New beginnings-

“As a new calendar year approaches, many kinds of new beginnings come with it.
They can be joyous, nostalgic, and even a bit nerve wracking, but endings and new beginnings are what life is made of.”

sermon for the Unitarian Universalists of North Idaho, December 28, 2014



Good morning!

Merry Fourth Day of Christmas, my friends!

Since we are also in the season of the New Year in at least three ways,
   Happy New Year to you all as well!

First of all, we are in the New Year on the Western Christian churches' liturgical calendar:
   The Season of Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas,
      is the season just past.

    It is the Season of preparation for Christmas,
       and it is the first season of the liturgical calendar.

Now we are in the second season of the liturgical calendar,
  the Season of Christmas.

This season is always exactly 12 days long - hence the 12 days of Christmas,
    from December 25 through January 5.

Since we are in the official Christmas Season on the calendars of liturgical churches,
    we are already in the new year in that sense.

Secondly we are in the season of the New Year because the new solar year in the North of our planet
  began last Sunday, with the Winter Solstice.

By now we can actually just barely begin to notice the days getting longer by a few seconds each day.

By now we can begin tell that the great wheel of the year has turned and we are heading into longer and warmer days.

As of right now, that seems like a wonderful idea,
    even though we probably won't notice much warmth for a while!

The season of the new solar year,
   just following the Winter Solstice,
         is a wonderful time for all of us who draw part of our spirituality from the world of nature!

It gives us a strong sense of our place in the cosmos.

Because of the Earth's tilt on its axis,
   we have seasons
     with different kinds of weather
       hot or cold
         wet or dry
           according to our position in relation with the sun.

Do we get more or less sunshine at this time of year?

In the northern part of our planet,
     we are getting less, but now we will start getting more and more, day by day.

In the southern part of our planet,
     they are getting more, but now they will start getting less and less, day by day.

The real reason for all of the seasons
     is the way the Earth is tilted on its axis!

We ourselves are part of the natural order of things.

The illusion that we are somehow above or apart from it
  sometimes gets us into trouble,

but the truth is...

We are ourselves products of Nature Herself
     or of the Creator of Nature,
            whichever way you prefer to express it.

As such,
  we are always profoundly affected by the events of the natural world
        and our interaction with it,
              whether we like it or not.

In this season of the new solar year, we can like it a lot,
     since with this season we observe the miracle of the change of the seasons.

I'm using the word miracle carefully here.

The great event of this season is a miracle, a wonder to all of us who know how to see.

The song, "Everthing is holy now," sings the message as clearly as anything I have ever heard.

It's not that our understanding of science has taken away the great miracles from us.

Rather, our understanding of science has enabled us to see the miracles in events that might otherwise seem commonplace.

The great event of our present season,
   the turning of the wheel,
      is not only something that we commemorate during this holy season:

It is truly taking place as we watch!

We can observe our own place in the cosmos,
  and we can stand in awe.

As we observe the days beginning to grow longer,
    we ourselves are being affected in ways we may not be fully aware of
         by the returning of the light.

The appearance that the sun is coming back to the north
   is more than an idea to call us to worship.

It is a reality of body and soul.

We can truly and deeply rejoice that we can see
  what is happening to our world:

We will not freeze in the cold and the dark.

The warmer growing season will return
      and the cycle of the year will go on.

We know this with our minds,
    but we really feel it to the depths of our emotions
          as we begin to see it happening.

So the second reason we are in the season of the new year
  is that the Winter Solstice has just come and gone
       and the new year of Mother Nature is visible all around us.

So, now to the third reason we are presently in or near a new year:

The new calendar year is about to begin.

The start of 2015 is approaching!

Thursday of this week is New Year's Day!

So saying, "Happy New Year" makes sense already
    because of all three ways we are in the New Year's season,
       but most of all because we are so close to January 1st, 2015.

Wishing each other a Happy New Year is a wonderful way of enjoying the season
   and also helping others enjoy it too.

There is a sense of shared experience of a joyous celebration in approaching the New Year.

The shared experience of celebrating together sadly seems to be getting lost around the Holy Days.

We have different Holy Days to celebrate,
  depending on the culture we have lived in.

One of my online friends grew up in a country of Western Christianity
   where Christmas is celebrated on December 25.

For reasons of work and study,
   he now lives in a country of Eastern Christianity
       where Christmas is celebrated on January 6.

