A reading for today....

From Ted Loder, poet, spiritual guide, author.  In Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle

Sometimes It Just Seems to Be Too Much

Sometimes, Lord,
it just seems to be too much:
     too much violence, too much fear;
     too much of demands and problems;
     too much of broken dreams and broken lives;
     too much of war and slums and dying;
     too much of greed and squishy fatness
        and the sounds of people
            devouring each other
                and the earth;
     too much of stale routines and quarrels,
          unpaid bills and dead ends,
     too much of words lobbed in to explode
        and leaving shredded hearts and lacerated souls;
     too much of turned away backs and yellow silence,
        red rage and the bitter taste of ashes in my mouth.

Sometimes the very air seems scorched
     by threats and rejection and decay
        until there is nothing
            but to inhale pain
                and exhale confusion.
Too much of darkness, lord,
     too much of cruelty
           and selfishness
                and indifference....

Too much, Lord,
     too much,
         too bloody,
              bruising,
                  brain-washing much.

Or is it too little,
     too little of compassion,
too little of courage,
     of daring,
        of persistence,
             of sacrifice;
too little of music
     and laughter and celebration?

O God,
make of me some nourishment
     for these starved times,
some food for my brothers and sisters
     who are hungry for gladness and hope,
that, being bread for them,
     I may also be fed
          and be full.

I win!

The other day my grandson gleefully suggested that his mother smash their car into the truck in front of them.....because you get lots of points for trucks.  Apparently there is some kid's game that my grandson likes which gives you points for crashing into other cars.  It is hard to imagine what this game is teaching beyond the idea that crashing is fun.  This is, of course, until you own the car and the crash is real and the insurance goes up. [BTW, after this episode, the game has disappeared from their home.]

My idea of a video game is beweled blitz, or tetras, or candy crush.  No one is shooting, smashing, destroying anyone or anything.  No one is declared supreme winner in the end.

But, of course, that makes me the exception.  Looking at the statistics of the number of games sold, and the mix of violence based games v. the 'lame' games that I like to play, well, I am clearly in the minority.  I see some of the advertising for the new games and I wonder what it does to our minds to play such games all the time.

Somehow it only makes sense to me that practicing 'defeating' the 'enemy' with swords and guns and other imaginative weapons forms thought patterns.  Violent solutions to 'problems' encountered are at the core of the action, and the more efficient one gets at destroying the other, the further one advances in the game.  It certainly is a satisfying outlet for anyone being bullied, right?

This just simply can't be a good thing for young minds which are still learning values and social skills.  This can't be a good thing for young people who too easily fail to recognize the potential consequences of actions.  Furthermore, since these games are loved by 20 and 30 somethings, it can't be good for the development of matue responsible engaged citizens.

It seems so obvious that American society is enfused with violent solutions to problems.  From our history of conquering this land, to the gun-slinging take over of the wild west, to our unique brand of slavery,  to our love of police dramas with more violence than is really necessary, even to our love of the game of football (which you all know I love, but which at its heart, is a violent game), we are comfortable with violence.

Yes, we believe violence is only justified when used as a solution for the common good:  police, military, football for entertainment.  Yet we have become accustomed to seeing these images (go back and watch an old Columbo episode.  There is so little 'action', so little gunfire when compared to today's Blue Bloods.)  But violence for entertainment teaches another lesson altogether.

 I can't help but believe that this naturally spills over into all those areas where disgruntled folks want to be heard.  They will prove their point, or get their payback, or just for once in their lives, win!  They will support a cause, make a political statement, act out their own insecurities or mental illnesses.

In the end, all society pays the price.

I will watch football this weekend, but I am wondering if that isn't a part of the problem.  I am wondering if banning violent video games isn't a part of the solution.  I am wondering what we need to do at the core of our society to move away from violence and build people of peace.  I wonder.

We weep; we sing

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

This is one verse of the hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel.  David Lose, professor of preaching at Luther Seminary reflects on his experience when it came time to sing this hymn on the Sunday following the events in Newtown, CT.

“[This is] the verse based on Isaiah’s promise that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.” (9:1), and it’s appointed… for December 21^st, the winter solstice and darkest day of year.

“It was very difficult to sing this past Sunday. But over time I’ve learned… that songs are powerful. Laments express our grief and fear so as to honor these deep and difficult emotions and simultaneously strip them of their power to incapacitate us. Songs of praise and thanksgiving unite us with the One to whom we lift our voices. And canticles of courage and promise not only name our hopes but also contribute to bringing them into being.

“Songs are powerful. But at times also difficult, and the violence of the last days has robbed many of us of our voice. But it will not always be so. We will catch our breath, hold onto each other, remember that we are not alone, and lift our voices once again in lament and praise, promise and defiance.

“Mary sings (Luke 1.46-55) of God’s mercy, promising that God lifts up the lonely, the downtrodden, and the oppressed, not just of her day, but of our own as well. So as we take up her song, we call upon God to remember those families whose children did not come home from school on Friday, those families who already wrapped Christmas presents that will never be opened, those families who will struggle not just this holiday but for many to come. And we beseech God on behalf of all those who mourn, or are lonely, or do not have enough food, or live in places of strife and war, or who struggle with mental illness or care for them, and so many more.”

This is our calling as people of faith; to hold fast those who cannot stand on their own and to bring their cries before God.  As the baby Jesus is born yet again, we look into the cross and give thanks that this world does not have the last word.

David Lose’s column can be found at www.workingpreacher.org