Let us Be the Fulfillment

Today’s readings Jesus is still speaking on the mount.  He has just finished the Beatitudes and is continuing to address the crowd.  “You are the Salt of the Earth”.  Now we all know what salt is and, this has to be metaphoric for he asks what good is salt if it loses its flavor?  What Good is it?

Peter woods in the Abingdon Press preaching annual of 2014 relays a story:

I stood on the barren piece of land where a vibrant community of people had lived.  The area is called district six, once populated by a multi ethnic community that was quintessentially Cape Town: colorful, exotically indigenous, and as spicy as Malay cuisine.

That was before apartheid came, the infamous system designed d by Christian, White South Africans to keep the races apart and favor the minority. During the implementation of apartheid, District six was systematically bulldozed to the ground and all sixty thousands of its residents forcibly removed.  Each race was taken to its allocated Ghetto.

When I stood on that barren piece of land, it was 1999 and the Parliament of World’s Religions had come to South Africa to celebrate the diversity of faiths of the world in this country that had recently been healed of the scourge of apartheid. Nelson Mandela was president. The parliament held many of its sessions in the area of old district six.  One session in particular was held on a still barren tract of land awaiting restitution claims to be concluded.

Jewish delegates of the Parliament created a large patch of salt about three by three meters that we had to walk through to get to the open land.

Salt on the land renders it barren for many years.  In South Africa, the salt of segregation created Bareness; created by Christians who had lost their understanding of justice for all.  We still worshipped on Sundays, but separately. We stilled Prayed, but only for our own concerns.  We had become bland, heartless, and barren.”[1]

Jesus is admonishing the Elders, the Pharisees, and the scribes for they have lost their flavor, their fire the thirst for justice in the world.

Then he goes on and states that you are the light of the world.  There is no point to that light if you hide it away.  Do not hide your faith.  We are called to be visible to stand out in the world but if we hide ourselves, if we have become good quiet Christians, maintaining a status quo, it makes no sense.  “In the same way your light must shine before others so that they may see your Good acts and that they may give praise to Abba God in Heaven.”  One of my Favorite Hash Tags in Face book or on twitter when our queer community starts bashing Christianity they see in the world, as if all practices of Christianity are the same, I hash tag it with #nothatkindofchristian

A conservative movement has hijacked Christianity and what it is supposed to be in the world and the only way to revision and let people know what Christianity can be is by being that proud, nonjudgmental, welcoming Christian we claim to be.  We have to be God’s unconditional love in the world.  We have to allow people to know the true message of Christ that Love does and can win and there is no place for prejudice or hate in the Kindom of God, not as we understand it.

Jesus then says I have not come to abolish the laws but fulfill them.  What does that mean, I don’t know why but the first thing I thought of is what happens when your order is fulfilled?  You are sitting at the restaurant and you order a lovely piece of Pecan Pie.  What happens next? Someone brings the pie, right? Then what?  Well most likely, you eat the pie.  Does the server bring you another piece?  No because that order has been fulfilled.  Maybe that is too simple, or maybe not.

Got questions dot org explains it this way;

In Matthew’s record of what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, these words of Jesus are recorded: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).

It is frequently argued that if Jesus did not “abolish” the law, then it must still be binding. Accordingly, such components as the Sabbath-day requirement must be operative still, along with perhaps numerous other elements of the Mosaic Law. This assumption is grounded in a misunderstanding of the words and intent of this passage. Christ did not suggest here that the binding nature of the Law of Moses would remain forever in effect. Such a view would contradict everything we learn from the balance of the New Testament (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15).

Of special significance in this study is the word rendered “abolish.” It translates the Greek term kataluo, literally meaning, “To loosen down.” The word is found seventeen times in the New Testament. It is used, for example, of the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans (Matthew 26:61; 27:40; Acts 6:14), and of the dissolving of the human body at death (2 Corinthians 5:1). The term can carry the extended meaning of “to overthrow,” i.e., “to render vain, deprive of success.” In classical Greek, it was used in connection with institutions, laws, etc., to convey the idea of “to invalidate.”