He experienced some nostalgia and sadness
  because there was none of the joy and celebration
      he was used to sharing at this time.

December 25 was just a regular work day for him!

Fortunately he was able to have a small celebration with some of his friends online,
    and he took great comfort from that.

We live in a very pluralistic society.

There are people from many different cultures all around us.

There are both Eastern and Western Christians
   who simply need to understand each other
     before they start getting too upset about who says,
          "Merry Christmas" to whom, and when!

Making our seasonal greetings a bone of contention
   is really kind of sad to my way of thinking.

Nobody is trying to make war on anybody else's Holy Days,
   but those who are claiming that there is such a war
     are creating a war on politeness, it seems to me!

Whenever someone takes a moment to wish me happiness
  in any way or form,
    I'm grateful,

and it seems to me that the polite thing to say is, simply,
   "Thank you! And the same to you!"

At least, now, saying "Happy New Year," can be a safe greeting this week
   without raising too many hackles!

I haven't heard anyone speaking of a war on New Year's!

Of course, this season of new beginnings does bring up many emotions for all of us.

We think of New Years past,
     and we wonder what the New Year of 2015 will bring us.

We look back and we look forward.

We might want to remember the Roman god, Janus,
          for whom January was named.

He had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking back.

As we look back,
    we all think of the events of the past year,
      large and small.

We could call some of those events bad - or at least difficult -
     and we could call some of those events good - or at least promising.

Whether we think of good times or hard times as we think of the past year,
    we are thinking of the very things that life is made of.

As we look forward toward the coming year,
    we can anticipate more of the good times and more of the hard times.

By its very nature, life cannot simply stand still.

It may feel like it sometimes,

     whether because the times are good and we have timeless moments of wonder and joy

        or whether the times are bad and the clock seems to stand still for a while.

Yet the truth is, time does move on,
     and the experiences that happen to us within time
           are what our lives are made of.

We may as well accept that there will be some of both - good and bad -
     and move forward into the new beginning
           that the new year brings

     with a sense of anticipation and joy.

So much of our lives can be determined by what we choose to focus on.

I tend to be optimistic,
    sometimes overly so,
       and my friends have sometimes called me starry-eyed as a result.

One of the ways I manage to sustain my starry-eyed optimism
   is trying to focus on the possibilities of the future
       rather than the limitations.

Life will bring me up short often enough,
   so I don't have to try to anticipate the negative possibilities.

I find that I'm better prepared for whatever life may bring
    if I anticipate the good,
        knowing that it may not come as I hope or wish.

I try not to spend today's energy with too much worry about tomorrow.

I usually need all the energy I can get
    just trying to work my way through each day.

Why borrow trouble, as the expression goes?

Of course, I don't always succeed at focusing on the possibilities for good things!

Sometimes I worry.

Sometimes even too much.

Yet I know that worrying doesn't improve anything,
   not even my own skills for coping with the things I'm worrying about if they should come.

Looking for the negative possibilities sometimes can make them more likely,
    because our thoughts are among the most powerful forces in our lives,
        bringing a focus on the energies that tend to converge
            in creating our future.

Looking only at the good possibilities
   or worrying too much about the bad ones
       can lead us astray.

There is need for balance.

Without a shadow side, without the darkness in our lives,
    the light would be unbearably bright.

Without the light, the darkness would be unbearably empty.

I know I'm speaking metaphorically here,
   but some of the spiritual realities of our everyday lives
      are best expressed in metaphor.

Another way of approaching the balance of light and dark in our minds
   is to remember that we all have some good things and some bad things
        inside us and around us.

It's simply part of life.

We will live more fully and happily if we remember this principle.

We can keep our own thoughts in order and balance if we accept both the good and the bad.

Thoughts come and go.

Some of them have power because we hold on to them.

Some of them can just wash over us like water over a dam.

If we spend our energy thinking about the good things,
    we give greater strength to those.

At times like the New Year,
     our thoughts can be very nostalgic.

We sometimes wish for the return of better times that we can remember.

That is not a bad thought in itself,
   but the sadness that can result from concentrating on it
      can be a real downer, so to speak.

Remembering good times from the past can be an exercise in enjoying life right now.

None of the past can really be repeated,
   so we can enjoy the memories without clinging to them.

