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Beloved:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’ ~Matthew 2:18 A king named Herod so feared the loss of his throne he ordered the slaughter of boys two years old and younger in the region of Bethlehem, staining the Christmas story with unspeakable violence. Since last week’s slaughter of innocence in Connecticut I feel just like I did after 9-11. I’m dazed, lost and sick to my stomach. I want to keep my kids at home and read to them or just look at them constantly. I want the world to leave us alone. Matthew reminds me there is nothing new under the sun. Political leaders willing to sacrifice children to protect their position is an ancient story. Parents are forced to live their worst nightmare and dazed as I may be, I carry on with my Christmas shopping. Because I don’t know what else to do. I have no words of comfort, only the ache for them. Matthew helps by reminding me that no such comfort exists. The baby Herod was after escaped to Egypt with his parents. I often wonder what Jesus’ parents told him about why they lived so far from his cousins. He knew, of course. The disgraceful ways of people in power and tiny hearts terrified by what they could not understand. He knew it and carried it and carries it now in ways for which I have no words, only faith. It’s much too small a word in these days. More is wanted. More is needed. In the meantime, strange as it is, we are allowed our joy. ~peace, prayers & merry Christmas! pastor annette
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Beloved ~
I dreamed I was in the ranger’s tower above a beach turned white with seagulls feasting on whatever had washed ashore. The wind in my face and the sound of their shrieking was in fact the breath and whining of a white faced golden retriever, his snout on my pillow telling me it was past time to get up and feed him. Alas, jet lag. Australia in December is early summer. Christmas ads include sales on sandals and bikinis. School kids are on end of the year trips. The day we visited a winery it was 40 degrees celsius ~ 104 to us Yanks. Most days were far milder but summer all the same. As crazy as it feels, in fact it’s ordinary. The seasons change and we live accordingly, simultaneously, each in our own spot on the globe. Our bodies relocate more easily than the attitudes therein. It’s hard to imagine an ordinary different than our own. Dreams and reality collide, startling us us into a new day. Today it has me thinking about Advent, about our spiritual longing for Christ’s perfect kingdom where normal does not include the hardship and grief ordinary to this life. It has me thinking about how prone we are to imagine that kingdom as a someday place, instead of the here and now place as Jesus described it. I find a certain comfort and strength in imagining the kingdoms geographically instead of chronologically - two spots in the universe, simultaneous and seasonal. Best of all, they are traversed not by long plane rides, but simply by waking up. ~ peace and prayers, pastor annette |
I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC. It is also posted here.
Enjoy! Pastor Annette Copyright
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July 2022
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