John Beauchamp, a homeless man living in Davie, Florida, truly embodies Jesus’ commandment to love others by risking his life to save a woman suffering with dimentia from drowning in a canal:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/12/31/dnt.homeless.hero.wplg

We have much to learn from the humble and faithful Mr. Beauchamp.

I was viewing a friend’s MySpace page when the profile song, “Let It Ring” by Amy Ray of the folk duo The Indigo Girls, began playing.  Although I’ve been a big fan of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers’ music for the past 20 years, I had never heard this song which comes from Amy’s second solo album “Prom” released in 2005.  This amazing song struck a deep chord within me, especially considering the current state of world affairs on this New Year’s Eve.

Amy Ray has not made an official video for the song as far as I know, however, I discovered that a MySpace member created one to post on YouTube that fits perfectly with Ray’s powerful and stirring music and message.

May there be more love and hope and less evil and hate in the New Year.

Let it ring!

Let It Ring Lyrics by Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls

When you march stand up straight.
When you fill the world with hate
Step in time with your kind and
Let it ring

When you speak against me
Would you bring your family
Say it loud pass it down and
Let it ring

Let it ring to Jesus ’cause he sure’d be proud of you
You made fear an institution and it got the best of you
Let it ring in the name of the one that set you free
Let it ring

As I wander through this valley
In the shadow of my doubting
I will not be discounted
So let it ring

You can cite the need for wars
Call us infidels or whores
Either way we’ll be your neighbor
So let it ring

Let it ring
in the name of the man that set you free
Let it ring

And the strife will make me stronger
As my maker leads me onward
I’ll be marching in that number
So let it ring

I’m gonna let it ring to Jesus
Cause I know he loves me too
And I get down on my knees and I pray the same as you
Let it ring, let it ring
‘Cause one day we’ll all be free
Let it ring

http://www.indigogirls.com/discographyandlyrics/otherrecordings/lyrics/prom.html

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee made no apologies Sunday for the religious tone of a recent holiday campaign commercial and said it is important to look for Jesus at this time of year.

“You can find Santa at every mall. You can find discounts in every store,” Huckabee said from the pulpit of Cornerstone Church. “But if you mention the name of Jesus, as I found out recently, it upsets the whole world. Forgive me, but I thought that was the point of the whole day.”

Huckabee was referring to the ad airing in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that shows him in a red sweater in front of a Christmas tree as he asks, “Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? Well, I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and friends.”

“And I hope that you and your friends will have a magnificent Christmas season. And on behalf of all of us, God Bless and Merry Christmas. I’m Mike Huckabee and I approved this message,” he says in the spot.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/12/24/huckabee-unapologetic-for-religious-tone/

First, I didn’t realize Jesus was lost.

Secondly, Jesus doesn’t need any pr from a political candidate, especially Huckabee.

And thirdly, it seems a bit ironic or even hypocritical that Huckabee tries to appeal to the common viewer’s frustrations over political ads by essentially saying let’s put the political ads aside and focus instead on the Christmas story, and by the way I paid for and approved this message (i.e. this political ad). Huckabee later told the media, of course, that the ad had nothing to do with his campaign which has been trying to rally more conservative Christian support.  Yeah right.

 It’s clearly a political ad, designed to gain campaign support and votes, that is thinly disguised as a heartfelt message about Jesus’ birth from a presidential candidate.  

Personally I think Jesus has been manipulated and abused enough for political agendas by the religious conservatives, fundamentalists and Religious Right, don’t you?  Let’s not forget that Christmas is not just about Jesus and family and friends but also about sharing love, food, shelter, comfort and hope with the poor, oppressed and marginalized of this world–the ones for whom Jesus minstered to and stood alongside throughout his ministry.

Too bad Huckabee didn’t learn the lesson that it’s better to actually do something rather than give lip service and manipulative sentiments about doing. Just think, instead of putting money into a political ad about Christmas, he could’ve simply used the money to live out the Christmas story by helping to create viable solutions to end poverty and care for the “least of these.” 

While I was nursing a horrible chest cold last week, I discovered the most amazing application on Facebook–a game called Scrabulous. Just like the board game Scrabble, the object is to score the most points creating words from 7 randomly picked tiles.   Scrabulous, though, takes it up a notch by allowing you to play as many games with as many of your friends (with Facebook accounts) as you’d like.  The best part is getting to play with friends who you haven’t seen in a while and who live several states away. I also enjoy playing with other members at Colesville, makes for a fun laid-back pastor-member bonding experience.