Good times are coming in the future for all of us.

I'm convinced that no matter what,
   we can find joy and well being
       in the circumstances that are ahead.

Yes, of course, there will be hard times.

There will always be challenges ahead of us.

As we look toward the new year of 2015,
    we can concentrate on the possibilities that are coming our way.

We can balance our thoughts by accepting the negative thoughts that come,
    and focusing our energies on the good possibiities that lie ahead.

It doesn't have to be hard to keep our thinking in balance.

Just noticing the direction of our thoughts can be helpful.

There is no need to fight the sad or negative thoughts when they come,
   and they will come, for all of us.

We can just let them wash over us like waves of water.

They will come and they will go.

Good thoughts will also come,
  and we can consciously focus energy on them.

Looking forward with anticipation to happy occasions that are coming
   can help us plan and get ready to have fun!

Thinking about happy occasions in the past
  can be enjoyable,
    even though nothing in the past can be exactly repeated.

Sadness is inevitable for all of us,
  since it's just a part of life,
     but we can decide to focus our attention and energy on the good things.
       
It's not so much a matter of manipulating our thinking
   as it is a conscious decision about emphasis.

We can't - and we need not -
     control the thoughts that will come and go.

But we can decide to enhance our feelings of well being
   by giving extra thought and energy to the good things we can look forward to.

We can decide to accept ourselves, with the positive and negative energies we all have inside.

While we are in this season of the New Year, we can look forward to a Happy New Year
     with all the different circumstances life will bring us.

Amen

So mote it be

Blessed Be!

and especially...

Happy New Year!

Worship Service at Church of the Dawntreader Thursday December 25, 2014 10:00 a.m. SLT
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
    Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™
    Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
    www.zondervan.com
"New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989,
Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved." Designated by the initials, (NRSV).

Invocation:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen
Confession and Absolution
We come before you, our Loving Father, Mother God, confessing most of all our need of you.
We confess that we have not always acknowledged just how much we depend on you.
We confess that we have not always loved you with all our heart, soul and mind.
We have not always loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We ask that you will forgive us and grant us your strength to conform more fully to your loving will for us.
We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Amen.
In obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is my privilege to declare to you and to myself, the entire
forgiveness of all our sins.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen
Prayer of the Day
Let us pray.
All-powerful and unseen God, the coming of your light into our world has brightened weary hearts with peace.
Call us out of darkness, and empower us to proclaim the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen

First Lesson: Isaiah 9:2-7 (NRSV)
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness--
on them light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
4 For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Mid'ian.
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Here ends the First Lesson

Psalm 96 (NRSV)
1 O sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Worship the LORD in holy splendor;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity."
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the LORD; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Second Lesson: Titus 2:11-14 (NRSV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
12 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled,
upright, and godly, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior,
Jesus Christ. 14 He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity
and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Here ends the Second Lesson.

Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-14 (NRSV)
1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirin'ius was governor of Syria.
3 All  went to their own towns to be registered.
4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem,
because he was descended from the house and family of David.
5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"
Here end the Readings from Holy Scripture.

 - Sermon -

Today we get to share in our Dawntreader congregation's celebration of Christmas, the Nativity of our Lord.
Our lessons are all from the wider church's celebration for Christmas Day.
I hope and pray that everyone will have the opportunity to share with others
the joy of the contemplation of the birth of Christ,
the reason for the season!
All of our lessons for Christmas
focus our attention on the meaning
of the holy birth that changed our world forever.
Our first lesson reminds us
that people who had dwelt in spiritual darkness
have had the light of hope, faith and great joy shine on them.
Spiritual darkness has many causes,
but most of them are based on fear and a sense of our own unworthiness.
The cure is universal:
the love of God, poured out into our hearts.
Love is the light that scatters the darkness,
and the Light was born among us in Bethlehem about 2015 years ago.
A miscalculation in the Middle Ages
has the actual earliest possible date of His birth as 4 B.C.
He took on a human body from His mother, Mary,
and He became one of us.
The story is among the most precious to many of us,
and in the words of St. Luke,
among the most beautiful ever written.
So it is no wonder that we treasure Luke's description of our Lord's birth.
The angels bear witness that the holy birth was given from Heaven,
a sign of God's loving, good will
to all of us, His human children.
The shepherds teach us that His birth was among the common people
even though He was born to be Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
To US a child is born,
To US a son is given
and the message of peace rings out
even in the midst of our wars.
The Prince of Peace will win the final victory,
and His birth among us is the sign
that God has not given up on us.
The message of Christmas is crystal clear
if we are paying attention.
The birth of Christ is absolutely unique,
and yet...
His birth as a human child,
laid in a manger among the animals of His own creation
teaches us
that the birth of every child is a holy event.
The Hindus have a saying:
The birth of every child is a sign
that God has not given up on us yet,
and Christmas is the reminder of this eternal truth.
We remember the birth of the Son of God
to remind us all
year after year
that because of Him
we are all children of God,
His sons and daughters,
loved with that same infinite love
that brought all the worlds into being.
Amen.

