Now in the wake of yet another Christmas season, we breathe deeply of the winter air and await something new. Our world is always changing, and our place in it continues to change, too. The year past ended in some of the darkest and most uncertain days that many of us can remember. Some of us have lost jobs and face serious economic stresses. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan go on, and among us are those who are directly affected by the ongoing strife. We know that this new year of 2009 will present unexpected challenges and opportunities. In a few weeks, a new President will take office, and we are hopeful that he will bring leadership to address the enormous challenges of our time and help us to believe that the world will continue to be a safe place for our children and grandchildren to live and grow.
I have seen many Christmas and New Year holidays come and go. I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line stopped being one of those young and hopeful people who dreamed about building a future. Now I’m one of those “old guys” reflecting on my life, cherishing the memory of beloved friends and family who are no longer around, and watching my grandchildren step into a world that seems big and scary. I know this: that with every new day, and new year, I still cherish life more and more. I talk to the birds and catch snowflakes on my tongue and watch the sky turn red in the morning as if they were irreplaceable treasures. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for having been given the privilege of life, and I still believe that love is at the heart of the world.
As we begin this new year, I still seek to find that peace which passes all human understanding, because I need it right in my own heart before I can expect to find it around me. I still talk to God every day--and all the time every day. I still find signs of the holy in the people I see every day. Most of the time they don’t even know it. I suspect that’s the way miracles work: hiding, waiting to surprise us, like all holy gifts on earth.
So with this Epistle, Phyllis and I wish you a happy new year with all our hearts. We wish you to join us on a journey into unknown territory, where joy and peace and love await us, hiding in the darkness.
I’d like to share with you a song I wrote for Christmas this year. In it, I have tried to suggest that the Nativity Story isn’t just a lovely tradition or an ancient bygone event. Like all great and true Scripture, its real meaning is always lived out here and now. So, we are all shepherds, doing our jobs and living our lives as well as we can. Sometimes, in the dark of the night, we are awakened by grace and led on a journey of discovery. On that journey, we may encounter angels. We will surely discover that our greatest quest is finding that God is always with us, loving us like crazy.
So, Happy New Year, Shepherds!
We Are Shepherds
A Song for Christmas, 2008
(sung to the tune Picardy—
“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”)
We are shepherds in the darkness
Weary, watching through the night
Yet we waken to a promise,
Stirred by wondrous, holy light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Stirred by wondrous, holy light.
We are shepherds on a journey
Bidden to a shining quest:
Find the Lord in humble dwelling,
God as human come to rest:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
God as human come to rest.
We are shepherds at the manger
Struck by wonder at the birth:
Miracle among us hiding,
As all holy gifts on earth.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
As all holy gifts on earth.
We are shepherds now returning
To the world our news we bring,
Busy, broken, lost and fearful:
We are loved by heaven's king!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
We are loved by heaven’s king!
Faithfully yours,
Tim
