Quilted Together by God's Love

 

KID’S CORNER

-tell me about a favourite blanket or quilt; talk about quilts that are present

- many cultures – giving a blanket symbol of hospitality, honour, respect, protection; warmth and friendship;

- Black history month – patterns as sign-posts for underground railroad.  Who would you like to give a blanket to?

 

Last week we heard Matthew’s introduction to Jesus’ ministry.

And also the introduction to prepare those accompanying Jesus to hear the Sermon on the Mount; Jesus’ inaugural teaching.

 

Matthew clearly tells readers:

1.       That Jesus’ ministry will fulfill scripture – the Messiah will bring light to those in darkness.

2.       Calling the 4 fishermen before the teaching highlights that the teaching is specifically for the disciples, although others are present to hear it to.

3.       the Messiah’s ministry of healing is not as important as Jesus’ teaching and preaching.

 

It is only in the Gospel of Matthew that the Sermon on the Mount – the Beatitudes- as they are sometimes referred to, are the main teaching to which all following teachings and actions in the Gospel are connected. This teaching is Matthew’s thesis, pointedly stated at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. As Douglas Hare states in the Interpretation series commentary, “It presents Jesus as Israel’s ultimate, God-authorized teacher and sternly warns the readers that believing in Jesus means doing what Jesus says.” (pg33) The teaching is bookended with the Great Commission, to go “make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

 

Teaching -   February is Black History Month.

This week I read about African American quilting. Sewn into African American quilts – in vivid colours, asymmetrical designs, large patterns – were stories, some biblical, others lived truth, and messages to be passed from one generation to the next. The quilts visually and texturally taught the complexity of life, pain, oppression, freedom, and power, while uniquely displaying culture and identity. Quilts were symbols of hope and agency. Black women made quilts – finding a creative way to share legacy, wisdom, and teachings - in a time when it was illegal for them to read and write.

 

For those reading on the blog or joining us by Facebook from other parts of the world, I was reading about quilts because it has been double-digit-minus-cold here. Much snow clearing, led to mugs of warm liquid while wrapped in a favourite blanket or quilt. Then I started work on today’s reflection. The Annual Meeting that is after worship today was also on my mind.

 

The Sermon on the Mount is like a quilt. There is a lot of teaching that sews the story and message together. Some threads are eschatological and tell of the kindom to come. Others are threads of obedience and required behaviour to participate in the kindom, now. There is a sewing together of prophetic word, teachings on accompanying Jesus, explanation of living the Commandments, words on being righteousness in a faithless world, and shining a light for the nations. There are large vibrant patterns overlapping, both abundant grace and implicit commands.

 

Each beatitude is a square in the quilt. There is a square for: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and persecuted prophets. That makes nine blocks – nine motifs – each pattern unique.

Consider that the quilt is both ancient and new, continually being added to, refreshed, and patched.

In 2025 our words and deeds, what was done, what was left undone, altered the quilt. The ministry we did and did not do, sometimes wore out the stitching or tore the fabric, and at other times ministry strengthened the stitching or added colourful fabric patches. As we consider the annual report – when you read through the word and work of the congregation – what areas of the quilt did we contribute to; how did we sew the kindom into the patchwork of God’s creation?  How did we participate in God’s now and forever kindom?

When were we poor in spirit, or attended to the poor in spirit?

When did we mourn, who did we mourn with, how did we mourn?

Were we meek and/or attentive to the meek?

Did we hunger and thirst after righteousness? Was food provided to address this need?

Were words and actions and relationships merciful – both in the giving and receiving?

How does the ministry of 2025 shape the pattern of being pure of heart, or add vivid expression of being peacemakers?

Was the quilt designed to encompass and protect the persecuted? To give hope and to be a beacon amid storm?

 

The annual meeting, African American quilts, scriptures are all pieces of God’s kindom quilt. All tell stories that are full of wisdom, teaching, and experience. We are blessed to have the freedom and time to look at the work that has been done; to sit together to lament the tears we made and admire the patches we added; to cry at the stitches that went sideways, the blood stains from poked fingers, and to laugh at the stories of spilled coffee.

