The face of Jesus
Have you seen him, have you imagined the face of Jesus!
Hundreds of artists have created work in all shapes and sizes presented in The Face of Jesus: An International Exhibit currently featured at the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The show has inspired men and woman of all ages to paint, print, and mold, the image of Jesus, the savior, the risen Christ. An extraordinary exhibit of mail art submitted by contemporary artists from 42 different countries and from forty one US States. More than 800 drawing, paintings and sculptures are featured.
The face of Jesus leaves an indelible imprint…
Walking With Doubt
Facing our limitations, our mortality, Letting Go, Fasting, Preparing to Dedicate ourselves to deeper faith…Doubting. These are the guideposts of the Lenten journey. Letting go of our own certainty…learning to put God and God’s Word at the center of our journey…that is the work of Lent. It is the work of being comfortable with Doubt. We let go of our certainty so that God has room to work. It is not an easy way of life, but it is OUR way of life. We are not called to have all the answers, we are called to act on our faith, even when we are uncertain.
Here is a song that gives voice to the Christian servant who is able to offer themselves to others WITHOUT being certain. Let us find strength in our doubts, O God, that we may rely on your Word and your Work, rather than our own certainty.
There WILL Be Light…
…So says the LORD, so says Hancock Church…
Today, on the darkest day of the year, we reflect on the very REAL presence of God’s Light in the world.
This is a 2 part reflection:
1. Hit play on the video below, and LISTEN to this song; a song sung by a family, weary from years of living in darkness, proclaiming against all evidence that, yes, THERE WILL BE LIGHT
2. While the song plays, scroll down this page to see the Light of God revealed through these snapshots of our family, hard at work bringing Light into the world. Try to scroll to the rhythm of the music. Take your time. Soak in the words and images together.
Truly, even in the darkest, coldest night…there will be light.
…so….let it shine!
Tidings of Comfort and Life-Changing JOY!
Joy seems to be the area of Advent that we are most comfortable with. The waiting seems difficult (we can hear the Monty Python refrain, “Get on with it!”), the preparing is mysterious (preparing for what exactly?). But Joy…even if it’s fleeting, even if it’s a singular Christmas carol, or a quick accidental delight that forces air from our chests in the form of a hearty “HA!” We get Joy. Even if it’s elusive, even if this time of year does not evoke it in us, we all know what we’re talking about with Joy, and it’s with great Joy that we finally get into the swing of Advent and propel full force into Christmas. At last…the preparation is over, we finally have something we can experience…something we all understand.
Right?
Pretty much all of our most popular and enduring Holiday/Christmas specials 
emphasize Joy as the ultimate expression of “what Christmas is all about.” Think about the flow of a typical Christmas story: You might see a character Hoping for something in the beginning, but if that hope hasn’t been joyously fulfilled by the end of the movie…well that just doesn’t feel like Christmas, does it? George Bailey goes on a journey to make Peace with his life, and he FINDS it, but the closing scene is anything but peaceful, as friends and family flock to his side, the Bailey’s home is joyously filled with music and laughter and ringing bells…and it feels oh so right. The same with Charlie Brown, Ebineezer Scrooge, even the Grinch; when they experience a love that grows or melts their hearts, the end result is not some abstract, quiet sense of love, but joyful celebration: singing and laughing and dining with friends. We don’t know Christmas without Joy, it is the culmination of the Advent journey, and without it, Christmas doesn’t feel right.
And yet…how does our actual Christmas story end? Is the sense of Joy that we expect from the finale of our favorite Christmas stories the same thing we encounter in the closing scene of THE Christmas story? I held that question in front of me as I read the story of the Anunciation for the umpteenth time…as I saw a scared and confused young woman being greeted by AN ANGEL…as the Angel said to her, “Mary, don’t be afraid…” as the Angel told her of unbelievable, extraordinary, terrifying things that God was doing TO her…and knowing that this part of the story concludes with a painful birth in a dirty stable on a cold, dark night…what is this gift of Joy that the Christ Child brings? Does having a “Holly Jolly Christmas” do it justice? Is it possibly something different than what we expect?
