Christmas Hangover!

It seems that immediately following Christmas we are plunged back into real life. One moment we are contemplating the birth of a child and then we start to see how this changes the world around us. I think that there are three feasts which bring this reality sharply into view. The first is the martyrdom of St. Stephen. This does not seem to sit easily so closely to the time when we feel most peaceful we are struck by the his words, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit" as he makes his dying breath. It seems to be that the moment which called us to hold our breath took his breath away. The moment was that in encountering the person of Jesus everything changes and he sees himself in a new light. This is not just about sentimental thoughts or pious actions it is a dedication to understand that his whole life only makes sense in the person of Jesus.

The second image is that of St. John in which a person understands the contrast between conditional and unconditional love. It seems to show how our lives are caught between two worlds. We want love on our terms compared to an openness and acceptance of surrender to a love which moves us beyond ourselves. This is a place where we are called to allow ourselves to be touched by that liminal space where God meets us and draws us closer. This is a place which often captures us between what we know and what seems unknown. There is an attachment to have Christmas on our terms rather than the detachment which draws us deeper to see Christmas through God's eyes which draws us more deeply into a relationship which allows us to be our true self. It provokes us to discover someone who enables us to live in the way which brings life for ourselves and for others.

Then comes for me the hardest feast in this season which is the Holy Innocents. While as adults we can make decisions where we are willing to sacrifice our own good for the good of another this seems to express the total injustice in which we can encounter the seeming victory of the powerful over the powerless. The place where it seems that might is right and where success is seen by keeping yourself in control. The shock and horror of the suffering of innocents strikes us to the core of our being. It has been seen in the results of young children who have been abused and had their innocence stolen from them. It happens in times of war when children are robbed of home and security, It happens in decisions of life and death where the needs of the adult are considered greater than those of the child. We are shaken not just by the indignity, the indecision and the indifference to their lives but also by our ability to rationalize the distance that we can place between one life and our own. We are moved to cocoon ourselves for fear that the harm that is caused will pass us by and we can return to our normal lives.

Yet this is at the heart of Christmas. The birth of a child seeks to bring salvation to our world and disturbs us to see the world through God's eyes. St Stephen reminds us that we are called to be open to a way of life which can speak out and lives life in a way which glorifies God. St. John reminds us that we seek to live a unconditional way of loving which surrenders ourselves to God so that we can become our true self. The Holy Innocents remind us that this love sees all life as valuable and that we need to speak for the powerless rather than for the powerful. That we become voices for the hidden truth of the Gospel that all creation is called to sing of God's glory and not our own. This should always be at he heart of our way of life, that in encountering the mystery of the incarnation we allow Jesus to be at the centre of our lives and our prayer. To live in a way which radically transforms us and challenges the view that can so often place ourselves at the centre. May we prayer that God's heart may draw us into the mystery in which we contemplate his love with our lives.

May the peace of Christ disturb us!