 

At the end of the year, regardless of any failures, forgotten relationships, lack of energy, the incompletion of tasks, we ended the year with a vividly coloured and patterned quilt that shows a faithfulness to willingly participate in God’s kindom: accompanying Jesus into the neighbourhood or wherever else Jesus leads; opening our eyes and our ears and our hearts to Jesus’ teachings; and going to the nations, teaching, preaching, and sharing the Gospel. We have a quilt that is sturdy, part of a much larger quilt, and a quilt with which we can and do comfort and embrace the world and its people with grace and with Gospel story – wisdom for the ages.

Amen.

 

Opening Prayer – ACM

Quilted together by your love O God,

we give thanks and rejoice for the unique patterns and vibrant ministry of 2025,

for your threads of love and grace that were sewn through us;

we are sorry and ask forgiveness for holes in our ministry and places where we tore the fabric of your kindom;

we turn to you master quilter and ask that you connect our stitches, unifying us as we reflect on ministry and focusing us on required tasks to support ministry in 2026.

We wrap ourselves with your threads of love, and grace, and mercy, as we meet in your name. Amen.

 

Closing Prayer - ACM

Commitment prayer #1 on ELWB pg 86.

Go in peace, quilting the kindom of God by living out God’s grace and unconditional love. Thanks be to God.

Facing the Noise: Faith that Leads to Hope

 

There was John and then there was Jesus.

In our chronological telling of story this is how we have heard the gospel.

 

I am a great reader of novels. Every so often I come across one where the author begins the story following one character. In the next chapter the author moves to another character to follow through the same time or perhaps jumps to a completely different era. In the next chapter the author moves to yet another place and readers enter someone else’s life. Eventually the story returns to the original character, and by the end of the book connects the dots between all the persons met through the story. Some don’t like reading novels that jump around time from person to person or place to place. Many prefer a chronological timeline.

 

There was John and then there was Jesus.

 

What we hear in this morning’s gospel is that there was John AND there was Jesus.

Both were called and working as God’s servant, simultaneously. John the Baptist did not stop baptizing when Jesus left the waters of the Jordan. John kept baptizing. There were people waiting in line. There were curious people still going to the desert to investigate the call to repentance. In today’s Gospel we hear of John standing with some of his disciples. We hear that John testifies to what he saw of Jesus in the Jordan River. John is continuing the work that he was called to do.

 

I learn an important lesson from today’s passage. Both John and Jesus know who they are and what they are about. Both are God’s servant – bearing God’s redeeming word, preaching the good news, and articulating a vision of kindom that is different from the empire in which people live. There seems to not be jealousy or enmity, but rather, a co-operative co-existence.

This is important. In John and Jesus’ time the world around them is rapidly changing. The people are oppressed by a foreign power, the poor become poorer, leaders are unpredictable and default to violence, and movements of religious, philosophical, and political nature are stirring up the people.

Facing the noise around them, John and Jesus recognize a shared message that is mutually beneficial and so respect each other’s call. Both, in their own style, stand up to Empire and actively work towards kindom by walking an alternative path. Both encourage turning towards God and a foundation of faith that leads to hope.

 

Amid the noise of the past week, in a letter to Lutheran congregations in Minnesota, the six ELCA Bishops of Minnesota, shared John’s message, Jesus’ message, words of encouragement, faith and hope:

Through the waters of baptism, we have been named and claimed as beloved children of God.

It is our sure confidence in this that sustains us. We know we are God’s children, and we know that you are too. We pray that this truth will continue to anchor, guide and compel all of us as we work for justice for all people in every place.

We also know there are voices around us that challenge the truth of who we are and who our neighbours are. It is our fervent hope that every one of us would remain deeply rooted in our identity as God’s beloved.

To that end, we write with a word of encouragement: go to church or your place of worship, ground yourselves with those who will echo the voice of God for you. This is the nourishment that will sustain us.

 

There was John and there was Jesus and there was in following centuries many chosen, many beloved children of God who carried on, and carry on, proclaiming God’s redeeming word and actively working to bring God’s kindom; living lives that articulate an alternative to the oppressive power of empire.

Today marks the beginning of the 2026 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The resources for praying together were written by the Armenian Orthodox Church.

This church is the oldest Christian church in the world. It is deeply routed in the 1^st Century teachings of the Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholemew; yes, two disciples of Jesus.  The Armenians were the 1^st nation to declare Christianity as its official religion in 301 CE, well before the Roman Empire did. St. Gregory, called “the Illuminator,” brought the Light of Christ to the Armenian people.

