Live the Hope - Embody the Joy

"Run, Hide, Fight"

      is what society is reduced to

     when, as a culture, we don't

     live justly, equitable and responsibly

     one-with-the-other.

When you believe you can crucify the Christ

     and you shut Christ in a tomb

     with your privilege, arrogance, and entitlement,

     the Gospel becomes muted and distant

     and others become angry, even ready to lash out.

Blessedly, God is not distant,

     nor will God be muted.

The Son comes to Bethlehem

     and the tomb is empty in Jerusalem.

Stand up with Him and live in faith with others

     as you are birthed to do.

This is not an issue of guns,

     but a lack of value for the Life God intends,

     a break down of cultural and corporate responsibility,

     one-for-the-other.

Live the Hope.

Embody the Joy.

     Lest all you are left with in life is

     "Run, Hide, Fight".

The Bethlehem Star (Shines Only Over the Christian Privileged?)

I saw it again last evening as I drove home. Just North of St. Libory on Route 4, on the South side of the road, a Bethlehem Star shines brightly in the night, each night, announcing the place where Jesus lay (in the hearts of those who welcome Him). How appropriate. It is the Kramper Dairy Farm - and the Star stands high and bright . . . upon the top of their blue Harvestore silo overlooking the large stable of lowing Holsteins below. This singular sacred sight quiets me at the end of a long day.

God is with us, Emmanuel.

God is with us in San Bernardino . . . and in the Siteman Cancer Center . . . in the imprisonments of our body and soul . . . in the shame of being abused by one you love . . . in the wonder of birthing new life . . . in the exultation of doing work you enjoy . . . in the struggle of doing a job you hate . . . in the in-between times of having no work at all . . . in the ongoing construction of our daily lives . . . in the politics and politicians with which we struggle . . . in the animosity of competing religions . . . in the community of sisters and brothers of God . . . in the beauty of a family gathered together around an evening supper table . . . in the loneliness of a singular existence shared with no one else in particular . . . in the messiness of our cow lot existence . . . and in the warmth and safety of His stable birthplace. God is with us, Emmanuel.

Just look at the star shining there along the road . . . which, oddly enough, I am most likely to see and savor when I approach from the East. Hmmmmm, that seems somehow Biblical . . .

I had just been listening to the ongoing reports from the San Bernardino shootings when, turning on the curve of Route 4, and continuing westward towards the Star, the reporter said something which, for the first time, really caught my attention. She said, "The shooters were Muslim." I don't know the reporters name, but I know she wasn't the first one to have said it, nor was it the first time I had heard this particular bit of news, yet hearing it said in just the manner she said it, I wondered, "So, when was it that we began to identify aggressors, terrorists and killers by their religion?"

I thought about it for a while and I think, in my my memory anyway, we probably have to go back to the events in the United States of September 11, 2001. Reporter after reporter, news copy after news copy, politician after politician, average citizen after average citizen was likely to have been found in those days saying something like, 'The terrorists who flew the planes were Muslim' and, ever since, the language has stuck. I wonder why?

Does the Bethlehem Star over the Kramper Dairy Farm, the Light announcing the imminent arrival of Emmanuel, shine only for or over Christians? Is God keeping track of what people are members of what faith tradition as we abuse, terrorize, make war, starve and marginalize others?

Why did the papers not say of the gang member in Chicago who shot the little boy that he was Christian? (I don't know that he was or wasn't.) Why do the newscasts not say of the man who killed so many in the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs that he was Christian? What of the police officer in Chicago? Or Ferguson? Or the shooter in Charleston (who was in a church, after all!)? Why do we not require to know the faith of every perpetrator of every crime? Could it be that Christians are just as inclined to violence as Muslims or Jews? Are we to assume that every crime, if it was not exclusively reported that the aggressor was Muslim, was committed by a Christian? Or Jew? Or Buddhist? Or (your religion du jour)?

As aligned with the current hot topic of 'white privilege', could it be that what is emerging here in this age is 'Christian privilege'? (We won't say anything about your faith background . . . unless you aren't one of 'us', the 'in crowd'.)

I suspect the Star of Bethlehem shining in the ever darkening skies of the nearing Winter of our existence shines there for all and in all. In Emmanuel, God With Us, God isn't calling us to be Christian, God calls us to be faithful, mindful that all people are God's people. Were God to keep 'score' of our religious tradition in relation to our sinfulness, how deeply mired and mucky would the Christian tradition really be? Hmmmmm. 'Christian privilege' . . . the new, yet ancient, way to make the other among us 'the enemy', each according to their faith. Hmmmmm.

