What does it mean that Jesus was born today? What is Christmas all about?
In the past several years I have grown more and more cynical about Christmas. I am not a militant "let's put Christ back in Christmas" type, those who feel compelled to object to any politcal correctness or perceived assaults on Christmas. No, for me it is simply the thought-- this isn't how it is supposed to be. Shopping, parties, obligatory gift giving, consumerism--it all leaves me feeling cold. Is Christmas in America what God had in mind? Or are we missing something?
If I were to reclaim Christmas, it would have nothing to do with a nativity scene at city hall. Christmas is fundamentally about the fact that God came to this world to live among us. "And the Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14) This Word is the word that was present at creation,the Word was with God and was God, the Word that God spoke that brought creation into being, the Word that became a human being in order to free all of humanity from a world of darkness and despair. The Word is Jesus Christ and is God's best and only strategy to change the lives of individuals and the world. In order to reclaim christmas, we must reclaim the original story of Christmas, the story of God's love poured out for all of the world.
I find the fact that God's strategy for changing the world was to become like us, to take on flesh and live like we live, truly remarkable. Certainly God with the whole all-knowing, all-powerful thing could have simply spoken the word and fixed everything. But God doesn't want a world of perfection, but a world where people faithful serve and love one another. God does this by living life as we live, filled with the fullness of human existence. Jesus experienced joy, laughter, love, pleasure, pain, sorrow, and despair. He experienced the fullness of life to deepen a connection between us and God, to connect God and humanity in a life-giving and blessed way. Jesus also shows us how to live a life of faithfulness, humility, and peace. He teaches us to be passionate about God, life, justice, and one another. Jesus opens our eyes and our hearts to live the life God intends for us. The Christmas story is a story about God's unconditional love for us.
When we follow the example of Jesus' life and love one another with the love of God, we can change the world. Jesus shows us how to live and to love, and frees us from our bondage. When we celebrate Christmas we celebrate God's amazing love and grace, freely given to all, a love and grace which changes lives.
So let each of us celebrate with joy the awesome gift we have been given and know we are loved, and share that love with all we meet.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Christmas Surprise
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Luke 1:26-28
The Christmas season is now upon us, with all its promise and its trappings. It seems that Christmas begins earlier each and every year, with all of the advertisements, sales, lights, and music. But for some reason, and perhaps it is just me, Christmas really snuck up on me this year. There has been so much going in our community and in our world that I have been caught by surprise when it was time to really prepare for this season (by writing a Christmas newsletter). Perhaps it has been the historic times we are living in with an unprecedented election, and looming anxiety over our collective financial future, but I am not ready for Advent much less Christmas!
Imagine the great surprise Mary must have felt when the angel Gabriel visited her and shared the message that she would bear God’s son. Mary must have been caught slightly off-guard by the visit and shocked by the message. There are of course several surprising aspects to Mary’s story. She is young, poor, and a virgin. If God were to pick someone to bear the messiah, a person like Mary would be a most unlikely choice. So what is God up to? Why was Mary chosen? What does this tell us about Christmas? What does this tell us about God? What does this tell us about ourselves?
God is full of surprises and unexpected reversals. God is unpredictable and mysterious, and there are things about the ways of God we simply cannot know. The choice of Mary, however, is part of a larger pattern of God lifting up the lowly, elevating the downtrodden, and liberating the oppressed. As Jesus said to the disciples: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:16) God’s loving and gracious ways often reverse the unjust and uncaring ways of the world. God is with the lowly, the suffering, and the oppressed. God’s love is amazing because it extends to those the world has forgotten.
Wherever you find yourself this Christmas season, no matter how difficult or challenging your situation might be, know that the love of Christ is with you. This time of year is a time to reflect on the miracles God has worked in our lives, a time to give thanks for our many blessings, a time to marvel at the mystery of God. We may not know what the future holds but we know the Lord will be with us, surprising us all.
The Christmas season is now upon us, with all its promise and its trappings. It seems that Christmas begins earlier each and every year, with all of the advertisements, sales, lights, and music. But for some reason, and perhaps it is just me, Christmas really snuck up on me this year. There has been so much going in our community and in our world that I have been caught by surprise when it was time to really prepare for this season (by writing a Christmas newsletter). Perhaps it has been the historic times we are living in with an unprecedented election, and looming anxiety over our collective financial future, but I am not ready for Advent much less Christmas!
Imagine the great surprise Mary must have felt when the angel Gabriel visited her and shared the message that she would bear God’s son. Mary must have been caught slightly off-guard by the visit and shocked by the message. There are of course several surprising aspects to Mary’s story. She is young, poor, and a virgin. If God were to pick someone to bear the messiah, a person like Mary would be a most unlikely choice. So what is God up to? Why was Mary chosen? What does this tell us about Christmas? What does this tell us about God? What does this tell us about ourselves?
God is full of surprises and unexpected reversals. God is unpredictable and mysterious, and there are things about the ways of God we simply cannot know. The choice of Mary, however, is part of a larger pattern of God lifting up the lowly, elevating the downtrodden, and liberating the oppressed. As Jesus said to the disciples: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:16) God’s loving and gracious ways often reverse the unjust and uncaring ways of the world. God is with the lowly, the suffering, and the oppressed. God’s love is amazing because it extends to those the world has forgotten.
Wherever you find yourself this Christmas season, no matter how difficult or challenging your situation might be, know that the love of Christ is with you. This time of year is a time to reflect on the miracles God has worked in our lives, a time to give thanks for our many blessings, a time to marvel at the mystery of God. We may not know what the future holds but we know the Lord will be with us, surprising us all.
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