So, here we are…
Still in the middle of Advent.
Still on our way to Christmas.
But, now living in that God awful tension between our decorations which have been hung by the chimney with care or, at least, carefully set in their assigned places, and the reality of the news that slammed into our lives on Friday.
Here we are…
With candles and carols and, in a moment our children…
Wonderful. Precious. Present. Here.
Here we are with our children who, in a moment will suddenly be transformed into angels and shepherds and magi and a shining star.
Here we are…
Carving out a few minutes from the busyness and business of our life to be here together;
Doing our level best to get head and heart and soul ready for Christmas.
And, trying to make sense of the headlines in the news.
Because of old habits learned the hard way, I wrote what I thought I was going to say this morning on Thursday and then tore it up on Friday to begin all over again. But, after listening to the news all day and wiping the tears from my eyes and staring at a blank computer screen, all I could write on Friday was this:
I have no right to speak.
And, even if I did I would not (and do not) know what to say.
Today in Newtown, CT, about 30 minutes from where I live, a young man walked into an elementary school and killed 20 children and 6 adults.
Here I sit safe and sound.
And, as far as I know, my children are safe and sound.
I can only feel the edges of their heartbreak which will not heal;
And hear the echoes of the inconsolable sobbing for the children and the parents who will not come home.
I have no right to speak.
And, even if I did I would not (and do not) know what to say.
I know better than to ask “Why?”
There is no answer that will make any sense or make things better;
And any answer to that question does not really matter at this point,
But I ask it just the same.
Why?
I grieve for them.
I grieve for us.
In the middle of Advent;
With Christmas approaching.
Like you, I am angry and sad and feel empty and heart-broken.
Like you I ask questions about mental illness and how we respond.
Like you, I am angry about guns and violence and why this happens over and over and over again.
And, why 20 children in a school where they are supposed to be safe.
The title for what I wrote on Thursday was Hope…and Other Absurdities.
A line that caught my attention in something I read a few weeks ago.
In thinking about that line and what it might mean, I flipped through my Bible to reread this words.
For to us a child is born; to us a son is given;
And the government shall be upon his shoulder;
And his name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.
He shall judge between nations and shall decide for many peoples:
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into pruning hooks:
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation:
Neither shall they learn war any more.
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,;
And the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
And the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
And a little child shall lead them. [The Jewish prophet Isaiah]
And, from the Gospels:
First, Mary speaking…
God has shown the strength of God’s arm,
Scattering the proud in the imagination of their hearts,
God has pulled down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted those of low degree;
God has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich God has sent away empty.
And then this…
Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
And his name shall be Emmanuel (which means God with us).
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest and one earth peace among those with whom God is pleased.”
The light shines in the darkness;
And the darkness has not overcome it.
And of course, the constant refrain to those heavenly messengers sent to Joseph and Mary and the shepherds, who before they say anything else say, “Fear not!”
Really?
Swords into plowshares or the shooting in Newtown?
Fear not or fiscal cliff?
The hungry filled with good things or longer lines at the food pantry?
God with us or in God’s name?
In the world in which we live, which is more true?
Aren’t all these words a bit pie in the sky or wishful thinking?
Read and respectfully, maybe even reverently, heard, but not to be taken too seriously. Meant for a church, for places and settings like this.
But what about the world out there?
And yet…
Here we are.
Still in Advent.
Still waiting and watching and hoping and praying.
Still trying to find our way to Christmas.
The hope wrapped up in the words we just heard may be harder to hear today than they were a few days ago, and I do not feel the hope today like I did on Thursday when I first opened my Bible…
But that does not mean…
It does not mean…
That those words are less true today than they were three days ago.
And, so I wonder…
Can we figure out a way so that there are less hungry people tomorrow than there are today? Not just in our communities, but also in our world?
Can we find ways to dismantle bombs and missiles and the guns that destroy, and build tools and homes and schools instead?
Can we create households and communities and a country, to say nothing of the world, where there just might be a little less fear and a bit more peace and much more safety for us and for all, and especially for the most vulnerable among us?
Can our understanding of and faith in God pull us together rather than push us apart?
God, I hope so.
Maybe it is absurd, on a day like today, to chose to turn and to walk in the direction of hope.
Maybe it is absurd to think and to dream and even to work for peace.
Maybe it is absurd to imagine and do what I can to build a world that is a bit better and safer and more secure tomorrow than it is today.
Maybe it is absurd, but to tell you the truth, I know of no other way…
No better way to move forward;
Than to hang on for dear life to hope wrapped up in the promise of Christmas.
Here we are.
In the middle of Advent.
On our way to Christmas.
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