 

It is timely that the Armenian Orthodox Church shares God’s redeeming word and their testimony of Christ with a world in the clutches of empire. From the early days of turning towards God and a foundation of faith that leads to hope, the Armenian people have kept faith through difficult times. The people kept faith through the foreign rule of Arabs, Monguls, Persians, and Ottomans. Despite persecution the church remained faithful and also guarded language, literature, and the arts. Monasteries preserved manuscripts and were intentional centres of education. During the Soviet regime the church maintained a quiet yet resilient presence. In recent years, in conflict in Nagomo-Karabakh and the displacement of the Artsakh population, the church continues to serve as a source of strength and solace, a beacon of faith, unity, and a continuity for Armenians worldwide.

 

Church has and is vital to the survival and resilience of the Armenian people and enacts a continuity and stability amid persecution and forced migrations. Living an alternative to empire, the church is a sanctuary for the suffering, offering solace and preserving hope for a brighter future.

 

Whether John and Jesus oppressed by the Roman Empire, the Armenian Church oppressed by an array of foreign powers, Minnesota Lutherans threatened by presidential actions – there is no option but to face the noise of empire. The lesson from John and Jesus is to recognize that there is more than one voice addressing the noise. The voices share a message but have their own style of delivery. Neither is better than the other, just different. What matters is that a community is authentic in their standing up to Empire through their active work bringing God’s kindom by walking an alternative path. Called voices are present, as are we, voices that encourage turning towards God and a foundation of faith that leads to hope.

 

The Armenian Orthodox church writes to the Christians worldwide:

Spiritual maturity involves embracing our difference while pursuing unity with the same vigour as for doctrinal accuracy. Our strength lies in our ability to reflect Christ through our unity, demonstrating His love and grace to the world. By living out this divine call, we fulfil our mission and honour Christ, advancing Hi s Kingdom on earth.

Let us embrace this divine calling to unity, not as an abstract ideal but as a vital expression of our faith. In a world where the Body of Christ is wounded by divisions within and between tradition and confessions the Apostle’s call to unity is addressed to each of us, not only as separated church communities, but also as individuals within our communities. By living in unity, we not only witness to the love and power of our Lord Jesus Christ but also embody the essence of His teachings. As we support one another and celebrate our diverse gifts and talents, let us reflect the heart of Christ and further His work on earth. -pg 10 of Week of Prayer 2026 resources

 

 

Today we pray for godly servants, and called voices, who actively face the noise and articulate an alternative to empire. As a Christian community we promise not to undermine God’s work through voices not our own.

We will with joy, not jealousy, point to other’s ministries. We celebrate communities with foundations of faith that lead to hope. We hold up that which is good and carry on being who we are called to be through the waters of baptism.

It Becometh Us to Fulfil All Righteousness

 

In 1956 during the Christmas season Dag Hammarskjold wrote, “Faith is, faith creates, faith carries.”

Dag Hammarskjold was a Swedish economist and former Secretary-General of the United Nations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. His career included creating the basis for United Nations peacekeeping operations, and successful implementation of his ‘preventive diplomacy’ in crises from the Middle East to China. He was courageous in speaking of his religious faith and his faith in humanity. Hammarskjold reflected on faith, “God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason.

 

The Gospel text from Matthew of Jesus’ baptism, and the news reel of the past week where vignettes of a world coming undone were front and centre, reminded me of Dag Hammarskjold and his work that was most certainly directed by his faith.

 

The Gospel of Matthew is unique in the four Gospel tellings of Jesus’ baptism. Matthew recalls a snippet of conversation between John and Jesus, not present in the other Gospels. It is a doozy of a statement. Jesus answers John the Baptist in Matthew 3: 15, saying, Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.

This line has puzzled scholars and hearers through the years. It is a line for which there is no clear meaning.

I personally appreciate the lack of consensus because it invites the hearer, you and me, to determine what it might mean in our time and place. Perhaps the ‘proper’ fulfilling of righteousness materializes and is applied by the faithful response to each circumstance that the followers of Jesus face through the ages.

