What is Your Advent Song? (Luke 1)

Radical Birth & God’s Dream from Luke 1: What is Your Advent Song?

This Advent season, we invite you to the discipline of imagination and to ask, what is God doing in your life AND in the world? Because the story of Jesus Christ is real, how is God inviting you to participate in God’s Dream for how we live as a new humanity together?  

Advent is a season that invites you to turn around and see that we are living in the Reality of the ONE who came to turn the world upside down and set it right!

What do we learn from Luke’s telling of Jesus’ birth story that sets in motion God’s dream?

In contrast to Mark who paints with a broad stroke  – summing all of Jesus’ birth announcement and entrance into the world into the phrase:  the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, son of God –

Luke writes with a fine pencil to create a detailed sketch to understand the magnitude of Jesus’ coming into the world.

In doing so – in being the best of researchers and recorders – Luke brings to life first century Judea AND brings dignity and honor to “the ordinary” participants. 

And, Luke, also makes connection between the stories of those who walked with Jesus; AND the Jewish scriptures that pointed toward Jesus being the ONE who would bring salvation to all.

One of the most beautiful aspects of Luke’s birth announcement is Mary’s song.

As Mary receives news of a radical birth – a baby born to a virgin (and she is the one who knows the truth of this statement!!), she sings as she has learned from her youth  -- by reciting the song of Hannah and Miriam and Deborah.  She sings from The Psalter – her Jewish songbook. She echoes Hannah especially – “My heart exults in the Lord.

Look at Mary’s song and what pours forth from her lips:

·       Praise for WHO God is – the one only to be praised.

·       Gratitude for noticing her – showing that she though lowly in the world, esteemed by God.

·       Acknowledgement that God is ACTIVE and powerful, but also merciful and kind

·       God is true to God’s word from the beginning and faithful to the promises made to Abraham, Jacob and Isaac –

·       God does not tolerate the exploitations of the powerful who crush the people that God loves.   God knocks the tyrant off his horse.

·       God scatters those who take pride in their own thoughts

One translator writes:  “God flings the proud of heart to the earth, in the hope that they will be delivered from their ridiculous, vaunting and flaunting to become free and obedient children of God and brothers and sisters to others.”

·       God is the provider of all good things

Mary’s song that Luke gives to the world became part of the earliest Jewish-Christian hymn book. It became known as the Magnificat (because the first word when translated into Latin is magnifies – Magnificat.) It has been sung for generations.

(Side note:  Luke records four songs that become a part of the Jewish-Christian Hymn book – Mary’s, Zechariahs, the angels and Simeon’s)

This song challenges some weak views of God in our culture:

The GOD of Advent – who enters this world as the Christ – is not a new GOD. THE GOD OF ADVENT is the God of creation, of exodus, of exile, of deliverance, of restoration.  The God whose mercies are new every morning…who is doing a new thing…who gives a spirit. The God of covenant

God is the mighty one – how do we domesticate God into a house servant?)
God opposes the powerful and mighty – how does our culture instead turn God into a puppet of the powerful?

There are so many verses of the Old Testament echoed here. One in particular is Zephaniah 3:17

God is a warrior on behalf of his people

“The Lord your God is in your midst…a warrior who gives victory…

For whom? …the oppressed, the outcast, the lame!

To these God rejoices over with gladness and renews us with his love

 As Mary anticipates the birth of Jesus, not fully knowing what will unfold through this   incarnational presence of God that she will birth, her song flows forth with the GOOD NEWs that God is actively at work in our individuals lives AND in the social system ---

How? By turning the world upside down to make it right.

God subverts the powerful structures that oppress and brings mercy and hope to the lowly, forgotten, oppressed.

What do we do this Advent season with Mary’s song?

Mary’s song of rejoicing and revolution invites this question:

What is your song this Advent season?

What is your word of PRAISE for what God has done?

What is your prayer of hope for how God will continue to turn the world right?

For whom do you need to advocate for in your song?

