Breathe

Good Morning Bethlehem Trekkers,

The Peanut’s Gang, of Charles Schulz fame, is once again getting ready for Christmas. Sally is lying on a bean bag chair, watching TV and her brother, Linus, is reading to her about the real meaning of Christmas: “Listen to this, Sally!” “The census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem is said to have been ‘of all the world,’ but this probably really means only the Roman Empire at that time…”

“And when we read that there was no room in the inn, the word inn is really better translated as ‘guest room.’ The intention of course is to contrast a place of human lodging with a place for feeding animals...”

“And look at this, says Linus. “The name Bethlehem is interesting too. It literally means, ‘House of Bread.’ I think things like this are so fascinating, Sally…What do you think?”

“Well…I think if I don’t get every single thing I want for Christmas this year, I’m gonna totally gross out!” :)

Well…How many of us can relate to Sally’s response? Maybe not literally, but I believe there is such a thing as a “Sally Trap”—missing the meaning of Christmas all together because we keep our minds and hearts more on the trappings of Christmas, rather than capturing the true meaning of Christmas.

But the “Sally Trap” can also include being inundated, even beaten over the head with (a nice peaceful sign of Christmas, huh?) “the true meaning of Christmas…” “…the true meaning of Christmas…” Enough already! What if you can’t quite capture or discover this “true meaning of Christmas?” What then? Do you forfeit your church membership? Are you no longer a card carrying Christian? Are you forever banned from attending Christmas parties? Are you eternally relegated into the Bah Humbug Brigade and thereby frozen in time with your cynical, doubting, even unbelieving attitudes?

Of course, none of the above consequences really happen. But I have also come to the conclusion that there really is such a thing as trying too hard to believe…trying too hard to find the meaning of Christmas. But “trying too hard” implies that you and I are actually in control of all this. “Trying too hard” implies that we can somehow “do something” to make this all happen. Ah, if it were only as easy as following “This Way to the True Meaning of Christmas;” not missing even one sign or turn; or baking up a batch or two of “Christmas Spirit” perfectly putting the recipe together; or cranking up the CD player and blasting Mannheim Steamroller or The Trans-Siberian Orchestra through our weary and sad hearts and…Voila! We find the true meaning of Christmas…Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but none of these exercises makes it so either…

So, my advice is quite simple…take time to breathe! Better yet, take some “holy time” to breathe. Breathe deeply and exhale…breathe deeply and exhale…repeat until you relax…with each breath in, breathe God’s presence into your body, mind and spirit…with each breath out, exhale any impurities, sadness, frustrations, worries, concerns, loneliness, struggles, whatever seems to be taking up residence and threatening to take over the entire neighborhood of your being…and make room for the Spirit to move in like an “Extreme Home Makeover…”

Make this exercise a part of your daily prayers, add some patience—maybe a whole lot of patience :); practice at least once a day and discover how God is blessing you on your way to a fuller, richer, deeper understanding of hope, peace, joy & love—the very gifts of God—that move us closer and closer to Bethlehem town to receive the greatest gift of God to the whole world…Jesus Christ…Blessings, Joanne

Courage to Listen

Good Morning Bethlehem Trekkers,

“Rev. Joanne, I don’t mean to interrupt. But if you have time, could you come to my class and speak with the children? They have some questions about angels…” And my mind immediately went back about 12 years ago to a children’s moment when I asked the bundle of Christmas energy gathered before me, “What is an angel?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Ben replied, “Dead people with wings!” :) “Yes, I suppose that’s one way of describing an angel…” All of us managed to recover and make it through the rest of worship. But that one remark was the only nugget we carried with us as we left that morning! Once again, I was upstaged by an 8 year old!

That experience gave me the courage and the curiosity to enter the classroom where 2 Kindergartners and 1 first grader were busy coloring paper angels. “Good morning, guys!” “What beautiful angels you’re making!” “I understand you have some questions about angels…” And the conversation went something like this:

“What color are angels?” “Great question, Christopher…” Taking my cue from Jesus’ teaching moments, I quickly answered with another question: “What color are you?” “I’m brown…” “And you, Eli? “I’m white.” “And you, Matthew? Blonde—I think angels are blonde.”
“Well, I think you’ve answered the question yourselves...the way I look at it, God made us and God made the angels; so I think angels are the same colors as we are.”

