Yesterday we spent some time reflecting on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). As I see it, there are a couple of ways we can view the Beatitudes. We can chose to view the Beatitudes as platitudes. A platitude is a trite, meaningless, or biased statement. Platitudes are easily dismissed.

Another option would be to view the Beatitudes as opportunities. I am not suggesting that we seek out poverty or grief or persecution. Yet we all know that struggles will come into our lives. When those struggles do come, the Beatitudes remind us that God is with us. The Beatitudes let us know that we are blessed. In that way, our struggles can become opportunities to seek out God, to turn to God, and to trust in God.

Sometimes, when reading the Beatitudes, we we dismiss them as not applying to us. In this way they become platitudes. I believe that the Beatitudes are so much more than trite, meaningless statements. It seems to me that the Beatitudes speak to the way Jesus calls us to live in the world and in relationship to God. How do you understand the Beatitudes? In what ways do these bold statements of Jesus challenge or confirm your faith?

I've been part of a couple of tough conversations this week. It was not that these conversations didn't go well, but rather that they dealt with difficult and emotional issues. I was glad that these conversations took place in the context of church.

While tough conversations are not easy or enjoyable, it strikes me that church might be the best place to have them. When we come together as brothers and sisters in Christ we can share our challenges and struggles ~ and even disagree ~ while remaining tied together in love. I am reminded of Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 13:

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.

Have you had any tough conversations lately? What was the outcome? What did you hope the outcome would be? Sometimes the tough conversations help us to get to places of truth that we would never discover if we avoided talking about the tough-stuff. So let's keep talking about the tough stuff while never forgetting our commitment to love.

Today is, indeed, the coldest day of the year so far. (Let's hope it doesn't get any colder.) I'm not sure it is even above zero out there! When Gary left for work this morning it was -11. Yikes!

It is interesting that in our hemisphere we celebrate Epiphany ~ the season of light ~ during this cold, dark time of the year. Maybe it is an opportunity for us to be truly grateful for the glimpses of light we experience. Maybe it is a reminder that our true light comes only from God.

Below I've pasted a prayer shared on the blog "A Place for Prayer." I don't know who wrote it, but I feel it reflects our Vermont experience of Epiphany. May your day be filled with the LIGHT.

Lord,
We come to you in a time of coldness and darkness,
Looking for warmth and light.
There are those whose homes are physically freezing,
And there are those whose lives are spiritually chilly
We know that we can help warm people’s homes.
We also know you can warm people’s lives.

We pray that there will be no more gloom for those who were in anguish
We pray that you lift away people’s burdens.
We pray you remove the things that oppress from people’s lives.
We pray you give courage to those who fear.

Lord your light calls us forth to follow and serve you.
Your light still shines for all to see in this world.
May we continue to reflect your light in our lives,
in our service, in our words and in our deeds. Amen.

This coming Sunday we have the very familiar Gospel passage where Jesus calls the disciples, promising that he will make them "Fish for people." Fishing was familiar to them. In fact Andrew, Simon, James, and John did it for a living. But fishing for people? That's a totally different thing!

Yet something about Jesus' invitation caught their attention and they followed. In fact, the Scripture tells us they left behind their boats and nets. To fishermen those were very important assets. What an amazing thing that they were willing to take a risk on the adventure laid out before them by Jesus.

In our lives the call of God doesn't always make sense. Sometimes what God leads us to do is outside our skill-set and comfort level. Like the disciples being called to fish for people, we may wonder just what we have gotten ourselves into. And, like the disciples, we might be called to leave something behind. What is your boat? What is it that you must leave behind ~ important, expensive ~ to fully answer God's call?

Much seems dark right now. The days, while getting longer, still seem much too short. Our country itself is in a dark night of the soul. Yet here we are in the Season of Epiphany, the season of light.

"Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us." –Meister Eckhart

This Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. One of the age-old questions is, "Why did Jesus have to be baptized?" We know that Jesus had no sin, and therefore had nothing to repent. Yet when he comes to the waters he tells John that he must be baptized by him to fulfill all righteousness.

It's hard to know exactly what Jesus meant by this. To me, it seems that Christ submitted to baptism that baptism itself might be changed forever. After Christ, baptism became not just a washing away of sin, but an acceptance of a whole new identity. As Kathleen Norris writes in The Christian Century , "Baptism, then, is about celebrating the incomparable gift we receive as creatures beloved of God. But baptism is also about more fully engaging the responsibility that this identity reveals." When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into his mission.

On Sunday we will remember our baptisms and be thankful. We will be thankful for being beloved children of God, but we will also be thankful for what this identity calls us to do and how this identity calls us to live. Are you living our your baptism? How have you lived your baptism this week? This month? Let us not only remember our baptisms and be thankful, but also remember our baptisms and be inspired!

Could it possibly be 2011 already? It seems that I am never ready for the New Year, but this year circumstances have been particularly challenging. I've been away from blogging for a while because I spent much of December with my father as he courageously lived the last stage of his life with ALS. He died on December 18th surrounded by many loved ones.

The familiar sights and sounds of the Advent and Christmas season seemed different to me through the lens of loss and grief. For one thing, I was away from the rhythm of pastoral and liturgical life. In this way, the holiday season snuck up on me. Could it be that Christmas has passed and the New Year is already upon us?

Yet, no matter what happens in our lives, Christ comes. Christ enters our imperfect world to offer hope and peace to all who are hurting. Thanks be to God.

I am reminded of this passage from M. Louise Haskin's poem, The Desert. "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied, 'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God, that shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.' So I went forth and finding the Hand of God trod gladly into the night."

Whatever our journeys, God goes with us. This is the Gospel ~ the Good News ~ at the New Year and always.