Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by Maya Angelou

A parishioner shared this with me this morning. What a beautiful piece of art. I hope it brings you some comfort and courage on this Sunday afternoon.

Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem

By Dr. Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes

And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.

Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche

Over unprotected villages.

The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.

What have we done to so affront nature?

We worry God.

Are you there? Are you there really?

Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Speaking and Hearing and Miscommunication

I've been thinking a lot lately about the way we communicate. If we are on the writing/speaking end of things, to what extent are we responsible for the way things are heard or perceived? As a pastor, I have a high responsibility for the way people hear what I say. I do not want to cavalierly throw things out there and then complain when they are not understood in the way I meant them. Which is why I got off Facebook. My posts that were meant as food for thought were coming across in an entirely different way than I meant them. I am responsible for this, but the Facebook platform certainly does not help. Yes, we are welcome to scroll past things we do not agree with or comment with an opposing view, but I've never seen a conversation or shared meme that lead to a change of heart. If anything, both "sides" dig their heels in deeper and we come away more divided than when we began.

Communication is a two way street. We have all had things we've said misunderstood or misinterpreted. And we've all been yelled at only to be told by the person yelling that they were not yelling. *insert eye roll here* When a miscommunication happens, we like to place blame on the other person, no matter what seat we are in - speaker or hearer.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel into my grief

I have a heavy heart. It has been a full week of processing, celebrating communion and Christ among us, and grieving the loss of Facebook from my life. I keep thinking of things I'd like to post or share, including a request for prayers for the outcome of the procedure I had Tuesday morning (a scope down my throat to check out my gut!).

There has been so much grieving in the last few weeks as a nation. Grieving the chasm between Americans who find themselves on different sides of the political line. It should not matter as we come together in church. Church is the place where our identity is first and foremost "child of God." The rest falls away as we sit side by side in the pews, share the peace, and take wafer and wine together at the table.