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Advent 2014 – Devotion 13

If you are Protestant, you may not know that today is the Saint Day for the Virgin of Guadalupe. She is the patron saint of Mexico and one of the most revered expressions of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. She is considered holy by people around the world not just in Mexico.

Here is an abbreviated version of the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Virgin Mary appeared to an indigenous Indian on a hillside in Mexico. Juan Diego went to report this occurrence to the bishop. The bishop did not believe him. Finally, the Virgin gave Juan Diego roses to take to the bishop in the dead of winter when they were not blooming. This manifestation convinced the bishop to take Juan Diego seriously and a church was built in honor of the Virgin.

In broader terms, the Virgin of Guadalupe gave the people of Mexico a female religious figure akin to the goddesses of their native religions. And it gave the people a saint who was one of them, who reached out to them, and who cared for them.

Several years ago, our nephew, a white Protestant, married a Catholic woman of Mexican heritage. During the wedding ceremony, the couple went to an altar with a Euro-American looking Virgin Mary and lit a candle. Then they went to another altar with a Mexican looking Virgin of Guadalupe and lit another candle. I had never seen this kind of veneration before and asked about it. I was told that it was a way of honoring the couple’s cultural roots – European and Mexican. Very interesting!

One of the things I see in the Virgin of Guadalupe is a God that reaches out to us whatever our circumstances or heritage. I see a God interested in connecting with all people and showing respect and care for all people. This shows a God that meets us where we are.

The classic view of Jesus is that he is God become human to show love for us. God meeting us on our turf. God identifying with our circumstances. God walking a mile in our shoes, we could say.

Today as the Virgin of Guadalupe is revered the world over, we are reminded that God encompasses the whole world, the entire human family, and all that is beyond in the cosmos. God truly is universal and yet comes to us in ways that we can relate to whatever our situation in life.

For reflection: Give some thought to how you image God and how that relates to your cultural/historical identity.

Prayer: Jesus came to show divine love for all people. As a person, he was of a specific gender, culture, religion, and historical era. But in his context, he witnesses to universal love. His service, sacrifice, and compassion speak across cultures, religions, and ages. May we witness to universal love in our setting whatever it may be. Amen.

Advent 2014 – Devotion 12

Prince William and Kate have made their first official visit to the United States. They placed a wreath at the nation September 11 Memorial with a note that read “In sorrowful memory of those who died on 11th September and in admiration of the courage shown to rebuild.”

The courage to rebuild. That is what the US needs now.

The US Senate Intelligence Committee has released a report on the interrogation tactics used following the 9/11 attacks. The findings reveal evidence of torture and extreme inhumane treatment. While the US condemns other countries for human rights violations, we are busy perpetrating those same kinds of violations. We extol the rule of law and then break the law. The world sees our hypocrisy. This is cause for shame and humiliation.

What we need is the courage to rebuild. Rebuild integrity. Rebuild trust. Rebuild accountability. This kind of rebuilding is a long, slow, and laborious process. Yet it is necessary to regain respect. The US government not only needs the courage to rebuild in the eyes of the world, but to rebuild its image in the eyes of its own citizens.

Jesus came to teach us about rebuilding. He showed us that no sin, no error, no past mistakes, no tragedy, nothing is beyond the scope of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. Redemption, in some form, is always possible. That is another one of the gifts that Jesus gives us. A way back.

But it is up to us whether we have the courage to receive this gift.

For reflection: How do you feel about the US use of torture? How does it make you feel about your country? When have you felt that you have done something that can’t be repaired or restored or redeemed?

Prayer: We pray for courage. We pray for the courage to engage in the long, slow, difficult process of rebuilding. There is much in our lives that needs to be repaired. Our society is in need of restoration. May we not lose heart. May we cultivate courage. And rebuild. Amen.

Advent 2014 – Devotion 11

Alex MacGillis, author of The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell was interviewed recently by Terry Gross of “Fresh Air.” MacGillis spoke of how McConnell’s prime goal became getting elected in the next election cycle. Decisions, policy, and votes on legislation were all gauged according to what impact they would have on getting elected in the next cycle. In MacGillis’ view, this was McConnell’s concern above all others.

