The Hebrew word dabar speaks of the spoken word that is also an action, hence the Creator “spoke” the universe into being, and the fourth gospel writer, blending both Hebrew and Greek consciousness, points to the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. What word (or Word) lies dormant within you and me?
Gate
A friend last week reminded me of the time, some years ago, I saw myself as a boundary rider, looking for and mending holes in fences. It probably suited my maverick-like approach to my work, seeking to be a part of but apart from the communities in which I participated.
Upon reflection, the boundary rider still rides, but his tasks have changed. He rides the fences looking for closed gates. He opens them wide. Some open easily on well-oiled hinges. Others are rusted with corroded padlocks that can only be removed with bolt cutters or an angle grinder.
Gates – they can keep people in or let them through.
Lollypop
I must be in high dudgeon this morning (could be the result of some fruitless negotiating of the labyrinthine corridors of two government departments). The moment I saw today’s daily prompt “lollypop” I thought of those enormous “all day suckers” of my childhood. The double entendre does not escape me, nor does it with Stevie Wonder when he sings:
I’m an all day sucker
Coming to give something to get nothin’
I’m an all day sucker
Coming to give something but to get none of your love…
(Singalong if you are so inclined!)
Such melancholy thoughts are normally foreign to me. I love my work. I love my engagement with others. I love the healthy interchange of giving and receiving that is a constant part of my daily experience. I generally have an optimistic outlook.
I think I am reacting to an overarching idealistic zeitgeist to which western democracy seems to have succumbed. My recent encounters with the way public policy is being enacted at the coal-face have me in sympathy with those who claim the government is simply “playing us for suckers!”
Disastrous
There is small scale and big scale. When I look at my small scale disasters it seems precious and hyperbolic to name them as such. Burnt toast does not compare to the levelling of Aleppo, the world refugee crisis and famine in the Sudan. Why do we call our minor inconveniences “disastrous?” Is it because we find security in facing something that we can handle, a matter that will eventually pass, then we can return to our half-awake slumber? That which is truly disastrous swamps and panics us, evoking the primitive fight or flight response that sophistication would rather ignore, explain away or, worse, victimise the sufferers. Look to the apocalypse within!
(This is in response to the WordPress daily prompt – I’m not really in meltdown!!!)
Soil
WordPress prompts me to write about “soil.” I referred to “soil” briefly on Sunday – how the parable of the sower is sometimes called the “parable of the soils” because the added explanation focuses on the productivity of the ground on which the seed falls. This, I argue, misses the whole point of the parable – the profligacy with which the sower sows the seed. The explanation as applied by some assumes an economy of scarcity – “don’t be like the foolish sower – plant only in the soil where the seed is likely to grow.” The parable itself assumes an economy of abundance – “Sling that seed everywhere and sit back and wonder at the yield.” I’ll stick by the parable!
Edible
Sticking with yesterday’s coffee theme, which is calling again as I contemplate an hour or two working into the evening, the daily prompt brings something to mind.
Some of the eco-friendly coffee haunts around here offer discounts to patrons who supply their own refillable mugs. I’m not a take-a-way fan myself; I like to stop and linger over a proper porcelain receptacle of brew. But I caught a glimpse of a clip of a barista flogging edible coffee cups! How bizarre is that?
Savor
The first thing I notice about the WordPress prompt for today is the missing “u.” Right now I “savour” a cup of coffee I’ve been waiting to enjoy for some time during the last few hours of interruptions and minor dramas. My American friends may or may not “savor” the powdered instant brew steaming before me right now. I don’t care. It’s wet. It’s hot. It’s got caffeine. And I’m savouring it! And I’ve just noticed that Grammarly is putting a red line under the spelling of “savor”. How immensely satisfying!
Coastal Hymn to Advent
Rosemary Booth, our Worship Convenor, was looking for a suitable hymn for Advent that reflected local context. Not being able to find one, she wrote the following to be sung to the tune of “There’s A Light Upon The Mountains” (Together in Song #276).
Reflecting the habitat of Perth’s coastal plains, it is free for use and adaptation:
Now the early morning sunlight shows the deep blue of the sea;
It’s inviting us to dip our toes or get wet to the knee.
But it’s not the cool breeze blowing that prevents our daily swim,
But the faint elusive sound of a profound and ancient hymn.
There’s a Christmas tree a-glowing near the track down to the sea,
And its burning golden bloom now shines with great intensity.
But it’s not the fiery branches nor the wind along the track,
But a song of hope and peace that tells that…
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Middle of Advent
How are you faring? Is Christmas yet intruding? (The legendary 12 days commence on December 25th).
Advent is about preparation and anticipation. Juggling our busy timetables to accommodate “early Christmas” celebrations puts us between a rock and a hard place. Our collective psyche is responsive to the deep rhythms of preparatory and celebratory seasons. The weeks leading to the celebration of the Nativity of the Christ are meant to be times of reflection on past, present and future yearnings around the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. In some traditions, fasting is even required. And then – Christmas! Feasting, laughing, celebration – that which is yearned for is now here! Snap bonbons! Drink toasts! Sing carols! Emmanuel! God is here!
In our muddled chaos, these things will bleed into the Advent season. Internally, however, we can maintain the rhythm.
Blessed Advent in preparation for a Blessed Christmas!
Wondering Pilgrim 