But right now I’m playing 14 games! And I’m losing more than half of them of course. Not a surprise; my concentration is spread too thin.  Probably explains why I’ve already completed and lost five games.

But the thing is, I’m freaking addicted. I can’t get enough. The downside to Scrabulous is that you don’t have the immediacy of a face-to-face game. When you play on the Internet via Facebook, everybody plays on their own time so games could take days, maybe even weeks to play.   Since I was sick and was bored out of my mind, I could hardly stand waiting for someone to make the next move so I’d start new games just so I could craft a new word worthy of some juicy points.

Now, I’m checking my Scrabulous games more than email. Heck, I’m even commenting on other friends/opponent’s blog posts and asking them to play before I go out of my mind.  It also doesn’t help that Scrabulous has this message-sending feature called “nudge?” where, if your opponent hasn’t gone in a while, you can nudge them to get their act together. I’ve sent multiple nudges to some friends within the same hour.

I tell ya, they should probably start calling it Scrabcrackulous. (A whopping 54 double word score!)

Today, Mark B., one of the youth, wrote on my dry erase board:

11. “Thou Shalt Do The Dance”    *

Amen Mark! Amen!

*Note: The image above, while very simillar to Mark’s drawing of a dancing stick figure, was drawn by another brilliant artist of stick figures and can be found on Google images.  I thought about claiming that this image was indeed Mark’s drawing but then I realized that would violate all kinds of copyright laws and the commandment about stealing. And of course, it would make me a stick figurist for believing that all stick figures are the same. Everyone knows that each stick figure is unique in the eyes of their creator.

“Mary, did you know? The blind will see. The deaf will hear. And the dead will live again. The lame will leap. The dumb will speak the praises of the lamb. Mary, did you know that your baby boy is lord of all creation? Did you know that your baby boy will one day rules the nations? Did you know that your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb? This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.”

“Mary Did You Know?” a Christmas song written by Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene, 1997, recorded by numerous music artists

“When God chooses Mary as the instrument, when God wants to enter this world in the manger in Bethlehem, this is not an idyllic family occasion, but rather the beginning of a complete reversal, a new ordering of all things on this earth.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and Christian martyr

            For devotions at the November Session meeting, Mike played a beautiful rendition of the song “Mary Did You Know?” by country-folk singer Kathy Mattea. As I closed my eyes and allowed the music to wash over me, I immediately had this image of Mary holding her newborn child.  And I wondered as does the song’s vocalist, “Mary, did you know?”

            Sure, the angel Gabriel told her she would give birth to the Son of God.  And yes, Mary, responds by saying, ”Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word,” and then a few days later sings of praises to God. But did she know? Did she fully understand the role she had been chosen to fulfill? Did this 12-year-old peasant Jewish girl fully realize that she was to be the mother of God in human form. Did she fully see herself as the mother of Jesus, the one who would turn the world upside down through his life in ministry to the poor and downtrodden, his death on the cross and resurrection over sin?    

            
            In Luke 2:17-19 we learn that after the shepherds visit (in which they retell their encounter with the angels), “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”  Mary embraced the message and yet still pondered the full meaning of the message for her and her child. 

        A few verses and many years later, we read that the family takes the annual trip to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.  When the festival ended, the family headed back home to Galilee but Jesus, who was now 12, stayed behind in Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph realize Jesus is not with them and they frantically go back to Jerusalem to look for their son.  Mary finds Jesus in the temple listening to the teachers and asking them questions. When Mary explains that she and Joseph have been frantically looking for him, Jesus says, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Mary and Joseph don’t understand what Jesus is saying and eventually the family returns home and Jesus is a good and obedient son. And Mary, the gospel writer says, “treasured all these things in her heart.”  Mary treasured her son’s growth and maturity and yet still may not have fully understood the depths of who her son would become and what her son would do.

        While Mary knew Jesus was a gift from God destined for amazing things, I wonder if she really knew her son would suffer and die at the hands of those she was close to, her cousins, neighbors, friends, rabbis.  It’s hard for any mother or parent to think about their own children’s fate. I can’t imagine that given the nature of things in those biblical days that Mary could fathom what Jesus would endure, of what God would do for all people out of a selfless and sacrificing act of love.

