“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1; King James Version) Familiar words to many (thanks in no small part to the Byrds! For the full Biblical version, click here) and words that seemed fitting for this time of bidding farewell to 2021 and bidding welcome to 2022. As we reflect on the year that has come to a close, and prepare to step into yet another “new” one, perhaps it might be helpful to remember: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” As we reflect on the year that has come to a close, and remember the ups and the downs, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly, and everything in-between, let us not feel drawn to claim only the pleasant, the good, and the beautiful (and hope for more of all of that in the coming year), and judge or feel shame or want to hide or deny what feels unpleasant, bad, and ugly, (and long for less of all of that in the year that’s just begun). Rather, let us remember: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” As we reflect on the year that has come to a close, and prepare to step into yet another “new” one, may we acknowledge and hold with tenderness the times of grief and sadness, as we also give thanks for those of joy… “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” May we acknowledge and hold with kindness the reality of our exhaustion, as we also give thanks for momentary surges of energy… “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” May we acknowledge and hold with gentleness the expressions of heartache, often veiled in outbursts of anger, as we also give thanks for manifestations of compassion, expressed in all kinds of generosity… “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” May we acknowledge and hold with grace the moments of doubt and fear, as well as those of abiding love… “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” As we reflect on the year that is coming to a close, may we hold space for it all, with tenderness and kindness, with gentleness and grace-- for ourselves, for our loved ones, for our neighbors and even our enemies; may we hold space for it all, with vulnerability and with courage, recognizing that, indeed “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” As we reflect on the year that is coming to a close, may we recognize those seasons that have nourished us, and those that have depleted us; may we acknowledge those seasons that have led us to shake our fist at God and rage against the universe, and weep and wail and withdraw, as well as those in which we have found ourselves rejoicing and giving thanks at the beauty and wonder of it all… “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” As we reflect on the year that has come to a close, and prepare to step into yet another “new” one, perhaps it might be helpful to remember: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” and as people of faith we claim and proclaim that, in every season and in every time, God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, God, Creator of all that is, God, who took on flesh and walked among us as Jesus of Nazareth, God, who dwells in all persons as the Holy Spirit, God, Emmanuel, is with us! Thanks be to God! And Happy New Year! Deb
Month: December 2021
Checklist
by Rev. Deb Worley
“I Will Light Candles This Christmas”
By Howard Thurman
I will light candles this Christmas;
Candles of joy despite all sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all the year long.
At this time of year, we talk of Santa’s checklist:
Naughty or nice?
But this poem generates a different checklist in my mind, a 2020 [and 2021!] checklist:
Sadness? Check.
Despair? Check.
Fears ever present? Check.
Tempest-tossed days and heavy burdens?
Check and, sadly, check.
What a [couple of] years this has been….A year of struggle, a year of chaos, a year of darkness.
In the midst of all of this darkness, the world needs light more than ever. The world needs your light, and my light; the world needs our light. When my light is flickering, perhaps yours can make mine stronger [as it most certainly has!]; when your light grows weak, maybe the light of another can give yours new life. Our world needs light that is shared, so that the light might be multiplied…
Our world needs us to light Thurman’s candles this Christmas, so that we might step into this season and beyond with yet another checklist:
Joy? Check!
Hope? Check!
Courage? Check!
Peace and grace and love?
Check, check, and yes, check!
In this season of darkness, we need light. We need the Light that shines in the darkness and was not overcome. We need the Light of Christ. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!
Peace be with us all in this holy season.
Deb
12 Days of Christmas
by Rev. Victoria Ubben
The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” was published in England in 1780 without music (as a fun rhyme or chant) but is probably French in origin. While there are many versions of this song and many stories as to what (if any) meaning there might be to the gifts, the following is the story that my mother taught me. Many scholars of music history today are uncertain of any possible religious meaning to this song. Thus, I cannot back this up with proof from the internet or other sources. This is the story that I was taught and that I have found to be helpful to me. May this be helpful to you and your family as you journey through the Twelve Days of Christmas!
