Christmas—Giving Birth to Love

Christians begin celebrating the feast of Christmas today. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays rings throughout homes, in cars, on radios, in shopping malls, through halls and walls of buildings and businesses, on computer and cell phone screens. Merry Christmas reigns in streets where kids die, and where poverty, abandonment and abuse deepens. For practicing Christians, Christmas is a time to engage the significance of the incarnation, the birth of Jesus Christ in everyday life.

The invitation for us to ponder at Christmas could begin as simple as this,

How might love want to birth within me?

The cosmic Christmas tree star cluster

The Gift

God did not come into the world wrapped with a shiny red bow, pretty and perfect, labeled precisely. No, God came as a vulnerable, helpless infant who needs us as much as we need God. Emmanuel, “God-With-Us” is birthed, unwrapped, and encountered within us and through our own ordinary and mysterious life experience. In the article “The Eternal Christ in the Cosmic Story” Richard Rohr, OFM, explains, “… Christianity is not just that we believe in God. The mystery we are about is much more than that: It’s that the material and the spiritual coexist. It’s the mystery of the Incarnation. Once we restore the idea that the Incarnation means God truly loves creation then we restore the sacred dimension to nature.”

Celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas!

Christmas is not over on December 26. The Feast of Christmas begins on December 25, and culminates January 6, on the Feast of Epiphany. Every day is an opportunity to say yes to love, and wake up to the present moment. For the Twelve Days of Christmas we can practice genuine delight and forgiveness. We can gaze at people and our world with wonder and reverence. We can play with our family and friends. We can be willing to reach out with compassion to a stranger or someone in need. We can offer understanding and courage in difficult situations. We can receive, celebrate, feast, and rejoice in the reality that the material and the spiritual coexist, and that “the word became flesh.” We can become grateful for the gift of the incarnation of God!

Please join the many spiritual seekers who want to unwrap the ever-deepening meaning of “Yes, I will give birth to love. There is room and desire within me.”

Merry Christmas, Joy to the World!

Pencils, Phones, Google Wave, and God

Am I the only person in the world that doesn’t know mechanical pencils have retractable lead?

Last week, I borrowed my husband’s mechanical pencil. We had just finished a discussion, and I took it from his Day Runner organizer that was open between us, to make some notes. Then I slipped it back in the pencil slot, done. He peered at me, reached over, took it out, and proceeded to retract the lead back into the blue plastic barrel. Then replaced it. I stared at it and him for a minute, and asked: “Did you just put the lead back into the pencil?” His simple three letter reply: “yes.” Surprised, I said, “really?” His response: “Yes … that’s part of what makes it a mechanical pencil … you put the lead back in.”

I began to laugh, and picking the pencil up again, proceeded to push the lead back in and click it out a number of times, marveling that I’m in my mid-forties, a writer, have many special pens, and even a few mechanical pencils of my own. Who knew the lead was retractable?! I wonder if it’s possible that I’m the only person who didn’t know! Then I really began to laugh, thinking a funny tweet on twitter would be: “Am I the only person that doesn’t know mechanical pencils have retractable lead?” My husband didn’t think that was quite as funny as I did, but that’s beside the point. I began an internal conversation about how much there still is to discover in life. In ordinary, simple things.

Later that night, I talked to my brother on the telephone, relaying my new learning about mechanical pencils. Yes, he already knew lead retracted. But, then he shared one with me: when he tells his daughters to dial up their friends, they don’t understand what he means–they don’t dial their friends, they push buttons to make a call. Their life experience hasn’t included rotary dial telephones. And, their calls are made on cellular telephones that aren’t attached to a wall by a cord!

The following day, as I still pondered mechanical pencils and dialing friends, I read about Google Wave, a new communications platform that will launch later this year. New technology and communications really capture my interest. (Which is part of the reason the whole retractable lead thing really is funny to me.) How we connect with one another, express ourselves, share our stories, and relate is really what my life is all about. Google Wave, and new ways to communicate will probably make pencils and cell phones seem obsolete in coming years. In fact, just hours ago I learned about Bing, a new decision-making search engine that launches into the world as I type. Change and learning erupts into our lives each day. We know what we know, we engage what captures our interest, and we can choose to learn and grow with new ideas, people, and places. And make good decisions and choices. Winds of change blow all the time. Which brings me to my final two thoughts.

Last night I ventured out for a bit of local night life in my small town. The Alaska state balladeer had a local gig, and shared a story about how his first big hit was released on a 33 R.P.M. His comment got me to thinking about lead pencils and telephones as he recalled how 33 R.P.M. recordings led to 45 R.P.M.’s, 8-Track tapes, cassettes, CD’s, and digital downloads. He shared a story about how he’d tossed quite a few cases of his 33 R.P.M.’s into the dumpster when 8-Tracks became popular … and how now those old albums now sell on E-Bay for 175.00 each! The question rose in me: Can we appreciate what we have in the here and now? And, carry that awareness into the future without tossing out what appears to no longer have any value? And, how do we determine when it is time to let go?

