Wishes or Hope

One of my daughters teaches English as a second language to adults at a community college. She said the subtle difference between the words “hope” and “wish” are difficult to convey to her students in denotation and connotation.

I wish...

I could turn back the clock

I looked like him/her

I was successful like him/her

I had a new car

it would stop raining

I had a better job

I had enough money to retire

I hope…

the world will be a good place for my grand daughter

my car will last a few more years

I can budget my money wisely and save a little each month

I can make a difference in my community

I remain healthy as I care for my body

I can take a trip to ________ soon

I can pass along good spiritual values to my family

We can spend a lot of time passively wishing for things that are unlikely or impossible to happen. Some people expect God to act like a genie in a bottle who grants their wishes miraculously on demand. On the other hand, we can work toward fulfilling our hopes and dreams for things that realistically could happen. The human spirit needs hope and we are inspired by stories of people who persevered through difficulty to achieve their goals. 

Negative attitudes destroy hope. As I get older I need to encourage younger generations and act in ways that show that I believe in their future. Am I doing my best to care for the earth, to be relevant with my beliefs rather than looking back to “the good old days”? Some have lost hope due to abuse, loss, poverty, social pressure, depression or other illnesses. How can I make a difference in my community to help those in need?

Advent is a season of waiting and hope. Proverbs 13:12 says,

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life” 

Let us work to help make someone’s longing a reality. 

Christmas Customs and Culture

Christkindl Christmas Market

We attended the annual Christkindl Christmas market in our city this weekend. Our area was settled largely by German speaking immigrants a couple of centuries ago and while we are far more diverse now, Oktoberfest and the Christmas market are well attended events.

Traditional German band with an alpenhorn 

I asked a Hindu nurse at work if there were any December celebrations in her culture. She said no, but she planned to put up a Christmas tree and exchange gifts with friends and family. To her, it was a Canadian tradition she felt comfortable adopting. Other acquaintances are celebrating St. Nicholas Day tonight and tomorrow in the Dutch tradition. There was a Krampus run this weekend along with the Christmas market to celebrate some darker European Yuletide legends. 

Krampus is here                                                                        Catalonian Caganer (source)

Catalonian nativity scenes feature a figure who is defecating in a corner or behind a tree. The “Caganer"  or “pooper” is a symbol of fertility and good fortune in an agrarian society. He may also represent the fact that Jesus was a partaker of everything that is human. I work in an environment where regularity or irregularity is recorded and dealing with excrement is all in a day’s work. It is something common to all species who eat food, whether rich or poor, young or old, famous or infamous. It is part of our humanity. 

In Mexico, Christmas posadas are community events where participants go from house to house looking for the Christ Child. In parts of Newfoundland, Mummers go from house to house looking for food and drink in exchange for music and dancing.

Joseph at the Christkindl Market

I truly doubt that our nativity scenes depicting the birth of Jesus are even close to what really happened. In my mind, Mary and Joseph were likely staying with relatives in the autumn of the year. The lower part of the building housed the animals and the couple stayed there, as the guest room was occupied. They shared meals with others who were hospitable and generous. They may have been guests for days or weeks before the birth. Mary was not alone during labour but was attended by a local midwife and caring women. They were not isolated on a hill far from town but were part of the normal hum and rhythm of the community.

Legend and tradition have become the mainstay of our December celebrations with each culture interpreting the story according to their own history and perspective. Community is central to the celebration. I am fortunate to be able to participate in my community’s Christmas celebrations. Maybe someday I will have a chance to visit Spain and encounter a Caganer as part of their interpretation of the Christmas story.

Possessed by Possessions

Advent is here again, already, so soon. It is hard to concentrate on a season of waiting when we are so busy that each week seems to pass as quickly as a day. The city streets were congested today with shoppers rushing about to snap up Black Friday weekend deals. 

We went for a walk in the woods and even though the dog became mired in a muddy bog shortly after this picture was taken, nature was nurturing and relaxing. 

I am not buying or receiving Christmas gifts this year and it was liberating to make that decision. I want to focus on spending unhurried time with people, over a meal, at a seasonal event, outdoors or indoors, without the obligation of gift-giving and reciprocation. There is nothing wrong with gifts. I just prefer to spread the giving over the year, spontaneously or when there is a need. 

