The 8th Day of Christmas. A new dawn
"Do not be afraid!" A word of welcome and consolation.
Minnesota, Jan 1, 2024
Dear friends and fellow pilgrims,
A merry and joyous 2024 to you! May this new day of the new year welcome you tenderly with a warm embrace inviting you onto a new path.
I woke up in the dawn with a feverish child in my arms. So my first act of the new year was to get into motherly action: down the stairs to get tea and medicine. Out the door into the cold to pick some sage from the dark herb garden. The little leaves were snowed in and frozen on the stems. But still there and smelling strongly and healthy as soon as I warmed them up in my hands. Cooking tea with the fresh sage leaves, and thyme, chamomile, elderberry from the shelf, and lots of honey from the jar was an unexpected contemplative way to welcome this new year. Picking sage in the cold winter filled me with gratitude for the little things and for the pharmacy this creation provides us to sooth not only my sick child but also my worries.
And so today I saw the first light coming in not at my desk but while nursing my sick child.
We spent a lovely New Years Eve with a few friends and relatives in our home. And as we hosted this the first time we tried to come up with some meaningful rituals. E.g. Getting out into dusk to bid the old year farewell with excited children hopping along. Doing two countdowns, the German one (so we could call home) and the New York one (so we could go earlier to bed!). We then sang the Bonhoeffer hymn in German and English and barely finished the Prosecco before falling asleep cradling our little ones in the sitting room in front of the fire.
As grown ups do, I have left much of my religious upbringing behind. But being now a parent myself I have also come to cherish some of the tradition and religious education I have received. And so, I try to revive and fill with new life some of the old heritage.
One memory is the New Year’s devotion reading. After we ring the church bells by hand at midnight we would light sparklers to welcome the new year. Then we would go inside and my father would read to us the devotion for the new year which consisted of a bible verse for the new year and a reading for Jan 1.
And so I was thrilled this morning to find, in between cooking tea for my little one and getting to my desk, a message from a fellow traveler in Germany who sent us the verse for this new year (Thank you, BH)!
I want to share it with you here today, and cherish it in these first hours of the new year. What ever you feel about devotions or bible quotes (our Cloister Notes welcomes weary pilgrims from all paths!) I hope that this word will speak to you like a greeting from beyond and ease your longing for peace and healing.
So dear fellow traveler, from where ever you come and where ever you go be assured of the one great power, the one who has created you, who knew you before you were born, and who speaks to you and to this aching world on this new dawn: “Fear not!”
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;*
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.*
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;*
the flames will not set you ablaze…
***
Isiah 43.2 (NIV)1
Gott spricht:
Hab keine Angst,
denn ich habe dich bei deinem Namen gerufen,
du bist mein.
In reißenden Strömen wirst du nicht ertrinken.
Auch im Feuer wirst du nicht verbrennen.
Denn ich bin dein Retter…
***
Welcome, dear friend, welcome to this new year and to this everlasting promise. “Fear not!,” the angels sing to you. Yes, to you they sing, “Fear not!” The fire will not burn you. You belong here.
With great love, Almut with Chuck and little one
This post is part of our 12 Days of Christmas Series 2023/24: “Reclaiming Joy,” a Contemplative Journey towards the heart of Christmas. You can find all previous posts here. To subscribe or to upgrade your subscription click here. To share your thoughts with us, respond to this email or comment below.
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The 7th Day of Christmas. A Blessing at the turn of the year
Surrounded by such true and gentle powers. So wondrously consoled and without fear, Thus will I spend with you these final hours And then together enter a new year. — Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dear fellow pilgrim, With this image of the moon gazing over our Moravian star at yesterday’s dawn we greet you one last time this year from our home in Minnesota. Today we w…
Here is the whole passage for you to read, pray, ponder, meditate:
But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush[a] and Seba in your stead.
4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
As I read this blessing, it indeed touched me. And I am also reminded of two deep ironies within it. First, "I will bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — everyone who is called by my name" is both a welcome and a warning. The eternal seeks us wherever we are, yes. And also, the particular gathering in this passage is a gathering to the (un)Holy Land with its millennia long history of one people displacing another. There is a deep deep sorrow hidden in this blessing. But still it can be seen as a blessing.
Second, as the attacks and bombings in Israel/Palestine remind us, of course people drown, and the fire does burn. Almut links to an amazing sermon by the Rev. Munther Isaac, the pastor of Christmas Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Even among the bombings, he says "We will be OK," and he adds a prophetic word: "but I worry about you" who support these bombings and the indiscriminate killing of children. "I worry about your souls." He reminds us that we are often the supporters of, complicit with, the fire that burns. And there is a deeper grace even here. We are called to repentance and to grace for our complicity.
May God help us, and all who are caught in the fire.
I have a long stNding ritual that reduces my fears as i reclaim a universal connection. I light 3 candles in a votive holder that has 'Peace' written across the front. As i light each candle i breathe and contemplate a country that i say aloud. 3 countries each day. It helps me feel a deeper connection with all people.