Reflections on the Feast of the Nativity
Happy Feast of the Nativity! Or as we say in Arabic, "Kol sana wentu tayebeen!"
Nativity Meditation
Let me get right to the point. If we let 2016 pass without allowing the Holy Spirit to work drastically within us, that would be a terrible tragedy. On a global scale, 2015 was a very difficult year. But, in some respects, it was not an unusual year. We live in a fallen world.And 2016 will be exactly the same unless we first change ourselves--unless we allow God to work within us to light the fire of change.Not political change. Not social change. Spiritual change. The kind of change that spreads horizontally and vertically and leaves no bitter side effects. The kind of fire that burns us clean on the inside without leaving others in ashes.I want to write "The Nativity is the first chapter of the gospel message." But I know better. The first chapter was written when, instead of disintegrating them immediately into the dust from whence they came, God made clothes for Adam and Eve and sent them out of the garden.The Nativity is just the first chapter of the climax of the story. Last Nativity, I wrote a carol called "In the Manger." The last verse goesAnd the journey to Golgotha's begunWhere the Father offers His SonSweet aroma, precious LambReconciling God and manAs we celebrate the start of the Gospel journey, let's also focus on opening up and becoming more vulnerable to the work of God within us. Let this year pass unlike all the others. Let's prostrate ourselves before the throne in humility and watch what He can do with the little we can offer.Think about that as you pray Divine Liturgy tonight in church.If you want to hear the whole song, here it is. This is not a broadcast quality recording. This is the version I send to our choir just to learn at home between practices, but you might enjoy it![soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/227002362" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /] God bless you in 2016! Enjoy the feast with your family as I will be. I will see you again Thursday, January 14 with a new post.
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Brief Q and A
To answer a couple of questions:Why are we celebrating on the 8th of January this year instead of the 7th?Each year, we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity on the 29th (and last) day of the Coptic month Kiahk. Normally, the 29 Kiahk correlates with January 7 on the Gregorian calendar. This year the feast will fall on January 8 because the last Coptic year was a leap year in the Coptic calendar and an extra day was added to the little month Nasi.Are you confused? Me too! Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explains it best, which is to say, I still don't understand.Although there have been talks of moving our Christmas celebrations to coincide with western calendars on December 25, we always stumble when it comes to the question of what to do about Kiahk? How does one move a whole month? I don't know. All I care about is that the year it happens there will be a year with TWO CHRISTMASES! And that's just plain exciting.Why did you stop doing the audio versions of the blog posts?Mostly because I'm a little overwhelmed just staying consistent with quality blog posts. But also a little because I have some crazy ideas for podcasts, and I'm still simmering them in my brain before I let them out for you to see.What about that novel you're writing?The novel? Or the short story? Or the memoir? Or the Sunday school manual? Can you say "multi-tasking"/"confused"/"focus, woman!"?? Bear with me. I promise to keep you updated. Join the [thrive_2step id='2329']e-mail list[/thrive_2step] for behind-the-scenes info and breaking news!Where did that gorgeous manger scene you're using come from?Today's beautiful image is a detail of a watercolor painting by my beloved sister Marina (@brightnbreezi on Instagram) created specifically for this blog! I am blessed to have her and all her talent in my life!