Dear St. Paul’s Family,
I spent some time yesterday listening again to Coventry Carol, the only Christmas song that describes Herod’s massacre of the innocents. Written in 1534 in Coventry, England, it is the only surviving work from the play The Pageant of Shearman and Tailors, which portrayed in vivid detail all of the events of Jesus’ birth from Matthew’s gospel.
Its haunting melody and lyrics are from the perspective of Mary, who sings a lullaby to her baby Jesus in the wake of so much bloodshed around them. Her song is both a longing to protect him from the evil and wickedness in their midst, and an acknowledgment that death is itself the very reason he came to give his life. I invite you to listen to the King’s College Choir perform the carol at the link below, and read the following lyrics. [1]
Lully, lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing
By, by, lully, lullay.
Herod, the king, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.
Then, woe is me, poor Child for Thee!
And ever mourn and sigh
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.
It is no surprise that this song does not rank in popularity among the brighter, more festive Christmas carols to which we are more accustomed. It certainly contradicts the plastic holiday cheer advocated by our consumerist culture. But maybe, in the aftermath of the massacre of the innocents of Sandy Creek Elementary School, in a year when we have had seven mass shootings in this country, and in a time when so many are struggling with grief, broken relationships, and financial distress, this may be the perfect song to resonate with our aching Advent spirits.
After all, we remember that Christmas always comes four days after December 21, the precise date when daylight is shortest and the darkness is longest. Then, the day after Christmas is the Feast Day of St. Stephen, the first Christian to die as a martyr. And just two days later, on December 28, right in the heart of the Christmas season, is the Feast Day of the Innocents, which commemorates the death of young children at the hands of Herod. The light of Christmas comes in the darkest moments, at precisely the time when we need it the most.
There is no reason to deny the darkness of our world. Instead, our baptismal vows call us to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.” While it is true that the myriad factors that contributed to last Friday’s horrible tragedy cannot be alleviated by any one solution, our baptism leaves us no room for denial, ignorance, or resignation. To sit back and do nothing is utterly contradictory to our Christian convictions about Christmas and the incarnation, and it is paramount to allowing the darkness to prevail. That is simply not an option, at least according to the gospel, for the opening verses of John attest to an incarnational power in which the “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.”
Make no mistake, friends. No matter how awful this world seems to be, God’s light revealed in Christ is right where it should be: shining in the darkest places, illuminating shadows, and eradicating fears. It is a light that we must embrace, embody, and emanate.
A PASTORAL PRAYER IN THE WAKE OF SANDY CREEK
Since there were those who requested by pastoral prayer from last Sunday, I’ve offered it to you as part of today’s message. May it guide our hearts and collective resolve as we anticipate the coming of Christ among us.
Gracious and Merciful God,
During this season of Advent, we remember that the world into which your son was born was not silent and peaceful, but muddled and messy. That world was filled with tears and anguish, and a longing for redemption from the world’s waywardness. It is that same kind of world – our world today – into which we yearn for your return.
We pray, oh Lord, for the recent victims of violence, for so many young lives taken much too soon. We grieve for the families whose mantles will have one fewer Christmas stocking and one fewer seat at the table. We mourn with the families of survivors, whose children are now scarred by memories no child should have to endure. We are pained by the images of a community too shell-shocked for words. Grant to all who mourn an Advent of your peace, and a healing that only your Spirit can bring over time.
We confess to you that our world and our nation are brutally addicted to violence. We acknowledge the statistics that are too jarring to ignore: Seven mass shootings in one year, the highest one-year total in our country’s history. Fifteen of the twenty-six worst mass shootings in the past fifty years have happened on our own soil. Our media, movies, and video games glorify bloodshed. We fall for the lie that justice must always involve the taking of a life. There are too many of the wrong kinds of guns in the wrong kinds of hands. We are saturated by our own bloodlust, blinded by our own frailties. So come to us, Lord, and set us free from our hearts turned inward upon themselves.
Here, in the town of Cherokee, we ask your blessing on our teachers and all of our public servants, who tend to the lives of our youngest generation, serve our community, and preserve our future. Grant to them wisdom and courage in their daily tasks, and an environment that is safe, peaceful, and conducive to sound learning.
God, inspire each of us to be agents of healing and transformation, even in the context of our own relationships. Help us to support our schools, our law enforcement agencies, our emergency personnel, our health care providers, and all those who order our common good. Guide us in reconciling any conflict that we have with other. Teach us to love our children. Grant to us a steadiness of will and a sobriety of mind to do your will in all that we do, so that we might see your kingdom here on earth, as it is in heaven.
In the face of tragedy, and during this season of preparation, focus our resolve, and help us to be agents of peace.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHkTYpzHNVQ
CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE 5:30
Join us for our grand celebration of the birth of Christ on December 24 at 5:30pm. The service will feature carols and candle lighting, and another sermon in rhyme titled “A St. Paul’s Christmas Carol.”
END OF THE YEAR GIVING
Help St. Paul’s meet all of its financial obligations in 2012 by making your contributions to the general fund and postmarking your gifts by December 31. Thank you for all of your generosity over the past year.
SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING
Thank you, St. Paul’s for your bell ringing efforts this month. You have been able to raise over $2,400, ninety percent of which stays here in Cherokee to help people in need. There are still a number of slots available for ringing between 10am and 2pm this Saturday at both Fareway and K-mart. To sign up, call the church office or contact Mary Jo Carnine.
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