Colourful Dreamer

We gather this Christmas looking for joy longing for hope holding our grief for what has been and what is and what will be We see a babe lying in a manger bed There we find God present in: Mary’s pain and doubt wonder at the unknown giving birth in this stable cave; Shepherds washed in fear and uncertainty, blinded by angel armies deafening song, calling them on; Joseph’s bewilderment as his simple life takes undefined turns wishing for life as it was, as it should be; mothers wailing gut wrenching despair holding their murdered sons, sacrificed on Herod’s paranoia and resentment; Foreign Magi risky questing and wise searching entering hostile lands looking. We see a babe lying in a manger bed There we find God present in our story our grief Christmas joy. God declares this world and all people worthy For God is with us present utterly committed even now ushering hope and wholeness gif

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! I wonder what looks like this year. Too many of us are tired. Delta shifted the goal post and the rules changed. This has left many feeling confused and stressed. People are increasingly frustrated, impatient, annoyed, even angry with those they disagree with, and those they blame for what is happening. It can be hard to even find ways to talk. And still covid rages on and the future remains very uncertain. Merry Christmas! I recently read Daniel Ladinsky’s poem “God Would Kneel Down” [1] .  I think God might be a little prejudiced. For once He asked me to join Him on a walk through this world, and we gazed into every heart on this earth, and I noticed He lingered a bit longer before any face that was weeping, and before any eyes that were laughing.   And sometimes when we passed a soul in worship God too would kneel down. I have come to learn: God adores His creation. For the great Franciscan theologian John Dunne Scott