Down From Mount Olympus

Isn't it beautiful how many celebrations of light, love and longing take place at this time of year? Whether they spring from a need to call the sun back to the earth again, or the blessing of lights that burned long past their time, or the birth of the Christ child in Bethlehem, it is all about love. A love celebrated by people with their Godly beliefs and the gifts that come because of them.

It is a holy time for people all over this earth and I cannot help but believe that God wants it this way. In the midst of darkness, when people have time to peruse the way, the light of the world comes to lead us and what better way than to lead us in a language and way we can best understand. There are just too many stories, too many traditions, too many similarities across the cultures for me to believe otherwise.

We are the same people who have always lived upon this earth, craving the same basic things we have always craved. The stories change, the objects change, the names and the overt reasons change, but the foundation is always the same. I turn on television and see a story about beautiful people, people who live above and beyond what most of us can ever hope for. These people come to live among the poor, hidden as wayfaring strangers and in the end turn out to be millionaires who appear upon the doorstep of those they encountered as common people. In the end they appear transformed by expensive clothing and more expensive automobiles to bestow gifts upon those worthy people, leaving the impression that I, too, might be blessed by their magnanimity if I only I continue to do good things out of the sheer goodness of my heart. Then, after leaving their gift, these people return to their high standard of living and the world they belong to. I think it is called "Secret Millionaire" on television now. Once it might have been the story of the Stranger At The Door, or the stories of the Gods who came down from Mount Olympus to walk among us, unknown and looking for good people to reward. It is the story of hope for the hopeless and more hope for those who are already faithful.

We want to meet God and have God notice how good we are. It is a real need for us humans to be good, i.e. to be loved. It transforms simple words into actions of unbelievable beauty. It calls saints out of sinners. It turns the tide more times than any of us will ever know when someone wavers between two paths and one has affirmations of any sort on it.

Be Godly. Lean towards the positive. Look for the goodness and don't be afraid to praise it. Let go of anger and retribution and replace them with a magic string those you love can put a finger on and follow into the light.