We the people

Christmas time is past. Thank goodness. Now we can get back to being nice to each other. Does anyone else think that Xmas has become a misery? Money, blather, and triumphalism ruining the arrival of a Messiah who abhored all of the above?

Anyway, I was listening to a little Pete Seeger today as a palate cleanser, and that got me thinking.

Unionism is quite dead, but the ideas of solidarity, and brotherhood/sisterhood live on, or do they?

I was reading in Harpers about black power and the civil rights movement. They are dead too, but why is all that gone?

We the people. Most of us scraping by. We want health insurance, we want more family time, we want better communities. And the best community I was with this holiday season was at a pagan party. So there you go. A close second was the party at my church where we celebrated Las Posadas. We were having a pseudo spanish/hispanic party when real immigrants/hispanics showed up. They shared their carols and songs with us. Showed us how to have real fun with a pinata, woke up what would have been, otherwise, a boring, white, old people's party. It was unexpected, and it was bonding, and it was fun! One million words on immigration and on the "meaning of Christmas" were best expressed by pagans giving gifts and enjoying being a community, and spanish speaking members of our community invading our xmas celebration.

Yet, we too often drift to things to make us happy. I do it myself. When, we the people. We the non-judgemental, easy going, party happy, fun-loving people just need to open our hearts to others, instead of walling ourselves up with fear, greed, and things.

Jesus says "Take all that you have, and give it to the poor". Not just to help them, but to knock down the walls between the two.

The Gospel of Thomas has Jesus saying "The first shall be last, and the last shall be first until we all become one!" There, is the kingdom of God. Here, and now. We can have it, they just don't sell it anywhere.

Here endeth the lesson. Happy New Year!!!!!

Christmas Music

What's your favorite?

I'm torn between a couple of songs...Wachet Auf (Wake, oh Wake!) as an Advent carol that I adore. Also, The Linden Tree Carol is excellent. Then there's The Cherry Tree Carol which is probably my absolute favorite (AKA When Joseph went a walking).

The Cherry Tree Carol is an American carol, oddly enough, and it is about Mary asking Joseph to gather cherries, wherupon Joseph says "Let the Father of the Baby" gather cherries for you. Then Jesus speaks out of Mary's womb commanding the trees to bow down.

Mary does not rebuke Joseph, but simply rejoices in the miracle, and draws his attention to it "Oh, look now Joseph, I have cherries at command".

Then I've heard two different endings. One just repeats the opening phrase (When Joseph was an old man, he married virgin Mary...etc)

another has Joseph breaking down, and asking forgiveness of God.

I go back and forth between which I like better.

What are your favorites, and why? I would love to hear about them.

The Peace on Christmas

Those who claim a "war on Christmas" are wrong, no matter who they speak for. All sides have lost. Peace rules!

You see I believe:

My God is large enough to embrace Pagans, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Athiests.
He appears to each as they can find him.
My God celebrates the Solstice, the Yule, Ramadan, Hannukah, Yom Kippur.
My God speaks through the bible, the torah, the Koran, Dr. Seuss, Yeats, Kipling, Stephen King, Rumi, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gnostic Gospels, through my children.
How dare you say that Christ is the son of a God who can only hold one religion.
Christ is who I follow to discover the truth of the beauty of God.
"My House has many rooms!" says God.
Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the light". What a great play on words "I am" is the name of God, and "I am" being a call to find your own way, and "I am" being a call to follow his way.
My God is the God of contradiction.
My God sent his son to die for life. My Goddess takes care of the Earth. My God is in all people. My God rules over the dogs and comforts them. He is with my rat, even though my rat is 10 years gone.
She is the start of all creation. He is creativity, reminding me that all things are beautiful.

Merry Christmas! Wolcum Yule! Happy Solstice! Happy Channukah! Praise be to Allah! Praise be to Darwin, Einstein, Freud, Skinner and Sacks! Alleluia brother and sisters! Love all, hate none, fear no evil for God is good!