A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 6

So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

- 1 Thessalonians 5 (NRSV)

I was talking with a friend yesterday who’s been having a hard time in life. She said, “I’m not making any long-term plans right now; I’m just living from one moment to the next.”

I replied, “Well, I guess you’re living life the way it really is, then! We like to fool ourselves into thinking we can make long-term plans, but what do we know?” As the words left my mouth, I worried they may have been tactless. To my surprise, though, my friend said she took great comfort in them and would keep remembering them from day to day.

Life really is like that. It’s not bad to make long-term plans—in fact, it’s a great idea—as long as we realize that plans must change. We need to stay awake to the possibilities that sudden, surprising change offers. Anthony de Mello wrote: “Change that is real is change that is not willed.” Any other change, then, is change we create, that we have control over. Since it comes only from ourselves, it cannot hold as many possibilities as the kind of change that is forced upon us.

Most of us remember from our childhood this encouragement to stay awake. Of course, it’s ironic—it’s meant to lull us to sleep, and that’s the fun of it.

So I got to thinking: in an ironic twist on irony, what if we sucked all the irony out of that song and gave it more of an Advent flavor? It would need to sound not only straightforward, but even a little creepy—uncomfortable—not the kind of staying awake we would prefer to do. But it’s Mary Poppins, right? So even if we don’t want to stay awake, she must really mean it, and it must be really be good for us.

Here’s my take (in mp3 form; right-click to download) of Mary Poppins really urging us to stay awake for Advent, with some musical help from Sufjan Stevens.

A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 5

Jesus said, "I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John's baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves.)

"To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.' For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children."  -    Luke 7:28-35 (NRSV)


Jesus’ parables are, by nature, hard to swallow in one bite. But I find this one in particular to be a little weird. Why are some children wailing and weeping (and others refusing to do so), when they were skipping and dancing a moment before? I've heard it suggested that the children may have been “playing wedding” and “playing funeral”—two common occurrences that children might imitate in their play. In Eugene Peterson’s Bible paraphrase The Message, he seems to hold a similar understanding of children’s play:

Jesus said, "Let me lay it out for you as plainly as I can: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer, but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. The ordinary and disreputable people who heard John, by being baptized by him into the kingdom, are the clearest evidence; the Pharisees and religious officials would have nothing to do with such a baptism, wouldn't think of giving up their place in line to their inferiors.

"How can I account for the people of this generation? They're like spoiled children complaining to their parents, 'We wanted to skip rope and you were always too tired; we wanted to talk but you were always too busy.' John the Baptizer came fasting and you called him crazy. The Son of Man came feasting and you called him a lush. Opinion polls don't count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating." - Luke 7:28-35 (The Message)

I often find that The Message gives me refreshing perspective on passages I thought I understood—or, in this case, passages I had never understood. On the other hand, I rather like what Peterson’s children are saying here—I don’t think they’re spoiled! Maybe nobody really understands this parable.

My interpretation is that Jesus is upholding the ordinary folks who sought baptism from John because they really want a relationship with God. They want to play and dance. The other children, the ones who refuse to do so, are the Pharisees. One minute they say, “John the Baptist is too austere,” and the next, “Jesus of Nazareth is too relaxed!” Do they want to play with God, or don’t they? Nobody likes to play with someone who cries “foul” every time the game doesn’t go his way.

In lieu of a pop music video today, here’s one of my own: my daughter dancing at a wedding a couple years ago. The thing is, since it was a Free Methodist wedding, there was no dancing allowed! At age 3, my daughter became an activist, dancing because she couldn’t imagine not doing so. And of course, it didn’t bother anybody at all.

As you light the second candle on your Advent wreath, make a point to relax and play and dance with God today. But don’t insist on playing by your own rules!

A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 4

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.

-    1 Thessalonians 4

Jesus said, “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls."

-    Luke 21

The basic claim of religion is that there is something going on that is deeper than the surface appearance. We are not mere creatures of instinct. We have a divine origin, and this is expressed in our creativity and in our ability to love. Religion seeks to take away the fear of death, and it provides motivation to live a life of value, not just of survival.

