Advent Readings From Outside The Box: Part 2

December 8

Oddly enough, I did not choose this picture because it looks like the airborne little goat has aspirations to pull Santa’s sleigh.  That was an amusing after thought.  I chose this picture because lately I have diverged from my Christmas music a bit to indulge in the Glee version of “Defying Gravity.”  I love this song.  I really want to see the musical Wicked from whence this song came.  I digress.  In relation to Christmas, this song makes me think that in some sense the incarnation is about God “defying gravity” for our sakes.  Jesus is God made flesh.  In Jesus, God is doing a new thing outside the normal progression of nature.  Supernatural becomes natural.  God becomes human.  Not the way it usually works.  God “defying gravity” because God loves us that much.  How cool is that?!

December 9

Sticking with the “Defying Gravity” theme, then we have Mary’s song, Luke 1:46-55 , which calls attention to how God’s ways defy the gravity of the ways of the world.  God’s ways are about looking with favor on the lowly, scattering the proud, bringing down the powerful, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry and sending away the rich.  The gravitational pull of this world is that the rich are powerful and the hungry get hungrier.  God turns the ways of this world upside down and claims the poor as blessed.  God enters the world as a child claiming weakness and service as the way God is loose in the world.  God defies gravity working to bring forth the Kingdom of God and calls us to do the same.  Sing it with me now, “It’s time to try defying gravity....”

December 10

The Kingdom of God began breaking into the world in a new way through that baby in a manger.  This is what is exciting and meaningful to me about Christmas.  There are other things that I enjoy for sure.  But underneath it all is this resounding beat.  As we embarked upon the Christmas season, I wrote a prayer in A Prayer for the Christmas Season about this deep meaning that moves me so and prayed for Christmas to linger.  I am trying to maintain the spirit of that prayer throughout the season.  Then clanging onto the scene comes commercials, and buying, and arguing over the words we use to celebrate the season, etc.  I know I should not let this distract me but it is like trying to listen to a favorite song while someone in the next room whistles the Smurfs theme.  Not that there is anything wrong with Smurfs.  I love the Smurfs.  It’s just so distracting.  But that resounding beat is still there.  Listen.  Can you hear it?

December 11

It may not technically be winter yet but it’s cold.  And it’s dark.  And did I mention it’s cold and there isn’t much sunlight?  Don’t give me any lip about having complained mere months ago about the heat.  Having experienced months of 100 plus degree weather does not make my skin any more impervious to cold!  The animals’ water still freezes.  The wind still blows.  Interpret that last as you will.  Anyway, the point is this time of the year a celebration is sooo welcome.  I don’t know how it is in warmer climates. If you live there write me and tell about it.  But around here it’s cold and the hours of daylight are short.  So, while we need to be mindful of things like materialism, let’s occasionally give in to the festivities a bit.  Celebrate life and light in the midst of the darkness as you spend time with loved ones.  Crank up that Christmas music, dance off some of those Christmas candy calories, and just enjoy yourself for a bit.

December 12

I have had a revelation that will come as no surprise to many of my family members:  I should lighten up.  Sometimes I become so focused on trying to live my life in the way I should that I drive myself and my loved ones a little nutty.  This realization came to me as I researched toy companies to see from whom I could ethically buy toys for my children.  The options are limited and companies are strong in one area while being weak in another.  I was driving myself nuts trying to figure this all out.  Stressed Out Mommy is not a good present to give my children for Christmas.  So, I did the best I could and let it go on the rest.  Cut yourself some slack this Christmas.  I know this sounds like something you have heard many times before. But, my point is we are not all Martha Stewarts in pursuit of some allusive perfect Christmas and ways to make the house oh so pretty. Sometimes our busyness comes from trying to do good things like attending all our childrens' activities, working for charity, visiting folks who could use a good friend. But we need to remember that even Jesus took time off to pray and just be. Cut yourself some slack this Christmas. It will be a great present for your loved ones.  

