Noli Irritare Leones

The Christmas season is jolly and round and full of bustle. It smells of candy and eggnog and sounds like cash registers.

Advent is hope tinged with reminders of exile and oppression and sin. It smells of candles and is colored purple for penitence.

On those occasions when I slack off on Quakerly rejection of special days in favor of an affection for the liturgical seasons of my youth, it’s that mixture of light and shadow that I find myself wanting, that acknowledgement that even comfort and joy come in the midst of pain and sorrow.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. Or, if you prefer an alternate translation, the darkness does not understand it. The Greek word actually means both.

I’m reading the Daily Office for Advent this year, or rather, since I’m lazy, I’m reading as much of it as I feel like reading, and sometimes stopping before I’ve finished the whole thing. This morning, the Bible reading reminded me of how Advent is sometimes darker than the Christmas season:

Amos 5:18-27 (NRSV)

Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?

I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an everflowing stream.

Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images, which you made for yourselves; therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Here is one of the more tragic Christmas carols, about the death of the Holy Innocents:

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On a totally unrelated note, Christy at Dry Bones Dance has been running, this week, a series of posts on health care reform:

Health Care Reform Week.

Health Care Reform Week: But we have the best health care in the WORLD.

Health Care Reform Week: Blame it on the Mexicans.

Health Care Reform Week: Don’t call in sick – Crawl in sick.

Health Care Reform Week: Health insurance works great (as long as you don’t get too sick.)

Health Care Reform Week: Abortion!!!!! Let the screaming begin!

On a totally different unrelated note, Andre Braugher will be part of a playreading at Studio Luna on Monday evening, December 7th, which I’d totally go see, if I didn’t live 3000 miles away from North Jersey.

Finally, I bring you some of the latest news from Twitter:

revsusanrussell #integrityusa waiting on 4th ballot results. we covet your prayers

The Episcopalian Diocese of Los Angeles has been voting on who will be the new suffragan bishops. A suffragan bishop assists the primary bishop in a diocese (and if you have a diocese as big as Los Angeles Diocese, which not only includes LA but also extends down to us here in Orange County, you do need multiple bishops). My own great-grandfather was once a suffragan bishop in this same diocese. Times are changing, and the first suffragan bishop elected was the first female bishop in the history of the diocese (though not, of course, the first female bishop in the Episcopal Church – that barrier got broken some time ago). One of the big questions in the balloting for the second position has been whether one of the two openly gay candidates would be elected; if so, it would make the first openly gay bishop since Eugene Robinson.

revsusanrussell glasspool still leads clergy order; vasquez surges in lay order

Glasspool is openly lesbian; Vasquez, who was born in Guatemala, is straight. I think, though, that the people actually voting right now are mainly judging them on other factors than the sexual orientation one. More on this election from conservative Episcopalian site Virtue Online.

greekdude 74 people detained, 14 arrested in Athens on the eve of Grigoropoulos shooting. (via @naftemporiki) #griots

A year ago, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a teenager, was fatally shot by a police officer in Athens, sparking off weeks of riots. Since then, the Nea Demokratia government that was then in power has been replaced by PASOK (ND being Greece’s center-right party and PASOK Greece’s center-left party). Still, anniversary protests have been expected.

More than 6,000 police officers will be deployed in Athens this weekend, it was revealed yesterday, as authorities issued a plea for calm ahead of events that will be held in the city to mark the one-year anniversary of the killing of a teenager by a policeman.

Reports on Twitter are that the protests are happening as scheduled, but calm compared to last year:

Argos_t: @cpil also in Lusaka things are calm #griots
17 minutes ago from web

cpil: ??????????? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ?????? #griots
19 minutes ago from Tweetie

greekdude: don’t like using #griots since it’s relatively calm for now. Nothing like what we saw last year http://is.gd/5dmUP (via @Big_Picture)
28 minutes ago from web

constantnos: RT @teacherdude: RT @freenet2004 confirmed there is an occupation going on now at the city hall of keratsini #griots #oxiVia
31 minutes ago from Tweetie

teacherdude: occupation at the Nikias town hall #griots
31 minutes ago from web

teacherdude: RT @freenet2004 confirmed there is an occupation going on now at the city hall of keratsini #griots

Amnesty International is promoting a big push on letter writing:

AmnestyOnline Write a letter and change someone’s life. Now is the time to Write for Rights! #WFR bit.ly/6df8nW

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Anglican Communion News, Health and Medicine, Worship. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.