In Christian thought, Jesus went ahead of us into death and came back to show us that death not only isn’t that bad—it’s necessary to the value of life.

Sometimes religious beliefs are expressed in talk of angels and demons, of “powers and principalities,” or even of cosmic warfare. Is not all of life a battle, a struggle to find the deeper meaning that surely exists? Some people take these metaphors quite literally, and this has scared many people away from religion completely. But if you feel religion is not an option for you, where does the meaning come from? How do you explain creativity and love without using metaphors?

I believe there is something deeper—as Sting puts it, “there is a deeper wave than this.” And Sting has his own metaphor: “Love Is the Seventh Wave.” The thread that never fails to bind believers and non-believers together is love. Love, love, love. Focus on love, and all our differences in metaphor become far less important. Forget about love, and our differences only cause pain and destruction.

Today and every day, love somebody. Love the lovable, and also love your enemies. Look beyond the boundaries of your own creature-ness and catch the divine spark in the eyes of another person. The Buddhists say “Namaste”—“I honor the God in you.” The Christians say, “I see Jesus in your face.”

A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 3

O my people, your leaders mislead you, and confuse the course of your paths. The LORD rises to argue his case; he stands to judge the peoples. The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people: It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord GOD of hosts.

-    Isaiah 3

The Bible shifts back and forth in emphasizing judgment on those in power and sustenance for those who are oppressed. One clear message handed down to us by our ancestors is that God expects us to take care of each other rather than exploit each other. When God is portrayed as angry, it’s almost always because this isn’t happening.

The #1 sign of a godly society is not a government-mandated faith … not radical individual freedom … not the Ten Commandments posted on government property … but social justice lived out every day. The people are free, but the people choose to use their freedom in service to those who have less. They hold themselves accountable to God and to each other.

The ancient heroes, like Moses and Noah, are heroes because they did God’s will. They had their doubts and struggles, but they put God’s wishes ahead of their own.

In 1985, a new band called the Hooters released a strange, compelling song about Moses and Noah … and zombies. Who are the zombies in this song? I think they are those who doubt, who fear, who hurt, and who suffer. The singer shouts to them: “You don’t have to hide anymore! All you zombies, show your faces.” Here are the Hooters with “All You Zombies.”

A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 2

The breakers of death rolled over me,

and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.

The cords of hell entangled me,

and the snares of death were set for me.

I called upon the LORD in my distress

and cried out to my God for help.

He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling;

my cry of anguish came to his ears. 

-          Psalm 18

What is salvation? Many people limit their imaginations by imagining salvation merely as something that may occur when you die. But Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” By no means does this point to the currently popular “prosperity gospel” that insists Jesus wants to make you rich!

Rather, Jesus wants us to be able to live a life of wholeness, acting out of a realization that we are loved and wanted. Our fellow humans are bearers of this godly sacrament when they are in relationship with us, when they make themselves vulnerable to us.

Get a group of friends together to watch the 1999 film Magnolia, which the Internet Movie Database describes as “an epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.” From the soundtrack of that film, our YouTube clip of the day is “Save Me” by Aimee Mann.

I heard this quote once from an unknown source: “You can kill a man with a gun, or you can kill him with an apartment.” One of the biggest plagues of American society during the holidays is loneliness. Extreme individualism and a worship of self-reliance have decimated the lives of millions of people. Are we merely a collection of individuals, eking out a little sliver of sanity in a crazy world? How will you work against the demon that whispers that you don’t actually need anyone else?

If we are Christ’s hands and heart in the world, then we are also instruments of salvation. We don't get to decide who needs saving, but we can remain open to the Holy Spirit's potential use for us in any given situation. What might it mean to throw in your lot with “the freaks who suspect they could never love anyone”?

A YouTube Advent Calendar: December 1

In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it. Many peoples shall come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!

- Isaiah 2:3-4

I have a distinct memory of my mother playing me this song on her ukelele: "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" by Simon & Garfunkel. On this and many other occasions, her example gave me hope for peace in the world, and I committed myself to helping people understand one another.