December 13

Last week I wrote about people who are experiencing grief this time of the year.  As I reflected further on this topic I realized something: most of us are in a sense experiencing grief this time of year. Some are certainly experiencing grief more acutely and we need to hold those people in our hearts and prayers.  But, anyone who has experienced loss knows that grief lasts more than a year.  While we do become accustomed to our grief and the sharpness of it lessens, when holidays come around, even years later, the memories and the feelings stir our hearts.  I doubt that there are many who reach adulthood without knowing something about this.  My heart aches for those who learn about grief as children.   It seems too great a burden for little ones to bear and yet many of them do.  Let us pray for these young ones and let us not be afraid to share memories together of all those whom we are missing this Christmas.

December 14

My daughter asked me to sing her a short song at bedtime the other night.  So, I sang the first verse of “Away in a Manger”.  Then she said, “Isn’t there more to it than that?”  So, I sang another verse, the one that ends “I love thee Lord Jesus, look down from the sky, and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.”  These words reminded me that this little baby in a manger is the same one whom we ask to stay near us, to guide us, to be at work in us.  This is the same one who died for us, who stands in solidarity with us when we suffer, who saves us.  I remember when my eldest child was born looking at her and wondering at who this little child would be.  At Christmas we celebrate the Christ child knowing who he will be.  What a precious gift.

A Prayer for the Christmas Season

I’ve been champing at the bit to turn on Christmas music, though so far I have resisted in part because of guilt.  Since materialism and consumerism have come to be associated with the Christmas season, I feel guilty for even liking Christmas.  But....now that we have cleared Thanksgiving Day, I have a confession to make: I love Christmas and I don’t think I should have to feel guilty about it anymore!

I love the decorations and the music.  I love the opportunity to seek out personalized and meaningful gifts for those I care about.  I love Christmas and it saddens me that this season has come to symbolize materialism.  Yet it seems that in our struggle to protect Christmas we sometimes make things worse.  Remembering “the reason for the season” becomes just another way of throwing our religion at others as if it were a weapon.  In the process we neglect the deeper meanings of Christmas.  

This time of year we all need a little celebration.  I will not deny that to my atheist friends or those of different faiths.  This holiday need not be about us against them...yet again.  

None of this clamor and fighting speaks to those for whom Christmas is a difficult time due to grief, financial hardships, loneliness, and so on.  But there is a message in Christmas that does.  It is this message that calls to my soul not just with anticipation but with impatient anticipation.  Thus, my prayer for this holiday season:

I have heard it said that people of Christian faith should be more about Easter and less about Christmas.  Easter is a powerful hope but it deals with things beyond this life.  It is a sure and certain hope but one that eludes my imagination, confounds my concrete mind.  The crucifixion is something I can wrap my mind around.  We have only to open our eyes and our hearts to the realities of the world and we recognize the darkness of Good Friday.   When the season is upon us I will dwell with great gratitude at the foot of the cross.  

But, Lord God, I want to stay for a while in Christmas where hope is something I can cradle to my chest.  I want to dwell here where music sings the promise of love, reminding me of those Mary moments in my life when it seems truth and love are about to burst forth from within and change the world.  

Let me hearken to Mary’s song and hear it as a radical claim awakening me for the sake of revolution, to grab hold of the Kingdom of God already present amongst us.  

Let me look into the face of the clearest revelation of your love and let him transform me so that when the “Slaughter of the Innocents” comes again upon this world I will stand up and say, “NO MORE.”

Let me dwell here in the incarnation of your love and let it change me so that materialism and consumerism are a distant clamor that has no claim on me.

Lord God, let me dwell here in Christmas for a while.  I know I am impatient but you understand how this holiday touches us.  Some call it sentimentality but you cradled each of us as you breathed forth the breath of life.  You know the power of that tender love.  It is life changing, not mere sentiment.

 So, let me draw out this Christmas season for a time and savor the message of love herein.  Then let me live that love with generosity and courage.  This I ask in the name of your son who is your love in human flesh, Jesus the Christ.  Amen.

"Why Will YOU Occupy?"

