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| AGW Welcome | The Witness Magazine |
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It's Time to Take Christmas PersonallyLectionary reflections for Christmas 1 (C)by David SelzerReadings for Christmas 1, Year C, Dec. 28, 2003
"On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four calling birds. . ." This Sunday, the fourth day of Christmas, features the powerful prologue of the gospel of John (in the Book of Common Prayer lectionary). From Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch Version of John we hear the translation: "The true light, which enlightens every (person), was entering into the world. In the world he was, and the world was made by him, and the world ignored him. He came into the things he had made, and the people whom he loved turned their backs on him. . . Well, the Idea became a (human) and moved in with us." Many call upon the name of Jesus, either to save them individually or to destroy the infidels, but few recognize the presence of the Word incarnate in the world. Fewer still, like the delicate birds of the days of Christmas, are the places where the compassionate Christ can be present. All these years later, there is still the sense that the world largely has ignored the presence of the Christ. Many call upon the name of Jesus, either to save them individually or to destroy the infidels, but few recognize the presence of the Word incarnate in the world. Fewer still, like the delicate birds of the days of Christmas, are the places where the compassionate Christ can be present. From the ravaged lands of Iraq and Afghanistan, littered with depleted uranium weaponry, to the lonely cells of still unnamed prisoners in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, to the growing lines of the unemployed and hungry in the United States, to the congregations where the hatred of gay men and lesbians flourish, there is the absence of the compassionate Christ. In the midst of this Decade of Nonviolence for the Sake of the Children (remember?), there is more the presence of hate, fear, suspicion, and revenge than the actions of the nonviolent Christians (or other people of faith). The work of Christmas begins. . . "The Idea became a human and moved in with us." When the trees are down, when the post-season sales have already moved into the pre-Valentine's Day specials, when there is not a Christmas tune heard anywhere commercially, then our vocation is to bring the message of the angels into our lives and the life of the world. "Peace on earth, good will to those (all of us) whom God favors. . ." Resistance to the doctrine of pre-emptive strike is a response with the faith in a pre-emptive peace, a wholeness (shalom/salaam) willed by God for all creation. Now is the time to take Christmas personally, to offer the "doves of peace" to our beloved sisters and brother throughout the word, to seek that no more innocents be slaughtered in the name of a renewed deception called "fighting terrorism". . . Now is the time to take Christmas personally, to offer the "doves of peace" to our beloved sisters and brother throughout the word, to seek that no more innocents be slaughtered in the name of a renewed deception called "fighting terrorism," to seeking a nonviolent response to a government that only feeds the rich and powerful, and claims no money for the lowly, here or anywhere else. Now is the time to bring the gift of compassion to our neighbors and enemies, to work for peace, to offer the embrace to all who would receive it. The Families for a Peaceful Tomorrow, a group of relatives and friends of the disasters of 11 September 2001, offer us a powerful witness, to the world in which we live. Afflicted with grief and disaster, they have become an embodiment of compassion by reaching out to others and proclaiming peace rather than revenge, compassion rather than retaliation, love rather than hate. Would that we as Christian people, like them live out our Christmas hopes.
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