JR. Forasteros - March 6, 2019
The Terror of Self-Reflection
There's a gap between how we see ourselves and how everyone else experiences us. Mostly that gap is invisible - until it's not, and then things get awkward. But in awkwardness is a gift: to see beyond our self-deception to who we really are. And if we see ourselves through God's eyes, we find the path toward healing and wholeness. Our Lenten journey begins here!
From Series: "Cringeworthy"
Why do we feel awkward? And when we feel awkward, what, exactly, are we feeling? In this series, we're going to explore some of the most awkward stories in the Bible. Because awkwardness has a surprising spiritual promise - we can discover sins that were hidden to us, but known to God. If we're willing to let God make it awkward, we can find hope and healing!
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
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There’s a scene that pretty much every Christmas movie includes at some point (usually toward the end of Act II). The protagonist is down on his or her luck, and has just stumbled upon a window. They look inside and see a perfectly happy family, tall, perfect Christmas tree in the corner, a big, crackling fireplace, a big pile of gifts and plenty of laughter.
And the protagonist stands outside, looking in. Separated from all the warmth, laughter and love. Of course this usually happens at the low point in the story, when the hero is about to learn some valuable lesson that will enable them to save Christmas and rejoin their loved ones at their own fireplace scene.
Because the message is that Christmas is happening inside, where the fire is so delightful. Not outside where the weather is frightful.
This understanding of Christmas, as the warm places full of love and cheer, runs deep, so that even our nativity scenes look so peaceful and serene.
We forget that the first Christmas was anything but warm and peaceful. We forget that everyone around the manger is an outsider. That the nativity scene is filled with people who didn’t belong anywhere else. People who’d been left standing outside in the cold.
We forget – or maybe never actually thought about – the fact that when God came to the World, he didn’t come to the cozy fireplaces. He came to the outsiders, to the left-out. Jesus is outside.
In our sterilized, commercialized Christmas culture, that’s a hard thing to imagine. That Jesus would come into the darkness, rather than into the warmth and light. Yet that’s just how the Scriptures describe the first Christmas.
And more importantly, we are called to go out into the darkness. To join Jesus outside. This is our sacred calling.
Join us Sunday as John 1 and Revelation 10 teach us a different way to celebrate Christmas!
