Recently I was in the supermarket waiting in
line to check out when two people in the next line began to converse. I wasn’t paying too much attention and then I
heard “Ham?! You can’t have ham on
Thanksgiving! You have to have
turkey—it’s tradition!”
And then I heard, “Father, tell them it’s
tradition to have turkey on Thanksgiving!”
I was a bit startled to be invited into a
conversation of which I had not been a part, nor of which I cared to be a
part. All I could think was, “Why am I
the expert on Thanksgiving traditions?!”
Traditions are a part of life. We all have them, although our own traditions
may be different from someone else’s.
Many years ago I remember meeting with an engaged couple and we were
talking about expectations regarding traditions. In his family, his mother always put up the
Christmas tree and decorated it; in her family, her father always put up the
Christmas tree and decorated it.
Naturally, their expectation was that the other would take care of the
Christmas tree. (I’m not sure what they
did in the end as a married couple: maybe they never did get a tree!)
Traditions bring an element of comfort, an
element of stability, to our lives.
That’s why we have traditions.
They’re familiar; they recall pleasant memories of times past.
There are, however, times when traditions may
change. While the adjustment to a new
way of doing things may not feel quite right in the beginning, eventually we
embrace this new way as a tradition. New
traditions probably surface most commonly in young married couples who welcome
children into their family. While they
still cling to their old traditions somewhat, they begin to form new traditions
with their new family. Actually it’s
usually a blending of the new and the old.
And that’s what ought to happen as we journey through life.
Traditions are not just family-centered, of
course. The Church is filled with
traditions that bring a sense of comfort and stability to our lives. This weekend we begin a new liturgical year
with the lighting of the first candle on the Advent wreathe. Each week the light grows with the addition
of another lit candle until we arrive at Christmas and celebrate how Jesus is
the light of the world.
Jesus is also the light of our lives, in our
lives, leading and guiding us to a deeper relationship with Him. Jesus, the human face of God, reveals to us
the depth of God’s love for us. Even
more than our cherished traditions, it is Jesus Who brings comfort and
stability to our lives. We live in a
constantly changing world; traditions help anchor us in what is meaningful (as
long as the traditions aren’t sinful, of course). Even more so does Jesus provide an anchor of
meaningfulness and purposefulness in our lives.
And we have such wonderful opportunities to connect with Jesus—through
our Eucharistic celebrations (Mass), in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, in
our own personal prayer lives, in our response to the needs of others, in our
acceptance of another person’s kindness to us.
Jesus is indeed with us, lighting up our lives, bringing comfort and
stability to our lives.
To go back to the supermarket: I didn’t really
want to take sides in the ham versus turkey debate, so I simply said that whatever
one’s preference is, it’s fine.
(Personally, I’ve never cared much for ham, but it’s a valid
preference!)
Have a blessed Advent . . .
