What a day November 5th was.
In Australia it was Melbourne Cup Day. This is an annual course race held in Melbourne, on the first Tuesday of November and is known as “the race that stops the nation”. It has been run every year since 1861 except during WW I & II and has been a public holiday in much of Victoria since 1876. And it really does stop the nation, and much of New Zealand as well. I remember as a high school student how the teachers would mysteriously disappear at 3 pm, leaving us students to listen on our own radios to what was happening. And everyone gambled on the race. Even my mother, a teacher, who would never think of gambling always entered the school sweepstakes and inevitably won the prize. This year, one of my brothers entered in memory of my mother, and laughingly bet on Knight’s Choice at 100 to 1. True to form, Mum won with one of the biggest upsets in the race’s history.
Why am I telling this story? Well as all of you know, here in the U.S. November 5th is election day, and even though I do not know the results at the time I am writing this, I do know that whoever wins, it will be a huge upset to many. It will certainly go down in history as one of the most divisive and chaotic campaigns ever and whatever the outcome my prayer is that love will win over hate and peace over violence and that in spite of our disagreements we will reach for reconciliation and unity rather than division and disunity.
This week has been a rather disorienting one for me as I flew home to Seattle from Australia on Friday and still feel as though I am halfway across the Pacific. It was a wonderful trip, and part of what is helping me to adjust is wandering round the neighbourhood and my garden soaking in the beauty of autumn with the brilliantly coloured leaves still hanging on to the trees. In Meditation Monday – Jet Lagged, I talked about this and about the contrast between the season I entered in Australia and the season I returned to in Seattle. An amazing gift God gave us, this ability to adapt to such changes.
Friday, in my Substack Spiritual Practice post, I focused not on the usual All Saints Day, Halloween or Day of the Dead, but on Looking for Circles Day. And I didn’t have to look further than my fingerprints for my inspiration. I hope that you too will use this post to inspire you to both examine and reflect on your fingerprints and the wonder of this unique gift God gives to each of us.
My next big news is that it is time to get ready for Advent, at least for Celtic Advent. If you have not yet purchased your copy of Celtic Advent: Following An Unfamiliar Path, now is a good time to do so. I am delighted to see how many plan to use this as a group study book for the season. People as far away as Bangkok, London and Sydney will gather on zoom or in person to reflect on the daily readings and its impact on their lives. I too plan to contribute additional thoughts, ideas and activities for the season. I hope that you will join this celebration and let us know what you plan and how you will use Celtic Advent.
In conjunction with the launch of my book, as you know, I have been conducting a series on Celtic Christian Spirituality on my podcast Liturgical Rebels. Today, we publish the last in this series, an interview with David Cole or Brother Cassian Cole who was one of my inspirations for joining the Celtic way of Advent. David is the Founder and executive director of Waymark Ministries and an international spiritual teacher and retreat leader. He is the author of 8 books including Celtic Advent. He is a certified Reiki practitioner with a Masters’ degree in ‘Christian Spirituality’, specialising in the Christian mystics. He wrote his thesis on how historic Celtic Christianity can inform New Monastic ideas of Discipleship.
You might have noticed that traffic on godspacelight has ground to a halt. Lilly Lewin was unable to post her Freerange Friday and in my jet lagged state I forgot to post as well. However there are a number of resources available on Godspacelight that you might like to check out. Last week I highlighted the Advent in A Jar resource, but there are a couple of other free downloads you might like to check out – Colour Your Way Through Advent and Christmas and Waiting – A Collection of Poems by Jeannie Kendall. We are rapidly approaching the end of the liturgical year too and the last Sunday of the year (November 24th this year) is Christ the King Sunday. And for those who are skeptical about this celebration, let me assure you that the resources I tend to favour are a little out of the ordinary. As I say: Jesus knew the popular images of kings and lords and redefined them. In God’s resurrection world, in order to be a ruler of all, Jesus must become a servant of all. Jesus demonstrated this servanthood in his life and miracles. Even the Incarnation is an example of this: God the Son, King of all creation, humbled himself to become human, even sharing the ultimate fate of his captive subjects: death.
Many blessings on all of you in this trying season. Let me end with a prayer that is based on a prayer by Steven Charleston, Native American Theological and former Episcopal Bishop of Alaska.
When others hate, may you love,
When others curse, may you bless.
When others hurt, may you heal.
When others divide, may you unite.
When others rage, may you calm.
When others deny, may you affirm.
You are a servant of the light.
You need not be afraid of the darkness.
God strengthen you to carry on with your work
And faithfully live who you are in Christ:
Love for stranger, love for enemy, love for neighbour.
Amen
Many blessings
Christine Sine
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