The Christmas rant is over
By W. Christopher Evans
The Christmas rant is over again,
we’ve heard about the one true meaning,
not to be confused with holiday happenings
of home and hearth, of kith and kin.
But what if this is a sad division?
And I say it is. May it cease.
The Word, Wisdom, Sophia, Logos,
Reason, Pattern, Beginning, End,
through Whom all things were made
and are made and by whom you, I, we exist,
Who spoke and speaks into being all creation,
every little bit,
is ever since the first of time been at work
among us along with that Other Hand,
the Holy Spirit.
This Word invites us into lives of connection,
relatedness, fellowship, service, friendship,
though we slink back time and again
to selfishness, cruelty, certainty,
separateness, animosity.
Yes, there will be bickering and shovery
and maybe the family member or friend
who baits everyone with rude comments
racist, classist, rightist, leftist, centrist,
and maybe the one who finally comes out,
or tells of unexpected pregnancy,
or shares of beginning recovery:
Rejoice with them!
But this being-brought-together
in the midst of our imperfections
vulnerabilities, frailties, struggling
is precisely the Word become flesh,
Glad Tidings, Emmanuel, God-With-Us
happening, dwelling, showing
just a little bit, if not yet, the finish
in us.
Those who snarl at Christmas treats
before the time is come,
and who cringe at Christmas songs
too early sung,
who are more worried about a pure Advent
than a loving heart enthroning,
perhaps these too miss the Reason
Whose flesh embraces all that
and them.
Perhaps the One True Meaning
touches everyone, means many,
songs sung too early and reveling
bickering and even rants
point to One working to gather
everything within.
Dr. Christopher Evans recently completed a Ph.D. in Liturgical Studies and Church History at the Graduate Theological Union. He offers occasional musings on the Rule of St. Benedict, liturgical questions, and life as a Benedictine oblate at Contemplative Vernacular
Lovely Christopher -- and fun. Thanks
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December 31, 2010 10:22 AM
Christopher, this is wonderful - thank you.
Pamela Grenfell Smith
Bloomington, Indiana
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January 1, 2011 11:34 AM
Posted for Bill Murray from FB:
I love this poem. It really speaks to me and my ministry.
A couple of months ago, I was sipping coffee at a Starbucks while waiting for my philosophy of religion class to begin. A woman, working on her laptop at a table next to me, suddenly asked me about a matter of style on a résumé that she was apparently typing. I answered her question and then she proceeded to tell me how discouraged she was about trying to find a job. I talked with her briefly, gave her some encouragement, and we exchanged e-mail addresses.
To make a long story short, she had left her church (non-liturgical) because after she lost her job, she felt like a second-class citizen at her church, felt unworthy, that she wasn't good/smart enough. Additionally, her church suggested that, due to her economic situation, she should go to a shelter for abused and battered women. She felt that since she was neither, married, in a relationship, nor battered or abused (last she checked), then "the church" just didn't "get it".
I talked with her about the Episcopal church, and she began to feel that the Episcopal church would be different.
One day in December, she called me to tell me that she had just had a job interview that went horribly. Crying, she said she was going to go home, play Christmas carols and sing them really loud. I said that singing Christmas carols really loud would be a very good thing to do, and pointed out that in a couple of days the Episcopal church near her would be having a Lessons and Carols Service with live instruments, etc. She got real excited about that.
I followed-up with her to see how the Lessons and Carols went. She said that it was discouraging because, despite the title of the service, no carols were sung and when she asked the choir director about it, he chided her (her perception) that carols are not to be sung during advent, but only during the 12 Days of Christmas starting December 25......
She said, "Bill, I just wanted to sing Christmas Carols".
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January 2, 2011 6:23 PM