As Christmas Arrives
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Seasons of Bells and Chains”
Introduction/Christmas could also be a time of double-hearing by the devoted, attentive to the bells of hope-filled celebration whereas on the identical time aware of the clanging chains of servitude. Our lives and our religion are located within the each/and of bells and chains, and we’re not free to easily select one or the opposite in a means that covers over the profound ambiguity of our lives.
Rev. Dr. Dorothy Wells, “New Classes from the Grinch”
Nonetheless festively we have a good time our traditions, nonetheless joyfully we sing our hymns, nonetheless piously we show our religion, if we fail to acknowledge the presence of the neighbor who sits simply past our doorways – the neighbor whom we see however whose story isn’t recognized to us, the neighbor who could not appear like us, the neighbor who could not know our traditions, the neighbor who could also be fully alone and struggling – we pay lip service to what we declare that we consider.
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Some Youngster! A Poem for Christmas”
“‘What little one is that this who laid to relaxation on Mary’s lap is sleeping?”
We ask in awe and surprise.
However wait!
We all know who this little one is:
We all know: that is the kid who will develop in authority to forged out demons,
whereas we’re beset by the demonic drive of racism and nationalism.
We all know: that is the kid who will develop in capability to feed the hungry multitudes,
whereas we casually allow kids all world wide to die in hunger.
Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, “Joseph and Mary: On Turning into a Statistic”
All of that’s operative within the innocent-looking narrative of Joseph with the “decree” to be “registered.” It turned out that the method of registration was an enemy from which Mary and Joseph needed to flee. It belongs to the church to be a haven for individuals who concern being “written down.” It belongs to the church to assemble all the baptized, however past all of them of these with names who refuse to grow to be statistics.
