JR. Forasteros - December 25, 2016
Go Tell it on the Mountain
Why do we sing at Christmas? Because song is the natural way we celebrate God becoming one of us. On Christmas we sing because the battle has been one and God is making all things new!
From Series: "Pure Imagination"
In a world increasingly divided and hopeless, even something as simple as respectful disagreement seems impossible. But the prophets who taught Israel how to long for the birth of the Messiah made bold promises: weapons formed into gardening tools; wolves and sheep living in harmony; deserts blooming. Such promises seem impossible - like pure imaginative fiction. But God's promises aren't fiction. They're a future God is bringing into existence. Jesus birth proves God is with us, that God is working. We can have purified imaginations, see the world as it will be, and begin to work for that world now. What does it mean to be a people of Advent? Advent means the impossible has been made possible!
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New Year’s Eve is also the seventh day of Christmas, which means on New Year’s Eve, we’re barely halfway through the Church’s celebration of God coming among us!
Over the weekend, we’ll been wrapping up our last Christmas parties, getting in a little more travel to one more set of relatives, exchanging the last few gifts. We’re also turning our attention to 2018. School’s back in session in a couple of days, we return to our routines, and we hope this next year will be better.
So as we slide out of the Christmas season into the New Year, let’s talk about the hope we have for the new year.
Let’s talk about a hope we find in the Christmas story.
Something that gets lost in the Christmas season is the global sweep of the Christmas story. In the joy and beautiful chaos of the holidays, we lose track of the fact that Christmas was a world-changing event, that the angels declared to shepherds that Jesus’ birth was good news for ALL PEOPLE, a harbinger of peace for the whole earth.
What does it mean to celebrate Christmas with a global vision?
What does it mean to look for peace on Earth and goodwill for all peoples? How can our anticipation of the New Year be laced with hope both personally and for the whole world?