It is especially important to note how the word is used in Matthew 5:17. In this context, “abolish” is set in opposition to “fulfill.” Christ came “...not to abolish, but to fulfill.” Jesus did not come to this earth for acting as an opponent of the law. His goal was not to prevent its fulfillment. Rather, He revered it, loved it, obeyed it, and brought it to fruition. He fulfilled the law’s prophetic utterances regarding Himself (Luke 24:44). Christ fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic Law, which called for perfect obedience under threat of a “curse” (see Galatians 3:10, 13). In this sense, the law’s divine design will ever have an abiding effect. It will always accomplish the purpose for which it was given.

If, however, the Law of Moses bears the same relationship to men today, in terms of its binding status, then it was not fulfilled, and Jesus failed at what He came to do. On the other hand, if the Lord did accomplish His goal, then the law was fulfilled, and it is not a binding legal institution today. Further, if the Law of Moses was not fulfilled by Christ—and thus remains as a binding legal system for today—then it is not just partially binding. Rather, it is a totally compelling system. Jesus plainly said that not one “jot or tittle” (representative of the smallest markings of the Hebrew script) would pass away until all was fulfilled. Consequently, nothing of the law was to fail until it had completely accomplished its purpose. Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus fulfilled all of the law. We cannot say that Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial system, but did not fulfill the other aspects of the law. Jesus either fulfilled all of the law, or none of it. What Jesus' death means for the sacrificial system, it also means for the other aspects of the law.[2]

Now let me say this about that…It does not mean some of the law is not good as a practice.  If you do not want to eat, shellfish as a spiritual practice that is up to you.  Also, remember that what we understand as quote “The Law” unquote is nothing like what neither the people of Jesus’ time nor the Jewish people today understand as the law.

For example should you be interested in the complete Talmud you can buy “Complete Full Size Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud English Volumes (73 Volume Set)” for about 2000 dollars. That includes every word of the text which is then; “vowelized and translated Each phrase is explained so that the reader understands the reasoning and flow Each question, answer, proof and rebuttal is introduced so that the reader will know where the Gemara is taking him Notes expand on the explanation of the Gemara's points, and explain unfamiliar ideas without interrupting the flow of the text Detailed diagrams Introductions to the entire tractate and to each topic.”[3]

So anyone want to do that let us know when your done and we look forward to a brief summary.

Jesus actually goes unto say that every letter and dot and squiggle of the law shall remain until it is fulfilled. 

What are these laws?  What laws is he referring too? Well the first he says, “Unless your sense of Justice surpasses that of the religious scholars and the Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“Jesus’ point in the Sermon on the Mount was that God sees the heart, and that we are actually held to a higher standard than external conformity to a set of rules. The Pharisees taught that, as long as you did the right things, you were “holy.” Jesus said not so, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

Jesus is teaching the necessity of having a heart to follow God. Putting on an act and going through the motions of serving God is dishonest. It is also futile, because God sees through the masks we wear (see Mark 7:6). A person who pretends to be holy on the outside yet nurtures a sinful heart is a hypocrite. The Pharisees, whom everyone thought were holy, were guilty of just such dissimulation. God does not want more activity that is religious; He wants a heart dedicated to Him. Holiness starts on the inside.”[4]

  This is why we gather as a community on Sundays, to energize our hearts.  To feed that which is our Holy connection to God and to energize ourselves for the week so that we may see and claim the blessings around us and seek to right the injustice that is so very plain to see in our world.

We, as Christians, are called to live out Christs call to justice and live out God’s call that is why as United Church of Christ our denomination is a Just Peace denomination.  Now this may seem like a tangent but it is one place where this denomination has excelled.

First let look at what Just war is. According to Wikipedia; “Just war theory (Latin: jus bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics studied by theologians, ethicists, policy makers, and military leaders. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just. The criteria are split into two groups: "right to go to war" (jus ad bellum) and "right conduct in war" (jus in bello). The first concerns the morality of going to war, and the second the moral conduct within war.[1] Recently there have been calls for the inclusion of a third category of Just War theory—jus post bellum—dealing with the morality of post-war settlement and reconstruction.”

