Honoring the Return of the Sun The winter solstice has come and gone. Even as we venture into the chill of winter, we can take comfort in knowing that today’s light will last a little longer than yesterday’s. Cultures around the world celebrate this return of the sun. In Iran, for instance, there is Yalda, a night when the people stay awake until morning to protect themselves against evil forces that are particularly strong at this time. They eat pomegranates and watermelon, and they read the poems of Hafiz. At dawn, they welcome the return of Ahura Mazda, the lord of wisdom. In the best of worlds, Yalda is a…
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Jesus, Resistance, and the Holiday Season
Jesus in Mark When I first read the Christian Scriptures, I was struck by the Gospel of Mark. Carefully-crafted and well-plotted, the story moves quickly toward its climax of death and resurrection. The book describes the ministry of a man both human and holy, who risked his life to spread his message of love and nonviolent resistance. The gospel is clearly political. Its first sentence, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” is a veiled challenge to the Roman Emperor who called himself the “Son of God” and whose birth was proclaimed as the “good news.” For me, Mark’s story seemed more like an…
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The Gift of Generosity
To Give When We Have Little Years ago, when my boys were small, our bank put up a Christmas tree with paper ornaments on which were written children’s names, ages, and the gift they wished for. Each year, I would take one of those ornaments. Money was tight back then, so I looked for a small gift, one I could get for under ten dollars. One year, my son told me I shouldn’t do that. “If you leave it for someone with more money, they’ll buy a better gift.” I hesitated. What he said made sense to me, and I was aware of a hint of shame and unworthiness poking…
