And Now for Something Completely Different...

Perhaps you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the Christmas season, with the lengthy to-do lists, the extra cooking, shopping, cleaning, decorating, etc. If so, there are three basic ways you can respond.

1) Ignore the stress. Carry on. If you can do this, good for you. You don't need anything from this blog entry.

2) Lash out at Christmas. You too can be like the Anglican bishop who hates most Christmas-related hymns, and you can write a book complaining about how wrong they are. Or you can read his book, Why Wish You a Merry Christmas. Or you can get the gist of his argument by reading the article here. If this is you, I hope that you feel better. But please remember that most people don't want to hear your cynical comments this time of year. (Bad-mouthing "Away in a Manger"? Give me a break.)

3) Take a break from all of the Christmas-related activity to smile at something unrelated. Here is a recent gem from the Muppet Studio, a new rendition (a skillful, appropriate for all ages, homage to the original video) of "Bohemian Rhapsody." If this is you, click on the video, and enjoy. Then get back to your to-do list.

Coming Up Sunday, December 6

This Sunday, we will continue our Advent series on the first part of G. F. Handel's Messiah. Last week, we considered the happy prophecies of Isaiah 40 that open the work. This week, we have the more confrontational -- or even violent -- prophecies of Malachi 3 that follow.

Here are YouTube clips of this week's selections (nos. 5, 6, and 7 if you're following along in your own personal Messiah score at home). The Bass recitative, "Thus Saith the Lord":

The Bass aria, "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming,":

And the second chorus, "And He Shall Purify":

In this scripture, the prophet tells how God will help his chosen people by purifying them of their sinfulness, particularly the Jewish religious leadership ("the sons of Levi"). This is an important corollary to last week's consolation to Israel -- while they may take comfort that God is coming, they should be aware that part of God's coming will be painful and even confrontational.

This is something that we tend to forget as Christians. We always imagine a benevolent, nurturing God -- the protective "Mother Hen" who protects us and loves us unconditionally. We forget that sometimes so-called "tough love" is necessary, especially if we need to be shocked out of our delusions or addictions. I am convinced that God will use any means necessary to reach out to us and to save us from our own sinfulness. Sometimes God will nurture; sometimes God will prod.

US Military Tombstones

There was an interesting brief discussion on one of the Disciples email listservs this week, related to a photo of President Barack Obama at Arlington National Cemetery on Veteran's Day. A copy of the photo is here.

Someone recognized that the headstone visible on the right has a Disciples chalice on it. When I last visited Arlington, I too noticed some unusual markings on headstones. I had believed -- wrongly, as it turns out -- that there were three main markings on the headstones, a Christian cross, a Jewish Star of David, and a Muslim star and crescent moon. It turns out that there are 39 emblems that the government will inscribe on military tombstones, including several denominational symbols like the Disciples chalice and even a Atheist symbol (I did not know that there was any such recognizable symbol for strident non-believers).

Faith and Film, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

On Friday, our monthly "Faith and Film" series continues with the classic 1962 John Ford movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The film, sometimes called "the last western" is about the transformation of the American west from the "wild west" to the modern west. Here is a (grainy) copy of the trailer:

The film, which stars John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Lee Marvin, was added to the National Film Registry in 2007. It has important themes about the relationship between myth and fact in the creation of identity, about the relationship between liberty and law and order, and about the often-unseen dirty work that upholds our so-called civilized society. It's also just a fantastic movie.

You may recall that Gene Pitney recorded a hit song called "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" when the film was released. Oddly enough, the song was not actually a part of the movie, so if you want to hear it, you'll either have to dig out an old 45 or click here.

Coming Up Sunday, November 8

On Sunday, we will continue our look at the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. In particular, we will consider God's promise of the Holy Spirit to guide and nurture Christians, given in Acts 1:1-5.

Sunday is also the first of two Sundays for the fifth special offering for the Disciples Mission Fund, the Thanksgiving Special Offering. This offering supports Disciples-affiliated colleges and universities, seminaries, and seminary related institutions. You can read more about it, and hear some interviews with students, here.

Of course, we will also enjoy a luncheon with a soup challenge between our membership teams. Plan to stay after worship and cheer on your team cooks and enjoy soup and dessert.

Seeds of Faith on Wednesday

The next "Seeds of Faith" will be on Wednesday evening, November 4, from 6:00-8:00. There will be dinner (pizza), a brief prayer service, and this month's lesson time will be spent helping to prepare for this weekend's Yard Sale.

"Seeds of Faith" meets monthly on the 1st Wednesday of the month.

Introduction to the New Testament class, Tuesday night

The next session of the Introduction to the New Testament class will be on Tuesday, November 3 at 7:00. In this class, we'll finish our discussion of Paul by looking at Romans, Philippians, and Philemon. Romans is Paul's magnum opus, his most detailed explanation of what Christianity means, Philippians is his famous letter from prison, and Philemon is a person letter to a friend seeking forgiveness for a runaway slave that has converted to Christianity.