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dreamprayact

~ Reflections of a preacher, poet, and contemplative activist

dreamprayact

Tag Archives: Christmas

The Buoyancy of Prayerful Action

12 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Reflections

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bethlehem, Birth Narrative, Birth of Jesus, Christmas, Do not fear, Emmanuel, God with us, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Matthew, grace, Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Nazareth of Galilee, The Holy Family, truth

mary-joseph-jesus

Camille, David, and Azael as Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, in the Children’s Christmas Pageant at First UMC Santa Barbara, December 2016 (Photo credit: Dallis Day Richardson)

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,
for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus,
for he will save his people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:20-21

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin
engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.
The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said,
“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” … “Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God.” ~ Luke 1:26-28, 30

Fear must be released if we are to take the journey to Bethlehem.
Fear obstructs the dream of God for a world healed of divisions.
Fear confines us in boxes of propriety and principle.
Fear prevents us from daring to live fully for God.
Fear holds us back.

Joseph,
had he listened to his inner voice of moral rectitude,
rather than listening to the Spirit stir in his faith-filled dreaming,
might have chosen the lesser path,
the outwardly respectable path,
the easier, more bearable path.

Mary,
had she listened to her inner voice of level-headed reason,
rather than listening to the angel’s announcement of God’s favor,
might have chosen the uncomplicated path,
the less perplexing, more normal path,
the expected path for a young woman of her day.

Instead these two faithful servants,
through the buoyancy of prayerful action,
put aside their fears
and embraced the possibility that God was doing something new!

From their beautifully inspired trust in God’s goodness
the holy child was born
and God’s salvation story took on human flesh,
so that we might see the fullness of grace and truth!

This Christmas
let us cast aside the fear of difference and change
and embrace the self-giving love of Emmanuel –
God who is with all of us the world over,
whatever our nationality, race, religion or creed.

God is with us!
Do not be afraid!

Words (c) 2016 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Emmanuel

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Peace with justice, Poems, Prayers, Reflections

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Christmas, compassion, creation care, Earth care, God with us, healing, hope, human suffering, justice, Mystery, mysticism, peace, wholeness

NASA Cloudy Earth medium

NASA Cloudy Earth, Flickr Creative Commons

What was spoken through the prophet is fulfilled:
Look! A virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will call him, Emmanuel.
(Emmanuel means “God with us.”)

 In bomb-shattered cities
children unable to play freely in the streets

In poverty-wracked slums
families struggling to put food on the table

In violence-plagued neighborhoods
the young learning early that life is cheap

On tear-soaked refugee trails
people desperately looking for a way to freedom

On vulnerable island shores
communities fighting the futile battle against rising sea levels

In the midst of everyday pain,
in the grip of widespread suffering,
the promised one comes and takes up residence among us.

Emmanuel – God with us in our deepest need.

There is no one left out of this divine scheme,
no one whose accident of birth disqualifies them,
no one whose skin color lessens their sacred worth,
no one whose race or gender changes their standing before God,
no one whose religion or lack thereof alters God’s affection for them.

God’s concern is with the whole.
God’s dream is that we all will one day see:
What affects one affects all.
Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.
Suffering is never isolated or contained.
We weep with those who weep,
our tears mingling with the tears of divine compassion.

God with us—
the whole human race,
the whole soul-stirring creation,
the whole beguiling mystery of what it means to be alive.

God with us—
in our search for wholeness,
in our poverty of spirit,
in our labor for peace with justice,
in our reaching out with hearts and hands to help,
in our holding on tenaciously to hope.

Words (c) 2015 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

 

A Dog’s Last Will & Testament

22 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Dogs

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

canine companion, Christmas, healing, loss, Pomeranian, poodle mix, rescue dogs

bailey 3A year ago, just a few days before Christmas, my wife Dallis and I walked into a dog rescue organization “just to look.” We walked through the kennels, and in one we saw four small dogs. Three of them were jumping and barking as you might expect. The fourth one sat there quietly in the chaos and looked at us with eyes that said, “Well, are you going to let me out, or what?” We asked to see him. Then we walked him on a leash, and he didn’t seem to have a clue about that. But he was trusting and he liked to be held. So we took him home on a “trial basis” — no papers signed, no promises, no nothing! Within half-an-hour our hearts were hooked.

