My friend started a blog today. I encourage you to visit In Question. His posts should be provocative and give you ideas to wrestle with.
Pilgrim Notes
Reflections along the way.
Tag: Uncategorized (page 9 of 12)
I’ve been perusing The Penguin Book of Carols by Ian Bradley this season. Some people will remember Ian from his book Celtic Christian Communities, which I highly recommend.
Anyway, he provides short stories on the background on a variety of Christmas hymns. And he reminds us that new carols are still being written. As an example, Bradley offers a little gem from contemporary hymnist Timothy Dudley-Smith. Here is a carol that Smith origninally wrote for a Christmas card in the late 70s. I enjoyed and hopefully you will to.
A Song Was Heard At Christmas
A song was heard at Christmas
To wake the midnight sky:
A saviour’s birth, and peace on earth,
And praise to God on high.
The angels sang at Christmas
With all the hosts above,
And still we sing the newborn King
His glory and his love.
A star was seen at Christmas,
A herald and a sign,
That men might know the way to go
To find the child divine.
The wise men watched at Christmas
In some far eastern land,
And still the wise in starry skies
Discern their Maker’s hand.
A tree was grown at Christmas,
A sapling green and young:
No tinsel bright with candlelight
Upon its branches hung.
But he who came at Christmas
Our sins and sorrow bore,
And still we name his tree of shame
Our life forevermore.
A child was born at Christmas
When Christmas first began:
The Lord of all a baby small,
The Son of God made man.
For love is ours at Christmas,
And life and light restored,
And so we praise through endless days
The Saviour, Christ the Lord.
Amazon has been showing short films all throughout the season. So far four have been posted and one more is coming. These are actually pretty good and I recommend. The Amazon Theater hosts all these films.
Just looking around this beautiful world of wonder reminds us that something is not quite right. Even though the gentle strains of the setting sun envelope my yard and trees in a soothing glow, I know something is not quite right. While I eat at my pleasure, many people starve. While I relax by watching Christmas films of love, joy, and peace on earth, many people hide out from fear of war. The world aches with broken hearts, wounded souls, violent oppression and a dark nothingness that chokes out all hope.
During Advent, these disonant chords keep us from attaching a simple sentamentality to our Christmas celebrations. Hope and joy coexist with pain and suffering. The freedom of the human will plagues this planet with countless evils. And yet, the Christian vision believes and hopes and moves toward the possibility of new age when the king will return and restore all things through his boundless grace.
Advent stirs the hope that evil does not conquor but love triumphs. Several years ago, I penned the following in hopes of this appearing, this “parousia” of the conquoring king.
Parousia
Rushing Spirit agitates the deep,
Earth awakes from restless sleep.
Blazing sky erupts in praise
Darkness fades in endless day.
He is coming.
Shepherds stand in holy fright,
Heaven erupts with peace-filled light.
Kings and crowns come tumbling down
Infant reigns on stable ground.
He is coming.
Wolf and sheep asleep on hay,
Viper and the infant play.
Nations stream up Zion’s mount,
Wisdom flows from timeless fount.
He is coming.
Here are a few sites that provide helpful advent resources:
Ignatius
Anglicans Online
Textweek
Lift Up Your Hearts
CECM
This week we are meditating on the sudden, hopeful return of Christ. I’ve chosen a short poem that captures this sense of suddenness. This poem is written by Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Let us remember to pray for him and all our brothers and sisters in Anglican Communion.
Advent Calendar
He will come like last leaf’s fall.
One night when the November wind
has flayed trees to bone, and earth
wakes choking on the mould,
the soft shroud’s folding.
He will come like the frost.
One morning when the shrinking earth
opens on mist, to find itself
arrested in the net
of alien, sword-set beauty.
He will come like dark.
One evening when the bursting red
December sun draws up the sheet
and penny-masks its eye to yield
the star-snowed fields of sky.
He will come, will come,
will come like crying in the night,
like blood, like breaking,
as the earth writhes to toss him free.
He will come like child.
Rowan Williams
Over 2000 years ago, Isaiah sang a song of peace to a people with war in their hearts. He looked into the holy city of Jerusalem and saw a people corrupted with violent words and violent ways. Yet he envisioned a time when all nations would draw from the wellsprings of peace in Jerusalem. Listen…his song still echoes across our land.
“It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:2-4
We begin the Advent journey with Isaiah’s song on our lips. We yearn for peace and even cry out for peace but we live in a world bent on war.
Jerusalem is still a city consumed in war. In fact, it has known more violent conflict than virtually any other city in history. And yet, Isaiah’s song still echoes: “neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Looking past the pain of the present, Isaiah envisions the end. He sees Jerusalem as a city of peace—bringing peace to all nations of the earth. He sees a world of perfect harmony.
Not to be confused with an endless state of tranquility where nothing happens, harmony is a realm of endless variety and stunning diversity, and yet, like a masterpiece from Mozart, it brings complexity and depth of structure into a stunning resolution. Perfect harmony.
The Lord appears as a judge, a mediator, and an arbitrator. His wise judgments settle the grievances of all offended parties. In fact, the nations are so transformed by his intervention that they willingly transform their tools of destruction into tools of renewal.
Advent begins in hope by contemplating a hopeful end to all things. If we have no hope for peace, how can we ever work toward peace? How can we ever live toward peace? Without hope, we will consciously or unconsciously perpetuate the cycle of violence that engulfs our world.
The nations will never know peace as long as the people have war in their hearts. Many of those who scream for peace the loudest do it with a heart of rage. Each of us carry weapons of war—hurtful thoughts, hurtful words, hurtful actions. We hurl our invectives at those who oppose us, offend us, betray us, and oppress us.
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
Yet, if we truly embrace the Advent vision of the consummation of all things in the perfect justice and equity of God’s grace, then we might draw energy from that vision of peace even now. We might actually begin to live as peaceful people.
The Advent hope promises that the one great Arbitrator will ultimately settle all grievances. With this hope in mind, we can take our weapons of war and turn them into harvesting tools of healing thoughts, healing words and healing actions. We anticipate peace by helping the oppressed, loving the hurting and embracing our enemies.
During the mystery of Advent, may each of us personally enter into the season of renewal with a heart and life that echoes the peaceful dreams of Isaiah.
I’ve never liked walking into an office and seeing everyone plugged into their own personal headphones. Seems so cut off and individualized. I’d rather the music blair through the department–even if we don’t like everything that’s playing. Jeremy has some interesting comments on this topic at e-community.
Kelly and I just finished watching Roman Holiday. This magical film takes the dream of being queen for a day in reverse: briefly allowing a princess to escape her responsilbities for an experience in the real world. The film raises some interesting questions about responsibility vs. self fulfillment. While our culture often encourages us to follow our dreams, maybe sometimes we are challenged to lay aside those dreams and choose something higher than self satisfaction.
FOUND Magazine offers a fascinating glimpse of the things we throw away.
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