Living in this part of the country we see the distinct movement of seasons - from fall with its brilliant colors to winter with snow and ice to spring and the re-emergence of new live, to summer and garden growth. Many of the birds follow the seasons migrating to warmer weather in the fall and back again in spring. Gone are the orioles, Eastern bluebirds, and hummingbirds and now the frequent visitors to the feeders and suet cages in our yard are the woodpeckers and chickadees. We have long grown accustomed to the definite rhythm of seasons in this corner of the world and it all makes sense to us.
These few weeks of the year when it comes to celebrations in the church (particularly the Catholic church) I've long been perplexed about the out of sync designated Sunday gospel readings. First on Christmas, of course, we celebrate and rejoice in the wonder of the Incarnation - the breaking into the world of the Sacred in human form; the Word made flesh. This Sunday, all of a sudden, our gospel reading tells us of a time when Jesus was twelve years old. And then next weekend the gospel takes us backward in time to the story of the Magi when Jesus was an infant again. My thoughts return again and again to the opening line in chapter three of Ecclesiastes: "There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens" and the lingering question becomes: how does the movement of our gospel readings over these three church-designated celebrations make sense?
Whether or not it all makes sense to our twenty-first century minds, the message of the season remains clear: The Sacred One came to dwell among us, each of us is a child of our Holy Creator and we all have been blessed with gifts and talents meant to be graciously shared. And...we are so deeply and abundantly and unconditionally loved by the Holy One. Now that something to celebrate!
Peace on the Journey.
26 December 2009
19 December 2009
Blessing and Gift: 20 December 2009
Out in our little corner of the world we rarely see a variety of birds during the winter months. The Downy and Red-bellied woodpeckers are abundant and frequent visitors to our three maple trees and the Chickadees gather from time to time. But that’s about it since the woods is a ways from our house. However, on rare occasion if lucky, one just might catch a glimpse of another species of bird that ventured all too briefly out of the woods into the yard. Such was the case the other day when I just happened to look out t
he window and catch sight of a Blue Jay that had come for an all too brief visit to one of the trees near the house. Now, on walks and drives near and through the woods they are much more abundant. But I cannot remember ever seeing one in our yard the almost 20 years we’ve lived here. My appreciation of the wonders and beauty of nature has grown tremendously over the past few years and seeing this Blue Jay was pure joy and delight – it was such a blessing and gift.
That got me thinking about Christmas. We’re on the home stretch now with our holiday preparations. Most likely the tree is up and trimmed, the house is decorated, some of the baking is done, hopefully the shopping is done too and the presents wrapped and tagged, the Christmas cards have been written and mailed, and on and on. Yet there feels as if there’s still so much to do in the next four or five days. As I listened to Christmas music on the radio while making a final trek into town this week to pick up more wrapping paper I couldn’t help wondering why most of the music I was hearing really doesn’t have anything to do with what Christmas is really all about. There are the songs about St. Nick, having a white Christmas, jingle bells, how it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and more. I really listened to the song lyrics that day and was saddened by them – almost all of them played on the way into town and back home again had more to do with Christmas trees, snow and presents under the tree. Granted we also have the more “holy” songs too but none were played on the radio that morning. Now I have come to understand all the things and “traditions” like trees and snow and presents have long been a part of celebrating Christmas in our lives but…what does all that really have to do with the true meaning of Christmas?
Pure joy and delight…blessing and gift. In all the preparing we put ourselves through each year getting ready for Christmas do we also take the time to reflect on just what it is we are preparing to celebrate? Whether or not we consider ourselves to be “church goers” or “religious”, when it comes to Christmas this IS a very sacred time. Christmas is less about trimmed trees, snow on the ground and presents under the tree (not to mention who buys or gets the biggest and best retail gift) than it is about the joy and delight and graciousness of our Sacred Creator. Christmas is all about the awesome blessing and gift of Holy love made real by the Divine breaking into the world by becoming human.
As Christmas draws very near, I extend an invitation for us to pause a bit and what our celebration of Christmas will be all about for us this year.
