Ok. I will admit that Obama seems to be taking a remarkably levelheaded and moderate approach to implementing his cabinet and setting general policy directions. I think it was particularly smart to leave Robert Gates in as Secretary of Defense. I'm also impressed by his economic team. Hopefully they can deliver some smart solutions come January.
I can't believe that Advent is already half over! My church going habits lately have lapsed quite a bit, but I've been keeping up with Advent by reading a daily reflections site as well as listening to a weekly podcast about the season. I've been finding that not being in college anymore means that I have quite a bit more time and attention to give to things like spiritual seasons. In some ways it feels a bit like being in elementary school again: Christmas is coming, and every day I have a prayer or a reading to reflect on.
Again, even for the non-religious person, I think that there's a lot of value in taking a couple weeks to reflect on what it means to have "God incarnate", especially with "God" arriving in such a humble form as is portrayed in accounts about Jesus. I think it partially means that no matter how we begin, we can end up somewhere great - if only we start. It's one thing to think about a cute story about a baby being born in a barn, and it's quite another to think about just how uncomfortable that would be. Instead of trying to reconcile ourselves to the amount of unpleasantness involved with an experience like that, maybe it's worthwhile to think about it as a testament to the greatness of the human spirit - that no matter our situation, or our past, or our lineage, or anything else, we possess a sense of being and of self that can carry us unimaginable distances making a difference to others, even to the point of sacrificing that very sense of being.
There are a lot of things to worry about, perhaps now more than ever. We're in a deep economic recession (okay, I admit it), and reports say that in all likelihood we'll have another large-scale terror attack on the country sometime within the next five years. Doesn't that make it a good time to start cultivating some hope - both about our own inner strength and abilities, as well as about the potential for others to be as loving and compassionate as we hope to be ourselves?
The gospel reading from today was about John the Baptist telling the Pharisees who he was, after they started questioning him. I have heard quite a few priests say this about who we all are: not only are we made in the image of God, but we also are merely dust and dirt. I have spent some time meditating recently, and it's helped me to understand who I am a bit better. Paradoxically, it's also helped me stop caring so much about "who" or "what" I am. I think that in some ways Advent too can be seen as a season for cultivating mindfulness, and Christmas as a day for celebrating the fullness of being and experiencing each moment as it is.
John also says today, "Make straight the way of the Lord." I think that this is a good statement about the value of being decisive. "Make straight" is saying to forge a path ahead, and to forge a path that is unequivocally true to our sense of "God" and how to reach "God" for ourselves. It means taking responsibility for our desires and hopes, and for putting our actions under the reign of our conscious thoughts - our free will - and getting started on our way. No matter what, we inherit the responsibility for our actions, but I think that we should actively seek ownership of that responsibility as another step towards that same self-cultivation I've been talking about.