I've been increasingly drawn to the Occupy Wall Street movement. In fact, Sheri and I even talked about heading to Wichita for a day to join the movement happening there, but so far we haven't got beyond talking.

There's a neat website that daily posts new pictures (I think Sheri posted the link in her blog post, The global 99%)) of people briefly describing their circumstances in a handwritten note on plain notebook paper. The intro blurb reads thus, "We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to chooose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent. Brought to you by the people who occupy wall street. Why will YOU occupy?"

Here are three representative notes from this site:

"I graduated from a top university and struggled to get a part-time job where I'm working less than 25 hours a week. I don't have enough money for rent, but somehow, I am one of the lucky ones. I am the 99%."

"I have a good job, a paid house, savings and a master's degree. However, I earn my wealth, I don't merely speculate on other people's activities. I don't gamble other people's money, lose and get tax payers to contract a debt to bail me out and assume my losses. I don't claim millions of dollars for myself by shorting the commodity market while others can't pay rent. I work and I actually produce value, creating a 'bigger pie' for us to share, instead of greedily focusing on getting a larger share of the current pie. I don't take millions of dollars in bonuses for sitting behind a desk with a title. I actually deserve the share of the collective wealth I am getting. That share is proportional to my personal contribution. That contribution is real and useful. I am the 99%."

"I am 39 and have a goob job. My husband goes to school and takes care of our 14 month old after losing his job in 2008. We have no savings and drive old cars and owe his parents over $25,000. We will not be able to buy a home until our parents die - what kind of American dream is that?! We are getting by = we are lucky. We are the 99%."

I read a bunch of these vignettes, and interestingly the scripture that started to echo in my mind, was Marys' song from Luke. "He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever (Luke 1:51-55)."

The Bible resonates with this occupy movement. The movement is working to keep its distance from both political parties, recognizing both are a large part of the current problem. It is working to be inclusive, welcoming people from all walks of life who see the injustice in our financial systems and want to voice their displeasure. It's message is simple, it is not right for 1% of the people in this country to claim this disproportionate amount of the wealth while so many of the remaining 99% struggle to pay for food and other basic needs. Who is going to disagree with this?!

There's a companion website for the wealthy 1% that everyday posts their own notes claiming sympathy and respect for the occupy movement. This site says simply, "We have more than we need, while the 99 percent struggles to survive. This has to change. We believe in an equitable distribution of wealth." Here are two representative notes from this site:

"Because the Bush Era tax cuts were extended, my family will pay no taxes on a $4 million inheritance. We have more than enough already - safe, high-value housing, excellent health care and plenty in the bank for retirement and school. We should be taxed. I am the 1%. I stand with the 99%."

"I made millions studying the math of mortgages and bonds and helping bankers pass the Chartered Financial Analyst Exam. It isn't fair that I have retired in comfort after a career working with financial instruments while people who worked as nurses, teachers, soldiers, etc. are worried about paying for their future, their healthcare, and their children's educations. They are the backbone of this country that allowed me to succeed. I am willing to pay more taxes so that everyone can look forward to a secure future like I do. I am the 1%. I stand with the 99% (Which equals 100% of America)."

These cries of both the 99% and the 1% echo throughout the pages of scripture. Last week's lectionary passages profile just two of the many, many examples we could pull on from both testaments. Micah 3:5-12 and Matthew 23:1-12 are anti-establishment. Micah covers the whole shebang of society - political, judiciary, religious, economic. Matthew zeroes in on the religious establishment. In both cases, the dominant religion has chosen to align itself with the powers that be rather than with the power of God.

In Matthew 23, Jesus indulges in a chapter-long tirade against the Pharisees. It goes on and on. Here are a few of the accusations: the Pharisees exalt themselves and usurp the rightful place of God; they make sacred their affection for gold; they obsess over the trivial details of law while neglecting the weightier issues of justice, mercy and faith; they are hypocrites (Jesus calls them hypocrites in this chapter no fewer than six times); and worse than all else - they put to death those prophets who dare speak truth to power.

