Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

My point being that Peace Lutheran is a wonderful place, a sacred and safe refuge for D and I and for so many others who have stumbled into this house of worship filled with genuinely good and imperfect people and heavily influenced by some of the finest Swedes you’ll ever meet this side of the fjords.

I wish you could all just show up one Sunday morning, worship with us, and feel their welcome….but if you ever all decide to turn up in mass, all I ask is that you give me a heads-up. I need to be sure there are enough cookies for the hospitality hour.

D and I originally went to Peace for a couple years when we first got together and then were away for about four years while I fulfilled my ordination requirements. When we returned, Peace was different. The pews once full on Sunday mornings were now only occupied by a few dozen dear and familiar faces. The entire clergy and support staff had been reduced to the pastor and the office administrator. The choir that had once filled the three rows near the glossy black grand piano could now barely fill a standard-sized station wagon. The diverse array of outreach ministries and community involvement that Peace had been known for in the area had largely been set aside or abandoned because of limitations of budget and bodies. The Sunday School Hour, including their amazing children’s program was no more.

In our absence, this thriving congregation had confronted one of those agonizingly painful times that occurs in any number of churches where humans are involved. Life in the church got messy and uncertain. Conflicting stories developed. A few families left. Feelings were hurt and spirits wounded. And those who remained, who had faithfully endured the fire, showed the exhaustion and battle scars of their collective dark night of the soul. Though D and I were depleted from what we had just experienced at another congregation, we wept for Peace and we worried about their future, now our future with them.

But as Walter Bruggemann wrote in his Lenten prayer, through loss comes gain, through death comes new life.

Battle scars are healing. Weary souls are being restored. The rows of once sparsely-filled pews are being filled again; filled with joy and life and thankfulness, and with a people living out their individual commitment to the Gospel of Christ through being an inclusive, justice-minded, creation-conscious community in and to the world. In financial difficult times we’ve just accomplished an amazing feat together. Last Sunday morning we gathered outside in the rain around a round red charcoal grill and burned our mortgage papers, celebrating that with no debt remaining, we can look ahead to investing ourselves and our resources toward ministries that will reach beyond our walls. Last Sunday was also the first time in nearly five years our children gathered before worship in their new Sunday School classrooms. Tonight over bowls of steaming soup and warm bread we’ll gather for Soup and Sacrament, our weekly Lenten meal and meditation. Yes. Peace is breathing deep again and breathing with life that’s extending beyond our four walls to embrace the world. Once a month the sanctuary is over-flowing on Sunday nights with our Jazz at Peace series that brings people in from all over the Bay area. Neighbors to Peace come with dogs, cats, lizards, ponies and bugs in tow to our annual Festival of the Animals and every fall Peace hosts Holy Convergence, a spectacular interfaith worship service and afternoon that brings together Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Bahia and every seeking soul.

There’s so much more happening at Peace these days but most of all what’s happening is the unfolding of hope long unrealized. There were days I wondered. I wondered if Peace would survive. I wondered if these dear people who had been through so much and been through it with so much dignity could hold on a little longer.

I wondered, but I don’t know why I did when in my own life every loss has led to gain and every death has brought the dawn of new life. There are times I get so stuck in the sorrow and suffering of the Lenten seasons of my life that I forget it’s not the destination where I’ll reside forever but instead it’s merely a moment on the path, a path that always and unfailingly leads to yet another Easter morning and to resurrection and new life.

Today your spirit might be empty from all the loss and death is a veil separating you from life but your spirit will be filled and the veil will be lifted. And if you can’t believe that for yourself today, if you can’t believe it for God, then I and all the others who have already walked that road and caught a glimpse of what lies ahead will believe it for you until you can. You can and you will. Just wait and see.

.
Loss is Indeed Our Gain

The pushing and shoving of the world is endless.
…..We are pushed and shoved.
…..And we do our fair share of pushing and shoving
……….in our great anxiety.
And in the middle of that
……….you have set down your beloved suffering son
……….who was like a sheep lead to slaughter
……….who opened not his mouth.
….We seem not able,
….so we ask you to create the spaces in our life
….where we may ponder his suffering
….and your summons for us to suffer with him,
….suspecting that suffering is the only way to come to newness of life.
So we pray for your church in these Lenten days,
….when we are driven to denial -
……..not to notice the suffering,
……..not to engage it,
……..not to acknowledge it.
So be that way of truth among us
….that we should not deceive ourselves.
That we shall see that loss is indeed our gain.
We give you thanks for that mystery from which we live.
Amen.

- Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann

So here’s the question for your own self-reflection and then if you will, to share with us….

Has loss been your gain, and if so, what did you gain?

Okay, that’s technically two questions. Indulge me.

But then again, it wasn’t the worst of years either. While the passing of Prop 8 in 2008 overturned gay marriage in California, in the Spring of 2009 the existing 14,000 same-sex marriages were upheld as legally valid by the California Supreme Court. This was the year that Vermont and Iowa joined Massachusetts and Connecticut in granting marriage equality to gay couples, and as late as yesterday, a gay male couple were legally married in Argentina. In November of this year California Governor  Schwarzenegger signed AB 2567 making May 22, Harvey Milk Day, a state day of recognition, and in December Rev. Mary D. Glasspool became the second openly gay bishop in the Anglican fellowship of the Episcopal Church. And throughout this year while the debate on homosexuality in religious and political circles continues, more and more congregations across the nation added their voices in taking an affirming stance toward the lives, relationships, and ministries of their GLBTQ brothers and sisters.

All across our world there were big and small victories and big and small defeats in the area of gay rights. Three steps forward, two steps back but slowly, ever so slowly we move ahead toward equality and justice for all people.

Speaking personally, 2009 was a hard year for me. It was always be the year I remember first as the year my mom died. It was also the year I said goodbye to Marianne, a friend who lived with, and then died from cancer with more grace than I could ever hope to muster on my best day on earth. I spent nearly a quarter of this year recovery from surgeries, had a few personal disappointments, and in recent weeks have grieved the diagnosis of ALS given to a loved one of mine.

But there were good moments too. In 2009 I watched, howbeit from a distance, my godson sprout like a green bean. I reconnected with old friends. My mom and I had a few tender mother-daughter conversations I’ll hold in my heart forever. My marriage to my beloved was declared valid by the California Supreme Court and we enjoyed the ninth year of the honeymoon phase of our relationship. This was also the year I reached the lifelong goal of reaching a healthy normal-range weight and okay, in keeping with that it was also the year I was able to slip on a pair of size eight jeans without holding my breath.

How about you? While some of us have navigated through this past year with relative ease fueled on by occasions of great joy and celebration, for others it was a brutal year; the personal losses too many to add up and the suffering too great to measure. 2009 has been as gentle as a lamb for some of us and as tough as a lion for others.

But whether you’re sadly waving farewell to 2009 or welcoming 2010 in with a sigh of relief and a swipe across your forehead, here we are. Still standing. Standing together with one another and surrounded in the mercy, compassion, and consolation of God, the One who knows us best and loves us most. However hard this year was for you, you made it. You have arrived at the end of a really rough year in your life and because you’re still here, that in and of itself is a monumental victory; a joyous celebration of your courage and resilience, and of God’s faithfulness to hold you through the darkest nights and the most torrential storms. God was faithful and so were you.

I pray that if 2009 was a year of loss and sorrow for you that 2010 would be a year of restoration and joy. I pray good things for you. I pray moments of delight and laughter for you. I pray truly good people surround you. I pray peace. I pray love. I pray that you find healing, wholeness, comfort, companionship, or whatever it is that is your deepest longing and need. I pray all this believing that God is not only able to perform a good work within you but that God desires and will settle for nothing less for you. These will be the prayers spoken on my lips and carried in my heart as 2009 turns into our yesterday and 2010 becomes our today. I look forward to the coming year, to see what God will do in us and through us, and that we would be open to saying yes to God’s call, wherever it might lead.

You are loved and beloved.
By God who gave you life.
By Christ who redeemed your life.
By the Spirit that wooed you in the beginning and that will carry you through to the end.

Know this one thing, treasure it in your heart, and it will keep you through whatever lies ahead.

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you. But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.  And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.  -Luke 1

She was perplexed and wondered what sort of greeting this might be.

How can this be since I am a virgin?

Here am I, a servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.

Mary’s response to the angel’s pronouncement is an understatement on so many levels. Even before dealing with the content of what the angel is saying Mary has to take in the context; that being that an angel has shown up in her room in the middle of the night. Though I’m not a scholar of ancient history I’m going to go out on a limb and postulate that angel appearances weren’t a common occurrence in the lives of young Palestinian Jewish girls in the first century. I could be wrong but I’ll take the risk. Whether Gabriel glowed with heavenly light and feathered wings flapping or made a nondescript appearance like Earl, my preferred variety of angel, it was a moment like none other in the young girl’s life. Surprising to say the least and yet the story doesn’t go on to recount how Mary ran screaming from the room or went weak in the knees, swooning to the ground in a heap. No external reaction on her part is revealed; only that internally Mary was perplexed and wondered why the angel had addressed her as favoured one and assured her of God’s presence.

