聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 I usually bring in the new year encircled by over 100 loving family members, celebrating the gift Christ gave us in His body and blood.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We are surrounded by the walls of a retreat house that is built on the sacred ground our first nations people once inhabited.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Through the windows we can see the snow in the trees and the movement of the spirits of nature on the banks of the Saskatchewan River. Filled with gratitude, I am always moved to deeper reflection.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction. Isaiah 30:19-20.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 New Year鈥檚 morning may have found some with a headache and feeling the affliction and adversity of last year鈥檚 celebrations. God did not come to earth to put an end to suffering and death; Jesus came to share this human condition with us.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Monks used to greet each other with 鈥渕emento mori,鈥� a reminder of the brevity of life. Thanks to the Christmas event and Easter, we celebrate not the ending of life but the entry into new life when our time on earth is ended.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This past Christmas I was struck with the idea of a 鈥渂orn again鈥� Christmas. Unless we embrace the reality of the birth of our Saviour, and for most of us that means again becoming children at heart, we are not on the path to the Promised Land.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Even children struggle with these concepts. In 鈥淐linging to the Promise of Joy in the midst of Grief鈥� Leah Perrault shares the example of the child of a friend of hers who refused to get dressed to go to the Christmas mass.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚鈥檓 not going!鈥� he declared to his exasperated mom. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to go celebrate the birth of a baby so that we can kill him at Easter!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We need to have Christ born again in our hearts at Christmas so we can continue the journey towards the events of Easter. The rich symbolic language of scripture helps us visualize this voyage. The chosen people travelled 40 years to reach the Promised Land. What is our Exodus?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Ultimately we will reach the New Jerusalem. Advent helped us prepare the way and make straight the path. We may learn to accept the 鈥渂read of adversity鈥� which is the manna in our lives. The 鈥渨aters of affliction鈥� we experienced in our baptism was our putting sin to death in our lives.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So we enter the new year having been born again in spirit with the events of Christmas:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�his birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like death, our death, we returned to our places鈥� [our lives after Christmas]. But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods, I should be glad of another death.鈥� 聽T.S. Eliot 聽Journey of the Magi
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Having experienced Christmas, we are a changed people. We cannot return to the godlessness of the society around us. We are no longer at ease trying to live by rules that lack moral truth. Society鈥檚 gods are not our gods.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淕lory to God in highest heaven, who unto man His Son hath given; while angels sing with tender mirth, a glad new year to all the earth.鈥� 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Martin Luther
