Birthing A Different World - Susan Morely at Inward/Outward

Mary sings from the cave of her heart about what her child's birth will mean.  Be not naïve, for the words that follow are not so sweet. They point to a world about to be upended, where values will be shaken up and the mainstream way of life will be overturned by the birth of the child within her womb. 

Birthing a baby is more than enough challenge, but a new world! Yikes!

Advent is upon us and I am keenly aware of the craving for a different world.  Yet inner movements remain subtle. Clues often are all that will be given.

Mary’s story, and her cousin Elizabeth’s, is in another time when corrupt leaders, exploitation of the poor, controversial policies and dangers prevail.  In her song (the Magnificat), Mary sings from the cave of her heart about what her child's birth will mean. 

Be not naïve, for the words that follow are not so sweet. They point to a world about to be upended, where values will be shaken up and the mainstream way of life will be overturned by the birth of the child within her womb. 

The stories of these two women, grounded and joyous in the face of the mysteries they carry, show the way. We are the different world God longs to bring forth.  Advent is the time to ground ourselves in reality, difficult or not, and empty out space enough to receive Love.

The full article is available here

Every Piece Matters and Has Its Place - T.A. Barron

A War On What Christmas Has Become? Sign This Minister Up - Reverend Mark Sandlin at Sojourner's

So if there is a War on Christmas like many of the "not-least of these" claim, then sign me up. I refuse to let the story of my faith be co-opted by corporate interests who want us to believe we are entitled to a certain materialistic status that can be bought and that we should revel in our obscene abundance.

The baby we remember this time of year was not part of the dominant culture (unlike us). The religious stories told in the time of Jesus' birth were told under the shadow of the dominant culture. They were stories of oppression and hardships; stories of hope for people living in times and cultural positions that felt hopeless.

Today, our stories are told from places and positions of power. So, instead of the story of a Middle-Eastern, unwed, pregnant woman who was seen as little more than property, giving birth to what her society would see as an illegitimate child who was placed in a smelly feeding-trough in an animal stall, we end up with a clean White Anglo Saxon Protestant woman giving birth to a glowing baby wrapped in impossibly white cloths and laid in a manger that looks more like a crib than any feeding-trough.

The Christmas story has been hijacked by the dominant culture. Our current story has become increasingly white-washed and sanitized. That has warped the comeuppance sensibilities of the original Christmas story. God's vision of liberating the oppressed and downtrodden has been air-brushed into a safe story that no longer brings fear to the Powers that Be, but rather supports big business agendas of profit and mass consumerism.

Does the story we tell bring light into darkness? Does it bring hope to hopeless? Does our celebration bring justice to those who have been treated unjustly?

Jesus' birth is a part of a story meant to teach us something about the value of every human soul; meant to teach us that "the least of these" is simply a human construct; meant to show us what life looks like when it starts from the assumption that all people are worthy of love.

So if there is a War on Christmas like many of the "not-least of these" claim, then sign me up. I refuse to let the story of my faith be co-opted by corporate interests who want us to believe we are entitled to a certain materialistic status that can be bought and that we should revel in our obscene abundance (in the 1st World which is carried on and carved out of the backs of the 2nd and 3rd World. I refuse to worship a cult of consumerism that sees the world, who worry about having enough food to eat, a place to live, and clean water to drink, as cogs in its supply chain. This corporate global dominance is enabled by an economic and cultural empire that dwarfs the Romans,) even as we celebrate the birth of a child who had no place to lay his head and told us "just as you do it unto the least of these, you do unto me."

The full article is available here

Benediction: May God Interrupt Our Autopilot Living (based on John 1:5)

As we go, let's watch for God's interruptions of our autopilot living.  May the power of God's love reposition us; leading us to fill the dark places with light, to level the uneven paths with grace, and to join together with all of humanity in the unity of peace.

May mercy and justice interrupt our greed and mistrust. May we strive to bring compassion and hope. May our lives speak of God's endless love that sets things right. May it shine forth from us as we do our part in God's redemptive plan for creation.

