Christmas is coming....
...but it's not here yet!
As life gets hectic as Christmas gets closer and closer, I invite each of us to remember what Christmas is really about. It's not the presents or the decorations, the food you'll prepare or the cookies that are already baked.
Meister Eckhart reminds us that Christmas is about Jesus, the birth of God in our world, and our role in making God present to those we encounter.
But what does it mean? How am I to give birth to God's Son, here and now? What does it look like, in my ministry, with my students, in community with my sisters, in my church and world here today?
I don't know the answers completely, but I know that in this moment, I am called to be gentle with those who are suffering, to give others the benefit of the doubt (that is, to assume the best possible interpretation of words and actions directed at me), and to recognize the things in me that need softening, changing, and fostering.
It means Love. The kind of love that honors the uniqueness of every person I encounter. The love that shows me how to be a better person. The love I call on when I need patience in difficult situations. The Love that invites me to prayer, with my Beloved, bringing all the cares of this world and all the ones I love with me.
How does Love come to birth in you this day?
As life gets hectic as Christmas gets closer and closer, I invite each of us to remember what Christmas is really about. It's not the presents or the decorations, the food you'll prepare or the cookies that are already baked.
Meister Eckhart reminds us that Christmas is about Jesus, the birth of God in our world, and our role in making God present to those we encounter.
We are all meant to be mothers of God.What good is it to meif this eternal birth of the divine Sontakes place unceasingly,but does not take place within myself?And, what good is it to meif Mary is full of graceif I am not also full of grace?What good is it to mefor the Creator to give birth to his Sonif I do not also give birth to himin my time and my culture?This, then, is the fullness of time:When the Son of Man is begotten in us.
Ah. One of my favorite Christmas quotations.
But what does it mean? How am I to give birth to God's Son, here and now? What does it look like, in my ministry, with my students, in community with my sisters, in my church and world here today?I don't know the answers completely, but I know that in this moment, I am called to be gentle with those who are suffering, to give others the benefit of the doubt (that is, to assume the best possible interpretation of words and actions directed at me), and to recognize the things in me that need softening, changing, and fostering.
It means Love. The kind of love that honors the uniqueness of every person I encounter. The love that shows me how to be a better person. The love I call on when I need patience in difficult situations. The Love that invites me to prayer, with my Beloved, bringing all the cares of this world and all the ones I love with me.
How does Love come to birth in you this day?
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