Second Sunday After Christmas/Epiphany:......WORD.......

1/3/16

The gifts of the Magi

I arrive at church ready to wait for Pat and Larry to arrive and decorate only to be surprised that the stage is already set. Dion apparently stayed after Antigona finished last night and set things up.  And I breathe a little easier. 

The stage is set

We are small again. But it lifts my spirits to see Eric from the Noche family back again.

After reading the story of the Magi in Matthew, I share my own little bottles of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Remember past celebrations of El Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos in this place.  And after singing We Three Kings, it’s time for reflection.

We are three days into the new year. I’m guessing more than a few resolutions bit the dust already….but we’re still at THE BEGINNING….as we are every year at this time…a new beginning…so John 1 is a good place to BEGIN…

In the beginning was the WORD…echoes Genesis 1….God says it and it IS….

What does that mean?

For my kids' generation, when someone  says something you agree with, the response is WORD…I have a friend in Washington Heights…down the street from the Presbyterian Deli, I love that….she’s on the board of a coop called WORD UP Bookstore…they tutor, they do workshops, open mics, readings…a completely community based store. As for WORD UP,  it means I totally comprehend what you’re saying, doing…in Greek, it’s almost the same, logos....the ultimate inherently visible  logical reality….

In open mics now we have singers and we have spoken WORD…which is poetry or story or improve or rap without music…like my friend Joel Gold with his 1950’s beat improv…and our man Dion does spoken WORD…stand up, another form

John says, In the beginning was the WORD….

If Christmas is about incarnation, John’s Christmas story is about the WORD becoming FLESH….a WORD that is LIGHT in the darkness….

We speak about the Bible as the Word of God…and Jesus is the living WORD….

What am I up to here?

In my tradition, I’m now called a Teaching Elder…I used to be called a minister of WORD and Sacrament…when I preach I bring the WORD…

We Protestants tend to think in didactic ways…we tend to use music and art  to illustrate the WORD, like pictures in a children’s Bible…but in  fact, a work of art is its own WORD…

Something like Noche’s Antigona doesn't illustrate anything, it simply is. It is it’s own WORD to be in dialogue with the Bible’s WORD or my WORD…and when you see Soledad dance, it doesn't symbolize anything…like you can't take a painting and say, What does this part here mean?  It just IS…You see Soledad dance and all you can say is YES…or, as the kids say, WORD…WORD is given, TRUTH is told.

Which is why it’s appropriate to epiphany…literally

·    Epiphany means: a Christian festival held on January 6 in honor of the coming of the three kings to the infant Jesus Christ or…

·    : a moment in which you suddenly see or understand something in a new or very clear way

You see, it’s the same thing…you SEE something and all of a sudden you GET It…like a light switch goes on…

That’s what it was with Jesus apparently…..people saw it….they got it

St. Francis said ….preach often, use words when necessary

When I see you, I see the WORD. When Dion visits with the homeless people or John walks Rachel home or when Kate and Hope and Marsha serve a meal at a shelter….you see it, you know it….

That’s what I long for, ache for …to be a community that is a living WORD…that when seen is like an epiphany where we see what is is to be WORD…

And that my friends, is  my word for today.

And for our offertory, I play, what else:

                                                                        The WORD

We will pray. And celebrate Eucharist, another visible WORD.  We will hear a WORD of peace, and then out into the world…

"The Word"

Say the word and you'll be free
Say the word and be like me
Say the word I'm thinking of
Have you heard the word is love?
It's so fine, it's sunshine
It's the word, love

In the beginning I misunderstood
But now I've got it, the word is good

Spread the word and you'll be free
Spread the word and be like me
Spread the work I'm thinking of
Have you heard the word is love?
It's so fine, it's sunshine
It's the word, love

Everywhere I go I hear it said
In the good and bad books that I have read

Say the word and you'll be free
Say the word and be like me
Say the word I'm thinking of
Have you heard the word is love?
It's so fine, it's sunshine
It's the word, love

Now that I know what I feel must be right
I'm here to show everybody the light

Give the word a chance to say
That the word is just the way
It's the word I'm thinking of
And the only word is love
It's so fine, it's sunshine
It's the word, love

Say the word, love
Say the word, love
Say the word, love
Say the word, love

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own,^[b] and his own people^[c] did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him,who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born,not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.^[d] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God,^[e] who is at the Father's side,^[f] he has made him known.

