Author: lakewooducc

Sunday Dec. 11, 2022

This is the third Sunday of Advent. The season is moving along quickly. If you are anything like me, you are feeling even more behind than you usually feel! No, our tree is not up yet. For one thing, or maybe two, we have been distracted by plumbing problems in both of our bathrooms. No, we haven’t had to resort to using the bushes in the backyard or the hose in the side yard to shower – yet. It’s always something, isn’t it?

This third Sunday of Advent, we light the candle on the Advent wreath that represents joy. Joy to the world. Tidings of comfort and joy. With so much to do, so much pressure, so much stress, and so much pain in our lives and in the world around us, can we muster joy?

The gospels tell us that the presence of Christ brings joy. Period. This does not appear to be contingent upon outward circumstances. That’s happiness. Happiness depends on current conditions. But joy is something that is given. And it’s on the inside not dependent on the outside. And it is contagious. Infectious. We spread it and share it and others catch it from us and we get it from others. It’s not about getting what you want. Or even having what you need. It’s an inner state that emanates out to others and the world. Regardless of the circumstances. So that even at a very sad time, such as the death of a loved one, we can still experience joy as a fundamental state of being.

As a child, I had a Christmas book called Take Joy by Tasha Tudor. Just the title is a reminder that joy is being given to us. We don’t even have to seek it. We just have to accept and acknowledge it.

Today, light your third Advent candle and take joy.

Prayer

May we remember that even when things are difficult we are being given joy, at all times, in all circumstances. May we receive this precious gift infusing our reality regardless of the challenges we are facing. And may we freely share it with others. Amen.

Monday Dec. 12, 2022

Today is the most important day of the year at the most visited Catholic shrine in the world. This is the saint day for the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico and one of the most venerated Marys in Catholicism. The story involves the appearance of Mary to the indigenous peasant Juan Diego on the hills outside of Mexico City in 1531. Eventually Mary enables Juan Diego to convince the bishop to build a church on the site where she visited Juan Diego. There is a huge shrine there today and it is well worth visiting if you are in Mexico City.

This Mary is known not only for being pregnant but for appearing as an indigenous figure to an indigenous person. This put the Spanish Catholic hierarchy in Mexico on notice. Catholicism was accepted but it would be on Mexico’s terms helping to make the Catholic Church truly universal and particular not just a European export.

And this is how we are invited to think about the Christ, present in every age, in every context: In a way that is contextualized and suitable to local conditions. It is not just about a Westernized version of a Palestinian Jewish figure. Christ is for all times and all places and all peoples the embodiment of Divine Love.

When we look at nature, the diversity is astounding. So why should we be surprised that the spirit of the Divine embodied in humanity would not also reflect the diversity of the human species? Christ is within every culture and also beyond every culture.

To me, part of the power of the Virgin of Guadalupe is that her story is about freeing Christ from being bound to any particular culture. So, with our sisters and brothers in the southern region of North America, let us celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe and how she truly bears Christ to the whole world.

Prayer

The Christ spirit of universal Divine Love can be manifest in all cultures and all peoples. We give thanks for the many ways that Christ is made known to us as human beings. With our neighbors in Mexico, we give thanks for the way the Virgin of Guadalupe extends the universal, unconditional love of God. Amen.

Tuesday Dec. 13, 2022 One day as we were walking along on the Camino de Santiago in Spain, it became quite warm. The day had begun on the cold side. But the sun had come out and it was balmy. We were on a road walking through the countryside. Cornfields on either side of the road. Every so often a house. Once in a while even a car! There were certainly more walkers than cars on this road. Several times we had passed two women, friends walking together, from Sweden. They were in their late 60’s or early 70’s. They spoke English. At one point, I was walking alone. Up ahead on the road, I saw one of the Swedish women, stopped, in the middle of the road, with her backpack on the road beside her, and she was, well, mostly disrobed. Down to the ‘unders’ as our three year old grandson calls them. This wasn’t the typical layering and taking off an outer layer or two. I slowed my pace, wanting to give her time to get dressed before I over took her. Unconcernedly, she had undressed and then dressed in different clothing. In the middle of the road albeit not heavily trafficked. By the time I met up with her, she was once again fully clothed, she had her backpack on, and she had resumed walking. Then she began to explain that she had just changed her clothes. It had gotten hotter than she expected and she needed to make a change. As she put it, “I was wrongly dressed.” So, there and then, in the middle of the road, she took to remedying that. To taking off the warmer clothes and replacing them with an outfit more appropriate to hotter temperatures. Now, she was comfortable and ready to continue walking for the rest of the day. I cannot forget the explanation, “I was wrongly dressed.” What if we were to see how we were somehow in the wrong. And then addressed ourselves to fixing the situation. Immediately. Then and there. I was wrongly dressed. She immediately changed her clothes. What if we took to addressing our wrongs immediately. Right then and there. A course correction. Advent used to be called the ‘little Lent’ because it was a time of repentance. The liturgical color for Advent can be purple, the color associated with repentance. So, this Advent season, what can we stop and fix? Right now. No excuses, delusions, or distractions. What have we been wrong about? And how can we fix it? Prayer In this Advent season as we are Seeking Christ, may we remember that Christ Jesus offered new life to people on the spot – through healing, forgiveness, and the casting out of evil. Christ invites us to course correct – any time, anywhere. Without fear or shame. Amen.