It had been almost a year since we lost our Pomeranian named Sadie, who died suddenly of congestive heart failure at the age of just eight years old. Our hearts were still a little tender. But Bailey entered our lives just before Christmas, much to our surprise, and helped in the healing process.

I ran across the piece below written by an unknown author that helps me to remember that the grief of loss is soothed by finding another pet to love.

bailey 2
Bailey was initially found wandering the streets of our city. He was in bad shape. He was held at the county shelter right up to the day before his time on earth was scheduled to expire. But the strange and wonderful serendipity of him entering our lives is that we initially thought we were “rescuing” him, and it turns out that he “rescued” us. He came into our lives right at the right time, and he makes us laugh at least once a day!

Here’s the piece titled, “A Dog’s Last Will and Testament,” author unknown. I imagine Sadie, who wasn’t all that crazy about other dogs, approving nonetheless of us finding another canine companion to share our home. Some of her toys and beds remain, and Bailey now enjoys them.

Before humans die, they write their Last Will & Testament, and give their home and all they have to those they leave behind.

If, with my paws, I could do the same, this is what I’d ask…

To a poor and lonely stray I’d give:
My happy home,
My bowl,
My cozy bed,
My soft pillows and all my toys,
The lap which I loved so much,
The hand that stroked my fur and the sweet voice which spoke my name.
I’d will to the sad, scared shelter dog the place I had in my human’s heart, of which there seemed no bounds.

So when I die please do not say, “I will never have a pet again, for the loss and pain is more than I can stand.” Instead, go find an unloved dog; one whose life has held no joy or hope and give MY place to him. This is the only thing I can give … the love I left behind.

bailey 5

Wonder

24 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

angels, Bethlehem, Christmas, David, faith, grace, life, miracle, shepherds, wonder

tropical_moon_blog

Wonder

In distant fields
shepherds
keep silent watch over their flocks.
In long ago skies
angels
come down to earth on bended wings.
In far away Bethlehem
a son of David
is born in a humble stable.

Some days
faith feels strangely distant,
tradition needs a good dusting off,
genealogies sink unnoticed into the past.
Some days
we honestly wonder
if we have misplaced our sense of wonder.

Then a star tumbles across the night sky,
a full moon leaps upon the stage,
a deer strides gracefully across our path,
a pelican performs a perfect dive,
a child laughs,
a friend cries,
a grandparent passes through the veil,
and we set our eyes upon the miracle that is life.
In the midst of this miracle
we are astonished again by grace,
we are captured anew by wonder.

profile_blog

 

Words (c) 2006 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photos (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

Prayer for a Holy Christmas

22 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Prayers

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

blessing, Christ's birth, Christmas, grief, hope, human suffering, loving-kindness, peace with justice, prayer, presence of Christ, shalom

nighttime_paradise_blog

Prayer for a Holy Christmas

We come to this holy season with mixed emotions.
We want the hopefulness of the Christ event to wash over us.
We want to encounter the living presence of the one
who comes to live among us, full of grace and truth.
Yet we are troubled by the problems we see worldwide.
We see the people of Syria struggling to survive.
We see neighbors trying to rebuild their lives after severe storms.
We see communities indelibly harmed by needless gun violence.
We see hunger, poverty and disease affecting millions of people.

Still this season remains a season of hope.

It is a season to look outward to the places
where suffering needs to be alleviated,
where food needs to be delivered,
where homes need to be rebuilt,
where hope needs to be tangibly restored.

It is a season to look inward to the places
where hearts need to be softened,
where minds need to be stretched,
where plans need to be carried out,
where life needs to be given another chance.

It is a season to look upward to the God
who is sovereign over life and death,
whose heart grieves as long as any little ones suffer,
whose vision is for the well-being of shalom for all people,
whose will is that we learn the way of love.

Grant us a holy Christmas, O God.
Grant us a deepening understanding of the story of Christ’s birth.
Grant us a time to experience anew your living presence among us.

Bless all the dear children of the world with your loving care.
Renew in us the commitment to live as people of hope.
Strengthen our resolve to pursue peace with justice.
Give us trusting hearts, ready to welcome the Christ among us,
and ready to serve our neighbors
with the loving-kindness we learn from you. Amen.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

 

 

 

 

Will you welcome the little one?

