There are Christmas parties everywhere this time of year. Everywhere we turn there are sweets, treats, and chocolate. We walk around with full stomachs, filled with sugar.
In the Eastern Church this time leading up to Christmas is a time of fasting and preparation for the Christmas feast (similar to Lent, but slightly less intense). For them, Advent truly is a time of contemplation on the meaning and significance of Christmas as well as preparation for the celebration of Christ's coming. I want some of that.
I find it difficult with the way our society has set up the Advent season to contemplate and prepare. It seems the closer we get to December 25, the busier things get and the more treats are scattered about. Somehow I would like to learn how to greet Christmas with an empty stomach and hunger. I desire a Christmas in which I have a heart prepared to kneel at the manger with awe, to listen to the angels sing of God's glory, and to celebrate to arrival of salvation incarnate. All the sweets laying around are not bad, but they do seem to steal from the Christmas celebration. I hear people talking about how they are planning on not eating much on Christmas since they've already had so much and must 'watch the waistline'. I think we have it backwards. This is the feast of the Nativity - we ought to celebrate.
Celebrating properly takes time and preparation. Not merely preparation of the turkey, presents, and beer, but also preparation of the heart and soul. I think it is because all these things are so connected that we must learn how to live Advent in order to celebrate Christmas.
I plan to celebrate.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
This Advent Season: thoughts on hope (and events unseen)
Christmas is a strange thing. By Christmas I mean that first one where Jesus was born in that little town of Bethlehem.
In the Gospel of John the Christmas story reads like this, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory". Definitely not the longest Christmas account (the Gospel of Luke wins that prize), but nonetheless it manages to convey the magnitude of the event: God (aka 'the Word') has taken on human flesh and been born as a child. A pretty big deal. Maybe the two thousand years since have dulled our amazement of this event. Nonetheless, this is amazing stuff here.
In Luke's account we read about the angel who appears to the shepherds in the field with news about the saviour's birth; accompanying this messenger is a multitude of heavenly hosts singing "Glory to God in the highest". Here's a tip for you out there in blogosphere land: if a multitude of heavenly hosts appear singing God's glory, that's usually a tip-off that something huge is going on. And something huge was going on: God was sending the saviour of humanity into the world. God was at work to bring healing and hope to all the broken and the lost. Yeah, a pretty big deal.
Now let's get to that strange thing about Christmas...
... it never hit the headlines! No one really heard about it. It came and passed with only a handful of witnesses who knew what had taken place. I mean seriously, there were more animals present for this event than people. The biggest thing to ever happen in all of human history and no one hears about it. Even if they had, who would care about some bastard Jewish kid born to a teenaged girl in a backwater hick-town on the outskirts of the civilized world... big deal!
Sure, we all know about the child now. In fact, a large portion of humanity worships him. But at the time it was definitely not newsworthy.
I'm convinced that the most important events in life never (or at least seldom) make the headlines. There are people who have come and gone who have changed countless lives, spread the love of God, transformed hearts, and healed lives whose names are all but forgotten. Oh, not forgotten by those whose lives have been transformed, but forgotten by the rest of us (i.e. if we even heard of them in the first place). This gives me hope. As I watch the news and hear about all the terrible things that are taking place this Christmas season around the world I think about this simple truth. I remind myself that God is working. I remind myself that great events are taking place unseen in the lives of broken and hurting people around the world. I remind myself that these events probably will not be on the news, but they are happening nonetheless. This gives me hope.
I still struggle to reconcile the magic of the season that I feel with the suffering that continues around the world during Christmas. This Christmas I will be having a wonderful time with my loved-ones and family. This Christmas many will be all alone with no one to share the season with; many will be experiencing their first Christmas without a loved-one whom they recently lost. This Christmas I will have a stomach full of good food and beer. This Christmas many will be going hungry. It's a hard thing to reconcile sometimes. I don't feel guilty for all that I have - I feel very thankful. But more than that, I feel hopeful. And it is that hope that I celebrate.
In that little town of Bethlehem so long ago, hope was born - the hope of all humanity. This is why I can celebrate this Christmas season.
In the Gospel of John the Christmas story reads like this, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory". Definitely not the longest Christmas account (the Gospel of Luke wins that prize), but nonetheless it manages to convey the magnitude of the event: God (aka 'the Word') has taken on human flesh and been born as a child. A pretty big deal. Maybe the two thousand years since have dulled our amazement of this event. Nonetheless, this is amazing stuff here.
In Luke's account we read about the angel who appears to the shepherds in the field with news about the saviour's birth; accompanying this messenger is a multitude of heavenly hosts singing "Glory to God in the highest". Here's a tip for you out there in blogosphere land: if a multitude of heavenly hosts appear singing God's glory, that's usually a tip-off that something huge is going on. And something huge was going on: God was sending the saviour of humanity into the world. God was at work to bring healing and hope to all the broken and the lost. Yeah, a pretty big deal.
Now let's get to that strange thing about Christmas...
... it never hit the headlines! No one really heard about it. It came and passed with only a handful of witnesses who knew what had taken place. I mean seriously, there were more animals present for this event than people. The biggest thing to ever happen in all of human history and no one hears about it. Even if they had, who would care about some bastard Jewish kid born to a teenaged girl in a backwater hick-town on the outskirts of the civilized world... big deal!
Sure, we all know about the child now. In fact, a large portion of humanity worships him. But at the time it was definitely not newsworthy.
