"All our action ends in passion because the response to our action is out of our hands. That is the mystery of work, the mystery of love, the mystery of friendship, the mystery of community - they always involve waiting. And that is the mystery of Jesus' love. God reveals himself in Jesus as the one that waits for our response. Precisely in that waiting the intensity of God's love is revealed to us. If God forced us to love, we would not really be lovers. ... [I]t is in the passion that the fullness of God's love shines through. It is supremely a waiting love, a love that does not seek control."
~ Hernri Nouwen
"From Action to Passion"
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter
~lg
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Imagine a Space
They say that in space the disorientation returns you to that giddy state of childhood. When reality is turned upside-down and sideways, your imagination awakes once more in a world without limits, and kool-aid bubbles can be slurped out of the air with a straw. You decide what is floor, what is ceiling. You can sleep like a bat with your toes hooked under a ledge, or just let the air carry you to slumber on its faint currents.
In what is perhaps most magical, you are capable of surprise. You are capable of wonder, and things too undignified for highly trained astronauts. You are a child again, the world is a giant blue-green marble in your hands, and reality reforms to the power of imagination.
Where can we, earthbound, find this space? Where can we wake to a world redefined?
I’ve seen the door.
It’s small. To enter you must become the child wriggling through. You must allow yourself to be swept off your feet, upside down by a smiling Daddy swinging you by your ankles till dizzy with delight. That’s the only way to enter the Land of Upside-Down, where the king is the servant scrubbing the mud off your toes. This is where imagination runs wild on the ceiling. In this space, gravity has been defeated and new reality is an unending universe to be explored.
~lg
In what is perhaps most magical, you are capable of surprise. You are capable of wonder, and things too undignified for highly trained astronauts. You are a child again, the world is a giant blue-green marble in your hands, and reality reforms to the power of imagination.
Where can we, earthbound, find this space? Where can we wake to a world redefined?
I’ve seen the door.
It’s small. To enter you must become the child wriggling through. You must allow yourself to be swept off your feet, upside down by a smiling Daddy swinging you by your ankles till dizzy with delight. That’s the only way to enter the Land of Upside-Down, where the king is the servant scrubbing the mud off your toes. This is where imagination runs wild on the ceiling. In this space, gravity has been defeated and new reality is an unending universe to be explored.
~lg
Monday, 30 January 2012
Single-handed Theology: The beginning of wisdom
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
James 1:5
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is in vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30
James 1:5
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Proverbs 9:10
“Charm is deceptive and beauty is in vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”
Proverbs 31:30
Fear is the humility to place oneself before God, acknowledging ignorance. Fear is the tears of frustration that turn to God in prayer, asking for guidance. Fear is knowing Whom to ask when wisdom is lacking.
Fear is the awe of the mystery that is both God’s otherness and nearness, His infinity and His intimacy.
Fear is the heart that trembles at the life given to my care, the heart that must love even while learning love, the heart that lives only because of love that has been poured in by the Holy One.
We know because He loves.
And this love casts out the shadow-fear, the faltering-fear of darkness and doubt.
Fear is knowing I am loved.
This Fear is the beginning of my wisdom.
~lg
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Single-handed Theology - And a little child shall lead them
Maybe being a parent means being less of a grown-up.
Her dependence on me, the me who lacks so much wisdom and experience, is humbling.
It is this humility that gives me the heart of a child, breaks me open enough that I must run to my Father and say “help please!” because I cannot put the pieces together the way they should go.
She looks up with so much eager wonder, with outstretched arms and pleading eyes, with total reliance, and I see myself in her.
She is the little child leading me back to God.
(Isaiah 11:6)
~lg
Her dependence on me, the me who lacks so much wisdom and experience, is humbling.
It is this humility that gives me the heart of a child, breaks me open enough that I must run to my Father and say “help please!” because I cannot put the pieces together the way they should go.
She looks up with so much eager wonder, with outstretched arms and pleading eyes, with total reliance, and I see myself in her.
