It's seems really easy for Christmas celebrations to look like one big "I love me" party. When the gifts become the focus, then it's a clue that the train has gone off the rails. I remember my oldest niece's second Christmas. She was about 16 months old and enjoyed the lights and tinsel and wrapped packages. When Christmas morning came and we started opening gifts, she tore into each box with great abandon. Paper and ribbons flew all over the place. And in the end, she spent the day walking around with a holiday gift bag on her arm, as if it was her own special purse. So much for all the stuff... she was really just happy with the wrappings.
In our first chapter, Mike talks about how Jesus came as the prophets foretold, but even so he didn't not meet the expectations of the people in first century Palestine. His birth, his life, his ministry, even his death... all of that was in stark contrast to the way that people believed it would all unfold. That is a apt description of what Christmas has become today - almost the opposite of what it was intended to be - a celebration of our Savior's birth. Instead, we get caught up in the things that make us feel good in the short term, but always increase our stress in the end.
Think about your picture of God. Do you think this picture affects the way you live out your faith? Think about Jesus. I don't know about you, but I love the Jesus who conquered death, but the Jesus who lived in poverty and hung out with the outcasts, him I have a hard time relating to most days.
Christmas is about Jesus' birth - and with the celebration we are quick to give thanks for his saving grace. But the Jesus of the cradle doesn't challenge the way we live. We forget that the comfort of the cradle gave way to the desperation of the cross. Jesus was not only born to give us eternal life, but also as an example of how to live sacrificially. And that is a hard road to travel. (page 12)
What is the most challenging aspect of seeing yourself as God's miracle - God's miracle-worker? What would it take for you to be more prepared to see God use you for miraculous purposes in the world? And how would that change the way your celebrate Christmas this year?
We tend to think of miracles as something that happens to other people... or that happen with God's touch and will alone. But miracles happen everyday because people like you and me dream dreams and have visions of things that we could help make better. Every mission project I have ever participated in was the dream of somebody. These dreams seemed unattainable, or unmanageable, or just downright crazy. And yet, because someone had a dream, and others believed in it and were willing to pursue it, miraculous things have happened.
I wonder what ideas you might have that could be seeds for a mission miracle? And who can help you make it happen? In the next week, pray about and the write down 1-3 ideas or thoughts that you feel might be God-initiated dreams for you to pursue in helping change this world for God's Kingdom. Nothing is too crazy. No dream is too big. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, your are a miracle worker. Are you ready for God to birth a miracle through you?
These are not rhetorical questions, so think about the reading and your impressions of it. You can answer one of the questions above, or something else in response. Let this be a safe place to process a difficult change in understanding and behavior. These concepts are not easy and fly in the face of the way most of the people around us are preparing for the season. But do not be afraid. You are not alone. From Alaska to Washington State to New Jersey to Florida and Spain (and other places in between), for the next five weeks we are a community. Welcome to the journey!
Peace, Deb
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The Christmas Conundrum
11 Ways to be the Christ in Christmas
Advent Conspiracy
The past two weeks have been a little crazy around here - I have been reading in the midst of the crazy, but haven't had a chance to sit down and think through a response. Just rereading your first sentence - Christmas Even was my Daddy's birthday. So up until age 14, when Daddy went into the hospital on his birthday and died a few days later - Christmas was such an incredible time of celebration. Celebrating Daddy and celebrating the birth of Christ. I am a giver, a gift giver. There is nothing that I love more than planning the surprises and gifts of the Christmas season, but actually, I tend to take that through the entire year. Receiving is much more difficult for me. The whole idea that a man would come into this world as a tiny baby - Mary's baby boy - an infant like my Collin and Legare, and he would grow into the man and Son of God and GIFT his life for us, for me. Woa - that just wipes me slick!!! So to get back to the miracle part - David and I find ourselves at a place over the last few years of wanting nothing,but wanting to GIFT something so much more meaningful than the "stuff" of wrapped presents. The family standing on the corner in front of Walmart that have nothing, Miss Mary's orphanage in Jinja, Uganda who needed clean water, a kitchen and a latrine, a way to work in the fight human trafficking in Tampa, the homeless who come to Tampa by the hundreds escaping cold weather, Mama who has used all of her "nest egg" being cared for in a nursing home, a neighbor and friend who is trying to escape from a 25 year abusive marriage. I could go on and on with the need of a miracle right in front of me. So isn't GIFTING here much better than the wrapped boxes under the tree that may end up being re-gifted? Some of my friends and family agree - some don't. The "don'ts" I just do not understand. How do you lower your eyes and walk away from the homeless family. To me - that's what Jesus was all about. We ARE His hands and feet, and that's the miracle of Christmas and the baby boy who grew up and showered us with grace.
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