Do I believe that we, of our own human effort, can bring about world peace? No. I think I used to, but I don't now. Is this a descent into cynicism, or even a hardened realism? No.

I read an article once that described Dick Cheney's worldview: that human beings simply must wage war on each other, so it's best to maintain your dominance at all costs or risk being eliminated. Now, that is the kind of cynicism that leads to self-perpetuating, never-ending violence. Dick Cheney's view is anti-Christian.

My view is different, and it is inspired by the words and actions of Jesus. "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends." If we do not remain at least somewhat vulnerable, leave open some risk of being destroyed, we can never really understand love.

This isn't doe-eyed pacifism, either. It's one thing to defend your family from danger. It is quite another to build up safeguards all around you, believing that your lifestyle and wealth will protect you from all potential pain and loss. Pain and loss are inevitable. They are a part of the joy of life, and they are what make love possible.

Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is among you." Today, I will choose to live in the Kingdom the Prophet Isaiah described. I will lay down my weapons and do something more useful than protecting myself ... like feeding people, for instance.

This Advent, consider making a donation to a local food bank or public service provider. The need is greater now than ever before. And on a personal level, invite a friend to dinner -- maybe someone you've been concerned about lately. Share your life with that person as well as your food.

Today is also World AIDS day. Consider making a donation to help eliminate AIDS. When we cure people and heal people, we also help bring about peace.

Jesus gives a different kind of peace than the world gives: not the absence or denial of conflict, but the transformation of it. Allow this Advent season to transform you.

A YouTube Advent Calendar: November 30

Jesus began to tell the people this parable: ‘A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to tenants, and went to another country for a long time. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants in order that they might give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Next he sent another slave; that one also they beat and insulted and sent away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third; this one also they wounded and threw out.

Then the owner of the vineyard said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.” But when the tenants saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, “This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance may be ours.” So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.’

When they heard this, they said, ‘Heaven forbid!’

But he looked at them and said, ‘What then does this text mean:

“The stone that the builders rejected

   has become the cornerstone”?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’

- Luke 20:9-18

In 1990, we saw one of the most startling turnarounds in popular music. After becoming a superstar with his album Faith, featuring songs like “I Want Your Sex,” “Father Figure,” and the title song, George Michael released a new album called Listen without Prejudice Vol. 1. The first single was a bleak but amazing song about God’s judgment, featuring a video of nothing but lyrics. The song shot straight to #1 on the strength of George Michael’s popularity, though many people have forgotten the song now. Here’s “Praying for Time.”

I love the bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming! Look busy.” When we imagine Christ coming not the first time, but a second time, it’s hard not to freak out. We look around us and see the mess we have made of our worldwide play room. After all this, will God still consider us His children? And yet we hear from Jesus that, in George Michael’s words, “God’s stopped keeping score.” Even so, many Christians are obsessed with the idea of Jesus showing up unannounced and finally getting around to cracking heads—other people’s heads. Certainly we’ll be OK, right? Right? If we weren’t going to be OK … if we were the guilty ones … would we want Jesus to show up at all?

But … does God crack heads? There’s a lot of that mentioned in the Bible, but is it for real? Can we expect violent retribution from the God who submitted to crucifixion and then used it to defeat death? Is death really defeated? Then why does it still seem to reign supreme? What if the entire world is going through some sort of mass crucifixion?

What if the judgment we so dread only feels like violent retribution to those of us who struggle so hard to hang onto something of our own, something we can’t take with us when we go anyway? Do we need to be terrified? After all, we’ve seen where crucifixion led Jesus. If we allow ourselves to be shattered on the rejected cornerstone, who knows what new and joyful thing may come of it?

Maybe we can take some comfort in the words of the Prophet Micah: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to have kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” When it seems "there is no hope to speak of," when all is confusion, do two things. Pray. And go out of your way to do good things for others. What else is there to do?