Prayer of the People
Please type your spontaneous petitions in chat.
Each prepared petition is intended to remind us of the things we need to pray about,
so a brief pause will be provided for us to pray our own petitions,
either sharing them in the chat window
or praying them in our own hearts.

Loving God, we pray for each other, for those who depend upon us for prayer, and for all people according to their needs.
We ask that your healing power may prevail in our lives.
We pray that those in positions of public trust may be worthy of that trust as they act as stewards of power and wealth
for the benefit of all.
We pray that conflicts may be resolved in the context of relationships,
so that violence of thought word and deed may be diminished all through our world.
We ask your blessing for all who bear witness to the Gospel, so that relationships with you may be deepened for all people.
All these things, and whatever else you see that we need, we ask that you will grant for the sake of your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whose name we pray.
Amen.
Our Lord's Prayer
Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever and ever,
Amen.
Benediction
May the Lord bless us and keep us.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious to us.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us, and give us peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen +

Advent - Coming and Going

The traditional season of preparation for Christmas is Advent, meaning coming and it is the first Season of the Christian Liturgical Year, so one year ends as another begins.
Today is the Winter Solstice, the beginning of a new solar year in the North of our planet, also helping us think in terms of endings and new beginnings.

sermon for the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse December 21, 2014


Good morning, everyone!

A Blessed Solstice to you all.

On this day we are experiencing a delightful convergence of Holy Days:

  Today is the Fourth (and last) Sunday of Advent

      and the Winter Solstice, the Day of the Rebirth of the Sun.

Whether our spirituality is based on religious tradition or on the celebration of Mother Nature,

   today is a special day, a Holy Day.


I often like to say, "Beware the holidays, and enjoy the Holy Days!"

The holidays are fraught with expectations and stress.

There is always too much to do and not enough time,
    and we are all too often afraid that we will disappoint the people we care about and who care about us.

The truth is, some disappointment is inevitable when people care about each other,
   so it makes a lot more sense not to worry about it too much.

It's better just to know that some disappointment will happen and to deal with it when it comes.

No holiday is as wonderful as the perfect holidays that we remember from the past,
     and memories of less than perfect holidays can darken the brightest celebrations of the present.

So my concept of coping with the holidays
    is to concentrate our thoughts and energy on remembering and celebrating the Holy Days
         that are the true reasons for the season.

Let's start with Advent and this Fourth Sunday in Advent.

This is a season of anticipation and hope.

It is the first season of the Christian liturgical year,
    and so we are already in the new year in that sense.

Our spiritual, emotional and physical lives are filled with both anticipation and hope.

Hope and anticipation are both good concepts to focus on, at least most of the time.

Life is mostly about the journey and not so much about the destination.

We need to make plans so that we can work to achieve the things we hope for,
    but we also need to be prepared to be surprised.

Sometimes, just as with the metaphor of the first Christmas,
   the surprise does come with joy and wonder,
      but not always in the form we expected!

Preparing for the spiritual celebration of Christmas is a good exercise for all of us,
   not just for those who take the metaphors as if they were historical fact.

I would say that those of us who are aware of the nature of myth and metaphor in the Christmas story
    are just as able to benefit from the meaning of the celebration
      as those who treat it as if it were based on cold, hard facts.

The spirit of Christmas is far more important than the details of the story.

We capture the spirit of the season
  when we spend time thinking more about the meaning of the story
     more than we do when we think about all the trappings -
        the holiday parties and dinners and preparations and frantic rushing around.

All of those things can be fun, of course, but when they cease to be fun, it can be very good
   just to relax and enjoy the beauty and wonder of a powerful story and its meaning for all of us.