I participated in a November minimalism challenge where you get rid of one item on the 1st of the month, two on the second, three on the third and so on. By the end of the month over 400 items should be gone from your home. I had no problem finding things to give or throw away. Sadly, it is not readily evident that I have completed the challenge as we still have so many belongings. I need to do this for a year! The effort required to look after so many “things” is time consuming and tiring. 

Jesus’ life on earth was not about accumulating possessions but rather, nurturing meaningful relationships with God and others. In a parable he warned about possessing more than we need.

Luke 12:16-21

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

My goal to let go of sentimental attachments to things in order to live with greater simplicity, thus freeing up time and energy to build rich relationships with others. I lifted this meme from my aunt's Facebook page because it is so true!

Advent Reds

I worked this weekend but there was still an hour of sunlight left when I finished today. I walked along a favourite trail where winter birds are accustomed to human handouts. It was the perfect way to rid myself of the fatigue and stress of the day.

Each Sunday of Advent, I make a simple meal and one special sweet treat. We light the Advent candles when we eat together.

Tonight I made Mexican Christmas Punch, a fruity, spiced hibiscus based drink which looks very festive. My daughter made it for me in November and it is warming and delicious on a cool night. I posted the recipe on my recipe blog.

Set the Oppressed Free

Young boy in the village of  El Ahualamo MX 

I travelled last month to Mexico to visit my family for the first time since April 2013 when my mother died. My dad has struggled with his health and it has not been easy for him to find a new normal without her around. Last year we quickly packed up Mom's clothes and personal things but during this trip we went through cupboards, shelves and drawers more thoroughly. Many of her books were full of mildew and had to be burned. I found myself drawn to old family photographs, scrapbooks and handwritten recipes in the old wooden recipe box. Most of the other things she had collected over the years were not worth bringing back to Canada. My house is full of stuff, too full in fact of items I never use. One of our daughters said, a little facetiously, that we need a good fire because she doesn't want to sort through our belongings in the future.

I did bring home these Goebel porcelain pieces entitled "Flight into Egypt". Mary and Joseph are depicted as refugees, fleeing the evil wrath of King Herod with the young child Jesus. I recently discovered Steve Bell, a Canadian singer-songwriter who has two thoughtful Advent -Christmas albums I have listened to often over the past few weeks. The song "Refugee" from the album "Keening for the Dawn" is based on a poem by Malcolm Guite.

We think of him as safe beneath the steeple,

Or cosy in a crib beside the font,

But he is with a million displaced people

On the long road of weariness and want...

Church under an ancient sycamore tree in El Ahualamo, MX

The needs of poor and displaced people in the world are so great and complex that it is hard to know how to make a difference. Jesus stated his purpose and ministry in Luke 4:18 when he quoted the words of Isaiah.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free..."

There are ways we can make a difference in our neighbourhoods, cities, country and world with our time and money. I know several people who came to Canada as refugees. I know even more who are sick, lonely and discouraged. I know of good organizations that assist people in need around the world in a respectful manner.

One thing is certain...I have no needs this season by good fortune of birth, family, citizenship and employment. With that comes responsibility to use and share wisely what I have been given.

My Christmas Eve Day

The sun is still below the horizon as I come to work on Christmas Eve day. A tree shines in the dark dining room as our patients on this unit get ready for breakfast. In spite of festive decorations there is no disguising the fact that this is a hospital.

A lady clutches a teddy bear given to her by a volunteer earlier in the month and asks me where she is and what she is supposed to do. I take her by the hand and we walk to breakfast.

Later in the morning another lady asks me for a cup of tea. This is a special day so I pour her tea in a nice mug rather than a styrofoam cup. A well worn seasonal sweater envelops her thin arms and I ask her about Christmases past. "Christmas makes me so sad," she says. "My daughter died on Christmas Day." I steer the conversation to a less distressing topic and she tells me about her childhood in England. There are people who care about her and she looks forward to visitors later in the day.

I arrange for the delivery of a new walker for another patient who will be leaving soon for a nursing home. She tries out her new wheels, a gift in part from our provincial health care plan. A child somewhere will get a bicycle or toy car tonight. Is is just as exciting to get a wheeled walker for Christmas?

