JR. Forasteros - December 3, 2017
Superman Messiah
How often in our preparations for Christmas do we forget to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ? While the prophet Isaiah prays that God will tear open the heavens and come to us, Jesus instead comes humbly, in ways we least expect. How can we be alert and attentive this Advent season so we don't miss when Jesus comes among us?
From Series: "To Be Continued"
Advent is the season in which we prepare to welcome Jesus into the world. It's a season of hope - the light has not come, but it is coming into the world. It's the time of day just before the sun peeks over the horizon. As we anticipate Jesus' birth, we come to realize that God's story didn't end at Christmas - it was only beginning. And the story is still being told today - a story of love, hope and promise. What does it mean to say that God is still telling the great story of love through us?
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
Powered by Series Engine
This sermon was written and delivered by Rev. Sonya Brown.
You’ve heard the phrase, “Representation matters!”, haven’t you? What does the lack of proper cultural representation look like? I was maybe 5 and my sister was 6. My parents were driving us back from our grandparents’ house on the Navajo Reservation. We saw a couple of tepees set up near a house. My sister and I both jumped up with excitement and said, “LOOK!” “TEPEES!” “Let’s stop there and see the Indians.” Our mom and dad said, “You both are Indians. You are Navajo!” My sister and I disagreed. “NOOOOO! We’re not Indian. “We don’t jump around and say, ‘hey, nay ya’ or ‘how.’ We don’t join war parties and raid settlers. We’re not drunken Indians who drink fire water.”
Can you guess where two little rez girls would get the idea of that type of “Indian?”
Us rez kids, who are people who grew up on a reservation set up by the United States Government, have searched and found where proper representation can happen. There was the movie Thunderheart that came out in 1992 with Graham Green and Val Kilmer. The movie Powwow Highway was released in 1988. Dance Me Outside was released in 1994. The Outlaw Josey Wales was released in 1976 and has Clint Eastwood and Chief Dan George. These are just a few that we watched growing up.
I am excited that there has been better cultural representation in television with Reservation Dogs. Sadly, Peacock canceled Rutherford Falls.
We hear about diversity at work, school, maybe church, and in daily conversations we might have with one another. The lack of diversity may go unnoticed if what you watch, participate in, or your social groups you are part of reflects your own ethnicity or cultural background.
Diversity needs to be seen. It’s nice to see diversity in television and films. It’s also much better to be included in a community that values diversity.
In that light, for this series, we wanted to bring back a beloved segment. During the pandemic, we did a “Cooking with Catalyst” video, where JR. taught us to make pasta while talking about the nature of good.
I invited JR. and Nathan to visit me so I could teach them how to make Navajo tacos, which is a dish that is a staple of Native culture all over the country. Enjoy!
The Navajo taco is the story of the Navajo people on a plate – it’s about how we used creativity and resilience to endure and thrive in the face of conquest and genocide. And it’s about how we welcome people no matter who they are or where they come from.
Navajo tacos illustrate the good news of diversity. Diversity is important because all people should be included. Diversity makes us better.