I believe that Matthew is setting the stage for the gospel that will unfold through Jesus’ ministry. Matthew is inviting hearers and readers into an open posture of conversation with Jesus, just as John talked with Jesus. It was not a conversation of superficial niceties, but, rather, deep theological discernment. Jesus’ statement alerts the reader that this Gospel offers righteousness as the overarching theological focal point to be discussed and discerned. At every point through the Gospel, one is encouraged to use the lens of righteousness to discover the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words and actions. Note that Jesus’ ministry will upset religious authorities. On the surface it will appear as if Jesus disagrees with the traditional practice and the prevailing understanding of scripture. Jesus’ actions and teachings will illumine a way of living based on a change of perception and a deeper connection to what it truly means to live righteousness.

 

As translated in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Jesus says to John, Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness. While the word ‘proper’ in this sentence is an accurate translation, listen to the word in the King James Version, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.

It is proper for us. It becometh us.

This engages my imagination to consider more deeply the idea of righteousness or more importantly the heart of righteousness. The word ‘becometh’ suggests action and an action that requires a change of heart. One is becoming righteousness.

Matthew’s thorough discussion of righteousness, according to author William Arndt, takes a number of routes, delving into righteousness as having a quality of judicial responsibility with a focus on fairness; of judicial correctness with a focus on redemption; and of upright behaviour with a focus on morality.

 

Matthew writes and places his Gospel in 1^st Century Judea. His focus on the theological discussion of righteousness is not new. At hand are the Hebrew scriptures, the Pseudepigrapha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, all presenting dissertations on righteousness and being righteous. Matthew, and the people presented in his Gospel, are predominately people of the covenant, those who follow The Torah.  You will recall that the Law in simple form is the Ten Commandments and that the Commandments are in two parts, the Laws of relationship with God, and the Laws of relationship with fellow humans. In 1^st Century Judea the practice of the Law, is heavy-handed and overly judicious, as in the letter of Law. The Law also included additions that go beyond the original law. Righteousness is judged based on the keeping of the Law where uprightness is determined by specific legal ordinances. What is complicated is that the keeping the Law to the letter, is no longer about relationship with God or more specifically other human beings, but about the perception of ‘what is right.’ Doing ‘what is right’ has become so particular that it forgots that the intent of the rules was mercy and compassion - love of neighbour to benefit the whole.

 

Matthew’s gospel is hard work for readers, for us, because the Gospel is counter-cultural and challenges followers to live the heart of the law, which at times may be in conflict with the letter of the law. In this Gospel we learn that because of who Christ is, lived righteousness is an act of becoming. This means that righteousness is not a set of judicial must and must-nots, but, rather, a fuller incarnation of righteousness lived out in mercy and compassion in the moment. This is the Kindom of God come-near. God’s kindom ‘becometh’ present through the faithful becoming righteousness, and this righteousness is not for self-redemption, it is a righteousness and redemption that seeps into a world that is seemingly coming undone.

 

This brings me back to Dag Hammarskjold and the news reel of the past week. How is one faithful to the Gospel? How does one becometh righteousness? How does a community discern ‘right’ action? How does righteousness become living-righteousness that is a redemption that seeps into a world?

Hammarskjold reminds us that we come here – to church and community – to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason. We come to continue conversation with Jesus, with each other, to discern how to be as we face unsettling circumstances.

It becometh us to strengthen our relationships through the love of God by reciprocal actions towards ‘other,’ where mercy and compassion trump rules and regulations. Drawing on the source which is beyond all reason, we strengthen our relationships and bring redemption to seep into the world in the way open to us in the moment – prayer.

This week we were contacted by the Confessional Lutheran Church in Namibia who is organized in a few refugee camps. They wrote a note describing their difficulties and the circumstances facing their people, all people, in refugee camps. I sent a note back with a blessing and an assurance that they were and would be in our prayers. The response was a warm thank you – thank you that they are remembered, offered to God, and not forgotten. This was a moment of living righteousness that grew a relationship that I, and I am sure we, had never thought about – at least not with this group specifically.  We becometh ...

And so too we name, remember, and stand with and pray for our American colleagues and congregations in Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, for whom righteousness means in some places opposing presidential orders and ignoring laws. Likewise, we remember, stand with, and pray for those sitting here today whose hearts are with their families and their people in Iran, Columbia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Ukraine, and Russia. Our prayers and hearts, remember, and stand with the Folkekirken (the people’s church) which is the Lutheran Church in Denmark – Greenland.