All the while the coloring continues. “Tell me what you think angels do?” “They fly around.” “They help people.” “How do they know what to do?” “God tells them.” “Do you know what the word, messenger means?” Matthew answered, “Yes, messengers bring messages.” “Good for you…to know that…Angels are messengers…who bring messages…important messages from God…” I think we’re good here…

…Important messages from God…not always with the bold words, “ Greetings, favored one!...Do not be afraid…you will bear a son and you will name him Jesus…” or “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…” But important messages nonetheless come to us from God. But we are not always aware of them. Perhaps we are too busy or our lives are drowning in noises that distract us.

Perhaps we don’t take the time to listen; or maybe, just maybe…we don’t have the desire to listen…or we are afraid of what we might hear God telling us and then we would have to go and do it! It takes courage to listen, especially to God… For the most part I agree with J. Barrie Shepherd, in his book, Faces at the Manger, “…God’s Word then, comes to us through things as they are…God’s Messengers…appear right at the heart of the everyday. But unless we are listening, unless we are prepared to drop, even for a moment, our busy work of preparation, celebration, we will never hear the angels’ song…”

As you continue to make your way to Bethlehem , be aware of God’s messengers all around you, trying their best on God’s behalf, to reach you in the everyday, in the midst of the stuff of life; with an important message custom-tailored just for you…
“Can you hear Me now?

Blessings, Joanne

Countdown to Christmas

Good Morning All,

20…19…18…17…16…15…the Countdown to Christmas is officially in the “Oh my gosh, where has the time gone,” zone! It’s getting more and more difficult to find that “holy time out” we’ve been talking about; and yet the opportunities for worship and enjoyable programs are still before us…after all, we just got started, right? Advent is only 4 days old, isn’t it? So, why is there such a sense of panic in the air…Maybe we’re caught up in “So much to do, so little time…” constantly ringing in our heads like the never ending sounds of the Salvation Army volunteer’s bells and the clanging of change being dropped in the red buckets… leaving us yearning more and more for just a few moments peace and quiet.

And yet, there is something that draws me into all the frenetic activity this time of year. Don’t get me wrong, I still need and crave any and all times when I can retreat and escape the hustle and bustle. In fact it’s the quiet moments that actually give me the strength to enter the chaos. But there is still some thing, some force, like a giant magnet, that seems to draw me into the fray.

For the last couple of years when I have visited NYC during the Thanksgiving/Christmas season, I took time to stand perfectly still, fixed in one spot, in the middle of Times Square at night; in the midst of all the lights; flashing billboards; the endless cacophony of horns honking, music blaring, bells ringing, people shoving and plowing through the crowds, street vendors crying out, “Rolex, Rolex, Rolex! Special price for you! There I stood…taking it all in…this is New York City ! And as crazy as it may sound, I became energized; renewed by all that was happening around me!

Holiday preparations are like this for me…I often look for those moments at the Mall or in the middle of some specialty store or grocery; in the midst of all that is whizzing by, to step back, rest on a bench, take it all in and somehow gain energy from it all. I see and hear many things…some good and heart warming; some not so good, filled with tension and anger…

The spiritual preparations for this sacred season do the same for me…taking time in the middle of all the demands; all our concerns, challenges and sadness; any and all that calls us into the upheaval; to somehow take it all in, sit with it all for a while and then pausing to listen, really listen… for God calling us into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God and each other; to hear God’s voice whispering in our ears…reminding us that this is the time when heaven and earth are one; where all our hopes and fears are met together; as we seek peace, a true sense of well-being; as we are filled with great joy and celebrate the love of God born once again in our hearts and minds…

This is the miracle of Christmas; Christ coming into this time and this place; taking the stuff of life, every bit of the good, the bad and the ugly and transforming us, healing us, energizing us as we become agents and vessels of God’s hope in the world…May you receive Holy Energy from the chaos as we journey to Bethlehem and encourage others to travel with us…Come and see what God has done! Blessings, Joanne