The Beginning

In the grand scheme of things, what is Christmas?

It is the time where Jesus enters into history in a new, concrete way. But, he doesn't really do anything for a while.

It is the beginning of a transition for the Holy Spirit, moving from being an occasional helper to a constant companion. But, that transition is still years away.

It is the first step in God's sacrifice for us. He alone knew the grand plan of redemption at this point. He alone knew what this baby would become, what he would go through, what he would sacrifice. It was the beginning of 30+ years of agony because of that knowledge.

What is is beginning in your life this Christmas?

Preparation

Poor in Spirit --> Mourn --> Meek --> Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness --> Merciful --> Pure in Heart --> Peacemakers --> Persecuted Because of Righteousness

Jesus' opening to the Sermon on the Mount is a beautiful piece of scripture, but is it something more? At first glance it looks like a simple list of some good traits to have, things that we should strive for. If you check a number of different resources, especially study Bibles, this is exactly how they explain what this is. "It is the standard that Christians should strive to meet."

Is there any other place where Jesus tells us to be Poor in Spirit? Anywhere else he tells his followers to mourn? Nope. He brought a message of faith, hope and love. He was criticized for attending too many parties, not for bringing everyone down. This isn't just a collective list - it is a guide. It details a heart path, the way to get where God wants us to be.

It begins with sorrow. John the Baptist preached a message of repentance, so did Jesus. Part of repentance is recognizing that we aren't where we should be. This leads to being Poor in Spirit.

When our Spirits are low, it makes sense to mourn. We weep over the wrongs we have done and the mistakes we have made. Our relationship with God is in shambles and we feel it intensely.

Pride comes before a fall, and meekness comes after we've finally accepted how low we've fallen.

Once we've accepted our place, we can finally focus on what is really important. We want to leave behind the problems that got us in this situation, so we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Part of this process is compassion. We've seen how bad we could be and we can see others on the path. We show them mercy.

As the hunger for righteousness increases and defines our steps, we become more pure, right down to the core of our heart.

Peace becomes a priority for us, so much so that we are willing to work to make it so.

This is not an easy task, so there will be opposition. This is the fight that Jesus has called us to, this is the reason for our creation. We will be persecuted, we will go against the grain, we will need help to get by.

Here Jesus changes subjects. Now he addresses the Disciples directly. He indicates that they have come through this. Now they are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World. We're being prepared, we're being trained and we can't forget that.

Make my day

What do you take for granted? What is so commonplace for you that you don't give it a second thought? What are you so used to that it is simply a part of your day-to-day existence?

Someone (maybe someone you know), somewhere (probably closer than you think) doesn't have it.

This week someone came to me with some Bengals tickets that they simply couldn't use. They are season ticket holders and they can't make it to the game after Christmas. Unfortunate, but not life-changing. After all, they've got tickets to all the games anyway. Instead of giving the tickets to one of their close friends, they asked if I could find someone who could really use them. With the help of the folks at Parkside's outreach I did. And it will be one of the best Christmases in their memory. Because of something someone else takes for granted.

This week at Panera they made an extra sandwich. Instead of dumping it in the trash, they gave it to my wife and made her Wednesday.

This morning at Strabucks someone was rewarded with a free cup of coffee and it made their morning.

Make someone's Christmas this year, it might be easier than you think.

Complimentary

B is a woman who's had it rough. She grew up in circumstances beyond what many of us could even imagine. Her father was a wizard in the KKK. Her mother was a snake handler. She's had way too many run-ins with both of these groups.

The KKK taught her about hate. The snake-handlers taught her that love has to be earned and then proved. She ran from both of these lies and found more of the same. She was given an ultimatum: 10% to be part of the one true church or leave. She left. She's struggled her whole life.

This week she said, "Since I came here, nobody's judged me. And nobody's asked me for nothing, except for me to come back. I like that."

So do I.

Well done Parkside, well done.

Extraordinary

K is an older woman who I've gotten to know over the past few years. To say she's had a tough life is an understatement. She's never had much, she's never wanted much. She was a hard worker, until her health took that ability away from her. She is a mother and a grandmother and very recently became a great-grandmother. She's taking care of a couple of her grandsons and she'll literally do anything for them.

