Message for the First Sunday of Christmas, December 27, 2015

Well, the boiler broke at our church.  So, based on the nature of the message I had prepared for this Sunday, I had to shift gears.  I wrote out notes for this message in about five minutes and then went with it.  If I had to title this message, it would be, "How do we speak and sing with the freedom of our ancestors? (Anna and Simeon)"

C Christmas 1 BFC 2015

Luke 2:25-38

December 27, 2015

We all know of elders in our lives who have reached that point in their lives where they have earned the right to act, speak, sing, and dance as freely as they wish.  For men, it is very often those that recognize the folly of single-minded achievement and ambition.  They are “burning men” who now become engaged in art, self-expression, mentorship, and the building of community.  Fussing over straight ties and suit coats is abandoned in favor of sometimes confusing family and friends with odd hats, different color socks, or no socks at all.  They lampoon convention and, though they might whistle at the energy and exuberance of youth, they also shake their head at how much energy is wasted trying every endeavor without the aid of wisdom. 

For women, it has been a transition from maiden, to nurturer, to crone.  Wearing all shades of purple with red hats relates a choice for wisdom over and against what is prim and proper.   Where culture may have told them to be guarded with their expressions, they now don’t care.  They laugh uproariously, giggle when they sense that self-importance is getting in the way, and frown with a wave of the hand when their time is being wasted.   

But how do we get that freedom, the freedom to not just be one more iteration of the meta-narrative, the prevailing culture, a cog in the machine?  How do we work on fashioning ourselves into "Oaks of Justice" as Isaiah 61 relates God's hope that we might be?

Here are my suggestions:

1.      Find a way to regularly read or listen to alternative media—present and ancient.  Mainstream media is about profit and influence.  That’s not freedom.  Using critical analysis, we want to find people who speak directly to justice-seekers on the ground, recognize the diversity of peoples and solutions, and regularly give a forum to prophets, artists, and visionaries.  Ancient sources are necessary to remind us of transcendent tales.  So that we know this is how it has always been and we do not lose hope.  Anna and Simeon were clearly plugged into their ancient stories and the way God works as an alternative to the all-encompassing gospel of the Roman Empire.

My choices:  Democracy Now! and the guardian

2.     So that we are supported by a community and so that we have the sacred space to discern alone with God, we need to have a proper balance between solitude and community.  Anna and Simeon found that with connection to their historical communities, dislocation which represented their priorities, and connection to vulnerable communities by choice or their lot in life. 

3.     Using the last sentence of #2,  find a vulnerable community with whom or which you will be in solidarity.  Find a vulnerable community to which you will give your heart.  By vulnerable community, I mean a people who require the world's transformation to make their way in the world.    This changes worldview.  You become aware of the way evil moves in the world.  You become aware of the way God moves in the world.  Maybe it is the community (ecosystem) of the Yellowstone River.  This gives you not only the freedom to speak outside the party line but also gives you the animus, the courage.  Widows were considered part of the holy trifecta in justice making.  The Jewish people believed that God’s heart was especially broken by the plight of orphans, immigrants, and widows.  Anna was a widow who knew what it was like to be off the grid of power and prestige.

 I tend to do it through Chiapas.

4.    Dislocation.  Locate yourself in such a way that you are off the grid.  It is a reminder that the very character of God is of One who speaks in sheer silence or a still, small voice (prophet Elijah at the cave).  If we are to hear God then, each of us needs to recognize the balance necessary so that all of the other voices outside of us and inside of us do not drown out the voice of God.  So if everything is “on”, there is no way we will be able to hear God who comes to us in all humility.  Power down.  Shut off.  Simeon locates himself in Jerusalem as a way of hearing the story clearer.  Anna heads for the Temple.

5.    The two great spiritual practices of the Christian faith are prayer and fasting, as indicated by Anna in the Scripture passage.  Prayer is solidarity.  Julian of Norwich references it as a “oneing” ourselves to God.  Not only this, but a oneing ourselves to God, to one another, and to the earth that God so fervently loves.  Fasting is normally thought of as with food but it also relates to detachment.  We free ourselves from the things of empire to be free for the things of God.  Find regular, consistent, and persistent time to do both—prayer and fasting.

6.     Celebrate when transformation takes place.  Celebrate when actions are accomplished.  Celebrate when the faithful have been faithful.  Celebrate when two or more can gather.  Celebrate however small so as to give you energy for the observation/discernment, action, and reflection to be done all over again.  Anna and Simeon are found celebrating the activity of God through a peasant family in Jesus.


7.    Unjust systems and structures—evil--depends on us seeing ourselves as failures.  Do not let that narrative get into your bloodstream.  Justice work is long haul work.  Look at how long Anna and Simeon persisted for a long, long time before they began to see salvation working itself out.  If you are failing on a regular basis, it may mean that you are indeed working within the belly of the Beast.  Who knew when the Berlin Wall would fall?  Who knew when apartheid would be defeated in South Africa?  Does the dam break because the water gradually rises or because, all at once, the pressure is too much and the water busts through?  Yes.  It does.