Category: Kim’s Blog

Eating. We all have to do it. And during this corona pandemic, we realize just how important food, the grocery store, and food industry workers are to our survival.

Daily I hear things on the radio about food, recipes, how and what to cook during these days of shelter-in-place, safer-at-home. Many people, evidently, are not used to cooking at home on a daily basis. And then there is the bread and baking craze. But, we don’t live by bread alone. How about lentils? Beans? Vegetables, anyone?

These corona days are giving us more awareness of the importance of food in our lives. People miss going out to eat and sitting with friends in a restaurant; so much so that they are resorting to dinner parties on Zoom and other video chat platforms.

And then there is the ultimate dinner event, the Passover Seder. Again, people are employing ingenuity and technology to observe this sacred meal.

We are finding that we long to be together around a table with food. In China. In Italy. In Africa. In New York. It seems no matter where we are in this world, we are missing eating together.

Today we remember the stories of Jesus eating with his friends, celebrating Passover, the night before he is crucified. Jesus, too, is sustained by food. He, too needs food, companionship, and relationship. Jesus, too, is sustained by religious ritual; by observance and practice. Yes, today we remember our common need for sustenance of many kinds.

We also remember the stories of how Jesus’ friends let him down. How Judas betrayed Jesus to the authorities. How Peter denied Jesus to protect himself. How Jesus’ besties fell asleep when he asked them to watch and pray in his darkest hour.

COVID-19 is also revealing our proclivity for betrayal:

We betray one another by relaxing our vigilance against this disease. By ignoring guidelines for disinfecting and staying put.

We betray each other by giving in to our desires for material goods and direct social connection.

We betray each other by denying healthcare to those in need, including those needing abortions.

We betray each other by not providing needed personal protective equipment to essential workers.

We betray one another by not contacting loved ones and lonely ones.

We betray each other by letting people lose their homes and jobs and fall into poverty.

We betray each other by forgetting those who cannot apply for unemployment and assistance when libraries are closed and they have no access to the Internet.

As we eat and drink each day may we remember our common bond as human beings and may we learn to live without betraying each other.

Christmas Cactus

When I went outside this morning to get the newspaper I looked at the two Christmas cactus plants on our porch. One bloom on each plant has opened! And there are many more to come. It’s like being allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. It’s just a glimpse of what’s ahead.

How did these plants know to begin opening on Christmas Eve? How did they know it was the right moment? How is it that they are timed just right?

Christmas knows. After recent weeks of acrimony over the impeachment of Donald John Trump how did Christmas know to come? To bring the cheer of music and parties? To come with the distraction of decorations and presents? How did Christmas come just when we needed it? This most celebrated holiday in the world came right on time to upstage our political and moral morass.

Christmas is exactly what we need. Right now. So, celebrate!

Prayer
Christmas comes. Whether we are ready or not. And it is exactly what we need. Amen.

Laugh? Cry?

As we approach Christmas, we sing of the hopes and dreams associated with the birth of Jesus. We offer prayers celebrating the peace and joy that go with the arrival of Jesus. As with any child, birth is an experience of anticipation and hope. And this is magnified with the birth of Jesus.

We have so much to be grateful for as we think of the love and compassion that has come into the world through Jesus and his ministry. But as we reflect on all the light that Jesus brings, we still see so much darkness around us. Two thousand years plus after the birth of Jesus, why are people still greedy? Why do people still hurt each other? Why is there killing? How can we be letting the natural world as we know it collapse due to human activity and apathy? Why isn’t every child well fed, vaccinated, and well educated? Why are we still facing so many of the basic struggles of the human spirit that Jesus came to confront and to resolve?

We may feel much joy at the promise associated with the life of Jesus. But our hearts may be breaking over the sad state that we are still in.

But anyone who has been at a birth knows that it is a time of joy and tears. Laughter and crying. It is an ending. And a beginning. There is so much hope and promise but also the looming unknown. I remember an episode of the TV show ‘All in the Family’ where the son-in-law, Meathead, explains why he does not want to have children. He didn’t want to bring a child into a world with so many problems. And this was back in the 1970’s. There are people today who are opting not to have children because the environmental situation is so perilous that they don’t want to have a child knowing it will have to face such danger. And there are many other problems that children face today – school shootings, the internet, the economic system, racism and hatred. Many dangers! But having children that we love in our lives motivates us to take action to protect their future and do the right thing.

So, as Christmas approaches, do we laugh with joy or do we cry with heartbreak?

I heard a writer interviewed recently and he talked about how each day he finds that at some point he laughs. And he often cries. And he feels that both are part of experiencing life in its fullest. They go with being fully alive, deeply experiencing the many dimensions of life. So he sees both laughing and crying as good.

In the gospel of John, the writer has Jesus offer the promise of abundant life. Maybe this means feeling deeply. Feeling joy and delight and awe as well as grief and pain and disappointment. All of it. In its fullness. It’s richness. It’s depth. Being fully present and fully alive.

Laugh? Cry? Yes.

Note: I noticed that there was laughing and crying in church this morning. Maybe that’s what church is for. To help bring us back to life. To feel.

Prayer
This is a complicated season. We want to be happy and celebrate and enjoy all of the festivities. But it is also a time to remember who is not celebrating. Who is struggling. Who is no longer with us. May our observance of Christmas remind us of what it is to be fully alive. Amen.

The Elf on the Shelf

I recently learned about this relatively new Christmas obsession. There is a book and an elf toy and the idea is that the elf is watching the children of the household from Thanksgiving to Christmas and reporting back to Santa each night about what goes on – is the child naughty or nice? This surveillance is supposed to elicit good behavior which will then be rewarded with more toys on Christmas.

I just recently heard about the elf on the shelf for the first time. I have asked parents I know if they are doing it with their kids. No one has said yes. Maybe the elf hasn’t gotten all the way to Florida?

But Jesus has. Christmas is about God’s gift to the human family in Jesus. It is about God’s love for everyone. For all creation. Jesus is a gift for all of humanity and history. God isn’t short on love so it doesn’t have to be meted out or apportioned. And good behavior doesn’t get anyone a bigger helping. Everyone is already loved. Period. Bad behavior might actually be associated being given more love from God because more love might be needed, and we are given what we need. No surveilling elf is necessary.

The metaphorical image of God watching over us all of the time is not to be about judgment and reward or punishment. This image is to convey God’s constant care. God knowing our need. God looking out for us not checking up on us. It is about being constantly engulfed in Divine Love.

No, I don’t think there is ever going to be an elf on the shelf at our house.

Prayer
In this holy season, may we know that we are precious and loved just as we are. Our imperfections make us human. May we grow in our capacity to love others and ourselves just as we are. That God’s way. We see it in Jesus. Amen.