New Years Eve

There was a sundial behind the old Tyson mansion in the woods near my boyhood home in Danville, Illinois. It was placed in a little nook overlooking the lake and had the inscription that can be seen in the picture above. The words were confusing, haunting, and almost scary to me back then. My best friend and I would be chasing butterflies or heading back to work on our hidden fort and I would always stop to look at that old sundial. "Grow old along with me!, I would think, That's stupid...who wants to get old anyway?"...and then I would run on.

Now, as an older man, I understand. The best is coming. The best of life and of love and of all that God and the universe have to send is ready to be received. All that is required is my open hand and open heart.

This is the final curtain call for 2008. We are called to live in this and every day fully. There is no time to wonder about yesterday or to regret our mistakes. This is our fresh moment, unsullied chance and new beginning. We have the opportunity to squeeze out every drop of the moment and let them fall where they may. Some will evaporate and some will be rainbows. It may sound silly but it is true. Live, love, laugh and be happy!

“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'” ~ Robert Browning

Christmas Eve 1914

German and Allied soldiers celebrate the 1914
Christmas truce in No Man's Land - this
photograph was considered subversive
and for many years, was censored

Jim Wallis is the founder and heart of Sojouners in Washington, DC. His writings and work have inspired me for decades now. The voice of reconcilliation and compassion that he offers is a rare gift to us all. The article that he wrote in 2002 entitled "Christmas In The Trenches" is my offering for your reflection this year.

Silent Night, by Stanley Weintraub, is the story of Christmas Eve, 1914, on the World War I battlefield in Flanders. As the German, British, and French troops facing each other were settling in for the night, a young German soldier began to sing "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht." Others joined in. When they had finished, the British and French responded with other Christmas carols.
Eventually, the men from both sides left their trenches and met in the middle. They shook hands, exchanged gifts, and shared pictures of their families. Informal soccer games began in what had been "no-man's-land." And a joint service was held to bury the dead of both sides.

The generals, of course, were not pleased with these events. Men who have come to know each other's names and seen each other's families are much less likely to want to kill each other. War seems to require a nameless, faceless enemy. So, following that magical night the men on both sides spent a few days simply firing aimlessly into the sky. Then the war was back in earnest and continued for three more bloody years. Yet the story of that Christmas Eve lingered - a night when the angels really did sing of peace on earth.

Folksinger John McCutcheon wrote a song about that night in Belgium, titled "Christmas in the Trenches," from the viewpoint of a young British solder. Several poignant verses are:

"The next they sang was 'Stille Nacht,' 'Tis 'Silent Night'," says I.
And in two tongues one song filled up that sky
"There's someone coming towards us!" the front line sentry cried
All sights were fixed on one lone figure coming from their side
His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright
As he bravely strode unarmed into the night.

Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man's land
With neither gun nor bayonet we met there hand to hand
We shared some secret brandy and we wished each other well
And in a flare-lit soccer game we gave 'em hell.
We traded chocolates, cigarettes, and photographs from home
These sons and fathers far away from families of their own
Young Sanders played his squeeze box and they had a violin
This curious and unlikely band of men.

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more
With sad farewells we each began to settle back to war
But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night
"Whose family have I fixed within my sights?"
'Twas Christmas in the trenches, where the frost so bitter hung
The frozen fields of France were warmed as songs of peace were sung
For the walls they'd kept between us to exact the work of war
Had been crumbled and were gone for evermore."

My prayer for the new year is for a nation and world where people can come out of their trenches and together sing their hopes for peace. We here at Sojourners will carry on that mission, and we invite you to continue on the journey with us.

Merry Christmas 2008

"I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A Merry Christmas to every-body!”

These are the words of Ebenezer Scrooge given by Charles Dickens in his timeless tale, “A Christmas Carol” published in 1843. I am one of those sentimental, schmaltzy guys who puts on the classic 1951 movie “Scrooge” starring Alastair Sim and watch all by myself so that I can tear up at the end without embarrassment. I do the same with “It’s A Wonderful Life”, “The Cheaters” (re-released this year by Turner by the way), “Miracle on 34th Street” and others. My family tired of my ritual long ago…so part of my viewing alone is to avoid the sighs and grumbles. No problem. They just don’t fall into the category of avid traditionalists like me and I don’t expect them to. Anyway, Scrooge continues to be my favorite without peer. It has long been my Christmas companion (the 1938 version was my first childhood television Scrooge…but it does not compare). The message that comes to me each year with Scrooge is one of conversion to happiness and generosity. It is a message that we are always hungry to hear.

Happiness has come to me in countless Christmas memories this year as well as the promise of making new ones. My friends and family are making plans to gather all over the country. Bonita and I will be visiting our son, Steven and Mary Jane in Memphis and then heading down to Orlando for the Capital One Bowl on New Years Day. My daughter Courtney and Jon are trying to get down to the warm Florida poolside during the holidays. Daughter Kristy announced her engagement this fall. My Danville gang, the JCOS, gathered in November with me and celebrated. David Gross and Patti have stopped by to visit at our rental home in Florida. Come on down y’all. No kidding! I caught up with Ed and Sharon Williams and had a good reminiscence. Ed has the spirit of Grand Dad Jones in every word he speaks. Joan French is having a grand reunion in Peoria to celebrate 80 years. We are all excited about that gathering (“a good time will be had by all”). I have been married for almost 14 years to the love of my life. You just can’t beat it!

Generosity has presented itself in the unselfish work that I have witnessed at Covenant House in Orlando. If you are looking for a way to help kids that are horribly marginalized and troubled…kids that are ignored and forgotten…please send them a few bucks. It will be used well and appreciated greatly. The particulars are Covenant House Orlando, 5931 E Colonial Dr., Orlando, FL 32807, (407) 426-7888. Scrooge was confronted by the Spirit of Christmas Present who exposed two children beneath his cloak “they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy.” It is a good time to be generous, isn’t it?

So, I send my love and the spirit of happiness and generosity to you all. May the joy of Christmas be with us always. Dare I say it? In the words of Tiny Tim…"God bless us every one.”