Just War theory postulates that war, while terrible, is not always the worst option. Important responsibilities, undesirable outcomes, or preventable atrocities may justify war.[2] But in contrast to that the UCC is a Just Peace Denomination.

“A Just Peace is grounded in God's activity in creation. Creation shows the desire of God to sustain the world and not destroy. The creation anticipates what is to come: the history-long relationship between God and humanity and the coming vision of shalom.

Just Peace is grounded in covenant relationship. God creates and calls us into covenant, God's gift of friendship: "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore" (Ezekiel 37:26). When God's abiding presence is embraced, human well-being results, or Shalom, which can be translated Just Peace.

A Just Peace is grounded in the reconciling activity of Jesus Christ. Human sin is the rejection of the covenant of friendship with God and one another and the creation and perpetuation of structures of evil. Through God's own suffering love in the cross, the power of these structures has been broken and the possibility for relationship restored.

A Just Peace is grounded in the presence of the Holy Spirit. God sends the Holy Spirit to continue the struggle to overcome the powers ranged against human bonding. Thus, our hope for a Just Peace does not rest on human efforts alone, but on God's promise that we will "have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

A Just Peace is grounded in the community of reconciliation: the Just Peace Church. Jesus, who is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), performed signs of forgiveness and healing and made manifest that God's reign is for those who are in need. The church is a continuation of that servant manifestation. As a Just Peace Church, we embody a Christ fully engaged in human events. The church is thus a real countervailing power to those forces that divide, that perpetuate human enmity and injustice, and that destroy.

Just Peace is grounded in hope. Shalom is the vision that pulls all creation toward a time when weapons are swept off the earth and all creatures lie down together without fear; where all have their own fig tree and dwell secure from want. As Christians, we offer this conviction to the world: Peace is possible. “

I bring this to you today to consider as a congregation might we want to consider to become officially a Just Peace Church and to answer Christs Law to bring our sense of Justice to surpass those of the Pharisees and be a Just peace Congregation.

It’s not an easy decision and there is study to go along with that, but as we move into our identity as UCC we have already of course claimed the open and affirming, we are a accessible to all church and we are the first Creation Justice Church.

Jesus said; “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). I hope we are getting there.

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[1] Jenee Woodad, ed., The Abingdon Press Creative Preaching Annual 2014 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013), 42.

[2] gotquestions.org, What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did not abolish it?, accessed February 2, 2017, https://www.gotquestions.org/abolish-fulfill-law.html.

[3] amazon.com, Talmud Complete, Medium, accessed February 2, 2017, https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Schottenstein-Talmud-English-Volumes/dp/1578190673/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1486073540&sr=8-5&keywords=the+talmud+complete.

[4] gotquestions.org, What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did not abolish it?, Medium, accessed February 2, 2017, www.gotquestions.org/jesus and the Law.

Reflection MLK

                                                                                                                                            

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday

Good morning. We gather this morning to reflect on God and to remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of courage for our world today.

Let’s start by remembering our history.

Nearly one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Afri- can Americans, especially those in Southern states, still lived in an unequal world of segregation and various forms of oppression, including race-inspired violence. “Jim Crow” laws at the local and state levels barred African Americans from classrooms and bathrooms, from theaters and voting booths, from juries and legislatures.

Finally, in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the “separate but equal” laws that had allowed racial discrimination in schools with the decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education.

In the turbulent years that followed that important decision, civil rights activists used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to bring about change, as seen in movies such as Selma, released in 2014. Through their action, the federal government finally enacted legislation such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Many leaders from within the African American community and beyond rose to prominence during the civil rights era, including Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. In Kansas City many leaders such as Rev. Nelson “Fuzzy” Thompson, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver II, and others risked—and sometimes lost—their lives in the name of freedom and equity. Today, we have a national holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because he gave his life for the freedom and equity of all humanity in America.

Let us take a moment, have a bit of fun, and quiz your civil rights history.

