"FOR THE TIME BEING"

“FOR THE TIME BEING”

            In November, Caroline and I went to meet with the Society of St. Anna the Prophet in Atlanta to talk about Ida B. Wells and “Passionate for Justice.”  The Society is a group of lay and ordained Episcopal women over the age of 50 who are living the Christian life within vows of simplicity, creativity, and balance.  Some are single, and some are married, partnered, divorced, and widowed.  They have dedicated themselves to ministries of compassion, justice, and equity.  My co-author, Catherine Meeks, is a member of this society.  In our discussion, these women were engaged and engaging, and their commitment and work reminded me of Ida Wells, who remained in such work all of her life.  Wells was Baptist, African Methodist Episcopal, and Presbyterian in her lifetime, and she did this kind of work in the name of Jesus.

            The Society is named after Anna who encounters the baby Jesus when his parents bring him to the Temple to be dedicated. The story is at the end of Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.   She is a widow and is old (84), and yet she is at the Temple daily, worshipping and fasting.  After she encounters the Holy Family, she begins to praise God and to tell others about God’s commitment to them and to us in this baby, in the Incarnation.  Luke also calls her a prophet – she had ears to hear, a heart to receive, and the will and imagination to find ways to proclaim that God’s justice, equity and compassion are the heart of the universe. 

            The Christmas season is beginning to tip towards its end, with one more blog next week on the end of the story in Matthew’s gospel for Epiphany.  In this twelve day process, we slowly allow ourselves to return to the ‘normal” life, wondering why we can’t sustain the good feelings of Christmas.   As we think about this journey, let us remember St. Anna the Prophet, and our call to receive and consider this baby and his call to justice, compassion, and equity, as she received the message and shared it. 

            The British poet W. H. Auden shone light on this process in his long work “For the Time Being,”  written in 1941, and here’s part of it:

            “Well, so that is that.  Now we must dismantle the tree,

            Putting the decorations back into their cardboard boxes –

            Some have gotten broken – and carrying them up to the attic.

            The holly and the mistletoe must be taken down and burnt,

            And the children got ready for school.  There are enough

            Left-overs to do, warmed-up, for the rest of the week –

            Not that we have much appetite, having drunk such a lot,

            Stayed up so late, attempted – quite unsuccessfully –

            To love all our relatives, and in general

            Grossly overestimated our powers.  Once again

            As in previous years we have seen the actual Vision and failed

            To do more than entertain it as an agreeable

            Possibility, once again we have sent Him away,

            Begging though to remain His disobedient servant,

            The promising child who cannot keep His word for long.

            The Christmas feast is already a fading memory,

            And already the mind begins to be vaguely aware

            Of an unpleasant whiff of apprehension at the thought

            Of Lent and Good Friday which cannot, after all, now

            Be very far off.  But, for the time being, here we all are.”