, the lights, the ornaments seemed to appear much earlier than usual this year. Even the city I live in, Brighton MI, has already put up their holiday décor along the highways and byways of the city. So ready or not here comes Christmas!

But I would make a case why we as people of faith should wait; why we should put the brakes on the mad dash towards Christmas. Yes I know this is not exactly the most popular of ideas, and I know it’s not going to catch on too soon, but I am an avid believer in keeping Advent the season of light, hope but more of all anticipation.

So here is my case for waiting for Christmas…

1. Anticipation is a good thing. Do you remember what it was like to be a child waiting for a birthday or family visit of Christmas? Your heart pounding, you palms sweating, bouncing off the walls waiting for the right moment. There was something exciting in being a child waiting to see what would come. For Christmas to have any real meaning in our lives we need a good dose of that excitement. The birth of Jesus for us should be a looked-for thing not a mad dash of shopping and busy-making. In Jesus’ birth we see the anticipation of Mary, the angels, the shepherds. We are called to join them in the longing and waiting.

2. In an era of instant everything being able to wait is a blessing. We live in an instant society; instant messaging, texting, fast food, and coffee just to name a few. We loathe having to wait on anything, we want it and we want it now! But the birth of any child involves waiting (ask any mom if you doubt me). No matter how anticipated, needed or wanted the Christ Child was Mary still had to be patient throughout the nine months leading up to his birth. Can we in our modern instant culture learn a lesson from first century peasant girl about the value of waiting…if only for a few weeks?

3. We lose something in jumping to quickly into Christmas. Scarcely had the candy been put away from Halloween before “Forsty the snow man” took up residence in department stores this year (actually his eyes of coal and carrot nose were showing up well before Halloween but who am I to judge). I think we lose something in jumping to quickly to Christmas because we tarnish the luster of the season if we run to it too soon. The lights aren’t as sparkly and the tinsel not as tinselly if we put them up in early September. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Christmas music and the spirit that the season brings but if we point too much and too quickly to that season by the time Christmas rolls around most of us will be Bahumbuging rather than Merry Christmas-ing.

So in the end this year I plan on holding off on Christmas, at least for a little while. I plan on keeping Advent, spending time with Mary and Joseph and the unborn Jesus. I plan on anticipating and waiting and enjoying the journey because I know that in the end Christ will be born once again into our world and I don’t want to be so burnt out on Christmas that I miss him. 

Why I support the "occupy" movement...

The Rev. Deon K. Johnson

One of my friends from New York called me earlier in the week pretty upset. He lives in New York City and had a chance to go to the "Occupy Wall Street" protest area and was shocked that Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, had opened its doors to the protesters. He could not imagine why a church would welcome those who were protesting and still be "followers of Christ."

"No right Christian would support something like that." I won't repeat what I said in response but it got me thinking about why the Episcopal Church, and me as a priest for that matter, would support the Wall Street protesters.

So here are three reasons why I support the "Occupy" movement…

1. It is what Jesus would have done! Actually it is what Jesus did! Throughout his ministry Jesus continued to put before the authorities of his time the poor, the widows and the marginalized. "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh." Luke 6:20-21

Those who were forgotten by his society were the ones Jesus lifted up as examples of those going into the kingdom of God. From the woman at the well to the man born blind Jesus primary care was for those whom society conveniently forgot or dismissed.

Those who are occupying the different cities throughout the world seek to remind us that there are many marginalized folks that are an inconvenience to our comfortable lives; the poor, those for whom opportunity has been taken away.

2. It is about equity and seeing our lives as being shared. One of the worst concepts that has crept into our society and vocabulary is "self made" or "I did it by myself." There is no such thing as "self made", it takes a community for any of us to achieve success and one of the things that Jesus tried very hard to remind the Scribes and Pharisees (and us for that matter) was that they did not create themselves.  It takes a village to get us where we are and the occupy folks are forcing us to see ourselves not in a vacuum but as an extended web of connection.  In God's view none of us are any better than the other we are equal receivers of divine love. Maybe we need to start living like it.

3. It's about Economic Justice. During a time of cutting back and downsizing, when people have lost their jobs and homes and livelihood it seems odd that a select few would benefit disproportionately while others are losing their shirts (literally).

One of the things that has annoyed me to no end, right here in Michigan, is our State Legislature's  plan to balance the state budget on the livelihood of the poor. Michigan currently pays $5.00 a day in cash assistance to those living below the poverty line. As a way of reducing the state's deficit there is a proposal not only to reduce that amount but to limit the length of the poor's eligibility for such aid, while something as simple as raising the beer tax by $0.05 would practically balance the state budget. [Correction...the Legislature has already passed the reduction of cash assistance measure AND made it retroactive. Almost 25,000.00 children will be kicked off the rolls of assistance in order to balance the state budget. I wonder how long it will take our conservative/fundamentalist sisters and brothers to get to Lansing to start lobbying for the rights of the widows and orphans that no longer receive assistance.]

As Christians we are to be champions on the side of the poor. The occupy folks remind us that we are to be the ones fighting for their cause because in the poor we encounter none other than Jesus himself. "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me."

We are called to witness in the tradition of Jesus to inequities in society and maybe for just that reason alone I support the "Occupy" movement.