1.             The 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott a protest against segregated public facilities in Alabama, was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and lasted for how many days? 381 days

2.             Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. realized that the nonviolent tactics used by this Indian political and religious leader was one of the most potent weapons available to African Americans in their struggle for freedom. Who was this Indian political and religious leader? Mahatma Gandhi

3.             With the goal of redeeming “the soul of America” through nonviolent resistance, this organization was established in 1957, to coordinate the action of local protest groups throughout the South drawing on the power and independence of black churches to support its activities. What was this organization? Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)

4.             During what event did Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous “I Have a Dream” speech?

(A)  the Selma campaign

(B)   the Birmingham campaign

(C)   the March on Washington—Correct

(D)   the Montgomery bus boycott

5.             What was a common motto of civil rights activists in the 1950s and 1960s?

(A)  “We Shall Overcome”—Correct

(B)   “Liberty and Justice for All”

(C)   “One Nation Under God”

(D)   “Live and Let Live”

Did anyone get all five correct? Good job!

Today we often take our freedoms for granted yet in light of our recent history we may be much more aware of underlying prejudices and fears that have been festering in the dark around us.[1]

I was born and raised in Detroit.  I have a vague memory of being in my basement with my parents watching TV as the riots went on:

 "The 1967 Detroit riot, also known as the 12th Street riot, was a violent public disorder that turned into a civil disturbance in Detroit, Michigan. It began in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, 1967. The precipitating event was a police raid of an unlicensed, after-hours bar then known as a blind pig, just north of the corner of 12th Street (today Rosa Parks Boulevard) and Clairmount Avenue on the city's Near West Side. Police confrontations with patrons and observers on the street evolved into one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in the history of the United States, lasting five days and surpassing the violence and property destruction of Detroit's 1943 race riot.

To help end the disturbance, Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan Army National Guard into Detroit, and President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The result was 43 dead, 1,189 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed. The scale of the riot was surpassed in the United States only by the 1863 New York City draft riots during the U.S. Civil War,[1] and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The riot was prominently featured in the news media, with live television coverage, extensive newspaper reporting, and extensive stories in Time and Life magazines. The staff of the Detroit Free Press won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for general local reporting for its coverage.”[2]

        It was immediately after the riots that my parents decided to move to Livonia Michigan.  Though I cannot find proof of it, I believe that African American people were not legally allowed in Livonia. To this day, it is rates as one of the whitest cities in the United States.  Not much to be proud of.

     I do not recall my parents being blatantly racist then again they had no reason to display it.    They lived in the whitest city around. I did not see any people of color growing up except on TV until I entered high school.

In high school I became active in Focus Hope. “In 1968, Father William Cunningham (1930–1997) and Eleanor Josaitis (1931-2011) co-founded Focus: HOPE.  Together, they adopted the following mission:

Recognizing the dignity and beauty of every person, we pledge intelligent and practical action to overcome racism, poverty and injustice and to build a metropolitan community where all people may live in freedom, harmony, trust and affection. Black and white, yellow, brown and red from Detroit and its suburbs of every economic status, national origin and religious persuasion we join in this covenant.  —“[3]

This pledge is still mine today…There are many emotions surrounding this week, I believe things that were allowed to fester in the dark are now brought into the light. 

We can live to love those in pain, we can stand with those on the margins, and we can fight so that all may live equally in the love of God.  The all-loving God….all loving that means the language of us versus them needs to stop!

This means we can fight for what we believe in without vilifying another part of the America that is us, without vilifying another part of the world that is us for we…each and every one of us are beautiful children created in the image of God.  Moreover, I believe Dr. King’s vision can still come to be true.

Dr King did say; “In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” this is just as true today as it was then.  Yes, we can have fun with the late night comedians and the randy rainbows of the world but we must be cautious.

Do not, I mean we must not allow hatred, anger, and demeaning language to become our mantra.  We must not allow our dialogue to degenerate into hatred and name-calling.  If you are frustrated Honor Dr. Kings legacy by writing letters.  Attending local government meetings.  Work in the system.  Love your neighbor.  Your neighbor, by the way, is the one you do not understand and do not like what they are doing in government or what laws they are passing.

I want to say Happy Birthday Dr. King your legacy shall live on in me and I hope in each one of us.

 

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[1] lia McIntosh, The Abingdon Press Preaching Annual (tn: abdingdon press, 2016).