I invite you to spend time with Mary and write your own song

Richard Rohr writes this about Mary: Mary had to trust littleness or, better said, bigness becoming littleness!

 Do you feel small? – Mary invites you to trust, even where we feel insignificant, we are invited to have a BIG SONG of imagination for what God is doing

Because Jesus entered this world to bring a Salvation and Restoration for the world.

As you pray about what is your Advent Song?

Listen and sing with Union Worship  Band, singing Rory Cooney’s song based on Mary’s Song called “The Canticle of the Turning”  (bottom of the page).

What song is God writing on your heart to sing?

Eco-act 032: finding Advent joy in today’s physical world

We mark this coming Sunday, the third in Advent, with the lighting of the Joy candle. But when we think honestly about the current state and trajectory of our physical world, can we be entirely joyful? How do we hold both the reality of climate change and Advent joy?

A starting point might be to reflect for a moment on the notion of joy voiced by Henri Nouwen:

“Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God’s love for us….”

Father Richard Rohr makes a similar point:

“… spiritual joy is something we participate in; it comes from elsewhere and flows through us. It has little or nothing to do with things going well in our own life….”

To these big ideas, we add two smaller thoughts of our own.

waiting + joy

for climate healing

First, we lament, we worry, not so much that climate change is happening at all—climate change has always happened—but that it is happening disproportionately, and in ways, in places, and at a pace fueled in part by human self-centeredness, indifference, denial and finally resignation. But because these are human behaviors, change is possible.

Secondly, to some extent anyway, creation is adaptable, resilient. Birds actually sing louder or softer depending on ambient noise levels. Ancient grains and biodiversity may help feed the world, should climate change threaten today’s mainstay food crop yields. And animals and crop-specific planting regions can migrate for viability; for example, some warm-weather wine grapes can now be grown farther north than in the past. Despite tidbits of good news like these, however, the bottom line remains the same: such adaptations cannot make climate change acceptable, or even bearable. They simply suggest that creation itself can act to “buy humans some time” to become better stewards. And anyway, all of this feels more like relief than joy…. How do we get to joy?

Maybe the answer rests in knowing that we have the chance to participate in environmental renewal; we get to be in solidarity with our natural world. Listen to Hildegard of Bingen: “Humankind, full of all creative possibilities, is God’s work. Humankind alone is called to assist God … to co-create. With nature’s help, humankind can set into creation all that is necessary and life-sustaining.” Now that is a big, joyous idea!

As we reflect on how to hold both joy and our concern for the environment in this season of waiting and preparing, here are a few final thoughts to consider: first, if you can, enjoy a good walk in nature, in your neighborhood or elsewhere (somewhere safe for you and others). Look and listen closely. Take a breath and take it all in. And as you walk …

• Commit to continue—or begin—your own pro-environment campaign in 2021 (your first New Year’s resolution!). While our individual efforts won’t save the environment, our absence from the battle will only make matters worse and set a bad example for others. And collectively, we can make significant contributions.

• Take a moment to start planning next year’s garden. Visualize the perfection of those flowers, tomatoes, lettuces … imagine the aroma of the basil and rosemary….

• Reflect on the conclusion of the above observation from Henri Nouwen: “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us.”

May you find joy in Advent, and Merry Christmas!

Eco-act 031: Peace and climate health

As we look ahead to the second week of Advent through the lens of eco-faith, we are struck by how important this second candle, Peace (or Prophecy in some traditions), is for the work of Creation Care. This Sunday’s Old Testament reading is Isaiah 11:1-10:

1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
    the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    the spirit of counsel and might,
    the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
    or decide by what his ears hear;
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
    and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6 The wolf shall live with the lamb,
    the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
    and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze,
    their young shall lie down together;
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
    and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
    on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
    as the waters cover the sea.

Aside from the lush pastoral language, how do these verses land for you, especially verses 6-10 regarding this other-worldly, seemingly impossible peace among all of Creation? Where do you find such bold visions of peace in absolute contrast to what’s happening in our world today? Who are our prophets of today regarding the state of our earth and really, the state of us?

