JR. Forasteros - September 10, 2015
A Screen Between Us
When there's a screen between us, it becomes easier to ignore our humanity. On one hand, we bully, shame and blame online much more readily than if we are face-to-face. On the other hand, because of this culture of online shaming, we rarely express our full selves online. Our social media selves are carefully-curated versions of ourselves we think the internet will approve of. How can we use our screens to facilitate life-giving relationships rather than hide from them?
From Series: "Social"
Most of us don't connect new technologies to our faith. After all, Jesus never had a Facebook profile. He didn't post on Instagram or even have a smartphone. No wonder we struggle to imagine the Bible has anything to say about this Brave New World we live in. But we can think theologically about the technology in our lives. We can learn not a new set of rules (How many episodes per day is too many when I'm binge-watching? How old should my kids be before they get smartphones?), but rather how to ask the right questions. Do our technologies help us bring about God's surprising, mustard seed kingdom here on Earth as it is in Heaven? How are our screens spiritual? Welcome to SOCIAL.
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
Powered by Series Engine
When I was a kid, we had some pretty specific Christmas traditions: on Christmas Eve, we would go to Blockbuster and each of us three kids would get to pick out one movie. Then we would all go home. My dad would make CORN DIP and my mom would make CHRISTMAS SURPRISE DRINK – a feast we only got on Christmas Eve. We’d watch each of our movies and one-by-one drift off to sleep. Our parents would put us to bed eventually and we’d wake up on Christmas morning, rushing out to the living room to see what Santa had brought us.
It was a great tradition… until my parents divorced.
Then we had two Christmases – which parent had us on Christmas changed every year. My parents tried to keep the traditions alive, but having Corn Dip twice in a week felt weird, and Dad didn’t make Christmas Surprise Drink.
Our Christmas traditions changed.
They changed again when each of us kids moved out of the house, and again when we each got married. We learned the recipes for Corn Dip and Christmas Surprise Drink, so we can have them whenever we want.
These days, we more often do Christmas in July than anything else, and we have a whole new set of traditions: each of the kids gets a children’s book. We read the Christmas story, and we read the kids’ book. And maybe we sing Silent Night.
No matter how traditional our traditions are, they change.
The one constant in our world is change, and that goes for Christmas, too. We often face the reality of change with anger, fear or worry. We long for the good ole days, a simpler time. We’re torn by the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Maybe we have a new relationship or a new job with a new, less-holiday-friendly schedule. Maybe someone’s not going to be by the tree this year like they once were. Maybe someone moved out, or welcomed a new life. Maybe things are looking up this Christmas and the only stress you have is the stress of change.
So whatever your Christmas traditions look like, no matter how old they are (even if they’re brand new!), we’re going to meet the Christ who is the eternal center of all those traditions.
