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Posted by on Dec 17, 2010

Advent – A Time to Be At Peace

We’re now approaching the fourth Sunday of Advent and the number days until Christmas grows shorter. We’ve heard readings of Hope/Expectation for the Coming of Christ in our days and at the end of days. We’ve heard readings of Peace, with images of children playing safely beside the adder’s lair and lambs being safe with lions. Readings of Joy were proclaimed last week, with the promise of the Lord coming to set things right and signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God already present in the life and work of Jesus. Next Sunday we’ll hear of the Lord’s promise and reassurance to St. Joseph that Mary’s pregnancy was divinely blessed and of Joseph’s acceptance of that gift.

As I’ve moved through these days and weeks, I’ve been reflecting on what peace means in daily life. It seems to me that peace is more than the absence of armed conflict between nations. Peace is a way of living. It springs from a place of openness and gratitude.

Peace means being gracious when another person fails to notice, even in passing, that you have gone out of your way to do something just for him or her. Peace means accepting an apology without needing to shame the one offering it. Peace means choosing to be kind rather than insisting on being right. Peace means looking beyond the gift one has received to see the love with which it was given.

Peace flows out of a place of gratitude for gifts received and shared. It giggles with a small child discovering the joys of a puddle. It smiles with the fond memories of a grandparent who is watching another’s child. It holds hands and spends quiet time with the person nearing the end of this life.

Advent is about hope, peace, joy and the coming of the light of the world. May each of us remember this truth as we hear the enticements of the mall and feel the pressure to “make Christmas memorable” by doing many things and buying lots of merchandise. Advent is a time for hope, peace, joy, and sharing with Christ the wonder of being a bringer of hope, peace and joy to others.

Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

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Posted by on Dec 2, 2009

“Ready or Not, Here I Come!”

“Ready or Not, Here I Come!”

 

Advent Wreath

Advent Wreath

This past Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent – our New Year’s Day in the Church. I was visiting the parish in which I was raised, St. Patrick’s Parish in Spokane, WA. The homilist, Fr. Kenneth St. Hilaire, spoke of his experience on Thanksgiving Day with his family. His nieces organized a game of Hide and Go Seek. It’s a game we played many times in my family as children, and so had he.

In this game, one person is chosen to be “It” and everyone else runs and hides. The person who is “It” counts to 30, shouts, “Ready or not, here I come” and then tries to find the other ones who are hiding. When a person is found, he or she becomes the next “It” and the game continues. Sometimes the game goes on until all are found. Other times those found become “prisoners” of the one doing the seeking. In some versions, if a person who has not yet been found gets back to the base of the one who is “It”, all get to hide again and that original person continues to be “It”.

Fr. Kenny suggested that the spiritual life can be like this childhood game. Sometimes we even try to hide from the Lord – to pretend that maybe we won’t be found. But whatever we do, at some point in our lives, the Lord is going to say to us, “Ready or not, here I come.” Advent is a time to remember that and begin again to prepare our hearts and minds to meet the Lord – because He is coming, and when the time comes, we can’t say, “Just a minute, I’m not ready yet!”

So, whether the coming is our individual meeting with the Lord at the moment of our death, or the one at the end of time, Advent is a time to remember that the Kingdom is coming, the Lord is returning and the world as we know it will pass away.

Advent is a good time to make time for prayer, whether 2 minutes stolen from a busy day at work or 15 minutes of “walking prayer” or a Rosary offered at home or in church. Time spent remembering our Lord and King, speaking from our hearts to Him, then listening to His response will bring us closer to the Kingdom.

Another good thing to do in Advent is to look closely at our lives and see what is excess. What can be cut out to make room for something better? What can be shared with someone who is in need? It needn’t be something huge. But it’s pretty likely that most of us have something we can share or something that we don’t really need to be doing. Making space in our lives for the Lord’s coming brings a richness that material things cannot ever fill.

Finally, Fr. Kenny suggested that we look to Jesus’ mother, Mary, as a model and a helper in this great journey of Advent. She waited for his birth for 9 months. She prepared for the coming of her child. She raised him, loved him, cared for him and then stood by him as he entered into his adult ministry. At the cross, she stood and waited as he died. According to tradition, she was part of the community that welcomed him after the Resurrection and received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As our “big sister” in faith, she can help us to get ready for the Lord’s coming.

