And Merry Christmas

It's an old story...

Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem on a donkey.

The Baby is born and laid in a manger.

Shepherds come to see Him.

Wisemen travel to worship Him.

The end.

Let's revisit that last sentence for a sec. "Magi from the East"... what is so significant about their visit? They were always my least favorite part of the nativity scene, mainly because they were old and had beards. But when you think about it, their part in the Christmas story is pretty striking.

Now I'm no scholar. But here's what seems reasonable to me:

• the wisemen had been traveling for awhile. Even the conservative thinkers are saying they came at least a couple months after Jesus was born. Some say they came when he was two (because Herod then killed all the children two and under). Everybody seems to agree, this was not a short trip.
• the wisemen were following a star. Not a map or a gps. A star. I can't even follow maps anymore. Granted they were "Magi" and it's assumed they studied the stars, but still - it could have turned out to be just a big meteor.
• the wisemen brought crazy gifts. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Crazy for somebody to carry on a long dangerous trip, and crazy for them to give to a little kid.

Now if I was in the Christmas story, money and brain-wise I would definitely have been a shepherd. Or maybe even a sheep... But IF I was in the wisemen group - could I have done what they did? Leave my life for months or years on an uncertain, dangerous trip to follow Someone I don't know and worship Him with the best gifts I have. Now that sounds like too much for God to ask of me. Those wisemen had incredible faith.

But isn't that what He wants us to do today? Leave my life for months or years on an uncertain, dangerous trip to follow Someone I don't know and worship Him with the best gifts I have. Maybe the wisemen are an example for us. Maybe we're not talking gold and myrrh, maybe we're talking money and time and talents.

Makes the Christmas story a little more uncomfortable for me, a little more challenging. 

Also maybe a little more real?

What's next?

That post was depressing, so I have to follow it up with some constructive suggestions for how we can help. There's plenty of lit talking about the benefits of going yourself vs. sending money for food. I'm going to assume that if you are thinking about going yourself, you are proactive enough to find some websites on your own. If you're thinking about giving, here's a couple of options -

Feed The Children

Samaritan's Purse

Child sponsorship -

World Vision

Compassion International

The accountant in me wants to remind you that if you're not familiar with these orgs, check out their financials or look them up on Watchdog agencies to make sure you know how the money will be used.

Thank God Santa's coming

Yes, I have been listening to Christmas music nonstop. But radio stations have a bad habit of all going on commercial break at the same time. Collusion, I think.

Sometimes the theology of the songs just disgusts me. This is one of my favorites...

"Santa knows we're all God's children, that makes everything right
So hang your stockings and say your prayers cause Santa Claus comes tonight...
Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light
Let's give thanks to the Lord above cause Santa Claus comes tonight"

What light are we supposed to follow, anyway? The light from Rudolph's nose? But I digress.

The song that gets me mad, really mad, is the one that talks about "a world outside your window", "a world of dreaded fear" - but tonight, "thank God it's them instead of you".
Now I'm all in favor of finding things to be thankful for. But really? I'm thankful your life is harder than mine. Good job America, what a great lesson to teach kids.

To be fair, the song ends chanting "feed the world feed the world feed the world". But the purely selfish statement in the middle pretty much kills it for me. It's pretty close to our attitude, though, isn't it? Africa is conveniently distant, and it's so easy to get blinded by our busy little lives with all our important little problems.

I hear again and again from people that they don't like Christmas because finding the perfect gift is so stressful. While I sympathize... part of me wonders - why is shopping the main problem this month? That doesn't need to be the biggest issue that keeps us awake in our warm beds in warm houses after eating warm meals... maybe we need a change in perspective.

Which picture are you more comfortable with? Duh, I hate looking at pictures of starving kids. So if I thank God someone else's family is starving instead of mine, can I just forget about it?

Africa is far away.


Where are our priorities?

The UN says someone dies of starvation every 3.6 seconds. That's two or three people dying in the time it takes us to update a Facebook status. Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.