The scripture passage last Sunday (Matthew 2:13-23) tells of Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt after the birth of Jesus. Afraid for their lives, they left by night and traveled a month's journey to arrive in Egypt.
Their story is not confined to the ancient world. According to the International Organization for Migration, there are 15.2 million refugees worldwide. If you count other displaced peoples, the number rises to 27.1 million. 27 million plans changed at the last second 27 million decisions about what to take on the journey and what to leave behind 27 million late night deals to get out of town 27 million final glances at a place once called home For these people, as for Mary and Joseph, there was no time to celebrate at Christmas because their lives were in danger At church, we are still singing carols even though most other people have moved on. We have been celebrating Advent, waiting patiently for Christmas, while carols have been playing on the radio since Halloween. Our carols seem a little belated. But we have good reason to sing them. ... "... O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way..." At this point in the song, Santa entered the room with a merry "Ho Ho Ho!" Children cheered and parents waved.
The Christmas party at the Schuyler Inn, a converted motel housing families experiencing homelessness, was in full swing. Children decorated cookies, picked out books and mittens and had their pictures taken with Santa. Smiles blossomed across the room. I worked alongside two teenagers, age 14 and 15, who used to live at Schuyler Inn and are now in a stable place to live. They came back this year to help with the Christmas party. Someone introduced them both to me as high school basketball players. A long time volunteer and mentor interjected, "Yeah, but, do you know what they are mostly? They're good kids!" I noticed that these words, said within their earshot, made a significant impression on them. Self-doubt is a constant companion to many teenagers. If we are honest, many adults never quite recover from seeds of self-doubt planted at that age. Many gifts float around this time of year. The gift I witnessed this Christmas was one adult having confidence in teenagers who have little confidence in themselves. My prayer is that this confidence one day becomes their own. A clever recounting of the Nativity through social media and online communication. Enjoy! Westminster is in a fantastic neighborhood! Hardly a week goes by without some community gathering or event. I took some snapshots of the annual Winter Wonder Lark festival on Lark street, 2 blocks from Westminster. The atmosphere was relaxed and festive. Families gathered to decorate ginger bread houses, independent artists sold their wares, and still others went shirtless (see below). Santa Speedo Sprint. No joke. It is hard to form community out of nothing. Lark Street and the community around Westminster are wildly diverse, and still so many find a home. The community is already here surrounding our church. What makes the community outside the church different from the community within the church? The truth is out: I listen to pop music.
As confessions go, this may seem pretty tame. Alright, it is. Yet I am often surprised when people think that because I am a pastor I will act a certain way - and pop music isn't included. On one occasion, while I was playing pool at a bar with other seminarians, the group at the next table simply could not believe that we were training to be ministers. It was as if they caught us doing something we were not supposed to do. Or maybe the feeling was more like children who are stunned to see their teacher in the grocery store. "You don't live at school?" I may sing in my car about waking up feeling like P-Diddy (what does that even mean?) and then arrive at my destination to lead a prayer service or visit a nursing home. These are all aspects of who I am that I cannot compartmentalize into "pastor" self and "pop music" self. Many people see church as different from other areas of life. The folks playing pool would not have had the same reaction if we were med students or in law school. But, church is different. Certainly, they would not forbid religious leaders from playing pool or even from consuming fermented beverages. Yet there was something about our group that jumbled their assumptions about what is holy and what is not, who is religious and who is not. When one in our group missed a shot and let out an expletive, our shocked neighbor announced, "Now, that's a church I would go to!" I believe that says more about his perception of church than about our group. Church is the place where you never say those words, where you put on your best clothes and behavior, where you never make a mistake. Right? When you go home from church you can be yourself and sing out loud to your favorite song - but not before. Perhaps our "church" self should meet our "on our way home" self and become friends, our "pop music" self and our "pastor" self go out for coffee. Then we can both come to church together. |
Frances Wattman Rosenau
Pastor, friend, sister, mom, servant of the living God Archives
September 2015
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