In hyper-polarized times it is difficult to access our best selves. How do we find forgiveness for those who bother us, who hurt us? Well, counter-intuitively, revenge serves an important function.

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Step out in nature, and we gain a perspective that brings peace.

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When bad things happen, the story we tell ourselves will determine whether hope is stirred or stymied. Hope lives when we see setbacks as temporary and one time events. Our tradition gives us tools to hold on to hope, particularly in the darkest of times.

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The Industrial Revolution and subsequent urbanization and mechanization of society increased the scale within which we all live, work, and play. As our world has gotten bigger, our sense of agency has shrunk. When we tell ourselves the story that we can’t make a difference, we don’t.

Jesus told a different story. He told us to be like yeast, like salt.

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When we find ourselves in dark seasons, our ancient wisdom extends a promise. That in the end, Truth wins. love wins, light triumphs.

And this dark time our nation finds itself in…

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Many are struggling with despair these days. Our ancients knew something about human nature, and they designed a calendar to remind us to stir hope in the darkest and coldest of times. It was a call to dissolve despair like salt in warm broth. The feast of Christmas points us to the greatest truths: that light overcomes darkness, courage overcomes fear, restoration overcomes destruction. This is our hope. This our resistance to despair.

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It’s our Christian mandate to change the world . . . and Lord knows it needs changing these days.

Even in the quantum era, we Christians still rely on the ancient tools — meditation, examen, spiritual friendships, and the enneagram — to ground us in the Spirit. Only from that grounded place, can we be effective in generating restorative change in a broken world.

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In this lesson we are reminded of the story of hope the Baby Jesus represents.

And it is only from a position of hope that we garner the strength to step into our mission as repairers of the Earth.

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