Nativity Set #13 For the last day of 2020 we have a puzzle nativity set. We are puzzled: When will we see full and equitable COVID vaccinations? What will happen next Wednesday when Congress is supposed to simply accept presidential election results? What will happen in the UK and EU when Brexit takes place tonight? "Love is Jesus within and among us." (ELW 292)
Nativity Set #12 These snow-covered trees (It snowed last night) are our Christmas tree. This nativity set is from Peru. "O morning stars, together proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the king and peace to all on earth." (ELW 279)
Nativity Set #11 "Let the heights of heav'n adore him, angel hosts, Christ's praises sing; pow'rs dominions bow before him" (ELW 295) This is the second smallest of our nativity sets. Jesus came as a small baby, yet he is worshipped throughout the world.
Nativity Set #10 It came upon the midnight clear. . . And you beneath life's crushing load. . . oh, rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing. (ELW 282)
Nativity Set #9 First Sunday of Christmas. People wait for relief from eviction, monetary relief from job loss, relief from food insecurity, relief from . . .
Nativity Set #8 "From heaven above to earth I come to bear good news to every home." (ELW 268) We pray for those without homes, for those who wait for financial relief, for those waiting for good news. We give thanks for Christ who dwells in our midst.
Nativity Set #7. "O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today." (ELW 279)
Nativity set #6. It takes two pictures to show all who come to celebrate Jesus' birth. (From Africa) "I am so glad each Christmas Eve, the night of Jesus' birth!" (ELW 271)
Nativity Set #5 from Central America
"Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns! Let all their songs employ, while fields and floods, ricks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy." (ELW 267)
Nativity Set #3. Our son Kirk made this in a church program when he was a child. We have put it out every year for 40 years. From Luke: Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn.
The fourth Sunday in Advent. This second nativity set we brought back from Tanzania where I was teaching at the Lutheran Seminary. We have much to learn from the faith of the people of Tanzania.
By the Rev. Dr. Karen Bloomquist written today:
“Seeing-remembering-connecting”1 has become in 2020 far more urgent, subversive, even revolutionary. Although rooted in recognizable religious practices, these verbs are crossing boundaries that go far beyond the church. Many developments are coming together and reaching a fevered pitch: the pandemic with new ways of living, communicating and working; heightened awareness of systemic racism and vast inequalities; raging wildfires, intense storms, and other evidence that climate change is an urgent challenge. The current pandemic may be only a foretaste of what the 21st century may be like. We live in a revelatory time, provoking us to see-remember-connect in new ways.
This current pandemic may be waking us up that a far more sweeping revolution is needed. What has been “normal” may be no more. What is unknown, and spreading vehemently in ways that no human strategy or solution can meet, is being revealed. This virus is itself revelatory. Human life and nature have become out of sync, no longer mutually dependent. No matter how ingenious are any human efforts or even vaccines, what is being revealed again is that humans cannot control “nature” --- even how this virus spreads. What we can and must do is keep our distance or cover our faces so as to not contaminate others. Beyond that, what is unknown leads many to cave in to fears, which make them vulnerable to various appeals, including those that are authoritarian. Fears are especially manipulated through polarizing appeals, whether from the right or left.
What is being revealed again is that human beings are not in control, and cannot control this virus, or nature in general --- especially for the sake of human well-being and economic progress. We turn to science and technology to save us, and indeed, they are important --- especially in this pandemic. But being out of control, and unable to predict the future is especially feared. We live by predictability and normalcy as we have known it. Fears escalate when this is no longer the case.
See Dr. Bloomquist's Book, "Seeing-Remembering-Connecting" published in 2016.
About Iowa: Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor, has been selected by Biden as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, a position he held for 8 years in the Obama administration. Vilsack will bring experience not only addressing the stress on family farmers, but also addressing long-term hunger. One in 6 Americans and ¼ of U.S. Children face a hunger crisis.
I don’t believe it. But there it was, a “Letter to the Editor” in the Sunday morning paper. The man wrote, “I don’t think we need a law that requires Iowans to stop every single time at stop signs and lights.” I have been using the analogy of stop signs when writing that during a pandemic it is essential everyone wear a mask and social distance, saying “We accept laws that require us to stop for a red light.” That’s for the common good, so that we don’t cause other people to die.
The 46th president of the United States will be the first from the “Silent Generation” 1928-45. Characteristics: they are respectful and responsible, have a strong work ethic and will-power. That’s Joe Biden, b. 1942. Kamala Harris, the first woman vice-president-elect (on the 100th anniversary of women winning the vote), helps us celebrate black/brown citizens of immigrant parents, hers from Jamaica and India. Burton and I celebrated by a walk through downtown Mason City. We played the chimes and xylophone on one of our many city statues.
Day 7 (the final post) of my “walk around the neighborhood”: Back at home (just in time; the snow has come) I show you Prairie Place on First, before and after the first snowfall. We moved in 3 1/2 years ago after leaving Dubuque. There are 32 apartments; ours is on the second floor, just above the entrance. Built in 2016, the building follows the Prairie-style and is part of Good Shepherd campuses. The long-term care facility is across the street to the North. Our Prairie Place residents have formed a fine community—at a distance now with masks—and none have contracted COVID. We need to continue to take precautions for everyone's sake, in every neighborhood around the country and around the world.
Day 6 of my "walk around the neighborhood" Seven churches are within a few blocks of our home. We are members of Trinity Lutheran (ELCA), 1/2 block NW of us. Due to COVID, the last time we were in the building was March 13. This large congregation is blessed with an on-line service for us and for people across the country. Trinity at 150 years, continues to be in ministry and mission by offering on-line Bible studies, health ministries, and more.
