Into the Crises of Our Lives

The Gospel of Luke has a curious pair of accounts of Gabriel entering the world of human beings. Imagine that, an angel bursting in on our human existence. 

Zechariah was an old man, and his wife, Elizabeth, was an elderly woman, and, yet, the angel told him of their coming child.. His response may be typical of a man. Perhaps he was looking for data or information when he asked, "How can I be sure?" So Gabriel told him how he could be sure and to add to it, being mute until the child is born. 

Mary was a young woman, perhaps even a teenager, when the angel appeared to her. Her response may be more typical of a woman, "How will this be?" Gabriel explains how it is to be. 

For both of them, these had to be earth shaking experiences and revelations. 

We admire Mary and perhaps see in her something in ourselves, or perhaps we simply see in her one of the ultimate mysteries of the universe. Seldom do we speak with admiration of Zechariah. Maybe we need to spend more time studying and thinking about him. 

In both cases, the angel of the Lord burst in upon their lives. Were they in crisis? Were they going about doing their routine activities? 

We are in the middle of several crises: health care with the pandemic exploding around us, racial unrest, governmental chaos between parties and the current president and the president-elect, and economic as people cannot go to work because of shut downs. 

And, I am mindful of my friends in the Black Farmer Movement. In 1920 there were approximately 920,000 Black farmers farming roughly 17,000,000 acres. Right now, there are roughly 35,500 Black farms with roughly 4,600,000 acres. Someone deep inside the current administration said recently that there are 17,000 Black farmers on the verge of foreclosure. They are living on the edge, hopeful that The Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020 will bring them relief. 

How will God burst into our lives with these crises (and perhaps even more, with personal, family, and others) going on around us? Will God ease into our chaotic lives? Will God burst into our lives? 

Or, will we realize that God has been with us all along? 

The coming of the Christ child in the manger in Bethlehem is revealing to us. We have heard it our entire lives. We hear it anew each year. We rehearse the stories of the gospel writers and perhaps finding something new each time, or maybe we find old things made new each time. 

There is no better time for God to make an appearance in the form of a baby than right now. Now is a very good time for God to burst into our world, to rattle our existences, to show Himself to us, than right now.

We are raw, unsettled, troubled, wounded, fearful, and wondering what this time and these events are all about. We could use some good news. In the midst of our friends dying of COVID, we need good news, the birth of a child to give us hope. 

In the midst of our chaos, we yearn for peace and calm and stability. That can come with the baby in the manger in Bethlehem. 

That is when our deepest selves and our deepest yearnings meet up with God's deepest longings for us. 

We Are Quite the Mess

I am pondering our present circumstances under the notion of "we are quite the mess." I am curious as to whether or not you would agree or disagree with that assessment.

But an assessment of what?

Globally, we are challenged by the warming phenomenon, and some of us agree with it and some of us do not. Violence is occurring both here and abroad. We see daily the conflicts in Europe, Africa, and other places, and most distinctly here in the US. We have succeeded over the last two years or so in separating ourselves from the world. The USA that once stood with is now standing outside of the circle of relationships between countries. We have a person in the WH who berates our friends and embraces our enemies. That is enough to give pause right there.

Within our own country, we have an economy that looks to be built upon the flimsy foundation of tax cuts to corporations and now the stock market is in a serious crash influenced as well by the tariff war between the US and China, or rather between the president* and China. Our national debt has risen to unbelievable levels at the same time.

Instability reigns in Washington. I have lost count as to the number of indictments, convictions, and court cases surrounding the president*. Never in the history of the US has this sort of thing occurred. Friday's court filings reveal a toxicity that we have not seen since Watergate, and Watergate was simple compared to the current status of things.

Our country just paid homage to a good and decent though imperfect former president. Many of us watched the memorial services, found ourselves moved by the readings and eulogies and songs, and became enthralled as the train bore his casket open to viewers on both sides through the countryside from Spring to College Station. We argued at why the president* and first lady did not read the Apostles' Creed along with others at the memorial service in DC. Some of my restorationist background people said, well, of course not, and some of my other friends said that it was a moment of truth as they did not read what they did not believe. Still others of my friends accuse people  like me of looking for things to complain about.

Still, there is more. We are in season of advent. The Christ-child is coming. The manger will soon have an inhabitant, the shepherds will soon see the star of Bethlehem, and the wise men will make their way to the small town. Christmas trees are up and decorations abound, and our children and grandchildren look with much curiosity and adventure.

We have a collision of worlds, the one in which we live and the one for which we dream. We live in the world as it is and we dream for a better world for our children, grand children, and great-great-grandchildren.

We teeter on the brink of despair and then we arise on the edge of hopefulness. We live in both spaces and places with one foot in the now and one foot in the what shall be.

My prayer is simple, Lord, please save us from ourselves, and please protect the world into which the Christ child is soon to be born. Prepare our hearts so that we might receive this beautiful child. Please give us the wisdom and the courage to build a future of hopefulness for our beloveds.