This Sunday marked the beginning of the Advent Season in the Christian tradition, and in scripture it reveals John the Baptist announcing the forthcoming birth of Jesus. While that is a distinctively Christian commemoration, as we often find across religions, there is a theme that demands all of us to rethink our lives.
John asks us to "repent," a word that in the original Latin means to "rethink" or to "think again." Today our pastor invited all of us to to rethink the "islands in ourselves." By that he meant places in us which we consider unchangeable, where we are not open to influence from others. He used by way of example our eating habits when we know our cholesterol levels are too high, but we refuse to consider other ways of eating. Clearly, there is something for us to learn...and change, but often we are intransigent to change.
In a world which is characterized by intransigence, perhaps we should look to find common ground with others who are equally intransigent...but on the other side(s). How easy is it to think that our perspective is the only one or the only virtuous one, when in most cases, no side is without fault or virtue.
Yet, I struggle. Integrity is critical to me. Being "at one" with what is right and true is core to who I am. How do I make sense of "rethinking" and still stay in integrity. Does integrity mean that I am not vulnerable to other versions of the Truth? Does it mean that I should pick up what I believe to be true and examine it to determine if there are other sides of the Truth?
As we go into a season which is characterized with singing, eating, drinking and socializing, I will step back this year and wonder, "Are there places in my life in which I might find other versions of the Truth?" I believe that the message of the Christmas holiday is to find peace, joy and love and to come together as a single humankind. How can I do so with the Truth that we are all connected, and each of us contributes to the real Truth of coming together? How can I do so without owning that there are islands in myself that are and should be vulnerable to other versions of the Truth?
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Sunday, December 6, 2015
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
The Most Wonderful Day of the Year
When I was 12 years old, if you had asked me, "What is the best day of the year?" the answer, hands down, would have been "Christmas Eve!" Something happened on Christmas Eve that didn't happen any other day of the year: a day with Daddy.
My father was a skilled craftsman--a tool and die maker--in a machine shop. Certainly in that era, and judging from the few people I saw on the Metro with me this morning, maybe even now, people working in a machine shop didn't get Christmas Eve as a holiday. At what I am sure was significant financial sacrifice to our family, Daddy chose to spend the day with his children.
We lived in the Midwest. It was always cold and often snowy. On Christmas Eve, Daddy, my brother and I bundled up and headed out to have breakfast in a restaurant. I am not sure if it was the era or our socioeconomic class, or a combination of both, but eating out was a real treat, especially for breakfast. And, we lingered over our food, Daddy really engaged with us, listening to our stories and kid jokes as if they were quite wonderful. We laughed...a lot.
At some point, we would head downtown, where the department stores had extravagant window displays, each covering the equivalent of two city blocks. Our noses pressed against the windows in amazement.
By this point, filled with Christmas magic we'd go in the department store, where a special department had been created just for kids to shop for their parents. We were given a small amount of money, and we would disappear behind a temporary wall where I felt a sense of independence and power otherwise unknown to me. Five dollars burning my hand, and I got to make the decision myself.
The last stop before heading home exhausted were presents for our two dogs.
After a nap and dinner, the whole family loaded into the car to go to Christmas Eve service. I always liked going to church, but we were usually there in the daytime. Christmas Eve the darkened church was lighted by candles and graced by flowers. I thought it was the prettiest the church looked all year.
With a few more years on me, I figured out what was probably going on. Daddy was getting the kids out of the house so that Mother could wrap presents and make food, but no amount of intellectualizing Christmas Eve would make it less wonderful. This morning when I got up and turned the lights on the Christmas tree, I felt all warm inside, just thinking about Christmas Eve...and when I am 100, I'll probably do the same.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
My father was a skilled craftsman--a tool and die maker--in a machine shop. Certainly in that era, and judging from the few people I saw on the Metro with me this morning, maybe even now, people working in a machine shop didn't get Christmas Eve as a holiday. At what I am sure was significant financial sacrifice to our family, Daddy chose to spend the day with his children.
We lived in the Midwest. It was always cold and often snowy. On Christmas Eve, Daddy, my brother and I bundled up and headed out to have breakfast in a restaurant. I am not sure if it was the era or our socioeconomic class, or a combination of both, but eating out was a real treat, especially for breakfast. And, we lingered over our food, Daddy really engaged with us, listening to our stories and kid jokes as if they were quite wonderful. We laughed...a lot.
At some point, we would head downtown, where the department stores had extravagant window displays, each covering the equivalent of two city blocks. Our noses pressed against the windows in amazement.
