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Christmas Prayer in a time of Nationalism and Xenophobia

I received this prayer, originally in French in the mail this week, finding it thoughtful and poignant for our world today:

Lord Jesus, you were born to a Jewish Mother.

Babylonians came to worship you.

You rejoiced in the faith of a Syrian woman

and that of a Roman centurion.

You welcomed the Greek pagans who came looking for you.

An African carried your cross.

Remind us that you came for every man, every woman.

And that it's for all of us, each one of us,

that you promised to make us capable of saying:

"Lord, I am one that follows you."

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Preaching at Christmas, Cophenagen, Avatar 
and Post-Modern Manger Seekers

What's the connection between Christmas, Cophenagen and Avatar?  I went to see Avatar today and here's how I see it.  A close second to the highest money making December premier of a movie, it actually has much to teach the church about post-modernity and in its new-ageish eco-friendliness points to two fundamental aspects of Christian identity that the church would do well to remember and kindle.

Advent Conspiracy

This weekend is the BIG push - the final shopping rush before Christmas.  Some folks have gathered together as the Advent Conspiracy and seek to resist the consumeristic tsunami that Christmas has become.  They make some great stuff, including this video clip that challenges our holiday practices and invites us to practice them in different ways:

Blogging Towards Sunday, December 20th

Micah 5:1-5, Luke 1:26-38 and 39-55.

What's so special about Mary?  In France where I live and work she can be seen as a major source of division between Catholics and Protestants.  Is she the mother of God, or the woman who gives birth to the Promised One?  Was she a virgin? a young maiden?  a liar?  Where today I think Mary is oftentimes (not by any fault of her own) an object of division, she is in fact maybe the opposite, someone to imitate and emulate.

Oakland Video

I ran across this cool video of Oakland, and original song, on a blog I check sometimes [www.shalomofoakland.com/blog.html]. Very Oaktown.

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Not exactly sure what this means, but it's a great conversation-starter.

How do you spell convergence in Church-ese?

This video, or a similar one, is diffused via youtube at the conclusion of each year. It's a definite eye-opener, albeit super American-centered, in terms of the speed at which aspects of our life together as a society and our deepening dependance upon technological tools are converging to impact the details of every day life. I continue to find myself asking if anyone and who in the church is paying attention.  In Advent we remember and focus upon the promise of the return of Christ, the promise that all is not lost, that there is hope for justice, redemption, wholeness and shalom-peace even in our world today.  It's what the Bible articulates as the hope we wait anxiously for, a waiting in which we're admonished to say awake, to say alert and to be on the lookout.  Maybe in the church we've forgotten that message?  Or maybe we just don't know what we're hoping for and/or waiting for in liberating expectation?

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