 

At this time, thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness, by means of prayer and a continued discernment of how living righteousness is to be lived out in the circumstances we face. This is a time when, Faith is, faith creates, faith carries. Matthew’s Gospel is timely in the focus on righteousness and how to be in a world that seems lacking in mercy and compassion. Matthew’s Gospel does not leave the reader without hope – today step one on the way to the cross is baptism, a baptism that signifies belonging and God’s spirit at work through Jesus and down through the ages among us. We are not left alone. The Word is incarnate and redemption seeps into the world. As to what is required of us, Hammarskjold wrote: Life only demands from you the strength that you possess. Only one feat is possible; not to run away. Let us not run away. Let us not be afraid. This too is how the Gospel of Matthew ends.  Jesus says, “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20).

Recipes of Home #9 - SURPRISE

 

SURPRISE

 

Surprise! An unexpected gift arrived in my inbox.  This gift reminds me of home – the home created by a church family, people who gather together because they want to, because they consider each other to be family. The unexpected gift will surprise those who have been at Resurrection for along time. We hear the voices of a foremother and forefather: Isabel and Peter Petersen.

 

Trudy Inglis (nee Petersen) shares her mum Isabel’s “famous chocolate peanut butter brownie marble square recipe. She made it for every single solitary meal at the church… at least every potluck I was at.” Like her mum, Trudy writes, “I made them a bit earlier this season for my church, St. John’s in Mahone Bay, where people like them as much now as they did when mum made them.”

 

The pic of the recipe is from a cookbook Isabel and Peter’s daughter Kathi made for the family of all the favourite recipes. Kathi wrote in the preface, “Our family does not get together to play board games or cards on Tuesday nights; we invariably come together over a laden table, to share food, laughter and conversation. A rich tradition of passed-down dishes are faithfully prepared, and new traditions are begun with an ever-increasing repertoire of new recipes.

 

Gathered around the table in conversation we can be surprised by the wealth of story, wisdom, jokes, sayings, deep thoughts, debate, and so on that are shared. Every home that is a home has a table where food is shared, not just physical food, but spiritual and emotional food.

Consider the tables that are home for you. How does the ‘food’ feed you? Who can you invite to your table and what will you serve?

 

 

Peanut Butter Fudge Squares

 

½ cup  crunchy peanut butter (can use smooth)

4 Tbsp margarine

½ cup  white sugar

2eggs

6 Tbsp flour

1 15-oz. brownie mix

1 egg

2 Tbsp soft margarine

 

1.       Mix peanut butter, margarine, sugar, eggs and flour.

2.       Prepare brownie mix as package directs.

3.       Spread chocolate batter in 9x9 greased pan. Dab peanut butter batter on top, and then marbleize with a knife. Bake at 350F for 30 mins.

 

As Kathi wrote, “No family feast would be complete without a head-of-the-household asking the blessings, and Dad (Peter Petersen) has contributed this prayer… may the feast begin!” A fitting way to end our ‘Recipes of Home.’ Thank you for everyone’s contributions and taking the time to reflect on the theme of home.

 

Heavenly Father,

We humbly bow to give thanks for all the blessings you shower upon us and ask that your blessing be added to all the ingredients and instructions suggested in these pages so that the result will be healthy food for our bodies and the peace of God for our whole being. May your love be reflected in the love from so many sources that joined together in this collection. All this we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Recipes of Home #8 - HEART

 

HEART

Why Bethlehem? Is there symbolic significance in the meaning of the name Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means “house of bread”? The Great Provider declared Himself to be the “bread of life.” (Jn. 6:48) How appropriate it was that He, the “bread of life,” was to come from the “house of bread.” – Russell M. Nelson

 

Claire Pelerine shares with us another recipe. She writes, “This recipe is a family favourite and delicious with peanut butter. I have been making this for years and friends like receiving it as a gift.”

The heart of Christmas is about gift. God became incarnate to live among us, to be at home among us. The heart of the Christmas story is God’s love and the length to which God goes to Be love. This love is incarnate and surprisingly is at home in our brokenness and the brokenness of the world. Love that finds us in our vulnerability and suffering, is a Love that changes hearts. Love feeds brokenness to nourish hearts to act with the love (redemption) received.

In a post-communion prayer from the Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship, we pray, that we have the strength “to give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.” As we reflect on Bethlehem, the House of Bread, let us consider Jesus, the Bread of Life, and how it is that we can give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.