        In the book and film “The River Runs Through It” there is a great scene where the old Presbyterian preacher says in a Sunday sermon on I Corinthians (the classic passage about love), that “You can love completely without complete understanding.” Maybe what Mary knew or didn’t know is not so much important as how she responded to her calling to be the deliver of the Christ child, the bearer of transformation for the world.

        Mary may have (understandably) pondered and wondered about the baby she was holding in her arms, about the child she was raising in the poor town of Galilee. And yet even when she might not have had all the answers or seen fully the future that lay ahead for her son, she still clung to her faith and her glorious love for God. “God has shown strength with his arm; scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly, filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” Mary loved completely without complete understanding.

        May we also do the same as Mary in the midst of our preparation and pontification during this Advent season.

http://http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2007/12/06/sell.hanging.man.sculpture.wzzm

In this month of December I am thankful for:

* My amazing wife Elizabeth who is 14 weeks pregnant and a baby who is on the way

* Being able to hear the baby’s heartbeat and seeing a cute tiny hand waving around on the sonogram last week.

* The beautiful, colorful picture mosaic of a cross that a youth made for me. The youth stayed up several hours to draw and color the picture. I posted it on my door so that I see it every day and am reminded of the love it represents and the love from which it comes from.

* The notes and drawings the youth leave on the small dry erase board that hangs on my door. One youth recently drew Pac-Man eating the Mr. Bill claymation figure from Saturday Night Live.

* Dylan the cat who attacks your socks thinking they’re another animal; and Harper who plays fetch with her toys just as good as any dog.

* Being able to gaze sleepily at the snow covering the ground outside and no longer having to drive in it.

* Friends who leave you awesome messages and drawings on Facebook about your expectant child.

* Friends who love you enough to tell you when to step back and take a breath.

* The freedom that came to Gillian Gibson, the British teacher, who had been jailed in Sudan for allowing her class of 6 and 7-year-olds name a Teddy bear Mohammed.

* My father-in-law had his last day of radiation and is feeling hopeful that he will beat his cancer.

* A fun weekend to celebrate my good friend John Weicher’s 30th Birthday in Media, PA.

* Christmas cards from friends, family and church members

* Advent–a time of preperation for the loving and grace-filled mystery of God that dwells among us as a baby in a lowly manger.

* Christmas–a time of giving in the name of God who in Christ gives us the freedom to shine as lights in the darkness

As I write today’s post from a 15-year-old dirt-stained orange-kaki-ish Lazy-boy recliner, Harper the cat is lying on my chest and nibbling on the drawstrings of my grey hooded sweatshirt while Harper’s brother Dylan is resting peacefully atop two blankets on the couch. And Elizabeth, who is 3 months pregnant, is sitting in her office at Rockville Presbyterian writing a sermon for Sunday on Mary’s Magnifcat from the Gospel of Luke. 

And I’m basking in the wonder of this family that I’m a part of these days. It is a blessing to have such an amazing wife and two sweet, fun adorable cats…and a baby on the way!  On Friday, Elizabeth and I went to the doctor’s office for a sonogram and we heard for the first time the baby’s heart beat. Incredible! Thump, thump, thump, thump. And in addition to seeing the head and a couple of legs, we saw (in great detail) this tiny hand with five cubby fingers waving around. As a good friend of mine would say, “It blows your mind!”  Both Elizabeth and child are healthy and the process is moving along as it should.  In 4-6 weeks we should be able to find out the baby’s sex, which is exciting.  Both Elizabeth and I rooting for a little for a boy although in the end, we’ll be happy whether it’s a boy or a girl. The most important thing to us is that the baby is healthy and Elizabeth doesn’t have any complications before, during or after birth.

While the concept of bringing a life into this world is thrilling and exciting, it’s also scary. I know people who have lost babies at different stages during a pregnancy and I’ve even ministered one couple who lost what was a healthy baby in the 9th month simply because the baby turned and got himself wrapped in the umbellical cord. Some couples, though it’s rare, have successful births and then a shortime later, lose their infant to SIDS.  I know I shouldn’t dwell too much on what could go wrong but it’s hard not to be somewhat aware of the possibility. 

I pray that God will keep me more centered in the wonder of this miracle of life that is a baby. I pray that God will not allow me to drift into the dark places of worry and fear. I pray that God will be with all three of us (and the cats too…a baby is going to be a huge adjustment for them) over these next 9 months and beyond.  I pray that God will fill the time with love, faith, strength, hope, peace and grace no matter what happens.