While Mary might have been baffled about it all, why was there no fear on her part? Why no running or screaming or fainting or trembling, all of which I would have done in no particular order or more likely would have done all at the same time? My best guess is because from the moment the angel appeared, despite the extra-ordinariness of what was unfolding, Mary simply accepted what was. There was nothing in her that denied the reality of what was happening or that said no to the moment. You can almost hear the gears in her mind turning over;“This isn’t a dream. This is real. There’s an angel in my room and the angel is speaking to me. Now what?”

Mary’s acceptance allowed Gabriel to get right to the point of why he had come and where he began was by offering Mary the assurance that she had found favor in the eyes of God so she would know that the news to follow wasn’t a punishment for wrongdoing or a test of her faithfulness but instead he had come to tell her that because she had found favor, because God loved her and trusted her faithfulness God had chosen her for a special calling above all others. Mary had been chosen. By God.

And with assurance given the angel went on to round out the details of God’s calling; that she Mary, a young Jewess occupying a humble station in life, born to a family of simple means, engaged to a blue-collar worker, had been chosen to give birth to Messiah, the Promised One, the Hope of her people from the infancy of their beginnings, the King who would reign over the House of Jacob forever and the One whose kingdom would have no end. The angel’s pronouncement was the fulfillment of a promise from God that her people had longed to hear and hinged their lives upon from generation to generation. The angel is revealing that the promise of God to the people of Israel was just on the horizon. The moment had come. The time was now.

And Mary’s response? Now here is the part I love. Don’t miss it. Mary may have been young, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew where babies came from and so she knew it was impossible for her to give birth since she’d never been with a man. What the angel was saying was ridiculous. It was inconceivable. It was out of the question. Nope, not her. Not now. No way. And that’s just what she could have said. “No Gabriel. What you’re saying is impossible because I’m a virgin.” Period. End of story. Yet  instead of making a closed statement Mary asked the question “How can this be since I’m a virgin?” Mary didn’t say no to the impossibility of what God is revealing through Gabriel but instead she asked how it can be possible and in doing so Mary left the door open for the impossible to become possible. She left her heart open to receive the divine revelation for what in her human understanding was inconceivable.

And with her heart and ears open, she received the angel’s explanation for how it will be and answered in simple faith, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Here I am. Yes. I will accept this calling. Though I may be condemned as a sinner in violation of the law. Though I may lose face among my people. Though I may be rejected and cast out by my community. Though my parents may be ashamed. Though Joseph may abandon me. Though there will be certain pain and labor and blood. Though I will be stepping into the unknown, here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”

That’s all I’m saying. Let God’s Spirit say what God would have you hear.

]]> http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/what-you-said-mary/feed/ 3 http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/christmas-contest-conclusion/ http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/christmas-contest-conclusion/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:50:45 +0000 anita http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/?p=4511 Okay, so confess. Did some of you think to use a spell-check program to find the typos or are you really that speedy and observant? However you did it color me impressed!

As you can tell in looking at the comments, Salt was the first to turn the right answer around and so congrats to you Oh Mighty Salty One! The retractable back scratcher (would I be revealing too much to say I have one and use it on a regular basis?) and the 50 dollar Target gift card will be whisking their way to your mailbox as soon as you send the necessary info to anita@sisterfriends-together.org.

I’ve had a blast putting the contests together for you and I hope the last seven days of play and prizes was equally fun for you. I especially loved the wishes and hopes that were contributed on Day Five and the wonderfully entertaining stories of Christmas gifts you’ve received on Day Six. Great stuff.

I’ll be back tomorrow with thoughts turned toward the true wonder of Christmas, but right now I have to hurry off and correct the typos because they’re driving me crazy!

But first, let’s put our hands together and give a hearty dose of applause magic to Susan, yesterday’s lucky draw contest winner. Susan, I can see it now. You at Starbucks with your venti mocha extra-hot half-caf/decaf latte in one hand and a wad of purple silly putty in the other. Does life get any sweeter than that? I think not either. So congratulations to you! Now hurry up and send off your mailing address to anita@sisterfriends-together.org and in a couple days the miracle of java world domination will be yours. [And Lisa, I'm still waiting to hear from you. Your box is packed and ready for shipping!]

