It’s Time….
Thankful and Blessed…
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year….
May Your Days Be Merry and Bright…
Holly Jolly Christmas...
At no other time of the year are we as bombarded with imagery and specific notions of how we are supposed to feel. There is an unspoken directive to only display positive emotions, suppressing any negative emotions, feelings, reactions, or experiences.
But that invalidates the full human experience and puts pressure on us to have a positive mindset no matter the circumstance. As people of faith, particularly in the holiday season, are we treating our faith in such a way that it only allows for positivity and good experiences? Does it allow us to experience and appreciate the full range of human emotion? And to have that experience without guilt? Can we allow both good and bad to exist together, side by side in our hearts and in our lives and be a reflection of Creator?
We believe that the Spirit of God resides in us, but how do we allow it to reside with anger or sadness? Is that somehow wrong? No, because God does reside alongside the full range of the human experience.
We need to remind ourselves that in our faith, our joy walks with our pain, it doesn’t skip over it. I have said it before, friends, Tears of sorrow and tears of joy can exist in the same space.
We are the reflection of, the image of God the Creator and if everything that God has created is holy, then our emotions are holy and it is acceptable for us to feel them, to express them in healthy ways, and to avoid suppressing them. It’s ok to feel stressed about shopping and budgets. It’s acceptable to feel upset about a thoughtless comment. It is allowable to feel saddened by loss. But just as we shouldn’t exist only in positivity, we also mustn’t exist only in negativity. We must strive for balance. Tears of joy and tears of sorrow must exist in the same space.
One of the common reasons to get the holiday Blues for many people is an empty chair around our table. We become painfully aware of those who are absent from our traditions. In many Native American nations there is a practice of honoring loved ones who have passed on that brings a sense of remembrance and if we are lucky, maybe even a bit of healing. Whenever there is a gathering around the table an empty plate is passed. Every person at the gathering puts a spoonful of food onto the plate as they pray over it. This spirit plate is then placed in the middle of the table. This simple yet meaningful gesture allows us to remember those who have come before us and those who have left us. It’s a reminder that food is love and connection. After the meal the plate is taken to either a fire and burned or set in a quiet location outdoors.
Next week we will have a Thanksgiving service, and believe it or not the holiday trifecta will be upon us. I thought we would take some time today to pass a spirit plate and to recognize those who are absent from us. As we pass the spirit plate this morning, feel free to speak out loud the name or names of loved ones. It is not required, but it is a way for us to hold one another in our hearts. Once the plate has gone around, we will have our sharing time here around the table.
I am thankful and honored to be your pastor and appreciate what each of you brings to this community. I love you.
Amen.
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