Christmas Eve/Day 2020

Verses: Luke 2:1-20, Isaiah 57:1-10, Psalm 98

And there were shepherds, living in the fields
Keeping watch over their flocks by night

So the familiar carols say

And at this cue
our hearts and ears rush to hear
“Glory to God in the Highest”

Angel chorus ablaze in light
the stunned shepherds below — quickly forgotten
Not the stars of this show
sweet caricatures of humility at best.

But what if those shepherds were not watching flocks? 
The flocks were not theirs in the first place 
paid little wages to watch
someone else’s livestock

What if these shepherds are sharecroppers?
What if these shepherds pick oranges
for someone else’s table?
What if these shepherds work at the meat packing plant
That prepares the Thanksgiving turkey or the Christmas ham

What if…
What if long days laboring in the fields
Watching someone else’s flock
Both day and night
Left their hands chapped,
Their legs soar,
Their spines curved
Their feet warped and raw and red
Their armpits smelly
Their bellies hungry
Their mouths dry
Their eyes watering
Their skin sweltering by day
And shivering by night

What if … 
And why …

Why do stars descend?
Why do angels appear?
Why do glorious golden chords 
of heavenly chorus 
break forth beauteous

For them? 

For them:

The good news for all people
comes first 
For them.

O Bethlehem, 
blessed is the hour the savior comes to you
and blessed are those who hear the good news
And see that it is indeed
For them.

“Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

They went with haste
No waiting
And they saw
Saw new heavens and new earth
In the eyes of the Word Made Flesh.

Blessed are they who see the gift
Blessed are they who recognize the savior who comes
For them
For all people.

And some thirty years from now
When the Word shall say, 

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven,
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled, 
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh,”

Perhaps the Word remembers
The first ones who gathered in the delivery room
The first witnesses to the Word,
who told everyone about the Good News,
praising, rejoicing, seeing, testifying, proclaiming
knowing that this Good News 
would be too good 
not to share
spreading joy like wildfire
setting dormant hearts ablaze
beating with new belief,
reassured that God did not abandon
singing along the stony road they trod
in praise of the Word, their God
offering greatest gift of all —

themselves

For what more 
Could warm the heart of God?
What more
Could delight the Creator?
than giving humanity a reason
to rise in song again,
above the fields,
above the orange groves,
above the din of factory lights
No longer empty, 
No more hallow wishing
No more waiting —

When the harmonious sounds of weary voices 
rise above a weary, broken world
In praise of the Word Made Flesh
God smiles, 
And declares it good
Good News for them,

For all,
For them. 

Amen.

Recommended Hymns: Oh, Bethlehem, O Magnum Mysterium, The Shepherd’s Carol (minute 32:45), There is No Rose, O Day Full of Grace, I heard the bells on Christmas Day.

Fourth Sunday in Advent

Verses: Luke 1:26-45

But before Mary’s praise, 
Before her prophecy, 
Before the Magnificat

Mary visits Elizabeth. 

After Gabriel’s troubling news,
Before Mary could rejoice
A visit between women
Sharing bonds, bearing life

Prophet and Prince of Peace
Baptizer and Beloved
Cousins and Kin
Born and Birthing
Preparing and Bearing
Messenger and Messiah
Two mothers and two sons. 

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 

And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And blessed is she who can see such things in another,
blessed is she who comforts the younger
who protects the virgin, single mother
Blessed is Mary, to be sure
and Blessed is she, 
Who reassures. 

Blessed is she, 
the first mortal to recognize the Messiah and his Mother.
Women see women first. 

Who is Mary without Elizabeth? 

No confidant
No shared intimacy
No one to confirm
No one to recognize the blessing of Gabriel’s words.

Who is Mary without Elizabeth? 
A poor, pregnant, teenage girl
destined endure shame, disgrace, shunning, stoning? 

Blessed are the fruits of their wombs
and 
Blessed is she who sees the treasure a sister carries
Blessed is she who also believes the fulfillment of God’s promise to her
Blessed is she who carries the prophet, to accompany the prince.
Blessed is she who witnesses the Mother of God.
Who is Mary without Elizabeth? 

Where could she go, except to Elizabeth?
What could she say, except to Elizabeth?
Who could affirm the Divine becoming flesh, except Elizabeth?

Flesh of my flesh
Bone of my bone

Elizabeth as witness
Now Mary sings

Elizabeth confirms the One is coming
Mary proclaims: salvation is near

“My soul magnifies the Lord…
He has brought the mighty down from their throne
and lifted up the lowly.” 

Mary knows. 

But perhaps it was connection

Between women-kin bearing fruits the new Kindom
that gave voice to her song.

Magnificat.

“and Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.” 