The idea of the birth of Christ long ago and far away
  is something to focus on in the midst of this time of year.

We think of Mary, his mother, especially on this Fourth Sunday in Advent.

Her experience of that first Christmas was not at all what she was likely to have expected!

Having to make a long journey as she neared the end of her pregnancy
   would hardly have seemed like an auspicious beginning for the life of her Son.

Discovering that there was no room in the Inn -
    and that Joseph hadn't even made any reservations -
           must have been even downright shocking.

The only accomodations they could get were the result of the compassion of an innkeeper:
   a stable, generally thought to have been a cave,
       since the Hill Country of Judea has plenty of caves
           that have long been used as a safe place for the animals.

In fact, the stable that has been revered as Jesus' birthplace
   since about the 3rd or 4th Century CE
       is, in fact, a cave.


Whether the birth took place in summer or winter,
   the cave provided the only climate control that would have been possible in those days.

In winter, the cave feels warm.

In summer, it feels cool.

Here in simplest terms we see one of the many lessons of the myth and metaphor of the Christmas story:

Sometimes when things don't turn out as we expected, they can be even better than we would have thought possible!

As we spend time in the Christmas season, we can contemplate the deeper meaning of the story,
    and we will not be disappointed by the celebration we can keep in our hearts.

The story is rich with meaning,
   and it is worthy to be taken to heart.

After all, the idea of the Son of God being born in humble circumstances
     is a most powerful one for all the world to hear and know.

That stable has become precious in our hearts,
    and the manger in which the Child was laid
       is more uniquely valuable to many millions of people
              than the most luxurious bed in the palace of a king.

The most basic and most important point of that whole story
     is one that we often miss
         because we are so caught up in the details.

We speak of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem as a holy and blessed event
    to remind us that the birth of every child is holy and blessed,
         full of meaning that we may or may not be able to see right away.

As the Hindu proverb says,
    "The birth of every child tells us that God has not yet given up on the human family!"

That is the heart of the meaning of Christmas,
    the true reason for the Season.

We can learn to see the holy moments in our own everyday lives,
    the miracles happening around us all the time
      as people learn to care for each other and give of themselves.

One of the great miracles of the Universe is unfolding for us right now as we speak:
      It's called the Solstice.

Yes, it's the product of physics and mathematics as the Earth and the Sun move in perfect harmony in their great dance.

We are all part of that dance,
    and our observance of it
       can help us understand the rhythm of our lives every day.

It is no wonder - and I think, no accident -
     that the celebration of Christmas
        comes at the same time of year as the Winter Solstice in the northern hemisphere,
           where our myths, metaphors and celebrations came into being.

The birth of the Holy Child
   is celebrated with the season of the rebirth of the sun.

Historically, there are parallels.

The Christian church adopted and adapted many of the earth based celebrations.

If we want to get back to the Old Time Religion,
  we can do no better than to look to the ancient, earthy roots of our Holy Days.

In that light, for those of us living in the North,
    there is no more holy day than today!

The sun will not always appear to journey into night.

There is this current period
  in which the sun appears to stand still in the sky,
    in terms of his journey toward the southern horizon,
      away from us.

Then the sun turns around and appears to begin to move toward us again,
           toward the north.

As our days have grown shorter and our nights have grown longer,
    our minds and bodies have responded with quietness at best and fear at worst.

Our ancient ancestors watched the seasons unfold with awe.

We do well to remember their feelings and beliefs,
        for we ourselves are not so far removed from them.

From this day, the nights begin to grow shorter and the days begin to grow longer.

We are witnesses to the return of the light!

From this very day,
   beginning in only a very few days,
      even the least observant among us
         will begin to notice that the days really are growing longer!

Our minds may know the science.

And Yet... Our hearts can still be lifted by the observed knowledge
   that we are not all going to freeze in cold and the dark!

Here is a kind of salvation that we can all relate to!

Our rescue by the return of the Daystar, the sun,
   is something we can all feel in the deepest part of our being.

I grew up and spent most of my career in Texas, deep in the southern part of the northern hemisphere
    where the change of the seasons was not nearly as easy to observe.

I have sometimes said that Texas has two seasons: hot and hotter.

That's an exaggeration, I know, but one of many things I love about living in the Inland Northwest
      is the experience of four seasons.

