Be not afraid

Be not afraid

I go before you always

Come, follow me

and I will give you rest

--Be not Afraid Canadian Catholic Hymnal

We have nothing to fear but fear itself

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

--Luke 2: 10-11

We live in a time of fear. We fear the other. We have set up detention camps on Manus and Nauru to keep the refugees out. We live in a world where it is ok for politicians to make racist statements because they are "standing up for the nation or trying to make their nation great again." We are taught by the media to fear those who practise other faiths, who have different skin colours, who come from other cultures. We are afraid of anyone who in not the same as we are.

But on that first Christmas, a child was born who was to change the world forever. He taught love. He worked to strengthen community bonds and not divide them. He changed the lives of everyone. 

Is it any wonder then that the message of the angels is to fear not. God tells us to tear down barriers and not build them. God tells us to reach out to the stranger and not turn them away. God welcomes everyone, and in return we are to be welcoming to all- and that is without reservations. All means all, not people just like me. Christmas may be about peace, joy, hope and love, but that can only be given when we put aside our fears. The good news is we don't have to be afraid anymore. Blessings.

What we need?

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need 

*****

They say our love won't pay the rent
Before it's earned, our money's all been spent
I guess that's so, we don't have a plot
But at least I'm sure of all the things we got

*****

Daring to show my age once more, I had to post these two well known songs from the sixties. One of course is the Beatles' "All you need is love." The second is Sonny and Cher's "I've Got You Babe." Both songs leave us with the impression that with love we have everything.  It is a lovely sentiment. But is it true.

Well in one way it is definitely not true. Try not paying your bills for a few months. Then when they threaten to cut off your power or evict you from your apartment try to tell your creditors that all we need is love. Let me know how that works for you. As you know it won't work. Commercial places and service providers demand hard cold cash or plastic as payment. John Lennon and Sonny Bono won't help you there. 

But I think more importantly, these two songs are very true. It is fine to pay off all your bills, have a huge bank account, and have all of the latest gadgets. I would be willing to give up my glamourous life now and travel first class, go to the best concerts, drink the best wine, and live in a fancy mansion. But if I don't have anyone to share that wealth with what is the point. My things and possessions can't give me any comfort. My things don't care if I am happy or not. And next year, there will be new and better things that will put this years things to shame. Without someone to be with, things can bring no joy.

But if you have a loving family or set of friends to enjoy things worth, maybe it is not that bad. And if you are kind enough to share your things with the stranger, the outcast, those in need, well then your wealth and good fortune could be a blessing to others. I am always amazed at those who have had fortunate lives, and then decide to give it to a hospital to fund cardiac or cancer research. Yes these people were born blessed, but they have decided to pass on that blessing to others. This is love at its finest.

Love is an overused word in our vocabulary. We love our jobs, we love our cars, we love our dogs, we love our friends, we love our families, we fall into romantic love one with another. Someone I recently heard spoke wanted us to stop using the word. I think that is wrong. We need to spread love around. Because as we do so it grows. I love wombats for instance. There I have said it. It is not merely empty words. This has led me to protecting the environment, trying to be kinder to nature itself, recycling, reducing, reusing, more. My wombat love is different from my love for my family. But it has changed me. And hopefully has changed the word. Let us continue to live in a world where Love becomes all we need and remember "I've got you babe." Blessings.

The songs of Christmas

I don't make any bones about it. For me, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. There are so many things about it that the other seasons don't have. First of all there are the directions. My hearts leap when I see the wreathes, the trees, and lights. It's something that in our culture you don't see at any other time of the year at least to the same extent. Yes there are special lights for Dhawali, and one does see some Easter and Hallowe'en decorations, but at least in Australia, these decorations pale when it comes to the proliferation of Christmas decorations.

Second there is the element of surprise at Christmas. We buy gifts for our loved ones, hoping that they will be truly surprised. Children wait with anticipation for the visit of Santa Claus.

Third there is the spirit of fellowship at Christmas. We have special gatherings to go to where we meet others, make merry, and spread Christmas joy. There are parties at church, gathering in people's houses, festive concerts, and special worship services to mark the holidays. For a while at least, it seems people do heed the message of the angels and live in peace and harmony as it should be.

Fourth there is the food. There is the Christmas baking that gets done. There are chocolates given as gifts. There are the foods that one buys for the Christmas feast. There are candy canes handed out. There are belts that get loosened. Christmas is a time of feasting.

But what sets Christmas apart from all of our other observances is the many Christmas carols that we sing at this time of year. Some we sing for fun- Jingle Bells and Rudolph for instance. Other Christmas songs don't make a lot of sense to me anymore now that I live in the Southern Hemisphere. It is hard to sing with integrity songs like Let it Snow and Winter Wonderland when it is plus 35. It's just not going happen no matter how hard I sing. But my favourite is to sing the great carols like Silent Night, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald, and O Come All Ye Faithful. These carols remind of us of the true meaning of Christmas. These carols tell us once more the story of the child who was born in the manger. They remind us of the shepherds, of the anticipation, of the angels, of the love, of the joy of that first Christmas night. And during this time of year, we see folks from all walks of life, join together to sing these songs of God's holy love which we mark this time of year. As we sing these familiar songs, we unite as symbols of the peace and love that was given to the world that first Christmas. Blessings.