December 24, 2005

December 24, 2005
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken
of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while
Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

In these days, the governor of Minnesota issued an order that a report should
be made, using the figures of the census and taking account of those who no
longer lived in their own towns and villages. And his report denounced those
who had left their own towns and villages as the cause of expense and tension
in the state of Minnesota. And the governor and the president and too many of
the people agreed that seeking food for one’s family and honest employment
was an entirely illegal and criminal reason to cross the borders that separate
one country from another.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem
the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

Making it perfectly obvious that Joseph had all along been living in a town
and a province to which he did not belong, working there and taking employment
and income away from the true and native-born residents of the town of Nazareth
in Galilee.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and
was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to
be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths
and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the United States, 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children,
are likely to experience homelessness in a given year. In Minnesota, approximately
7,000 individuals are "fortunate" enough to receive shelter from a
variety of homeless service providers each night. Unfortunately, due to inadequate
resources, roughly 1,000 individuals are turned away from shelter each night.
Children and unaccompanied youth regularly account for nearly half of those
sheltered and turned away.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over
their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory
of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to
them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be
for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped
in cloths and lying in a manger."

This is the sign we give back to the angel — on Dec. 21, the Senate approved
a budget that cuts services to the poor and continues tax breaks for the wealthiest
one percent of the nation.. Vice President Cheney, president of the Senate,
cut short a diplomatic trip to the Middle East to break the 50-50 tie. All Democrats
and Independent Jim Jeffords ( Vt.) opposed the bill, as well as five Republicans.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising
God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and PEACE to God’s people
on earth."

In the peace community of San José de Apartadó, right-wing
paramilitaries or the Colombian army massacred five adults and three children
in February. And another community leader in November. And in December paramilitaries
delivered threats of massacres, which they say will take place between Christmas
and New Year’s Day.

In Iraq, four members of Christian
Peacemakers Teams remain hostages in the brutal and ongoing civil war. While
an Iraqi court disqualifies 90 successful candidates in the just-held "democratic"
elections. While Iraqi jailers torture Iraqi prisoners. While the war goes on,
and soldiers (ours and theirs) die and civilians (ours and theirs) die.

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary
and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him,
they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured
up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

And so might we, pondering not only what we have seen and what we have heard
but what we are called to do in our own day and country.