Spare Change?

I saw some amazing sculptures the other day called Open Mind by an artist named Johnson Tsang.  They show people’s heads with a variety of expressions from happiness to confusion, and hands coming from inside the head making openings of different sizes and shapes. 

(https://johnsontsang.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/open-mind-series/ )

 It reminds me of how difficult it can be to change.  I have spent the last two weeks changing where I work, sometimes from home, sometimes from the office, doing my best to respect the law, and as some of you have found, working from home calls for a lot of adaptation.  The fridge is an easy commute, and family is always there to chat with.  But it’s just one more change in a year that has seen more than our fair share of changes.

It would be nice to think that 2021 would be a year where we can get back to normal, and where we can undo all the changes that have been made from necessity.  There is something deeply unsettling about change that comes from outside ourselves, that we have little choice over.  It’s one thing to make a new year’s resolution to get up half an hour earlier, it’s another thing to have someone else or something else force change on us.  Even change that’s necessary is still hard to endure.

The magi had a reason to change, they chose to leave their families, their way of life and journey into an unknown land.  They were scholars and dignitaries who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.  And we have no way of knowing whether this is history or myth story, but I wonder just how wise they were.  They obviously didn’t realize that they were blundering into the court of one of the most corrupt, power-hungry and paranoid kings of the land.  

They could have benefitted with checking into their embassy if they had one, before showing up at the King’s fortress asking embarrassing questions.  You know, questions like, ‘where’s your successor? We hear he’s going to be amazing, and so blessed that even the stars are predicting his birth!’

Herod was more than a little paranoid about losing power.  According to the historians of his day, he murdered so many of his family including wives and sons that Augustus reportedly said that it was better to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son because at least Herod, as a Jew, would not eat his pig.  He had his heir killed only a few days before he himself died.  Not a nice man!

And here the Magi blunder in, asking politically uncomfortable questions that no one wanted to answer.  Not so wise after all.  And it turned out they were off by 9 km! They had to make some changes for themselves.  Stop looking in the palace for a king, stop looking in the capital of the nation for a king, but travel to where the poorest of the poor were living on the outskirts.  Stop eating at a king’s table and visit a family who may not know where their next meal is coming.  Stop visiting with people who know the proper protocol for dealing with foreign dignitaries and go to a place where they may not be treated with the reverence and respect they were used to.  And stop trusting the ruler who has all the answers and all the advisors; instead turn to a nebulous way of making a decision.  They chose to follow an inspiration and avoided returning to Herod.

We can no more return to the so-called glory days of pre-Covid life than the Magi could return to Herod.  We have learned too much and experienced too much to do so.  People in heavily populated countries have seen the stars at night, free from the smog that was their constant experience.  Why would they want to return?  We have seen the inherent injustices of people struggling with inadequate health care, unfair labor practices and inadequate employment.  

We have seen the heartbreaking impact on immigrants working two or three jobs, struggling to get home or to stay healthy.  

We have learned of the systemic racism that permeates every aspect of North American Society.  We have struggled to retain our parks from loosing their protected status in a province that values profit over preservation.  We have discovered how fragile our economy is and how important our connections to other people are, who really is essential.  And we have discovered how our faith has strengthened us to adapt to change, to care for our neighbors and to fight against injustice. 

We cannot and must not go back to Herod.  That means more change will happen.  More people will continue to work from home and drive less.  More people will recognize the power of community.  More people will discover the joy of living with respect in creation.  More people will chose a different lifestyle than the frantic and frenetic ways of the past.

2021 will not be the same as 2020, nor will it be the same as 2019.  Change will happen.  But as children of God, adopted as God’s heirs, we are free to live in glorious holy ways that benefit everyone and not just ourselves.  We are inspired to live with courage and hope as we face each new day.  We are called to live with generosity, to share what we can of our time, our talents and our abundance with those who are struggling.  We are strengthened by our faith to live with fortitude, especially in times such as these.  And we are gifted with wisdom that helps us make wise choices for a future where justice and love prevail. Our sacred story points the way for everyone whether they live in palaces or hovels.  And our God who loves us so much that we are adopted into grace-filled community, will guide and sustain us as we follow the Magi into 2021.  May it be so for us all!

Nevertheless…

 

Also available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2_yPF1VZOI  

When I was little, we had a black and white television to watch.  I remember being very curious about it, and the moving pictures inside.  There was only CBC in English and French, and CTV with Popcorn Playhouse on Saturdays.  Every year CBC would have Christmas special shows that quickly became family favorites.  First there was the Charlie Brown Christmas which came out in 1965, with Linus and that sad-looking tree transformed into something beautiful by friendship and co-operation.  Then there was the Grinch, who tried to sabotage Christmas by taking all the gifts and food out of Christmas, until his heart grew by three sizes!

