The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Thank you Lord for family
Thank you Lord for friends
Thank you Lord for your calling
Thank you Lord for your guidance
Thank you Lord for moments to simply Be Still
For all of these blessings and so much more
Thank you Lord
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Today was a time of stories, laughter, good friends, family, and good music. It seems strange after planning so many sermons not to be preparing for worship tomorrow. Gee, I don’t have to preach again until next year 🤔🙄😳🤣😉
Yet it is also the Fourth Day of Christmas. Instead of contemplating four calling birds, I enjoyed some time with my sweetheart and her sons. At the end of the day I did reflect on the day’s chapter in Bruce Epperly’s book, The Work of Christmas: The 12 Days of Christmas with Howard Thurman. This particular portion struck me as appropriate while the rest of the world and media seems to be focusing on politicians, the rich and famous, and a lot of vacuous articles on them. I share it with you as food for thought as 2019 draws to a close.
The politics of Christmas is guided by love, not coercion; understanding, not name calling; embracing, not bullying; solidarity, not division; and sacrifice, not greed. On Christmas, no child is forgotten, no adult is left behind, and the wealthy and powerful discover that sacrifice, not hoarding, is the path to the Christ Child.
May we move towards the day when this is reality… May it be our prayer and our life’s work.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
Another day with family
More time spent in your creation
I am thankful Lord, for these moments
I am thankful for the beauty of these moments
Spending time with this Stellar Jay
Simply Being Still
Thankful to see our neighbor at home
For the beauty and wonder of all you have created
I give you thanks, O God
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Today the family (Denise, her brother, and her two sons) went into Rocky for a hike. Unfortunately, my back didn’t cooperate and so I stayed in the car and read. I was reading Murray Bodo’s book, Francis: The Journey and the Dream. As I read I saw this Stellar Jay fly up and land first on a tree near the car and then this fence post. It was so nice to spend some time with this little one.
As we pulled into the driveway, we were greeted by another neighbor.
It was certainly no surprise when I opened up The Work of Christmas: The 12 days of Christmas with Howard Thurman and read the following:
The quality of Christmas—what is it? It is the fullness with which fruit ripens, blossoms unfold into flowers, and live coals glow in the darkness. It is the richness of vibrant colors—the calm purple of grapes, the exciting redness of tomatoes, the shimmering light on the noiseless stirring of a lake or a sunset. It is the sense of plateau with a large rock behind which one may take temporary respite from the winds that chill. (Howard Thurman — The Mood of Christmas)
Today in the stillness of God’s wondrous creation I basked in the wonder and the quality of Christmas which Thurman talked about.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
On this beautiful Boxing Day
It was good to go walking
Photography opportunities were there
You had to slow down to receive them
That is truly how life is
Slow down and savor it or you will miss the beauty
Thank you for moments like that today
Thank you for opportunities to Be Still
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Boxing Day is a festival celebrated in the United Kingdom and in Canada. According to the website, Why Christmas the origin is as follows: It was… the day when rich land owners would give ‘gifts’ (often some leftover food from the main Christmas feast!) to those who worked and lived on their land; and later on it became traditional that servants got the day off to celebrate Christmas with their families on Boxing Day.
Before World War II, it was common for working people (such as milkmen and butchers) to travel round their delivery places and collect their Christmas box or tip.
It is also known as the Feast Day of Saint Stephen. My friend Malcolm Guite (who describes himself as a poet-priest and Chaplain at Girton College Cambridge (England)) wrote this beautiful poem about the feast of St Stephen which gives the history of this first feast day after Christmas in the Christian calendar: On the Feast of Stephen
Boxing Day can also be a time when clergy, church musicians, and other leaders finally breathe a sigh of relief and rest following the full schedule of Advent and Christmas Eve/Day worship services and the months of preparation involved.
