Author: lakewooducc

Yesterday I mentioned our new dog, Andre. He is pure delight. Cute. Playful. Engaged. Attentive. But he is a dog. And that means he does not have an imagination. Humans are the only animals to be endowed with imagination. Our minds have the ability to envision what does not yet exist. We have the power to create realities, images, possibilities, scenarios, and concepts that are not yet factual reality. We can plan and dream for days, weeks, months, and years into the future. Our imagination makes this possible, and we are the only living beings with this capability.

Imagination is a wondrous gift. It is the source of all that we have accomplished in human history. And, amazingly, it is the reason we can envision how we will progress as a human race. Our imagination gives us the ability to dream of peace, of a clean sustainable earth, of all people fed and clothed and sheltered, of health care for all, and of every child loved and cared for. It is our imagination that fuels these hopes and dreams. And these images have the power to impact behavior and choices and values and policies.

We cannot leave imagination only to the realm of entertainment. We need to use our imagination to envision and create a world of justice and peace, compassion and generosity.

Stars. Angels. Shepherds. Dreams. Wise men from afar. These images stir the imagination. They inspire us. The capacity to imagine is a glad tiding of great joy to ALL people. We need to celebrate the imagination. Affirm the dreaming of dreams. Nurture visions. Foment creativity. This will spread the glad tidings of great joy to ALL people.

Prayer: We are grateful for our capacity to imagine. Help us to dream your dreams. Give us your visions. Inspire us through Jesus to spread glad tidings of great joy to ALL people. Amen.

“He’s a great dog!” We adopted a little black dog from the SPCA in October. When I took him for his initial vet visit, I asked the vet what mix of breeds Andre might be. And that is the response I got. “He’s a great dog!” And it is true. Andre is a great dog. He is curious and engaging and social. At the dog park, he makes sure he gets to know all the people as well as all of the dogs. He does not discriminate! He loves to chase his tail and it is just like watching a scene from a cartoon. He has a sweet disposition and there is no aggression or hostility at all in his temperament. Andre is one year old, has short black hair and weighs about 35 pounds. The vet is exactly right. He is a great dog.

But someone gave Andre up. Someone evidently decided that he was too much work. He was too active. He was too energetic. And given that Andre cowers when the broom comes out for sweeping, or when he sees a long stick (like a yard stick) in a human hand, or when a person puts a hand up in the air, it seems like our dear sweet Andre had been hit at his previous home.

To me, Andre is perfect. He’s a great dog. But evidently his previous owner did not feel the same way. And that is sad, even though I benefit from the bad judgment of Andre’s first family.

This Advent as we celebrate “Glad tidings of great joy to ALL people,” we realize that even though the tidings are just that, some people just will not be able to see it. They won’t let themselves see the good. They choose not to affirm the blessings right in front of them. They simply won’t let themselves experience the joy, love and hope of the gospel. They fight it; instead choosing despair and cynicism. We all know people like this. In fact, we all may be those people from time to time.

The church should be constantly reminding us of the goodness of God, the love that surrounds us, and the awe of each and every day of life. The church should be where we are reminded of justice and peace and abundance for all people, not just some people. Of course if it is just for some people, it is “just us” not “justice.”

The glad tidings of great joy to ALL people are always present. If we don’t feel that, then we need to look harder. We need to get rid of what is blocking our vision. And we need to make sure we are engaged with the church because the faith community will help us to bring those glad tidings into focus.

Prayer: There are always glad tidings of great joy to be appreciated and celebrated. Sometimes we don’t hear those voices. Sometimes they are drowned out by other messages. May we rely on the church to witness to those glad tidings. May we help each other to hear them throughout the year. Amen.

P.S. If you want to meet Andre, come to our solstice party Friday night. He’ll be waiting to greet you.

There are people alive today in the US who remember when women were not allowed to vote. It was only in 1920, with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, that all women were given the legal right to vote in this country. It is only within the lifetime of many alive today that marriage between an African American person and a white person has been legal in the United States. It was a Supreme Court decision in 1967 that ensured this right for all Americans. Twenty years ago, most people weren’t even thinking about marriage between two people of the same gender.

In the lifetimes of many people alive today, women seldom worked outside the home. And children were often employed as youngsters of 10 or 12 years old in factories and industry. It wasn’t until 1938 that there was a federal restriction on the use of child labor. There was very little nudity or graphic sex in movies beyond a passionate kiss and the people were routinely shown smoking cigarettes just within my lifetime. There have been many cultural shifts and changes within the lifetimes of people alive today, and with the advent of information technology, the pace of change is getting faster and faster.

Jesus was one who believed in the possibility of transformation: Transformation of people’s lives, attitudes, and social constructs, as well as organizations and institutions. His teaching shows his belief in change. He told stories about the way things could be with the conviction that it would come to pass. People could be just and fair and compassionate and forgiving. He was sure of it.

Our faith tradition is rooted in the conviction that change can happen. And, more particularly, that positive change is possible. No one is beyond hope. “With God, all things are possible.”

In recent days we have been challenged once again to reflect on the culture of violence in our country. Our Christian faith tells us that there can be change. Transformation can happen. The level of violence can be reduced in our country. We can work to create a culture that is less violent. We have made many other changes, massive changes, over the course of time. We can make this change, too. In fact, we must make this change and the church of Jesus Christ should be leading the way.

Prayer: The glad tidings of great joy to ALL people that we celebrate this season are tidings of peace for all people. May we work for peace – day in and day out – trusting that over the course of time, there will be change. God is always faithful. May we be steadfast in our commitment to convert our culture from its addiction to violence to the freedom of peace. Amen.

Twenty-two children and one adult were injured outside a grade school in Chengping China last Friday. A man with a knife attacked the students as they were arriving for class. Apparently this is the latest in a spate of school attacks in recent years in China.

While no one was killed in China and the man had a knife not a gun, it is quite remarkable, given the vastly different settings and cultures, that this took place on the same day as the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The Associated Press gives this explanation for the recent attacks in China:

“Most of the attackers have been mentally disturbed men involved in personal disputes or unable to adjust to the rapid pace of social change in China, underscoring grave weaknesses in the antiquated Chinese medical system’s ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.” [The Associated Press Posted: Dec 14, 2012 4:38 AM ET Last Updated: Dec 14, 2012 1:25 PM ET]

I find this account very interesting. If we were to give a similar explanation of the school attacks in the US, what might we say? We can’t blame our “antiquated Chinese medical system’s ability to diagnose and treat psychiatric illness.” So what can we say? Personal disputes? Rapid social change?

Whatever we may or may not be able to say to explain this horrific trend, surely our image of God would have God weeping just as fiercely at the suffering of the children in China as over the suffering of the children and adults in Newtown. We worship a God that is heartbroken at attacks upon any children, regardless of where they are born or what race or creed they are.

The glad tidings of great joy to ALL people that we celebrate this season tells us that God loves each and every one of us. We are all precious and beloved by God, regardless of where we live, what language we speak, or what spiritual path we follow. The glad tidings are an affirmation of our common humanity. And I am sure that the parents and loved ones of the children in China are just as horrified and devastated about the attack on their children as the families of Newtown are about what happened there.

Prayer: In God, all humanity is one. God grieves for all senseless acts of violence, especially when perpetrated against children and the most vulnerable of the world. May our grief bring us together in solidarity and may we affirm our common love for our children and families and our common abhorrence of these horrendous attacks. Amen.