Rest

December 20, 2019

Go

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to Your word.” Luke 1:38

We are all pilgrims on a journey to You, Lord.
May we contemplate Your time on earth,
and, with Your help, follow in Your footsteps

December 21, 2019

Rest

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,

for His steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and might,

the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

And His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what His eyes see,

or decide disputes by what His ears hear,

But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,

and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Isaiah 11:2-4

“Come to me all you who are burdened
and I will give you rest”
Here I am, Lord.
I come to seek Your presence.
I long for Your healing power.

I got into a little Facebook spat with Colin Winslow yesterday over what was the best Christmas carol. He declared “O Holy Night” to be the bestest, but I said that “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Eve” was the one that pierces my soul every time. Both of us agreed that we needed to hear Cameron sing them back-to-back to reach an agreement.

“I Heard the Bells” is based on a poem by grief-filled Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written after the accidental death of his beloved wife and after his son ran off to fight in the Union army without his permission.

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And the last few days I have been suffering from the most painfully gripping stomach flu ever, and have spent a lot of time writhing on my living room couch in front of my cute little fireplace and Christmas tree. Me being me, I have been distracting myself by rererereading A Tale of Two Cities.  Um, one thing is clear from old Dickens, besides his amazing character development skills, is that since the beginning of time, there is no peace on earth, this injustice and war and pain permeate the experience of life.

And yet.

In the quiet stillness, there is comfort and rest.

Come unto Me.

He is good.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

His steadfast love endures forever.

And in this promise we will rest.

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does He sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men

And wild and sweet the words repeat.

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; do not be jealous of those who do wrong. For they shall soon wither like the grass, and like the green grass fade away. Put your trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and feed on its riches. Take delight in the LORD, and He shall give you your heart’s desire. Commit your way to the LORD and put your trust in Him, and He will bring it to pass. He will make your righteousness as clear as the light and your just dealing as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:1-7

There is a low-grade fretting accelerando in the background noise of my mind and soul. And my spirit.

A harsh staccato has twisted and tangled itself into the peace and joy and good will of Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

And the normal sweet clutter and mild angst of Christmas in America with lists to do and Amazon reviews to scan and quick pop-ins to Buffalo Exchange and rushing out the door holding yet another towel-wrapped two loaves of bread and a Trader Joe’s bottle of wine just a little bit late to the next event has an intensified pounding percussion section of blaring headlines of fear and hatred and finger-pointing.

Americans are more fearful about the likelihood of another terrorist attack than at any other time since the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, a gnawing sense of dread that has helped lift Donald Trump to a new high among Republican primary voters, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

In the aftermath of attacks by Islamic extremists in Paris and in San Bernardino plurality of the public views the threat of terrorism as the top issue facing the country. A month ago, only 4 percent of Americans said terrorism was the most important problem; now, 19 percent say it is, above any other issue.

Really?

And I allow my eyes to be wrested away from His lovingkindness and power to stare at the impending gloom loom with a sneer over all of those sun-faded Nativity scenes.

And in despair I bowed my head:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said,

“For hate is strong and mocks the song

Of peace on earth,good will to men.”

Be still.

Stillness is a bit elusive. NPR radio has already clicked on at the Voelkel house. The dishwasher is sloshing. And a faucet is dripping somewhere.

But all of the glass in the picture frames and window frames and gold-gilt mirror frame reflect sparkle lights back and forth and back again. The stockings are hung by the chimney with care. Charly and Marcus are coming this year. And Wali. And Cameron. And Elizabeth from Mexico moved in yesterday. And she loves the sort of awkward front bedroom, the one that Rogelio says is visited at night by a woman who walks through the walls, and she already up, about to run around the park after she eats a tangerine and an apple.

And. And. And.

But Giovani’s star shines stretches out from the top of the tree.

Buon Natale.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Be still.

The St. Francis fountain in the greenhouse splashes. Or was that one of the tilapia in Alan’s big fish tank?

Be still.

 Till, ringing singing, on its way,

The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,

Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Be still.

Be still before the LORD.

The LORD God Almighty.