[2] wikipedia, 1967 Detroit Riot, December 18, 2016, accessed January 12, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_Detroit_riot.

[3] focus hop inc, Focus: HOPE's Mission Inspires Everything We Do!, 2017, accessed January 12, 2017, http://www.focushope.edu/page.aspx?content_id=1&content_type=level1.

Anticipation 4th Sunday of Advent Matthew 1:18-25

DECEMBER 22. 201 6

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:18-25

A Pastor is in the sanctuary after Christmas services are all over.  He is just relaxing and tidying up a bit when he notices the baby Jesus is missing from the crèche.  He rushes outside just in time to see a boy with a bright red wagon walking down the sidewalk with Jesus in the bed.  The pastor approaches the boy and Comments: “Nice day for it.  Who is your passenger?””  Why it’s the baby Jesus” the boy replies rather matter of fact like.  The pastor   why would you take him?” the pastor asked and the boy explained…”I prayed to baby Jesus for a red wagon and I promised if he got me the red wagon for Christmas I would take him for a ride around the block!”

Advent teaches us to wait. Of course, during Advent, we wait for Christmas, and such waiting is a countercultural discipline in its own right. Especially now when everything seems to be so instantaneous. On a deeper level, Advent forms us to wait for the appearing of the Lord, and perhaps you have noticed that God doesn't always follow our calendar. That was Joseph's experience, and I suspect it’s yours as well. According to our church and family calendars, today we stand at the doorstep of Christmas. Only a few days remain, ready or not. In today’s Gospel, we also stand alongside Joseph, waiting to hear what God is about to do in and through Jesus the Messiah.

You may say, "I've heard it many times before," and perhaps you’re lulled by these familiar words: "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place” (v.18). So then, cue the shepherds, the magi, and the angel: with the Christmas pageant. Careful readers will see that there is only one angel and no shepherds in Matthew's narrative, but we'll leave that for another day. I'm not so worried about shepherds, but had I written Mathews Gospel, I might've said, "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this strange and surprising way. Mary is pregnant. She and Joseph are not yet married, and this righteous man has a major dilemma. Then God spoke to Joseph, 'Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (NRSV). It's strange stuff. Religious people have blamed all manner of things on the Spirit.

 Then the narrator informs us that this development was the fulfillment of prophecy, and so he quotes Isaiah 7:14, amending it ever so slightly "Look! A virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, /…Emmanuel" (v. 23) . Here we see the beginning of a pattern that Matthew follows throughout this Gospel. He describes events in the Life of Jesus, and then he connects them with texts from the Old Testament: “This fulfills what had been spoken through the prophet." What’s going on here? Its Mathew’s way of claiming that God’s work in and through Jesus stands in continuity with what God had done before. Our Biblical, covenantal faith is based on that continuity. We believe that the God who spoke through Moses on Mount Sinai spoke through Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and the same God, speaks to us when we hear the scriptures today. We believe that the God who freed the slaves from bondage in Egypt still frees captives today. Al1 of our prayers rise from this dynamic.

So then, "Don't be afraid," right? But remember, this is God we’re talking about.

"Don't be afraid" doesn't mean that God's call won’t shake us to the very foundations, perhaps delighting us, perhaps rocking our world and changing everything. God spoke Joseph heard God, and he would never understand righteousness in the same way again; and just wait until Jesus begins speaking. Yes, God is doing what God has been doing. “Don’t be afraid, but watch out!”

I cannot go into this fourth Sunday of advent without thinking of those who are struggling and those that are suffering loss.  I think of my father who I lost just two years ago, or my mother who is still putting her best face forward though it is hard.  I think of our recent loss of Joe Armetta.  I am thinking of Gregor and His husband Robert who are struggling so bravely at this time. On the flip side of that I am also thinking of my friends Kelly and Dan who have just celebrated their daughter Emma’s first Birthday or Jennifer and Patrick owners of the Coffee shop here, and friend s of the congregation, who are expecting a son any day now.