She is the little child leading me back to God.
(Isaiah 11:6)
~lg
Friday, 6 January 2012
Epiphany Playlist
I had so much fun with my Advent playlist that I decided to create one for Epiphany! Epiphany (meaning manifestation, appearance, revelation) is January 6th (after the 12 Days of Christmas), and celebrates the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus, as well as the Incarnation, the revelation of God's Son in human form.
This playlist is quite short, but I like having a few songs on hand in one place that celebrate the Wise Men, the Star, and Light.
Light of the World - Chris Tomlin feat. Matt Redman (Glory in the Highest)
Good King Wenceslas* - David Francey (Carols for a Christmas Eve)
The Wassail Song/All Through the Night - Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy & Peace)
We Three Kings - David Francey (Carols for a Christmas Eve)
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - (Stuart McLean The Christmas Concert)
Do You Hear What I Hear? - Connie Scott (25 Songs of Christmas Vol. 2)
Glory in the Highest - Chris Tomlin (Glory in the Highest)
*Good King Wenceslas isn't exactly an Epiphany song, as the Feast of Stephen is celebrated December 26th in the Western church, but I thought it was a nice place to highlight Wenceslas.
~lg
What could have been a dark day
Today, when the last thing I wanted to do was open up the curtains to the world outside, you gave me light.
Sunrise, another bright and brilliant Christmas morning with the arrival of a package from the north.
Then a little golden glimmer, with the relief of a responsibility shifted off my shoulders.
And a long, warm afternoon sunbeam – a little one napping for over two hours.
Finally, I was ready to pull back the heavy material and acknowledge grace, to understand the revealing of light on a winter’s day.
Epiphany.
~lg
Sunrise, another bright and brilliant Christmas morning with the arrival of a package from the north.
Then a little golden glimmer, with the relief of a responsibility shifted off my shoulders.
And a long, warm afternoon sunbeam – a little one napping for over two hours.
Finally, I was ready to pull back the heavy material and acknowledge grace, to understand the revealing of light on a winter’s day.
Epiphany.
~lg
Monday, 2 January 2012
A new year's thought from CS Lewis
“Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.”
“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
(CS Lewis, from Prince Caspian)
A good thought for a new year.
~lg
“That is because you are older, little one,” answered he.
“Not because you are?”
“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”
(CS Lewis, from Prince Caspian)
A good thought for a new year.
~lg
Friday, 30 December 2011
Book List 2011
Here is my completed book list for this past year! My count is actually up from last year. (I must have taken advantage of Arden's excellent napping routine!) The list includes many "children's" books (some read aloud to Arden), but I happen to think they are written just as much for adults and make up an essential part of any serious reader's library. :)
The tally:
20 fiction
10 theology/Christian life nonfiction
3 general nonfiction
33 Total
Anne of Windy Poplars (LM Montgomery)
Anne’s House of Dreams (LM Montgomery)
The Great Dance (C. Baxter Kruger)
Love the One You’re With (Emily Giffin)
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Church, World and the Christian Life (Nicholas Healy)
The Abolition of Man (CS Lewis)
The Challenge of Easter (NT Wright)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (CS Lewis)
The Silver Chair (CS Lewis)
Now We Are Six (AA Milne)- read aloud to Arden
Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Winnie-the-Pooh (AA Milne)- read aloud to Arden
The House at Pooh Corner (AA Milne)- read aloud to Arden
On the Banks of Plum Creek (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Cinderella Ate My Daughter (Peggy Orenstein)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
The Long Winter (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
After You Believe (NT Wright)
One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)
Little Town on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
These Happy Golden Years (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
The First Four Years (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Habits of a Child’s Heart(Valerie E. Hess & Marti Watson Garlett)
Faith Begins at Home (Mark Holmen)
The Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff)
Room (Emma Donoghue)
The Wilder Life (Wendy McClure)
On the Incarnation (St. Athanasius)
At the Heart of the Gospel: Suffering in the Earliest Christian Message (L. Ann Jervis)
Various Fairy Tales including:
East O’ the Sun and West O’ the Moon (George Webbe Dasent, illustrated by PJ Lynch)
The Snow Queen (Hans Christian Andersen)
The Twelve Dancing Princesses (illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft)
And of course countless board books and picture books!