A YouTube Advent Calendar: November 29

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them.
When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers, I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, learn to do good;
seek justice, rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

- Isaiah 1

Continuing with the theme of judgment ... I once heard a great preacher refer to this reading and say, "See? God gets bored in church, too!" Enough posturing and posing and hypocrisy, says God. Quit sacrificing animals to me and sacrifice for others instead. If you feel the need to burn something, burn up your hearts. Quit trying to shore up your own security and comfort and give NOW to those who have much less than you do. You can't keep what you have anyway. Eventually, it will all be gone ... burned up in the flames of time that devour everything. So take care of others now, and worry less about your own selfish desires.

This is an Advent discipline: to give to the poor and the oppressed. Consider making a Christmas gift in someone's name through Episcopal Relief and Development ... rather than giving more unnecessary stuff.


Song of the day: from 1968, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, with "Fire."

A YouTube Advent Calendar: November 28

Song of the day: "It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.

Your country lies desolate,
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
aliens devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
And daughter Zion is left
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a shelter in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
If the LORD of hosts
had not left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom,
and become like Gomorrah.

-      Isaiah 1

Advent begins with judgment. It begins with a realistic assessment of the state of our house—the House of Israel, the house of our souls. We sort through the junk, trying to cut back, trying to simplify, trying to make room for Christmas. Deep within us is a profound loneliness. We know we have failed at so many things.

But those failures have prepared us for something new. Our failures prove to us that we cannot, in the end, be self-reliant creatures.

The Emerging: Suites for Advent

The Christian year begins with the First Sunday in Advent, which often falls on Thanksgiving weekend. Advent continues for four Sundays, the amount of time we need to get ready to come close to the mystery of Christmas.


Here's some music for Advent. No, it's not Christmas music ... at least, not until right at the very end! These suites are built around the seven ancient "O" Antiphons, as sung by the choirs of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle. Pop and choral music alternate and, hopefully, leave you with a feeling of anticipation and expectation.


Yes, these recordings are under copyright, but the way I have mixed them into suites is original to me. If you hear something you like, please go buy it. I also welcome feedback on Advent music I might use to expand these suites next year!

(Right-click each header to download the suite.)

Advent Suite 1: Eschaton

R.E.M. - It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)
Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Fire
George Michael - Praying for Time
Mary Poppins - Stay Awake/ Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Sheep
Peter Hallock - Let My Prayer Come Up as the Incense

Advent Suite 2: Wisdom

Godspell - Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (1)
Peter Hallock - O Sapientia
Sixpence None the Richer - Sister, Mother
Martina McBride - Love's the Only House
Sting - Love Is the Seventh Wave

Advent Suite 3: I Am That I Am

Peter Hallock - O Adonai
Sixpence None the Richer - Anything/The Waiting Room
Hooters - All You Zombies
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (2)

Advent Suite 4: Come and Save Us

Peter Hallock - O Radix Jesse
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Pray Your Gods
Aimee Mann - Save Me
U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Herbert Howells - A Spotless Rose
Seal - Love's Divine

Advent Suite 5: You Open and No One Shuts

Peter Hallock - O Clavis David
Mr. Mister - Kyrie
Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Advent Suite 6: Rising Dawn

Peter Hallock - O Oriens
The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun
Sixpence None the Richer - Waiting on the Sun
The Polyphonic Spree - Light and Day
Sufjan Stevens - O Come, O Come Emmanuel (3)

Advent Suite 7: Prince of Peace

Peter Hallock - O Rex Gentium
J.L. Hosler - You Heavens Above
Simon & Garfunkel - Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream
John Mayer - Waiting on the World to Change
John Denver & Robin - When the River Meets the Sea
Goo Goo Dolls - Better Days

Advent Suite 8: But What If ... ?

Peter Hallock - O Emmanuel
Joan Osborne - One of Us
Isaac Everett - Expectation

Advent Suite 9: Amen

Sting - Gabriel's Message
Conductus - Ave Virgo Virginum
Franz Biebl - Ave Maria
J.S. Bach - Magnificat in D, BWV 243, I: Magnificat
St. Mark's Cathedral Choir - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Isaac Everett - Incarnation