Poinsettias and Thorns

Advent came and went in its lovely darkness,  and Christmas burst in with lights, wonderful music, joyful festivity,  and so many opportunities to connect and re-connect...

In our monastery church,  which has been spectacularly bright and colorful with Christmas trees,  poinsettias,  and a  beautiful creche,  one seemingly discordant note stands out:  a crown-of-thorns plant in bloom.   What is this Good Friday reminder of Jesus' passion and death doing in the middle of poinsettias,  Magi, and brightly-lit trees?

Well, it belongs to the story,  because that Baby arrived in Bethlehem for one reason:  to bring us home to God and to one another in love, peace,  and reconciliation.  He accomplished it by preaching, by miracles,  but ultimately by surrendering His life to God on the Cross.   His Resurrection promises us the same hope in our own lives,  as we also give of ourselves to God.   And that mostly happens  as we give of ourselves to one another in service,  in unselfish love,  in the commitments that we make  in marriage, in single life,  in religious life, in friendship, in our workplaces and neighborhoods.  We all ultimately share in the same vocation:  to extend Jesus' life and mission through the lives we're each uniquely called to live.  Our lives may seem ordinary,  but they are full of daily opportunity to extend love, acceptance, service.    And that's exactly where we may feel that crown of thorns -- at times of sacrifice and self-giving.  It calls us to trust God's plan for us,  to respond to the needs of others even at the expense of our own time, convenience, preferences.  It's actually pretty simple -- but not always easy!

So on this last day of the Christmas Season,  the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord,  when we remember Jesus' baptism in the Jordan and the beginning of His mission,  let's recommit to our own personal missions in whatever life and circumstances we find ourselves.  We rarely have to look very far to find God's plan for us -- it's almost always right in front of us, in the people and situations that make up our lives.   And each time we feel a little bit of Good Friday,  of that crown-of-thorns plant in our lives,  we can remember that there's always an Easter to follow.

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