There it is shining along the South side of Route 4, just North of St. Libory, the Bethlehem Star. It glimmers and glistens with the soft light of Hope and Love made flesh, Emmanuel, God With Us. God, be with us all in Peace. Please! Oh, and God? Thank you for the using the Kramper's silo to post your Star that we might all see. Help us to see with our hearts what You already know in your Soul and, there, be willing to lay down our assumed privilege that others might find You, too. Amen.

It Never Ceases to Amaze

It never ceases to amaze . . .
The time we give to celebrating a holiday,
While limiting the Child to the margins of our minutes;
The generosity we pour into cash registers,
And the poverty we display at the Stable;
The miles we will travel to see lights that fail,
And the Light which continues to shine in our darkness of soul.
Thanks be to God
Whose Gift of Love
Comes for the least among us
In spite of us. DCW

Thinking of Advent

“Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Matthew 25.13 NRSV
As a child, I never thought it odd that Santa Claus came to our home on Christmas Eve while we were attending services at church. The Wagner Farm in rural Southern Illinois, just like all the other homes around us (I was sure), was early on Santa’s route. With all the flying around the earth that Santa had to do and with all of the homes into which he had to take gifts, I was just glad that we were early on his schedule and not late: I just couldn’t imagine what it would be like to wake up with no gifts under the tree, waiting to see when and if Santa would show up! Santa’s ‘early’ arrival at the Wagner home was a blessing for which I have always been grateful, because it saved me having to grow up as an anxious child. I know it is hard to believe, yet, there it is: Some semblance of sanity is granted for a lifetime when the things for which you so wait and long for to happen as a child arrive early and, thereby, shape your adulthood.
These days, Santa arrives at the Wagner home on Christmas morning. His route changed, I suppose. Yet, I am not anxious about being later on the schedule, nor I am worried that he will have the things I am wishing for on his sleigh: I know that he knows me and will not forget me, whenever he arrives.
The season of Advent has become, over the years, a time that I truly cherish, a journey I anticipate walking as we move towards Bethlehem and Christmas Joy. Much in the same way I would pour over catalogs as a child and carefully choose the items I really wanted to see under the tree delivered by the hands of Santa, now I savor the days that mark our preparation to receive the most loving Gift no-one on earth could ever have imagined. Now the days, which once seemed to drag on and on and on before Christmas Eve laughter would fill the air, seem simply to flit by, like a butterfly on the wings of a Fall breeze, coursing its way over the stalks of standing corn through which I move. Now the days fairly run into each other with increasing speed, event blending into event, night quickly following day, week rapidly engulfing week until, much too soon, that for which we were waiting is a diminishing image in the rearview mirror of another Church Year.
So, this year (like many before) I vow to slow down during Advent, this season I love. I pray to be awake as the Gift arrives, not dozing in my easy-chair worn out by ‘events’.
The need for humanity to be in control of all things is what led the early Christian Church to ‘designate’ a day on which Christ was born, that similarly minded people might gather on a singular day to observe and praise God’s Holy Name for such a Wondrous Thought. A good thing, perhaps, yet, a horrible limitation to our spiritual journey: Instead of living towards a Gift, we live towards a day, often herded like cattle towards market by cowboys with visions of profits dancing in their heads. By limiting God’s Gift of Life to arrival on a specific day, we narrow the field of focus and lessen our responsibility to always be attentive. Jesus tells His disciples, “Keep awake . . . you know neither the day nor the hour.” Important words spoken to children lounging on the couch near the fireplace waiting for Santa to arrive, certain as to how and when ‘it’ will happen.
This year I vow to slow down during Advent, the season of blue, the color of the night sky. I’m not sure when He will happen, I just know He will, so I will slow down and stay awake, ready to receive the Gift. I know that He knows me and will not forget me, whenever He arrives.

Have a blessed Advent and a Joyous Christmas!

God's Bailout

Another bailout has been announced this morning, this of the automobile manufacturer's. Like the bailout of the banks before them, this bailout has been given the spin of a 'loan' - with multitudes of strings attached. Yet, with or without strings, this is a loan that will be paid by my tax dollars and yours, by those of our grandchildren, and their grandchildren after them. Bailing out unwise business practices is not cheap - and should make us all stop and count the cost that we not participate in such practices ever again.

