It is still Christmas for Christians. We have seen the fulfillment of the prophecies of old in the birth of Christ. The Christmas story leaves us all pretty confident of God’s promises right now. But we aren’t always so confident. There are all sorts of people and circumstances in our lives that shake our confidence in our faith despite the fact that “all the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God” and the Lord’s wondrous deeds. Have we not been shown God’s kindness in our lives? Have we not seen the faithfulness of the Lord? Have we not seen God’s salvation? Have we not seen his justice at work? Today is a good time to reflect on these questions. The psalmist says these acts of the saving power of God are everywhere. We should all be able to see them in our lives. It is good to take time to write these questions down and to follow them with personal examples in our own lives. If we can’t think of any examples, maybe we should visit our pastor or priest for a conversation.
When I was younger, I used to visit my pastor once a year for a discussion about my spiritual growth and direction. It was not the same thing as going to confession before participating in holy communion, which is something we also used to do, but don’t do any more. I haven’t had one of those meetings in years because I got more disciplined in my spiritual life with reading, prayer, and reflection. And I got a lot busier. But meeting with the pastor each year did have the effect of holding me more accountable for my spiritual growth and I think I should begin the practice again. It is my New Year’s Resolution this year to get back into that habit.
What do I expect to gain from that? I think the lessons for today are instructive. There is always the presence of Christ in my life that I don’t recognize. God is always revealing his justice in ways that I don’t see. I need to ‘make straight the way of the Lord’ so I can sing more joyfully a new song to the Lord in this New Year! And I pray for a more confident community of faith among all God’s people that we may all see God’s justice, kindness, and faithfulness.
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