~lg
Monday, 26 December 2011
The Coming Again
This is miracle – that he comes again.
Now, even while I am running, he comes out of the warm house,
door flung open, running after me,
bare feet, short sleeves in the cold night.
He is smiling, white teeth flashing in the dark, eyes sparkling,
lit up with a strange joy,
all the more shocking when I realize it is joy to see me.
But how can this be?
How can he come again even when the No has just escaped my lips, and I am still escaping him?
How can he be standing here on the icy ground with that grin, stopping me in my tracks with that light in his eyes?
How can grace be so ridiculous?
His feet must be freezing. And the cold squeezing my chest begins to melt.
He is here – no matter where I run, he just keeps running too.
He just keeps coming.
Here, to me, with me.
This is the miracle of Christmas. That he comes again and again.
~lg
Now, even while I am running, he comes out of the warm house,
door flung open, running after me,
bare feet, short sleeves in the cold night.
He is smiling, white teeth flashing in the dark, eyes sparkling,
lit up with a strange joy,
all the more shocking when I realize it is joy to see me.
But how can this be?
How can he come again even when the No has just escaped my lips, and I am still escaping him?
How can he be standing here on the icy ground with that grin, stopping me in my tracks with that light in his eyes?
How can grace be so ridiculous?
His feet must be freezing. And the cold squeezing my chest begins to melt.
He is here – no matter where I run, he just keeps running too.
He just keeps coming.
Here, to me, with me.
This is the miracle of Christmas. That he comes again and again.
~lg
Thursday, 22 December 2011
The Coming
You came, and I ran away.
I tried, I tried to say yes, but I’m no Mary.
I don’t know how to make room when everything else is crowding in.
All this waiting, and I was not ready.
And now what?
Will you come again?
And if you do,
will you create the space that can open up to let you in?
Will you make me Mary?
~lg
I tried, I tried to say yes, but I’m no Mary.
I don’t know how to make room when everything else is crowding in.
All this waiting, and I was not ready.
And now what?
Will you come again?
And if you do,
will you create the space that can open up to let you in?
Will you make me Mary?
~lg
Monday, 19 December 2011
a time for longing
Advent.
I put myself in the place of longing. Back to a time before God pulled on the clothes of earth, back to our own nakedness. I remember the cries of a people enslaved – how long, oh Lord? I imagine the dark of the silent shadow, empty ears, blind eyes. I turn back the pages and enter the story that began before my own. I do this to remember where we came from, who we were without Him. I do this so joy will be all the sweeter in the morning.
But the time of longing is not only past. The earth groans still beneath my weary feet, aches with the weight of a laboring world. For glory shone around, but glory also resides in the hidden places – the crook of a musty manger, the splinters of a shameful cross. In this time, sorrow and singing mingle together, yet hope’s song can always be heard above the rest. We are still waiting for another advent, when heaven and earth will be united once and for all in the God-Man.
Oh Emmanuel! Come, come . . .
~lg
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
The beginning of giving
No, I’m not against giving to the needy. But I struggle with my own motivations for giving at Christmas.
I know I’m selfish right to the core. I know that selfishness strips me of wealth in the end, till I am wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I know the only way out is to open my hands, to release even the little I am hoarding because I feel it is barely enough for me. Because held too close, gold turns to ashes and fine clothes to rags.
And sometimes Christmas is the thing that pries a few fingers open and lets in some light.
And sometimes Boxing Day is only the return to clenched fists for another year.
Why am I willing to give away Christmas cookies but not make my life bread for others year round? I don’t want to be a hypocrite.
I want to grasp the nature of a servant, the humility of the Incarnation.
