Merry Christmas from the Cloeter family.
I find it interesting that this one holiday causes the world to stop. Regardless of religion, culture, or nationality, most of the world acknowledges Christmas as a holiday, even if they don't observe it. Even the post office and the economy take a quick breather. Although the whole world pauses for a moment, a lot is missed. The focus is often food, family, or consumerism. The pause of a holiday is loaded with a million things we feel the need to do. The account of the nativity tells us that at the birth of Jesus humanity was largely passive. God himself, with angels as his agents - he was doing all the work (Mary had some labor too). After Jesus was born, everyone just came and gazed on him with awe and wonder. No to-do list. No busy schedule that obliges us to see every Aunt and Uncle. No meal preparations or gift exchange. Just sit, look, and ponder. See you in the New Year.
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A favorite Christmas poem. The Risk of Birth by Madeleine L’Engle This is no time for a child to be born, With the earth betrayed by war & hate And a comet slashing the sky to warn That time runs out & the sun burns late. That was no time for a child to be born, In a land in the crushing grip of Rome; Honour & truth were trampled by scorn- Yet here did the Saviour make his home. When is the time for love to be born? The inn is full on the planet earth, And by a comet the sky is torn- Yet Love still takes the risk of birth. I am outraged by another violent death of a black teenager in our city. On Tuesday, one of my wife’s students was fatally shot. Sixteen-year-old Chelsea Harris was simply getting out of a car with her boyfriend.
This black teenager won’t get the press of Michael Brown, but the outrage should be just as furious. With 2014 drawing to a close, there have been about 150 murders in St. Louis, up 35% from last year. The victims are disproportionately young and black. The issues in our city are complex - the weaving of societal systems and cultural cycles that perpetuate poverty, violence, and dysfunction. Chelsea is one of five students that my wife has seen die a violent death. As a family and a school grieves a child's death, I am reminded that brutal violence against children was part of Christ's birth narrative (Matt. 2:16-18). I am also reminded that God overwhelmingly favors the marginalized (Luke 2:46-55; 4:16-21; 6:20-26) - the poor, those who mourn, the lowly. We pray mercy for those stuck in disruptive neighborhoods, families, and economic conditions. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. I don't have a "silent night" in December. Beginning tonight, I've got commitments for 10 straight evenings. How did such a holy celebration become the noisiest and busiest time of year?
While we spend our treasure online and at the mall, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). What did that look like? How does God want us to honor Christ in a season that's become more disruptive than contemplative? Some simple practices that might help:
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