My late mother taught this easy-to-remember and fun-to-sing carol to my brother and me AND she taught us the symbolic meaning behind each “gift” given from one’s “true love.” She always told us that this carol was written as a catechism song for young Catholics. Each element in the carol is a “code” for a religious reality which children can remember. Now as adults, we still remember the symbolism that our mother taught us even to this day.
This is what my brother and I were taught:
- The true love one hears in the song is not a smitten boyfriend or girlfriend but Jesus Christ, because truly Love was born on Christmas Day.
- The partridge in the pear tree represents Jesus because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life to protect its young by feigning injury to draw away predators. The tree represents the wooden cross on which Jesus died.
- Two turtle doves are the Old and New Testaments.
- Three French hens are faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13). Other traditions indicate that the three French hens represent the three kings who brought gifts (Matthew 2).
- Four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
- Five golden rings represent the first five books of the Old Testament, called the Pentateuch. (“Penta” means “Five.”)
- Six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation (Genesis 1-2).
- Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. Another source indicates the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They are the gifts which were to characterize the Messiah (Isaiah 11).
- Eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes (Matthew 5).
- Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control (Galatians 5).
- Ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5).
- Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful Apostles.
- Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in The Apostles’ Creed.
For hundreds of years the Christmas observance didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and didn’t end until Epiphany. So, why stop the gift-giving and the carol-singing on Christmas Day? Join my family and many others as we continue to sing joyous carols (like this one), light candles, and exchange gifts – while remembering and reciting the basics of our Christian faith and passing it all along to our children and grandchildren – for twelve more days!
Bits of this information is from:
- Ann Ball, Handbook of Catholic Sacramentals.
- Fr. Calvin Goodwin, FSSP, Catholic Tradition.
BUT…
Most of this came from my mother who was committed to passing her faith on to my brother and me. For that, I am so grateful.
The Contents of a Heart
by Rev. Lynne Hinton
He is red-hot angry. “When Mama dies, I’m going after him with everything I have. I’m going to make him pay.”
“You’re seventy years old.” I tell him this because I like him and because I adore his mother, my patient.
Her son, this man, furious because he believes his brother has stolen from the family, has told me how splendid his life is, how he’s been married for forty-nine years to a woman he loves completely, how he has a successful business, a wonderful family, how they’ve traveled the world enjoying great adventures. “So,” he snaps, “what does my age have to do with anything?”
“Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned working as a hospice chaplain it’s that life is short. Do you really want to spend your time consumed by this anger? Do you really want your life to be about that?”
In his book, The Exquisite Risk, Mark Nepo writes about an Egyptian myth that explains an end of life ritual. The Trial of Heart is a ceremony in which the heart of every deceased person is weighed on a scale, balanced against one ostrich feather, the symbol of truth. If the heart is lighter than the feather, it is believed that the person did not recognize and honor truth, that it demonstrated a life not fully experienced. If the heart weighs more than the feather then it has carried too much. It has held onto the painful truths, giving them too much weight. The ceremony reveals the contents of one’s heart and unless the heart is balanced, the soul is unable to enter into eternal peace.
We cannot dictate all of the circumstances of our lives. We cannot control all of the things that enter and exit. People we love harm and help us and sometimes we are left flattened by the choices they make that deeply affect us. We cannot orchestrate all of this. We can, however, choose what we hold and what we let go. And we make those choices every day of our lives, from ages seven to seventy and beyond.
I’m not sure I believe there is a court of the dead waiting to measure the contents of our hearts; but I do believe that no heart can fully experience peace unless there is true balance, unless there is equality in what is gained and in what is surrendered. I do believe that if a person picks up and hangs onto anger, the heart has no room for love.
I have no idea what this troubled brother will choose, where he will ultimately land. I can only hope that when the day of death comes for him, as it will come for us all, that his last breath is taken with ease because he knows his heart is at peace, because he has chosen forgiveness, because he has surrendered to love. And I hope when we face our own days of death, it may be so for us all.
You are the light of the world!