Peace on the Journey.
he window and catch sight of a Blue Jay that had come for an all too brief visit to one of the trees near the house. Now, on walks and drives near and through the woods they are much more abundant. But I cannot remember ever seeing one in our yard the almost 20 years we’ve lived here. My appreciation of the wonders and beauty of nature has grown tremendously over the past few years and seeing this Blue Jay was pure joy and delight – it was such a blessing and gift.That got me thinking about Christmas. We’re on the home stretch now with our holiday preparations. Most likely the tree is up and trimmed, the house is decorated, some of the baking is done, hopefully the shopping is done too and the presents wrapped and tagged, the Christmas cards have been written and mailed, and on and on. Yet there feels as if there’s still so much to do in the next four or five days. As I listened to Christmas music on the radio while making a final trek into town this week to pick up more wrapping paper I couldn’t help wondering why most of the music I was hearing really doesn’t have anything to do with what Christmas is really all about. There are the songs about St. Nick, having a white Christmas, jingle bells, how it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and more. I really listened to the song lyrics that day and was saddened by them – almost all of them played on the way into town and back home again had more to do with Christmas trees, snow and presents under the tree. Granted we also have the more “holy” songs too but none were played on the radio that morning. Now I have come to understand all the things and “traditions” like trees and snow and presents have long been a part of celebrating Christmas in our lives but…what does all that really have to do with the true meaning of Christmas?
Pure joy and delight…blessing and gift. In all the preparing we put ourselves through each year getting ready for Christmas do we also take the time to reflect on just what it is we are preparing to celebrate? Whether or not we consider ourselves to be “church goers” or “religious”, when it comes to Christmas this IS a very sacred time. Christmas is less about trimmed trees, snow on the ground and presents under the tree (not to mention who buys or gets the biggest and best retail gift) than it is about the joy and delight and graciousness of our Sacred Creator. Christmas is all about the awesome blessing and gift of Holy love made real by the Divine breaking into the world by becoming human.
As Christmas draws very near, I extend an invitation for us to pause a bit and what our celebration of Christmas will be all about for us this year.
Peace on the Journey.
11 December 2009
Black and White?: 13 December 2009
Just three days ago winter came to our corner of the world in a furry with the onset of a blizzard transforming the landscape from the various shades of brown to what I refer to as a world of black and white. At first the snow fell gently covering the ground little by little. But soon the storm really hit and as travel became down right dangerous the task at hand was to try to keep up with shoveling a path from the house to the garage. Before long the strong winds kicked in causing various heights of mounded snow everywhere (especially in front of our door). The pile of plowed snow on the side of our driveway is at least half the height as it was last year…in February!
As the snow began falling and despite the increasing accumulation and wind the chickadees showed up for the first time at the feeder and the downy woodpeckers flew in often for sustenance at the suet cages. At first glance it appeared both species only added to the black and white of the winter landscape. I couldn’t help thinking with this being the
first significant snow of the season, it’s going to be a good long time before Mother Nature graces us with the vibrant colors of spring. But as the woodpecker moved around on the suet cage, the small tuft of red on his head gave a welcome reminder that, as with most things in life, not all is black and white.
Such too was the case for the people Israel in the prophet Zephaniah’s time – not all the prophet preached was doom and gloom. The hallmark of the biblical prophets was their gift of being able to keep an eye on the past reminding the people of where they came from and how the Sacred One moved in their ancestor’s lives, to be keenly aware of what was going on in society in the present time, and to look toward the future and offer both warnings and comfort and hope. Though Zephaniah openly pointed out the people’s transgressions – smugness, rebellion, treachery and lack of faith – the book of this prophet ends with the foretelling of a hopeful future for the people - a joyful song (3:14-20)!
Although the long, harsh, black and white winter has just begun, the promise of spring’s return with all its vibrant and colorful life awaits us. I wonder…amid all our hustle and bustle of holiday preparations can we pause a while to ponder the miracle of that first Christmas and how it still provides the promise of a hopeful and bright future of many colors for us all?
Peace on the Journey.
