The Christmas Challenge

On Christmas you and I will hear a story alleging the Creator and Ruler of the Universe decided to come to earth to become human – a lofty, controversial, and near-preposterous claim, for sure.

Nonetheless, we will notice that God does not do so via the first century equivalents of satellite television, a United Nations news conference, or by rolling out a “Faith and Freedom” cross-country bus tour. The birthplace is not Rome, New York, Washington, D.C., Paris, or Moscow. The parents are not emperors, presidents, or anywhere near The One Percent.

This story must have pained early Christians, desperate for social acceptability, who were stuck with the tale of an impoverished single mom in a conquered hamlet of some backwater corner of a vast empire, putting her newborn into an animal trough where the fledgling birth announcement was entrusted to village idiots whose only other marketable skills were watching sheep.

Yet, as many scholars note, the sheer embarrassment of this narrative speaks to its verity. So does its theme: the miracle is not that God could become man, but that God could love us so deeply.

This is a God who didn’t come here to impress.

This is a God who doesn’t care about where you live, who your friends are, who your parents are, how much money’s in the bank account, how the house is decorated, or how clean the crib is.

This is a God who doesn’t care what you do, how you dress, or who you know.

This is a God who shows little concern for proving anything other than a desperate love for us – period.

This is what Christmas is about.

So celebrate, we will. Bask in His love, we will. And emulate Him – we will try. For this is the Christmas challenge: can we take that love and share it? Can we follow God’s example and give of ourselves so that others might benefit? Can we too pay less attention to the earthly trappings of the day and focus our eyes on heaven, from where our true love descends?

-------------------------

Reading

The Pastor – Eugene Peterson

Enough – Roger Thurow

Generation Ex-Christian – Drew Dyck

Don't Be Afraid! Be Astonished!

Times are uncertain for churches these days.

Some blame the increasing force of secularism. Established churches once frequented by society’s elite, well accustomed to favored positions in society, have been knocked down more than a few pegs. Neighborhood churches, whose demographics may have dramatically shifted, fight for survival. 80% of North American churches are plateaued or declining. And we’re seeing much of the vibrancy in rehabbed warehouses, coffee houses, and church starts in unlikely places.

What’s God doing? Has the Almighty sent an angel of disruption to the North American church? Could the forces working to confuse and unsettle be from on high?

This Sunday we hear about an angelic visitation that does something similarly disruptive. 13 year old Mary is greeted by the angel Gabriel. She hears unsettling news from this messenger of God, who proclaims Mary is favored and blessed. Yet upon seeing him her first reaction, which departs noticeably from the biblical norm, is not fear, but a sense of wonder.

The text tells us Mary was perplexed and pondered as Gabriel explained the even more bazaar aspects of God’s plans for her and the world. Yet faced with a life-altering, paradigm-shifting announcement the young girl did not recoil, shrink back, or even flinch - she calmly uttered three of the most memorable words in all of Scripture, ‘let it be…’

As you and I muddle through the desperate fears on Planet Unpredictable, the temptation to react with fear is monolithic. And we know that fear leads to control, alienation, and confusion. We do much better to respond with faith – trusting that the Lord is up to something, that God IS in control, and there is a reason. In this Advent season of wonder, how might we move past the fear and move toward amazement at the possibility that God is up to something - and it’s all going to be OK?

Reading

Generation Ex-Christian – Drew Dyck

Living Your Strengths – Al Winesman

The Pastor – Eugene Peterson

"He Came to Testify to the Light..."

One of my family’s most effective cleaning weapons is not a mop, broom, or sponge.

It’s the dimmer switch.

After long days of work, then home to feed and bathe children, then to host guests, our well-trodden house is often in need of more care and attention than our schedule allows. Enter, the dimmer switch, which, with one turn hides dust, debris and dirty dishes, makes stains disappear, and gives rooms a mysterious allure as imagination fills in where the light does not.

On this third Sunday of Advent John the Baptist takes center stage proclaiming his central role, which is to ‘testify to the light.’ As we know, light is not always a welcome thing. It lets everyone see the dirt and debris, it reveals every stain, and it forces imagination to give way to truth.

In Advent you and I ponder the notion that one day everything we say, do, think, and believe will meet the light. All truth will be known. All will be revealed.

So if we know the lights will be turned on, isn’t there some tidying up we need to do? Are there unmet obligations, broken promises, and unresolved conflicts in our lives that need tending to? Advent is that season of preparation in which we’re urged to turn up the dimmer switch before someone else does.

-------------------

Reading:

Barefoot Church – Brandon Hatmaker

Pastor – Eugene Peterson

Leadership without Easy Answers – Ron Heifetz

Chris Yaw

Hi, I am

Chris Yaw

ABOUT ME

Chris Yaw

Contact Details

How Can I Help?

St. David's

St. David's Gun Disposal

ChurchNext

Oakland Housing

Hyacinth Fellowship

Yaw Wedding

Blog