 

Shredded Wheat Bread

3          shredded wheat buns mixed with

3 cups  hot water

1 tsp.   salt

¾ cups     molasses

2 Tbsp.    shortening

Let cool.

 

Mix together

2 Tbsp     yeast

½ Tbsp    warm water

1 tsp        sugar

Mix together – wheat mixture + yeast mixture

Add 7 cups of flour.

Let rise to double in size, then put in pans.

Bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes

 

 

PRAYER- O God, we give you thanks that you have set before us the gift of Jesus, the bread of life. By your Spirit nourish us with your love so that we freely give ourselves away as bread for the hungry. Amen.

.

God Is Home

 

It is a snow day and school is cancelled. It is the kind of snowstorm that it is unsuitable to play outside. By mid-day kids are bored and restless. It is the kind of day perfect for the building a blanket fort. For those unfamiliar, a blanket fort is constructed using blankets and couch cushions, with chairs or other furniture being used as a frame for the fabric. The homemade fort is a temporary tent where a child can crawl inside and hide from the world. It is a place of reprieve: to read a book, play with dolls, have a snack, daydream or take a nap. The child imagines a home and for a moment disappears into the safety of their cozy created space.

The storm raging outside is forgotten. Other siblings, if not part of the build, are not seen, neither are the adults in the house. Whatever is going on outside the blankets and sheets, for a few moments, doesn’t penetrate the fort. Whether a real or imagined safety, the occupant experiences (however briefly) a cozy peace, - home- and a renewed hope that peace exists no matter the chaos around. I love ‘the home’ of blanket forts.

 

Through Advent the congregation has reflected on the theme of home. We reflected through a devotion series titled, “Recipes of Home.” and as we lit the candle for the four Sundays of Advent considered: Heart as home. Earth as home. Kindom as home. Love as home.

 

Christmas Eve service, in this space, feels like I have stepped into a blanket fort. It is cozy and warm. I can momentarily forget hassles, stresses, fears, and be wrapped in hope-filled scripture, joyful singing, loving companionship, peaceful blessing. Everything outside fades away for a moment.

This evening the holy family steps into a created safe space, hidden from whatever monstrosities push from beyond. The stable is like a blanket fort, cocooning Jesus, Joseph, and Mary – along with a few others. It is a miracle moment where hope is renewed that God has chosen this moment to remind the people they are not alone, the promised kindom will come, and has come… it has come, but not and never as expected.

 

Inside the stable, insulated with hay and warmed by the body heat of animals, a precious moment is experienced.  God’s purposeful-action comes to fruition, making HOME for God-self in human flesh. Choosing to be incarnate - born in the innocence and vulnerability of a baby, God’s first moments are enfolded in the arms of family and the hope-filled, in a created cozy space in a stable. The reality is the stable, like a blanket fort, is a temporary hiding place, sheltering a baby who is born into upheaval.

Outside, the stable sits in the midst of occupied territory. The ruler of the occupied territory, Herod the Great, is a tyrant and bloodthirsty ruler who with treasonous allegiance to the occupying empire rules his people fueled by an unsatiated ambition. The occupied territory is one of violence and corruption, servitude and exploitation, along with taxes, displacement, unjust systems, and marginalization.

As tonight breaks into the dawn of tomorrow, the holy family leaves the stable becoming refugees as they flee the tyranny of Herod, to go to a foreign land, seeking safe-haven in Egypt. Years later upon return to Judea they are displaced people settling in a village a long way from the family’s original home.

 

Earlier today the sun rose over the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank; a place where for the past few years no public Christian Christmas celebrations have taken place. As people read the news this am in Aljazeera, they read an opinion piece by theologian Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac, Palestinian pastor of Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ramallah, West Bank. He wrote, “Christmas is not a Western story – it is a Palestinian one. Christmas is a story of empire, injustice and the vulnerability of ordinary people caught in its path.” Later in the article he continues, “Western Christians forget that Bethlehem is real, they disconnect from their spiritual roots. And when they forget that Bethlehem is real, they also forget the story of Christmas is real.”… “To remember Bethlehem is to remember that God stands with the oppressed – and that the followers of Jesus are called to do the same.”