Last Friday the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse was handed down after 5 years of painful and painstaking work. The focus has called many people to reflect on how they have been affected by this abuse. This has not just focused on what are appropriate ways of responding to people who live with the pain of the abuse but also the trauma of reporting that abuse and not being believed by the very people who they believed would act in their best interests. The pain has been deep and in some cases soul destroying where people have struggled to recover and trust again. To trust themselves, to trust others and in many cases to trust God would be present to the deep wounds that this abuse has left. We can no longer ignore the pain or tiptoe lightly around our responses both as institutions and as individuals. We are called to be people who reflect on what the Commission has recommended and consider how we will live in a way which responds in a way which brings life and hope not just in words but in deeds.
Over the last week the story which receives most publicity shines the spotlight on confession and celibacy. How do we seek forgiveness and how do we seek to live? The call of confession is not to produce a list of our sins but rather to carefully examine how our lives reflect God's life in our own. This is to notice those times when we have tried to live our lives on our own terms without reference to the core of our identity. We are made in God's image and likeness but that does not make us God. Confession is not about cheap grace but looking at ways in which we do seek to make restitution for the harm we have caused. Seeking forgiveness is not just rediscovering a warm inner glow but a profound surrender to a way of life that brings healing and reconciliation to others. There is a penitential element which recognizes that we are not the center of the universe but that we are part of that universe and need to respond appropriately.
This may all seem to be overwhelming especially as we prepare for Christmas. Yet we gather in Churches and in communities around a crib which shows the vulnerability of God in coming among us as a little child. This is not just about sentiment or feeling good about ourselves but being profoundly moved that God changes our focus. We are called to gaze upon the child and be transformed. This is especially true when we notice the first visitors at the crib: Shepherds who were considered to be at the margins of society and the wise men who came from the East to offer homage. I think that as we gather this Christmas we are called to see how God calls us to recognize that same vulnerability within ourselves. I believe it is from this place of poverty, humility and powerlessness that we recognize that God changes the axis of our world. It calls us to be communities which listen to the voice of the voiceless and centre our hearts on the needs of the most vulnerable. The strength of a society is found in how we treat the most marginalized and weakest by placing them at the centre of our reflections and action not just in words but in deeds.

Surprised by joy!

At times the weight of the world can seem to rest upon our shoulders. The world seems so close and yet so far removed from us. We want to make a difference but instead the world makes us different. We want to change but are changed. The imminent news cycle bears down upon us telling us what to think, how to be relevant to our times and gives little room for reflection. Yet in the midst of this pressure to be engaged we discover a way of being present which brings us freedom, hope and joy. The message of Isaiah promises glad tidings to the poor, healing to the broken-hearted, liberty for captives and freedom for those in prison.

St Paul in writing to the Thessalonians says that we are called to pray without ceasing and not to crush the spirit which rises inside us. There is a call to test every spirit to find what helps us to discover wholeness and holiness. This testing of the spirits calls us to discover what truly brings life rather than death to our hearts. What sustains us and our communities in which we live with joy and peace. It calls us to discover how we can be good news and be transformed by this hidden joy which will sustain us. By finding times for reflection, prayer and study we find ourselves not only more engaged with the world around us and discover how our lives can make a difference. No longer do we become claustrophobic with the demands placed upon us but we learn to see with the eyes of the heart.

John the Baptist calls us to make the paths straight. This is not just by our own hard work but by noticing what draws us closer to God and to others. What allows us to become a people of thanksgiving which allows people to be aware of the love which sustains us and beckons us to come closer. This closeness is not one which oppresses or restricts us  but rather emboldens us to reach out and touch the life within. It calls us to a place we encounter the light of Christ which burns deep inside us and surprises us with joy.

A new super highway!

As our cities become more crowded and the daily commute only seems to take longer. There is a sense of everybody wanting to reach the same destination at the same time there seems to be a competition to arrive first and on time. We can jostle for our place and quietly argue with the lane which seems to be moving next to us when we have ground to a standstill. We wish if only there was a better way which would allow us to detect some movement and end our frustration.

Into this situation we here the voice of John the Baptist echoing the words down the centuries, make the paths straight. How we wish this were true. If there was a simple path to encounter the person of Jesus in our time and space. Yet this is the challenge of this Advent season. We need to play our part in finding time to do some roadwork and put out the cones so that people can know to slow down around us.This important work of pausing is not just a time in which we do nothing but it is a time when we are called to listen to the silence deep within. To become accustomed to the fact that our lives are not just about how fast we can arrive at our destination but who we will be when we arrive. This time of prayer and reflection can allow us an opportunity to listen to God's Word spoken to us. To engage with that Word in reflecting on what truly brings us life, hope and joy. To become people who are prayerful in allowing our hearts to be directed solely towards God's desire for us.

There are many ways to do this but one application which can help us in the car, on the bus or travelling by train is Pray as you Go at (https://pray-as-you-go.org/about/) which can allow you a simple downloadable 5 minute podcast. This allows you to be a contemplative where ever you are and however you are travelling.