Christmas 1 - Year A
Gift-givers come and gift-givers go. Gift yourself with a remembrance of those who have gifted you. Some are still with you and some are not. In either case their gift remains even should you find yourself alienated at home or abroad.
The prophecy, the classic quest, contains places dangerous and foreign to our experience. We all are called out of one “Egypt” or another. Heroes and heroines all face their own alienation and are eventually strengthened through that process to offer compassion to not only themselves, but others.
Living as a refugee turns out to be a much better gift than gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It shapes one’s identification with other “children of Ramah”. This is bottom-line creation material. Out of disaster, chaos, lamentation, disunion, and disjuncture comes a new word, “Let there be a new light on our commonality - weeping for one another.”
We weep for the generations of gay and lesbian patriots who were barred from service to their country. There is still weeping aplenty for gay and lesbian Christians barred from discipleship through their church. Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is helpful, but there are still miles to go before this becomes a non-issue.
We weep for the generations of immigrants barred from participation in their new country. A refused Dream Act has a certain irony in this season of being led by dreams. There are still miles to go before this becomes enacted, much less seemingly natural.
Gift-givers come and gift-givers go. Deliver the gift that is you and it will be enough.
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