Christmas has come and gone and we're already looking at Valentine's Day advertisements and displays in store windows. But according to the Christian church calendar, the season of Christmas ventures into the first week of the New Year with Epiphany.
The church calendar identifies the major holidays like Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy week, Easter, Pentecost, etc., and in between these major holidays is what is referred to as â┚¬Å”ordinary time.â┚¬Â Beyond the festivities, holiday parties, gift giving and entertainment of the of classic and traditional holiday performances we manage our daily routines.
The reading titled â┚¬Å”Ordinary Times,â┚¬Â is a quote from Night Visions: Searching the Shadows of Advent and Christmas by Jan Richardson. It is much like a daily meditation book offering insights and reflections during the Christmas season which runs thru the first week of January ending with the celebration of the Magi’s visit which is called Epiphany. Richardson's writings offer the reader an opportunity to notice life in the midst of this eventful and oftentimes demanding season.
Richardson writes, â┚¬Å”I don't care what the church calendar says; there is ordinary time in this season too. There is walking, working, talking, eating. There is sweeping, shopping, washing dishes, laundry. There is checking all the doors and windows before bed. There is turning down the covers. There is sleeping. There is rest.â┚¬ÂÂ
Even if you do not celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, at times the season gets lost in the business of shopping, parties, decorating, cooking, and gift giving. Packed in between these holiday traditions is the busyness of our life and soon you realize its late January, and the holidays have passed you by. And for some, maybe even for you, that season is not all about joy to the world.
There may be memories of loss and pain that wraps your soul like too many stands of Christmas lights on a tree. Seasonal movies are one of the ways that mark the Christmas season. While these movies may not be everyone’s holiday tradition, the old classic, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of those movies that help ground us in the gift giving meaning of this season.
We are all familiar with the story of the very compassionate George, who gets caught up in the difficult events of his life that he feels are too big to manage. His fears paralyze him and he thinks that his life never really mattered and the world would be better off without him.
In the movie, an angel enters his life and shows him what his town would have been like had he not made decisions motivated by compassion and caring for the people in his life and business.
It's a Wonderful Life retells the story of a man’s life and the gifts of life he brought just by being himself.
What would the world be like without you? It's a question that is difficult to answer, especially for oneself. Ask those near and dear to you to help you see what others know about you. Get still in the busy time and let it teach you something about yourself for there may be a personal epiphany ready to bless you.
Richardson writes, â┚¬Å”Still me until I hear Your heartbeat. Quiet me until I feel Your breathing. Make me one with Your rhythms. Move me to the cadence of Your love.â┚¬ÂÂ
What would it take for you to hear the heart beat of God or feel God's breath on your brow or become one with the rhythm of God or be moved by the pulse of God's love? Most of us do not think in such poetic language or understand God to be a intimate and tangible part of our bodies. Even if that idea or belief does not resonate with you, what would it take for you to be so still that you feel your own breath moving in and expanding who you are and taking small pieces of what you offer the world out with each exhale.
The invitation is to just be still at some point in your hectic life. Just be. What would that feel like for you? How long would it take to go from your fast paced day to stillness?
What would you have to give up to be still? Would it even be worth it?
Just find a moment or two, stop, take a couple of breathes and give thanks. If those moments take you to a deeper place of stillness then so be it, but at least you will have taken a moment to replenish your soul.
Recognizing that you are the greatest gift you could give may free you in this busy life, and what a wonderful gift to give yourself that no one else can give you and no one else can take away.
As we move forward into a new year and the memories of Christmas and the holidays become more distant, I hope you will carry with you the gift of life you have discovered in this time of reflection, the gift of you!
