Tis the season...

The world is a mess. Wars being fought with thousands of innocents being slaughtered and killed, the planet seemingly crying out for us to save it, or more to the point, ourselves. And sadly our response is to point the finger and blame “the other” and then justify ourselves by exploiting the fears about our differences. But then again, hasn’t it always been so?

As Christians celebrate this holiday, they retell the story of the birth of a child that back over 2,000 years ago, arrived in what was then a very broken world. Wars, divisiveness, the perils of nature, all combined to challenge the very idea that they and he could survive at all much less do so in peace. And yet, this child, even from his very humble beginnings offered hope.

Whether you are a believer in the literal retelling of this story or not, the narrative has affected the world powerfully. A child is born and offers us hope that new life can help reset our course and light our path; one that we can follow to a place where we can pause amidst the darkness of the present moment and celebrate our connectedness to one another.

No matter which, if any tradition of belief we follow, our humanity reflects our understanding of the power of love…not just the greeting card significance of that word, but more our willingness to sacrifice and give… so that a child can not only be born but can survive and thrive.

My Christmas wish is that that we pause and notice the wonder of life and celebrate the power of the love that not only creates but sustains it. As we inevitably continue to witness all the destruction that anger, outrage and divisiveness can inspire, we can also witness the power of life creating and sustaining love in the beautiful little faces of the new lives that offer us something even more powerful…hope. Merry Christmas.