As the snow began falling and despite the increasing accumulation and wind the chickadees showed up for the first time at the feeder and the downy woodpeckers flew in often for sustenance at the suet cages. At first glance it appeared both species only added to the black and white of the winter landscape. I couldn’t help thinking with this being the
first significant snow of the season, it’s going to be a good long time before Mother Nature graces us with the vibrant colors of spring. But as the woodpecker moved around on the suet cage, the small tuft of red on his head gave a welcome reminder that, as with most things in life, not all is black and white.Such too was the case for the people Israel in the prophet Zephaniah’s time – not all the prophet preached was doom and gloom. The hallmark of the biblical prophets was their gift of being able to keep an eye on the past reminding the people of where they came from and how the Sacred One moved in their ancestor’s lives, to be keenly aware of what was going on in society in the present time, and to look toward the future and offer both warnings and comfort and hope. Though Zephaniah openly pointed out the people’s transgressions – smugness, rebellion, treachery and lack of faith – the book of this prophet ends with the foretelling of a hopeful future for the people - a joyful song (3:14-20)!
Although the long, harsh, black and white winter has just begun, the promise of spring’s return with all its vibrant and colorful life awaits us. I wonder…amid all our hustle and bustle of holiday preparations can we pause a while to ponder the miracle of that first Christmas and how it still provides the promise of a hopeful and bright future of many colors for us all?
Peace on the Journey.
04 December 2009
Mountains and Valleys: 6 December 2009
Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. (Luke 3:5)
Well, it finally arrived last evening: the first snow of the season that actually stuck to the ground. And then today there were snow flurries off and on all day long. At one point memories of last year’s abundant snowfall and how little by little the pile of plowed snow along side our driveway grew into such a huge mountain that I was certain it wouldn’t all melt until July. As the years come and go I gain an ever-growing appreciation of the saying, “Snow is pretty to look at if you don’t have to travel anywhere”.
An abundance of snow has the capacity to change the landscape – drifts mound high on level surfaces, ditches are filled to the brim and the high spots in the field that surround our abode do not look quite so high. A heavy, blustery snowstorm puts us all on an even level as far as making it difficult, or impossible, to travel anywhere.
Many of us come to discover over the years that an abundance of snow also has a way of changing our inner landscape as well. Too many snowy days in a row, or too long of a wintery weather season brings about that feeling of cabin fever – those times when we may just want to shout out “Get me out of here!” Title, status, wealth, social position, etc. sure doesn’t matter to Mother Nature’s winter fury. Hmm…why is such importance placed on those things by so many people in our world? Deep down in the core of our being are there inner mountains of lofty attitudes we cling to that need to be made low? Are there valleys such as feelings of guilt, unworthiness, sadness or spiritual dryness that need filling?
Perhaps during this Advent season of preparation something worth our time is to pause a while and reflect on the shape of our inner selves – the heart and soul and spirit part of us that connects with our ever-present and indwelling Sacred One who loves us so completely and unconditionally.
Peace on the Journey.
An abundance of snow has the capacity to change the landscape – drifts mound high on level surfaces, ditches are filled to the brim and the high spots in the field that surround our abode do not look quite so high. A heavy, blustery snowstorm puts us all on an even level as far as making it difficult, or impossible, to travel anywhere.
Many of us come to discover over the years that an abundance of snow also has a way of changing our inner landscape as well. Too many snowy days in a row, or too long of a wintery weather season brings about that feeling of cabin fever – those times when we may just want to shout out “Get me out of here!” Title, status, wealth, social position, etc. sure doesn’t matter to Mother Nature’s winter fury. Hmm…why is such importance placed on those things by so many people in our world? Deep down in the core of our being are there inner mountains of lofty attitudes we cling to that need to be made low? Are there valleys such as feelings of guilt, unworthiness, sadness or spiritual dryness that need filling?
Perhaps during this Advent season of preparation something worth our time is to pause a while and reflect on the shape of our inner selves – the heart and soul and spirit part of us that connects with our ever-present and indwelling Sacred One who loves us so completely and unconditionally.
Peace on the Journey.
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