I need to remember that I have been the one to say “no room,” to say “no womb,” to God.
But still he comes to closed doors, closed hearts, closed hands and offers himself.
I must be like Mary. How can this be? I do not have the capacity to give. But my yes to this mystery makes a space within, a space for a seed that will grow into a harvest that will become bread to be broken and given away.
So I say, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.” Christmas is only the beginning, and who knows how this life within will stretch and overtake me.
“Be it unto me according to Thy Word.”
~lg
I know I’m selfish right to the core. I know that selfishness strips me of wealth in the end, till I am wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I know the only way out is to open my hands, to release even the little I am hoarding because I feel it is barely enough for me. Because held too close, gold turns to ashes and fine clothes to rags.
And sometimes Christmas is the thing that pries a few fingers open and lets in some light.
And sometimes Boxing Day is only the return to clenched fists for another year.
Why am I willing to give away Christmas cookies but not make my life bread for others year round? I don’t want to be a hypocrite.
I want to grasp the nature of a servant, the humility of the Incarnation.
I need to remember that I have been the one to say “no room,” to say “no womb,” to God.
But still he comes to closed doors, closed hearts, closed hands and offers himself.
I must be like Mary. How can this be? I do not have the capacity to give. But my yes to this mystery makes a space within, a space for a seed that will grow into a harvest that will become bread to be broken and given away.
So I say, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord.” Christmas is only the beginning, and who knows how this life within will stretch and overtake me.
“Be it unto me according to Thy Word.”
~lg
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Advent Playlist
Sometimes, I need to wait. I need the anticipation, the longing, the not-yet-here, so I can rejoice fully when fulfillment arrives.
I love Christmas music. Not Rudolph and Chestnuts Roasting so much as the sacred and celebratory songs of Christ. It's just the best music! I can't possibly wait till Christmas Day to turn on the tunes, like some people who celebrate Advent do. But this year I made an Advent playlist. It's for the beginning of Advent, and for the days I want to feel longing instead of celebration. I found it a bit challenging to find Advent specific songs, but here's what I've come up with from my music library.
Messiah: Overture - Handel
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Chris Tomlin (Glory In the Highest)
Veni Veni Emmanuel - Hayley Westenra (Winter Magic)
Mao Tzur (Rock of Ages) - Fred Penner (The Season)
Forever Will I Sing (Psalm 89) - John Michael Talbot (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
Messiah: Comfort Ye My People - Handel
Messiah: Every Valley Shall Be Filled - Handel
Messiah: And the Glory of the Lord - Handel
When the Time is Right - Ginny Owens (One Silent Night)
You'll Come - Hillsong Chapel (Yahweh)
Messiah: Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive - Handel
Messiah: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion - Handel
He Shall Be Born - Wendy & Mary (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
I Choose You - Rachel Lampa (One Silent Night)
My Soul Magnifies the Lord - Chris Tomlin (Glory in the Highest)
The Magnificat - John Michael Talbot (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
O Come O Come Emmanuel - Instrumental (One Silent Night)
Breath of Heaven - Point of Grace
Messiah: Come Unto Him - Handel, National Philharmonic Orchestra (25 Songs)
Liese Rieselt Der Schnee (Softly Falls the Snow) - Fred Penner (The Season)
Dona Nobis Pacem - Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace)
Messiah: For Behold a Darkness Shall Cover the Earth - Handel
Messiah: The People That Walked in Darkness - Handel
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Fernando Ortega (Storm)
Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) - Chris Tomlin (Glory In the Highest)
-Messiah selections recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir unless noted otherwise
I love Christmas music. Not Rudolph and Chestnuts Roasting so much as the sacred and celebratory songs of Christ. It's just the best music! I can't possibly wait till Christmas Day to turn on the tunes, like some people who celebrate Advent do. But this year I made an Advent playlist. It's for the beginning of Advent, and for the days I want to feel longing instead of celebration. I found it a bit challenging to find Advent specific songs, but here's what I've come up with from my music library.
