We breathe in deeply these winter moments and with wide-eyed amazement and reluctant chagrin accept the snow-shrouded season. We pause now in unclenched minutes to relax in human-divine presence, to let go of nagging anxieties and abide safely and warmly in community. May we be sustained now as we gather in silence…

Each of us are among friends now, people who hurt and hope just like we do; people who think deeply and get beneath the surface just like we do; people who hunger for justice and who live compassionate lives; people accepting and non-judgmental. People wishing to be happy, positive and healthy – and who want the best for us. What a relief and what a gift to be connected to other sojourners along Life’s way. Let us not take those to our right and to our left for granted, but rather relish in the strength, comfort and possibilities this community affords.

The world is the stage before and around us. We embrace its beauty; we repel what seems ugly. We challenge corruption and violence and yet turn passive eyes and thoughts away from the dissonance and disparity in everyday life both near and far. For with the peoples of this world, those seen and invisible, at Meijer all the way to Myanmar, there is grief, inequity, sadness and despair. Are our eyes opening and awakening to the beauty and the burdens? Are we open to the hard work of peace – starting with ourselves? Boy, do we enjoy our comforts and conveniences…and yet we are driven to even the playing field and enhance the world, starting with our own communities, families, local organizations as well as international efforts. Perhaps we begin with our own sobering and life-giving appraisal…loving and accepting the full spectrum of our giftedness, fears, growth areas so that we would be more fully released to the world…useful to the world, linking our interests, generosity and intrigue with the world’s needs. So be it!

We build and honor community this day – both local and global; we sing today and we enjoy the seductive sway of movement, the sensuality of skin; we harbor fears and we anticipate buying life-giving gifts for the world. We learn and listen, we sermonize and doze. We embrace our humanity as well as the broader human family represented in myriad ways this day right here and now and down the hall where gifting is welcome and needed. Where people seek to empower themselves as well as receive from the abundance in this lifetime and earth.

Let us not forget this holiday season those in the aftermath of having lost loved ones and who proceed into these weeks with heightened loss and nostalgia. May they be surrounded with sensitive awareness and love. We remember those in financial crises; those in relational or employment transition and the stress that brings. We commit to being a positive presence with and for all we encounter…as salt and light enhancing, zesting and illuminating tired or grey lives.

Here’s to the world, to giving gifts, to raising a glass to all people; to dwelling in pride and humility in being part of a local community and broader human village…all on the way, grasping, growing, limping, laughing, becoming, through brokenness and beauty, more of who we can be. Amen.
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