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Registration
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. … Joseph went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
– Luke 2:1-2 & 5 (NRSV)
In those days, households were required to register with their provinces for the purpose of being taxed by the Roman Empire. Some complied. Some resisted. Some fled. Some revolted against a headcount that served only to extract money from oppressed communities.
In these days, adults working in the U.S. are required to register with the Social Security Administration for the purpose of paying taxes. For some adults, compliance begins with the registration of a Social Security Number. For others who are barred from registration, non-compliance is necessary for working and living.
In these days, photo identification cards are frequently required to purchase prescriptions, pick up packages, drive a motor vehicle, or pay with a check. Many comply. Some resist, as photo IDs represent an infraction upon their religious beliefs.
In these days, proof of vaccination can be required to work, to attend school, to travel, to dine or to dance. Some are complying. Some are resisting. Some are seeking exemption.
In these days, as in those days, required registrations shape our lives—no matter if we comply or resist.
In those days, as in these days, God’s work within, through, around, and beyond us continues without fail—no matter our registration status.
Prayer: God Most Holy, God Made Flesh, navigating all these social regulations and government registrations is a daily spiritual exercise. On this holy eve, we wait in expectation for the Miracle that unfolds within—yet is unhindered by—the demands of this world.
also posted with the Daily Devotional
Daydream Believer
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouths filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. – Psalm 126:1-2a (NRSV)
Is it better to dream or to be practical? To envision a new world, a just world, an honorable world … or to observe the world as it is without illusion?
I’m more of the latter sort. The “daydreaming won’t make a hard day easier” sort. The “it doesn’t make a difference whether you say ‘half full’ or ‘half empty,’ because either way you have half a cup” sort.
Not pessimistic. Realistic.
Except, of course, that I do dream.
I dream of peace. Of safety. Of well-being and joy. Of sowing and reaping purposefully, gratefully. Of stretching and relaxing and being—without a crick in my neck, a knot in my shoulder, and an anxious eye on my bank account.
Calling myself a realist is just a cover really, a ruse to avoid admitting that I expect to be disappointed by unrealized dreams.
Maybe you live that way, too—with the expectation of disappointment.
The season of Advent, then, becomes our time to practice daydreaming without hesitation, without skepticism or reluctance, without a backup plan in case of disappointment. The promise of Advent’s dream has already been fulfilled! The experience of Advent’s dream is already spelled out for us: Tears turning to laughter. Displaced people returning home. A shoot pushing up from a stump. A word becoming flesh.
In Advent, we dream without disappointment.
Prayer: Here is my joy, O God—not conditional or tentative, but full and free. Here is the song on my tongue, O God, unburdened by doubt and bitterness. Here is my laughter, O God, as my mouth tastes the sweet goodness of your realized dream.
also published with the Daily Devotional
Wrestling
Let me go, for the long night has run its course. Let me go, and release me into the dawning day. Let me go, for now I have wrestled long enough. Let me go, and do not keep me for your own blessing. Let me go, for my life has paid your price twice over. Let me go, and...
Called to Hope
I pray that the God of glory may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which God is has called you. - Ephesians 1:17-18a (NRSV, abridged) Hope is a wild creature. Untamable....
Rain in the Forecast
O children, be glad and rejoice in God, who has poured down for you abundant rain. The threshing floor shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I am your God, and you shall never again be put to shame. Then afterward, I will pour out my...
Be Careful What You Preach
The prophet Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, and broke it, saying, “Thus says the Lord: This is how I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.” Sometime later, the word of the Lord came to...
Love and Wonder
Understand, O dullest of people; fools, when will you be wise? The one who planted the ear also hears. The one who formed the eye also sees. The one who teaches knowledge to humankind also chastises. That same one knows our thoughts, which are but an empty breath. -...
Quiet Quitting
In an office today, an employee will close their laptop at 5:00 p.m. and go home—without their laptop in hand, without a “to do” list of emails to write before bedtime, without a stack of work papers to read before returning to the office. Why? Because work that...
Ashamed
In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me. (Psalm 71:1-2, NRSV) One thing about living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the debilitating shame. The...
Plumb Line
I've been trying to climb your plumb line, O God, as if it is a measure of success or a ladder to security. When the wall showed signs of toppling, I leapt to the line to rise above it all. Forgive me. When the locusts swarmed and the harvest was threatened before it...
Kissing Calves
Idols of silver [are] made according to their understanding. “Sacrifice to these,” they say. People are kissing calves! Therefore they shall be like the morning mist or like the dew that goes away early. - Hosea 13:2-3 (NRSV, abridged) I was not raised in a Christian...
