CHRISTMAS

Christmas. I don't think much of presents, or carols, or shopping. Christmas helps me to think about a turning away from Herod, Caesar, the Pharisees, purveyors of doom and lost hope, toward a new king. Born not in a grand palace, but a dirty, filthy stable; born not to parents of the ruling class, but to simple, lower class citizens; born not to enslave people, but to free them; born not to limit possibilities, but to increase them; born not to make the rich richer, but to praise the poor; born not to withhold health-care, but to make it available to everyone; born not to allow people to go to bed hungry at night, but to demonstrate abundance in God's grace and goodwill; born not to praise government with senseless slogans and flags, but to confront a government and its leaders who have lost their way and are no longer responsive to its citizens. Christmas is a time of change. It is really the biggest change the world has ever seen. Nothing was the same after that first Christmas. There was a new king, not fancily dressed or living in a big house, but one living on the street, feeding the people, healing them, giving them hope. I like giving thanks to Christ at Christmas. He was the greatest revolutionary to have every emerged, demonstrating the power of a people who only need to believe in themselves, but more importantly, to believe in the power and guidance of God's abundant grace and love.