Before reflecting on today’s lesson let’s listen to how one person solved their problem:

 “Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had a fear of someone under my bed at night.  So I went to a therapist and told him:

“I’ve got problems.  Every time I go to bed I think there’s somebody under it.  I’m scared.  I think I’m going crazy.”

 “Just put yourself in my hands for one year,’ the therapist said. ‘Come talk to me two times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears.”

 “How much do you charge?”

“Ninety dollars per visit,” he replied.

“I’ll sleep on it,” I said.

 Six months later this psychotherapist met me on the street.  “Why didn’t you come to see me about those fears you were having?” he asked.

 “Well, ninety bucks a visit two times a week for a year is an awful lot of money!  A bartender cured me for $10.00.  I was so happy to have saved all that money that I went and bought me a good used truck.”

 “Is that so!’ With a bit of an attitude he said, “and how, may I ask, did a bartender cure you?”

 “He told me to cut the legs off the bed!”

 For many Christmas has become the marker for family histories.  We remember many of our family’s milestones in terms of Christmas: our first Christmas in our new house, our child’s first Christmas; the Christmas he was away fighting in Iraq; the Christmas the family spent by her bedside.  Many of our Christmas cards include photographs of how the children have grown in the past year and letters bringing family and friends up-to-date on the news of the last twelve months.

On this New Year’s Eve/Day, we begin to gather up the memories of the Christmas just past with family and friends.  We all have a favorite moment from the last few days that will forever mark Christmas 2011; we may also have a moment that gave us a pause, to see our lives and our relationships in ways we may not have realized before.

Today’s Gospel reading contains that wonderful observation from Luke:  “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”  Scholars have wondered for centuries what led Luke to include that line in his text.  Some have suggested that the author of Luke may have met Mary and talked with her about the events of her son’s birth.

 Our memories are important to us.  We learn from them, we are formed by them, we are inspired by them.  Remembering can be a powerful form of prayer, enabling us to discern the will of God in our lives as we struggle to make sense of the peaks and valleys we have traveled.  Like any loving parent, Mary certainly replayed over and over again the events we read about in the Christmas Gospels, constantly trying to discern the will of God as her son’s ministry unfolded.

 So do not pack away all your Christmas memories.  Keep some of the cards and photos nearby.  Rejoice in the love of family and friends, lifting them up in prayer.  Resolve to heal the hurts and cross the chasms that separate you from others.

A couple of questions to reflect upon:  What is your favorite moment from the last week?  What was the biggest disappointment or hurt and how can you make that situation better next Christmas?

We pray that we may embrace a spirit of prayer that begins with realizing God’s love in the midst of family and friends.  Like Mary, may our Christmas memories be the beginning of our prayers of gratitude; may our remembrances of Christmases past teach us your work of compassion and reconciliation. 

In this New Year, may our memories become a form of prayer in which we come to realize that Christ dawns in all our days and nights, and allow those moments to transform us, treasuring the presence of God’s holiness in our hearts. 

As we begin this New Year may your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door! 

Amen!  Amen. Msgr. Tom Adrians, Pastor Christ the King