While it is hard enough to believe that peace can come for the above-mentioned relations, it seems daring to hope or hold our breath for peace to reign in our present societies. How do we wait with Advent hope for the powerful to relinquish their influence peacefully (and we’re not just talking about the Presidential transition)? For all of the industrial complexes (agriculture, pharmaceutical, prison, military, and even non-profit) to take account of their systemic harm and oppression and dismantle themselves for healthier communities? Can we realistically expect peace, and how do we act for it?

waiting + peace

for climate healing

To start, we can be inspired by the work of organizations doing this work at a global, national, and interpersonal level. The Institute for Climate and Peace is a great place to get your feet wet in the world of peace and climate mutuality. We highly recommend you look at their write-ups on Future Coastlines, Just Migration, Women & Gender Inclusion, and Positive Peacebuilding. All of these areas and more overlap and work together to produce healthier social and ecological fabrics for generative communities. Read the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to learn about the 17 targets that include both peace and various climate-related actions. And we can’t talk about peace and climate without highlighting the harm done to BIPOC communities who are usually first and most impacted by climate change...and the ways these communities have been innovating to support their survival and thriving. We’ve shared some BIPOC farmers and other community members making moves of wholeness and peace for themselves and their communities — please share any more folks you know of in the comments!

Moving to a very local and personal level, what might cultivating peace amidst a year of upheaval look like for you this Advent season? We invite you to find practices that move you forward in your peacemaking…internally, interpersonally, and at a community level. We all have to be aligned, rested, hydrated, and showing up as our full selves to face the challenges before us: both big and small. Take care and be gentle with yourself and those around you. Here are a few invitations:

• Get your hands in the dirt: work on that winter garden and prep your soil for spring planting! Your body might find peace when you are more connected to the earth.

• Read: We recommend My Grandmother’s Hands for learning about the somatic impacts of white supremacy and how to heal our bodies. Though not explicitly about peace or eco-care, these all overlap and we think you will find meaningful connections along the way! Or, read Wendell Berry’s “The Peace of Wild Things”

• Listen to music: Especially this year, Beautiful Chorus’ Hymns of Spirit album has been joyful, grounding, and calming for our bodies and spirits. And their newer released singles encourage us to Rise Up and act.

• Walk a labyrinth: Seattle has many labyrinths that may be used for full-body worship and walking prayer. Here is a list that details all the labyrinths in the Seattle area. Here’s one for Bainbridge Island. Find one nearby, or take a family field trip/pilgrimage and contemplate peace and prophecy.

Do you have any other reflections or practices of peace, prophetic wisdom, or climate care this Advent season? Remember, Sabbath rest is most definitely part of this equation; cultivating and caring for your mental and spiritual health is resistance!

Thanksgiving Day Gratitude & Liturgies

Dear Union Family,                                  11/25/20

Every time we think of you and the privilege to BE God’s people together, our hearts are full even as we grieve not being physically together and the challenges facing us.

 As we all spend Thanksgiving Day in this unusual way of being alone or in very small gatherings while in solidarity of Spirit in our commitment to protect the well-being of others, James B and I are taking time on Thursday to pray in GRATITUDE and HOPE for YOU, our beloved Union family.  Please let us know how we can specifically lift you up in prayer to our Lord God who cares about our daily needs. You may respond to this email.

Here are some prayers and liturgies of Thanksgiving that we find expand our prayer time and our hearts.

Prayers for Thanksgiving
(you may enjoy reading these out loud)

From George Herbert, 1593-1633

Thou that hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more–a grateful heart:
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose Pulse may be
Thy Praise.

Kaitlin Curtice, helps articulate an honest prayer of the soul, as she writes:

Creator,
Sometimes we don’t know what to pray,
or how to talk to you about fixing what’s broken.
We pray in generalities, that you’ll
“be with us, guide us, restore us”
but sometimes, that’s not the tangible need
we really want to name.    Read rest here.

Christine Sine provides a plethora of prayers and resources through her rich website.