What we lose in the triumphant final moments of our favorite Christmas movies, as the music swells and our heart strings are pulled tight, is what 
happens NEXT. Scrooge, George, the Grinch, Kevin Mccalister, all of our Christmas heroes encounter extraordinary people, spirits, and events and these encounters don’t just make them happy…they lead to LIFE-CHANGING JOY. The power of these stories actually comes from what we can assume happens after the credits roll: Scrooge pays his staff generously, gives much needed donations to local children’s clinics, sends Tiny Tim to university, builds just and loving homes for wayward youth. George Bailey, refreshed and made new by the outpouring of love from his community, runs for office, working hard to provide affordable housing for all, turning Bedford Falls into a sacred space for everyone, and keeping all the future Mr. Potters of the world at bay. The Grinch uses his incredible intellect and strength to turn Whoville into the first carbon neutral town in all of Whodom; they use their expertise and excess resources to bring peace to all the world, and a new age of experiment and discovery as Who learns to make contact with alien life forms (that story continues in Horton Hears a Who).
The Joy of Christmas is not once a year…it’s not even once a day. The Joy that Mary births on Christmas is not just the Joy of delivering a healthy baby boy, not just the deep Joy of bearing the Son of God into the world, but a Joy that continues throughout her life as she lives and journeys with the incredible man 
and the amazing God that is her son. As we experience the Joy of Christmas, we cannot let it be the final scene of our story. We cannot allow our Christmas Joy to be swept into the trash can with all the wrapping paper, to disappear with the tree; we can’t allow December 26 to resemble December 23. We would never be able to stomach the thought of Scrooge “coming to his senses” on New Year’s, forgetting the lessons taught him by the Spirits of Christmas, and shutting the world out once again. We would be devastated to think that George Bailey tries to jump off that bridge every year for the rest of his life. And the Grinch…don’t get me started…there are so many tragic possibilities.
But these aren’t possibilities we have to entertain, because the Joy that we tell stories about at Christmas, the gift that we receive every day, is the gift of a God who makes all things possible…FOREVER. A God who says life will triumph over death, love will always overpower evil, and even in the darkest of night THERE WILL BE LIGHT. It’s a gift we have to be prepared to receive over and over again, day after day, so that our stories of Joy, Love, Peace, and Hope become, not one-time fits of generosity but an eterinty of Creative Justice and Deep Love in God’s Community. Forever and ever.
We all understand that’s the kind of Joy we’re talking about…right? I don’t 
know about you…but I’m grateful for a few more precious days to prepare…prepare to receive life-changing Joy.
Agnus Dei
“Behold the Lamb of God!”
According to the Gospel of John, John the Baptist proclaims this good news at the sight of Jesus at the Jordan River. Behold! The One God has sent to reveal to us light and love has arrived!
There is an ancient liturgical hymn based on this proclamation, called “Agnus Dei,” Latin for “Lamb of God.”
Are we prepared to receive God’s messengers, God’s prophets, God’s Beloved, God’s Good News?
Probably not. So Advent continues, as we close another week of becoming alert, watching, listening, awaiting…finding God’s light.
In the video below, you are invited to leave the hectic work week and focus on nothing but haunting tones, mysterious words, and brilliant images. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Sit. Watch. Listen.
Join the Conspiracy…
THE HANCOCK HOLIDAY FAIR is this Sunday at Hancock Church from 11:00a.m.-2:00p.m. It’s an opportunity to buy wonderful gifts to give our loved ones at Christmas while SIMULTANEOUSLY contributing to charities and justice organizations from around the world.
There’s a powerful, but, I believe, false narrative about people of faith during this time of year. It’s a narrative that tries to make us choose between being “consumers” and being “Christians.” So some folks get all up in arms about “rampant consumer culture,” while others feel like they are failing to live up to their call to “serve the poor, the outcast, the downtrodden.”
But this is the time of year when, as a community of faith, we wake up, and see through this false dichotomy, and we conspire together to be the embodiment of God’s Word IN The World. When we are fully awake, we are able to honor our complex identity as a people called to Holy Giving while Living Wholly. And here is a video from Advent Conspiracy that demonstrates how other Christian Communities throughout America are working to do the same. Let us remain vigilant, always searching for God’s call for us, not apart from the world, but at all times in our “ordinary” life choices. Join the Conspiracy.
Simple Paradox
Advent is a time of paradox: We simultaneously await God’s presence in our lives while celebrating that God’s presence is already to be found EVERYWHERE. God is revealed to us every day, in tiny ways, even as we are called to search for God’s Hidden Treasures throughout our day. It is a time of wonder and a time of discernment. It is a time for discovery and proclaiming what we already know to be true.
Today, take a few minutes to simply sit with this classic hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy” performed by alternative artist, Sufjan Stevens. (If you have the opportunity to listen to this outside, or while observing God’s creation out doors…even better!)
Reflect on the mysterious images of God that are used in the song. Allow the music to sweep you into wonder. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.
