These are times in which the Christian claim that God embodies Godself as radically with and for us is desperately needed. Chaos, violence which threatens, turmoil and anxiety surround us.
State sponsored chaos: Jamal Kashoggi, the Saudi-born, US legal resident and Washington Post journalist whose murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman… the seventeen investigations which keep getting closer and closer to the sitting US President who seems more and more desperate… US Military troops shooting tear gas across the border at unarmed Central American refugees…
And personal tragedy: the fifty-one year old friend who entered hospice this week… the brilliant gay man who addiction and depression finally caused his death by suicide last week…
Both in the ambient national atmosphere and in the personal lives of many I love, it seems as if chaos and violence; sorrow and turmoil are the state of the world.
The same is true of the world into which Jesus was born. And yet, in the Christian tradition, as she prepares to give birth, Mary is reported to have sung... in resistant, resilient joy: My soul proclaims your greatness, O God, and my spirit rejoices in you.
How does she do this? And why? Here are some reflections and possible answers to read or listen to:
http://www.lyndaleucc.org/sermons/advent-4-preparing-to-sing-the-world-right-side-up/
State sponsored chaos: Jamal Kashoggi, the Saudi-born, US legal resident and Washington Post journalist whose murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman… the seventeen investigations which keep getting closer and closer to the sitting US President who seems more and more desperate… US Military troops shooting tear gas across the border at unarmed Central American refugees…
And personal tragedy: the fifty-one year old friend who entered hospice this week… the brilliant gay man who addiction and depression finally caused his death by suicide last week…
Both in the ambient national atmosphere and in the personal lives of many I love, it seems as if chaos and violence; sorrow and turmoil are the state of the world.
The same is true of the world into which Jesus was born. And yet, in the Christian tradition, as she prepares to give birth, Mary is reported to have sung... in resistant, resilient joy: My soul proclaims your greatness, O God, and my spirit rejoices in you.
How does she do this? And why? Here are some reflections and possible answers to read or listen to:
http://www.lyndaleucc.org/sermons/advent-4-preparing-to-sing-the-world-right-side-up/
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