Thanksgiving reflection …
I love this Thanksgiving hymn ... I'll offer a few thoughts on each verse below:
We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing;
he chastens and hastens his will to make known;
the wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:
sing praise to his Name, he forgets not his own.
God's will is for wicked oppressors to stop distressing their neighbors ... And God doesn't forget those who are oppressed. Thanks be to God!
Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
ordaining, maintaining his kingdom divine;
so from the beginning the fight we were winning:
thou, Lord, wast at our side: all glory be thine!
What a beautiful thought, especially on the edge of the Advent season ... God with us joining. Since God has joined with us, since God has inaugurated God's peaceable kingdom, good can't ultimately lose and evil can't ultimately win. God has been with us, whatever we have experienced. Thanks be to God!
We all do extol thee, thou leader triumphant,
and pray that thou still our defender wilt be.
Let thy congregation escape tribulation:
thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
"Some trust in horses and some in chariots," the Psalmist said. (Today, he would write, "Some trust in B-1 bombers, and others in landmines and the nuclear option." See Psalm 20 and 1 Samuel 8:11.) "But we will trust in the name of the Lord our God," the Psalmist concluded. This hymn expresses the same sentiment ... trusting God to lead and defend us. On this unique holiday, may we all pause and simply hold thankfulness in our hearts in the presence of God.
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If you possibly can …
... you really should take in this amazing event in Memphis TN, December 5 - 6.
A lot of my best friends and favorite conversation partners will be together, discussing Phyllis Tickle's ground-breaking new book The Great Emergence.
Here's a video where you can get a flavor for the event ...
Another short video ... after the jump --->
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2 beautiful new books – whether you love the planet, or don’t (yet)
I had the honor of contributing to a beautiful new book produced by the Sierra Club, called Holy Ground. It brings together an amazing assortment of voices - Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, and more - sharing their commitment to God's creation as an expression of their faith. It would make a great Christmas gift for someone you love.
I also had the honor of contributing to the Green Bible. Another great Christmas gift!
Readers of my books Everything Must Change, The Story We Find Ourselves In, and A Generous Orthodoxy will know about my deep commitment to ecology as a spiritual practice. (Not bad Christmas gifts either ...)
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Prayer for peace …
Consider these two disturbing images, the first from The Onion ...
Then take a moment for this prayer:
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: so mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father…. Guide the nations of the world into the way of justice and truth, and establish among them that peace which is the fruit of righteousness, that they may become the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…. Your Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP)
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Praying for peace …
Yesterday my friend Don Golden recommended a documentary to me called "Why We Fight." Last night I found out it's available on the internet. In fact, you can watch it right here ... It's about 90 minutes long, but well worth it. It's one of those documentaries that you will always remember.
Then today I came across this on "How the Pentagon Bankrupts America."
The current economic crisis will bring a lot of suffering to a lot of people. But it also brings opportunity - to face the frightening and unsustainable growth in our spending on weapons and war, what Eisenhower called "the military-industrial complex." Perhaps on the other side of this conflict, we'll have revised our priorities more in the spirit of Micah 4:1-4.
May the peace of Christ be with us all.
PS: Just saw this related post at the sojo blog by Ryan Beiller. When you only have a hammer, you try to fix everything by banging it, and when your hammer is "the military industrial complex," you can predict what happens. Wise words.
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