Messiah: Overture - Handel
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus - Chris Tomlin (Glory In the Highest)
Veni Veni Emmanuel - Hayley Westenra (Winter Magic)
Mao Tzur (Rock of Ages) - Fred Penner (The Season)
Forever Will I Sing (Psalm 89) - John Michael Talbot (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
Messiah: Comfort Ye My People - Handel
Messiah: Every Valley Shall Be Filled - Handel
Messiah: And the Glory of the Lord - Handel
When the Time is Right - Ginny Owens (One Silent Night)
You'll Come - Hillsong Chapel (Yahweh)
Messiah: Behold a Virgin Shall Conceive - Handel
Messiah: O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion - Handel
He Shall Be Born - Wendy & Mary (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
I Choose You - Rachel Lampa (One Silent Night)
My Soul Magnifies the Lord - Chris Tomlin (Glory in the Highest)
The Magnificat - John Michael Talbot (25 Songs of Christmas Vol 2)
O Come O Come Emmanuel - Instrumental (One Silent Night)
Breath of Heaven - Point of Grace
Messiah: Come Unto Him - Handel, National Philharmonic Orchestra (25 Songs)
Liese Rieselt Der Schnee (Softly Falls the Snow) - Fred Penner (The Season)
Dona Nobis Pacem - Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace)
Messiah: For Behold a Darkness Shall Cover the Earth - Handel
Messiah: The People That Walked in Darkness - Handel
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence - Fernando Ortega (Storm)
Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) - Chris Tomlin (Glory In the Highest)
-Messiah selections recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir unless noted otherwise
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Bah Humbug? Challenging Christmas
Is it just me, or does Christmas seem to be mostly about spending money?
Gifts, parties, decorations, feasts, cards, fancy clothes, photo shoots, more gifts – it all costs money. It’s what we’ve become accustomed to. We anticipate the December stress of stretching our budgets and paying off the excess in January, or February. Consumerism is all around us this time of year, and we all buy into it. There are things you just need in order to have Christmas. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without _______________ (fill in the blank). And the price tag ends up being ___________ (fill in the blank).
Many Christians have become uncomfortable with the hijacking of Christmas by consumerism. And so we try to do something different. Instead of Christmas being all about us and what we get, we want to share some joy with others. This is truly a noble intention. After all, Christmas is about God giving Himself to us, so we want to give something to others.
But what are we giving?
We see others in need at Christmas. The obvious disparity between our lavish celebrations and their lack of means makes us feel especially conflicted, so we want to do something. We want to be better people, we really do.
But it seems to me that we are just giving the “needy” the same consumerist Christmas we ourselves are trying to escape. Now, instead of buying gifts for family and friends already overloaded with stuff, we give the needy stuff. Isn’t it too bad that they don’t have a mountain of toys under their tree? No problem, we’ll supply the mountain of toys. Because that’s what Christmas is all about, right? We can’t have Christmas without the turkey and presents and lights and chocolate and singing, dancing Hallmark toys, and neither can they.
So we’ve traded in one form of spending for another. Instead of spending on our family, we have to give to charities that will spend money for other people. You want to escape your selfish consumerism this year? Easy, just spend more money on _______ noble cause. But it’s still about the money.
I know, I’m sounding Scrooge-like. It sounds like I’m making up excuses for why I don’t want to open my wallet to others. But I honestly feel exhausted thinking about all the money I should be spending on charity to show that I know what Christmas is really all about.
It’s not that giving is bad. It’s not that these charities are bad. But what are we giving and why do we feel the need to give in this way at Christmas in the first place?
I read posts like this by a good friend, and I am truly challenged. Greed, stinginess, selfishness, hoarding – these are all markers of our society, things which should not mark the people of God. This is not what marked the Gift at the manger.
So what is Christmas about anyway? Why do we give gifts in the first place?
