Dwelling
Luke 2:41-52
This week we encounter the story of Jesus sticking around a bit longer in the temple of Jerusalem even though his family moved on. In this Christmas season, I guess we could draw amusing comparisons to the movie, “Home Alone.” We could joke about how Jesus' snark "Smells like Teen Spirit." We could note that this is the first sign of Jesus demonstrating his potential as the promise messiah and Emmanuel, or "God with us." We could do a lot of things. But this week I want to settle on the fact that Jesus needed to dwell a little longer in the temple. Certainly longer than his family did.
"Dwelling" or a "abiding" isn't a word we use much anymore. Dwelling is also one of those words that can be a noun AND a verb. Legally, it is a term that is used a lot around issues like affordable housing and homelessness. Ironically, the word "dwelling" is at the root of why we have not begin our Safe Parking ministry at Lakewood UMC given how certain ordinances in Lakewood's Municipal Code are written to include the word as a way to criminalize using a motor vehicle "not designed for occupancy as a dwelling."
So a dwelling is a place we live in. It's a place we might spend a longer period of time in than just an hour or two. But dwelling is also something we do. When we dwell on something we linger. We remain. We wait. We abide with. Jesus abided with other teachers and scholars in the temple because something in him knew he needed more time to spend in the scriptures and in study about his faith.
Maybe I am just writing this blog post for myself, but today--this week. The week of December 22, 2021, I find myself needing to dwell on something different than the barrage of pessimism I am feeling about COVID-19, our nation's ability to invest our tax dollars for the public good at home (we spend it on the military just fine, thank you very much), our spiraling societal regression and addiction to violence and anger and enemies, our tendency to have contempt on the poor, and gosh, many other things.
I need to dwell on something different. It's beginning to affect my sleep and my optimism. I thought last year's christmas would be strange, but this year is even stranger for me. I need to dwell on something different.
I don't know about anyone else, but I really need to dwell on hope. Because in doing so, I can be reminded on God's abundance and the opportunity for good to still abide with us here on the corner of 14th and Brentwood. Hope that we have substantial things we can do to make our corner of this city better than it was. Hope that we can house some folks, or atleast create a more stable sleeping situation for them if they are living in their car. Hope that we can create beauty in our parking lot with a garden and space for our community to gather peaceably. Hope that the future is not as bleak as it might feel when I pay attention to the news.
What do you find when you dwell on hope? I hope you will join us on Christmas Eve and on Sunday, December 26. I will be wearing my pajamas on the 26th, and I invite you to do so as well!