Maybe that is why the birth of Jesus is so very much different . . . and so very ironic in the face of such bailouts: Jesus represents God's own bailout of sinful humanity, yet, the only one paying the cost is God - as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is paying the price for our stupidity and arrogance. God is naming the value of our lives in sacrifice and grace. God is facing our creditors and paying the full cost. God, in the person of Jesus Christ and in the presence of the Holy Spirit, God pours out God's own love and abundance that we might be free. No strings attached.

What a difference between God and the government. Our dollar bills say, "In God we trust", but it is the dollar bill we want, the money we worship, the power we crave. God says, "I love you and will never leave you" and that is exactly what God does. God comes to us in Christ and is present for us forever in the Holy Spirit - allowing us freely to choose to accept this gift of life. Again, no strings attached - AND, every generation which follows is offered the same gift, with God paying the cost.

All God asks is that we share the gift, not pay the cost. Tend to each other, not hang on the cross. Serve each other, not face the crowds. Jesus stands before every Congressional subcommittee and testifies on our behalf: Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. How much more proof will we demand before we quit requiring someone else to bail us out of our poor decisions and accept our responsiblity of relationship with God as a gift from which to really live?

It is a question which demands our pondering in the face of Child born in Bethlehem. It is a question which demands an answer of our soul before we accept another dollar of bailout money at the expense of children and grandchildren.

Thank you, God, for the bailing our lives out of the abyss of our sins. Thank you, God, for the gift of Christ-Child.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

A Book You Must Read

In the cold of a day marked by ice and flying snow, the love of God in Jesus Christ fills me in a whole new way.

Yesterday afternoon I purchased a copy of the book, The Shack, by Wm. Young - and finished reading it this morning. I cannot recall a book, a story, a truth, which so captured both my attention and my soul. Already this morning e-mails have been sent to scores of colleagues encouraging them to treat themselves now, in the waning days of Advent, to the heart-warming, faith-filling challenges found within the pages of this fantastic story. Bold enough to deepen the meaning of Christmas, The Shack is a provocative experience which bridges human experience and Divine Presence in such a manner as to lead the reader into the fullness of holy ground.

Remove your shoes and listen. Open your heart and hear. That still small Voice is speaking anew in a manner the humblest among us may understand: God loves you.

This is my Christmas gift to you: The Shack will challenge your most stayed understandings while embracing your deepest desires for the Holy.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

The Season of Caution

Ice and snow on the roads have slowed me down. Careful not to speed up too quickly, nor to have to brake too suddenly, I have entered that season of the year which is not found in any calendar. I have entered the season of Caution.

Caution is what makes us assess the route taken before leaving the garage. Caution is that which causes us to stockpile emergency supplies, both in our cars and in our homes. Caution demands that life not be lived 'pedal to the metal', but at a rate of speed respectfully aware of the dangers at hand. Caution urges attentiveness to the landscape and readiness in the soul. Caution heightens perception and attunes decisiveness.

So little do we enjoy the season of Caution that we throw our very last dollars at it with scatterings of salt and calcium chloride. So derided is the notion of such a season that some will end up in ditches and fields, cursing the ride which placed them there and praying for Caution in others to come and save them. So despised are the behaviors Caution elicits, some are moved to never leave their places of security, demanding others to serve them and still others to act on their behalf. Caution is not perceived to be a joyful season, rather one to be feared and dreaded. Yet, Caution is that one season which, when wholly observed, is holy and sacred in its own right, for Caution is a Rite, a season of delicious, delicate liturgies causing our souls to slow, even while our hearts beat with urgency.

Caution gives us back the Day that we need no longer fear the night. Caution opens to the believer the gates of Paradise, even as the very gates of Hell are closed forever. Caution inspires thought and pondering, while deepening prayer and meditation. Caution allows time and space for words with meaning, and meaning for actions. Caution is a gift from God that is unlike any other gift - and was never meant to be a season through which one might skip.

Caution teaches us to measure our steps, whether to Bethlehem . . . or Jerusalem. Caution opens our ears to hear His words, whether from a Mount or mounted upon a Cross. Caution peals from our eyes the scales of blindness which could not understand earthly faithfulness pointing towards heavenly Lordship. Caution bids our faith to delve into the Word which matters in a manner which moves the Bible from coffee table decoration to kitchen table reading. Caution gives us the heart reason to believe life is more precious than all the things we can accomplish - and nobility of purpose anchored in the Noble One who walks the way with us.

Caution may not be a season marked on the calendar, but it is a season of the Lord requiring our attentive participation that we not miss the very gift of Life itself, Life born in an expected place and time along the way.

