A Christmas Prayer

On the BeliefNet blog site, Progressive Revival, Paul Raushenbush, grandson of the well-known early 20th century Baptist pastor Walter Raushenbush, has this prayer:

Creator God,

On this Holy Night, still our frentic pace, and calm our worried minds so that we might experience the miracle and wonder of Christmas. Send your Holy Spirit to pierce the shadows of these uncertain times, rekindle our hope for the future, and guide us by the shining star of Bethlehem to the humble manger where your Love made flesh awaits.

Thank you for the beauty of this world and for the simple, true blessings of family, friends and loved ones. Guided by your spirit of compassion, help us to be loving, forgiving and gentle with one another. May the life giving spirit of Christ sanctify our celebration so that this might truly be a Holy day and bring us closer together as families and as a community.

In this world confounded by the false glitter of materialism and afflicted by the sin of greed, help us to repent of our selfishness and callousness. As we worship your son, born in a manger because there was no room for him at the inn, help us to see in Jesus all who lack the basic dignities of shelter, food, employment and healthcare. We remember especially those who are out of work or who have lost their homes in this time of economic crisis. May we be in solidarity with the suffering of others and each work to usher in your reign of justice, peace and good will on earth as it is in heaven.

We remember all those serving in our military in Iraq and Afghanistan. May they find joy and know that our thoughts and prayers are with them and with the people of those war torn nations. We pray for Israel and Palestine, the Congo, and cities around the world where violence and strife tear and the fabric of life. As we worship the one called the Prince of Peace, we pray that the day come soon when swords are beaten into plowshares and sisters and brothers of every nations, race, and religion live in peace.

Loving God, On this Christmas Eve we give you thanks for your son who loved the outcaste, healed the lame, preached Good News to the poor, was crucified and rose again; who was born so that we might be born again. May our lives reflect our gratitude.

Amen

Joy to the World

In time for your Christmas meditation is this quote from Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet who lived from 1875-1926.

Joy is inexpressibly more than happiness. Happiness befalls people, happiness is fate, while people cause joy to bloom inside themselves. Joy is plainly a good season for the heart; joy is the ultimate achievement of which human beings are capable.

When you sing "Joy To The World" during this Christmas season, I hope these words from Rilke will enrich you.

Freedom of Speech

In the current issue of The New Yorker is an essay written by Mark Twain in 1905 entitled "The Privilege of the Grave." In it, Twain comments on the delusion of free speech for those who are still living. Enjoy some of Twain's brilliance:
Its occupant [speaking of the grave] has one privilege which is not exercised by any living person: free speech. The living man is not really without this privilege - strictly speaking - but as he possesses it merely as an empty formality, and knows better than to make use of it, it cannot be seriously regarded as an actual possession. . . . Murder is forbidden both in form and in fact; free speech is granted in form but forbidden in fact. By the common estimate both are crimes, and are held in deep odium by all civilized peoples. Murder is sometimes punished, free speech always - when committed. Which is seldom. There are not fewer than five thousand murders to one (unpopular) free utterance. There is justification for this reluctance to utter unpopular opinions: the cost of utterance is too heavy; it can ruin a man in his business, it can lose him his friends, it can subject him to public insult and abuse, it can ostracize his unoffending family, and make his house a despised and unvisited solitude.

Twain made this observation long before the advent of the internet and blogging. It seems now, that, while one person's opinion will surely enrage someone, someone else will see it as a pure elixir of golden thought. So, do Twain's observations still hold true?

Do you refrain from expressing your true feelings on matters because you know the people around you will reject you? Should that be the case? Do you wish that you had the courage and the opportunity to voice what you truly believe on any subject to everyone you know? If so, what would you say?

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

No, this is not the lead-in to a sing along of popular Christmas-related songs. Instead, I thought it appropriate to call attention to two items related to the celebration of Christmas.

First, noted in the London Daily News is a Muslim who proclaims that celebrating Christmas is a sure way for Muslims to miss Paradise and go to hell. The article can be found at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1093414/Christmas-pathway-hell-Muslim-lawyers-extraordinary-rant-evil-celebration.html?ITO=1490.

Among his statements made in a broadcast sermon is this quotation: 'Many (Muslims) take part in the festival celebrations by having Christmas turkey dinners. Decorating the house, purchasing Christmas trees or having Christmas turkey meals are completely prohibited by Allah. Many still practise this corrupt celebration as a remembrance of the birth of Jesus. How can a Muslim possibly approve or participate in such a practice that bases itself on the notion Allah has an offspring? The very concept of Christmas contradicts and conflicts with the foundation of Islam. Every Muslim has a responsibility to protect his family from the misguidance of Christmas, because its observance will lead to hellfire. Protect your Paradise from being taken away - protect yourself and your family from Christmas.'

