Happy New Year
Should auld acquaintance be forgot…..
We may well be feeling glad to rid ourselves of 2021 for all sorts of reasons, but that the blessings which were bestowed in so many ways, the affirmations, the remembrances, the reconciliations give us pause to be thankful for what we know, what we have seen and experienced, what we have learned about ourselves and those we know and love, and for the new people who have come into our lives and brought some joy, challenge and new energy and direction.
For as much as we desire to be a fortress or an island, independent and untouchable, God throws up at us new invitations, new opportunities a new way of seeing hope in a complex and seemingly broken world that says to us over and over again, God loves us, and knows us and is with us as we face the uncertainties and new opportunities and equips us to do what is necessary and good and loving as we seek to find our truth in life as we add to its complexity and gift in our circles and the communities we find ourselves in.
The death of Desmond Tutu, one of the great spiritual and political leaders of the 20th century reminds us of the importance of taking the risk to enter into the fullness of life for the sake of the common good. A man of faith, in an oppressed country, his belief that ‘peace is worth fighting for’ brought about monumental change in the horrible oppression of apartheid in South Africa, and in his humility and sense of joy, showed us the simplicity of openness in the expression of our consciousness and grounded feelings of the universal call of loving our neighbours, still had the ability not only to make a difference, but change the lives of millions for ever. Out of darkness into his marvellous light, in Tutu, we are shown how to take the word and make it flesh in an expectant world as messengers and doers of The promises of God in Jesus Christ. An incarnational journey.
Tutu cut through the red tape of religiosity and politics and struck at the heart, the truth of the problem we had made for ourselves and transcended our complacency and indifference, so that the many may have opportunity and life, just as we do.
Created and loved equally under God, unconditionally and with the one command to love one another as he has loved us. He put Jesus Christ back, as the centre of our mission, rather than the constraints the institutional church and governments of the day had constructed for the protection and privilege of the few.
Forgiveness and reconciliation opens us to a new truth, a new way of being and sets the challenge to honest self evaluation and the beginnings of personal transformation. The journey invites us to look deeply at our truth, gift, potential so that we may rise to a new way of being, purpose and indeed life. Risky, yes, transforming, certainly, healing, the gift of God’s grace and an acknowledgment of our willingness to go with God.
Jesus said: “I am the light of the world….” And “behold, I stand at the door and knock…”
Open your hearts in 2022 to be that light, and walk with Jesus in truth and in love. Let him in.
Bless you in your journey and with your loved ones, that you may be a friend and a strength to others.
From our home to yours
Fr. Jeff
Jan 1. 2022
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