Perhaps
you, like me, have been a bit frustrated with the early turnout for Christmas
marketing. It was barely November when
the radio stations began full time Christmas music. We are making our way to “Black Friday” and
now that has crept into Thanksgiving Day itself.
We could
spend a good bit of time bemoaning this market strategy driven movement, or we
can take the time to reclaim the purpose of Christmas itself. Over the next five weeks we are going to work
through a new sermon series entitled, “A Different Kind of Christmas”. Each week, we are going to discuss things
like love and peace, highlighting how those oft used terms really have a unique
meaning that comes to light under the Bethlehem star.
This week,
we are going to be speaking about gifts, and how you and I have received a
unique, though often overlooked gift in the person of Christ at Bethlehem. We are given an opportunity to be in
relationship with God. The gift is not
just in the blessings offered by our all-powerful Lord, but is found in the inherent
nature of the relationship itself. That
is the greatest gift.
In
contrast to the manners of the day, we are encouraged to “re-gift” that
relationship. In the busy-ness of our
days and season, we tend to shy away from that relational priority with God and
others, but the late priest Henri Nouwen in his book “Out of Solitude” (Ave
Maria Press 2008) beautifully captured the often un-appraised value of this
gift:
“What we see, and
like to see, is cure and change. But what we do not see and do not want to see
is care: the participation in the pain, the solidarity in the suffering, the
sharing in the experience of brokenness. And still, cure without care is as
dehumanizing as a gift given with a cold heart.”
His words remind us that Christ came
to a painful and broken world and the greatest gift is not just that he offers
wholeness. The coming of the Christ
child also reminds us that the most valuable treasure he offers is simply
himself and his presence in hardship and suffering. He offers this gift with the warm heart of
his presence.
Therefore, as you and I move into
this Christmas time, it is important to remember the simple gift of being with
people, especially people who are hurting.
So often, we can’t solve all the problems nor can we make it all better. Jesus can but all too often, we are just not
that good. But we can always offer the
ministry of presence. Even if it doesn’t
take away all the brokenness, it still re-gifts the gift of Jesus and does it
with a warm heart. Come join us for
worship and we will talk about this some more.
In Christ,
Pastor Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment