Snow this morning so I tried out my new "Yaktrax". I went up and down our steep driveway with nary a slip or slide.

Snow was flying against the dark sky; the walk was beautiful and my heart light.

Today I'll try to put my house in order, literally and metaphorically, in preparation for a new year.

This week I resumed work on a project that I'd put away 2 years ago when my eyesight was so poor. It will still be slow going, but I think it's important that I finish what I began for practical and spiritual reasons.

How wonderful is the gift of life!

Moment by moment

When I took the dogs out yesterday morning it was blustery and so cold. Even with hat and gloves, hoodie and coat zipped up to my chin the wind pierced me. I hunched my shoulders and hunkered down to seize whatever warmth I could, my eyes fixed upon the ground.

Christmas lights caught the corner of my eye and I looked up. Toward the river, pearly banks of clouds the size of countries morphed into continents upon a black horizon as the wind played with them. My shoulders relaxed as the beauty of the morning warmed me through and through.

I wondered: how often do I miss these holy sights because I'm hunkered down in my thoughts or feelings, plans or hopes?

Later after it had gotten light, I looked out a porthole window to see white puffs of clouds outlined in purple and dark blue sail across the sky. Amazing, but in a very few minutes they were gone.

Live in the moment.

Mistaken identity

The Gospel reading for today was the slaughter of the innocent children by King Herod (Luke 2:41-52). Magnificat (Vol 11, No 11) comments

This barbaric case of 'mistaken identity' becomes the source of incomparable exaltation for the Holy Innocents. For there is no greater glory than for a person to be mistaken for Christ himself. (p.153)

As we all bear the imago dei could it be that God original intention for each of us was that we might one day be mistaken for Christ in our words or attitudes, actions or choices? Aren't we most at peace when patience, humility, charity and the like prevail?

I trust that God somehow carried the poor mothers of those innocent babes into the picture so that they came to know the inestimable value of their sacrifice, too., for all of salvation history.

Jesus, I pray that others may see you in me.

Ended or begun?

Has Christmas ended or begun?

My neighbor removed the cheery red and white lights he'd wrapped around his porch railings and hauled the family Christmas tree out to the curb. The after holiday sales have started and the annual "best and worst" appeared in this morning's Post. It's over.

But at church, where the banks of poinsettias, white-lighted trees, creche and Christmas carols just began, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah has just begun. We reflect on what the manner of God's coming says about God and draw lessons for living.

God came into the world in the utter vulnerability of an infant, just as every human does. Who can resist an infant, soft and warm wanting only love. No words, no judgment, no demands --God wanted humankind to know that first. God came into a family and knew the ups and downs living those relationships. Within that setting, a babe became a child, a child a man, and that man our Savior.

Family relationships delight and the trouble. Sometimes we want to draw close and other times we'd like to run away. God knows.

First things first

Some mornings I toy with not saying my prayers first (after feeding and walking the dogs). A cup of coffee, breakfast, the newspaper, the morning's news all beckon. Today I resisted their sqawks and squeals, opening my books and calling upon God.

Why do I forget so easily that I most need God first thing in the morning? More than the brown liquid that wakes me, the cereal that fuels me, or the latest faux pax that titillates, for through the Scriptures read, prayers said, and reflections that develop God gives me the insight, the guidance and the comfort that will best fuel my day.

The Light dawns

Until this morning, I hadn't connected my love of the dawn to Christmas the dawning of the Light of the World.

My first inkling came from this morning's hymn , which had no attribution except for the man (John Brownlie, 1859-1925) who translated it from the Greek .

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light triumphant breaks;

When beauty gilds the eastern hills,

And life to joy awakes.

O brighter than the glorious morn

Shall this fair morning be,

When Christ, our King, in beatuy comes,

And we his face shall see.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And earth's dark night is past;

O haste the rising of the morn,

The day that aye shall last.

The King shall come when morning dawns,

And light and beauty brings:

Hail, Christ the Lord! Thy people pray,

Come quickly, King of kings.

By the time I left the house this morning, the sun was shining brightly in a clear sky. As I sat in church, I happened to choose a pew in a direct line with an upper window. Almost like a spotlight, the sun found my face! And I remembered: Jesus is the Sun of righteousness. He dawned upon the earth that first Christmas day.

Shine, O LIGHT OF THE WORLD, through your children and illuminate every darkness. Amen.

The day before the day before Christmas

My favorite time of day is the 30 minutes or so before day dawns.

Lately, it's quite dark then. This morning, stars shone against a clear black sky and 30' barren oak branches reached to touch them.

Several days ago, right after the massive snow storm that shut down the metro area, massive cloud swirled across the sky in contrasting light and dark hues. I was reminded of photos I've seen of the northern lights.

I'm out there because the dogs' insistence forces me out of my warm bed. I used to groan and mutter, but now I look forward to the gift the God the dawn, of the morning star, will give me.

He hasn't failed yet!

Starting Today

Starting today I'm going to try to set down my ramblings, reflections, mutterings and musings for those of you who choose to read and of course, for myself.

Why? Well, some who followed my Caring Bridge blog some years ago have asked that I continue. I've resisted but in recent days I've felt a nudging to begin.

As Christmas closes in, I've struggled to feel merry. I've not experienced any great loss recently, but it's the small niggling disappointments that intrude. You know, the ones that are embarrassing to even talk about in the face of the sorrow many people know.

I volunteer as a chaplain in a nursing home. They know about loss and grief. Last week, in one of my sometime sermons I told them that joy is not the same as happiness. Joy can be felt even when circumstances are unhappy. How? By remembering who God is, what God has done for us by coming into the world as a helpless infant, and what God has promised (and demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus).

Today, I preach to myself.