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.
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