Or, listen to Pray-as-You-Go while you walk or cook or sit.

In deep gratitude,
James B & Renee

Eco-act 030: Advent hope for climate change

Advent begins this coming Sunday, and we mark the day by lighting the Hope candle. But perhaps we also ask ourselves, what does hope look like in the context of climate change? Is there still time, or any reason, to hope? Experts tell us that it’s not a matter of if or even when: climate change is happening now. Those with eyes to see know this, even though others still refuse to acknowledge reality. So how do we find a way to hope for the care and healing of our physical world? Here are three thoughts for consideration.

waiting + hope

for climate healing

At the macro level, a broad range of factors offer hope, including:

• Transition to new national leadership that acknowledges climate change and includes people committed to addressing it—not just the President-elect, but John Kerry and others (with organizations like the Sunset Movement holding the gov’t accountable).

• The imminent return of our nation to the Paris Climate Accord.

• The announcement this week that General Motors will withdraw from the Trump administration’s lawsuit seeking to stop California from setting its own (aggressive) clean-air standards.

• The UN climate chief's comments about major industrial nations’ renewed commitments to curb pollution.

• A USA Today article from earlier this year noting five reasons for hope: (1) global economic growth is outpacing emissions growth, meaning that a healthy economy AND a healthier environment can coexist; (2) energy-efficient solutions like LED lights have reached a tipping point and are becoming commonplace; (3) wind and solar energy prices are dropping, making them smart choices; (4) clean energy availability is growing too, even as prices decline; and (5) state/local governments control zoning, land-use, building and energy use regulations, and are often more agile than the federal government in taking climate-friendly steps.

• The World Wildlife Fund notes that when the US withdrew from the Paris Accord, literally thousands of leaders representing corporations, universities, states, counties, cities, tribes, faith communities, and others joined the We Are Still In movement. Concern for our environment is indeed broad-based.

• WWF also notes that “More than 3.3 million Americans are employed in the clean energy economy. There are more American jobs in renewable energy than in traditional fossil fuels.” When environmental concerns and economic interests coincide, there is reason for hope.

At the individual level, we can find hope in the knowledge that we have agency to ACT. Perhaps our private actions feel small, even futile, in the face of the environmental challenges confronting us. But collectively, our actions have the potential to deliver a mighty contribution. Throughout our Eco-Faith posts, we’ve identified intentional steps each of us can take to make a difference—reducing food waste and e-waste, properly recycling, mindfully disposing of things we no longer need, thoughtfully shopping, growing a garden, planting trees, and so on. Writer Christiana Figueres, referenced in The Hill, adds three more “tangible things we can do in 2020 and before we hit 2030: find out what our carbon footprint is using one of many online calculators, determine what are the low hanging fruit and commit to reducing our personal carbon footprint by 50 percent by 2030.” Here’s a link to a calculator provided by the EPA.

At a deeper level, we might also find hope by pausing, taking a deep breath, and then reflecting on our roles in the climate change battle. We’re not asked to win it by ourselves. We’re asked to support and collaborate with each other … to do what we can, consistently and faithfully … and then to wait, in the space and time between what’s now broken and the better environmental future we long for. We don’t know the outcome—but we know Who does, so we can wait in hope. And hope does not disappoint.

Gratitude

Gratitude…you are my kind, healing companion, if I choose to invite you into my affairs, both arduous and easy.

When you rest on my lips, my heart opens wider to see the light of your goodness.

When my mouth allows your words to flow forth, my eyes also turn with compassion toward my other sojourners of life.

My posture shifts in a direction of humility toward the One who gave me breath and invited me to reside on this land for the measure of my days.

Gratitude, held honestly, swings the gate open for my feet to follow the path ahead, and ask the daily life question:

How then shall I live this day? How then?

Reflecting on Luke 17:11-17 and Psalm 89 & 8

Gracious God, I thank you for the witness of the one man who turned back to you when he discovered your living word healed him. He knelt at your feet and “couldn’t thank” you enough; he praised you with a loud voice. And, he was the outsider of the religious and political spheres of his time!