 

The Christmas story, a stable in Bethlehem, is a not a cozy story but a lived experience, repeated over and over again. The Christmas story – God’s incarnation- is a story lived by generations of Levantine people who have and do long for justice and believe that God was and is not distant but among them. For centuries people who proclaim with steadfastness, with sumud, the radical statement about where God chooses to dwell- God makes God’s home in vulnerability, suffering, upheaval, in poverty, and most assuredly “among those with no power but to hope.”

 

Tonight, there are those in occupied territory, displaced, refugees, constrained by check-points, mothers about to give birth, who are creating a fort made of blankets, a stable so to speak – a place to temporarily step aside and hide for a moment, to be embraced and filled once more with an experience of hope, joy, love, and peace that the world can not give.

 

Perhaps for a moment we can open our hearts and rest in these temporary stables. Sending prayers and intentions of peace and love, with those gathering in temporary homes – living the very real Christmas story gathered around the manager of God incarnate. We hold faith in a radical God who chooses to dwell at home in human flesh, experiencing the incarnate with our siblings in the warmth of Hope Lutheran church in Ramallah, West Bank Palestine; embracing the incarnate with siblings in Christmas Lutheran Church, Bethlehem; encountering the incarnate with siblings in the Evangelical Lutheran church of St. Catherine in Dnipro, Ukraine; and exalting the incarnate with siblings gathered in Kenya’s Turkana Kalobeyel settlement and Ethiopia’s Tigray Shimelba Refugee Camp.

 

‘Internet Monk,’ Michael Spencer once said, “without the incarnation, Christianity isn’t even a very good story, and most sadly, it means nothing. ‘Be nice to one another’ is not a message that can give my life meaning, assure me of love beyond brokenness, and break open the dark doors of death with the key of hope.”  

The beauty of tonight is the receiving of a ‘blanket fort moment.’ In a created cozy space, made with the resources at hand, a miraculous moment happens, together we remember Bethlehem – a very real and experienced story- where God chooses to make God’s home in human flesh; incarnate. God is birthed in a moment in the middle of the world’s brokenness and upheaval. But in that one moment are the hopes and dreams of all the years.

 

Heart as home. Earth as home. Kindom as home. Love as home.

In our ‘blanket fort’ this evening, we are cozy, but we do not deceive ourselves that all is calm, merry, and bright. Outside these walls, in our daily lives, in our human bodies, in our broken relationships, in broken systems, and the upheaval of tariffs, wars, climate change, … in all our vulnerabilities, in suffering, in oppression the world over, it would be easy enough to throw up our hands and give up – but we haven’t. We have chosen to show up for each other tonight, and in solidarity with siblings around the world and with creation to celebrate a genesis of something new and yet older than the beginning of time. We lay our hopes and dreams in a moment in a stable, in blanket forts, where Emmanuel – God-with-us, is being birthed.

I can’t explain it or understand it –

In my heart I experience this incarnation when I step aside, in a moment when the world’s noise is hushed,

… like this moment… with you … with the Christ child … for a moment I am completely and unexpectedly surprised, overwhelmed, all is right with the world.  

 Among us, God is home.

Recipes of Home #7 - INHERITANCE

 

INHERITANCE

 

Good food and a warm kitchen are what make a house a home. – Racheal Ray

 

The Gospel of Matthew begins, “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Mt. 1:1) The family tree is presented in three groups of fourteen generations each (to achieve this a few generations were left out). Four women are included -Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bethsheba – two are non-Jews, one played harlot to right an injustice, one was a prostitute, with another King David committed adultery.

The Gospel writer uses the genealogy to indicate who Jesus is and how God is bringing God’s kingdom. The inclusion of the women signifies to the reader that God’s redemptive plan includes gentiles and the ‘unrighteous.’ Jesus’ inheritance is explained, presenting him as an authentic Jew and a legitimate king.

Another consideration in the opening verse is the idea of ‘genealogy’ and the translation of that word. The original text (Greek) has the word genesis. The beginning of the Gospel of Matthew reads much like the Greek text of the Book of Genesis, the book of the genesis of human beings (Gen.5:1), and the book of the genesis of heaven and earth (Gen.2:4). Here in Matthew, the book of the genesis of Jesus Christ. To be drawn back to the beginning where the Word was with God, tells us more about Jesus’ inheritance, who Jesus is, and how God is coming into the world.