From a religious perspective I think an answer shows up today when Christians celebrate the annual Feast of Pentecost. In simple language, Pentecost means the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles after the death of Jesus. So, what can this mean in the year of 2009? To me it relates to the way God continually surprises us in unexpected ways, and greets us in ordinary places and times. The Spirit of God invites up to live with open eyes, with a willingness to embrace creativity, the unexpected, and live with courageous authenticity. The Spirit of God continually greets us with “be not afraid.” How often are we stymied when we second guess our next best step, a new learning, tradition, or what we know to have value–to be true?

So, I ask you … where is it that you can experience something new in the ordinary, or through an invitation to grow beyond your comfort zone?

Pencils, Phones, Google Wave, and God

Posted by PeggeBernecker at 5/31/2009 8:30 AM CDT

http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/commons/searching.html

Friendship and Feet

I celebrate friendship and feet today. Does this sound odd to you? As a Christian, Holy Thursday is a powerful day. It was Holy Thursday (also called Maundy Thursday) when Jesus gathered his friends, shared a meal, and then, I’m quite sure, surprised everyone. He got up from the table and began to wash everyone’s feet.

Now, even today, getting up from the dinner table and washing feet would be a surprising move. But back then, it really was! In all likelihood, feet weren’t all that clean. The water would have muddied immediately. But that didn’t stop Jesus. I wonder what it felt like to receive this particular gesture of love from a friend and teacher. I suspect there was confusion, embarrassment, and  even resistance to his tender touch. Unexpected, his action teaches and guides me today.

A compelling 8″ x 10″ photograph lives on a shelf in my office. Titled “Orphan Feet” by Joyce Roach, OP, I’ve pondered it since 1996. It’s a simple photo: the grubby feet of a young boy, dusty, wearing huaraches. Ankles are crossed in front of a brick wall, and shadows play in the sun. His feet look relaxed, and I want to know his story. It doesn’t appear that his feet would tell an easy story, yet there is an ease evident in the balance of his resting pose. I don’t need to see the eyes of this young boy … I simply ponder who he is by looking at his worn sandals and calloused toes.

I want to sit down, take his feet into my lap, wash them, and gently massage his soles and toes. I want him to know he matters–that I will listen to him. I want him to feel the gentle touch of my hands, my willingness to simply sit with him.

Now, I know this may all sound a little odd. Just as it does when we learn that Jesus washed feet after a dinner. But stop and think about it for a minute. How sensitive are you about your feet? What if a friend, lover, or even a stranger asked to gently cleanse and caress your feet? How would you respond? And, in contrast, are you willing to give a barefoot massage to someone else?

A friend inspired me on a Holy Thursday a few years back. She left her busy work day just after lunch, heading to a downtown street in Denver, Colorado. For the next few hours, she and several other women greeted men who were homeless, living on the streets. They spent time with each man, washing and massaging feet, offering a clean pair of socks when they finished. I am certain the men received much more than a new pair of socks. But more than that was the luminous light I saw in my friend’s eyes as she described her experience to me. She too was served by the humanity of each man she encountered.

Our feet reveal our vulnerability. When someone lovingly massages my feet, all I can do is simply receive the gift of touch and presence. And, when I cleanse and caress the feet of a friend, family member, or stranger, I too can only humbly serve, and share my presence.

Will you consider tenderly washing and massaging someone’s feet this week? How might this be a gift to someone else, or even to yourself?

Please come back and comment about what you discover!

Friendship and Feet Posted by PeggeBernecker at 4/9/2009 4:50 PM CDT

http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/commons/searching.html

Blogging for HoustonBelief.com

Why will an Alaskan woman blog for HoustonBelief.com? Posted by PeggeBernecker at 3/26/2009 7:37 PM CDT at http://www.chron.com/channel/houstonbelief/commons/searching.html

For starters, in a virtual world with a 5,000 mile driving distance between Alaska and Texas, the undeniable power of technology now bridges time and place. This is significant to me.

While the time difference is three hours, and the geography is distinctly different (Mount Redoubt, a volcano fifty miles from me has just erupted) similarities do exist between here and there. Both are vast states, with a landscape that is sturdy and rugged. Densities of population exist in central areas, along with scattered outlying communities, and wide open spaces with an expansive horizon. A diversity of race, ethnicity, socio-economic, and education among people is present. Vivid light and artistic contributions flourish. There are many more parallels than meet the eye at first glance.

Back to the question at hand: why will an Alaskan woman spend time writing for the Houston Chronicle’s new Web site about faith? The answer is to begin a conversation and acquaint myself with you. I am preparing for a trip to Houston during April 15-21, 2009. I’ll attend the 2009 North American events sponsored by Spiritual Directors International where workshops will be offered around the theme of “Being Present.” I am always searching for significance among ordinary, everyday life events. I wonder if you do too?

I occasionally ponder the inner human landscape of sensation, emotion, thought and experience, and the correlation to an outer landscape of the world where we move, breathe, and inhabit the minutes and hours of day and night. The landscapes of Alaska and Texas capture my interest. Do you wonder about the connection between the inner and outer landscape of your life?

Please share your generous Texas hospitality with me and one another as I open my heart and ponderings to you over the next few weeks and beyond through HoustonBelief. Where do you find significance and meaning within your home, workplace, and community? What resources do you share with others? Will you welcome the strangers that live and travel within your midst?

I look forward to beginning a conversation with you.