We can trace it back to good people like Saint Nicholas, who gave to the poor at this time of year. Of course, our Western Santa and his bulging sack is one bloated mutation. And we say we give to others in honor of God’s gift to us. But maybe sometimes His gift gets a little obscured beneath all the others…
To be honest, I really like giving and receiving gifts. But I’ve never really challenged the practice before in my own life. It’s tradition. It’s a wonderful way to make a connection with family far away and the ones around the tree; it’s one of those ways to show love. And you can get some really cool stuff! But is it necessary to Christmas?
Is gift giving essential to the celebration?
Because celebrate we should. God incarnate come to dwell with us? That’s worth celebrating!
So the question becomes, how do we celebrate this coming of God? How do we celebrate in a way that is fitting to the event we mark?
Is it fitting to plunge ourselves into a pit of spending and consumption and not come out until we are at least 5 pounds heavier and several hundred dollars in debt? Is this the best we can do?
We get many of our ways of celebrating from various traditions all over the world, many of them adapted from pagan and cultural practices surrounding the winter solstice. This is why we have lights and bring various evergreens into our homes. Do I have a problem with that? No, actually. I don’t think culture is something that is thrown away when Christ arrives. Christ redeems culture. Instead of tossing the Christmas tree as a pagan object, the symbolism of the tree is fully realized in Christ, and we can transform this tradition into one which points to Christ as the one who ever lives in the midst of our winters.
There are countless other beautiful traditions and expressions of the season, many meaningful ways to celebrate, to mark this holy day. I'm not saying strip your house bare and sit in silence.
But I think our main approach to Christmas should be found in the pages of the Christmas story itself.
Here’s what I see.
Worship. Proclamation.
Worship – this is our gift to God.
This is the Spirit leaping within us because God is near. This is my soul magnifying the Lord, rejoicing in God my Saviour. This is the music we sing to the Mighty One for His mercy. This is a holy multitude, filling up the horizon, shouting “Glory in the highest!”
This is the outburst of exceeding great joy that comes after seeing His light. We direct our pilgrimage, our finest gifts, our worship to him.
And it can only come after we behold His glory, after we see Him filling up the manger with grace and truth. Worship is the fitting response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Proclamation – after we have seen, how can we not spread it abroad?
If this is truly wonder-full news, how can we hold it back? The coming of God means the Spirit speaks again through the Word, and through our words. It is the loosing of tongues to proclaim good news of great joy to all people.
It is the telling of the ancient story and its fulfillment. It is giving thanks and speaking of Him to all who are looking for redemption.
It is not a script, it’s a testimony. Proclamation is the fitting response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
This is how we celebrate.
We don’t arrange our stuff to make a magazine spread fit for a king. He must come first, come in His way, the only way.
He comes to the humble. He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty handed. (Have you ever laid down at the end of it all and felt empty handed?)
His coming is the substance of it all, and out of that our celebrations take on fitting form. Celebration is response, not preparation.
And He can come where there is no feast, no fanfare, no money for presents. He must be able to come there, if at all. Could He come to you this year without ________________?
So I am left thinking of Him. Thinking that worship and proclamation don’t cost anything, at least not in our market economy. That without worship and proclamation we are all bankrupt, and all our celebrations tainted. All our giving tainted.
If even our charitable giving does not come out of our free response to Christ, it is not love. It is only making ourselves feel less guilty on Christmas morning. So you see, we can still give. But if the only giving you ever do is to pass on consumerism to the needy at Christmas, you have not learned from God’s gift. If your Christmas giving is not an extension of your way of life year round, you might as well just buy yourself another luxury, because you have not truly opened your heart. The poor don’t need a nice Christmas with all the trimmings like the rest of us. They need Christ. And they need Him year round. They need the people who get upset over “Merry Xmas” to know that Christ doesn’t live in a neon sign over a store display. You take the Christ out of Christmas all year when you ignore the hungry. So give, but not because it’s Christmas. Give because you are Christ’s.
