Christmas Day & the birth of Jesus

Every year I hear a lot of talk among friends, family and on TV about whether December 25 was the actual birth date of Jesus. There is always discussion about the date being taken over by early Christians from a pagan festival that used to be held on that day. Debate swirls around which calendar, Gregorian or Julian, should be used to calculate the date. And there is talk about whether Jesus was actually born in the Spring, or maybe 3 years earlier than we thought - and on, and on.

I have come to realize that it doesn't really matter. Our Christmas Day, December 25, is the day we set aside every year to celebrate the birth of our Savior. It makes no difference whatsoever whether he was born in winter or mid-August. To me, it is the symbolism of the light of Christ coming into the world that is important. It is important that we set aside a day to worship by celebrating Christ's birth. We use the occasion to share our joy by giving gifts to others - again a symbol that reflects the gifts of the Magi.

I have learned to tune out the debate over which day Jesus was born and focus on what is really important: the fact that our Lord sent his only son to us, in human form, as an immense act of love and compassion.

Merry Christmas.

Plucking out sin from my life

So this morning I was doing the same thing a lot of women do - tweezing out a few stray eyebrow hairs. Most women in our culture, and even some men, are familiar with this exercise because it is part of what we do to maintain our looks. While I was doing it, I observed that as I have gotten older I have had fewer and fewer stray eyebrow hairs to worry about. I thought about that, and it occurred to me that after a while, I guess you totally kill off the root of the hair and it is gone forever. And that got me to thinking about sin.

The allegory came to me right there in front of my magnifying mirror: plucking eyebrows is like getting rid of sin in my life. When I recognize there is a sin, and I really want to get it out of my life, it takes repeated work to do it. It's hard to make a change to a habit and if the habit has roots in me, then it will take a little plucking to get it all out. It grows back quickly and easily and there I am again the next morning, staring at it in a magnifying mirror. But at least I see it, and if I focus my efforts on getting rid of it, eventually I don't have to do it every day.

Of course, in this story, I don't really have tweezers to get at my sin, I've got prayer. I pray and God answers, that is how it works. Sometimes the answer I get isn't the one I expected, but I always get an answer. Many times the answer is "keep at it, I'll do my part if you do yours." As I pray for strength to remove a particular sin from my life, I am taking the most direct action I can to pluck at the roots and I know, eventually and with God's grace, it will be gone for good.

It's a Good Morning!

Every morning on the hour, our local Christian radio station plays an upbeat, impossible-to-forget song by Mandisa, who is joined by Toby Mac. The song is called "Good Morning" and if you haven't heard it, you should go to iTunes or Pandora and find it and listen to it. I guarantee it will lift your spirits.

The song is such an inspiration to me that I have it programmed as my alarm ring tone for my phone so that I am sure to hear it every single day. I find something so uplifting and energizing about the song, and such a great reminder of God's forgiving spirit, that I really want to start my day off with those sentiments.

It is one of those songs that sticks with me all day long. I don't know if Mandisa hears this a lot, but I just can't get it out of my head once I've heard it. I truly do "wake up singing" - in my head, at least.

I can carry the message of God's love around in my head all day long just because of a catchy tune. But it is the fact that I am being intentional about filling my head with that tune that makes it an effective way to smooth out the day ahead and create a bit of a glide path for me to launch my day.

So thanks, Mandisa and Toby Mac, and thanks to The Promise radio station, for bringing me such a wonderful way to start my day.

A Dry Season

It's been a dry season for me, this summer. I find that the busy daily life I lead interferes with the deeper spiritual connections I want and need. I also have a million excuses for not doing the work I need to do that will correct the situation.

Today, I am thanking God for my blessings, and for his mercy and his forgiveness. I know this season will pass but I am grateful for a God who understands what it is like to be human. 

Good Morning Lord!

Good morning Lord! It is an amazing, beautiful day in your Kingdom here on earth. I am overwhelmed with the majesty of the sun filtering through the leaves, the birdsong, the smell of freshly-mown grass, the light touch of a breeze on my cheek. Everything about this morning is perfect and I can't imagine a moment more amazing.

But I know there is a place even more beautiful and it has me grasping at the edges of my imagination. How can heaven be even better than this? And yet, it is. It is better because you are there. There is warmth and love and acceptance in every atom. Peace, at last, and no worry about sickness, war, injury, death, money or the daily ins and outs of earthly life.

As beautiful as this morning is, Lord, I know you have a better place in store for me. I am awed by the thought and grateful for such a blessing beyond my ability to speak or think.

Good morning Lord, and thank you. 

