Dear Friends,
As the snow has gathered around us this week, I’ve also seen the appearance of icicles. It reminded me of a poem by Boulderite Andrea Gibson, of blessed memory, who wrote these words several years ago:
The winter I told you
Andrea Gibson – Maybe I Need You
I think icicles are magic,
you stole an enormous icicle
from a neighbor’s shingle
and gave it to me as a gift.
I kept it in my freezer
for seven months
until the day I hurt my foot
and needed something
to reduce the swelling.
Love isn’t always magic.
Sometimes it’s just melting
where it’s black and blue,
where it hurts the most.
John the Baptist comes up early in Advent in the gospel readings. We’ll talk about him a little this Sunday. I’ve also been thinking about how much talk there is about ICE agents these days.
John the Baptist is out in the wilderness preaching “the realm of God is near” and urging people to repent (which means in the original Greek “to turn around”). He’s a wild-looking dude. And instead of an ICE agent, I think he’s kind of acting like a border guard. Walter Brueggemann, the biblical scholar, also of blessed memory, said he thinks of John the Baptist as having the demeanor of a border guard. Walter was thinking of “Checkpoint Charlie” between East and West Germany at the Berlin Wall.
And I thought, what kind of border guard is John? I’d like to think he’s one who tears up the documents we hand him. His is an invitation to start over and c’mon in! This is what the season of Advent reminds us. We begin again. The adventure starts here.
Maybe we can find ways to show the immigrants around us they are more than welcome here. I have been reminded this week, again, of how scared and worried so many friends of mine in the immigrant community are feeling. What can I do to relieve the pressure, let someone know I’ve got their back, and then really take actions showing this to be true?
I don’t know. I do think it’s certainly something the season of Advent and standing at Checkpoint John reminds me to think about it! I am, you are, we are border guards. Holy ones (we hope). This is where the magic is…
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Enjoy the Wexford Carol by Yo-yo Ma and Alison Krauss.
This week’s takeaway: We all stand on borders created between groups – borders based on race, gender, economic status. Like John the Baptist, we can be border guards making people feel at home rather than turning people away.