madavison

March 6-7

First Christian Church, Edmond

Describe Your Church in 3 Words

Connect

We are many textures, we are many colors,
Each one different from the others.
But we are entwined with one another
In one great tapestry

Weave, weave, weave us together,
Weave us together, in unity and love.
Weave, weave, weave us together,
weave us together, together in love.
Lyrics by Rosemary Crow Copyright 1979 / Chalice Hymnal, “Weave Us Together.” # 495

Disciples across Oklahoma gathered to hear the familiar narrative of his birth and to sing the carols and hymns.  We lit candles to break the darkness of a silent but holy night.  Do you see it?  Do you sense it?  Maybe that’s an epiphany.  Maybe that’s the epiphany the parables and ways of Jesus create space to experience.  Common experience.  Connection.

We are the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma.  We connect, equip, and empower one another to love and serve like Jesus.

Lift a candle.
Lend a hand.
Raise your voice.
Get involved in your congregation and the Region.  Weave us together to be a witness to the good news of God.

SiriusXM radio has played three channels of Christmas music since the first week of November. I wonder how many people chose to listen? Christmas movies and cartoons appeared in mid-November, with some running on a loop. Reading or hearing the news is difficult right now, and it has been for a long time. Still, it seems to have become even more intense, exponentially worse, even as people do their best to do good, help their neighbors, and be ethical in an economy that rewards scarcity, unethical behavior, and divisive voices.  It’s no surprise that we want to speed up hearing all the Whos in Whooville sing, “Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer.” So many could use some cheer, need a break, a good health outcome, or crave some time without drama, chaos, or grief. We need the reminder that hearts can grow, perspectives can change, and people are capable of good.

In a recent sermon, I said, “Advent is the anticipation of a hope that leads to a peace built on a love that creates tangible shalom that is life-affirming, life-giving, and eternal.”  Today’s rewrite.  “Christmas is a hope that leads to a peace built on a love that creates tangible shalom that gives life and is eternal.”  Christian tradition has simply said, Immanuel / Emmanuel.  “God with us” is: a prayer, a faith statement, a feeling, and/or a lived experience.  Some among us use it as a rallying call with an implicit “only.” “God only with us.”  But that’s not the message the angel announced to the shepherds.

Christmas is on the horizon.  What’s the message?  This is what I’ve seen since I visited the manger last year.  Every day, Oklahoma Disciples, our congregations and their members live out Immanuel and embody the spirit and work of Christmas in ways that multiply a shalom that provides: food, shelter, clothing, dollars, comfort, works to transform systems of oppression, rebuilds and nurtures community, and welcomes as they have been welcomed.

Immanuel.  Go and see what God has made known to you, and return to your community rejoicing, comforted, and ready for the work of Christmas ahead of you and ahead of us, in the new year.

Disciples, you are a blessing.

Peace . . . Michael

P.S.
When you think about all the characters in the Christmas story, which one do you identify with this year?  Though they don’t arrive until Epiphany, go ahead and include the Magi in the story, but don’t escape to Egypt just yet.

Many people enjoy watching Christmas cartoons or movies.  I know at least one person who began watching the Hallmark channel last month. I’ll speak for myself rather than for you or “we.”  Reminders are more helpful than nostalgia.  There are reminders and lessons in claymation, animation, over-the-top clumsiness, song-and-dance numbers, and knowing what it means to be the richest person in town.

Here is a short list of my favorite Christmas shows and movies in no particular order.  Email me your list of films or books, and I’ll send you a complete list.

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Christmas Vacation
• A Christmas Carol (Patrick Stewart playing Scrooge)
• Spirited
• A Christmas Story
• It’s A Wonderful Life

Reminder(s).  That’s what I experience on the journey to Bethlehem each year.  I saw photos of the Northern Lights that were visible in Oklahoma last month, but I didn’t see them in person.  The photos and videos I saw were extraordinary.  I imagine those who did see it in person experienced a bit of the awe and wonder of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks.  At least that’s what I experienced from the photos and videos.

Here’s a short list of the reminders and lessons from the journey to the manger and Christmastide that I’ve experienced over the years.

• The mysterious awe of creation.  
• The presence of God in simple acts of hospitality.
• Abundance is a life-giving perspective.
• Hope, peace, joy, and love break into life unexpectedly.  Learn from those experiences.
• God believes humans are capable of good.

I don’t know what you expect to experience or hope to experience this Advent and Christmas season.  I trust it inspires, comforts, confronts, and reminds you of “God with us.”  Join the Regional Youth Council in their journey to Bethlehem by downloading the Advent Devotion they created.  It’s a conversation with the poem, The Work of Christmas, by Howard Thurman.

Happy Advent and Merry Christmas!

Disciples, you are a blessing.  Thank you.

Come, Sophia, we believe you are the Shaman of the soul
Break us open to receive you
Fill us up and make us whole.
You inspire us to envision
all the wholeness of shalom
On a new path through tradition
That will surely lead us home.

Miriam Therese Winter and Medical Mission Sisters,  Hymn Re-Imagined, “Come, Sophia.” (2495755 Records DK) 1983.

Thank you.

As Clergy Appreciation Month comes to an end and the calendar turns to November, a month focused on gratitude, I’m grateful for all our clergy in Oklahoma.  Without social media platforms or “the algorithm,” they’ve been content creators and influencers before it was fashionable or considered a profession.

They are:
organizing your community for the common good
volunteering in your community
making hospital visits
preparing a bible study
leading youth group, or a children’s ministry
managing budgets and people
listening to concerns, joys, and questions
standing in the gaps of a polarized culture
praying with families in distress
celebrating lives
teaching radical hospitality, or the bible, or the language of faith
preaching the good news of God
following Jesus
welcoming people to faith
and so much more.

Servant leadership.   A ministry of teaching, pastoral care, and preaching that is prophetic.  Sometimes, it is just presence.  

Oklahoma Disciples clergy, “Thank you” for your work and service in the life of the local, denominational, and universal Church.  You model a faith in action. If you are reading this and haven’t offered your minister a word of appreciation, I encourage you to send a handwritten note, an email, or a text.

On social media, amid all the negativity that drives their profits, you will probably encounter your church, minister, or a friend sharing a practice, a meme, or another activity that might reframe your perspective on gratitude this month.  I receive “The Daily Question” from grateful.org every morning (it’s free).  It offers me a different way to start the day rather than opening a news app.  It invites me to consider a sense of the sacred.

As the government shutdown continues, our congregations with blessing boxes on their properties are refilling them more often, sometimes daily. Our congregations that help with their local food pantry or food bank are seeing more clients each day or week, and some of those clients are new. Our congregations that offer free community meals weekly or monthly are serving more people. Over the next 60 days, you will be asked for financial support many times by snail mail, email, and text.  Be cautious with those asks from unknown sources.  Be as generous as you can with known sources.  There are countless “good” opportunities to give your time, talent, and money.  Remember your Church.  I’ve seen Oklahoma Disciples respond before, and I know you will respond again. It’s one of the examples you set for your communities: using what you have and multiplying it to feed the 5000 near and far.

I trust that God will continue to bless us with gospel to be and ministry to do in our congregations and through this covenant we claim and share: the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma.

Disciples, you are a blessing.  Thank you.