For some Christians, faith is about getting into heaven. It is about gaining eternal life after you die to this life. It is about what will happen to you next after this life is over. For some, the reason for being a Christian is to secure your place in heaven for the next life. Decisions and behavior in this life are oriented toward earning a place in heaven in the after life. Whatever is needed will be done to ensure that you will be in heaven, not hell, in the next life.

I didn’t grow up with this kind of Christianity. So it is not natural or familiar to me. I have grown up and embraced a more incarnational expression of Christianity. Faith is about what we do in this life. It is about how to live a good life. It is about how to help fulfill God’s hopes and dreams for creation.

Christmas is a celebration of the integration of humanity and divinity. God in the flesh. Love embodied in humanity. It is about God present not just in one person but in every person, in all of creation, and in the midst of human history, tawdry as it may be. With the Christmas story there is no missing that birth is a matter of flesh and blood, here and now.

There are beautiful words in Psalm 27 that celebrate God’s presence in this world: “I believe that I shall see the goodness of God in the land of the living.” Jesus shows us that goodness and how to see it in the world around us, in the people around us, in life, and within ourselves.

For reflection: How have you experienced the goodness of God? How is the goodness of God within you?

Prayer: Everywhere the goodness of God shines. May we see it in all that glitters from the sparkle of dew on a blade of grass, to the sheen of a star, to the glow of the moon, to the glimmer of a tear. May we so cultivate that goodness within ourselves that we glisten, even if just for a moment, now and then, with a spark of the divine and so bless this precious world. Amen.

Advent 2014 – Devotion 10

Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Are the gifts wrapped? Maybe you are stumped about what to get the teacher this year or a special friend. There can be a lot of stress around gift giving at Christmas. The pressure to get the “right” thing for each person. At our house in the past when the kids were little, some years we would open presents all day on Christmas and not be done and have to continue on December 26! Then as the kids got older, we went to one big gift. But that one gift had to be just right. . . Yikes!

I recently read a beautiful line in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient: “We seemed to be interested in things that could not be bought or sold.” It is a reference to a small group that was obsessed with exploration of the desert. But I love that line, “We seemed to be interested in things that could not be bought of sold.” When I think about it, it is the things that can’t be bought or sold that are the most important, that are of the most value.

This is worth remembering as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jesus is important not because of what he owned or gave away, but because of what he taught, the way he looked at the world, and the love he imparted. He shows us community, forgiveness, healing, love, friendship, generosity, and compassion. These are things that cannot be bought or sold. They are values, attitudes, morals. These are the things that dictate behavior. So, really, they are the most important things in life for they drive our choices and our actions. Christmas, then, is about things that cannot be bought or sold. Maybe thinking about that will take some of the stress out of gift giving this season!

For reflection: What gifts have you received that cannot be bought or sold? What gifts have you given that cannot be bought or sold?

Prayer: We are grateful for Jesus and all that he teaches us about the good life. Through him we learn to take delight in a life of giving, service, solidarity, and friendship. The gifts that we receive from Jesus cannot be bought or sold. In our consumerist, materialist culture, may we tune our hearts to value most what cannot be bought or sold. Amen.

Advent Devotion 9

What is a life worth? In recent weeks we have been reminded that all lives are not equally valued. The killings in Ferguson, MO, Cleveland, OH, and Staten Island, NY, among many, many others give the impression that the lives of dark skinned people are not valued to the same degree as white people in this country. In addition, day after day, in countless settings, it is clear that the life of a person of low income is not valued as much as the life of a person of greater means. This can be seen in health care, in business, in law enforcement, in social service, and in the government.

In these December weeks we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The story tells us that he was born in a stable to parents of low income and low status. Jesus was dark skinned. He was poor. He was lower class. He was from a small, rural village, not a center of power. He was part of a barely tolerated minority on the fringe of the Roman Empire. Jesus was not mainstream by any means. He wasn’t even middle class.

In today’s world, we might think of Jesus’ socio economic status as comparable to a welfare baby. Or a homeless person. Or an illegal immigrant. If Jesus were born today, would we even notice?

For reflection: Can you think of ways that you have benefitted from the circumstances of your birth? The economic, racial, social, or gender privileges that you have received simply as a accident of who you were born to?

Prayer: We know that in the eyes of Divine Love, all people are equally valued. There is love for all and within all. Jesus lived from this reality. He treated everyone with respect, dignity, and compassion. May we allow ourselves to embrace this world view putting aside our pride and our fear. Amen.