Category: Kim’s Blog

This is the first day of Advent, the four weeks before Dec. 25, when the church begins preparations for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

In times past, Advent was called the Little Lent because is was shorter than the 40 days of Lent but it was still considered a time of penitence. Advent remains a season of quiet watching and waiting. It is a time for pondering, like Mary. And a time of wonder, like the shepherds in the fields who were watching their flocks in the birth stories in the Gospel of Luke.

The theme for Advent this year at Lakewood United Church of Christ is “Be Born in Us Today”; the line from the beloved carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” In Jesus, we see the fullest expression of Divine Love in a human life. We are shown the potential that is in every single human being. We all have the capacity to live from a heart center of universal love. We so need that spirit to be born in us today so that we can overcome the many forces that are dividing people and causing conflict in our families, in our communities, in our country, and in the world.

One of the most radical, as well as unique, teachings associated with Jesus is the command to “love your enemies.” In other religious traditions, there are important teachings about love of neighbor and do no harm, but the command to “love your enemies” implies actively seeking the well-being of the enemy. It implies not just don’t kill your enemy, but be kind to your enemy. Do good to your enemy. Help your enemy.

As we focus on the theme “Be Born in Us Today” we are thinking about how we can embody the spirit of Christ in the world. One place to start is with love of enemy. Usually this season, we are busy doing nice things for our families, friends, co-workers, and those we love and enjoy. To extend this in the spirit of Christ, I invite us to think about someone we consider an enemy and then to show love to that person in some way. Do good for that person. Help that person. Offer a gesture of kindness to that person. Maybe you could do something for an “enemy” once each week of Advent. Then see how it effects your feelings. See how it impacts the other person. See how it changes you. Feel free to share your experiences in the comment section below this post.

Think you don’t have any “enemies”? Think harder. Is there a neighbor that annoys you? Is there someone in your family that you do your best to avoid? Is there someone in public life that ignites your rage? Is there a co-worker that sets your bells off every time you see them coming?

In thinking about this, I immediately identified someone who has behaved as an enemy of our church. That is where I am going to put my efforts at loving an enemy this Advent season.

Prayer:
We pray for Divine Love to be born in us this season. May we nurture this new life by loving our enemies. Amen.

I’m wondering about #metoo and women of the Bible. It seems there are many women in the Bible who experience sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. Women in the Bible are grabbed, groped, raped, and murdered. It pretty much starts in Genesis and goes on from there.

This heritage makes it all the more imperative that the church be vocal and visible in confronting sexual misconduct in the church, in the home, and in society today. The church needs to be safe space for all. It needs to be a place where women and men can share their stories and tell their truth, and know they will be treated with respect and compassion.

The church has come to this issue with too little too late. It is past time for the church to get out in front leading the change in our culture so that sexual misconduct is no longer tolerated, overlooked, or worse yet, encouraged.

This involves the church telling the truth about the Biblical stories we have inherited that have directly or indirectly contributed to the acceptance of sexual misconduct in Western culture.

There may be those who would defend the Bible. Those stories refer to ancient times. The culture and values were different. The stories don’t imply that God endorses sexual misconduct today. Ok. Then can’t we say the same about the Biblical perspective on other issues like the equality of women and homosexuality? Those stories refer to ancient times. The culture and values were different. Of course!

The Bible teaches humanity to honor the image of God in every single person. This is what we are shown in Jesus. And this is what everyone should see in the church.

In honor of Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, 1809

“Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a Nation we began by declaring that ‘all men are created equal except Negroes.’ When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read ‘all men are created equal except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics.’ When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty – to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.”

In a letter to Kentucky friend, Joshua F. Speed, 1855

“In times like the present men should utter nothing for which they could not willingly be responsible through time and eternity.”

To Congress, December 1, 1862

These two quotes come from The Living Words of Abraham Lincoln: Selected Writings of a Great President, 1967, with a foreward by Carl Sandburg.

The Light Still Shines. This has been our theme for this Advent season and for these daily devotions. At Christmas we celebrate the coming of the light of the world. We celebrate Jesus as a manifestation of Divine light.

We have explored how that light helps us to see the truth of our circumstances. It illuminates how things really are even when we don’t like what we see. We have thought about how the light invites us to change direction, turn, repent and live in a way more consistent with the intentions of God and the teachings of Jesus. We have examined the transformation needed for our well-being and the well-being of the world and the toll taken by avoiding change. We have considered the call to self giving and the need to keep at bay the lure of greed, selfishness, and arrogance. We have thought about how Jesus is a messenger telling us all that we need to know for the living of our days. We have sought out the way of Jesus, a way of compassion and joy.

Receiving the Light of the World requires soul searching and brutal honesty. It is an invitation to transformation when for the most part we don’t like change. But the result of committing to the way of Jesus, to following his light, is life. It is full, abundant life for ourselves. For others. And for Earth. It is peace and security that the world cannot take away.

Santa won’t have that in his sack. He won’t leave a package with that wrapped under the tree. He won’t stuff that in your stocking even if you are on the “nice” list.

Prayer: May we open ourselves to receiving the gifts that Jesus seeks to give us. Amen.

Don’t forget to bring your donation can for The Micah Center to the Christmas Eve Service. Music begins at 6:30 p.m. and the service starts at 7:00.

The Light still shines. And in our dark days, we need it. Looking at the newspaper has become scary. I find I am only looking at about half of my emails from organizations and movements. I don’t have NPR on much. The brevity of Twitter seems bearable. I find that I just can’t take all the darkness in the news, especially our national news these days.

Personally, I have a great life and I am not complaining about family, job, home, etc. Well, not much anyway. But despite the candles, cards, and carols, I can’t say that I feel much in the “Christmas spirit.”

In their book, The First Christmas, John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg have this to say about light:

Like much of the Bible’s language, the imagery of light is both personal and political. The contrasts between darkness and light are correlated with other central contrasts: bondage and liberation, exile and return, injustice and justice, violence and peace, falsehood and truth, death and life. These contrasts all have a personal meaning as well as a political meaning. It is important to see both. . . Too see only the personal meaning is to miss half of their meaning.

Yes, it is important for us to see the Light of Christ in personal and political terms. And, perhaps, this year, more than most, we need the political, though it may be just what we think we want to avoid. Maybe by avoiding the political implications of the teachings of Jesus, we are only letting in part of the light, we are restricting the full shining of the light, we are not opening ourselves fully to the Light of the World.

So many people in this country and around the world are celebrating Christmas – the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World. His light brings liberation, community, justice, peace, truth, and life. If everyone knew that, I wonder how many would still celebrate Christmas? It’s really a radical, subversive, counter-culture revolution. Truly honoring Christmas and the coming of the Light of the World is about setting the world on fire. Maybe if I open myself more to the political imagery of light, I will start to feel more of the Christmas spirit.

Prayer: May we welcome the Light of the Divine and let it show us the way. Amen.

In your journal, reflect on how you see the light of Christ in your personal life and in society at large. Where is the light needed now?

There is still time to put more donation money into your can for the Micah Center. Won’t it be great to hear all that change clanking at the Christmas Eve service? Our giving to The Micah Center is both personal and political – we are helping individual students and we are working to remedy the injustice of the education system.