So we have suffering- mixed with joy: birth, new, life and death. That’s Life! That’s the way of faith. That’s advent and Christmas. I wish I could say that believers somehow get to skip such difficulty, but we don’t and you know it' Along with Joseph, we are called to serve Christ, in the midst of complicated situations, and we don't know where it all leads.

 I will grant you some suffering is expected.  We know there will be loss.  We understand that no one lives forever.  But then we have unexpected fires, drought, famine and war.  Children continue to go hungry and people have lost jobs and houses. Some people have healthcare and some don’t.  People are suffering and grieved just as some of us here are suffering and grieve today, even in this shadow of Christmas.

Yet God appears, and God will appear even today.  Ray Tilton, a friend of mine shared this story on face book and I have to share it now.

  I was on my way to the city on Saturday morning. It was cold and rainy at the transit mall waiting on my bus. There was a homeless guy, sitting on the cold, wet metal bench playing his guitar. First he played some Fleetwood Mac which hearkens back to a simpler time in my life.

The music, as he strummed rang out clean and clear as if somehow the rain made the tones sweeter. Suddenly the rain became a torrential downpour and it got colder. He began playing Fly like an Eagle and I found myself remembering a more tumultuous time in my life.

Just as suddenly as it started the rain subsided and left it a bit warmer and he started playing Hotel California. This dirty homeless man with a care worn face and raggedy clothes will never know he played the music of my life’s memories.

My bus pulled up, I quickly and embarrassingly pushed my last $20 in his hand and boarded, not looking back and thankful that the rain hid the tears.

I would say God appeared.  God appeared in that moment through the action and face of the homeless man.  God appears every day if we just take the time to look. Yet knowing this does not make trouble or grief go away.   Listen to the Poet Debbie Thomas

WHY I STAY: A PRAYER!

Because A was for Adam, B for Bethlehem, and C for Cross, and my first classroom was a pew.  Because I played hide-and-seek in the font when the preacher wasn't looking, answered every altar call with a sprint down the aisle, and snuck the leftover Communion juice from the glasses the church ladies washed on Mondays.  I was hoping -- I understand this now -- to steal a drop more of You.

Because decades later, I'm still felled by stain glass; by musty old Bibles in empty, patient sanctuaries; by altar cloths, choir robes, and candlewax.  Because my breathing slows in Your house, my muscles unclench, and I remember how to sing loud and clear.  Because You are my rootedness, my air, my water.  The dark and frozen ground in which I wait to crack open, die, and sprout. You are the closest I ever come to flourishing. 

Because I love stories, and I cherish the ones I first learned in Your book.  Because I am Eve and the apple makes sense to me. I'm Rachel and I won't surrender my sacred objects.  I'm Leah and I long to be loved.  I'm Hagar, and I will name You in the desert.  I'm Miriam and I am ever watchful.  I'm the bleeding woman and I need the hem of Your robe.  I'm Mary Magdalene, and I must bear witness by Your tomb.  I'm Junia, and my story aches to be told.

Because childhood ends, but childhood hungers do not.  Because my first house, first Father, first Mother, first love, first hate, first heartbreak, first safety, first terror, was You.

Because the Psalmist got it right: I was cast on you from birth. 

Because Peter got it even better: Lord, if I left, to whom would I go?

Because I like questions, and it turns out that You ask good ones.  Because I answer when You ask, and my answers never shock You:

 "Why are you so afraid?"  (Are You kidding me?)

"Do you still not understand?"  (Nope, not even a little bit.)

"What do you want me to do for you?" (Um, how much time do we have?)

"Do you want to get well?" (Occasionally.)

"Do you love me?"  (I think so.  Or, I want to.  Or, not yet.  Or… silence.)

"How long shall I put up with you?"  (A little longer, please.)

Because sorrow came too many times this year, and there had better be an Afterward to explain it.  I stood at gravesides and raged, my body betrayed me to panic, and my children knew fear and pain.  Bodies failed, minds cracked, and we didn't live happily ever after like the fairy tales promised.  Because all in all there are far too many unfinished stories, and I'd like to believe You're neater than that.  Because I yearn for So Much More than I have.  Because my yearning comes from somewhere, and that somewhere must be You.  Because "on earth as it is in heaven" is all I've got, and if it's not enough, then I am lost.  Because "Death, where is thy sting?" is a mockery, but "Jesus wept" is not.