Tied to the Wrong Rock

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge." Psalm 18:2
One morning while I was praying, I asked God to help me let get of my need to always be right. God showed me a vision of me swimming in a sea, tied to a big boulder with a rope. God said "you're tied to the wrong rock." And it is true, and I felt it in every molecule of my body. Instead of being tied to the rock of God, the fortress, God my strength and deliverer, I've have been tied to a rock of self-righteousness. That will cause me to drown before it ever saves me. What a revelation! And what peace it brought me, knowing God was listening and showing me where I need to go. Now I am praying for instructions on how to untie the bindings that hold me to falsehood and lies, and for an instruction guide to roping myself to God's strength, His love, His wisdom.

The Gift of Sight

"The poor and the oppressor have this in common -- the Lord gives sight to the eyes of both."
- Proverbs 29:13

This passage spoke to me over and over this morning during my scripture reading. And so I want to examine what it brings to me today. God gives us the ability to see and recognize who we are, and what we do, and what others do. God gave me the ability to examine my actions and square them with what I witness in the actions of Jesus and holy people. Those eyes can glaze over and miss the poor, the needy or they can focus on what is right in front of me that requires my loving help. I can see - or not see - and I suppose that the not seeing is what makes me an oppressor.

I once heard something very wise from a Daughter of Charity who I had the pleasure to work with for many years. Sr. DeSales was one of the first people I met when I went to work for a Catholic hospital, and she gave us an orientation I have never forgotten. She said that everyone is poor in some way, that it has nothing to do with worldly goods. People who are sad, lonely, broken in spirit, in pain physically or emotionally are all poor. We sometimes cannot tell those who are poor in spirit just by looking at them. They may be wealthy with money and goods, but agonizing on the inside.

God gave me eyes to see, he gave me the ability to recognize and contemplate what I see in front of me. Whether I am poor or an oppressor - most likely some combination of the two - I have the gift of sight to distinguish the holy from the sinful. 

Christ is Risen Indeed!

Easter morning, a day of celebration and reflection. For me, it is an anniversary, too. It was on Easter Sunday that I first felt the touch of God, his reaching out to me and me finally understanding that. Something in the words the pastor was saying led me out of my own wilderness and my heart opened to God at last. A few years later, I was baptized and celebrated the moment with my youngest son. As we came dripping from the pool, I was elated and filled with God's transforming love. I am so blessed that my mother and grandmother were with us that day. They are both gone, now, and living with Jesus in Paradise, but it was a tremendous bonding moment for me with my mother. Easter lives in my memory as a day of family, of egg hunts, of brightly colored dresses and hats, lacy socks and shiny shoes for going to church. Boys in dapper suits with hair combed neatly, moms in dresses and sleek purses that matched. Then an Easter feast, of ham and potato salad, a great group of family gathered in my grandmother's small dining room. It was festive, close, and loving. Easter is the day my grandfather passed and while our relationship was rocky to say the least, it was I who was asked to make the calls to family and notify everyone. Yes, Easter for me is a day filled with memories but also of hope, of love, of gratitude for Christ's willing sacrifice. It is an unimaginable act of will to me, that he chose that death on our behalf. I am grateful, blessed, awed and humbled. So, Happy Easter, and I hope that your day is filled with love and memories, too.

Biblical Tolerance

It struck me this morning that there is a lot about being tolerant in the Bible, and that it is closely related to the great commandment to love one another. For how can we possibly love someone, even our enemies, if we are intolerant of them?

I don't mean that we need to accept their belief system, or allow people to murder and steal, but I do believe that tolerance means we love the sinner and hate the sin.

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." - Psalm 32:1-2

I am appalled by much of the rhetoric being thrown around during this campaign season and I expect it to only get worse. What's sad is that most of the people behaving this way are probably pretty good people. They firmly believe in the Lord, and they love our country and want it to prosper. There is not one person in politics, in my opinion - from either side - who got into it to hurt people. Like police officers, nurses, firefighters and others, they entered their careers with a heart filled for helping others. Like ministers, they chose a ministry of love.

Somewhere along the way, some of that gets lost and along with it goes tolerance. We forsake showing love for others in favor of pressing our own viewpoint, our own sense of righteousness. But God has his own timing and is ever and always a forgiving God, even of great sin amongst his people. For example, even as Jeremiah is warning Israel and Judah of God's coming wrath, the Lord still expresses love and promises redemption for the sinning people.

"Return, faithless people," declares the Lord, "for I am your husband. I will choose you -- one from a town and two from a clan -- and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding." Jeremiah 3:14-15

"Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear -- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." - Jude1:22-23

There are so many people we meet along the way who aren't the same as we are. If we truly love our enemies as Christ has instructed us, then we must find a way to be more tolerant of those with whom we disagree. If we can purge the ugly, evil intolerance that has crept in and is taking over our country's political conversation, then I believe we will be a better country, a more Christian country.

I leave you with these thoughts today:

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." - Luke 6:31

"For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:38

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Mark 2:17

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." - Matthew12:34

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have poken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." - Matthew 12:36-37

Peace.