Holy Blend God Is Still Speaking, UCC Writer’s Group by Donna Schaper | published on Dec 23, 2023
The Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. John 1:14
The big reveal of Advent is that it is the story of the incarnation, God’s famous soup of the well-seasoned, well-stocked rich blend of the sacred and the secular.
God becomes human. Eternity kisses time. Heaven graces earth. I love the Spanish phrase, con carne, for the culmination of Advent: “Christ con Carne.” Christ in the meat of it. The light shines in its opposite of darkness and the darkness does not overcome it. They blend.
A woman whose church was almost dead told me they couldn’t possibly use the small chapel for dance, unless it was sacred dance. A thrift store sold all its books for a dollar but had a sign that said, “Religious Books Free.” They didn’t want the tawdry money to invade the holy kind. Or vice versa?
A pastor in a Massachusetts town took her dog to church and people loved it so much they made her keep bringing the dog to church. The dog worships in front of the pulpit. Yes, in puppyhood, once, it had an accident and accidentally pooped on the altar. No one cared.
So many have pooped on the altar by an improper understanding of the incarnation. These good people got the point. May we as well. The sacred soup by itself can be very weak; the temporal soup by itself can be very weak. Together, they are delicious.
Prayer
Christ of incarnation, Christ of meat, blood and body, help us get over the false binary of sacred and secular and start having some fun with you. Amen.
Christmas Prayer:
Blessed Jesus, the world’s Joy, Great Light, Day Spring, Angel’s Song, Emmanuel Come, Heaven’s Home, Blessed Jesus, the world’s Joy, Great Light, Day Spring, Angel’s Destiny, Emmanuel Come, Heaven’s Home: you beyond any name to capture you, yet as close as a baby’s quiet breath, let us listen deep to the carols and the stories.
Bless the Community Church of San Miguel de Allende with Christmas year-round, with a spirit of gift giving, a Feliz Navidad, a paz mundial y a paz eternal. Prepare a room in our hearts for you, Posada by Posada.
Let Heaven and Nature sing their duet, daily. Close the Paths to Misery, on our sidewalks and on the sidewalks of New York. Let the hopes and fears of all the years unite in you tonight. Hear Christmas Angels shout glorious gladness. Let them tidings tell. Clear the midnight of our souls.
With the Angels bending their ears towards earth, let us return the favor and bend our eyes towards heaven. Let heavenly music float over all the weary world. Hark the Heralds in our public policies as well as our daily prayers.
You are our rest. Our hearts are restless till they find our rest in Thee. The ancient splendors of peace on earth, the whole world gives back the song, which now the Angels sing. Triumph of the sky. Make us each and all Citizens of heaven. Let us come home for Christmas, even if we only dream of a white Christmas. Radiant beams from thy Holy Face, Glory. Make all nights Holy. Glorify God in the highest and on earth grant peace and goodwill toward all. Amen
**(Greek: μαγοι, romanized: magoi ) who follow an unusually loud and glowing star to the house where Jesus dwelt, and indicates that the Magi found Jesus some time later, less than two years after his birth, rather than on the exact day (Mat. 2:1-23). Matthew's account does not mention the angels and shepherds, while Luke's narrative is silent on the Magi and the star. The Magi and the angels are often displayed in a nativity scene with the Holy Family and the shepherds (Luke 2:7, 12, 17).
From Anna Copeland in a beautiful letter, she wrote to me about Christ the King Sunday.
“If you cannot give them Christ at Christmas, I pray that at least you will not take Christ away from them. Or perhaps that is beyond our power in any case.
I write to you respectfully as a colleague, yet as I have said, I write too out of love for this church who need a confessing Christian community where the mystery of Christ and the humanity of Jesus walk before us, beside us, behind us and within us, wherever the future may lead.”
More…
From Lokkal | Sunday Magazine December 24, 2023
Christmas, Perfectly Imperfect by Rev. Donna Schaper
When the shepherds are back with their flock / The work of Christmas begins.
Christmas, Birthing Divinity by Mary Jane Miller
He is that person, filled with wisdom and love, and begun in Mary's womb.