So, this Advent season, I invite you to join me in this “game” of preparing for the Lord’s coming. When we hear, “Ready or not, here I come”, may we all be ready to be found by our great Lord and King.

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Posted by on Dec 8, 2008

“Ready or Not, Here I Come!”

Celebrating Sabbath and the Sacred Present – Terry Hershey

Fountain of flowing water - from Terry's website

Fountain of flowing water - from Terry's website

It’s the second week of December. Christmas carols are sounding on the radio, in the grocery stores, elevators, and malls. Television is filled with uplifting Christmas programming. Gala fundraisers are filling evenings and weekends. Church youth groups, Scouts, Campfire Girls, Boys and Girls Clubs, etc. are selling wreaths, candles, centerpieces. Bake sales pop up all over the place to tempt us with holiday goodies. Countdowns to Christmas appear on family bulletin boards. Everywhere people are asking, “Are you ready for Christmas [or other holiday] yet?”

And in the midst of all this activity, school assignments must still be completed. Our daily work moves ever forward with its demands, whether in the office, on an assembly line, in a store, at home or any other of the myriad worksites of our lives. The amount of daylight gets shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere where I live), so it seems the amount of time to accomplish anything is shorter too.

Pressure builds for all of us and can easily spill out into our relationships with others.

So how do we reconcile all of this activity with the quiet season of hope and expectation that is Advent? How do we find the space for a few moments of quite reconnection with life, hope, love, peace, joy? Where do our relationships with family and friends find space to be nourished?

These are challenges we all face.

One of Theologika’s Trusted Authorities is Terry Hershey, a nationally known speaker and writer. Terry lives and works on Vashon Island in Washington state. He has worked as a minister and more recently has shifted his focus to the nurture of personal relationships and gardening. You can find a short description of his life journey at http://www.terryhershey.com/about.htm.

Terry’s website and the focus of his work these days is “Embracing the Sacred Present” and finding Sabbath Moments in life. He has a regular weekly newsletter and column to which you can subscribe online through the website. I highly recommend his work. I look forward to spending a few minutes each week reading his thoughts. There’s always a good story and a reflection that helps me remember to slow down, notice the presence of God in the people and places of my life, and enjoy the love that surrounds me.

Thank you Terry. Happy Birthday. And may you ever be open to life in the sacred present!

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Posted by on Dec 19, 2007

“Ready or Not, Here I Come!”

Las Posadas – Welcoming the Coming of Christ

las-posadas.bmp

In the Spanish speaking world, it is customary to prepare for Christmas through nine days of celebration known as “las Posadas,” literally, “the inns” or “the lodgings.” As part of this celebration, a girl and a boy, dressed as Mary and Joseph, go with family and friends from house to house for nine days in a row, singing and asking for shelter. At each house, they are turned away, until on the last night, at the last house, they are welcomed inside and all share in a party.

The song for Las Posadas is sung back and forth by those outside and those inside. Those outside speak as Joseph, asking for lodging for himself and his pregnant wife. Those inside refuse entry to the pilgrims, citing lack of room and the fact that it is late and these are unknown strangers at the door. The final plea, the one that gains them entrance, is the one asking shelter for Mary, the Queen of Heaven and soon to be Mother of the Divine Word. On hearing this introduction, those inside apologize for not understanding who it was that was seeking entrance. They welcome the outsiders into the house, singing, “Enter, holy pilgrims, receive this corner, for though this dwelling is poor, I offer it with all my heart.” The song continues with the offer of the singer’s soul as a place of lodging for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

I have seen several versions of the words and the tune for the Posada, but the theme is the same. The Holy Family is traveling, needing shelter, appearing as the stranger. No one is willing to help them. The house is full; strangers can be a danger to the household; it’s late; the claims of those asking for help seem pretty wild. (She’s a queen?  Yeah, right! Why’s she out so late at night and alone?) Then comes the moment of recognition – the visitors are Heaven-sent – and welcome follows, both physically and spiritually, as the visitors enter into our homes and our hearts.

In these last few days before Christmas, whether we celebrate them with a Posada, or a novena, or simply by lighting the candles on our Advent Wreath, it is a time to remember to smile at the stranger, wait our turn patiently in the long lines at the stores, and offer a prayer for peace for ourselves and those around us. After all, who knows when the stranger we encounter will be a visitor from God who will touch our heart and who awaits our loving response.

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