Third Sunday of Advent - The Celebration

 On the third Sunday of advent, we celebrate the joy of the coming Savior.  This is Gaudete Sunday - Gaudete in Domino semper; Rejoice in the Lord Always.  The exceeding great joy of knowing that you are unconditionally loved by the Father and that nothing - not sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death - can take that love away.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.  Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob."

Phillipians 4:4-6; Psalm 85:1

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:8-14

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:10-11

I love this last one, especially as overjoyed seems to undersell it.  Older translations put that the magi rejoiced "with exceeding great joy."  These were scholars who travelled far and brought expensive gifts simply to worship at the new Messiah.  It’s akin to experiencing the joy of seeing something through to completion.  PhD candidates finally seeing their thesis accepted.  Finding the cure for a disease long fought.  A joy that comes with endurance.  These magi have studied the stars and have read all the books.  They are literally most prepared for this moment.

And it’s from this preparedness that they experience the joy of fulfillment.  They see their preparation pay off.  Their study of astronomy brings them to this star.  Their readings of other religious literature bring them to this child - to the King of the Jews.  

Can you imagine their excitement?

But note, as we look at all the participants, there is another group that is just as prepared.  Perhaps even more so.

These magi told the priests and the scribes, the very people who had been longing for a Messiah, that the signs were in the heavens.  The scribes and priests even pointed the magi in the right direction of Bethlehem, but were not interested enough to go and see what might be going on.

The priests and scribes were prepared to a point.  They had knowledge, but no interest.  They knew the promise, but did not have the faith to see it through this time.  Who knows, perhaps they had been burned too many times before?  Perhaps they were just too busy with other “religious” activity?  Perhaps their pride wouldn’t let them recognize what these righteous outsiders were bringing to their attention?  Perhaps they had grown too accustomed to power to chance their favor with Herod?  

For whatever reason, the scribes and priests heard and were not moved to action.

Because the magi continued onward, their joy was fulfilled.  And they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

So where does your preparedness lead you?  Do you hear and stay still?  Or are you still moved?  Do you find exceeding great joy?

May this be a Sunday of exceeding great joy for you and yours and may the joy of this season carry you forward in your days to come.

Epiphany 2022

Epiphany

"A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being; a moment of sudden revelation or insight."

Today marks Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.  Twelfth Night has ended, and the magi have arrived.  A celebration of the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and the physical manifestation of Christ to the gentiles.

After today, the twelve days of Christmas are over and we enter Carnival.  King Cake season.  A celebration in preparation of the coming fast.

I think the Biblical account of the Magi provides us a blueprint for how to approach this new year with the appropriate viewpoint.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written:

'"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel."'

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the child.  As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed (They rejoiced with exceeding great joy).  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

What would it look like if we started the year with exceeding great joy, celebrating our encounter with the Messiah?  If we brought Him the best gifts we can, that reflect His character.  Gold celebrated His kingship, frankincense celebrated His deity, and myrrh celebrated His death.  What would we bring, what aspect of His character would we celebrate?

That's our call in this season, in this new year.  To rejoice with exceeding great joy.

There is also a warning in this passage.  When the Magi question the leadership of Israel, it's clear that all the priests and scribes know what to look for, where the Messiah will be born.  They have all the knowledge necessary to go and find him.  But the Magi are the only ones who do.  You would think some of those scribes would be curious enough to go and see if this is finally it, if the Messiah has arrived.  But none leave their routine.  None leave their pattern or comfort.  

Don't get so stuck in your routine that you miss the miraculous around you.

Go forth, celebrate the season.  Let's start the year with joy.  And may we carry that spirit forward throughout the year.

Epiphany 2021

Epiphany

"A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being; a moment of sudden revelation or insight."

Today marks Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.  Twelfth Night has ended, and the magi have arrived.  A celebration of the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and the physical manifestation of Christ to the gentiles.

After today, the twelve days of Christmas are over and we enter Carnival.  King Cake season.  A celebration in preparation of the coming fast.

I think the Biblical account of the Magi provides us a blueprint for how to approach this new year with the appropriate viewpoint.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written:

'"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel."'

