Dear Folks,
I begin this New Year by thanking God for our family of faith in Christ throughout the West. As the Contemporary English Version phrases it in I Thessalonians 1:1b-3:
“I pray that God will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!” We (meaning in this context, we all) thank God for you and always mention you in our prayers. Each time we pray,we tell God our Father about your faith and loving work and about your firm hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We pray because we have a collective memory of the faithfulness of God. “Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1) We pray because, like the Psalmist (Psalm 116) “I love the Lord, because He has heard our prayer.” So He has. So He will.
This week represents Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. With this brief season comes a reminder of how we are called to seek out Jesus (“it is He who is also seeking us.” Jesus of Montreal, a film). It is a season that emphasizes the nature of those gifts, not so much in the symbolism of those gifts, but in the emphasis on the personal nature of the gifts; both for the one we give to and in how we search our hearts as to what we should give. Epiphany is also very much about the unconditional worship we offer Christ. The word “epiphany” in contemporary parlance means to have a sudden awareness, an eureka moment or an insight that transcends ordinary intuition or circumstance. I experienced one of those moments in the week between Christmas and New Years’ and would like to share that with you.
I was following behind a car with the bumper sticker “Keep Christ in Christmas” adorned with a picture of Jesus, Mary and Joseph… you get the message. Been there, done that…so what? Here’s the rub. If He stays “kept in Christmas”, where is He the rest of the year? I know I am being cheeky and engaging in an unfair play on words but what about especially including Christ at Christmas…why don’t we take the Christ of Christmas and share Him the rest of the year? What do I mean? We, as Christians and as churches, are particularly open to inviting others to church and better still, inviting others to a personal relationship with Christ. We are also more open to giving ourselves to acts of mercy and justice to those in need. So the Christ of Christmas is One who more emphatically invites us to Himself and prompts us to serve others. A world in tension, a Christ in Balance… Keep Christ just in Christmas…I think not.
Warmly,
Somewhat playfully,
In Christ,
Jeremy