forget Quirinius

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Originally Published in the Port Aransas South Jetty Newspaper

Remember Quirinius? He was so powerful in his day; Governor of Syria during the first Census under Emperor Augustus. And surely you remember Augustus! The Emperors were like gods in their day. The most powerful, the highest office, the eyes of the world were on them.

It was into that context, with all eyes on Rome, God was born in Jesus Christ. His birth was not really even noticed by anyone outside his family, at the time. Except for a few foreign Magi who were paying close attention. But that's in Matthew's Gospel, and Quirinius is in Luke's. St. Luke seems to offer the governor's name as a time stamp, or to point out that things that seemed to be really important in their time were happening, but the focus of the Gospel moves far away from Augustus and Quirinius, and even past Jerusalem. The attention is on the Good News happening in Bethlehem, where something earth shaking was taking place. Something that would actually change the world forever, and leave Quirinius a forgotten name on a census.

I know this is a little early for Christmas, but it is an important reminder as our nation turns all its attention to who will reign in Washington DC, and anxiety rises as people put more and more energy into the next Emperor in our own day. I don't want to belittle the importance of elections and I encourage you to vote your conscience in the election, but as a religious person, remember it's not the most important thing.

Turn your attention, instead to what is truly important. Find where is God's presence being born into the world. Where is the Bethlehem of our own time? What is being missed? In the scale of eternity, there are much more important, and lasting matters that will be remembered beyond the name of a particular governor of a particular region.

photo from Episcopal News Service
I have a sense that one of those mostly unnoticed places that God is at work right now is in Standing Rock, North Dakota, where Native Americans, and religious people are standing up to protect their land against our government that has trampled so many treaties time and time again. Bishop Michael Curry, my Presiding Bishop, has invited the church to stand with the people protecting their land against an oil pipeline that will cross through their land and go under the Missouri River. While it has some environmental implications, it is mostly about honoring a trust that has been broken time and time again. My Bishop believes it is worth gathering as many people in Standing Rock as possible. He believes it is of spiritual importance, and as most things of spiritual importance, there is not a lot of media coverage, all eyes are on Washington D.C.

I may not be able to personally go to Standing Rock, but I want you to know about one instance where God is at work in the world; when all the attention is on the Quirinius of our day. Where do you find Good News, and where is God at work in your world? Find that, and you will be tuned into the Kingdom of God, instead of the temporal rulers of this world.

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