by Rev. Dr. Mary Susan Gast, Conference Minister, December, 2004
Monthly Reflections from The Pacific ~ News and Events of the NCNC United Church of Christ

AND NOW, IN THE DARKEST HOURS OF THE NIGHT...

Words of encouragement and support for those ministering "in the fields."

The chronological roadway that we travel from November through January is slippery, the site of major collisions. Election Day and Thanksgiving, Christmas and Epiphany crash into each other and send our sensibilities sprawling. Advent and Jan. 1 each hurtle us toward a new year at two very different intersections. As the hours of sunshine diminish in the Northern Hemisphere, we attempt to flood the night with multi-colored lights reflective of the distant beaming stars.

And we remember how, in the darkest hours of the night, during the season of the shortest days, while the peace of the Roman Empire fell like a shroud over Europe and western Asia and northern Africa, muffling the cries of conquered peoples and, at their expense, building up the freedoms and wealth of Roman citizens, there came glad tidings. Good news. Hope. The Messiah is coming to rule the earth. The Almighty will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity. [Ps.98:9—the Psalm for Christmas Day]

And now, in the darkest hours of the night, during the season of the shortest days, in the era of exorbitant costs for health care and housing, there come glad tidings. Good news. The Messiah is coming to rule the earth. The Almighty will rule the world with justice and the peoples with equity. [Ps.98:9]

From Election Day through Epiphany, we who are Christians in the United States as 2004 rumbles into 2005 have had our global positioning systems fixed on good government. How do we get there? What route do we take? Psalm 80, for the fourth Sunday in Advent, beseeches,

“Give ear, O Shepherd of the people,
You who lead the divided people like a single flock!
You who are enthroned above all creation,
Shine forth, before the scattered tribes.
Awaken Your might, and come to save us!
Restore us, O God, to Your goodwill;
Let Your face shine upon us, that we may live.
O Holy One, God Almighty,
How long will You fume against Your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of sorrow,
And given them bitter tears to drink.
You make us a source of discord to our neighbors;
Our enemies deride us.
Restore us, O God Almighty;
Let Your face shine upon us, that we may live.”

The Psalm for Epiphany asks that God may reign through the anointed One on earth, stating, “The just ruler rescues the needy when they cry out, liberates the poor and those who have no helper. With compassion, the lives of the weak and the needy are restored, their lives delivered from oppression and violence, their blood deemed too precious to be shed.” [Ps. 72: 12-14]

These Psalms, these songs of freedom, redemption songs, cry out for all who contend with the shades of doubt and the phantoms of remorse that they may be embraced by the swift brightness of joy. These Psalms resound for all who slam into the unyielding walls of illness and fatigue that they may be assured that those barriers eventually dissolve in the constant mist of love; that hope is the doorway through pain.

These Psalms empower all who yearn for an end to killing and brutality, slow starvation and incessant exploitation, that they may dispel the traffic jams and open the roadways, fill up the valleys; level the hills; straighten out the crooked paths, and smooth out the rough passages so that all may run eagerly toward the One who is rushing toward us in holy exuberance to “gather the outcast . . . and bring you home.” [Zeph. 3:20].

                                                                  ~ Mary Susan

Your comments are welcome
Send to msgast@ncncucc.org