Tend to the season of Caution in these hallowed days of Advent.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

Ten Days and Counting

We are ten days journey from Bethlehem and I strain my eyes towards the horizon, hoping to catch an early glimpse of the One who is to come. I long for a vision of salvation that neither, the repetitive playing of carols on the public airways, nor all of the 'old Christmas specials' being shown on television, are quite able to fulfill in any meaningful fashion. I seek not the cleverness of our culture, but the humility of God emerging from a stable; not the gaudiness of Hollywood, but the simplicity of a carpenter and a maiden acting in faith, whatever the outcome; not the lavish explanation some self-righteous Biblical scholar offers of 'how it really probably happened', but the common Word of God upon the common lips of God's children singing with the angels of another age a 'Gloria' no earthly choir could manage.

I yearn for deliverance and God's zeal for life . . . and I look to a Baby, the Christ-Child, to lead me home.

The economy may continue to tank, the housing market may long be stagnant, wars and rumors of wars may fill the pages of newsprint, and jobs may become even more hard to find, but in my heart of hearts I believe the Promise,

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." (Isaiah 9:2-7 NRSV)

I believe the 'Zeal' of the Lord is just over the horizon and it is up to me to take the initiative, to show a bit of gumption, to display just a trace of faith, and move towards the light of the star which shows the way. Maybe if more people believed in the Zeal of the Lord, there would be less zealots on the earth to distort the Vision. Ten days may not seem to be such a long time to wait, yet it is a journey which will demand our all.

The 'Zeal' of the Lord is waiting with Baby fingers to touch our lives. The 'Zeal' of the Lord is coming. Believe.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don

Mulling on the Flat Places

I have been blessed to spend a few precious days at the Wagner farm this Fall helping with harvest. The soybeans ran well and were relatively easy to combine, but the corn, on the other hand, as a result of the severe winds of that Sunday in September, the corn has been a challenge. Every corn field on our farm was affected to various degrees: some stalks were slightly bent to severely bent from the force of the wind, others were/are nearly flat on the ground. Corn harvest has been slow and tedious, yet highly productive. Even given the wind damage, the corn crop is running very well . . . which got me to thinking.
From the road, many of our corn fields might be considered a disaster by those unacquainted with what plants and modern genetics have the capacity to accomplish. Soon after the winds of the storm blew through, I was one of the skeptics who voiced concern what those ‘flattened fields’ would ever be able to yield. Yet, though haltingly harvested, today those wind whipped fields are bringing forth yields which are baffling to even the most seasoned of farmers. God is proving a point: There is something good which can come from Nazareth.
From the poverty of hard labor and slim returns, from the lives of a lowly maiden and a humble carpenter, from the hard-crusted community of an ethnically persecuted people, from the fields of peoples livelihoods laid low by the fickle winds of oppression and politics, God introduces an unexpected and bountiful response to the cynicism of this world’s experts and leadership. There, in the small village of Bethlehem, God speaks a new word of Hope into a despairing attitude. There in the darkened skies above the world’s fields of fear and hurt, God’s angels sing of Courage and Healing, born in abundance in a place of little notice. There along the byways of passing privilege and power, in the heart of flattened dreams and crushed anticipation, God births New Vision and Realized Presence in the unexpected yield of a Holy Baby where no-one, no-one expected any good to emerge.
Is it any wonder that the shepherds were the first ones to hear and take notice? Should it surprise either you or me that, while darkness covered the land and deep darkness the hearts of the people, God placed a magnificent star above the Savior’s birthplace, boldly proclaiming a Mercy never before known, a Grace riding on the waves of gossamer angel songs, piercing the prevailing winds of withering drought and disease with Light above Light, an Answer to Prayer? Have we become so accustomed to hearing the Story of God elevating the Harvest in the planting of the Son, that our own expectations of anything being made different this year in His coming are little higher than the flattest corn? Our lives little more than rote holiday behaviors exercised on an annual basis in the hopes that others might not notice the lack of depth in our soul?
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,” says John the baptizer in the Gospel of Mark.
Today is an incredibly wonderful day to see with God’s eyes the potential in those flattened places of our lives. Today is an opportune time to consider with God’s heart the abundant yield that waits to be harvested in those surprising places. Today is an excellent day to ‘Prepare the way of the Lord’, prayerfully expectant of God to bring forth from the birth waters of struggle new Truth, new Life, and new Faith.
I pray you and yours a blessed and bountifully powerful Advent and Christmas. God is entering into the lives of those who are ready and, through the birth of God’s Son, Jesus, the storm’s devastations are rendered new meaning. Come, see the Son, and there find Life Abundant.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Don