Advent Hope - Diane Mettam

In the past week I have seen three programs that mentioned the story of Pandora.  I think we all remember the story of the young woman entrusted with a box and warned not to open it.  And how she did open it, and released all manner of evils and unhappiness upon the earth.  But if you're like me, you've forgotten the most important part of the story.  Pandora heard a little scratching noise inside the box, and when she looked inside, she found a small winged creature in one corner.  It was Hope.  All was not lost because Hope was also released into the world and it has remained with us ever since.

Hope is also one of the four Advent candles we light in our church.  Hope sustains us as we wait for the Christ Child.  No matter how awful things seem, no matter how desperate and depraved the situation, we can always live with the hope that things will be better.  And as Christians we can live with the certainty that God is in control, and wants only the best for us.

It seems as if the world today is on the brink of chaos.  Racial relations here in the U.S. appear to be at a new low.  Terrorism seems to be everywhere.  People in some parts of the world are starving to death while others are dying from the effects of obesity.  Floods are inundating some areas while others are suffering from years of drought.  Children are dying of preventable diseases for lack of vaccinations.  Where is the hope, we ask?  Where is God in all this?

The same place He was when Christ came into the world.  Times were equally bleak.  Israel had been conquered by a series of occupying forces – the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Seleucids, the Ptolemies, and most notably, the Romans.  The Pax Romana. (Roman Peace) came at a high cost – heavy taxes, the presence of Roman troops, being governed by Roman officials, poverty, unrest, distrust. 

I'm sure people felt just as hopeless then as many do now.  But we mustn't abandon Hope, just as Hope doesn't abandon us.  Things were very bleak when God sent Jesus into the world.  The Israelites were at the breaking point when God sent Moses to release them.  The Hebrews were at the point of death when God used Esther to secure their safety.  And today we have Jesus to secure us.  This time of Advent is a time to put aside the bad habits and bad attitudes that are weighing us down. 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Romans 12:2

Even illness and disability can steal our peace of mind and turn us away from Jesus.  I know.  But if we will turn ourselves back to the source of life and Hope we will find comfort.  And if we share our struggle with other believers we will find that we are not alone.  Praise God!

Dear Father God, As we wait for the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, help us to find Hope, and to trust that all is well and will continue to be well.  Remind us that we are your hands and feet, and enable us to seek and do Your will.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

Human Devaluation - Sharon McCart

Like many people, I am deeply disturbed by recent events. Time after time police officers shoot at or get into confrontations with unarmed black men and grand juries fail to indict them. The response from many is "Black Lives Matter." And I am as angry as many others that our justice system is failing time after time to produce what its title implies. I do not blame or impugn anyone who is protesting, no matter what form that protest is taking, although I believe that nonviolence will go farther to achieve the goal of correcting what is wrong with our system.

But there is a broader story here, one that indicates that there is even more happening than police brutality and racism and corrupt prosecutors. 

Human devaluation. Some people are worth more than others.

The news media report far too often about children with autism being murdered by their own parents, of people tying them up and putting them in closets or basements, sometimes not feeding them or allowing them outside. Sometimes teachers and assistants have placed these children in cages. And there have been incidents where police officers have reacted inappropriately due to inadequate training when people with disabilities are involved---not prepared for someone who is deaf or has Down Syndrome or autism or mental illness. Some of these people have died at the hands of the police. Public sympathy is often not on the side of the victims.

Human devaluation. Some people are worth more than others.

Even the increase in news stories about hit-and-run accidents adds to this. People in cars are hitting pedestrians and bicyclists and not stopping to help or call the paramedics. Sometimes the drivers continue on with the victim embedded in the windshield or desperately holding on to the hood. Crosswalks and bike lanes are no protection. 

Human devaluation. Some people are worth more than others.

Racism. Ableism. And what’s the third one? Transportism? People who are driving are worth more than people who walk or bike? I am not sure. But it’s clear that some people are not worth stopping to help.:

Some people are not worth treating with dignity and respect. Some people are not worth working for justice for or spending more time to arrest them uninjured than to just shoot them.

I am just thinking-----

And I am greatly disturbed, actually more and more disturbed.

Because if some people are not worth as much as others, where are we going with this?

Where will it stop? What classification will be safe?

Not poor people. Not black, brown or any other people of color. Not people with any type of disability. Not women. Not people with sexual orientations other than cis-gender. Not unemployed people. Not sick people. Not elderly.

Not anyone.  

    

God weeps.        

                               

(photo: Oklahoma City National Memorial, Tim Vermande)

Advent - Diane Mettam

Happy New Year!  With this Advent we begin a new year in the life of the church.  I like the way the church year runs.  We have All Saints Day, where we remember all the people who have influenced us and guided us, and give thanks that part of them that lives on in us, and we remember that we are still surrounded by such a “great cloud of witnesses.”

And we have Thanksgiving, when we stop to reflect on all the blessings in our lives, and to be thankful, and to share our blessings with others.  If we’re lucky it’s also a time to gather together with family and friends and delight in the warmth of shared companionship and memories.

Then comes Advent, the time of blessed waiting, when we know the Christ Child is coming.  The music, the candles, the creche, the Chrismons, the evergreens, the poinsettias, and the other customs and traditions, all help to instill the sense of wonder and expectation.  If we are lucky we have found ways to separate ourselves from the madness of the Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays and find sanctuary in moments of reading, prayer, music or meditation.  Perhaps there is even a favorite movie that brings us to a peaceful place. 

I’ve always loved the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol because it is the one I first saw, as a child on television.  Scrooge’s conversion touched me deeply, and Marley’s ghost’s speech:  “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business.” made a lasting impression on me.  Even my unchurched friends can relate.

So what are you waiting for this Advent?  For what are you preparing?  Is it a year dedicated to new spiritual practices?  A new health regimen?  A new outreach ministry?  I know that with Emmanuel, God with us, you will not be alone and you will experience growth and success.  It may not look like the project you originally designed, but it will be the one that God planned for you. 

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  Jeremiah 29:11

We thank you, dear God, that you do plan for our welfare, and that you give us a future with hope.  No matter how grey the skies, how dark the clouds, we can depend on the ray of sun peeking out and assuring us of Your presence.  We are never alone.  Amen.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.  John 1:5