Compared to many places, we really do have four mild seasons,
   and I promise not to complain about that!

As of today, on this holy day of the Solstice, our own spirituality can be based on the natural world.

We ourselves are part of the natural order of things.

The illusion that we are somehow above or apart from it
  sometimes gets us into trouble,

but the truth is...

We are ourselves products of Nature Herself
     or of the Creator of Nature,
            whichever way you prefer to express it.

As such,
  we are always profoundly affected by the events of the natural world
        and our interaction with it,
              whether we like it or not.

Today, we can really really like it.

Today is a day of joy and celebration
   because the beautiful, warm days of Spring and Summer are on their way back,
      and today is the first step on that journey.

The sun will actually appear to touch the Tropic of Capricorn today at 6:03 p.m. our time.

Because of the tilt of Earth's axis, our orientation to the sun begins to change today.

With this event we observe the miracle of the change of the seasons.

I'm using the word miracle carefully here.

The great event of this day is a miracle, a wonder to all of us who know how to see.

The song, "Everthing is holy now," sings the message as clearly as anything I have ever heard.

It's not that our understanding of science has taken away the great miracles from us.

Rather, our understanding of science has enabled us to see the miracles in events that might otherwise seem commonplace.

The great event of today,
   the great turning of the wheel,
      is not only something that we commemorate on this holy day:

It is truly taking place as we watch!

We can observe our own place in the cosmos,
  and we can stand in awe.

It is no accident that the Season of New Beginnings comes to us here and now.

The First Season of the Church Year, Advent, is only the first of a series of celebrations of the new year.

Today is the second such celebration.

Today we remember as it is happening
   the beginning of the new solar year.

Our cycle of our planet's journey around the sun could be remembered on any day,
   but this day of transition, our Solstice,
     is the best day of all to remember it

   because it is a transition we will all experience together.

The seasons are changing!

If you are south of the equator, of course,
    the transition is the opposite of ours.

For Australia, southern Africa and South America, and many other places of the southern hemisphere,
   today is the summer solstice,
       but the transition is also from season to season.

For them, summer begins as for us winter begins.

Again, it's because of our orientation to the sun, the Day Star,
   and as our hearts are grateful that we will not perish in the cold and dark,

     they are grateful that they will not perish in the heat and drought.

We celebrate today
     the Holy Day of our Mother Earth,
       and so I wish you all a Blessed Solstice.

As I conclude my sharing of thoughts with you today,
      I feel a deep need to ride one of my hobby horses.

Perhaps you have heard of the contrived idea
   that there is a war on Christmas.

In reality, it's just another attempt to use the holy days for personal gain,
     in this case, for political gain.

There is no war on Christmas in the United States.

There is a growing sense of acceptance of people who are different.

As with any social change, there also resistance to the change.

There are those who would exploit the resistance.

I'm glad when people wish me a happy day on their holy day of choice!

My own tendency is to say, "Happy Holy Days,"
         because I intend it to be inclusive.

There is a secular holiday that goes by the same name as the Christian holy day of Christmas.

The proper greeting for that secular holiday is, "Merry Christmas."

It is a secular greeting.

Its use does not improve or diminish the holy day that Christians will celebrate on Thursday.

Its absence is likewise of no effect whatsoever.

So I hope everyone among us will feel free to use any greeting for the season:

Merry Christmas is a fine secular greeting, as is Happy Holidays.

Happy New Year actually works from the First Sunday in Advent through January 1.

It's especially appropriate today!

Happy New Solar Year, or Blessed (or Happy) Solstice is the word for today.

Blessed Christmas works from December 25 through January 5, the Twelve Days of Christmas.

That is a specifically Christian greeting, and it is meaningful whether you identify as Christian or not!

It's just a way of wishing someone well in a season that is sacred to them.

Likewise, whether you are Jewish or not,
    Happy Hanukkah is a good thing to say today, the Sixth Day of Hanukkah,
         or on any of the Eight Days of Hanukkah.

I would like to see more appreciation than taking offense.

Then maybe we can end the war on politeness!

If someone is wishing you well in a season that is sacred to them,
     the kind and polite response is to smile and say something like,
        "Thank you, and the same to you!"

In that light, I wish to say to all of you,

Namasté!

and

Happy Holy Days.

Amen!

So Mote it Be!

and

Blessed Be!