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“Deadly Brinkmanship,” so describes a journalist’s take on Putin’s reputation as he threatens Ukrainian cities of chemical, biological, cyber, or nuclear weapons—”on special combat readiness”—As well as other nations that support his siege. Sounds like the bully across the lot, his slingshot aimed at the munchkin with the torn jacket giggling behind his back.
So, it’s about power ripped out of context like a sizzling electrical current gone haywire. This has happened before. History bristles with war; many have suffered losses of limb and life and identity, only to rebuild with innovative change and to start families within communities. Such upheavals evoke fresh courage and vision.
Those who do not survive, transition to other realms, their spirits afresh with lightness and emboldened by Jesus’s promise in the gospel of Matthew:
…And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Faith and trust in the Cosmic Christ liken us to the munchkin with the refreshing smile. Putin and his “Deadly Brinkmanship” disintegrate within the big picture of salvation—another figurehead wearing slick aviator shoes; some with pumps so as to appear taller.
From wintry darkness emerges the Old Testament prophet Zephaniah who concludes his short prophecy with a Psalm of Joy:
Yahweh your God is in your midst,
As a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
He will renew you by his love;
He will dance with shouts of joy for you
As on a day of festival.
These consoling interventions of Yahweh God are addressed to the anawim or lowly, poverty-stricken Jews living in Judea under the reign of the corrupt King Josiah in the seventh century, BCE. These are the remnant who remained faithful to the law of Moses; they’ve not engaged in the worship of Baal, a pagan goddess of agriculture, nor any filthy practices of their neighbors.
What precedes this Psalm of Joy, however, are Zephaniah’s condemnation of the religious and moral corruption of his people and the dire destruction of Judea on the Day of Yahweh. Underscoring these shattering pronouncements is Zephaniah’s sense of sin as a moral offence against the living God: abomination of abominations.
In my perception, nothing has changed much—even the scraggly street preacher (that I once saw while stopped at a red light) and his words, “Jesus saves! Jesus saves! “careening from his hand-held microphone under a sweltering sun.
Yet, this Psalm of Joy is included in today’s readings for the Third Sunday of Advent celebrated in the Christian liturgy. There’s still time to learn …
Imperceptibly, more darkness seeps into the next moment, withdraws warmth from what had been greening, prompts the extra sweater, necessitates switching on fixtures and headlights, even beclouds sinfulness. Months of this tenebrous world loom ahead, with months of deepening awareness, critical for maneuvering safely. Too many have experienced falls upon black ice, fender-benders, sickness.
Yet, darkness has its own riches: slowing down, observing the next step, relishing its womb-like embraces, marveling at starry nights, entering the realm of stillness, listening to heart-stirrings, discovering nuances of meaning, releasing tears. If opened to its dailyness, dreams emerge, shadowy bedrooms invite deeper sleep, senses of touch and hearing and smelling sharpen and recreate our world.
The prophet Isaiah speaks to this consoling mystery: I form the light and create the darkness. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Within such darkness, we learn to see, anew.
Heart Whisperings 