Friday’s thoughts
Jay Rochelle in his book, The Revolutionary Year has captured the aspects of Christmas that will never disappoint us. He writes: “It is a Christian truth that every person is worthy of dignity and honor, that each individual is sacred and must not be exploited, because we are radically accepted by God. It is the Christian proclamation that now, in this present moment, wherever we are sitting or standing, we can strip to the core of our being and find there not silence but a gigantic yes…Radical Christ-mass says that God is love personified/im-person-ated in this small child of Bethlehem…a love which does not jump back into ‘heaven’ but expands throughout all human nature. It is still here, waiting each year, each day, each minute, to be discovered. Christ-mass is the Eternal Now focusing in the temporality of life.”
Christmas reminds us of the “humanity of God”, and it allows us to contemplate the “divinity of humanity”. The conclusion is clear and important. For us to be come more like God, we need not become less human.
This is the kind of year that we need to be reminded of the goodness of the human spirit. This is one of those years when we are encouraged to look into the soul of humanity to see what is there.
What I hope we see is:
1. Goodness and mercy
2. Courage and boldness and a striving to do the right thing
3. Hope for better days than the days in which we are living.
4. Joy in the moment
Christmas will not disappoint us if we think about its purpose and intent.
Rochelle writes:
“When the time was ripe God appeared in the mainstream of humankind. God came, not with the lightening bolt nor with the clamor of kingship nor midst the applause of all people. God came, still and small, into the poverty of the world, perceived only by the human heart. We are those who celebrate God’s coming in time at the manger of Bethlehem….”
Christmas will not disappoint us. It cannot. It says so much about the God we worship and the people we are called to be.
If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank and my email address will appear.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
