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Bill Cavanaugh has recently published a collection of essays entitled, Migrations of the Holy: God, State, and the Political Meaning of the Church. Bill's thesis is both simple and profound, deeply theological and historical: "The kinds of public devotion formerly associated with Christianity in the West never did go away, but largely migrated to a new realm defined by the nation-state" (p. 1). I have yet to read the whole book (my stack keeps growing), but the thesis, though controversial, should not be. Regina Schwartz, Sacramental Poetics at the Dawn of Secularism: When God Left the World documents the same historical transition in England. Any scholar of the French Revolution and the Constitutional Church will tell you the same. Secularism is a Christian heresy, the replacement of the church by the European nation-state as the ultimate source for human allegiance (faith).

Which brings me to Thanksgiving in the United States. The history of the national "holy day" Thanksgiving usually starts with the story of a "fall festival" in "New England" of the dissenting Protestants. Yet the real source of the contemporary practice of Thanksgiving that shifts writes social scripts that we all live out goes back into the era of World War II when Thanksgiving was instituted as a matter of federal law (although it was not observed in all states at the same time for over a decade!) as the last Thursday of November.

The reason for the federal establishment of this "holy day" is interesting to note. F.D.R. established the date as a means of economic stimulus -- by placing it before the first Sunday of Advent, he hoped to use the date to encourage consumption -- thus the famous "Macy's Parade" reaches its end in having Santa show up at the downtown store. Movement from a dissenting tradition "federal covenant" festival to the beginning of the consumer holiday of the "Christmas season" reached its completion under the calendar authority of the federal government of the United States. The state determines "feast-days" or "holy days" -- not the church to shape the devotional practices of the populace. One sees the confirmation of Cavanaugh's thesis.

Yet one can trace it deeper. "Thanksgiving" of course is the English translation for "eucharist" -- the center of Christian worship in the believers participation in the body and blood of Jesus Christ in memory of his death and resurrection. The church's thanksgiving requires the Triune God, rather than a "moralistic relational deity" of the United States whom we give thanks for the benefits that we bear within the realm of immanence. One traces the movement of Cavanaugh's migration to the dissenting Protestant tradition movement to a strictly memorial view of the Eucharist that eventually can be divorced from Jesus -- giving thanks loses its central Christological focus as the shift moves into humans as the one's who "remember" rather than what God has done.

Yet the transformations take deeper implications as a result of the nation-state's cooptation of the historic church's calendar. Advent is literally "to the coming" -- it focuses on the last clause of the confession of the "mystery of our faith" -- that "Christ will come again." It is a penitential time, related ultimately to Epiphany and the baptism of Jesus -- a time for initiation of new believers into the faith in light of Christ's return and judgment. There are "twelve days of Christmas" between December 25th and January 6th -- Advent is not the Christmas season, but has been made it by the "migration of the holy" by FDR's attempt to use the dissenting traditions movement of the Eucharist to a the federal covenant to a national festival to encourage economic spending. The whole rhythm and purpose of human life becomes transformed.

I am thankful for this break at the end of November -- I'm always tired from the fall's activities and welcome the time to gather with my family and rest away from the rhythm's of the regular week. I do, however, dread the time as a pastor. Jenna M. and Alison W. worked hard to staff our shelter if it rained this weekend -- we have all "migrated" and thus need to hold each other up in the work of the congregation. Sunday our celebration of Advent will be muted, as again, we are scattered in various geographical areas. Our solidarity as a congregation is weakened as a result of the nation-state's authority to change Christian festivals in order to bolster its authority. We need to develop prudence in order to receive the good of this break but not let it corrupt our bodies from the "Great Thanksgiving" in the coming of Christ in the Lord's Supper.

Posted by johnwright at 10:58 AM

The past weeks have been full as usual. I have work to do on Marriage and Sexuality in the Early Church -- really interesting material. It seems to me that one finds in these teachings how the church's practice of sexuality and marriage was part of the politics of the church -- and cannot be understood outside the complex of networks in which it lived, to sustain its witness amid the nations.

The real point, however, for this brief note is to announce that "The Colossian Forum" site is now up and public (www.colossianforum.net). The site is overseen by Jamie (James K. A. Smith) and I have the wonderful gift to regularly contribute to the site. I'll probably dual post some of the time, but I'd encourage you to go over and check it out. It will regularly have updates and items.

I have several entries up -- including evidence that I've been watching the "cold fusion" project of Andrea Rossi emerge over the last months. Most importantly, however, is a piece that I wrote summarizing some of the reading that I've been doing on "emerging adulthood."

Again it's a wonderful gift to participate in such an endeavor with such a fine organization!

Posted by johnwright at 1:14 PM