Because joy comes too, and it doesn't look anything like I think it should. Because You hound me, and I can't get rid of You.  Because our pursuit of each other is exquisite in both directions -- pleasure and pain.  Because rarely -- too rarely, but I'll take what I can get -- the veil parts, the ground gives way, the skies open, and my hunger for You intensifies to the breaking point of Communion.  The hunger itself becomes You.  Incarnate.  Shining.  Present.  I know You then in the liturgy, in the Word, in the broken bread and spilled wine.  I press my palms against ancient redwood trees, and You are there.  You awe me in the mountains and at the shifting edges of the ocean.  I hear You in the stillness of the forest, in the cacophony of birdsong.  I feel You in the solid embrace of the people I love -- their hands Your hands, their eyes Your eyes, their voices soft echoes of Yours.

And in those moments the possibility of You grows and grows until I am unhoused and undone, almost too alive for this world.  Because You are my Everlasting Almost -- almost here, almost certain, almost always, almost irrefutable.  You are the tenuous edge I will live and die on.  Because the Almost of You -- heartbreaking as it is -- is sweeter than any guarantee I can find in this world.

Because You're not who I thought You were, so I must wait for revelation.  Because the mystery of Your strangeness is a lure that calls my name.  Because I thought I needed to contain You, but a tiny deity won't bend my knee.

Because the path is winding, and You are a God worthy of perilous journeys.  Because I need to wrestle, and You meet me at the river.  Because this is no ordinary hunger, and Your manna alone will suffice.  Because You know the loneliness of the desert, and I do, too.  Because I will drown unless You part this water.  Because the world is dark, but it shimmers at its edges. 

Because I'm wild inside, and You are not a tame lion.  Because You suffered, and only a suffering God can help.  Because You spoke of joy and I need to learn how to laugh. 

Because I am wired to seek You, and I will not let You go.  Because my ache for You is the heart of my aliveness.

Because I am still Your stubborn child, and I insist on resurrection.[1]

We are all Children of God in anticipation of the Christ child to come.  We are the child; the child who made a deal with Jesus and in his joy takes him for a ride in a red wagon, We are the Child, the inner child who heard his life in song by a homeless man on a train platform, We are the Child, the woman child who  prays and stays.

The beautiful Christmas Lullaby asks:

 “What Child is this

Who laid to rest

On Mary's lap is sleeping?

Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,

While shepherds watch are keeping?”

And I am not sure we know the answer to this yet, for we each arrive to the child from different experiences, different ways and different cultures but we are called to wait and seek and stand here in anticipation “look a virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son/ and they will call him Emanuel.

The Emmanuel of Advent-Christmas, the God who is with us, witnesses our social life from within the community, so that God is not far away but is actually among us as we become part of each other’s lives (and sometimes step on them), as we work together (and sometimes against each other), as we try to support each other (and yet abandon millions of people to the miseries of destitution).
There is no childish game of hide and seek with this God, who is present to witness our good deeds and our misdeeds.   “Let the Lord enter (Ps 24:7c).” We rejoice at the prospect of having God among us, and yet we should also reflect on the awesome responsibility of living in the presence of God.  “We who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:6) are called to imitate Mary, who, when faced with the reality of Emmanuel, “placed her life at the service of God”[2]

Believe it along with Joseph, even if it all doesn’t make sense right now.  Believe that God is with us, even today: with us in the breaking of the bread, with us in the sharing of fellowship, with us in words of encouragement, with us in the cancer ward and the maternity ward, with us in our hour of birth and the hour of death. Therefore, we wait, and wait and God is with us.[3] Amen

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[1] Debie Thomas, Why I Stay: A Prayer, December 11, 2016, accessed December 13, 2016, http://www.journeywithjesus.net/the-eighth-day/current-column?id=1210.

[2] Gerald Darring, God with us, accessed December 13, 2016, http://liturgy.slu.edu/4AdvA121816/reflections_justice.html.

[3] Rev, The Abingdon Preaching Annual (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013).