Armistice Day

So on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month the guns on the of the War to End All Wars fell silent. That was in 1918. Since then the world has not known a year without the reality of war. The War to End All War fell at the beginning of the bloodiest century in human history.

So where does that leave us now? We have come 92 years since "the guns fell silent." We have passed two millennium since the coming of the Prince of Peace and still a day does not pass that we do not hear or war or the rumors of war. Surely, there must be a better way.

What if on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year the guns finally fell silent forever? What if in 365 days we did not raise up arms in violence? What if in one year it could be that no one took the blood of another in hatred, anger, or violence? Is this even possible?

Honestly, I do not know if it is possible. I do know it would not be easy, but here is an option. What if every person of faith, or even those who read these words, began to pray daily that peace would breakout? What if we all began to act in small ways that 11:00 on 11/11/11 violence would end? What if we began as individuals and groups to live and believe that all bloodshed could end?

Here is my proposal, my request, and my promise: pray daily for the next 365 days that the guns will fall silent forever; to try and speak only peace and not hate or anger or revenge; to ask God to show us how to love our neighbors, pray for those who persecute us, and to turn the other cheek.

If you would join me, let me know. If you believe in peace, pass this along. If you believe that with God's help this can happen, pray.

Heritage

Today, I read an article that really bothers me. See http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/16/2045351/south-is-about-to-rise-again-in.html if you want to read the article.

Not so surprisingly, a group of people (the Sons of Confederate Veterans) have once again become fired up over someone calling the Confederate Flag a symbol of racism. They are planning on demonstrating in Granbury, Texas. Do we really think that flying the Confederate flag is all about heritage? Somehow, I think race may have much more to do with this fight than many want to admit publicly. But assuming it is all about heritage, is it a heritage we want to honor? I mean we are not even arguing over the National Flag of the Confederate States of America. We are arguing over a battle flag that has gained popularity on and off over the years, often in circles that flew the flag as a symbol of white supremacy.

Would we be OK with people deciding to fly a red flag bearing a white circle with a black swastika? Of course not. The pain of such an symbol is too great. So it is with this flag. All it does is perpetuate the pain, the hate, the ugliness of an era that we hoped had past in days gone by. Too many people have used the Confederate Flag as a symbol of terrorism for it to be seen without conjuring up feelings of shame, hate, and pain.

And I am not some Yankee come around lately. I am Texas born of a family that fought for the Confederate States. I had family members who fought under the Nazi party in Germany as well. We have to remember the past, in the good and the bad, if we truly hope to move to something better in the future. More importantly, we need to move to a future where we learn to work with our neighbors, to be proud but not arrogant, to be a people who incite peace not violence or anger.

Christ never said, "Blessed are those who hold on to their heritage blindly." Christ said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." This is not a question of heritage, this is a question of righteousness.

Fear

Fear is an emotion all of us experience from time to time in our lives. Often it is a reasonable or semi-reasonable response of protection. My wife is afraid of snakes, period. I am a hunter, and I am afraid of the business end of a rifle. Both of those fears come from the knowledge of what can happen if a snake bites you or a rifle is discharged (intentionally or unintentionally). Many more fears are based on things that are not reasonable. There is not reason to be afraid of Friday the 13th for example, and still it is a fairly common thing. Fear of open spaces or closed spaces are not reasonable. I know of a little girl that has a diagnosed fear of rain to the point that she cannot go to school if it is raining.

The fears that really control most of us are not the phobias we might have. It is a more guttural fear. We are afraid of what others might think, of how the scenario plays out, of "what if they don't like me." These fears steal from us. Well, I know they steal from me. It is this fear that keeps us from trying the new thing, from taking the steps forward, from being all that God calls us to be.

We even fear our past, that it will come up one day and grab us by the shoestrings and drag us down. But we all have a past. None of us can say we are 100% proud of everything we have done. Tammy had a boss who would say, "It is fine to make a mistake everyday, but let it be a new mistake each day." What he was trying to say was, "Learn from the past and your mistakes so you can do better tomorrow."

But why do we really fear? We cannot control the future. We cannot change the past. The future lies in the hands of God, who will be merciful with us in all things. The past is forgiven, because God loves us through our mistakes, our mishaps, and our sins. Jesus' first words to his disciples after the resurrection were, "Peace be with you." (John 20:19) Peace is the opposite of fear.

What do you fear? Do you trust God enough to not be afraid?

Silent Night

This year, for our 11:00p.m. Christmas Eve Service, I chose for us to sing Hark, the Herald Angels Sing and not, as is tradition, Silent Night. Just at the thought of it people questioned, pondered, and even rebuked the change.

My thoughts on this change are two-fold.

1. We were using the service of Nine Lessons and Carols as developed and presented by King's College. If you look on the King's College website, http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/, you will find they traditionally end with O Come, All Ye Faithful followed by Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. I figure if it is good enough for King's College Cambridge, it is probably good enough for us.

2. There is a theological bend to this question as well. If we listen to the Christmas story as told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we find that the angels tell the shepherds the shepherds tell someone for "all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them." The star tells the Gentiles, who in turn tell King Herod (ok, so that wasn't the best person to tell).

So what do we do when we hear this story again? That's right, light a little candle, sing a song about being silent, and warm up in our own personal glow space. We are not called to be silent with the news that a child has been born. We are to be heralds, bearers of the news. We have a gift to share and it did not come from Jared's.

We need the good news of a savior, who brings peace, to cover the face of the earth. And we, the people who worship this child born in Bethlehem, are the ones who need to share the message with the world in turmoil.