I'm convinced that the most important events in life never (or at least seldom) make the headlines. There are people who have come and gone who have changed countless lives, spread the love of God, transformed hearts, and healed lives whose names are all but forgotten. Oh, not forgotten by those whose lives have been transformed, but forgotten by the rest of us (i.e. if we even heard of them in the first place). This gives me hope. As I watch the news and hear about all the terrible things that are taking place this Christmas season around the world I think about this simple truth. I remind myself that God is working. I remind myself that great events are taking place unseen in the lives of broken and hurting people around the world. I remind myself that these events probably will not be on the news, but they are happening nonetheless. This gives me hope.
I still struggle to reconcile the magic of the season that I feel with the suffering that continues around the world during Christmas. This Christmas I will be having a wonderful time with my loved-ones and family. This Christmas many will be all alone with no one to share the season with; many will be experiencing their first Christmas without a loved-one whom they recently lost. This Christmas I will have a stomach full of good food and beer. This Christmas many will be going hungry. It's a hard thing to reconcile sometimes. I don't feel guilty for all that I have - I feel very thankful. But more than that, I feel hopeful. And it is that hope that I celebrate.
In that little town of Bethlehem so long ago, hope was born - the hope of all humanity. This is why I can celebrate this Christmas season.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The glory of God: Evidence for the heart
On my walk to work this morning I was reminded of a little event from my past which gave me pause to stop and reflect.
... [I think to myself] "What?!? Are you f*&%!@# kidding me? Of all the reasons not to date someone that has got to be the stupidest one I've ever heard. Here I am willing to overlook the fact that you are a Christian and you pull this crap? [I was really quite offended, or hurt, or something.. I was angry]
I asked her how she could believe in God. Seriously, what evidence could she give me to support such a ridiculous assertion. And (out of left field) she says, "look at the mountains". Pardon? I ask her a serious question and this is how she responds - 'look at the mountains'? I shake my head. She doesn't have a clue.
It was cold this morning. When it's that cold out, you just walk fast with your head down, trying to create and conserve heat. Your hands are buried deep in your pockets; your shoulders are hoisted up towards your ears; and your chin is tucked low into your jacket. You just scurry along with the view of the frozen ground passing by underneath you. But, despite the cold, I couldn't help but look up and look around. It seemed a typical winter morning: the bare trees, the endless grey expanse of sky. Yes, it certainly was a hazy shade of winter. But then I looked north, and oh what a sight. The clouds had withdrawn from the northern horizon; and there, juxtaposed against the dull gray mass, was colour and texture and brilliant glory. I saw great mountains reaching up to the heavens, covered in snow with radiant beams of sunlight breaking across their surface, highlighting every nook and every peak with razor-sharp clarity. I stood in awe.
And then it came to mind. "Look at the mountians" she says. Look at the mountains indeed. Yes, I am a fool; but even this fool knows solid evidence when he sees it. Okay, maybe it's not the kind of forensic evidence that would hold up in a court of law; but this is not a court of law - this is the human heart. I just stood in awe for a moment (a very short moment, remember it was cold), chuckled to myself, dug my hands into my pockets, tucked my chin into my jacket, and walked on.
Some of us aren't ready to see it. Some of us aren't willing. Back then, I was both.
"Look at the mountains" she says... such an absurd response, yet so true.
****
A long, long time ago, in a land far far away (I believe this happened in Abbotsford), I had a little crush on this girl (this was a long time before I met my lovely wife). We were out having some fun with mutual friends and things were going well: I was charming and funny and we were having a great time (she was definitely impressed). Then came that crucial moment where we lay things out on the table and find out where we stand. She says to me, "You're sweet and funny and kind and you'd make a great boyfriend, but you're not a Christian"...... [I think to myself] "What?!? Are you f*&%!@# kidding me? Of all the reasons not to date someone that has got to be the stupidest one I've ever heard. Here I am willing to overlook the fact that you are a Christian and you pull this crap? [I was really quite offended, or hurt, or something.. I was angry]
I asked her how she could believe in God. Seriously, what evidence could she give me to support such a ridiculous assertion. And (out of left field) she says, "look at the mountains". Pardon? I ask her a serious question and this is how she responds - 'look at the mountains'? I shake my head. She doesn't have a clue.
****
It was cold this morning. When it's that cold out, you just walk fast with your head down, trying to create and conserve heat. Your hands are buried deep in your pockets; your shoulders are hoisted up towards your ears; and your chin is tucked low into your jacket. You just scurry along with the view of the frozen ground passing by underneath you. But, despite the cold, I couldn't help but look up and look around. It seemed a typical winter morning: the bare trees, the endless grey expanse of sky. Yes, it certainly was a hazy shade of winter. But then I looked north, and oh what a sight. The clouds had withdrawn from the northern horizon; and there, juxtaposed against the dull gray mass, was colour and texture and brilliant glory. I saw great mountains reaching up to the heavens, covered in snow with radiant beams of sunlight breaking across their surface, highlighting every nook and every peak with razor-sharp clarity. I stood in awe.
And then it came to mind. "Look at the mountians" she says. Look at the mountains indeed. Yes, I am a fool; but even this fool knows solid evidence when he sees it. Okay, maybe it's not the kind of forensic evidence that would hold up in a court of law; but this is not a court of law - this is the human heart. I just stood in awe for a moment (a very short moment, remember it was cold), chuckled to myself, dug my hands into my pockets, tucked my chin into my jacket, and walked on.
Some of us aren't ready to see it. Some of us aren't willing. Back then, I was both.
"Look at the mountains" she says... such an absurd response, yet so true.
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