Micah is even more graphically to the point. Verses 1-3 in chapter 3 basically say it all. Quoting now from Eugene Peterson's The Message Bible, "Listen, leaders of Jacob, leaders of Israel: Don't you know anything of justice? Haters of good, lovers of evil: Isn't justice in your job description? But you skin my people alive. You rip the meat off their bones. You break up the bones, chop the meat, and throw it in a pot for cannibal stew."

I found a round table discussion hosted by Religion Dispatches magazine. The contributors were theologians, religious authors and journalists. It was difficult to keep straight who said what, but here are a few of their observations about the occupy movement.

"The occupiers want to smash the golden calf of our nation: greed and the worship of Wall Street. But perhaps we're also guilty of making an idol out of religion. In the oft-quoted words of Jewish theologian, Abraham Joshuah Heschel, 'Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods.' Too often religion is limited to spiritual narcissism, the worship of a dead god for our self-pleasure. The living God transcends the coziness of our churches, mosques and synagogues, and transcends the prayers and ceremonies performed as ends in themselves rather than vehicles for transforming our world. It's time to quit worshipping our golden calves."

"The occupiers are creating an unusual social space where everyone is welcome on an equal footing and where everyone can become sanctified - can be made holy - during a time of great extremity and privation."

"These people long for an end to what is literally unbearable and what cannot go on indefinitely: the secession of the successful and the arrogance that goes with that, the betrayal of the poor and the contempt for workers, the violence of American empire, the ravaging of the planet, the rewarding of what amounts to criminal activity by many bankers and other one-percenters, and the subservience of the political class to the 1%."

One of these contributors offered a tantalizing thought. What would happen if the occupy movement crept its way into the western Christian Church?

I'll close with Micah 3:5-12, taken from The Message Bible. If you read closely, you'll see I've taken a few liberties with the text in order to make it....well.....a little more contemporary shall we say.

Here is God's Message to the prophets, the preachers who lie to my people:
'For as long as they're well paid and well fed, the prophets preach,
'Isn't life wonderful! Peace to all!';
But if you don't pay up and jump on their bandwagon,
their 'God bless you' turns into 'God damn you.'
Therefore, you're going blind. You'll see nothing. You'll live in deep shadows and know nothing.
The sun has set on the prophets. They've had their day; from now on it's night.
Visionaries will be confused, experts will be all mixed up.
They'll hide behind their reputations and make lame excuses to cover up their God-ignorance.'

But me--I'm filled with God's power, filled with God's Spirit of justice and strength,
ready to confront Washington's crime and D.C.'s sin.

The leaders of America and the leaders of corporate America are
leaders contemptuous of justice, who twist and distort right living,
Leaders who build America by killing people, who expand the U.S. by committing crimes.
Judges sell verdicts to the highest bidder,
priests mass-market their teaching, experts preach for high fees,
All the while posturing and pretending dependence on God."
'We've got God on our side. He'll protect us from disaster.'
Because of people like you, America will be turned back into farmland,
D.C. end up as a pile of rubble,
and instead of the capitol encircled by bright city lights,
a few scraggly scrub pines will mark the spot."

The Global 99%

by Sheri

I am a bit frustrated at the moment because I can't find any of the links I was going to use in this post. So, I will go ahead and write and maybe some of you can fill in the blanks.

Anyway, a few days ago Lynn posted a blog about church history.  Reading that blog, I found it striking how quickly the Christian church traveled from persecuted to persecutor.  It reminded me of something I read on facebook a while back (which, of course, I can't find now) stating that the USA is the 1 percent from a global perspective.  That is to say, globally we are the wealthy and powerful.  This in response to the call of "We are the 99%" that is coming from the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
I don't think this negates the message of the Occupy movement but I do think it is a healthy reminder.  If we manage to wrest our power out of the hands of wealth, if we can bring some economic justice to this country, it is important to remember the lessons learned here for the sake of the whole world.  Don't stop standing for economic justice when it stops serving your self-interest.