20 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems, Reflections

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Bethlehem, children, Christmas, compassion, Jesus, peace, suffering, violence

"Bethlehem at night," Flickr photo by Nancie Sill taken on January 17, 2011. Used by permission.

“Bethlehem at night,” Photo by Nancie Sill taken January 17, 2011. Used by permission.

Life is a sacred gift, and all the world’s children deserve to grow up in safety and security surrounded by love. Sadly, far too many children fall victim to the violence of poverty, food insecurity, war, civil unrest, human trafficking, sexual predation, gun violence, and more. Yet these are all our children. The human family is one family in spite of all the forces at work to tear it apart. As Christians reflect upon a child who came into this world to bring peace, we must ask ourselves if we are ready to welcome all the vulnerable ones of this world into our consciousness. For it is only in opening our hearts to the suffering of the little ones that we prepare our hearts to receive the gift of this holy child we await at Christmas.

Will You Welcome the Little One?

Bethlehem…city of David…
will you welcome the little one?

Give me reason to believe
you will protect the holy child –
the holy in all children – from harm.

Amid all the bad news –
economic woes
political corruption
a planet willfully plundered
wars and rumors of wars –
take care to use your humanity
fragile as it is
to ease the world’s pain.

O Bethlehem, open your eyes
to the holy one born among us.

Make room in your hearts
for this one who comes
as compassionate healer
justice teacher
abundant life giver
prince of peace.

Brother, Sister, Friend,
will you welcome the little one
sent from God?

Words (c) 2008 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Beginnings

18 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Poems

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Bethlehem, birth, Christmas, creation, Jesus' birth, peace, reconciliation, spiritual life, Ultimate Mystery

windblown_blogAs we approach Christmas, I share this Christmas poem I wrote a few years ago with you. It speaks of the timeless mystery of God’s presence in creation in which we live our lives.

Beginnings

From the beginning, eternity’s song
danced on garden breezes,
singing God’s delight.
From the beginning, earth’s bounty
blossomed in forests and fields,
declaring God’s glory.
From the beginning, life’s spirit
beat within each human heart,
creating God’s life within us.

Here is the story of our birth.
Everyone is born of God and in God.
Everyone is born through God and for God.
God is in our beginnings.
God will be in all of our endings.

On a still night in Bethlehem
a cry pierced the starry sky,
a life began,
a child was given,
a mystery began to unfold.
All who have need of a new beginning
find it here in this child of peace–
this one who comes bearing
God’s reconciling love to the world.

Words (c) 2006 Mark Lloyd Richardson
Photo (c) 2012 Dallis Day Richardson

The Song of the Dove

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by mark lloyd richardson in Peace with justice, Poems, Prayers

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

birth of Christ, Christmas, comfort, forgiveness, grief, hope, peace, prayer

white-dove

In this season when Christians await the coming of the Prince of Peace, and in light of another tragic shooting rampage in our country, this time ripping the lives of innocent young children from their families in Newtown, Connecticut, I share this prayer poem that I wrote six years ago. As we offer our prayers for God’s comfort for the grieving, I hope that we also offer our determination to collectively work as communities and as a nation toward preventing this kind of senseless violence in the future.

The dove is a symbol of peace – a peace we so desperately need in our lives, our communities, and our world! The dove is also a symbol of God’s promise that we are not alone; nor are we lacking the spiritual resources necessary to seek change in our hearts or in our world.

The Song of the Dove

In this season of crisp air,
billowy clouds,
and heightened senses,
I go in search of the place
where eternity lies peacefully in a manger.

I go in search of the place
where the humblest of God’s children
come with little more than adoration
to worship a newborn baby
whose name means “God saves.”
They come bearing unadorned gifts
of simple lives and trusting hearts,
and I see what is expected of me.

In this troubled world, this vengeful time,
with its endless supply of weapons,
its young all too ready to use them,
I hold stubbornly to life
with every ounce of hope within me,
and the prayer that forever forms in my soul
is a prayer for peace.

Forgive us, gentle Savior.
We, of all the earth’s people,
need to hear the song of the dove.

Words (c) 2006, Mark Lloyd Richardson

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