tHeRe iS gOoD nEwS aT cHriStMaS...

Prayer: 

O Rising Sun, enlighten my darkness.

" Through the heartfelt mercies of God, 

      God's Rising Sun 

will break in upon us,

   Shining on those in the darkness,

      those sitting in the shadow of death,

   Then showing us the way, 

one foot at a time,
      down the path of peace."    (Luke 1:78-79)

Pre-industrial people were far more connected to the natural cosmos and seasons than we are today, and were very aware that the 21st of December is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere... not really the death of the sun—but its rebirth! The liturgical year was easily connected to the seasons of nature. 

The Latin word Oriens, also translated “The Dayspring” (Luke 1:78) , was used as an image of Jesus, the Rising Son/Sun who is always leading us into the future horizons of time and history. The somewhat artificial date for Jesus' birthday was chosen to be December 25, because it was not until a few days after this that early astronomers could assess the rebirth of the sun, and so this became the Roman celebration of the birth of the sun and for Christians, the birth of the Son and "Light of the World", Jesus  Prayer: O God, The Divine with Us,  may I be aware of your Presence in all things. ( taken from Richard Rohr meditations, December 2011) May the Warmth of Christ shine on those in darkness, those in desperate situations, those who feel hopeless... May Christ show The Way to each one of us, one foot at a time, down the PATH OF PEACE"... Jesus is for me a glimpse of HOPE, a gift of FAITH, the incarnation of The Divine's LOVE...  Jesus came to show a different "Kin-dom", he was born under the oppressive empire of Rome...people at that time would probably not call it a "crisis" but would probably be in worst conditions than we live these days...slavery, high taxes, no social security system, definitely no promise of a retirement wage... a baby was born to bring hope... a baby who himself was poor and homeless... a baby who was born to call people out to "WAKE UP", to not look at their miserable lives but start living differently, different from the religious system they were brought into, and different from the dominating Imperial system that was being imposed on them... A call to live "not conformed with this world", and not afraid of it nor dependent on it... Do you think Jesus' disciples were persecuted by the Romans because they started a new religion? I think they would not even see themselves as a "religion"... They were still jews and non-jews living as a community of friends loving one another because they realized how much they were loved by God, The Divine... I believe they were persecuted because they were realizing there was a different way to live, a way that would not depend on the big empire... they would depend on each other and they would trust God...they would help each other, they would distribute their possessions, they would open their houses to each other...  that was a threat for the empire, and that was why, I believe, they were persecuted... they were challenging the system with their lifestyle... the system that thought it was in control... the system that wanted to rule over them, oppressing them, forcing them to live in fear with silly propaganda... making them believe everything was bad and it was only going to get worse...making them believe they needed the system in order to survive and have "security"... As we know, the Roman Empire, as any other human empire, ended up falling... so, the call remains the same today : WAKE UP !!! it is possible to live life differently, it is possible to love one another, it is possible to share and help one another, it is possible to look to the others as equal human beings, it is possible to live without destroying the earth, more than that, it is possible to live and help the earth, and be helped by the earth...it is possible to live with less needs, it is possible to live simpler, it is possible to live with less possessions, it is even possible to live without our corrupt monetary systems...it is possible to live apart from the oppressive systems that rule the world... there is another "kin-dom" where human beings are brothers and sisters, where there are no class separations, no nationalities, no religions, where people love God, The Divine, Love each other and love all Creation as themselves... no need for going to war, not even for the existence of armies, where there is no competition but cooperation... the list can go on if you dare to imagine... imagine the world ruled by Love and not by money... (John Lennon's song might help you...) My message to all this Christmas season is: WAKE UP!!! TURN OFF YOUR TV, PHONE, LAPTOP,  ETC... !!! LOOK AT THOSE AROUND YOU, WHETHER IS PEOPLE, ANIMALS, TREES, FLOWERS... AND IMAGINE ... A WORLD WHERE THE ONLY EXPECTATION IS TO LOVE... THEN, LIVE IT... LIVE IN THE HERE AND NOW... we'll find out that it is not so hard... and it's even pleasant !!! May we practice it more often... and hopefully it will become a habit