All and Nothing
A blessed Advent to you all.
It occurs to me, living in a “Christian” country (self proclaimed), that there is very little Christ in the shouting going on. Oh, I know, there are loud voices that appear to be shouting out from the rooftops about Christ, but what really, are they shouting? When I listen to them it is very little about Jesus that I hear, rather it is about this or that passage in the Hebrew Scripture, or the Old Testament (sorry to the politically correct contemporary church,, but they are different things), or even the epistles of Paul, or the book of Revelation. Sometimes even parts of the Gospel according to John are shouted from sports stadium stands, with choice pieces used from the pulpit or the back of a truck. But,, I hear very little about the Good News proclaimed by Jesus.
I wonder why is it that the Good News of Jesus is so slightly proclaimed.
Maybe Jesus doesn’t fit in our world, just as he didn’t fit in the world 2000 + years ago. And maybe, the church is still struggling just as it did in the early days, to find its way. Jesus left us with so much to think about, yet so little to a people with rules and laws. He left us with minimal guides and many examples. Jesus showed us the way, he didn’t leave us with tablets of stone, or a book, or a building. We who are attempting to follow his teachings are left with stories and letters, but most of all with the message that God loves us, and desires us, All of us, all of who we are, and God wants our love, as we are, wounded as we are. Maybe we don’t hear the Gospel shouted because it is still a hard message to shout.
I am having difficulty keeping advent when all around me I see Christmas (why do we even call this holiday coming up Christmas?) being celebrated as a consumerist free for all, demanding participation in its orgy of “stuff” and “things” and “distractions”, while ignoring the good news of Christ and the overwhelming love of God. The big news on the Christian front – wait for it – that Wal-Mart is calling evergreen trees that used to be known as Christmas trees “Holiday Trees”!!! WHAT!! WHO CARES!! This is wrong on so many levels, what a great distraction the celebration of the birth of our Lord has become. What would happen, I wonder, if we who are attempting to be Christians were to proclaim the magnificat for the time leading up to Christmas? (Luke: 1, 46-55)
And Mary’ said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my savior
For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and Holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation
He has shown strength with his arm;
He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
In remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Scattered the Proud, brought down the powerful, lifted the lowly, filled the hungry and sent the rich away empty,,, maybe this isn’t what a state religion would want to teach, and I guess I won’t see GM using this as a pitch to sell Hummers as Christmas gifts for your loved ones. I doubt if I will hear these words proclaimed from the Christian informed White House, but it would be nice.
Peace and a Blessed Advent
Bruno
posted by Bruno @ 7:42 AM
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