Blessed is she who shelters the Mother of God. 
Blessed is she nurtures the future before its time. 
Blessed is she who sees and tends to the vision 
of God’s wildest dream
Emmanuel. 

Recommended Hymns: In the Beginning, Come Thou Fount, Holy is your name, She walked in the summer

Third Sunday in Advent

Verses: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11, Psalm 126, Luke 1:46b-55, John 1:6-8, 19-28

And then we were like those who dream
Our mouths filled with laughter
Our tongues shouted for joy

He himself was not the light, 
But comes to testify for
the light

She herself was not the light
But comes to bear
the light

She sees beyond what her eyes can perceive
She hears rejoicing beyond what her peasant ears can hear
A chorus rising above the cries of suffering, of torment

An angel says, “you shall bear the light”
And she expounds, 
“The almighty shall bring the powerful down from their thrones
Fill the hungry with good things
Send the rich away empty.”

For perhaps her eyes have seen the glory
Of the coming of the Lord
And she no longer fears any man
For she has read the words of the prophet, 

“The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners.

For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.”

And for as the new heavens and new earth are 
in the already 
and the not yet

Mary knows the shoot comes forth from her womb
Just as John knows that he was not
The light. 

God’s grand imagination 
Is about to become flesh
And dwell among us. 

And She knows
Her soul magnifies the Lord and her spirit
Rejoices

And she is prepared
For when her waters break
it will be as justice rolling down 
Like a mighty water
And his mercy will be for those
Who fear him
From generation to generation

The prophecy of a poor Jewish girl
Proclaiming the Lords favor
Giving flesh to God’s great imagination

The work of the Lord
Thanks be to God. 

Recommended Hymns: Mary, Did you Know?, Holy is Your Name, Canticle of the Turning, Comfort, Comfort

Advent 2020: Thanksgiving Day

Verses: Deuteronomy 8:7-18, Psalm 65

O Creator, you love this world. 

In these days of lessening light and growing the darkness, as the cloud of disease hangs over us, through suffering, we remember that you love this world. O Creator, what a gift to be so loved. 

The true light is coming into the world.
Bearer of light in shadowy places, we will rejoice and delight in The Light. 

For the sun rising each morning, we give you thanks.  
For the bounty of harvest brought forth from land and careful labor, we give you thanks.

For chloroplasts and photosynthesis, for seeds that burst open and scatter, 
for milkweed pods cracked open in soft explosion, tossed to the wind, carrying forward light
and new life for next season. 

May the cycle repeat, repeat, repeat (you will not abandon us) 
repeat, repeat, repeat (we give you thanks) 
repeat, repeat, repeat (to everything there is a season) 
repeat, repeat, repeat (we give you thanks) repeat, repeat, repeat. 

For waters which cleanse, we give you thanks. 

For air which purifies, we give you thanks. 

For solid earth which sustains, we give you thanks. 

For warmth of hearth and
fire which ignites our hearts
and heats our home, 
Now, our hearts blaze with gratitude
for this world
which you love.
We give you thanks (repeat). 

May we remember it is not by our deeds, but by Your Hand,
and this gracious world, 
that life comes
each day 
as a gift. 
For this, we give you thanks. 

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 

May we remember that when we plow the fields, you send the sun and rain. You have made us co-creators
and have called us caretakers of this world
which you love. 

For this, we give you thanks. 

May we remember that when valleys deck themselves with grain
and the meadows clothe themselves with flocks and wildflowers, 
See how Creation persists in giving, 
in spite of our inequities and greed. 
She is a generous world indeed. 
You love this world. For this, we give you thanks. 

May our praise be unceasing
Releasing pride, unleashing thanksgiving. 

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. 

O Creator, we have built fine houses. We have filled our storehouses.
We live in fear of catastrophes that we cannot see, and tremble in the face of those that already be.  

O Creator, fear turns our hearts to pride. We say to ourselves, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.”
But you have called us co-creators and caretakers.
What a gift. What a responsibility.

O Creator, teach us to have humble hearts again. 

How easily we forget that when we plant the grains, the grains become our bodies. Teach us to live like apsen: one single organism flowering as a forest.

How easily we forget. We poison the waters with our ego, a learned separation from Creation. Teach us to live as walking tributaries. 

How easily we forget. The air does not belong to us, but that our emissions are the inhalations of our neighbor.
Teach us to breathe deeply of Your Presence
and exhale goodness. 

How easily we forget. Fire requires fuel. The gathering of Two or More burns brighter than a single flame. Teach us to share warmth and spirit with our neighbor, to let our light shine. 

Holy One, we give you thanks for all good gifts, which flow from your radical abundance, love never-ending. 

O Creator, you love this world. What a gift to be so loved.  

Recommended Hymns: Praise to the Lord, The Almighty. All Good Gifts.