Seeing our world differently

The new year often beckons us to make new resolutions about how our life will be different. The can be an anticipation that this will be the year when I engage more intentionally on a project which has been alluding me. That this will be the year that I succeed and be able to tick off another accomplishment from my to-do list. Yet too often we become frustrated because all of our plans seem to require us to do more rather than being present to what is fundamental to our lives. We want to be different but we see it all expressed in external actions.

Mary faced the same dilemma, but she engaged with it differently. She saw that the birth of a child, in the person of Jesus changed the world and not just her life. She saw that the centre of gravity had shifted. She noticed how many were astonished and amazed by what was happening. Yet she did not ground her life on what others thought but allowed herself to ponder on their meaning. This is the central gift that I believe she brings to us. At the end of each occasion, she sought to discover what brought life to herself and others. How she could be present differently in the light of these experiences and then take the next obvious loving step. May the peace of Christ disturb you!

The Vulnerable God

There is a natural sense of anticipation we encounter at Christmas. All of our planning, presents and presence come to a meeting point. We are called to be open to the place where God encounters us as we are and not as we think we should be. He opens up our hearts to the reality that God is intimately vulnerable and available to us. He places his life in our hands so that we may discover the gift of our own lives. He surrenders himself to us, so that we may surrender our lives to him.

The incarnation challenges us to recognise that in his person heaven and earth are wedded together. All life is sacred and this changes the way we see our world. It calls us to recognise the fundamental dignity of human life and all of creation. There is a sense in which the focus is taken of our own needs and on to God’s desire for us. The Gospel story is fundamental one which shapes us to be people who receive and offer God’s love. This is not just a warm fuzzy feeling but a recognition that how we live changes our world. It calls us to see each encounter we have as one of graced presence. That each person is made in the image and likeness of God. May the peace of Christ disturb you!

Dream of what his life may be for you

The time of waiting is almost over and we make the final preparations for Christmas. As we make these preparations we come to an awareness that God becomes present in ways that are often unexpected. We here this in the story of Joseph, a righteous man, who seeks to encounter God in the midst of his daily life. He wants to do the right thing by God and by Mary. He seeks to understand what is happening in the midst of a sense of confusion. The central question is what does God expect of me and how should I respond?

This question hangs on our hearts as well. Life often can be shaped very differently than we would have planned it. We want to do this right thing by others and by ourselves. This often can lead us into the tension of balancing the contradictions that we encounter. This means that we need to come to a place where we can be honest before God about what is happening. We need to have a heart for what brings life for ourselves and for others. We need to be attentive to how God does open doors for us and leads us step by step. We also need a trusted person with whom we can share our way of being present to the question. May the peace of Christ disturb you!

Life is more than reality television

In the midst of Christmas preparations, we seem to gain daily doses of reality television. We try to distinguish between what we have heard and what we hope for. We become so conditioned to respond to news stories that we do not know how to act thoughtfully.  We can become consumed by a way of being present to others which focus solely on our own needs. Yet the Gospel speaks to our hearts and opens our eyes. It challenges us to see the signs of God’s grace present in healing the sick, in befriending the poor and in making room for the people that society rejects. This is at the heart of our preparations for Christmas it calls us to recognise that the incarnation of Jesus changes the way we are present to the world.

The presence of Jesus seeks to reconcile the divisions in our own hearts and in the heart of our community. This is a gospel of life which says that every person is valued and is made in the image and likeness of God. How we become present to others in our prayers and actions allows us to prepare a way for the Lord which acknowledges this. As Christians, we are called to be people who reflect on the Gospel and live it with joyful hearts. This is not just about wishful thinking but actively seeking to put it into practice. Reconciliation is never just about ourselves but it is a way of life which seeks to put the Gospel into action. May the peace of Christ disturb you!