 

Carol Grantham shares with us the following recipe. I choose ‘inheritance’ as the word to go along with the recipe. The recipe is a heritage recipe passed through generations of German peoples. It is full of a great assortment of ingredients, differing a little from recipe to recipe. When eaten the cookie-cake is rich and filling. Just like Jesus’ genealogy there is a lot to chew-on.

 

Lebkuchen

½ cup     honey

½ cup      molasses

¾ cup      brown sugar

1                egg

1 Tbsp.     lemon juice

1 tsp        grated lemon rind

2 ¾ cups  sifted flour

½ tsp        baking soda

1 tsp          cinnamon

1 tsp          cloves

1tsp           allspice

1 tsp          nutmeg

1/3 cup     cut-up citron

1/3 cup     chopped nuts

Glazing icing (recipe at end of recipe)

1.Mix together honey and molasses and bring to a boil. Cool thoroughly.

2.stir in sugar, egg, lemon juice, and rind. Sift together flour, soda, spices and stir in. Mix in citron and nuts. Chill dough overnight.

3.Roll small amount at t a time, leaving rest chilled. Roll out ¼ inch thick and cut into oblongs about 1 ½ x 2 ½ inches. Place one inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Decorate with cherries and or sliced almonds.

4.Bake 400F about 10-12 mins. Until no imprint remains when lightly touched. While cookies bake, make glazing icing.  Brush over cookies the minute they are out of the over, then quickly remove from oven and from baking sheets. Cool and store to mellow in airtight containers with a cut piece of orange or apple, about 2 weeks.

Fruit molds, so change it often.

Yields about 6 dozen.

 

Glazing Icing

1 cup   white sugar

½ cup  water

¼ cup  icing sugar

Boil sugar and water together until first indication of thread appears (230F). Remove from heat.

Stir in ¼ cup icing sugar and brush hot icing thinly over cookies. When icing gets sugary, reheat slightly adding a little water until clear again.

 

PRAYER- Stir up in us a spirit of curiosity to study and devour the Word. Ground us in scripture that we might expand our minds and our hearts to the fullness of your inclusion and grace. Amen.

Recipes of Home #6 - TRADITION

 

TRADITION

 

Home is where you feel at home and are treated well. – Dalai Lama

 

Sandra Holloway shares, “This is a Danish dish served on Christmas Eve in our house.”

 

Rice Cooked in Milk

1 cup   rice

3 cups  scalded milk (just boiling)

1 tsp    salt (or less)

 Wash rice thoroughly in cold water.

Place rice, salt, and milk in top of double boiler and cook over boing water about 40 mins. (3.5 hrs. for me), or until rice is soft and all milk absorbed. This method of cooking rice is especially desirable for small children.

This makes 5 servings.

Pg. 169 The Modern Family Cookbook, Meta Given, 1961

 

Sandra continues, “In our house we sprinkle the top of the rice with a mix of half and half cinnamon and sugar. We hide an almond in one dish. Whoever finds the almond gets a small gift.”

 

I know this tradition. The families of my first parish in New Denmark, NB practiced this tradition. My introduction was at a Christmas Eve dinner where 20 family members (Bedstemor  and bedstefar grandparents, their three adult kids, and their kids), plus my husband, brother and his two kids, gathered for Danish Christmas dinner. At the end of dinner, and just before dancing around the Christmas tree and singing carols, out of the kitchen came rice pudding for everyone. Us not knowing the tradition of the almond in the pudding were somewhat aghast when the young people took their spoons and quickly sliced it through their pudding dishes. They had no interest in eating the pudding, only in finding the almond and receiving the prize.

The adults took their time and enjoyed the pudding which was accompanied by a homemade raspberry sauce.

 

All the excitement was completed in time to get the pastor off to open the church doors for 11pm service. The family and most of the other families in the community arrived for church to mark the highlight of the night, marking Jesus' birth. Then it was back to their homes for gift opening, some staying up through to early breakfast.

 

Tradition was home. It did not matter if you were living in the Danish community or had moved away --- rice pudding, dancing around the Christmas tree, Danish decorations like the one in the accompanying picture--- traditions reminded you of home and made you feel at home.

 

Consider the traditions that you practice. How does the practice of the tradition make you feel? Do you feel at home?

 

PRAYER- Stir up in us disciplines that create a feeling of home and traditions that bind us to one another. Grant us spirits that embrace a wide variety of traditions that draw us closer to you. Amen.