A helpful image for me, (which of course I can't find but it is somewhere on this page http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/archive ) was a person holding a sign that said he was actually in the 1% in wealth but was standing with the 99% anyway.  He said it much better than that but that is the gist.  I pray that this will be our foreign policy as we take back our voice in politics.  We are blessed in this country.  Let us stand with the 99% around the world and stand for economic justice for all people.  Let our foreign policy be: "We the 1% stand with the 99% for the sake of 100%."  That's math with a purpose.

Sticking It To "The Man": What You Can Do to Fight Corporate Greed

by Sheri

I know "the man" is an outdated term on several levels. But, it gives me such an amusing image of somebody sitting in midst of incense and... all the other stereotypical activities of the 70s.  Which brings me to another topic: this particular post keeps tempting me to talk about things that I don't want my daughters to read. I keep imagining them reading over my shoulder and asking awkward questions, (What's pot, Mommy? What does that word mean and why shouldn't we say it?)  So, I am doing a little self editing here. Some of you no doubt will immediately realize, for example, that when I say "baloney" below I am really thinking something else. But, you never know who is going to read this, so baloney it is.
Back to "the man". When I use this phrase I am talking of those who have the power in our society, which also equals those who have the money. There is clearly economic injustice in our world and I think many of us are getting a bit fed up with it. So, here are a few of my thoughts on what we can do about it.


1. Give to Charity:  Probably not where you were expecting me to go, but this is important. There is a message out there that says,"In order to stimulate the economy, consumers need to go out and spend, spend, spend!"  Instead, buy what you need, save for emergencies, and then give to charity.  Giving is guaranteed to stimulate the economy.  Since the recipients can't afford to tuck the currency away, they are certain to spend the money on goods and services.  Giving to charity increases consumer confidence  when fewer folks are living in destitution.  And it is a most excellent way to shrink the government: less need for social services if charities have all the resources they need.  Giving to charity increases compassion and decreases consumerism.  It is an all around win.

2.  Write Off Your Politicians: We are continuously encouraged to write our politicians.  I am not saying this is a bad idea although I do question the efficacy.  The responses I have received to my letters make it clear they were never read.  But go ahead and write your politicians.  However, we need to remember that our politicians have little control over a system that supports their very existence.  If they fight the system, they will be removed or rendered ineffective.  Furthermore, when we focus on politicians and politics we get side tracked by bipartisan bickering.  Whether the republicans are right or the democrats is not the point. We need to focus our attention on the roots of the problem.

3. Explore Alternative News Sources:  Whether you are a fan of Fox News or MSNBC, the very fact that you can be a fan of one over and against the other makes it clear that unbiased news does not reign in our world.  For the news to be reported in such different ways makes it clear that someone is being influenced.  To assume that your preferred news is the only unbiased news around is extremely naive.  Peruse the news from entirely different sources, such as from other countries, to give yourself a different perspective.

4. Polish Your Baloney Detector:  Divisive language, fear mongering, and name calling are pervasive in our world.  Reports on politics nearly always boil down to "Democrats say..." vs.  "Republicans say..."  It seems like many of the folks on the news have forgotten lessons they should have learned in Kindergarten: it is not nice to call people names. Seriously, it is insulting to me that all we have to do is call some protestors "hippies" and we can dismiss an entire movement ( I am referring to the Occupy Wall Street movement.  If you haven't heard about it, these are some people trying to stand up to "the man" for better or worse.) Or we can attach the name Obama to something and depending on your political leanings it is either automatically wonderful or automatically evil. I find it so condescending that it is assumed such tactics will work. I find it equally disheartening that they so often do. Let's really listen to each other and use our minds.  When we hear name calling, labeling, or focusing on partisan politics our baloney detectors should go off big time.