Last week another lady came to my 4th floor office door with a card and gift. Five years and another employer ago I had treated her husband in the final months of his life. I used to sit in their kitchen and have a cup of King Cole tea, a favourite of Canadians from the East Coast. This lady is now in a wheelchair herself, yet she found out where I was and made the effort to bring me two boxes of tea after all these years. We chatted about her husband and how things have changed in her life. She told me she was going to walk again, and I gave her a hug and wished her a Merry Christmas. A lady who has suffered much gave me the best Christmas memory this year.

After work I went for a walk along a nearby creek and watched the birds puffed up in the cold as they chirped in the bushes. I am grateful for the abundance of life and the joy of sharing with others in need.

 I want to wish a special Merry Christmas to those who have suffered loss

 and to those who work these holidays to protect and serve those in need.

To friends and family, those far and near, I wish you a blessed Christmas Day.

Advent's Mourning Light

Christkind at Christkindl Market, Kitchener ON -December 2012

A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be comforted,

because they are no more." 

Matt. 2:18

Charlotte, 6; Daniel, 7; Rachel Davino, 29; Olivia, 6; Josephine, 7; 

Ana, 6; Dylan, 6; Dawn Hocksprung, 47; Madeleine, 6; Catherine, 6; 

Chase, 7; Jesse, 6; James, 6; Grace, 7; Anne Marie Murphy, 52; 

Emilie Parker, 6; Jack, 6; Noah, 6; Caroline, 6; Jessica, 6; 

Avielle, 6; Lauren Russeau, 30; Mary Sherlach, 56; 

Victoria Soto, 27; Benjamin, 6; Allison, 6. 

Still the earth in darkness lies.

Up from death’s dark vale arise

Voices of a world in grief...

The third Advent candle shines as many tears are shed after the violent mass murder at a Connecticut school this week. Anyone who is a parent, teacher, student, or caring citizen of the world is saddened by the senseless slaughter of innocent children and their caregivers. Our pastor spoke last week about the evil and violent rule of Herod the Great and reminded us that preoccupation with power, possessions, prestige and paranoia is still the way of many in the world. This same evil would cause us to live in fear and raise our children in a culture of fear. History repeats itself over and over again. It is easy to ignore suffering in the world until evil is close to home. Our feeble efforts to protect ourselves from the overwhelming darkness are futile.

And we wait for the Light,  for our Saviour and Redeemer.

Jesus taught the crowds on the hillside.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, 

and it gives light to all in the house. 

In the same way, let your light shine before others, 

so that they may see your good works and 

give glory to your Father who is in heaven. 

(Matthew 5)

We stand boldly and brighten the darkness with the light he has given. His Spirit burns within as we 

watch, wait, 

serve, suffer, 

love, give, 

rejoice, mourn 
and

never lose hope.

Light of light, we humbly pray,

Shine upon Thy world today;

Break the gloom of our dark night,

Fill our souls with love and light,

Send Thy blessed Word again,

“Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Douglas L. Rights

Flame Tree in bloom, Mexico

Darkness to Light

The Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada

The Christmas tree is up and the Nacimiento adorns the back of the piano. I play the songs in the carol book and listen to seasonal tunes as I drive here and there in my car. Gifts are bought and baking is done. I watch Christmas movies as I pedal the stationary bicycle. I am not a “Christmas is my favourite time of year” person, yet the “Christmas spirit”, whatever that is, completely eludes me this year as I go through the usual motions and routines. I am happy and content, yet indifferent to the season.

Perhaps the commercialization and politicalization of Christmas has brought me to the edge. People bicker over holiday trees, seasons greetings, and whether the whole country celebrates December in a uniform Christian way. After all, the roots of our holiday celebration are pagan. I truly think Jesus would decline an invitation to most of our seasonal events. “Jesus is the reason for the season” just does not ring true in my ears. 

We visited our daughter in Ottawa this week and enjoyed the city very much. On Thursday we attended the Christmas Lights Across Canada celebration on Parliament Hill. Standing in the cold darkness we waited for the promised hundreds of thousands of  lights to be turned on in the downtown area. Carols were sung, greetings from across the country broadcast and then the countdown to the light began. I wasn’t expecting fireworks and the sudden brightness startled me and others in the crowd. 

The night was still dark and cold but the lights shone on the hill. Advent is not a time of celebration, but a time of waiting and yearning for the promised light. We contemplate the darkness in our world and in our lives and wait for the Saviour who illuminates the path to eternal peace and joy.

Veiled in Darkness Judah Lay

Veiled in darkness Judah lay,

Waiting for the promised day,

While across the shadowy night

Streamed a flood of glorious light,

Heav’nly voices chanting then,

“Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Still the earth in darkness lies.

Up from death’s dark vale arise

Voices of a world in grief,

Prayers of men who seek relief:

Now our darkness pierce again,

“Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Light of light, we humbly pray,

Shine upon Thy world today;

Break the gloom of our dark night,

Fill our souls with love and light,

Send Thy blessed Word again,

“Peace on earth, good will to men.”

Douglas L. Rights

Definitely Not A White Christmas

This noisy rooster lives next door to my daughter and her husband in the city where they live in the north of Mexico. The same neighbor also has a pig and a cow in the backyard. Life is so different here, yet the same in other ways.

Christmas lights blink on houses and on posts on the city streets. Mexicans seem to prefer lots of colour and flashing lights. Stockings hang in the window of a house in the neighbourhood. The holiday season extends to Epiphany and gifts are given on January 6th. There are no Boxing Day sales here.

We stayed outside in the sunshine much of the day trying to absorb as much heat as possible. The cement floor and walls hold the cold which is a good thing when it is 40C outside. But this morning it was 4C when I got up and I layered all my tops and wore a scarf in the house. Our daughter washed out a wool hat and it hung frozen on the line. By afternoon it was 20C outdoors and very pleasant for taking a walk.

Winter weather finally arrived in southern Ontario today and I am very happy my travel day was yesterday. Cool as it is right now, there will be no scraping or shoveling my way into work tomorrow. And that is fine with me.

December 24, 2011

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

One of Santa's spies seen in a sycamore tree in Copley Square, Boston MA

I don't have any recollection of Santa before the age of seven or eight and by that time I was old enough to know he likely wasn't real. I do not remember putting out a stocking when we lived in South Africa. I remember Mom decorating a palm branch and spending the holiday at the beach with our family. An over-dressed Santa didn't seem to be a big part of a summer-time Christmas but when we returned to Canada, my brothers and I anticipated his arrival with great excitement. We listened to the radio to hear NORAD tracking his sleigh and woke up early to open our gifts.

Santa sign in Boston's North End

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge MA has many Santa portraits available in prints, books and other gifts. We really enjoyed this stop on our trip last week. The artist captured the magic of a child's Christmas imagination in many paintings. Norman Rockwell published many poignant Christmas pictures which capture an adult's heart too.

Our children sent hand-written letters to Santa and I still have some of them in a scrapbook. Today's child has email and texting options as well and Santa has to keep up with the latest technology! After all there are three stages in life;- you believe in Santa, you don't believe in Santa and you are Santa.

gonna chk my list 2c 

if ur nawT or nice

bgfgs!!!!!! hhh

sc

'Tis the year's midnight

The best thing about winter solstice is the fact that the daylight hours will start to lengthen, barely, but the march toward spring has begun. Fog fastened sky to the earth today and rain fell light then heavy. Nothing inspired outdoors until darkness fell and holiday lights shone against the black of night. Even people who are of usual good cheer felt weighted with the heaviness of this dull day.

Our patients had to let staff know their plans for Christmas by the beginning of this week. Some families will go out of their way to make sure a disabled loved one will have a few hours outside the hospital for a meal or gathering. In the end, very few will be going out and many of our elderly patients would have no one to spend Christmas with even if they were well.

A local church has a "Longest Night" service on winter solstice each year. It is geared for people who are going through challenging times and do not feel the merriment of the season because of bereavement, illness and loss. Each person in the congregation holds a lighted candle against the darkness that threatens to envelop them and there are songs, readings, and scriptures of hope, joy, peace and love. I listened to the service on the radio this evening and enjoyed the encouraging reflections that were shared.  

Today I heard about a program called Santa for Seniors for the first time. There are toy drives for needy children and food hampers for needy families but I have not come across a program that reaches into the lonely rooms of our elderly who are separated from family by distance, disinterest and death.

'Tis the year's midnight...* and for some it is a season of loneliness and personal darkness. I must take the time to shine the light of caring and friendship their way. Perhaps I will be the one needing that light in the future.