And just to prove I actually mean it when I say I’m writing your names on scraps of paper and pulling them out of a hat, here you go….Scraps of paper. Your names. A hat. I don’t make this stuff up people! “But I don’t see my name! You didn’t put my name in the hat! That’s not fair!” Oh. Calm. Down. Your name was in the hat this morning when the official drawing was conducted, witnessed, and deemed valid by me. I merely staged the photo last night with the names that had come in at that point since Sunday morning tends to notoriously be a little whack in getting out of the door in time to get to church before the opening prayer and call of “Play ball!” and photo-taking would have had me missing the opening swing of the bat. So let’s summarize. Legit drawing. Staged photo. Only believe.

Today’s Contest: Oh my pretties, this is a good one. You need to find the Mystery Word. Here’s how to do it. There is at least one typo in each of the recent posts on the Christmas Contest, Day One through Day Six. (Can I even tell you how painful it was for me to make intentional typos?!) There are a total of eight typos. Each typo has a missing letter. Your task is to find the missing letters from the eight typos and arrange them into an order that reveals the Mystery Word. Post what you believe the Mystery Word is along with the list of the eight words that were missing the letters you used to solve the puzzle. The first person to submit the correct answer will win a retractable back scratcher and a 50.00 Target gift card. I know these are great prizes but please, don’t even consider skipping church to get the jump on everyone! A lump of coal for you if you do.

Okay, there you have it. Now go find it!

And the winner of 100 temporary tattoos and 50 Target buckarooni’s is commenter number 17, Lisa! Lisa, your timing was perfection so congratulations dear girl! Now get your mailing address off to me at anita@sisterfriends-together.org so you can begin the new year bedecked in some significantly cool tats.

Today’s Contest: It’s the Saturday before Christmas and a whole lot of folks are out there rushing around today like crazy monkeys finishing up the last of their shopping but not you and me. Nope, not us. Here we are with all the time in the world to make up games and play them. What a life, eh? Well, it seems the least we can do is join in solitary with the frenzy of hurried holiday shoppers and post the funniest (or most fun) Christmas present we ever received whether as a child or adult. Tomorrow morning I’ll take all the entries received, write each name on a scrap of paper and randomly pull one out and the name of the person drawn will be the happy little elf who wins a container of Silly Putty and a 20.00 Starbucks gift card.

Ready. Set. Post.

]]> http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/christmas-contest-day-six/feed/ 14 http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/christmas-contest-day-five/ http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/christmas-contest-day-five/#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:49:13 +0000 anita http://www.sisterfriends-together.org/?p=4481 Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! Winner found yesterday’s hidden Christmas image (Click on the WordPress logo located at the bottom right hand corner of the site) in record time and as a result will be sporting a snappy pair of Bug-Eye Glasses and jewelry from Beads for Life this Christmas. And Winner, you might want to consider having a photo taken of you in those fancy schmancy spectacles for next year’s Christmas card. Just a thought.

Today’s Game: So for those of you who couldn’t handle the toil and stress of searching for yesterday’s clue, today’s contest is all the easier and today’s prize all the more tantalizing. First for the contest. Below in the sealed envelope is a single number. In the next 24 hours post a comment offering a Christmas wish, thought, or prayer for all your SisterFriends and BrotherBuddies and Saturday morning I’ll reveal the number and the person who was that numbered position in order of comments will win (Only one comment per person will be counted but you can post as many times as your inching fingers desire).

And the prize? Hold onto your shorts my Holly Jollies. Our duet of prizes begins with a bucket of 100 temporary tattoos. Think about it! Amaze your friends! Terrify your parents! The possibilities are endless! And the second prize is a 50 dollar Target gift certificate. That’s right. A little extra spending money can come in mighty handy this time of year.

And even if you don’t win, playing won’t be a loss for anyone because in playing you’ll be sharing and receiving words of hope, encouragement, and faith with one another, and words of kindness can come in mighty handy this time of year.

And the song was, despite it’s non-inclusive title, was and as of this morning when I was humming it once again is “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” If I’ve sung it once over the past week I’ve sung it a 100 times, which is about 87 times more than my beloved wishes were the case.

Huh. The song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The winner by luck of the draw, Kevin. It seems as though it was meant to be.

Today’s Game: Yes, it’s that time. It’s time for “Find the Hidden Picture!”, a repeat of a game from last year that nearly drove a few of you to drink….egg nog, that is. So here’s how this game goes. Somewhere on this website is a hidden link that will open up an image that tells what the prize is for today’s winner. The first person who finds the image and submits the text of EXACTLY what it says is the winner. So have at it my merry band of treasure hunters!