The Bite in the Apple
It was less than two weeks before Christmas. And in the most powerful country the world has ever known (these are not my words, they are the theme song of a number of presidential candidates), a debate raged on national television for two hours. What kind of bombs should we drop on Syria? Atomic, or non? How many? In cities or not? And what about the wall on the southern border? Who’s the best builder? And who should pay? And as for refugees, who should be ruled out? And who should screen them? And as for diplomacy, should we start talking now, or not until after carpet bombing and putting boots on the ground? Or stop talking altogether?
The fear of dangerous strangers loomed over everyone, and lurks over the nation. And no matter that, here in San Bernardino, and in Paris, the terrorists were native citizens, graduates of our schools, neighborhood kids. Yes, Tashfeen Malik was an imported bride, not a custom I like a lot, but Americans have been importing brides for generations. Donald Trump’s father did it, marrying his Scottish mother, who was here on vacation but not living here when they met.
Malik, a morally repugnant woman who intentionally orphaned her six month old child, deserves to be decried in Moslem pulpits around the world.
But why is the horde of American GOP candidates, church-going Christians all, spending Advent emulating Herod the King?
Perhaps our Advent services have become so garlanded with choir recitals and kiddie pageants that people never hear the story that lies at the center of things:
That Mary and Joseph, who were safe and secure at home, chose to answer an invitation from God which made them strangers in a strange city and then in a strange land.
An invitation that cost them shelter and safety and rendered them poor, helpless refugees. 
An invitation that provoked meanness in many, and extraordinary kindness in some.
An invitation that made their lives worth as little as the animals among whom they sheltered and in whose hay their baby lay, and as much as humankind is worth.
An invitation that brought out Herod’s army, in a villainy the world remembers still – the Slaughter of Innocents, in the name of the Public Good.
All of this was the Way in which the Child of God came into our world.
We are called by this story to open wide our doors, our arms, our hearts, our welcome. We are called to follow, for this is the only way to Bethlehem.
Martin Luther once wrote, The manger is a rough hewn thing, but if you want to see the Christ Child, you must look into it.
And W. H. Auden, concluded his Christmas Oratorio, For the Time Being:
He is the Way.
Follow Him in the Land of Unlikeness.
You will see rare beasts and have unique adventures.
He is the Truth.
Seek Him in the Kingdom of Anxiety;
You will come to a great city that has expected your return for years.
He is the Life.
Love Him in the World of the Flesh;
And at your marriage all its occasions shall dance for joy.
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Illustrations:
1. Mary and Joseph Traveling to Bethlehem. Still image from an LDS video on You Tube.
2. Traveling to Bethlehem. Clip Art image, LDS Christian art.
3. Herod: King of the Jews, Friend of the Romans. image from centuryone.com.
4. The Flight into Egypt by Giotto di Bondone (1304-06, Scrovegni Chapel, Padua). image from enwikipedia.org
5. For the Time Being, performance poster.
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