Through Stained Glass: Advent Word a Day--Teach

In her book "Freeing Jesus," Diana Butler Bass notes that "Of the ninety or so times Jesus is addressed directly in the New Testament, roughly sixty refer to him as 'teacher,' 'rabbi,' 'great one,' or 'master' (as in the British sense of 'schoolmaster')." (page 29)

Teach

The timber of Logan County has become my sanctuary. As I mentioned in my first Advent post, I go to the woods to empty myself of all the thoughts in my head. At Kickapoo Park, we must cross a field to get to the trail the dogs, and I take. As we go, Chloe usually stops and rolls, a ritual I adore. Tecumseh puts his nose to the ground and inspects who has gone before us. And I breathe: inhaling God's mercy and exhaling my anxiety. We go slow enough for me to release whatever distractions and leave them among the fallen leaves.

The woods teach me about the world's aliveness [yes, that reads/sounds strange, but it is intentional]. Even here in little ole Lincoln, Illinois, and Logan County. The woods teach me about my connection to the living world around me. How my decisions impact the local ecology – I learn about my interconnectedness to this living place.

One of my teachers in the woods is the Whitetail Deer. I encounter them at both Kickapoo and Madigan. I meet them more viscerally at Madigan. The trails go deep into the timber, often unvisited by creatures like me. In the thicket during this time of year, the Deer teach me about community. November is a busy month for Deer. The Does are foraging for food, fattening up for winter – coming into estrus/rut in the fall. Bucks set out as solitary travelers in November, ranging their claimed territory and marking it profusely. His actions are reckless as male Deer engage in sparring matches and advertise their virility.

The rut season, coming from the Latin term for 'roar,' is a multi-sensory experience. Does recognize the Bucks' behavior and chooses the one that will give them strong fawns. They seek Him. He chases them. In the twenty-four-hour window when a Doe will mate, she and the Buck of the moment enact a ritual of motion, touch, sound, and scent before coming together.

Their vigorous and elaborate dance engrosses Whitetail Deer in early Advent. [1] After this dance, they rest briefly, eat little, move, and move some more, driven to re-create themselves.

The Woods – Creation – teaches me about God's re-creation. God calls us to participate in the renewal and transformation of the world. The Woods teach me it takes a village to bring about life. But the Woods, especially the Deer, teach me about community. When the rut is over, the Deer huddle back together. They regroup – Bucks together, Does together – and, before deep snow hobbles them, follow memory's thread to white cedar swamps, where the cover of the trees and bushes provide them shelter and protection.

Today is Giving Tuesday. I give thanks to God for First Presbyterian Church of Illinois. You all continue to teach me about God's love, Christ's mercy, and the Spirit's imagination. I go to the woods to learn about the world's aliveness; I also go into your presence to experience the fullness of God's love. Your hearts, hands, and resources continue to bring God's love to Lincoln and Logan County, making up just a beautiful portion of the tapestry of this part of creation.

If you would like to give to our ministry this Giving Tuesday, you can do so here on our website. 

  [1] Gayle Boss. "All Creation Waits." Paraclete Press: Brewster, MA, 2016,) page 14.