Council of Elders Advent Reflections
by Rev. Elder
Ines-Paul Baumann


Third Sunday of Advent
Don’t believe the lies. It wasn’t a silent night. The city was full, bustling with activity as people arrived for the census. No doubt people were catching up with friends and family. Mary was in labor. Her cries and his newborn cries would have pierced any quiet there might have been. Months earlier, Mary cried out in praise. Elizabeth and the baby John within her womb responded to Mary and the presence of Divine Love. Mary’s “Magnificat” is a song of power and hope. Mary knew the truth and would not be silenced. She sang out claiming the Divine Power within her. Are you silenced by your circumstances? Do you silence others? Do you claim your reality and your power? Do you respond to the Christ Spirit in others?

From the “2018 ADVENT TOOLKIT for MCC CHURCHES”

It was one of my earliest failures as a “good Christian”: Quiet time. All the good Christians got up early (looooong before breakfast) to pray and to read the bible. Every good Christian but me. I used to fall asleep. I tried and tried and tried. Honestly, I really was willing to give not only my life to Jesus, but even my mornings!

It started me thinking. And I realized: Obviously I would need a God who would not only prepare the day with me, but who was with me during the entire day. I had to rely on God‘s presence not only in advance of daily routines and challenges, but in the midst of them. I would need an awareness of God‘s presence not only in early morning‘s silence, but also in the noise of the day. If I wanted to find God‘s presence in my daily life, then I couldn‘t find God presence only in the absence of daily life.

With great relief I read the gospels. Sure, they have their moments of silence, their quiet times. But most of the time, people find Jesus in the midst of life. On the streets. In the margins. In the midst of suffering and annoyances. While eating and drinking, walking and discussing, or tearing down the roof of a house. (Imagine a worship service in the midst of construction work and dust! “Pssst! How can we listen to Jesus when you make such a noise!!!”) Jesus didn’t silence them. He listened, he answered, he shared their daily life. And when they were all covered with dust from the broken ceiling, he held a healing session.

MCC also reflects both for me. Yes, we can find God’s holy presence in the awe of silence and quietness. But we also find God’s holy presence in the midst of our lives, our struggles, our neighbors, our voices and all the “construction work” our world demands. It may get dirty and loud when walls are taken down, especially those that want to keep us away from justice, diversity and God’s love. How often people are asked to be silent – not only IN church, but also silenced BY church. Not only for the moment of a worship service, but for their whole lives.

But God didn’t become flesh in order to ask us to turn away from being flesh, from our reality, from our needs, or from each other. On Christmas we celebrate that we can meet God within the flesh, within our reality, within our needs, and within each other. In Jesus, God became human. Let’s be followers!

Metropolitan Community Churches is celebrating 50 Years!

Founded in 1968,   Metropolitan Community Churches   (MCC) has been at the vanguard of civil and human rights movements by addressing issues of race, gender, sexual orientation, economics, climate change, aging, and global human rights. MCC was the first to perform same gender marriages and has been on the forefront of the struggle towards marriage equality in the USA and other countries worldwide. MCC recognizes a state of need around the world in the areas of human rights and justice, including the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer communities. As people of faith, MCC endeavors to build bridges that liberate and unite voices of sacred defiance. MCC leads from the margins and transforms.

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