This particular Padre is grateful for the quiet of this morning following all of the activities of the day with church, family, and friends. It is an opportunity to slow down and Be Still. I had contemplated stopping my daily blogging which began in mid-December. However I find myself with thoughts to put on “electronic paper” so to speak. While reading Bruce Epperly‘s book The Work of Christmas, I read the following thought from Howard Thurman found in his book, The Mood of Christmas:
The mood of Christmas—what is it? It is the quickening of the presence of other human beings into whose lives a precious part of our own has been released. It is the memory of other days in which an angel appeared spreading a halo over an ordinary moment or a commonplace event. It is an iridescence of sheer delight that bathes one’s whole being something more wonderful than words can ever tell.
Epperly reflected on this passage and shared the following: Christmas is about delight and wonder. It is about experiencing the joy of family and friends, about becoming large-spirited persons, willing to let go of grievances, forgive and forget, and let love guide our way… The spirit of Christmas creates a mood in which commonplace events become portals into divinity, and everyday encounters place us on holy ground.
Dear reader, may the blessings of this holy season continue to unfold in your lives and in your midst.
This reflection came to me as I sat with the Christmas Day lesson from my online retreat with Abbey of the Arts
Worship is completed
Blue Christmas is behind me
Fourth Sunday of Advent is behind me
Christmas Eve is behind me
Family activities with many people
I seek some quiet and solitude
Time to recharge and simply be still
What is here right now is exhaustion
What is here is a mixture of mourning and loss
Thinking of our Mothers who are no longer here
What is present is their spirits in memories
Talking with my Dad and my Son on the phone
Lots of noise and activity here
Yet that is not all that is here
What is here is an opportunity to be still
An opportunity to spend time with Howard Thurman
An opportunity to spend time with Thomas Merton
An opportunity to be still
Even in the midst of exhaustion and sorrow
An opportunity to be still
An opportunity to give thanks for the blessings of life
An opportunity to see the light shining in the darkness
An opportunity to be still
I took this picture from our deck this morning during a time of retreat and pause in the midst of all the activity. An opportunity to be still.
Sister Moon was not visible on Christmas Eve due to clouds, but knowing she is always there is comforting. I wrote this reflection as a part of the online retreat that I am taking part in with Abbey of the Arts.
Ah Sister Moon
Luminous yet Mysterious
The wonders you have shared
The wisdom you hold
The wisdom you share
Wisdom shared with those who listen
Sister Moon
You looked down upon the scene of a humble birth
You smiled with love upon a young Mother
You smiled with understanding upon a confused Father
You illuminated the glory of the newborn baby
Ah Sister Moon
Luminous yet Mysterious
Shine upon us once more
Reveal the mysteries of this Holy Night
Ah Sister Moon
In all your cycles and seasons
You always look over us
Sharing your love and your light
I received this picture of Sister Moon on a quiet evening on the beach at Perdido Key on the Florida Gulf Coast during our recent trip to see friends in Florida and Alabama.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A wonderful day spent with family
Time as well talking with family who aren’t here
It was a bittersweet day as we remembered our Mothers
Forever in our hearts but not in our midst
In the midst of the busyness of the day
I was thankful for some time to simply Be Still
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As family gathered around the table and the tree I thought back to some Christmases past. Those who are missing from our midst but not our memories. I also thought of other places in this world where peace is fleeting. This brings me to this prayer from Howard Thurman:
A Prayer for Peace
While we wait in Thy Presence, search our spirits and grant to our minds the guidance and the wisdom that will teach us the way to take, without which there can be no peace and no confidence anywhere. Teach us how to put at the disposal of Thy Purposes of Peace the fruits of our industry, the products of our minds, the vast wealth of our land, and the resources of our spirit. Grant unto us the courage to follow the illumination of this hour, to the end that we shall not lead death to any {person’s} door, but rather may we strengthen the hands of all in high places and in common tasks who seek to build a friendly world of friendly {people}, beneath a friendly sky. This is the simple desire of our hearts which we share with Thee in quiet confidence. (The Mood of Christmas, p 152)
May this be our challenge and our calling not only on Christmas Day, but every day!