5.  Boycott Corporate Greed:  I was going to propose that we boycott any company whose CEO makes more than $3,000,000 a year.  I am all for rewarding intelligence, hard work, creativity and the like.  Still, I refuse to believe that anyone is 100 times more intelligent, hard working and creative than the average teacher. However, after a little research I discovered that some of us would have difficulty eating if we boycotted all those companies (In smaller towns this would often involve all the grocery stores and discount stores and since Farmer's Markets in such places aren't year round...no food.)  Even doubling that amount to $6,000,000 a year wouldn't help much.  It is completely obnoxious how much these people get paid.  We may not be able to boycott them all but we can buy locally when possible, buy fair trade when possible, avoid chain stores and chain restaurants, and be aware of the glaring economic injustice all around us.  At the very least, claims that executives deserve this type of wage should set off baloney detectors.

I have my own political bias for sure but over the years we have had any combination of Republican or Democrat President and Republican or Democrat dominated Senate and House.  While there have been some differences none of them have addressed the underlying problems.  And, all their combined efforts have gotten us where we are today.  We need to stop the focus on bipartisan politics and focus on where the money and the power are.  These are my few humble suggestions.  What are yours?  Let's stick it to "the man", man.

Your Superhero Identity

by Sheri

I have begun to wonder if part of my problem is that I am not quite domesticated.  On my walks in the morning I have opportunity to see many deer.  They are always on alert with their ears perked up to catch the slightest sound.  When they hear us coming their heads come up and their white-flag tails raise.  Soon they are bounding away from me and my oh so threatening basset hound.
Wild animals must be alert like this for the sake of their survival.  There seems to be a part of me that is always on alert too.  Part of my mind is always searching to find some new thing to worry about.  The safety of my family is always on my mind.  I love my children with every fiber of my being and the thought of something happening to them is enough to send my mind bounding away on another string of imagined terrors.  I long for my family to be completely and utterly safe.

I think this longing for security is the biggest drive behind many of the things we do.  Money and possessions give a sense of security.  After all money can buy food, a home in a safe neighborhood and better health care.  Still we find their are other dangers out there, so we work and worry to accumulate more money.  We live in a relatively safe country but all the "what ifs" are still out there.  Sometimes they even become a stark reality as they did ten years ago on September 11.  So, we accumulate more weapons, more military might thinking surely that will make us safe.

It won't.  As long as anyone in the world suffers then none of us are safe.  For example, if there is a person living on the streets due to mental illness then we are all just a few misfiring synapses away from homelessness.  As long as there are starving children in the world then we are all just a drought or  disaster away from watching our children ache with hunger too.  As long as there is violence in the world, whether we are the perpetrators or not, we are all in danger.

I have come to the realization that the best way to keep my children safe is to do what I can to move the world toward peace, justice, and mercy for all people.  As I contemplated writing a check for charity this week, I reminded myself of that.  As I contemplated writing this blog I reminded myself of that.  No amount of money will make my children safe.  Saying popular things will not keep my children safe.  Living generously just might make them a little safer.

We all want to be superheroes for our loved ones, swooping in and saving them from any danger.  But have you ever noticed how many explosions happen around superheroes?  This does not increase safety.  Real-life superheroes are people who work to make the world a better place through generosity, mercy, and working for justice and peace.   For most of us being this type of superhero won't mean charging off to Africa. Most of us will work for peace and justice in the little things we do every day: what we teach our children, what we buy, small acts of kindness.

You can be a superhero.  You can even pick out your own superhero name.  I call dibs on "Mighty Mom".  I think my cape will be an apron.  After all, home cooked meals strike a blow for the environment, healthy living, and financial stewardship.   Instead of X-ray vision, Mighty Mom has the power to see past messes to take time for her children.   She wears consumerism deflecting sweatpants and sustainably-produced food enhancing garden gloves and chore boots.  Next time I can't sleep because I am worrying about my children, I will ponder what the rest of my superhero persona might be.

What is your superhero persona? Give it some thought and please share.  (I think Mighty Mom also carries clothes pins so that she is equipped to handle housework emergencies in an environmentally friendly manner..."What's that? Someone has wet clothes that need drying? I am on my way!"... Thinking this stuff up is too fun! Join in the fun and please comment!)