Sleeping in the Manger and in God's arms
First Written Article in Sojourners Magazine, Duke University Jazz Vespers
Hi everyone,
I pray that you are experiencing God smiling on you nonetheless.
There is so much I continually mourn, but there is also so much I celebrate. Just recently, my first authored Sojourners article for Advent was published, All Is Calm: Scripture’s Radical Call To Rest During Advent, in which I discuss different lessons on rest from Jesus’ birth narratives. You can read a sample of it here. (I’m thankful that it was the cover piece for the Sojourners December 2023 magazine. God has been kind.) I pray its insights serve you as the church and greater world gear up for this ironically strenuous time of year. May all be calm.
Last night I had the privilege of offering Notes of Rest in Duke University Chapel for their Jazz Vespers service. (For the music nerds here, playing their was Bösendorfer was so dope.) ‘Twas a joy to serve the Research Triangle with musically-grounded reflections on God’s vision for sleep. You can watch the recorded livestream here.
Afterwards, a brotha named Feyi came up to me and remarked that a child had fallen asleep in his father’s arms during the service. Given the topic of the night, the observer reflected on what that image taught him about sleep. It didn’t matter how the child felt about his father in that moment - what ultimately mattered was that he was tired enough to sleep. This reminded the observer of our relationship with God: no matter how we ultimately feel about God, we fall asleep in God’s protective embrace.
His insight underscored to me God’s grace to us. No matter how we feel about God, or have done to God or God’s creation, God still protects us from all kinds of dangers when we are sleeping. No amount of money or political status can shield us against all harm; it is always a gift that we ever wake up.
But the observation also was a call to action. How many people suffer from sleep deprivation, be it due to war, food insecurity, or trauma? Adequate sleep is a justice issue, though often not seen as such. We all need sleep, and yet so many of us are systemically denied it by the evils of this world. How would the world look if there were just sleep practices? What would have to change in our appetites and rhythms for that to be so?
As I mention in the Sojourner piece, we are entering the longer nights and shorter days of the winter season meaning there is more time to sleep. I pray that we can use this time both to thank God for protecting us in sleep and to work with God to protect sleep for those for whom this gift is especially precarious.
abundantly,
Julian
What’s Next
Nov 10-12 Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few at the Jazz Showcase (Chicago)
Nov 13 Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few at Bronzeville Winery (Chicago)
Nov 16 Julian Davis Reid’s Circle of Trust at The Jazz Showcase (Chicago)
Nov 29 Ministering at First United Methodist Church of Oak Park, IL
Dec 31 Notes of Rest at Evanston Vineyard (Chicago)
Dec 31 The JuJu Exchange at Dorian’s for New Year’s Eve