Our neighborhood, Day 5: We walk back on Rock Glen, the nationally recognized historic district of Prairie-style homes, the largest collection in the world. Over a dozen homes in the Rock Glen, Rock Crest area on both sides of Willow Creek are in a beautiful setting. We could walk all around, by crossing the footbridge. It would take about 20 minutes.
For now, we simply walk by some of them and continue on our way back. We do pass the Stockman House (pictured here) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1908, only 1 block from our home. The Park Inn Hotel, 4 blocks west downtown, is the only Frank Lloyd Wright hotel left anywhere. Built in 1910, it was recently renovated as a wonderful place to stay overnight.
Stockman House
Day 4, walking around our neighborhood: Just up the street from the Library, we walk over the Meredith Willson footbridge. (It's 3 blocks from our home when we walk up Connecticut) The footbridge, in scenes from the "Music Man," is in "River City" (Mason City). Below the bridge is Willow Creek, which flows behind the library and art museum. There's a waterfall just beyond the bend.
Day 3 of the walk around our neighborhood: Next door to the Library is Mason City's Art Museum. Across the street is Hospice where Burton made many pastoral calls. If we were to walk West instead of South, the Post Office is one block away, also our bank, the Court House and Central Park are within a few blocks. So good to walk.
Continuing to take you on my walk around our neighborhood, three blocks further is the library. Built in 1939, it's beautiful. You may recall Marian the Librarian from "The Music Man." Meredith Willson went to school with my father. Here is a picture of the building and one of the statues on the grounds.
Before the snows arrive, I'm going to share some scenes from our neighborhood here in Mason City. (I will share each day this week.) Across the street at the corner from where we now live is the old Mason City High School from which my sister and I graduated. Our father was in the first class to graduate from that building.
In 2017 an estimated 5,000,000 people marched (200,000 on the National Mall) across the U.S. and the world to protest the Trump inauguration. It was an unforgettable sight, people of all ages, backgrounds and genders. This Women's March was the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. I spoke at the march in Dubuque, Iowa
Sat., Oct. 17, 2020, there will be a Women's March again (2:00 at Central Park in Mason City, IA) opposing Trump's record and agenda, including his efforts to fill Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat. Check out if there is a March near you. This march is for reproductive rights, immigration reform, LGBTQ+ rights, racial equality, healthcare, the environment and more. We march, and we vote!
Gospel reflection by The Rev. Duncan R. Wielzen, Ph.D., The Hague Netherlands. Colleague and friend, Dr. Wielzen is a parish priest and president of URI Europe Board, a global grassroots interfaith network that cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30 – New KJV)
Hearing these verses – be it for the very first time, or after several times – may cause one to wonder about what Jesus means by the word ‘yoke’. It is therefore important to remember that His words are two thousand years old, and that He said them to simple, believing Jews, who were indeed burdened with a yoke, especially the yoke of the 613 precepts - 248 commandments and 365 Prohibitions - which made up Jewish law, and still exists today. Obviously, so many commands and prohibitions are burdensome to bear which made them a real yoke that weighed down on law abiding Jewish people at that time.
But yokes still exist today. So many of us too often suffer from the pressure of life. Under our workload, for example, because we have to deliver what is expected from us. Many of us experience societal pressure because of what commerce and media dictates for living so called happy lives. Entire communities are suffering from the yoke of violence and discontent that disrupt peaceful living together. The growing threat of gun violence, the reluctance to address local problems honestly and gently, the turmoil in Belarus, the insurmountable division among citizens in the wake of the US Presidential election… it's becoming a heavier yoke every day.
Compared to all of that, the yoke of Jesus is easy. He does not make hard demands, he does not impose heavy assignments, he does not expect the impossible. His words are an invitation and a promise. An invitation to learn and a promise to receive. However, as easy as His yoke is, it still requires a courageous heart and a brave spirit to encounter the full spectrum of His yoke: a yoke of love, humility and kindness. These are priceless, i.e.: they don’t cost a dime and won’t diminish our humanity. They are fundamental to healing and cementing justice and peace. In any case, we have the freedom to respond to Jesus’ invitation or not.
Beauty in a tree just outside our deck. Remembrance of a creating and recreating God in the midst of climate change crisis, justice inequality, a continuing pandemic, threats to our democracy and peaceful transfer of power. Courage, my friends for such a time as this!
I watched as first a handful and then hundreds gathered at the U.S. Supreme Court building to honor Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her loss is devastating. She worked her entire life to overcome sexism and to work for equality and justice for all. Her death, Sept. 18, coincided with the anniversary of my ordination to pastoral ministry at Yale 43 years ago, which brought back so many memories of discrimination and the need to persist.
Experiencing exclusion as a student, Ruth worked diligently and persisted to become a brilliant lawyer and the first woman tenured law professor at Columbia University. Ruth argued cases before the Supreme Court against discrimination, opening doors for women, and therefore also freedom for men. Her husband supported her, as has mine.
My friend Duncan from the Netherlands recently asked me if the U.S. needed someone from the International community to be an observer for our 2020 election. I agreed we could use the help!
The Japanese city of Nagasaki on Sunday marked its 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing where more than 70,000 were killed. The Aug. 9, 1945, bombing came three days after the United States dropped its first atomic bomb on Hiroshima that killed 140,000.
On Sunday at the event at Nagasaki Peace Park, Mayor Tomihisa Taue read a peace declaration raising concerns that countries have moved away from using nuclear weapons as a deterrent. “As a result, the threat of nuclear weapons being used is increasingly becoming real,” He said that “the true horror of nuclear weapons has not yet been adequately conveyed to the world at large.” Today we work to make Nagasaki the last place of such nuclear bomb tragedy.
Final words from John Lewis, published in The New York Times the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020:
"While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.
That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.
Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.
Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.
Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.
Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.
You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.
Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.
When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide."
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