I woke up this morning with “Merry Christmas” on my mind. I have said and written and read the words many times through the years. Lately, I have found myself wondering whether “merry” conveys enough meaning for the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I turned to the online Oxford Dictionaries to learn more about the word. While I will probably do some further research, here’s what I found:
merry
Syllabification: (mer·ry)Pronunciation: /ˈmerē/adjective (merrier, merriest)
Lively works. It points to the life, the new life, the full and abundant life, that breaks into the world at Christmas.
Rejoicing works. The birth of Jesus brings great joy. Festivity? Christmas is a festival of the church. Festivity picks up on the dimensions of joy.
The third definition, not so much. It does bring the story of the first Pentecost to mind. It’s not completely out of the
Merry Christmas, wishing life and joy works. But I wonder if there might be other ways to express the greetings of the day and season that plumb more meanings and point to other dimensions:
I will still use Merry Christmas, but I want to try to expand the greetings I share at Christmas. Brian Wren reminds us of the need to Bring many names, beautiful and good to express the wonder and mystery and majesty of God. We need something similar to capture the depth of Christmas’ meaning.
What words and images would you add?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Advent
24 February 2007
Manhattan, New York
22 December 2013
Fairmount Health Center
Willoughby, Ohio
Filed under Photo
Three years ago, I thought I may have said farewell to my mentor and friend Merdine T. Morris. She was ill at the time. Seriously ill. When I left her room at the Fairmount Health Center, I thought that day’s visit might well have been our last. Others agreed with me.
But Merdine T. proved us wrong. She not only made it through that crisis, she improved. She has been able to leave the health center for various events. She did so again today.
Our mutual friend Nan Dorer celebrated her 90th birthday today with a party at Noble Road Presbyterian Church. Tricia and I took Merdine T. to the party.
The day was wonderful. Friends old and young, long-time and new, greeted Merdine T. warmly. Her presence meant the world to Nan. We stayed for the children’s program and carol singing. Merdine T. beamed. When we returned to the Fairmount Health Center, staff members commented on the joy that filled her face. A wonderful day.
A big shout-out to Bob Pescho and Dan Wills for their work on the church’s chair lift that allowed Merdine T. to attend the worship service. A shout-out to Eric, Dan, John, Maria, Cathy, and all who helped Merdine T. navigate her way to the various events. A shout-out to David Dorer who took the photo with this post.
When I visited her three years ago, Merdine T. said “Never forget me.” “Never,” was my response then. “Never,” is my response now.
See you along the Trail.
31 May 2013
Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
My friend Joann Haejong Lee and her husband Mike Tsoi are expecting their first baby in January. On December 15, 2013, Joann preached at The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting” had Luke 1:39-56 for the text. It’s the story of two very different pregnancies. It could be no other, for each pregnancy is unique. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah have waited long to have a child. Late in life comes the news that they will have a child. Mary, an unwed teenager, also receives the news that she too will bear a child.
Looking at these pregnant, expectant women, as a pregnant, expectant woman, Joann crafts a sermon well worth reading. Check it out. Don’t just take my word. Here are some of Joann’s insights and images to whet your interest:
I’m certainly familiar with the whole gamut of emotions and mild waves of panic that inevitably wash over expectant parents, making us wonder, “Can any of us ever really be ready to be stewards of another human life?”
Joann notes that Mary took the news of her pregnancy reasonably well. And then she left town, going to her kinswoman Elizabeth in haste: “she ran as fast as her first-trimester body would allow, seeking out her cousin Elizabeth, who she’s heard is also pregnant.”
In the midst of Mary’s uncertainty and fear, Elizabeth’s response draws her in, envelopes her in blessing and joy, not in judgment or shame, accepting her and her situation, even blessing her, rejoicing with her.
We need more people like Elizabeth in this world. People who are willing to move past judgment and shame to offer God’s blessing. People who look at the world and see God’s redeeming work at hand, rather than seeing the worst in others and themselves.
We need people like Elizabeth who can move us from a place of fear to a place of hope and singing. We need people like Elizabeth. People who see us, and can spot the expectant Christ child that longs to be born in us and in our lives.
Reflecting on Advents past and Advents yet to come, Joann refers to Advent 2012 when she and Mike had recently lost their first pregnancy to a miscarriage. She considers her grandmother’s last Advent season. She notes that:
We are all bearers of God to this world, and this season of Advent is a time to remember that we are all called to be expectant, to be waiting and making preparations for Emmanuel, God with us. And we need this time of Advent, to prepare and make way, for what awaits us on the other side is completely and utterly life-changing.
At the heart of waiting and expectancy exemplified by Elizabeth and Mary, is Mary’s song. The Magnificant.
Mary’s song is a radical one. It is a song of hope birthed in a time of hopelessness and a song of joy birthed in a time of uncertainty.
It is into this time that Mary sings, sings and dreams of a different kind of world. And through her song, she not only names those promises of God, but is able to enter into them.
Joann closes by considering the risk and promise of expectation and expectant waiting.
There is risk, however, in that time of expectation and there is risk in birth. We cannot live lives of complacency and comfort and expect new life to come. We must take a dangerous journey, even as we are expectant, and we must boldly sing and live transformation.
Because our Advent preparation and waiting is not just for the birth of a child, but for the birth of a whole new way of life.
In this season of Advent, may we prepare our hearts and homes to be ready for Love to be born among and within us. Let us be expectant, and allow hope to take root in us, so that come Christmas, we may know how to nurture it and grow it, so that it may blossom and flourish in our lives and in our world.
There’s a lot more. And it is good. But this gets the basics – may we prepare, may we expect so God’s love might blossom and flourish in us and in God’s world. Amen.
Check out What to Expect When You’re Expecting.
See you along the Trail.
Two Friars and a Fool looked at “Christmas songs that are actually good” yesterday. They tend to focus on songs used in worship services. Their lists include a shout-out to the Chieftain’s version of St. Stephen’s Day Murders.
How about you? What Christmas songs speak to you?
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Music