The Problem With The Christian Music Industry - Michael Gungor at Awaken Generation

When you remove the soul from music and transplant the body parts and parade it around with some more “positive” lyrics posing as Christian music, then what you have is a musical zombie.

I find something very disingenuous about most Contemporary Christian Music. This is something I can simply feel at a gut level.  It’s that same kind of creep out that you feel when somebody gives a really loud fake laugh. It’s just weird and uncomfortable feeling.

The basic premise of most Contemporary Christian music I've seen is to use whatever musical style you wish as a medium to communicate your message. It’s not about the art, it’s about "the message."  The problem with this is that music is not simply reducible to certain sounding tones and chords. There are emotions and attitudes of different genres of music that are the soul of the music.

So when you remove the soul from music and transplant the body parts (chord changes, instrumentation, dress, lights, and everything but the soul…) and parade it around with some more “positive” lyrics posing as Christian music, then what you have is a musical zombie.

It looks like a human.. It eats like a human… It still walks and makes noise and resembles a human, but it’s not. It’s a zombie. It has no soul. It just uses it’s human body for its own purposes. 

There are a few artists that I know in the Christian industry that are really trying to transcend the inherent limitations and zombying effect of the industry. But the industry as a whole is broken.

We call it Christian, but it’s certainly not based in Christianity. It is based on marketing. That’s it.

The full article is available here

Getting vs Giving: Messages of Consumerism and Singing Angels - Jeff Wiersma

The message of joy and peace that the angels sang interrupted a sleepy night for the shepherds.  In the same way, it is a counter-narrative that interrupts the constant marketing propaganda which we are subjected to; proclaiming good news for all people in the form of something given freely to the entire world - a child.

In this season of Advent, of preparation and expectant hoping, the prophets of old and the angels who sang to the shepherds speak to us of God's peace and joy.

But we are relentlessly bombarded with consumerist messages designed to make us feel anxious and lacking.  They try to tell us that what we have and who we are isn't good enough; that joy can only be found in endlessly trying to get more and more and more; that we need to look out for ourselves first and foremost.

The message of joy and peace that the angels sang interrupted a sleepy night for the shepherds.  In the same way, it is a counter-narrative that interrupts the constant marketing propaganda which we are subjected to; proclaiming good news for all people in the form of something freely given to the entire world - a child.

Like the shepherds, we need to be open to surprising ways that God comes to us in our own time; as the widow, the orphan, the refugee, the oppressed, the exploited, the weak, the sick, the powerless and voiceless.

Looking to get more and more narrows our focus on just ourselves, often at the expense of others (be they our next door neighbor or someone on the other side of the world, who is on the receiving end of global labor force bottom-feeding and climate change "externalities") and our home planet.

This season's message of giving interrupts that and widens our focus to other fellow image-bearers of God.  God's free gift to the world is part of the mission to let love rule; a mission toward having mercy, justice, peace and joy reign.

Smells of Palestine enhance church Christmas drama - Lark News

In addition to heartwarming smells like warm bread over a wood fire, the kit includes scents for unwashed feet, donkey dung, rotting fish and unusually bad body odor.

Last year, First Christian Church brought in live donkeys to wow the audience at its annual Christmas drama. This year, they’re adding “scented sensations which bring the Holy Land to life.”

In short, their presentation is going to stink.

With a slew of Christmas presentations vying for local audiences this year, churches are embracing far-out measures to enliven December dramas.

This season’s fad is Smells of Palestine, a “sensory kit” sold by The Ol’ Factory Worship Experience, a Dallas company. The kit pumps “authentic smells” into the sanctuary during re-enactments of the Christmas story.

“It works like a fog machine,” says a company representative. “Heated oils send evocative odors wafting over the congregation.”

Evocative, but not always pleasing. In addition to heartwarming smells like warm bread over a wood fire, the kit includes scents for unwashed feet, donkey dung, rotting fish and unusually bad body odor.

The full article is available here