The developers of the liturgical calendar wisely created a twelve day period to celebrate and contemplate the birth of Christ: December 25 - January 5. The Western Church celebrates the birth of Jesus on December 25, then marks the visit of the magi and/or the beginning of Jesus' public ministry on Epiphany, January 6. The Eastern Church celebrates the birth of Jesus on January 6. The twelve days of the Christmas season come on the heels of the four Sundays of the Advent Season whose focus is the coming of Christ. Both seasons are times of reflection, calling us to reflect on the wonder of Christ's birth and, therein, to reflect on the mystery of the incarnation.
In contrast, the cultural calendar begins its promotion before Thanksgiving Day. Once Christmas Day is over, it has already moved on to focus on the next holiday, New Years Day. Its Christmas focus is full of hurry, not stillness. It is full of busyness, not reflection. It focuses on sentimentality, not mystery. Its objective is economic gain, not relationship with God. It is over in a flurry of unwrapping of gifts.
May this fifth day of Christmas lead you into deeper awe and wonder as you reflect on God's gift to us, God's own Self, wrapped in human flesh as a helpless, vulnerable infant. Of course, this benediction assumes you are following the liturgical calendar, not the cultural one.
Saturday, December 28, 2019
Sunday, December 22, 2019
4th Sunday of Advent, December 22, 2019 - A Voice Crying Out in Prayer
Sometimes
the cry is that of a lone voice;
sometimes, the voices of many
swelling together as one.
The
cry is a cry of pain and suffering,
expressing powerless desperation,
calling out for escape, for relief.
The cry is one a deep longing –
a longing rooted deep in the core
of one’s being -
a longing
for peace and wholeness,
a longing for God.
The cry is a mournful cry,
laced with a sadness that shrouds
the soul
as one grieves what was, but is no more,
what never
was, but should have been.
But
the cry is more than a cry. It is a
prayer -
a calling out to one whose nature is
self-giving Love.
And
as a prayer, the cry is an expression of confidence
in a love that will not let us go,
in a love that never turns its back
on us,
in a love that always works to
transform and bless
even
at great cost to Self.
Self-giving
love is the heart of God – and such love is a mark of the people of God.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
3rd Sunday of Advent, December 15, 2019 - A Voice Cries Out ... as a Prelude to Joy
Sometimes the cry is that of a lone
voice;
sometimes,
the voices of many swelling together as one.
The
cry is a mournful cry,
full of sorrow and
grief,
laced with a sadness
that shrouds the soul
as one grieves what
was, but is no more,
what never was, but should have
been.
But the cry is more than a mournful
cry. It is a prayer – a calling out to
One who is compassionate and gracious.
And as a prayer, the cry brings the one
who cries out into the presence of the One
who binds up the
brokenhearted,
who brings
release to the captive,
who comforts
those who mourn.
As
a prayer, the cry opens the heart of the one who cries out –
opens
that one to God and to the love of God,
opens that one to experience the
goodness of God in the midst of sorrow,
opens
that one to the work of God in the midst of the darkest night.
As
a prayer, the cry is a prelude to joy.
Joy is the response of the heart to
the goodness of God.
Joy
is a mark of the people of God –
joy rooted in the experience of God
and God’s love,
joy unaffected by life’s
circumstances,
joy
that heals the soul and transforms the spirit.
Sunday, December 8, 2019
2nd Sunday of Advent, December 8, 2019 - A Voice Cries Out ... for Peace
Sometimes
the cry is that of a lone voice;
sometimes, the voices of many
swelling together as one.
The cry expresses a deep longing – a longing rooted deep in
the core of one’s being.
It is a
longing
–
for that which is missing
–
for that which has been lost
–
for that which has never been, but should be – could
be.
The cry expresses the heart’s deep longing for peace –
for the
absence of turmoil and confusion
for the absence of suspicion and
distrust
for the
absence of misunderstandings and personal attacks
for the absence of hurts and
unresolved issues
for the
absence of conflict and strife
for the absence of division and
alienation
for the
absence of violence and its destruction.
The cry expresses the heart’s deep longing for wholeness –
for freedom
from fear and worry
for freedom
from criticism, judgment, and rejection
for freedom
to live beyond pretense and superficiality
for freedom
to offer one’s self in relationship to another
for freedom
to explore and discover, to learn and grow
for freedom
to live fully with creativity and joy.
The cry expresses the heart’s deep longing -
a longing
for place that is safe
a longing for home
a longing for God.
And
so the cry is more than a longing cry.
It is a prayer -
a calling out to One who understands,
a turning to One who is
compassionate,
a trusting of One who comforts.
And
as a prayer, the cry leads us to that for which we long – to peace
to a peace deep within
to a peace the world cannot give
to a peace that cannot be explained.
As a
prayer, the cry leads us to God – and brings us home.
Peace
is a mark of the people of God –
peace as one rests in the grace, the
forgiveness, the acceptance of God
peace within the depths of one’s own
heart – cleansed of the poison of guilt and shame and self-hate
peace as life is shared deeply and
meaningfully in spiritual friendship with another.
Peace
is the mark of the people of God –
who long for a world at peace –
shaped by the truth of God
who live as peacemakers in the world
seeking to bring to reality the time in which
the wolf shall live with
the lamb,
the calf and lion will
lie down together
and the earth is full of
the knowledge of the LORD.
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