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the child.  As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed (They rejoiced with exceeding great joy).  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

What would it look like if we started the year with exceeding great joy, celebrating our encounter with the Messiah?  If we brought Him the best gifts we can, that reflect His character.  Gold celebrated His kingship, frankincense celebrated His deity, and myrrh celebrated His death.  What would we bring, what aspect of His character would we celebrate?

That's our call in this season, in this new year.  To rejoice with exceeding great joy.

There is also a warning in this passage.  When the Magi question the leadership of Israel, it's clear that all the priests and scribes know what to look for, where the Messiah will be born.  They have all the knowledge necessary to go and find him.  But the Magi are the only ones who do.  You would think some of those scribes would be curious enough to go and see if this is finally it, if the Messiah has arrived.  But none leave their routine.  None leave their pattern or comfort.  

Don't get so stuck in your routine that you miss the miraculous around you.

Go forth, celebrate the season.  Let's start the year with joy.  And may we carry that spirit forward throughout the year.

Epiphany

Epiphany

"A manifestation of a divine or supernatural being; a moment of sudden revelation or insight."

Today marks Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.  Twelfth Night has ended, and the magi have arrived.  A celebration of the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and the physical manifestation of Christ to the gentiles.

After today, the twelve days of Christmas are over and we enter Carnival.  King Cake season.  A celebration in preparation of the coming fast.

I think the Biblical account of the Magi provides us a blueprint for how to approach this new year with the appropriate viewpoint.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  'In Bethlehem in Judea,' they replied, 'for this is what the prophet has written:

'"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel."'

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the child.  As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.'

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed (They rejoiced with exceeding great joy).  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

What would it look like if we started the year with exceeding great joy, celebrating our encounter with the Messiah?  If we brought Him the best gifts we can, that reflect His character.  Gold celebrated His kingship, frankincense celebrated His deity, and myrrh celebrated His death.  What would we bring, what aspect of His character would we celebrate?

That's our call in this season, in this new year.  To rejoice with exceeding great joy.

There is also a warning in this passage.  When the Magi question the leadership of Israel, it's clear that all the priests and scribes know what to look for, where the Messiah will be born.  They have all the knowledge necessary to go and find him.  But the Magi are the only ones who do.  You would think some of those scribes would be curious enough to go and see if this is finally it, if the Messiah has arrived.  But none leave their routine.  None leave their pattern or comfort.  

Don't get so stuck in your routine that you miss the miraculous around you.

Go forth, celebrate the season.  Let's start the year with joy.  And may we carry that spirit forward throughout the year.

The Peanut Butter Falcon

Fair warning - language in the quotes from Esquire.

It's rare that I would plug a new original movie sight unseen, but from everything I have read and heard, I am anxiously desiring to see The Peanut Butter Falcon.



The film is a modern re-imagining of Huckleberry Finn, which follows a young man with Down syndrome who runs away from his care home to pursue his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.  It is receiving a lot of praise.

Variety called it a "feel-good niche indie with its priorities in the right place."  The Rotten Tomatoes consensus calls it "a feel good adventure brought to life by outstanding performances."  It received the Narrative Spotlight Audience Award at South by Southwest this year.  It has been described as the type of movie that does not get made anymore.

Much of the coverage of the film has centered on newcomer Zack Gottsagen.  Through the filmmaking experience, Gottsagen has emerged as a shining star.  As Relevant Magazine wrote, "Like his character in the movie, Gottsagen has Down syndrome.  Also, like his character in the movie, he's a big personality and exudes optimism and encouragement."

And every article on the subject has written about how this personality, optimism, and encouragement impacted everyone he worked with.  The writer-director duo behind the film, Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, talked about how Gottsagen was very grounding, always in the present.  They described how he would grab the megaphone at the end of the day and give out compliments.  How he would demand a group hug from the team.  And how all eighty to one hundred people on set would do it.

Gottsagen had an even bigger impact on costar, Shia LeBouf.  LeBouf had lobbied to play a part in the film before even seeing the script, pulled in by a clip of Gottsagen's performance.  To say LeBouf was working through issues at the time is an understatement.  His time on the film coincided with a very publicized incident in Savannah that resulted in his arrest.

