PRAY
Christmas Pie
Enemy Pie
I might have 10 or 12....
I can still see it now. My older sister Mary, opening a small gift,
that was stuck in the branches of the Christmas tree.
It was about the size of a 6-inch ruler... 15 centimetres.
She tore off the paper, and held up a small plaque.
Smiling she turned it around so we could all see,
and then looked at Dad and said sarcastically:
‘Thanks Dad’.
In bold letters it said: BLESS THIS MESS!
Now it could have been the way Mary kept her room,
or her desk... or the fact that she shared those things with me....
Or the mess might have been about her recent adventure
... making Christmas Pie.
Oh, the pie was delicious... not pretty, but delicious.
The kitchen was beyond a mess! I am sure I helped with that one too!
Imagine at least ten bowls... piled in the sink,
all the spoons and every spatula covered with the gooiest fruit
and flour on every surface... even the clock.
Now a mess can be clutter... things out of place...
or it can mean chaos.
There are times in our lives when things just feel like a mess,
everything is chaotic, rushed and somewhat out-of-control.
Christmas is often the most hectic, chaotic, and messy time of the year.
Sometimes we find it hard to believe that God is a part of all this,
or that God could possibly bless this chaotic and congested time.
But it was in... just such a time as this...
that Jesus came in the first place.
The Jewish nation was struggling to keep its independence and strength
during the rule of the Roman Empire.
There were conflicts and rebellions.
I wonder if Mary and Elizabeth ever thought of the
circumstances of their lives... as a mess?
Anyone knowing the situation of young Mary,
might have been praying for her and the mess she found herself in.
Yet, God blessed Mary in a messy time of her life;
we might call it a holy mess.
And anyone knowing the situation of... the rather senior Elizabeth,
might have been praying for her and the mess she found herself in.
And God blessed Elizabeth in a messy time of her life;
also a holy mess.
Scholars say Mary was likely about 14 years old;
and Elizabeth would have been in her 80’s.
I think we can learn from Mary and Elizabeth,
how to make the mess... holy.
Elizabeth was pregnant in her old age,
and her spouse Zechariah was suddenly unable to speak;
yet they remained faithful, trusting that God was a part of the messy miracle.
Mary and Joseph were only engaged
and Joseph knew he was not the father of the child.
Mary was visited by an angel who told her about the identity of her baby.
Joseph was also visited by an angel, who told him to go ahead and marry Mary.
Mary said yes, and Joseph said yes,
and they remained faithful, trusting that God was a part of the messy miracle.
When we lean into God in the messy parts of life,
and look for God of Love and for the good in all situations –
we will not be disappointed... and the mess will not control us.
As I thought about Mary’s ‘Bless This Mess’ plaque,
and the terrific mess we created making Christmas Pie...
my thoughts wondered to the making of another kind of pie.
Derek Munson tells the story of a young child, we’ll call C.J.
who writes a name on the clubhouse wall...
he writes the name
Jeremy Ross,
under the words: Enemy #1.
You see... Jeremy didn’t ever smile at C.J,
stole.... C.J.’s best friend,
and caught his ‘sure home run’ by a fluke.
C.J. shares his woes about Jeremy with his Dad,
and Dad says he know how to get rid of enemies,
and promises to make - Enemy Pie.
Dad will not share the recipe, but C.J. imagines
rotting vegetables, worms and other smelly things.
Yet the pie smells really good and C.J. nods with understanding.
Trick the enemy into eating the pie.
But how it works C.J. is not sure,
but he doesn’t really like his part in the plan.
For one day... one whole day, you must be really nice to your enemy,
and then invite them to dinner and Enemy Pie.
As you well can imagine, CJ and the enemy...
become friends... and enemy pie is no longer necessary.
In the mess of life, being really nice and sharing pie,
can make a difference.
Being nice, sharing pie and building relationships,
makes a difference to how life unfolds.
Remaining faithful, trusting that God is a part of each messy miracle,
makes a difference.
Working at love, leaning into the Holy Divine,
and sharing our lives with others... create space for miracles.
The Prophet Micah, promises that we shall be fed in the strength of God.
Jesus is promised as the ‘One of peace and love ’.
Love is a gift. Working at Love is a part of the gift.
Remember the spinning tops.
Let the mess in you, or around you, or thrown at you....
become a manger to receive the Christ Child.
Let any emptiness be filled with the Spirit of Christmas
that is our God; Emmanuel –
with us, in us, through us, and beyond us ... Emmanuel.
Open yourselves to the sacred in the ordinary stuff of life.
Open yourselves, to the present moment,
for it is here and now that the reality of the One who is LOVE
longs to be born in you.
This is the Hope, the Peace, the Joy... the Love of Christmastime.
Soon we shall ‘hail the blessed morn,
For the Christ shall be born in Bethlehem.
