So this is...
An Incredible Christmas
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How to totally Celebrate this Christmas! But first... what is the meaning of this celebration?
God watched our human brothers and sisters of history, and often watched in pain with how we would hurt and sometimes kill one another. We had a tough time with sharing, being jealous, wanting to get revenge, create wars believing God was with our side of the story. You know - our wisdom and ability to see the larger perspective of life was under-developed.
God had ideas! When you re-read the 10 commandments you can start to see that God gave us a profound gift in those few statements. Luther: if you know the 10 commandments well, you know the whole Bible.
God finally had to admit that we never truly got the spirit of those commands - or we simply assumed others were the bad people. So... prophets was God's next attempt to connect with our hearts and minds. Sometimes odd people at best, they spoke words to describe what God could be feeling at that moment in history. Sometimes their language was harsh!
We didn't understand God's voice through laws or prophets... People held tight to their ideas of how God should come to save us from Rome's occupation and its powerful armies. In the minds and hearts the only way God could come was like a powerful King - like King David in the past. "We need power, perhaps force, a God that is not wimpy... Our brothers and sisters of that time kept looking and hoping.
While our fore-peoples searched, God came to us in a totally vulnerable child. Clearly not the kind of power we thought would make a difference for anyone! But, simply God showing up in a child walking into our lives as a real person is an incredible gift. Someone that could walk with each of us - right where we are today. A God that wasn't questioning and putting anyone down.
The gift of Christmas? God's presence - God's own heart, wisdom, vision, understanding, etc. Present to us through people who love us, people who listen to the current chapter of our life journey, people who might listen long enough to get us to feel safe about sharing a need for forgiveness or a need for a caring look, touch, or....
God came as a gift that we truly needed then, and as that same gift this year. But not with the kind of power the world chooses. Quiet presence of someone who cares can embody Jesus in our times of struggle and our times of joy.
So... what kind of gift can we give to others we care about that might somehow embody Jesus arriving and transforming our world? Part 2 - some specific ideas about gifts that might even bring tears to your eyes! And do you have to buy even one thing?
