There was no room for them in the inn.
Now seems like a great time to step out of ourselves and our busy lives for a moment here and there to notice the people around us and to express, not just consider expressing, that we see their beauty.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Recently I had cause to ponder the self-appellation “prisoner of Jesus Christ” (Philemon 1:1). I’ve struggled with this concept before. Perhaps it is because none of us wants to be a prisoner of anything. We want to be in complete control of our lives. Of course, this doesn’t stop us from making ourselves prisoners of addictions, social expectation, political dogmas, materialism, fear, and any number of other things. Perhaps it is because my understanding of Christ is that He makes us free, and I have a hard time calling myself freeman and prisoner in the same breath and by the same source. Today I found this post on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir blog and it sparked a new thought.
We refer to the time people spend in prison as time spent “paying their debt to society.” Therefore, a prisoner is one who is paying a debt for a broken law to some entity which has authority to see that the law is upheld. There is also a sense that the prisoner is making recompense to a party that has suffered because of his or her choices. Both of these applications fit our relationship to Jesus Christ.
I have had several loved ones spend time in jail. Some have used that time well; others have not. Those who have done well first had to accept responsibility for what they had done, humble themselves and accept that they were there because of their choices, and stop trying to find a way to circumvent the consequences of their actions. Once they let go of their anger, defensiveness, excuse-making, self-pity, resentment they were able to learn and to make the experience one that benefitted themselves and others. Those who would not let go of these things never moved beyond them.
This is a lesson for all of us because we are all prisoners. The question is are we at the point where we are willing to experience the odd mix of pain, peace, and joy that comes when we truly begin paying our debt to Christ (a debt, incidentally, that can never really be repaid) or are we “on the outside,” unaware or unwilling to admit that we are still subjecting ourselves to jailers that have no power to open the prison doors for us.
The angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
After posting Silent Night yesterday, today brought a serendipitous encounter with a poem by Pablo Neruda entitled “Keeping Quiet.” It was posted on the Brainpickings website (which I very much enjoy). The recording leaves out a bit of the poem, so follow the link to get the full text, as well as Maria Popova’s post.
Along with the post on Neruda, BP posted an item on Carl Sagan’s “Baloney Indicator Kit.” This showed up on my Facebook feed, just a few spots down from a “New Age ‘BS’ Generator.” Perhaps it’s the season for that, as well, as religious-y and science-y people become involved in the ongoing and ridiculous battle, based on the logical fallacy of the False Dichotomy (or False Dilemma), of who is wrong. I say who is wrong because the battle is usually fought using strategies that involve attacking the other. I love critical thinking, logic, rational thought. I really think it should be used more often. I also think the following caveats ought to be observed:
What does this have to do with cookies? I found another Generator at WAPO that I thought would be less apt to suck us into the aforementioned battle: A Hoilday Cookie Generator! So if we can’t all walk in quiet with Neruda or speak civilly and rationally of the many and wondrously varied thoughts and feelings of the human race, at least we can share cookies! [To my diabetic, vegan, gluten-free, etc., friends, no offense intended. Please take this in the spirit it was offered. And, btw, this generator has vegan and gluten-free cookies, too!!]
Cookies, by DerGraueWolf
One of my favorite Christmas-y things is nativities. I collect them. I also enjoy finding things of beauty in cultures other than my own. So, it stands to reason, that I would love a site that blends the two, and does some good besides. From their Project page:
Along the way, we started buying extra Nativities from artisans around the world. We sold the extras to our interested friends. We thought it would be a small project, but the response has been so high that we have sold thousands of Nativities from hundreds of artisans since 2005. Profits are given 100 percent to charitable causes and micro-credit projects in Third World countries that benefit the poorest people on the planet.
A few of my favorites from World Nativity
Last year I fell. Who knows what this year will bring? At this moment, however, the view is grand. I’m not limiting myself to Christmas this year, though that will play a significant part I imagine. I’m leaving myself, and you, free to explore the fanciful, the thought-provoking, and, most importantly, things that bring a little light into the dark months of December. Let’s celebrate! Shall we begin?
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.
I found a post at Grammerly on the longest English words. This one caught my attention because it was quirdly (quirky in a wordly way) and it has to do with music, medieval church music to be precise. I have a thing for Gregorian Chant.
“Euouae is six letters long, but all of the letters are vowels. It holds two Guinness World Records. It’s the longest English word composed exclusively of vowels, and it has the most consecutive vowels of any word.” (Grammarly)
One of my favorite carols. This version is visually beautiful, and the reverence with which it is performed was uniquely touching. I felt, possibly more than ever before, how sacred that first night was, how truly blessed was that moment of respite before a lifetime of relentless work and turmoil. Christ’s was a life spent on others, lived en route to an acknowledged death, unavoidable as all our deaths are, but unavoidably brutal as well. I wonder how often Mary looked back on the tenderly merciful memory of peace and joy, simplicity and safety, as she watched her son live the demanding life and die the ignominious death of His destiny.
Watch Domingo’s eyes as he sings. Listen for the astonishing closing “Holy Night.” What I heard was “Hallelujah” in a tone that showed angelic reverence for Christ and what He willingly undertook for us.
Discover the joy of bobbin lace
Life is in the Layers
The greatest Mormon blog in the universe.
...because unfortunately this is as close as it gets in the muggle world.
a place for palimpcestuous musing
Science Fiction/Fantasy Author
To understand where to reach
the story of a human being unfolding
A record of a writer's reading life
Greg Camp's Observations on the Literate Life
Where you'll find the latest news for Ozarks Writers League!
Author, Blogger, Social Media Jedi
Growing older is inevitable. Growing up is optional.
Understanding is a kind of ecstasy. -- Carl Sagan
Author, Speaker, Workshop Leader
The Open-Faced Sandwich 