Christmas Letter I have been battling writer’s block regarding this Christmas Letter for about a week now. No matter how I have tried to focus on the angels’ message of “Peace on Earth” my mind keeps going to the violence being currently directed towards police officers. Let me make my orientation clear. When I grew up I was always taught that if I had a problem I should seek out a police officer. They were “your friend”. Perhaps this was because my best friend’s father was a cop … not to mention my first cousin, two of my brother-in-law’s brothers plus his brother-in-law, a number of their friends; and perhaps also because my priest was the coordinator of chaplains for all Suffolk County police departments. I am therefore openly biased in favor of law enforcement, and this will not change anytime soon. Consequently, to learn that others in the community have had such negative experiences with law enforcement over the years that they feel perpetual suspicion is simply heartbreaking. Where is “Peace on Earth” to be found, especially when it seems that our society seems to be fraying at the edges, to the point where many are wondering if we are nearing the brink of some truly frightful times? Then today all clergy received an email from Bishop Provenzano. He wrote that he had just spent time in Brooklyn with those affected by the murders of officers Liu and Ramos. As a result he has called on all clergy to desist from engaging in “grandstanding, instigating, organizing, and even marching”. He said that because people are currently so “scared, hurt, confused, and bewildered” our role “right now is to incarnate peace; peace in language, peace in program, peace in attitude, and peace in church”. My prayer is that, not only the clergy, but all of us as the Church can do this. I was taught a long time ago that when things are hard we should run to the cross. The image I was given was to fall at the foot of the cross, grab hold, and hang on for dear life until the gale passed by, because only the cross of Jesus will withstand the fury of the Evil one. I was also taught in Christmas sermon after Christmas sermon that the baby in the manger came to this earth to do a job, and that this job would lead directly to that same cross. It occurs to me now that perhaps what the shepherd, animals, and wise men were doing in visiting this little baby, was in fact blazing the trail. We run to that manger to begin the process of holding on to Jesus for dear life, and gaining from him the power to do what appears impossible at times, to “incarnate peace”. May the Lord bless you richly this Christmas,
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 00:14:28 +0000
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