Life is Good…Sort of

by the Rev. Darrel Peterson

Assistant to the Bishop

ELCA Southeastern Synod

The Christmas letter said, “Life is Good,” and I resonated with the thought. There is so much in my life that is good. There are so many people and things to be thankful for. I live in the promises of our gracious and merciful God. Certainly there are issues, but I deal with them. Life is indeed, good! Let’s lift our glasses of champagne and toast the New Year! BUT…

There’s always the “but.” A big part of the goodness in life for the Christian (and others of faith and good will) is that justice and peace become realities for all of God’s people. The words from Mary’s Song of Praise in Luke 1 resonate out of our Advent and Christmas readings. “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly, he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

I could easily spend the rest of this blog enumerating the many concerns that daily look us in the face, as well as the many our lifestyle allows us to compartmentalize and ignore. The issues seem endless, and so many in authority appear to be “chasing windmills.” Life ceases to be good when we take seriously the issues.

I remember a wonderful great aunt who lived in our home when I was growing up. Listening to the news of the day, she usually commented, “We certainly live in dangerous times.” I recall tiring of her pessimism. Perhaps my advancing years and the aging of my peers is leading to similar pessimism.

But, I see the widening gap between the rich and the poor. I see the unwelcoming spirit toward immigrants, refugees and those “different.” I see the ignoring of the evident environmental issues. I see the ever present narcissism. I see the narrowing world views.

The faithful response in the New Year is to be ever purposeful about planting and instilling hope. When Martin Luther was asked what he would do today if the world were to end tomorrow, he responded that he would plant a tree. I see young families being vigilant about toxins in foods. I see my grandchildren forging ahead with learning and exploration. Many faithful people are willing to study and to speak the truth of their research and convictions.

I worry that the aging of our church membership is resulting in a church that is “set in its ways” and vulnerable to shallow answers. I am proud of our ELCA moving forward in a spirit of hope. In his article in the November LUTHERAN, Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson quoted Pope John XXIII in his end of the day prayer, “Lord, this is your church, not mine. I am tired. Good Night.”

It is the Lord’s church. Thanks be to God! As we raise our glasses to toast the New Year, let us live in the hope of the Word becoming flesh and living among us. And let us think globally and act locally in all that we do!

Preparation May Be The Best Time

by Dr. Everett Flanigan
Southeastern Synod Director for Evangelical Mission/
Assistant to the Bishop

Preparing for an activity--such as a celebration, a new adventure, a chore or a transition--consumes a considerable amount of energy, time and of course, in our culture, resources.

Consider a simple chore such as painting a room: I usually try removing all the room’s contents--the furniture and curtains; if there is carpet, it is covered, if not removed. Wall dressings such as pictures, light fixtures and frames are removed or taped or covered, as well. Generally it takes about as much time to prepare the room for the painting as it does to actually paint the room.

In our times people both young and old, spend many years in school preparing for the future or a future activity, including acquiring learning tools, gaining facility with and perfecting these tools; and developing thought and action patterns to support sound judgment for unknown or unseen situations. As a child, preparing for Christmas involved good times. There were pies, cakes and cookies being baked; gifts being hidden in the house. Important events in our lives generally require some type of preparation.

Advent is a time of preparing; preparing for the celebration of the coming of the Promised One. I admit that during this time of preparation, even with the preparation of the house, putting up the tree, putting lights on the hedges outside, going to the mall or ordering gifts on the internet, the concerts, and pageants, I, like many others, scarcely give thought to events surrounding the birth of Jesus.

Unlike the preparations we undertake today, the birth of the Promised One did not come without considerable price. This price was not measured in money, but rather the cost was more in changed lives; Mary and Joseph would experience altered lives; people would act deceptively in order to protect the newly born Promised One and themselves. In order to keep the baby alive, His parents would have to flee to Egypt and then return home. As they prepared for the Child, they also prepared to be homeless; boys under the age of two would have to lose their lives.

We prepare for change, which can be demanding. It may not be the preparation that is so demanding, but rather the intended changes that result for which the preparation is aimed. Does our preparation allow us to see those who are hungry, those who come seeking better lives—the aliens, the strangers, the migrants, the immigrants? Might our preparation might remind us of the homeless; those who have lost cherished homes during these tough economic times, those who lack jobs or those who are imprisoned in disease, with poor spirits, who are locked away? Preparing the way may show us changed view; a new way of seeing. Perhaps we can see for the “first time and again” as in Luke 4, the one who was promised and anointed “to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”

As we prepare for Christmas, perhaps the best time will be that time when we are able to link preparing for the celebration with what Christianity is all about: loving God, and loving what God loves.

On Getting Ready for Christ's Mass

by the Rev. Dr. Delmer Chilton
Assistant to the Bishop, Southeastern Synod

Every year after Thanksgiving, local newspapers and slick paper magazines run articles telling us what to do in order to have a “perfect holiday season.” Other than getting a few good recipes for candied yams and pecan pie, I have never really benefitted from these articles. They seem to envision most families as having both an unlimited budget and the opportunity to take the entire month of December as vacation. Besides, most of what they recommend seems to have very little to do with the coming of Christ and everything to do with the spending of money.

So, I decided to have a go at it and make my own list of recommendations on how to have "a perfect holiday season." Only the holiday is Advent, and the ideas have to do with the heart, not the pocketbook.

1) Take five minutes every morning and make a Christ’s Mass list. Not a list of things to buy, or things to do, or things you want but a list of blessings in your life, a list of people you love and who love you in spite of yourself, a list of the signs of God’s presence in your life. After you’ve made your list, pray a prayer of thanks.

2) Take another ten minutes and read a chapter of the Gospel of Mark. There are 16 days until Christmas and 16 chapters in Mark, so you should be able to finish it. By Christmas morning, you will have been reminded of why Jesus came and of what he did for us. By Christmas morning, you will be ready to celebrate with thankfulness and praise the Coming of the Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us.

3) Pick out five names from your Christmas card mailing list. Make it five people that you have almost lost touch with, five people whom you seldom see or speak with. Call them up or write them a personal letter or send them an email and tell them how much they mean to you and why. Thank them for being a sign of God’s presence and love in your life.

4) Perform a totally new act of charity this year. Reach out and surprise someone with the unexpected love of God. Give a part of yourself to someone in gratitude for the fact that Christ gave himself for you.

5) And finally, spend the last five minutes of every day asking God to come into your life in a fresh, new, unpredictable way this year.