And there was a belly dancer

2/21

It’s a beautiful sunny day. After a long walk an a bus ride, I’m walking down 86^th street to the church and encounter Anna and puppy off on their own long walk. We share the news of the day and  our observations and reflections. Other dog walkers pass by, their dogs stopping to check out puppy. When I finally get to the church, I realize I have left my lap top at home, so have to go all the way back again if I hope to get anything done. Sigh.

Jamie arrives. She’s been working hard to pull together the report on everything we’ve been doing to build a capital campaign to begin moving forward. We’ve also got to look at all the internal dynamics.

Not too long after Hugo arrives. This morning, we were both at a Presbytery leadership training day. It’s planned and organized by the committee that opened the door for us to walk through with Presbytery. Who stood with us when no one else would. So we owe it to be here for them. And Hugo has been asked to share in leadership, to share his story.

And as I listened to him, I felt very proud, honored and happy. To hear his journey from traditional Central America Catholic, to his experience of liberation theology and Christian base communities, which became the building blocks of the revolution. To his experience in Cuba. To his first experience with Presbyterian missionaries who decided not to compete with existing Christian communities but to stand in supportive solidarity with the already existing community of faithful.That experience touched him deeply.

When the Sandinistas got voted out of governance, he returned to the United States. And looking  for a church, found West-Park while Regi was still there as out multicultural pastor. They joined  the afternoon community, then called enlace de gracia.  Now as Regi. and that special service is gone…they remain faithful still. He was once a Sandinista diplomat. Now he manages a supportive housing SRO. (For WSSFSH, another ministry born at West-Park, years ago.http://www.wsfssh.org/) But he remains a moral compass for our church. And for me. I will always remember his arrest during the Landmarks struggle and his refusal to cop a plea and accept community service. He held his ground. And was exonerated. It’s good to have him here. (http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20100420/upper-west-side/west-park-presbyterian-church-official-arrested-for-graffiti-blasting-gale-brewer)

Hugo , Jamie and I review our situation. Talk strategy. Seek clarity.

Jamie leaves to go home. Later we’ll meet at Joe’s Pub to see Noche Flamenca’s performance. Where Martin’s choreography, his flamenco version of Antigone will blow out the walls of a genre, open up new space. Will take flamenco places no  one could imagine. For him, it' a living, breathing form. I will see Marina reach new places as a dancer, places it had looked like she could go. She has a gift. True duende. He’s using puppets and puppeteers from Basil Twist,(http://www.basiltwist.com/) the hip puppeteer du jour working with the Public Theatre, the Metropolitan opera and his own creations. But most of all, it’s Sole, Soledad Barrio, her last solo, that literally drove me to tears. She just goes to another deeper, more profound place. A place that is, well, transformative….And I am filled with a sense of satisfaction that this performance  came together at West-Park. Yet another why we are here.

                                 * * * *

Make a stop at West-Park on my way home, just to check things out. Another opening night for Berik and Leila and the party is still going on. He seems to have found the right combination of art and music and is developing  a strong following of younger artists. When I get there, a woman is singing and another woman is belly dancing.

And there was a belly dancer

And in the back, there's RL. Seems they needed a mic so went up and asked him and he came down  and one thing led to another and eventually he did a 3 song set ending with Stay Awhile and apparently had them dancing and clapping which doesn't surprise me. The best is yet to come. I am hoping to live long enough to be colorful. Need to start working on that now.