New LIght

New Light    "Holy God, you gather  the whole universe into your radiant presence and continually reveal your Son as our Savior. Bring healing to all wounds, make whole all that is broken, speak truth to all illusion, and shed light in every darkness, that all creation will see your glory and know your Christ. Amen. " Anonymous It is a snowy, cold winter day.  Those of us that are here in New England look out our windows and see the wind blowing the snow here and there.  Perhaps we have specific things around our homes that give us an indication of how much snow we are accumulating.   On my back deck the angels are wearing a blanket of white that is significantly different than earlier today.   There is something very special about a snow day, a day when everyone is asked to stay put, and just be in their homes.  This is a particular blessing following the business and demands of Christmas.  Maybe we are being invited to be, to make room for the new light that has come into our hearts.   In recent posts I have written that a book I have used for prayer and reflection this season has been one written by a Benedictine Monk, Albert Holtz, O.S.B.  The book was called From Holidays to HOly Days.  I would highly recommend it to you in the future.  As he closes the book, or as he addresses the new year, he leads us to think of the word, new.   Many of us that like to write, love words.  As theologians, we often look to Greek and the origin of the words that we use regularly to see where they came from, or what they really mean.  Each year he talks of going to the Greek Lexicon and reflecting on the two words that mean "new."  Now, don't give up on me here this is interesting, I promise.    "First there is the familiar word for "new," noes, which describes a new version of something else, such as the new wine in the old wineskins, and the new covenant established in place of the old one.  This is the kind of newness I like: refreshing, upbeat, and pleasant."  Making New Year's resolutions always seems tempting, but like most people, I seldom stick with them. After all, I am the same person on January 2 that I was on December 30.  As Christians we believe that our journey of faith is one that calls us to new life, to rebirth, but isn't that really all metaphorical?  Maybe, maybe not.   If we look at the idea of  "noes" we could somehow believe that we are unable to create "new" in our lives.  We may believe that we are always the same, regardless of God's presence or our desire to be open to any changes God may be leading us to.  Or maybe this gives us comfort to know we are able to just improve on where we are, no big changes needed.   "The second word for "new" is kainos, which reflects a very different kind of newness.  It refers to something previously unheard of and unthought of, something entirely different from anything that went before."    As a person that has spent the last 20 years of her life studying human behavior and growth, it is really hard for me to believe that we are able  to, at some point in our lives, suddenly be something "new".  I believe that we are a constellation of our experiences, the environment and people that have surrounded us, the many lessons we have learned from so many different sources.  I also  believe the person God continues to work on in me is growing and changing for good.     All that said, the idea that is presented in this reflection is one of not accepting things the way they are, of being willing to go deeper than the initial New Year's resolution idea.     "There is the passage from Ephesians: 'Put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth." (Eph 4:24).  When Paul writes this, he is not talking about some cosmetic 'makeover' of my old self in which I remain essentially unchanged inside; the self he is calling me to be is an entirely new person, not just noes but kainos.  "   Often I preach that this journey of faith is not an easy one.  It is a blessed and sacred one, but not one we are able to do alone.  God calls us, all of us, to be more than we can often imagine.  The only way, I believe that we can live  and grow into the people God knows us to be, is with God's help.  When left to our own devices it is either too scary, too hard, or just plain beyond our thoughts.     Recently I found myself looking at the "Catechesism," which is the back of the Book of Common Prayer.  It is referred to as the outline of our faith.  I was struck by the definition of Grace.     " Grace is God's favor toward us, unearned and   undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens   our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills." BCP, pg. 858 If we are to look at becoming "new" in the kainos kind of way, we are only able to embark on that journey with God's grace.  I love the fact that first it states that God forgives our sins.  Right off the bat, God names the reality that we are  an imperfect and guilt-ridden people.  We are a people that will always get in God's way without help.  First, God assures us that we are loved and forgiven.   Then,  there is room for our hearts  and minds to be  stirred . Only then can we be open to the many ways God may be nudging us to lean into the new light that has come yet again.  Lastly, we are told that with God's grace comes a strengthening of our wills.  With God's help we can lift our heads up, we can look within and with that turn and look out to the world that needs us more than ever before.     "Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus ever call me to gradually improve and become renewed(noes); he does call me, however, to risk letting go of everything that I am, everything that I have accomplished, everything that I am familiar with, in order to become kainos, a new person whom I can not even foresee or imagine-the person God has in mind. St. Paul says it this way: "I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me". (Gat..2:19-20). The coming of Christ at Christmas is meant to transform me into a new person, not just someone noes, merely an improved version of the old me. "    As the snow falls today, I believe that both are true.  We are always able to be made new in the light of God's love and blessing.  The very foundation of who we are is the vast mixture of all the miles we have traveled, the people we have met and the lessons we have learned.  It is only through that, that God continues to create something new.    St. John's celebrated a beautiful and sacred Christmas.  The music, candles and the flowers adorned the church in a magical way.  Let this new light that come to us this year bring something new to you.     The snow is falling very hard now, the light is beginning to dim.  Yet, in the peace of this new light, I am reminded yet again, that with God's grace room is made for something new.     May you know and feel God's grace in the New Year.     Rev. Sue Poulin