This is a carryover from raising her kids. She recently told me that raising children is her calling, this is what she was designed to do. She didn't say that she is good at it, but she knows that is what she was created to do - because that is what consumes her heart and mind. That is all she thinks about. The same couldn't be said for the father of her kids.

She raised her kids without a dad and she knew that this wasn't right - it wasn't what was best for them. So, she tried to find guys who could be an example for them, who would teach them what it was to be a man. Unfortunately there are very few men out there who know what it is to be a man these days.

She raised her kids without much, so she tried to eke everything she could out of what she got. She learned to work the system and get extra where she could. But not for herself, for her kids and now her grandkids. There's an old question, "Is it okay to steal if you are starving?" She made sure her kids never had to answer that question by answering it for herself.

She gave me a gift this week. It's nothing special and it might seem silly to others. But it means the world to me. I haven't done anything that seems special, just tried to love her and make her feel special, because she is.

Obadiah's Part

In the overall story, when things need to be settled, God handles it. That's his part. When we try to do his part, that's when we get ourselves into trouble. Historically, when the church tries to do God's part we get things like the Crusades and the Inquisition. God doesn't need us to bring justice, thinking that is our job or even our right is foolish and dangerous.

Our society (especially the typical guy) revels in seeing a person do God's part. We love the hero who serves revenge as a cold dish, who (often through violence) makes right the wrongs that have been done. We celebrate the gory spectacle of warriors bringing down those who have brought others down and we salute them as they stand over the fallen oppressors.

"On the day you stood aloof

while strangers carried off his wealth

and foreigners entered his gates

and cast lots for Jerusalem,

you were like one of them.

You should not look down on your brother

in the day of his misfortune,

nor rejoice over the people of Judah

in their day of destruction,

nor boast so much

in their day of trouble.

You should not march through the gates of my people

in the day of their disaster,

nor look down on their calamity

in the day of their disaster,

nor seize their wealth

in the day of their disaster.

You should not wait at the crossroads

to cut down their fugitives,

nor hand over their survivors

in the day of their trouble.

The day of the Lord is near

for all nations.

As you have done, it will be done to you;

your deeds will return upon your own head."

We should recognize what we celebrate for what it is. Our part is not to create some bloody thing that vaguely resembles justice. Our part is to create mercy.

Hungry?

Last night my wife and I sat down to a dinner together of what could very rightly be called hot mush. It was a combination of rice, soy, carrots, rice, celery, rice, red peppers, rice and some vitamin and mineral fortification. Oh yeah, and there was rice. It tasted a whole lot like a can of campbell's chicken soup that someone had made using 3x the recommended amount of water.

Weak chicken gruel is not our normal dinner.

We knew that going in, but we did it anyway. It was an exercise in empathy. We were trying to get a tiny glimpse of what the people who are fed by Northwest Haiti Christian Mission are actually fed. All things considered, its not too bad. We cooked up a bag which contains 4-6 meals and wound up eating over half for dinner.

We expected to be hungry afterward and really we weren't. We expected it to taste bad and really it didn't. The worst part about the experience was thinking about eating that twice a day and nothing else. I couldn't imagine eating this and only this for weeks, months or years at a time. But, then again I've never really been hungry. And chances are you haven't been either.

We're partnering with Kids Against Hunger in Cincinnati to package thousands of these meals to help fight hunger in Haiti. KAH will provide the rice, soy, veggies and bags and we'll supply the funds and the manpower to put them all together. It gives a concrete way to give more this Christmas while spending less. You can donate by sending a check to Parkside with KAH in the memo or even better, you can come and pack some bags with us. Sunday 12/6 at Family Christmas from 5:30 - 7:30 or for our Tailgate with a Purpose on 12/13 both at our Salem Road campus.

Why?

Because its that time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and we are completely surrounded by food. We ate a ton while away for Thanksgiving and things show no signs of slowing.

Because I've never really been hungry.

Because I'm a disciple of Jesus, and that's what he would do.

Because everyone deserves a little satisfaction and laughter.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.