A very merry unChristmas to you and you and you! I wrote this a few years ago and am trying to preserve it in blog land. Even though it's not Christmas or even Irish Christmas, you may still enjoy it.
Merry Christmas to all my goodly contacts!
I thank you for being there, for reading at least some of the emails I send and for the good work you all do!
Here are my thoughts at Christmas. Apologies to those who are not Christians but I do hope that the sentiments are broad enough to encompass all our perspectives on Christmas!
ABOUT GIFTS
Unfortunately, the enjoyment and specialness of Christmas has been spoiled for many of us by its hectic pace and rampant commercialisation. This year, our little family is opting out by staying at home. It is a significant change for us as we usually spend it with large numbers of relatives, much food which someone has worked hard to provide (sometimes me) and mountains of wrapping paper, cards and presents. Next year, we’ll rejoin the relatives. Perhaps we’ll have a big family Christmas every second year but I can tell you, there will never again be mountains of plastic packaging, wrapping paper, plastic toys or items made unsustainably or in sweat shops!
But what is not to like about the Christmas story? In it we find a family of asylum seekers, animals, angels, shepherds, a star and three wise kings who, like Joseph and Mary, make a long and treacherous journey across the desert.
Two thousand years ago, the wise Kings or Magi who lived in different countries with different customs, languages and religions, independently studied the stars at night and independently discovered exactly where and when the saviour king would be born. The power of the cosmos reached out to them and they left their comfortable homes and kingdoms and followed a star in search of the baby who, Christians believe, would be the saviour.
This story is a beautiful part of a very old and complex narrative that is one of the building blocks of our culture. The Magi are the reason we give Christmas gifts to each other and wish each other peace and goodwill.
Why were they wise, these kings? Was it because they were prepared to risk everything to follow the star? Or was it because they paid attention to the natural world and acted accordingly?
The journey of the Magi is my favourite part of our beautiful Christmas story, along with the angels announcing to the shepherds who were watching their sheep in the fields that a saviour had been born and the chorus of angels in the night sky filling the shepherds with joy! As a child, the image of angels singing in the sky captivated and enchanted me. For two millennia we have tried to replicate that glorious, heavenly sound with church bells and music.
Anyway, back to the three wise kings.
They carried precious earthly gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh, all prized as exotic and beautiful, befitting a king. Traditionally, paintings of the kings show them gathering with the shepherds and animals to adore the baby who is lying in a manger, in a barn. The irony is that the kings probably arrived twelve months later and visited Jesus in Nazareth but I do love the message of those paintings that material THINGS were not what these kings were all about.
On the one hand, they brought gifts worthy of a real king, establishing the baby asylum seeker's kingly legitimacy but on the other hand, this was not a king of any human principality. He was not materialistic, or powerful, or rich, or famous. He was not a consumer. He did not come to conquer new lands or exploit the earth's precious resources. He came to teach us how to love one another and all of creation. This was exemplified at his humble birth by the presence of animals, shepherds, angels and a star!
The story of the three kings journeying together for twelve months to do something as ephemeral as following a star in search of a fellow king, baby asylum seeker, is the ultimate story of our human journey.
Our life's star takes us on a journey which is often difficult and full of hardship, which can force us out of our comfort zones demanding that we make sacrifices and give up that which is unnecessary. It takes us to some surprising and unforeseen places and into some surprising and unforeseen relationships and hopefully leads us to the most precious gifts of all: wisdom, understanding, courage, acceptance, forgiveness, healing and love.
This Christmas, as we give gifts and wish each other peace and goodwill, let's also remember the journey of the Magi and our own unlikely and ephemeral journey to save this precious gift of life, this precious world and let's respect and honour it with our wise choices at Christmas and throughout the year!
Here is a special short film for you to watch when you have a moment.
It’s my Christmas gift to you. (Thanks to Peter Reefman for sending it to me. See Peter, I did watch it!)
Love and peace to all,
Lisa Owen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDMoiEkyuQ
I thank you for being there, for reading at least some of the emails I send and for the good work you all do!
Here are my thoughts at Christmas. Apologies to those who are not Christians but I do hope that the sentiments are broad enough to encompass all our perspectives on Christmas!
ABOUT GIFTS
Unfortunately, the enjoyment and specialness of Christmas has been spoiled for many of us by its hectic pace and rampant commercialisation. This year, our little family is opting out by staying at home. It is a significant change for us as we usually spend it with large numbers of relatives, much food which someone has worked hard to provide (sometimes me) and mountains of wrapping paper, cards and presents. Next year, we’ll rejoin the relatives. Perhaps we’ll have a big family Christmas every second year but I can tell you, there will never again be mountains of plastic packaging, wrapping paper, plastic toys or items made unsustainably or in sweat shops!
But what is not to like about the Christmas story? In it we find a family of asylum seekers, animals, angels, shepherds, a star and three wise kings who, like Joseph and Mary, make a long and treacherous journey across the desert.
Two thousand years ago, the wise Kings or Magi who lived in different countries with different customs, languages and religions, independently studied the stars at night and independently discovered exactly where and when the saviour king would be born. The power of the cosmos reached out to them and they left their comfortable homes and kingdoms and followed a star in search of the baby who, Christians believe, would be the saviour.
This story is a beautiful part of a very old and complex narrative that is one of the building blocks of our culture. The Magi are the reason we give Christmas gifts to each other and wish each other peace and goodwill.
Why were they wise, these kings? Was it because they were prepared to risk everything to follow the star? Or was it because they paid attention to the natural world and acted accordingly?
The journey of the Magi is my favourite part of our beautiful Christmas story, along with the angels announcing to the shepherds who were watching their sheep in the fields that a saviour had been born and the chorus of angels in the night sky filling the shepherds with joy! As a child, the image of angels singing in the sky captivated and enchanted me. For two millennia we have tried to replicate that glorious, heavenly sound with church bells and music.
Anyway, back to the three wise kings.
They carried precious earthly gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh, all prized as exotic and beautiful, befitting a king. Traditionally, paintings of the kings show them gathering with the shepherds and animals to adore the baby who is lying in a manger, in a barn. The irony is that the kings probably arrived twelve months later and visited Jesus in Nazareth but I do love the message of those paintings that material THINGS were not what these kings were all about.
On the one hand, they brought gifts worthy of a real king, establishing the baby asylum seeker's kingly legitimacy but on the other hand, this was not a king of any human principality. He was not materialistic, or powerful, or rich, or famous. He was not a consumer. He did not come to conquer new lands or exploit the earth's precious resources. He came to teach us how to love one another and all of creation. This was exemplified at his humble birth by the presence of animals, shepherds, angels and a star!
The story of the three kings journeying together for twelve months to do something as ephemeral as following a star in search of a fellow king, baby asylum seeker, is the ultimate story of our human journey.
Our life's star takes us on a journey which is often difficult and full of hardship, which can force us out of our comfort zones demanding that we make sacrifices and give up that which is unnecessary. It takes us to some surprising and unforeseen places and into some surprising and unforeseen relationships and hopefully leads us to the most precious gifts of all: wisdom, understanding, courage, acceptance, forgiveness, healing and love.
This Christmas, as we give gifts and wish each other peace and goodwill, let's also remember the journey of the Magi and our own unlikely and ephemeral journey to save this precious gift of life, this precious world and let's respect and honour it with our wise choices at Christmas and throughout the year!
Here is a special short film for you to watch when you have a moment.
It’s my Christmas gift to you. (Thanks to Peter Reefman for sending it to me. See Peter, I did watch it!)
Love and peace to all,
Lisa Owen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXDMoiEkyuQ
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