Personal Log 1.2.21

It's January 2nd 2021. 

I never in my life thought I'd ever write that date down as today's date. Growing up, we were always told that Jesus could return any minute, any second... so we lived our lives accordingly, w/ that undercurrent of hope/fear in our lives.

Today is also the 9th Day of Christmas. Western culture has completely abandoned this tradition; due to commercialization it's now the 12 Days TO Christmas w/ the season ending on December 25th. Only in the last 15+ years or so have I really celebrated the 12 Days & slightly modified them as certain Days focused on feasts or saints while I tend to focus on Jesus & family. 

I have researched the different days, saints & feasts to see just why they were celebrated. Take for instance today, it's known as St. Basil's Day. According to Wikipedia he was a 4th Century bishop & influential theologian who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the early Christian Church. He had an ability to balance his theological convictions with his political connections which made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position. He was also known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for monastic life which focused on community life, liturgical prayer, and manual labor.

Personally, I could re-learn something from him like balancing theology & politics and being more bold in both… like prioritizing community life & lately I've been really pondering what “community” means. For some, it's being visible in the marketplace, for others it's simply their realm of influence & interactions; one is on the radar, the other is under the radar so to speak. 

This is just one of the reasons I love celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, it gives me a chance to reset & re-center some things…