And celebrate! Celebrate with worship and proclamation and soon the gift that God has placed in your humble heart will pump its life into all you do.
If you have the means, feast! And remember who Jesus invited to His feasts.
If you have the money, give! And let it be out of love not obligation.
If you don’t have the money, give! There are other currencies far more valuable.
You don’t need a thousand LEDs. If you have a single candle, that’s enough to welcome the Light of the world. If you don’t even have that, He will still be your Light.
Above all, rejoice and proclaim Christ.
Make all your celebration fitting to the One we celebrate.
We don’t need to spend money to welcome Christ. And if we can’t imagine how that can be true, maybe it’s time we tried it.
~lg
Gifts, parties, decorations, feasts, cards, fancy clothes, photo shoots, more gifts – it all costs money. It’s what we’ve become accustomed to. We anticipate the December stress of stretching our budgets and paying off the excess in January, or February. Consumerism is all around us this time of year, and we all buy into it. There are things you just need in order to have Christmas. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without _______________ (fill in the blank). And the price tag ends up being ___________ (fill in the blank).
Many Christians have become uncomfortable with the hijacking of Christmas by consumerism. And so we try to do something different. Instead of Christmas being all about us and what we get, we want to share some joy with others. This is truly a noble intention. After all, Christmas is about God giving Himself to us, so we want to give something to others.
But what are we giving?
We see others in need at Christmas. The obvious disparity between our lavish celebrations and their lack of means makes us feel especially conflicted, so we want to do something. We want to be better people, we really do.
But it seems to me that we are just giving the “needy” the same consumerist Christmas we ourselves are trying to escape. Now, instead of buying gifts for family and friends already overloaded with stuff, we give the needy stuff. Isn’t it too bad that they don’t have a mountain of toys under their tree? No problem, we’ll supply the mountain of toys. Because that’s what Christmas is all about, right? We can’t have Christmas without the turkey and presents and lights and chocolate and singing, dancing Hallmark toys, and neither can they.
So we’ve traded in one form of spending for another. Instead of spending on our family, we have to give to charities that will spend money for other people. You want to escape your selfish consumerism this year? Easy, just spend more money on _______ noble cause. But it’s still about the money.
I know, I’m sounding Scrooge-like. It sounds like I’m making up excuses for why I don’t want to open my wallet to others. But I honestly feel exhausted thinking about all the money I should be spending on charity to show that I know what Christmas is really all about.
It’s not that giving is bad. It’s not that these charities are bad. But what are we giving and why do we feel the need to give in this way at Christmas in the first place?
I read posts like this by a good friend, and I am truly challenged. Greed, stinginess, selfishness, hoarding – these are all markers of our society, things which should not mark the people of God. This is not what marked the Gift at the manger.
So what is Christmas about anyway? Why do we give gifts in the first place?
We can trace it back to good people like Saint Nicholas, who gave to the poor at this time of year. Of course, our Western Santa and his bulging sack is one bloated mutation. And we say we give to others in honor of God’s gift to us. But maybe sometimes His gift gets a little obscured beneath all the others…
To be honest, I really like giving and receiving gifts. But I’ve never really challenged the practice before in my own life. It’s tradition. It’s a wonderful way to make a connection with family far away and the ones around the tree; it’s one of those ways to show love. And you can get some really cool stuff! But is it necessary to Christmas?
Is gift giving essential to the celebration?
Because celebrate we should. God incarnate come to dwell with us? That’s worth celebrating!
So the question becomes, how do we celebrate this coming of God? How do we celebrate in a way that is fitting to the event we mark?
Is it fitting to plunge ourselves into a pit of spending and consumption and not come out until we are at least 5 pounds heavier and several hundred dollars in debt? Is this the best we can do?
