Happy holidays from the Lavender-Mulkey Clan!
May peace be with you . . . now and in the year to come!
The Lavender-Mulkey Clan
And now a Christmas message from Parker Palmer:
By accident of birth, the Christmas story has been a staple of my life for 85 years. As a kid, it was all about the glitter and gifts, of course. Today, the story compels me to question my courage and my resolve…
It asks me to face into the hard fact that we are dominated by dark powers whose only interests are wealth and power, no matter the human cost. And it invites me to embrace the implausible notion that a “soft” virtue like love might illumine, warm and transform this dark, cold world.
As we come to the end of 2024, it’s hard to imagine how love can win the day. Millions at home and around the world suffer at the hands of thugs who break the law and the norms of decency without consequence or remorse. Meanwhile, millions of self-described “believers” cheer these vandals on, sometimes claiming that “God” has ordained them and the living hells they create. Over against all of this, will love even have a say, let alone win the day?
As always, the answer depends on how many of us are willing to bear witness to what is right, good and true—which we will not do as long as we are silenced by the fear that keeps us from following the lead of our better angels.
Here the Christmas story has a pointed word for us, a word from those angels: “Be not afraid.” Those words do not say, “HAVE no fear.” Instead, they say we don’t need to BE our fear. The inner landscapes of our lives offer many places to stand—alongside fear, there are places with names like compassion, trust, faith, and a devotion to truth. By choosing to stand in one of those places when we speak and act, it’s possible to BE something better than our fear. We can be the light of love, light that illumines, warms and transforms our lives.
The Christmas story reminds me of a simple fact that transcends traditions and creeds: each of us has a chance to live as a light in the darkness, right here, right now. Standing alone, my little light makes a difference only to me and the handful of folks my life touches. Multiply it by the millions who are determined to take back the night, and we can write a new story for our time. It’s been done before, and it can be done again.
In that spirit, I wish everyone the blessings of Love and Light, and a resolve to BE Love and Light for one another!
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