*A Nocturnal Upon St. Lucy's Day, Being the Shortest Day by John Donne

Sing a Song of Christmas

Grandma gave us money to buy a stereo component set the first Christmas we were married. The speakers were three feet high and the large amplifier supported a turntable and cassette deck. We enjoyed LP records for several years and accumulated many cassette tapes as well. I still have our vinyl collection but the cassettes were not as durable. The knobs broke off the old stereo and we gradually stopped using it when we started buying CD recordings. This year our CD player gave up the ghost just before Christmas so I bought $20.00 speakers for my iPad, loaded our CD collection onto iTunes and enjoyed hours of seasonal music in a new portable fashion.

There are many timeless Christmas compositions which most everyone recognizes at this time of year. I have heard one too many recordings of "O Holy Night" and will leave the room if I hear "Christmas Shoes" again. (The movie is worse than the song). But I love listening to Christmas music performed by British choirs, Sarah McLachlan, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, The Carpenters, Anne Murray, and many other contemporary and classical artists. I enjoy playing anything that is not too difficult.

A highlight of our Boston trip was a visit to Symphony Hall to hear the Boston Pops holiday concert. We watch it each year on television but it was a pleasure to see the grand, acoustically perfect building. Part of the performance we saw was recorded for a new live CD to be released in 2013. I believe some of next year's concert will also be included. The program included readings of The Grinch, The Night Before Christmas, carols, classical selections as well as the traditional sing-a-long.

In the past 35 years we have gone from vinyl to cassettes to CDs to mp3 and other digital recordings. I wonder what we will listen to 30 years from now? Live performances may be the only thing that stay unchanged.

Christmas Vacation

This month is different than most Decembers. It is unusually warm and sunny unlike last year's prolonged winter storms and heavy snowfalls. My husband and I decided to take a week's vacation in New England as our gift to each other and we are now in Boston. (He is at a Boston Bruins' hockey game and I am at the hotel where I splurged and spent $12.95 for 24 hours of Internet) The weather is spectacular!

On the way here today we visited Stockbridge MA and the Norman Rockwell Museum. The altitude was 3000' and there was a light snow cover. There is no snow at all in Boston and the ocean was beautiful this afternoon under clear skies. And if the days were longer, one could believe it was October.

This is my first post from an iPad. The blogging app will take a while to get used to!

Advent Three

Rehearsing for tonight's program

Weeks of preparation come together tonight in the annual Christmas cantata at our church. Our music director put together a wonderful program including children, youth and adults in the performance. I have the small part of getting microphones to the actors and cueing them for their entry to the sanctuary which is much, much easier than memorizing lines and songs.

I have memories of many Christmas pageants;- repeating lines in acrostic poems, playing a piano duet with my brother, dressing up for a nativity scene, singing in a Christmas tree. And I remember well the years our children participated in school and church concerts.

Our little shepherd and her sister the sheep took part in the church program in the mid-1980s. What fun it was for little ones to dress up and then get a bag of treats. As the choir practiced this week, I held up a 25 year old photo of our girls and their classmates crawling up the same aisle after visiting the manger and baby Jesus.

A family favourite Christmas book and movie is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. The story captures all the charm and unpredictability of a traditional Christmas play and communicates a valuable lesson as well.

Do you have a special Christmas concert memory?

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. 

 Isaiah 61:10-11 

From today's Lectionary reading for the third Sunday of Advent

It's Christmas Time in the City

Clock Tower December 1, 2011

My dad and mom used to bundle all five of us into the car every December for a drive around the city to look at Christmas lights. We would ooh and ahh at the extravagent displays on big houses in rich neighourhoods. The energy crisis of the early 1980's dimmed many Christmas lights as utility rates soared. But people gradually started decorating outdoors again and our city parks and downtown areas now have lovely light displays at this time of year. The clock tower from our old city hall was moved to the park when the building was demolished in the 1970's. (It is unfortunate that such a fine old building was replaced with a shopping concourse which is now half empty.)

Kitchener City Hall Circa 1964

This old picture from the 1960's was taken by the man who was responsible for putting up the lights at city hall each year. His daughter shared it with me last year. The clock tower sat in its original location on top of the building.

We still enjoy driving around town looking at lights or walking in our neighbourhood at night to see decorations. Some homes are decorated more tastefully than others, but to each his own at this festive time of year!

Who cares about the hydro bill!