Today I have been traveling. It’s what I meant to do when I imagined this
blog. I would move to a different
location each day, and I would just plant myself there and think about…whatever
came to mind. And write about it.
But till today I hadn’t done that. The first three days of this blog were
focused on mechanics: the mechanics of
learning to write for a fair amount of time each day and every day (I would be embarrassed to tell you how long a couple of
these posts took); the mechanics of learning what to do when something that
looks perfectly fine on your own screen develops internal demons when you
transfer it to somebody’s blog program (you panic and text your daughter-in-law
the webmaster or your son the computer software writer); and the mechanics of
figuring out the timing of everything so that by 9 am in the morning something
intelligible will on offer in everybody’s email.
But today, with three whole days under my belt, I got braver. I left my house and drove a mile and a half to the Barnes and Noble cafe in Westport.
When I got here the place was packed, only two tables out of about twenty still free, due to the fact that the wrapping paper station has taken over the lower left side of the café. Armed with my mug of skinny peppermint mocha I found a table on the lower level, literally inches from a ledge covered with what looks like hundreds of games: Monopoly, Battleship, Clue, Parcheesi, Twister, and a whole bunch unknown to me. Why does it make me feel so good to know that people still play Twister and Parcheesi?!
Two hours later I have had a ball, sipping coffee, listening to moderately horrible renditions of Christmas carols, watching people meet up to chat, including several pairs of tutors with students. I can feel the smile on my face, even before I greet my friend Margy who works here, and Don as well, a fellow customer I met ages ago when I first began coming here to work on my sermon.
It has been a great afternoon. This is much more what I figured blogging would be like.
And what about Advent wisdom for the day, I hear you wondering. Have you any spiritual pearls to share as a result of your relaxing and enjoyable afternoon? Good question.
Not really.
Well maybe. Sort of. I guess I’ve spent the afternoon
rediscovering how much I love the season and most of its trappings. I know it’s fashionable to resent the secular
“taking over” of the religious celebrations of Christmas, but I confess that in
my book it’s mostly all good. Christmas
is one of the church’s big hits; why argue with success?! The making-a-buck thing gets tiresome, that’s
true, but what’s not to love about friends and family celebrating, and parties
and Christmas cards and presents given and received, and feasts shared and
great music and lots of lights twinkling all around?
Anybody who thinks they’ve taken Christ out of
Christmas is mistaken. Not
possible. Christ is in Christmas, Christ
IS Christmas, for Christ’s sake--and I mean that with all reverence. His message is out there. His message is in here. (Imagine me touching my heart.) The most secular humanist who sends a
Christmas card or talks about peace and good will on earth through recycling
and re-purposing, or who is concerned about caring for the sick and freeing
those who are in subjection to others or in thrall to drugs—that person is
talking about Christ, known or unknown. Those are Christian ideas and Christmas
morals and Christian sentiments and Christian theology.
And if they’re also Buddhist and Hindu and
Jewish and Muslim beliefs, why on earth would we complain?
Bidden or unbidden, God is present. (Carl Jung)
Ubi Caritas et amor deus ibi est.
Where there is love and caring, there is God.
Peace on earth. One person at a time. One heart
at a time.
Let’s leave the nonsense about the design of
Starbucks coffee cups to the politicians.
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