The Gift

To consider that most of my entries are pre-mediated (I let the ideas simmer for at least a week) and that last year, I was all perplexed about the meaning of the government bailout and it's impact on the meaning of Christmas; this year, I'll aim at something more light hearted....and shorter. (I'll set my timer :-)

Christmas crept up on me this year. Not just because 2009 has been bananas, but also because I have not indulged myself in one ounce of the commercialization of this holiday. I'm proud. It has allowed me to focus my energy on LIFE, and why, of the many gifts that God could give us through his son, he chose that one. Interesting.

I'd presume it's because life, no matter how many ways we screw it up, complicated and devalue it, is so much more important that anything else. I had an AH-HA moment a while back that culminted in my understanding that as long as I wanted to be a community organizer, avid volunteer and overall change agent, I probably would never be rich. Or famous. That's fine. As long as I'm happy. And God is pleased. Understanding Christmas means just that for me this year. It makes perfect sense though. (Few things in my life ever do.) That a holiday celebrating Christ, should, in turn, be about life.

To reference the actual story, I never really understood the whole, there was no room at the inn thing until this year (I interpret things in metaphors- I guess that's why). But if Jesus was the gift of life, perhaps (as a metaphor) peoples lives represented the inn. And they were just too cluttered with other stuff they thought they needed: ritual, status, legalism to receive life, and liberty. It's something to think about. Clean out the inn of your life. It's likely very cluttered and confining. And you probably don't have much room to move around, let alone take free gifts. But as the famous song "Joy to the World" goes: "Let every heart, prepare him room." To commune with Jesus fully is to be free and liberated. Food for thought. (You've got enough food to eat this season).

Merry Christmas! (Hey, that was a quick one!) :-)