God of the Universe, I join with the people of faith who learned that only YOU hold the words to REAL LIFE. I, too, want your love, O God, to the be song I sing.

May my gratitude tell the story of how faithful YOU are; how you built the cosmos and everything in it.

As I look to the stars in awe, I join again with the Psalmist,

“I look at my micro-self and wonder, why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?”

You not only look our way, YOU look upon us with your creative LOVE. You give us your Spirit to guide our steps and you emptied yourself, through Jesus, of all glory, to walk in our messy world to be our hope, to be our life.

May the notes of gratitude within me be amplified into the song of my heart enabling me to live graciously and openly in all my encounters that no one I meet feels outside of your grace.

In Jesus’ healing name. Amen.

Gratitude Scripture to Read

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Jesus took the bread in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he passed the bread to the people, and he did the same with the fish, until everyone had plenty to eat. John 6:11

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

Eco-act 029: support local

This week, we’ve been reading this excerpt of Wendell Berry’s article “The Idea of a Local Economy” — and we highly encourage you to read it. Berry articulates so well how and why local economies matter in the big and small scheme of things. We invite you to consider a few quotes, as big corporations and multinational companies continue shaping our world (inequitably for the poor and people of color…and inevitably for all of us who share the land and its resources):

One begins to ask, What is here, what is in me, that can lead to something better?

…So far as I can see, the idea of a local economy rests upon only two principles: neighborhood and subsistence. In a viable neighborhood, neighbors ask themselves what they can do or provide for one another, and they find answers that they and their place can afford. This, and nothing else, is the practice of neighborhood. This practice must be, in part, charitable, but it must also be economic, and the economic part must be equitable; there is a significant charity in just prices.

…The “free trade” which from the standpoint of the corporate economy brings “unprecedented economic growth,” from the standpoint of the land and its local populations, and ultimately from the standpoint of the cities, is destruction and slavery. Without prosperous local economies, the people have no power and the land no voice.

This example of the practice of neighborhood has us wondering in what ways are we operating out of equitable subsistence…out of providing for and receiving from our community (burritos - food security and care, our garden box - hands in the dirt and free food, tutoring - education and connection). The ending of this excerpt highlights the colonial economy that we all find ourselves in, which is poignant (especially as we try to decolonize our lives…see our recent post on accounting truthfully for Thanksgiving). How does this show up in your life and other spheres? What hits you from this article? Let us know in the comments.

shop local

keeping here vibrant✨

So, here’s where our holiday series gets practical. What better way to stand up to climate change than by supporting the hardworking businesses and people in our community?! Reduce shipping and transportation emissions and pick up your items in person (maybe even walk or bike there?). As Black Friday approaches next week, we encourage you to opt-out of the fanatical deals/consumerism that really only benefits “big box” corporations — many of whom have gotten a whole lot richer in this pandemic. And for you online shoppers, we were displeased to find out that many online shopping returns do not in fact get restocked…they often end up in the landfill in the tune of 5 billion pounds!

Anyway, as we head back into greater covid restrictions, our small businesses need our help (and if the federal gov’t won’t help…we will show up for our beloved small biz community!). So, we invite you to shop small and shop local on #SmallBusinessSaturday, 11/28 instead of Black Friday, and in addition to REI’s call to #optoutside (which by the way, they have great ideas about safe outdoor activities to get you reconnected with Creation!).

We especially recommend the Seattle-based company, Intentionalist, whose search tool you can use to find BIPOC-owned, veteran-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, disability-owned, family-owned, and women-owned businesses. You can sign up for some of their games and play bingo by frequenting certain stores — they even have a curated gift list to help your impact go further this holiday season. In the ways of food, may we suggest supporting Seattle Restaurant Week (errr, month), happening until 11/21. Finally, here’s an updated list with covid-updated eateries. You can also refer to previous Eco-faith posts for more local farmers, book stores, etc!

So. Vote with your wallet by re-circulating your money in your local economies and let us know how you are practicing neighborhood in the comments below!