Gottsagen had been a huge fan of LeBouf, dating back to his Even Steven days.  When Gottsagen learned of LeBouf's arrest, he was angry, frustrated, and soured on the idea of working with him.  Shia would open up about this time in a brutally honest interview with Esquire.

"The morning he got out of jail, LaBeouf attended a small party for the cast and crew, and no one brought up what had happened. 'Everybody was pussyfooting around it,' he says. As soon as Gottsagen arrived, he beelined for LaBeouf and sat on the floor, and there LaBeouf joined him. They talked for twenty minutes. Gottsagen told him, 'You’re already famous. This is my chance. And you’re ruining it.'

'To hear him say that he was disappointed in me probably changed the course of my life,' LaBeouf says. ' 'Cause I was still fighting. I was still on my "Look how fast they released the videos! They don’t release these!" Just on my defense-mechanism-fear garbage. And you can’t do that to him. He keeps it one thousand with you, and that shit doesn’t even make sense to him. Zack can’t not shoot straight, and bless him for it, ’cause in that moment, I needed a straight shooter who I couldn’t argue with.' He says their conversation continued on set: 'We were getting ready to do a scene and Zack said, "Do you believe in God?" And I thought, No fuckin’ way are you about to explain God to me, Zack.' LaBeouf tries to keep it together. His voice jumps an octave. 'Zack said, "Even if He’s not real, what does it hurt?"' He turns his face away. He takes a breath and continues. 

'I don’t believe in God... But did I see God? Did I hear God? Through Zack, yeah. He met me with love, and at the time, love was truth, and he didn’t pull punches. And I’m grateful, not even on some cheeseball shit trying to sell a movie. In real life. That motherfucker is magical.' LaBeouf’s posture is all right angles, as if the memory alone has straightened him. 'Zack allowed me to be open to help when it came.' 

When LaBeouf first checked into rehab, he was asked about the pop—the moment your head gets pulled out of your ass and clarity washes over you. 'For me,' he says, 'it was Zack.' LaBeouf is not broken but on the other side of brokenness, and he’s looked back at the wreckage for long enough. It’s time to go home. He rises, puts his hands in his pockets, and walks out from under the shade of the crab-apple tree."

Both LeBouf and costar Dakota Johnson made a point of telling the directors just how positive, how special Gottsagen made the set.  "Just so you know, it's not always like this.  Sets aren't always like this."

That quote wrecked me, it really did.  It forced me to come to grips with an overwhelming question:

Why not?

Don't get me wrong, I know why sets, why jobs can be horrible.  This person can't get along with this other person.  This person's method acting drives this actor's sensibilities crazy.  Actor in the supporting role feels they should have been cast as the lead and wants to prove it.  This director is controlling and manipulative.  And so on and so on.

But truly, why is having a positive experience at work, especially in the arts, such a rarity?  Why is it a surprise to find a set that is affirming, that is positive, that is joyful?

Are we that vain?  Are our egos that fragile?

Why do place the onus on "special" people to make that happen?  For it to either be the place of the rare saints like Mister Rogers, or of those who we would often treat dismissively in other scenarios?

Why do we shirk our responsibility to love our neighbor?  To show that we serve a better kingdom?  To show that there is a better way?  To be fully present?

"If there is nothing but what we make in this world, let us make good."

Maybe it's time to realize that the onus is on us, each and every singular one of us, to make our environments better.  That our calling is to be the one that makes the set, our job, our classroom, etc. the place that people say "it's not always like this.  This is special."

That it's time to own up to changing our own environments or getting out of those we cannot change.  If we are stuck in a job that we cannot improve and that is only draining and not rewarding in some way, that it's time for a change.  For something different.

It's time for us to make good.

Third Sunday of Advent - Joy to the World

On the third Sunday of advent, we celebrate the joy of the coming Savior.  This is Gaudete Sunday - Gaudete in Domino semper; Rejoice in the Lord Always.  The exceeding great joy of knowing that you are unconditionally loved by the Father and that nothing - not sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death - can take that love away.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.  Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.  Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob."

Phillipians 4:4-6; Psalm 85:1

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:8-14

When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:10-11

May this be a Sunday of exceeding great joy for you and yours and may the joy of this season carry you forward in your days to come.