Hope Is A Risk Worth Taking!
"Sloughing Towards Bethlehem!"
"Christians/Catholic Workers Gone Bad!"
"Christmas 2024
"Hope Is A Risk Worth Taking!
John 1:1-18
New English Translation
The Prologue to the Gospel
1 In the beginning[a] was the Word, and the Word was with God,[b] and the Word was fully God.[c] 2 The Word[d] was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created[e] by him, and apart from him not one thing was created[f] that has been created.[g] 4 In him was life,[h] and the life was the light of mankind.[i] 5 And the light shines on[j] in the darkness,[k] but[l] the darkness has not mastered it.[m]
6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John.[n] 7 He came as a witness[o] to testify[p] about the light so that everyone[q] might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify[r] about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone,[s] was coming into the world.[t] 10 He was in the world, and the world was created[u] by him, but[v] the world did not recognize[w] him. 11 He came to what was his own,[x] but[y] his people[z] did not receive him.[aa] 12 But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name[ab]—he has given the right to become God’s children 13 —children not born[ac] by human parents[ad] or by human desire[ae] or a husband’s[af] decision,[ag] but by God.
14 Now[ah] the Word became flesh[ai] and took up residence[aj] among us. We[ak] saw his glory—the glory of the one and only,[al] full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. 15 John[am] testified[an] about him and shouted out,[ao] “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am,[ap] because he existed before me.’” 16 For we have all received one gracious gift after another from his fullness.[aq] 17 For the law was given through Moses, but[ar] grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The only one,[as] himself God, who is in closest fellowship with[at] the Father, has made God[au] known.
Winfred Rembert, in his book describing life in the Jim Crow South, Chasing Me to My Grave,
writes: "People looked at you as if you were nothing," a scene I see repeated every day as people walk by individuals who are homeless and drug users.
I have the same experience. People walk by when I am talking to someone and push me aside without even seeing me; I have been beaten up, and no one makes a move to help me. This is one of the reasons I have learned that Jesus's words in the Book of John are worth remembering: "Trust no man!"
In the past weeks, news of the massive Christmas lunches and dinners at churches will have, and the great gifts to be given. When I raise the question about inviting people in for the food or giving them the leftovers, the topic is changed, no answers. We can walk by people on the street to church, and not even see them.
Gaza and other countries across the world are torn apart by war and natural disasters; immigrants on our southern border are being seen with fear and being abused.
Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus, "God with us!" Jesus is the spark of the Divine within each of us, calling us to move out of our safety zones, prejudices, and fears to take care of our brothers and sisters.
The hosts of heaven announce the arrival of a vulnerable God-child wrapped in rages. Do we prudently remain at our posts attending to ourselves? Or do we race to do homage and risk the consequences?
As with any season, this one's loaded with choices. Each offers a richness or one of cynicism.
This night shines its radiance into the poorest corners of every heart, dim places with no room for hope and unfit for living. We store disappointments in such dark nooks: about our besieged environment, the divisions in our country, the destruction throughout the world, and the homeless on the streets. How reflectively hearts close to those who are different. How anemic we are in not standing up to racial and homophobic structures. In the attic of despair, we see no space for the birth of a fresh perspective, of entering into relationships with those outside of our peer or social group. It is so much easier to live in our "nice world" of feeling protected! Our managers have been empty too long.
Christmas arrives as the blockbuster season of hope. So go ahead. Take the risk. Open the doors of your churches and feed people on the streets! Walk by people and see each one as your brother or sister! Rush into the holiest of nights like a holy fool and see what becomes of you. Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God!
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Open unto me, light for my darkness. Open unto me, courage for my fear. Open unto me, hope for my despair. Open unto me, peace for my turmoil. Open unto me, joy for my sorrow. Open unto me, strength for my weakness. Open unto me, wisdom for my confession. Open unto me, forgiveness for my sins. Open unto me, love for my hates. Open unto me, thy Self for myself. Lord, Lord, open unto me! Amen. — Howard Thurman
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