My Scattered Advent Thoughts

“Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see.” This one line from Hark! The Herald Angels Sing has me in a state of great excitement this Advent season.

“Veiled in flesh.”

I’ve been thinking a lot this year about the story of Christmas. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love stories. I love to read them, watch them, think about them, imagine myself writing them (and doing it well!), tell them, listen to them, etc. And this advent season, like never before, this love for stories is carrying over to include the Christmas story. I simply cannot seem to get enough of it! I’ve read it, as it appears in each of the gospels, several times and in several different translations. Right now I’m mostly camping out in the New Living Translation because it seems to be capturing the essence of the story the best for me.
The reason that this story has so thoroughly captivated my imagination this year is because of a line from the first chapter of John which says “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Emmanuel does after all, as the prophet reminds us, mean “God is with us.” This fact is the real reason that Christmas has ever been celebrated. It is the reason that we have this season of expectation called Advent. It is all because we celebrate that this God that we worship is not a god of the ivory tower but is one that truly put on flesh and dwelt among us, even, or perhaps especially, in a world so filled with hate and suffering and injustice and evil. If this fact is not true then we have no gospel. Good news of great joy for all of the people, indeed.
And it is this time of year, the expectation of Advent and the culmination of the celebration of Christmas day that the Church has set aside each year to remember, and to reflect on, the story. Because, for whatever else we make this season about—mass consumption, gluttony, office holiday parties, a jolly man in red—the true essence of the season is still captured by the words of an old Christmas hymn:

Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail the incarnate deity,
Pleased as human with humans to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel (God with us).

An Issue of Social Justice

The other morning as I was getting ready for Church, this thought popped into my head so I stopped what I was doing and scribbled it down in my journal, thought I'd share it here:

How do we know if an issue, political or otherwise, is an issue of social justice? Look at the issue and ask the following question: Does this issue have the potential to affect the most vulnerable among us--the poor, the sick, the very young, the very old, and the outsiders-differently than it will affect the rest of us? If the answer to this question is yes then that issue is an issue of social justice. When beheld in this light, I submit that there are no issues that are not social justice issues.

Democracy of the Dead

Tradition meanse giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to that arrogant oligarchy who merely happen to be walking around.
-G.K. Chesterton

A Study in the Ridiculous

Just for fun this past week I have been cataloguing ridiculous moments and events that I have witnessed and/or participated in each day. I have selected one favorite from each day (not completely true, see Saturday and Sunday) to share with you.

Wednesday: A motivational speaker came to work to give a motivational speech on how to become a "Humor Being." His program for success in life took a formulaic approach with three Atti-tools (yes, that is true, I couldn't make that up!). At times he was moderately funny and he even said a few things that were logically coherent but he was basically arguing for a run-of-the-mill, been done before, Epicurean-Hedonistic approach to human existence with a bit of pop-psychology thrown in for good measure. So, was his talk a success? I would have to argue that it was. Afterall, he was there to motivate and by the end of his talk I found that I did feel quite motivated to cynically roll my eyes. So...good for him, I guess.

Thursday: I had an interview for a job as an administrative assistant to a new director in the company. Wanting to look put together and professional I searched in my closet for my most serious looking skirt and fished around in my sock drawer for a pair of pantyhose. I have to admit, I was looking pretty nice until, while sitting at my desk, I had the strangest sensation of something small sitting on my leg just below my right knee and then gliding up to about three inches above my knee...Yes, for no apparent reason my hose got a huge an undeniable run in them while I was innocently sitting at my desk! My question is who invented pantyhose anyway and why? I'll tell you this, I will have to be interviewing for the Pope's job before I find it important enough to put a pair of those things on again!

Friday: The cost of cream cheese spread is just insane. I learned this when I bought a bagel in the cafeteria for breakfast and it cost a very reasonable $0.90 but the measley little 1oz, barely enough to spread over the bagel, cream cheese cost $0.45! Am I wrong to think its weird that the cost of the topping is 50% of the cost of the actual food?

Saturday and Sunday: Okay, my weekend was actually fairly pedestrian. I can't think of any major, "are you kidding me!?!" moments to share so we'll just move right along to:

Monday: Two words: Columbus Day.

Tuesday: The fact that there is such a drink as a "green tea latte" is odd enough but the fact that I, (1) actually tried such a thing and (2) found it utterly delightful and would actually like to be drinking one now, 14 hours later, is something that I find absolutely bewildering and ridiculous.

Happy Columbus Day!

As anyone who tried to go to the bank yesterday probably noticed they were closed in observance of Columbus Day. I to observed the day by putting this John Reuben song on repeat for my drive home. Its a bit angry but pretty thoughtful:

(chorus)
Puff the magic Jesus
Floats around the universe
The United States is His favorite place on the whole entire earth
So sing your songs and wave your flag
And thank the Lord for all you have
But what about them?
Did you forget about them?

(verse 1)
We came we conquered never speak of this again life
Must go on let's not think of them
Things are comfortable now the pioneers have settled in
A perfect blend of progress and pale skin
For our sake and those to come
We'll rewrite the text so you can forget where you came from
Tell it in a way that will build your self esteem
Repackage the product and sell the American dream

(chorus)

(verse 2)
History is best forgotten and even better rewritten
And since there's no forgetting let's remember it different
Commit to it so strongly till you believe it
The truth is there but you aren't able to receive it
You need to know you're safe here
Hide your face here cuz you found your faith here
But four walls with no windows doesn't mean you're it
Four walls with no windows doesn't mean they don't exist

(chorus)

(verse 3)
What a prosperous, wondrous place
Remember to say grace before we scrape our plates
And ignore the crying outside the door sure
You'll pray for their burdens but you don't want to make it yours
Thin lines the divide but there's a world of difference
So crawl back into your happy existence and feel the bliss of ignorance keep you warm
Blessed are those who mourn but it's so foreign
The more you have the less you care
The less you care the more you become unaware
And sure life's not fair but it favors us apparently
And how are we to interpret this excess?
Is it God's favor ill-behavior or simply man's modern progress
God bless us as we sweep this mess under the rug
Don't want to walk barefoot on the tile and step in the mud
Out of sight out of mind and pushed to the side
Left for someone else to rationalize and justify

(chorus)

Sagacious

This week’s word: “Sagacious”

Pronunciation: sa·ga·cious, suh-gey-shuh s

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions:
1. Having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd: a sagacious lawyer.

2. Obsolete. keen of scent.

3. Having or showing sound judgment, and farsightedness.

4. Skillful in statecraft or management; "an astute and sagacious statesman"

5. Acutely insightful and wise; "much too perspicacious to be taken in by such a spurious argument"; "observant and thoughtful, he was given to asking sagacious questions"; "a source of valuable insights and sapient advice to educators" [syn: perspicacious]

Related forms:
sagaciously, adverb
sagaciousness, noun

Synonyms: wise, sage, discerning, clever, intelligent, judicious, acute, sharp, keen, perspicacious.

Antonym: unwise.

Etymology of sagacious: From Latin sagāx, sagāc-, of keen perception; see sāg- in Indo-European roots.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Brokenness Under Blessing

I found this quote just last week and thought that it was really beautiful:

The great mystery of God's love is that we are not asked to live as if we are not hurting, as if we are not broken. In fact, we are invited to recognize our brokenness as a brokenness in which we can come in touch with the unique way that God loves us. The great invitation is to live your brokenness under the blessing. I cannot take people's brokenness away and people cannot take my brokenness away. But how do you live in your brokenness? Do you live your brokenness under the blessing or under the curse? The great call of Jesus is to put your brokenness under the blessing.
- Henri J.M. Nouwen