Month: December 2020

The countdown to the New Year is on, and we are about to let this horrible experience that was 2020 go. It gives us something to look forward to, some hope. This is not to say that good things, miraculous things, didn’t happen this year. It is just harder to remember them. When I count my blessings, they are there, I just have to want to find them.

I try to shy away from language that blames something intangible, like the year 2020, for anything. There is blame to go around for various things, and certainly racism, poverty and hatred haven’t ended. But that is not the fault of a year, it is the fault of bad human choices. 

The end of the year brings an opportunity for introspection. How have we lived into our baptismal covenant? Have we participated in church? Forgave and asked for forgiveness? Been consistent in our faith as we live it in our lives? Have we served others with love? Have we treated people with dignity and respect, sought justice, God’s justice? That is how we measure our lives. And we all have had good moments and challenges. 

As you consider 2021, I suggest you do not waste your time on unfounded hope, or promising resolutions you will not keep. I suggest that you dust off a copy of your baptismal promises (BCP p 304) and use them to craft a plan for making yourself better, for working to become the child of God you were created to be. This might include reasonable caffeine intake or weight loss, but more likely it includes loving yourself, and your neighbor as yourself. More likely it includes a more gentle and kind presence in your world, loving people who don’t deserve it, and not being so hard on yourself. 

There are no guarantees about what 2021 will bring. January 1 won’t end hatred or Covid19. But we can commit ourselves to love and be loved, to be kind and treat all people with respect, to rest a little more and breathe more deeply. 2021 will simply be what we all make it. So let’s make it a blessing.

I am sitting in my office early Sunday morning contemplating doing something I have never done, pre-record Christmas services. Today is the day we will have the fourth Sunday of Advent, and then put up the decorations and have two Christmas services which will air on Facebook Live their respective days.

I admit I have dreaded this, and shed a few tears. But through prayer and undeserved grace I have come to see the blessings. We have the technology to reach so many people. We have capable and spirit-filled members of this church who will make these services lovely. We have a strong tradition of beautiful and meaningful worship that will hold us together.

And isn’t God always creating something new, calling us to more, asking us to think big? Isn’t God always saying, find me in new places, get out of your comfort zone? God’s love is infinite, and so our ways of expressing that love have to be as well.

I pray for you that you will find moments of peace and joy in this new way to celebrate Christmas, new ways to worship with your whole heart. I know God is with us in all good things. Let’s rally around that love and find ways to share it in the world.

I am also praying for a “better” 2021!!!!

Merry Christmas!  And may the birth of Jesus, God made human, continue to astound you!!

This week we celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a time of rejoicing. This week we are to calm down even more and practice joy. These days joy is in short supply. Too much sickness and death, too much violence and threats, too much division. And yet we are called to be joyful. Not happy, not perky, not saccharine sweet – joyful.

So how do we do it? How do we practice something we can’t always conjure? I have two suggestions. First, notice kindness and generosity in others. That always brings me joy, and I am blessed in my work to see this a lot. This week we will deliver about 800 books to kids who are in really precarious situations. We will bring joy by our gift. Kids might or might not love books, but these books will be theirs, these books will be an opportunity and an escape.

When I look at the boxes filled with fun, serious, classic, race and gender appropriate books, my heart is full. I think of each person I saw drop them off, sometimes with stories about why they chose this title or that, sometimes explaining how a book moved them or someone they love. I think about all the packages of books we received in the mail, never with a name attached. I don’t know who you are, but thank you so much!! I think of you pouring over your computer trying to find just the right title for a 9 year old.

Thinking about the effort this takes, all that you did, the commitment you made; that brings joy!

It is also a joyful thing to be generous. That is my second suggestion. This is a season for gift giving, so we are in good company. It’s more than just purchasing something. It’s being pleasant to the check-out person or the mail carrier. It’s patronizing a small business to support them in this difficult time. It’s carry out at a family owned restaurant, who gives you big portions to thank you for coming. It’s an extra big tip in the tip jar. It makes me happy, joyful, and feel good about myself, when I am generous.

Joy is healing. It doesn’t seem like it changes much, but it is contagious, and it leaves a mark. This week how will you bring joy into your own life by bringing joy into the world?

A few days ago I made a questionable driving choice, not blatantly illegal but foolish. I thought at the time it was not a bad idea. But it was. And little did I know that someone followed me into the parking lot and waited until I got out of my car, and then proceeded to scream at me profanely about my bad choice. 

At first I was put off by the language, and wondered how far his rage would progress. I listened to him, and when he was done I realized that while his methods were questionable, his message was accurate. I had been reckless and someone could have been hurt. So I said the only thing I could think of at that moment, I’m sorry. Because I was.

When I processed it later I knew that it was one of those Covid things—caught up in my own thoughts, griefs, anxieties-not totally present in the moment. It was something I would never normally do. I am not reckless. I could have chosen to hate the messenger, but in fact, I think he was a blessing. It takes a jarring experience to propel me out of my head. This man, in his own way, showed me mercy.

In the season of Advent, we pray for mercy. I have always thought of mercy as transactional. God shows me incredible mercy, so I ought to offer it to others. If I expect people to be merciful to me,  I have to practice that behavior as well. Now I am realizing that mercy is only a gift. One that is occasionally given to me, one that I occasionally offer. I almost never earn or deserve it (maybe sometimes). It is one of those moments of sheer blessing and I try to pay attention when it comes my way.

We are in a world of confusion and pain and fear. People are making mistakes. Coincidentally I have heard several stories just this week about foolish driving choices, which doesn’t diminish mine but puts me in good company. The point is we are in need of mercy more than ever, and we need to offer it back as well. Sometimes that might mean telling someone they made a mistake, but mostly it means loving people as they are, accepting that we are all flawed, and working toward compassionate healing in all our relationships.  And mostly, it is about being so very grateful for the mercy I am given.

I have been following Virginia Theological Seminary’s #AdventWord 2020. Each day they put out a word that relates to the Advent season, and the day of this writing, the word is Rebuild. 

I am intrigued by this word because it holds so much possibility. Lately I have been noticing the foundation of my garage. I don’t know how old it is, but it is a crumbly mess. As you can imagine, this causes all manner of problems. It is a situation that will have to be addressed, but I find it overwhelming to think about. Rebuilding a damaged foundation is a lot of work.

I wonder though what small but foundational things can be worked on now. Last night I was in a conversation talking about the difficulty of rebuilding relationships. How many people in the past few years have lost sight of what is important because of ideology or politics? How do we mend or rebuild that brokenness? How do we find the ways we might reconnect and not lose something precious?

Rebuilding is certainly harder when there has been abuse or cruelty. Sometimes real change has to happen and amends must be made. But how many times is the fracture about something silly, inconsequential, a misunderstanding? Those are the relationships worth repairing. 

We have to rebuild our country with the coming of new leadership. We have to rebuild our lives in light of the pandemic. We will have to rebuild our church relationships after time away. Maybe we will have to rebuild good habits after the excesses of the holidays. Plenty of work to do. 

The vision we hold for this rebuilding is the Kingdom of God. That is what we always strive to participate in, to build up. In this Advent season, gather your tools, prepare your hearts, watch for opportunities, and be ready to rebuild. We work with God to rebuild a broken world into a peaceable Kingdom. May it be so.