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we did  a lectio divina exercise tonight at church as part of our advent series.  we read Psalm 146 together.  as a part of the exercise you are supposed to read, or listen, and pay attention to what stands out to you.  what stood out to me was a phrase that seems to be in every advent reading we've had so far: (v. 7, NLT) "[the Lord] gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry."

i can't seem to get away from this theme this Christmas...

...on that note i was able to hang out with my friend on James on thursday.  we haven't been able to connect since i got engaged...he'd heard about it somehow, but i got to fill him in the whole story.

here's a sample of the conversation (keep in mind that james does not have the best hearing):

james: "so you gonna be moving?"

"yeah," i said, " to boston."

james: "oh, man...i got some rowdy friends down there"

me: "down there?"

james: "yeah, you know it gets pretty hot in texas."

me: "texas?"

james:" yeah, austin."

me: "no, not austin...boston...like massachusetts."

james: "oh, hell, i never been there."

i took advantage of the opportunity  to ask james about his future and aspirations (since we were on the topic of futures).  here are his two visions for his future:

1) buy 5-6 llamas to use as pack animals and spend the rest of his life exploring the Yukon

2) run for the durango city council on the platform of low environmental impact jobs and affordable housing.

what i loved is that james was not just "bs"ing me.  he was being quite serious and has clearly thought about both of these paths.  i felt bad because at first i thought he was joking and i didn't take him seriously...but he was being very honest with me.  

this was another one of those moments where i didn't really do anything strategic...i don't know how much "justice was brought to the oppressed"...i bought james a cup of coffee but this wasn't about meeting a "need."  i do wonder, though, if anyone else in his life asks him about his hopes and dreams for the future, and then doesn't laugh at him when he does share them.  conversation over a meal can bring a sense of dignity that few other moments can.  

i think i am still learning a lot about what it means to bring hope and justice to people who are in desperate need of it, but for some reason i cannot escape it this Christmas season.