From Pastor Jess:
John
somebody coming in blackness like a star
and the world be a great bush on his head
and his eyes be fire in the city
and his mouth be true as time
he be calling the people brother
even in the prison
even in the jail
i’m just only a baptist preacher
somebody bigger than me coming
in blackness like a star
Lucille Clifton (1936–2010): The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton (BOA Editions, 1987).
This poem by Lucille Clifton speaks to both the fierceness of John the Baptist- the wildness of his life, call and personhood- as well as the vulnerability and tenderness. He is so single-minded, so undistractedly focused on his purpose and task of preparing people for Jesus's Advent, that even while he unjustly, but not too surprisingly, sits in a jail cell, he continues. He calls others "brother," a name that links people in a familial bond of unity and love, a sense of "we're all in this together." And he never ceases making his proclamation- "Someone else is on the way. I'm not the main event. Stay awake. Get ready."
This Third Sunday of Advent also carries the theme of Joy, and we'll light the pink candle on the wreath to remember that while we wait, while we live with the tensions of unfulfilled longings, while uncertainty eddies around and within us; in the midst of sorrow and even when injustice seems to be winning, joy comes unannounced. Joy can be fleeting and elusive, and it can bowl us over with its force. Either way, joy is not "happiness," but a divine gift that does not depend on circumstances. It is not
contingent. It can come with uproarious laughter, or sobbing. It simply is.
May you be open to God's healing gift of Joy in this season that tries to demand frantic cheer from us in the form of rampant consumerism, overeating and busy-
ness.
My Office Hours for the week of 12/15 are: Tuesday, 12/16 & Thursday, 12/18, 8:30am-3pm.
Join us to Shine the Light on Thursday from 4-4:30pm in front of the Post Office!
Rev. Jess Lambert