Nativity Notes: Turn that Down!

Nativity Notes

October 18, 2019

From the Dean

I wrote this two years ago. I was reminded of it recently by one of you. It is a bit edited for our current day.

Turn that down!

Some know that when I was first ordained I lived in an apartment located in the buildings where our diocesan offices are located. I remember fondly my routine on Friday late afternoons of putting on comfy clothes, grabbing myself a beer or beverage, turning up my music (usually U2) and catching my breath. One Friday late in the afternoon following my routine my phone rang. A pleasant but directed voice said, “Tony, this is Bill. I am trying to get some work done, can you turn that music down?”. The voice belonged to Bill Lewellis, then the communications director for the diocese, whose office unfortunately for him, was located directly under my “pad”.

Nowadays, I find that I have some hearing loss. I suffer from tenatis and typically have a pretty solid whistle flowing consistently in my ears. I find that I am not able to stand very loud music, the sound of it once enjoyed and exhilarating, now just muffles and echoes, is distorted and undistinguishable. I often just have to Turn it down. Bummer.

I find these days that the amount of noise out there in our society right now is just a bit overwhelming. I am guessing it might be for you too. The noise I am particularly referring to is all of the noise of our great divide. The politicization of just about everything actually. The direct intentional strategy of political machinery to pit us against one another. The strategy typically pounces on a noble tenet of ideology woven deep in our psyche and being, but manipulatively plucks away at it like an overtaxed muscle in our body until it is enflamed, frustrated, and causing pain making us ornery and ready to strike out at some target. The noise of divide whistles like tenatis in our ears, making it impossible for us to actually listen to one another. All we can think and desire is…………Turn that down!

Well, I won’t pretend for a minute that somewhere in all of that noise is really important stuff. I cannot for example, stop hear the voices of Kurds now vulnerable and being killed in Syria. I cannot turn that down particularly because we are connected to a family of Kurds who have found love and liberty right here in our midst. This is their family and their friends now in danger’s way, and they are hurting, and because they are hurting, we hurt with them. We do have before us the important work to truly engage and love our neighbors by understanding them better. Opportunities to LISTEN to other people’s lives in ways that helps us respect their dignity, opportunities to find courage to find our “better angels” and stand on the side of justice for every human being. It seems to me we have just lost our ability to hear. I thought perhaps rather than participating in the modality of the day which is to focus on what I might be “against” thus inviting us to stand against one another, I might just remind we Christian people in the Episcopal version of the Jesus movement, what it is we are FOR. Perhaps you will recognize this.

Celebrant Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?