SACRAMENTALITY

Feast of the Holy Innocents

As we consider how God is about doing a new thing in our lives, there is much resistance in our world, particularly in the Middle East.  So, I'm re-publishing the post I wrote last year at this time.  It behooves us to know that change comes with a price in that it shines light on the shadows.

Today is a day set aside in the church calendar year to remember the innocent children slaughtered at the hands of Herod. What a profound story this is. Here you have an infant who is utterly helpless and this babe is given power because of a dream.  Then someone who appears to hold any power he wants is so threatened by this infant that he must annihilate all infants in order to save his power.  Innocence is sacrificed so that power can be maintained. It is not the infant who evokes such fear, rather it is the possibility of change, of losing power, privilege, status, and security - this evokes such fear.  The infant is the archetype for all that is possible.  A new soul has entered into this world and ahead are endless possibilities, the Incarnate image of God in our midst.  The King is the archetype for ultimate power and control, the human ego.  The ruler who determines what is possible and what is not possible and meets out the consequences to any who might think otherwise.

At face value this stories depicts the extreme of what one is capable of doing to maintain power and control, and unfortunately this story continues to be all too real to so many innocents in our world every day.  However, the reality is that both exists in each of us.  The struggle between following the path of potential and following the path of security play out every day within our own psyches, which then manifests in our relationships.  Fear is what motivates us to sacrifice the potential available in our lives.

As we reflect upon the year that is past and the year to come, may we all be given the courage to say no to our fear and yes to our potential.

The Collect for this occasion is as follows:

"We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

The Universe is doing a New Thing

This is at the heart of the Christmas message; the universe, God, your soul;  seeks to do a new thing in your life.  Are you aware of where it is breaking forth?  A clue is to look where your resistance is hanging out.  It might feel like the hard stuff, wanting to hang on to feelings, behaviors, relationships, that no longer serve your highest good.    For me, it's learning to navigate the world as a single person hundreds of miles away from my family.  I get the opportunity to build a community of friends, to learn how to enjoy life on my own, to let go of old messages that say I need someone else in my life in order to be happy or know joy.  This I know beyond knowing - that walking through the resistance will allow the universe to do a new thing in my life.  Why would I not allow such possibilities to birth forth?

What new thing is the universe doing in your life?

And So It Begins

Most of us when we were young experienced a certain level of fear when it came to the dark.  Something within us inherently knows that the dark is often an uncomfortable, mysterious, ominous, and often confusing place.  And when we find ourselves in dark places we automatically begin to search for a light switch or try to make out the shadows, seeking something, some way to find our way out so that we can see.  So when the days grow shorter and our external life becomes more barren this familiar discomfort surfaces.  And guess what; our cultural shadows began to take life.  Capitalism is going to tempt you into believing that if you want to light in your life, then buy into the nostalgic sentimentalism of the Christmas season.  This year the temptations will be disguised behind the fall of our economy and you will be given the pressure to cure the darkness of our economy with buying more and more.  This is a wise ploy of capitalism in the sense of taking advantage of our discomfort of the dark.  Whether we turn to capitalism, alcoholism, workaholism, etc, etc, our soul is inviting us to an alternative way of navigating the dark.  Befriending the dark may not come naturally to you, but if you attempt to do so, the ominous shadows have much to teach you about soul stamina, soul courage, soul strength, soul wisdom, soul being.