We get many of our ways of celebrating from various traditions all over the world, many of them adapted from pagan and cultural practices surrounding the winter solstice. This is why we have lights and bring various evergreens into our homes. Do I have a problem with that? No, actually. I don’t think culture is something that is thrown away when Christ arrives. Christ redeems culture. Instead of tossing the Christmas tree as a pagan object, the symbolism of the tree is fully realized in Christ, and we can transform this tradition into one which points to Christ as the one who ever lives in the midst of our winters.
There are countless other beautiful traditions and expressions of the season, many meaningful ways to celebrate, to mark this holy day. I'm not saying strip your house bare and sit in silence.
But I think our main approach to Christmas should be found in the pages of the Christmas story itself.
Here’s what I see.
Worship. Proclamation.
Worship – this is our gift to God.
This is the Spirit leaping within us because God is near. This is my soul magnifying the Lord, rejoicing in God my Saviour. This is the music we sing to the Mighty One for His mercy. This is a holy multitude, filling up the horizon, shouting “Glory in the highest!”
This is the outburst of exceeding great joy that comes after seeing His light. We direct our pilgrimage, our finest gifts, our worship to him.
And it can only come after we behold His glory, after we see Him filling up the manger with grace and truth. Worship is the fitting response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
Proclamation – after we have seen, how can we not spread it abroad?
If this is truly wonder-full news, how can we hold it back? The coming of God means the Spirit speaks again through the Word, and through our words. It is the loosing of tongues to proclaim good news of great joy to all people.
It is the telling of the ancient story and its fulfillment. It is giving thanks and speaking of Him to all who are looking for redemption.
It is not a script, it’s a testimony. Proclamation is the fitting response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.
This is how we celebrate.
We don’t arrange our stuff to make a magazine spread fit for a king. He must come first, come in His way, the only way.
He comes to the humble. He fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty handed. (Have you ever laid down at the end of it all and felt empty handed?)
His coming is the substance of it all, and out of that our celebrations take on fitting form. Celebration is response, not preparation.
And He can come where there is no feast, no fanfare, no money for presents. He must be able to come there, if at all. Could He come to you this year without ________________?
So I am left thinking of Him. Thinking that worship and proclamation don’t cost anything, at least not in our market economy. That without worship and proclamation we are all bankrupt, and all our celebrations tainted. All our giving tainted.
If even our charitable giving does not come out of our free response to Christ, it is not love. It is only making ourselves feel less guilty on Christmas morning. So you see, we can still give. But if the only giving you ever do is to pass on consumerism to the needy at Christmas, you have not learned from God’s gift. If your Christmas giving is not an extension of your way of life year round, you might as well just buy yourself another luxury, because you have not truly opened your heart. The poor don’t need a nice Christmas with all the trimmings like the rest of us. They need Christ. And they need Him year round. They need the people who get upset over “Merry Xmas” to know that Christ doesn’t live in a neon sign over a store display. You take the Christ out of Christmas all year when you ignore the hungry. So give, but not because it’s Christmas. Give because you are Christ’s.
And celebrate! Celebrate with worship and proclamation and soon the gift that God has placed in your humble heart will pump its life into all you do.
If you have the means, feast! And remember who Jesus invited to His feasts.
If you have the money, give! And let it be out of love not obligation.
If you don’t have the money, give! There are other currencies far more valuable.
You don’t need a thousand LEDs. If you have a single candle, that’s enough to welcome the Light of the world. If you don’t even have that, He will still be your Light.
Above all, rejoice and proclaim Christ.
Make all your celebration fitting to the One we celebrate.
We don’t need to spend money to welcome Christ. And if we can’t imagine how that can be true, maybe it’s time we tried it.
~lg
Monday, 14 November 2011
This moment
This moment is the thing,
Here, now
This breath, this embrace, this still
This familiar mess, this uncertainty
The pause in this fold of the day
Before time weaves us further along
This moment is the thing
And to be thankful
And just to be
~lg
Here, now
This breath, this embrace, this still
This familiar mess, this uncertainty
The pause in this fold of the day
Before time weaves us further along
This moment is the thing
And to be thankful
And just to be
~lg
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