What a whirlwind of a few days! It’s been like one non-stop party after another …
Saturday: Get together with friends at a bar, which turned into its usual silliness and mischief making any time SIR and i go out … needless to say i feel asleep when the sun was coming up …
Sunday: Detox brunch (meaning wine, fruit and yogurt at a cafe), then wine & cheese soiree post evening service at my parish, Immaculate Contraption
Today was a bit festive at the office. In addition to it being the day before a four day weekend, everyone was invited to bring their kids in for time with Santa, toy soldiers, robots, breakfast and lunch … Needless to say, it is an eff-ing zoo with everyone running around, having a good time AND trying to get everything done before going away on holiday vacations. It’s a warzone!
In the spirit of a holiday warzone, my co-worker took the bow off one my Christmas present (a lovely tie!) and tied it around my head.
Ladies and Gentleman, I am pleased to introduce….Ram-bow.
With thanks to Eileen ….. quiz can be found at this link
Your Hidden Talent
You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system.
And while this may not seem big, it can be.
It’s people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes.
You’re just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.
Well, what do you know? Who knew?
Texts: Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11
“God give me patience and I want it right now!” We say this tongue-in-cheek, but it hits closer to home more than most of us want to admit. Being patient is hard, especially when you’re on the receiving end of injustice. Israel had to wander 40 years before entering the Promised Land. African-Americans had to wait more than 100 years before slavery was abolished in the United States, and then had to wait another 100 years before they were fully enfranchised with rights equal to those of the majority. Women were not guaranteed the right to vote until the early part of the twentieth century. Gay and Lesbian people still struggle with their place in the Church and parts of society, and that struggle will continue. Anyone who is not part of the establishment, whether it is in the secular or religious world has wanted to cry out with the prophets, “How long, O Lord?” How long must we wait? Why do we keep taking a step forward and then get pushed a step back?
In this week’s Gospel reading, we return again to John the Baptist, who is in a far different setting than when we visited him last week. He is no longer in the wilderness, that place where God meets and transforms his people. He is languishing in prison. Naturally, he is troubled. We read about his doubts of his mission and the ministry of Jesus. Why didn’t the one who came to set the prisoners free get John out of prison? Why are there no signs of imminent judgment? John sends messengers to Jesus asking “Are you the One? or should we wait longer?”
Jesus points to his works of miracles and his teachings. Conspicuously absent, however, is the promise of “liberty to the captive,” or to point to the judgment following the passage of scripture in Isaiah 61:2b which speaks of the day of vengeance of the Lord. John the Baptist thought his Messiah would carry out judgment, to lay the axe to the roots of a rotten tree … Jesus’ answer is not what he was expecting. But Jesus says, “Look what is happening for the blind, the deaf, the lame and the poor. You’ve got it all wrong, cuz! I am here to restore what is fallen, not destroy it. I have come to give life.”
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