The second item returns to America where the Kansas minister, Fred Phelps, and the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka warn of the dangers of Santa Claus. From an article in the Seattle Times, which can be viewed at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008493779_church11.html, comes this revelation: A Kansas-based church that has blamed deaths in Iraq on U.S. tolerance of homosexuality has asked Gov. Christine Gregoire's office to approve a "Santa Claus will take you to hell" message to display among other religious statements in the Capitol's third-floor hallway. ... The first part of Westboro's proposed message, according to Spokesman-Review reporter Rich Roesler: "You'd better watch out, get ready to cry, You'd better go hide, I'm telling you why 'cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell. He is your favorite idol, you worship at his feet, but when you stand before your God He won't help you take the heat. So get this fact straight: you're feeling God's hate, Santa's to blame for the economy's fate, Santa Claus will take you to hell."

I don't think I could add anything to either of these.

Advent Reflection

On the website, Faithful Democrats, I saw a refence to this piece. You can access the entire essay at this URL: http://www.spiritualsisters.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=3&id=14389&catid=2&func=fb_pdf. And, I encourage you to do so.

This was written by a Jesuit priest, Alfred Delp, who was executed in 1945 by the Nazis.

Let us kneel therefore and ask for the threefold blessing of Advent and its threefold inspiration.

Let us ask for clear eyes that are able to see God's messengers of annunciation; for awakened hearts with the wisdom to hear the words of promise. Let us ask for faith in the motherly consecration of life as shown in the figure of the blessed woman of Nazareth. Let us be patient and wait, wait with Advent readiness for the moment when it pleases God to appear in our night too, as the fruit and mystery of this time. And let us ask for the openness and willingness to hear God's warning messengers and to conquer life's wilderness through repentant hearts. We must not shrink from or suppress the earnest words of these crying voices, so that those who today are our executioners will not tomorrow become accusers because we have remained silent.

Let us then live in today's Advent, for it is the time of promise. To eyes that do not see, it still seems that the final dice are being cast down in these valleys, on these battlefields, in those camps and prisons and bomb shelters. Those who are awake sense the working of the other powers and can await the coming of their hour.

Space is still filled with the noise of destruction and annihilation, the shouts of self-assurance and arrogance, the weeping of despair and helplessness. But just beyond the horizon the eternal realities stand silent in their age-old longing. There shines on us the first mild light of the radiant fulfillment to come. From afar sound the first notes as of pipes and singing boys, not yet discernible as a song or melody. It is all far off still, and only just announced and foretold. But it is happening. This is today. And tomorrow the angels will tell what has happened with loud rejoicing voices, and we shall know it and be glad, if we have believed and trusted in Advent.

Reprinted from Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas.

Condemned as a traitor for his opposition to Hitler, Alfred Delp, a Jesuit priest, wrote this piece in a Nazi prison shortly before he was hanged in 1945.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Yesterday, December 10, marked the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. I re-read the document and was struck by the bold vision of those who were responsible for its composition. Issued in the aftermath of World War II, in which millions upon millions of non-combatants were killed, the hope for the future expressed in the declaration is inspiring.

You can read the document at this site: http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm.

I want to include Article 18 in this blog which speaks to religious liberties:
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

As I re-read the declaration, I was also struck by how far the nations of the world have to go in seeing the full expression of these rights realized for all people.

Now for the question(s) of the day: What do you think are the main obstacles to true religious freedom for all people? What can the world community do to help all people achieve these rights? Can you think of ways in which your government - either national or local - has limited freedom of religion? In secular societies, how can you guarantee the religious rights of some without infringing upon the religious rights of others?

Comment on Comments

On Monday, December 8, I posted a piece that dealt with President George Bush's interview with ABC News about his religious beliefs. My approach to the interview was not what the President believes, per se, as much as what the conservative Christian base of the GOP would think about the religious positions the President espoused.

Thus far, the only comment received on the post was from "Anonymous" [please read the comment] who suggested that I hate the President and then gave a White House type talking point perspective on what a great man and a great President he has been. If that is your view of the last 8 years, you have the right to that opinion and should express it in an appropriate venue.

The Pro-Bush talking points, however, had absolutely NO connection to the piece I posted or to the question I raised. That frustrates me. This is not the first time this has happened on my blog, but it will be the last. I do not mind people expressing a different viewpoint than I have, but it seems that you should, at least, express something that has some connection to what I have posted. Thus, all comments to this blog will be monitored, and I will choose to include or to refuse to include them as part of the on-going conversation.