I went on a bit of a rant yesterday - calm down, Al.
Monday
Sometime last week as I was writing about the God as love - a love that comes even with each breath of life - I wondered about those times when we are not able to breathe. I thought about the tomb - not the empty one. I thought about the tomb that was full with death - Jesus' dead body - dead and gone - no breath - no life. That is quite the hopeless situation. Things are done and gone by then. This is when things begin to stinketh. But we say that God as love does not let that be the way we will go. Rather, God as love will be present through that darkness -through the brutality of death - after all the blood, sweat, and tears have drained from us. God as love will sit there - waiting even as we do not know that God waits. It the dark days of our lives, when things get cold and there is no room for feelings and there is no 'little light of mine' able to be lit, our God as love is like a blanket stretched over us so that we will begin to come back to life. Life is the promise we carry with us through all the days of our lives and into the days that appear to be nothing more than a tomb in which we are alone and with no hope. And yet, there is God as love - waiting with us.
Tuesday
The celebration of the Birth of Jesus is never meant to be a seasonal blow-out. It is a daily realization that God comes and will always come - right into the middle of what is simple, ordinary, and oh so common. The most common adventure we all enter is one that has already taken place - birth. We are already on the way - the adventure of life. We have yet to experience the fullness of death - but it comes upon us daily in many shapes and forms. But for now, think of Mary and Joseph. Who knows all the details? But the story tells us of a birth within an ancient time under the oppressive rule of a great power. A time when people were only seen as numbers on a ledger in order to make sure that the wealth of the day made it up to those who were considered the worthy - the elite - the blessed - the deserving. Maybe times have not changed much. Then again, when we are only seen as objects - numbers, it is very easy to accept that definition of who we are - an object to be used for the benefit of those who have control of the numbers. God as love is not at all concerned with numbers. Even the announcement that will come to from the angels will be a message for all - no limit - no boundary - no preference. Even as death tries to rule us and direct us, think of Mary and Joseph walking. That long walk under the control of others is like the walk many of us take in order to fit into the system of control that only offers us death. And yet, from their journey comes joy - birth - life - possibility - new life - right within the games of the powers of death and control. Quite a statement of life.
Wednesday
Remember that we are a people who look down to the manger from the cross. We know the end even as we get caught up in the great expectation of the beginning. In fact, we would not be so involved in stories of Bethlehem and a manger if it were not for the life that it set in motion. A life in which God as love enters into the fullness of humanity. This is no 'outsider' story. This is no story of gods from another place and time. It is a story about how God shapes humanity as part of that love that will let no one go. That is a love that we love - a life that is full of love that does not turn it's back on anyone for any reason. That is Christmas. That is God for us. That is the redemption of humanity to the fullness of God's intention from the beginning. God as love is a reality and we are invited to - inspired to - be the living parts of that reality.
Thursday
I'm tired of the talk of Christmas that is consumed with 'cries' to put Christ back into Christmas. We have heard it for years. It appears to come from people who call themselves Christians. And yet, it is the voice of the dominant culture that likes to have the world as they want it. In other words, it is not the voice of real concern about the coming of the Christ of God. It is not the voice of those longing for the Messiah promised for ages. Instead, it is a faux Christ - a false Christ. Those voices demanding that Christ be put back into Christmas is the voice of those who want nothing to do with the Christ of God who promises to bring about the liberation of all God's people - all of them. I would suggest in this season of the Coming of the Lord, that those voices and bumper-stickers that want Christ back in Christmas do no know the Christ at all. They want their world view affirmed - they want a feeling - they want only the facade of the story that can be put on the lawn or displayed as ornaments. I do not think they want God as love at the center of this holiday season. My reason for saying this is that the God of love has never left - never been pushed out - never been excused from this season or any season. Even after the massacre of innocents last week, Christmas is still the story of God's love becoming full among us. This takes place even when there is no evidence of such an event taking place among us. Those who long to have Christ back in Christmas may do well to learn the way of the Christ of God and look again - all around us. They may see many signs of Christ alive as neighbors, friends, enemies, and the ones most folk don't want around them at 'Christmas.'
Maybe my rant of yesterday had to do with the many ways 'good Christian' folks have tried to interpret the devastation in Connecticut. You may have heard some say it all happened because of 1) prayer being taking out of the schools, 2) acceptance of gays, 3) taking Christ out of Christmas, etc. These are not isolated voices - unfortunately. But, remember these are not voices of the followers of Jesus - even as they are culturally known as 'Christian preachers.' Their image of the Love of God is one without the fullness of the love of God and therefore, it is not the God of the scriptures - only the god of their own beneficial reading. Too often these voices want a world set in stone - fixed in time (their time - their world). They make like to make lists, check them twice, and be able to judge who is naughty or nice. That makes for a good cultural story - but it is not the story of our God as love. Does condemnation ever bring about a new world? I would lean forward and listen to the promise of love breaking in whenever condemnation attempts to rule the day. Have a blessed Christmas - where God as love is visible so much that you are able to find rest and peace.
O God of love and new life, come and hold us again. Amen.
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