Dec. 14, 2022

In the small book Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, an all church read for this Advent season, the wife in the book is very much committed to the church.  The family goes to mass on a regular basis.  The 5 daughters go to parochial school.  They sing in the choir at church.   They donate to the offering.  Church is an important part of the family’s life.  

But at one point, the husband is telling the wife about his day.  And he mentions a young boy who came to him wanting to sell him some sticks; the husband is in the fuel business.  He gives the boy a ride home in the pouring rain and a handful of change for the sticks.   When the wife hears of this, she is a bit cold about the whole thing.  “You know some of these bring the hardship on themselves?”  And then “Always there’s one that has to pull the short straw.” [p. 11]

In this season we are thinking about seeking Christ.  Now if Jesus came across a poor child, scrounging to keep body and soul together, can we imagine him saying, “Well, some people bring these troubles on themselves.  Some just draw the short straw.”   Can we imagine Jesus saying this to the man born blind, Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick, or the man possessed by demons in the cemetery?  Not really.  Jesus shows us that the Christ is compassionate and understanding and empathetic and sees the harm caused by society.  

So, if we are truly seeking Christ, then we must expect to find ourselves becoming more compassionate, understanding, and empathetic.  And we never know when we are going to need to express those qualities.  We don’t know when someone will cross our path who needs to experience compassion and understanding and empathy.  We many have our day planned, our to do list ordered, our game plan in place.  And then in the course of things, we encounter someone, or we get a phone call, or an email, and we sense a need.  Is the first thought that comes to mind, ‘Oh, well, some people just draw the short straw.’  Or, ‘It’s just too bad they brought that on themselves.’  It may be.  But then we must go on from there.   

When we truly seek Christ, we will find our hearts softening and our ears opening, and maybe our wallets opening, too.  And that is what should happen.  I’m pretty sure if Jesus had a wallet, it was empty most of the time.  

Prayer

Today, may we be open to sharing compassion, understanding, and empathy.  May that become part of our daily routine and we seek Christ.  Amen.

Thursday Dec. 15, 2022

Health experts tell us that exercise is good for us.  It is important to move, to exert yourself, to put your body to use.  Activity has all kinds of health benefits.  So, for many years, I have pursued walking as my primary form of exercise.  Usually I walk around the park near our house.  I grab some water, some headphones to listen to an audio book, and sometimes a dog, and off I go.  On the way back I usually stop at our community garden and take care of things there.  Then I head home.  That is my exercise for the day.  Kind of like eating your leafy green vegetables.  Because you are supposed to.

What I have noticed recently is that, well, I actually like walking.  Getting out.  Enjoying the fresh air, even when it is beastly hot.  Seeing what there is to see along the way.  Encountering other people.  I have realized that I really do actually like going walking.  It’s not just about doing it because I ‘should.’  That was an interesting discovery.

And I am thinking that it might work like that when it comes to serving others; expressing the Christ within us.  Maybe we do something because, well, we think it is the right thing to do.  It is consistent with our values.  We know it is what we ‘should’ do.

But then, we actually find out that we like helping others.  We feel good when we make a difference.  Our life is better when we are investing it in the well-being of others.  And we may find that we have made new friends and relationships that are enriching our lives.  

We are told that Jesus promises his followers abundant joy.  Maybe when we seek Christ, we don’t just find added responsibility to weigh us down, but we find joy that lifts us up.  

Prayer

We are grateful that we have been called to a spiritual path that connects helping others and finding our highest good.  If we are not feeling joyful this season, maybe we need to find someone to help, a way to make a difference, or a place to listen to what someone needs to share.  When we truly seek Christ, we know we will find joy.  Amen.