By this point, filled with Christmas magic we'd go in the department store, where a special department had been created just for kids to shop for their parents. We were given a small amount of money, and we would disappear behind a temporary wall where I felt a sense of independence and power otherwise unknown to me. Five dollars burning my hand, and I got to make the decision myself.
The last stop before heading home exhausted were presents for our two dogs.
After a nap and dinner, the whole family loaded into the car to go to Christmas Eve service. I always liked going to church, but we were usually there in the daytime. Christmas Eve the darkened church was lighted by candles and graced by flowers. I thought it was the prettiest the church looked all year.
With a few more years on me, I figured out what was probably going on. Daddy was getting the kids out of the house so that Mother could wrap presents and make food, but no amount of intellectualizing Christmas Eve would make it less wonderful. This morning when I got up and turned the lights on the Christmas tree, I felt all warm inside, just thinking about Christmas Eve...and when I am 100, I'll probably do the same.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Welcome to Winter
Winter officially began today. In Washington we had temperatures in the 70s: I was warm walking my errands in my long-sleeved cotton shirt. Other places in the country had thunderstorms and even forecasts of tornados, not typical of winter weather. While Kansas City, which was assaulted by ice and snow, will attest that winter is indeed with us, many of its residents will probably also add that just three or four days ago, they were having the tee-shirt weather that we had today.
While we usually think of winter in terms of temperatures and the forms of precipitation that come with them, the Winter Solstice and the official beginning of winter is really about light. This day is the one with the least amount of daylight in the year--our darkest day, making today's bright sunshine and blue skies especially welcomed.
Light is more than the sun we get. Metaphorically, it represents the positive in life, compared to the darker side of life. Light also is a reflection of something alive in us, thus the expression about someone having "light in his eyes." I recently read about how very dark it was when the sun went down until the last century or so because candles were too expensive for ordinary families. For people at that time, light symbolized prosperity.
Light also brings with it an association with divinity, where candles represent God's light in the darkness of our lives. Many religious, ethnic, and national holidays that have to do with light are celebrated around the time of the Winter Solstice. There is even some suggestion that although Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus at the darkest time of the year, that he was probably born in spring. However, the dark time of the year was chosen for commemoration of the holiday to symbolize the light he brought to a dark world.
This afternoon I heard part of the TED Talk by volunteer fire fighter Mark Bezos, in which he related a fire-fighting incident, in which he did something that was of little consequence to him but held great value to the homeowner, whose home was burning. After telling the story, he said that often times we overlook doing something that is good because we are waiting to do something great. He said that everyone of us can do something good every day. (http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter.html)
When I was a youngster, we learned a song called "This Little Light of Mine." The words speak to the fact that we often keep our light under a bushel, when we should let it shine. I believe what that song is about is what Mark Bezos was encouraging. We should do something good every day that lets our light shine. Especially at this dark time of year, the world would definitely benefit if each of us brought our light fully into the world.
While we usually think of winter in terms of temperatures and the forms of precipitation that come with them, the Winter Solstice and the official beginning of winter is really about light. This day is the one with the least amount of daylight in the year--our darkest day, making today's bright sunshine and blue skies especially welcomed.
Light is more than the sun we get. Metaphorically, it represents the positive in life, compared to the darker side of life. Light also is a reflection of something alive in us, thus the expression about someone having "light in his eyes." I recently read about how very dark it was when the sun went down until the last century or so because candles were too expensive for ordinary families. For people at that time, light symbolized prosperity.
Light also brings with it an association with divinity, where candles represent God's light in the darkness of our lives. Many religious, ethnic, and national holidays that have to do with light are celebrated around the time of the Winter Solstice. There is even some suggestion that although Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus at the darkest time of the year, that he was probably born in spring. However, the dark time of the year was chosen for commemoration of the holiday to symbolize the light he brought to a dark world.
This afternoon I heard part of the TED Talk by volunteer fire fighter Mark Bezos, in which he related a fire-fighting incident, in which he did something that was of little consequence to him but held great value to the homeowner, whose home was burning. After telling the story, he said that often times we overlook doing something that is good because we are waiting to do something great. He said that everyone of us can do something good every day. (http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bezos_a_life_lesson_from_a_volunteer_firefighter.html)
When I was a youngster, we learned a song called "This Little Light of Mine." The words speak to the fact that we often keep our light under a bushel, when we should let it shine. I believe what that song is about is what Mark Bezos was encouraging. We should do something good every day that lets our light shine. Especially at this dark time of year, the world would definitely benefit if each of us brought our light fully into the world.
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