It feels like we have a new kind of Grinch trying to steal our Christmas from us.  But we’re not sure what the Grinch looks like this year.  Is the Grinch a round ball with lots of spikes sticking out of it?  Or a politician changing their message?  Or a doctor who gives us scary numbers?  Or someone who wants to dismiss this as a conspiracy?  Unlike the Grinch who stole all the toys and decorations, this Grinch has allowed us to keep the ribbons and bows and everything that comes from a store; but this Grinch took away our ability to stand hand in hand, singing our old carols and songs.

Nevertheless, we still gather to hear an ancient story that has given people courage and inspiration not just for 55 years, like Charlie Brown and the Grinch, but for thousands of years.  Some years our ancestors in the faith gathered in catacombs under the city of Rome in secret.  Some years our ancestors gathered in Jerusalem, rebuilding it after it was destroyed by the Roman army.  Some years they gathered in hospitals they had founded so poor people could get health care.  Some years they gathered on mission boats travelling the coastlines of Canada with good news, healthcare, education, books and more to BC and Newfoundland.  Some years they gathered on battlefields for a night of soccer with their enemies, or in bombed out churches to sing Silent Night in many languages.  They gathered in different places and different ways to hear this story.

A challenging story of people being forced to be counted for the sake of Caesar’s taxes, showing the power the Roman Empire had over poor peasants .  Government sanctioned bullying and injustice dominated the Mediterranean world, where people lacked basic freedoms and rights.  Nevertheless, they hoped – the people of Israel hoped that one day there would be justice and freedom despite all the evidence that said otherwise.  They clung to their stories and sacred writings that said they were not alone, they were part of a community guided and shaped by God.  They hoped because they could do no other than to hope.

This story is of families uprooted, separated from their loved ones, forced to travel where and when they didn’t want to go.  One young couple, alone, isolated because of Government orders.  The wife heavily pregnant and far from her family and community, but also far from the rumors and gossip that talked about her behind her back, about how her husband was not the father of her child.  The husband fearing that he might be press-ganged by soldiers who had the right to take him away and force him to work on their projects, whether his wife was pregnant or not.

Nevertheless, they dreamed of peace – a time when they and their child would be free from the threat of violence from soldiers, a time where they could eat together with their neighbors, or sleep in their own home without having to leave.  Free from being constantly taxed to pay for an Emperor’s army and never seeing any benefits for themselves.  They dreamed of peace because they needed the world to change.

And did things change.  One day they were two homeless people in a big city.  The next they were three.  The change from being husband to father, from wife to mother that would forever shift how they felt about life.

Nevertheless, they experienced great joy as they saw that tiny baby, they laughed when he yawned, or counted his fingers and toes, amazed to see this tiny one take his first breaths, cry at the shock of being out of that cozy warm womb.  They felt joy at new possibilities, at new opportunities, at the wonder of new birth.

But this story wasn’t just about a young family.  It was about the outcasts, the down-trodden, the people who didn’t have good educations or great job skills, who weren’t seen as doing essential work.  The shepherds living lonely lives cut off from their families as they spent months at a time up on the hills for their jobs.  Protecting sheep from wolves and lions and getting precious little recognition for their efforts even though sheep provided food, clothing, milk and cheese for the community.  They were the smelly ones, down on their luck, taking the worst jobs that society had, and being treated like outcasts because they couldn’t come to church regularly like they were supposed to.

Nevertheless, they found they were loved, not just by each other, but by the wonderful mystery that spoke to them one night of awe, of not being afraid, of peace and hope and joy.  They found the love the angels told them about, and it transformed them into love tellers, of hope bearers, and story carriers

This story of love, peace, hope and joy has seen our families and communities through plagues, wars, crusades, and revolutions.  This story has inspired us to collectively work for justice, fair taxes, free education and accessible health care.  It has put kindness as an important part of what it means to be a good citizen.  No more do we judge people based on how good they are with a sword or with words, but with how they change the world for the better.  

Martin Luther never knew that his calm and steady response to the Bubonic Plague would inspire people 500 years later.  Christians taking care of the sick never knew that they would inspire a new movement towards universal healthcare.  Preachers talking about how all humans were loved by God equally never knew that they would help inspire a democratic system and equality under the law. Quakers protesting that all Christians were to be treated justly never knew that one day slavery would be ended.  Methodist missionaries piloting their boats along the shorelines of Canada never knew they were building community.  Nevertheless, they let this story inspire their faith and their actions.

Just as I never knew how much better a color tv would be from black and white or how that there would be more than two channels on tv as I was growing up, I do not know how these times we live in will look 500 years from now.  But this ancient story reminds us that we can and will see changes that will be an inspiration for years to come.  God is with us in these times, through these ancient stories of resiliency and hope.   We are not alone, and nevertheless, God’s peace and love will continue with us and generations to come far into the future.