Remembering December 1st, Rosa Parks Remembrance Day

Remembering December 1st, Rosa Parks Remembrance Day

“For those of you who have fallen into a level of cynicism, thinking that we “cannot” and “nothing will work,” let me tell you something about when you get up... in the morning of December first. That means nothing to you, but let me break it down because you should shout every December first. December 1 was the day … Rosa Parks sat down so you could stand up.

When you get up this morning, you say, “God, I thank you for Rosa. That she could sit down so I could stand up.” And only God can teach you to do two things that sound contradictory at the same time, that she sat down and stood up at the same time. We must make our history sacred.”—Otis Moss III, Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 96–97, 102.

Richard Rohr introduced us to Otis Moss and his writings about how African Americans have a unique way of holding the tension between hope and despair. In the fall of 2014, shortly after the shooting of Michael Brown and weeks of protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Rev. Dr. Moss preached about the tensions of being a Black American of faith and racism in our country.

“ Being Black means you are born with a Blues song tattooed on your heart, and at the same time, you still have a Gospel shout that is welling up in your soul about to come out.

Another way to say it is that we live with repression and revelation, simultaneously swimming in the same tributary of our spirit. There is nothing more confusing to the postmodern personality, to the millennial sojourner, than to have to exist between the strange life of dealing with your Blues and Gospel all the time: madness and ministry, chaos and Christ. My father heard an elder in Georgia say it this way. When he asked her, ‘How are you doing, Mother?’ she said, ‘I’m living between Oh Lord and Thank you, Jesus.”’

“The Gospel and the Blues,” Richard Rohr, Daily Meditation, January 18, 2024.

Joanna Seibert. joannaseibert.com. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Slowing Down in Advent by Reading Stories

A Dog in the Manger

“’ I want to put Jesus in the manger!”

You did it last year. It’s my turn.”

No, I’m the oldest, I get to do it.”

Well, I’m the youngest, I think I should!”

Maggie grabbed the figure from Jack and accidentally dropped it face down on the hard floor.

“Now you’ve done it,” cried Jack.”’—Jim Simons, A Dog in the Manger and Other Christmas Stories (Rowman and Littlefield, 2015) p 1.

Jim Simons is an Episcopal priest who decides to write and tell a story for his Christmas Eve sermon every year, which eventually now births into this collection of Christmas sermons called A Dog in the Manger.   Simons reminds us that Jesus tells stories, and the birth narratives consist of two different stories told by two authors, Luke and Matthew. He reminds us that the Christmas season is a time to tell stories about our roots, parents, and grandparents, and our early lives.

Simon’s stories are entertaining and convey a profound, meaningful message of hope: Jesus’ birth signifies God’s love for each of us. The stories are fiction, but they are no doubt drawn from his life experiences. The book’s title comes from the first story about a puppy whose passion is traveling around town, and bringing home to his new owner, all the baby Jesuses from outdoor nativity displays.

  I bought the book a few years ago, when I was preaching more often, looking for material for Christmas sermons. I often preach about Christmas pageants, because I have been involved in so many of them. At least half of Simons’ stories are related to these dramas that consistently add new and unexpected incarnational wisdom to Christmas.

This past year, I have been reading many spiritual nonfiction writings in preparation for this book and two others. As Advent approaches, I know I have been hungry for stories, and serendipitously, this book appears in my stack for Christmas. My goal has been to read at least one story or at least half a story a day, but I cannot put the book down most days. Indeed, perhaps one factor in this craving has been the months I have spent putting reading fiction on hold. A Dog in the Manger is precisely what I needed at the beginning of this liturgical year. I will share it with you if, by chance, you hear a similar call.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Facing the Unknowns in Our Lives

Charleston: Facing the Unknown

“Facing the unknown is not quite so hard when we consider how much of our life is lived in the heart of mystery. We do not know what may come our way in the next five minutes, much less the next five days. We are given all the tools and skills we need to navigate this reality, but the essence of it always eludes our final grasp.

This is why trust is our currency, and wisdom is our direction. We are explorers. We are travelers of the mind and seafarers of the heart. When we follow the Spirit, the unknown is only a bend in the road.”—Steven Charleston’s Facebook Page.

Bishop Charleston reminds us that even when we think we have made all the plans for our day, something different always happens. It can be just a minor annoyance from a problematic person, a printer problem, or a more serious event, such as an illness, an accident, or even death. We fool ourselves if we think we are in control. I have a friend who says, “I am fine if I have all my ducks in a row.” But, of course, he also says, “But that never happens.”

When we decide to follow the Spirit, what 12-step groups call “doing the next right thing,” we have a chance at a life of peace and surrender to what is happening at that moment. That is living in the present. The precious present.

 This is our gift each day from the God of love. We are to be present in each situation, without worrying about the past or dreading the future. Living in the present is where God meets and speaks to us. In the present moment, we open ourselves to connecting with the Christ within us and the Christ in our neighbor.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/