No Time Like The Present
December 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Growing up in Tennessee, my mom fixed black eyed peas and cabbage every New Year’s Day—a custom I though strange since we never ate black eyed peas otherwise, and because I loathed both of them. (I do love them now.) I understand that this isn’t particular to Tennessee, but is it an American tradition or just a Southern one? Maybe someone can fill me in.
Here are some other New Year’s customs I found online. Take them with a grain of salt, since they came from the internet. I did verify each one on more than one website, but still…
• In Spain it is customary to eat one grape for each chime of the clock at Midnight—a tradition that supposedly began when there was a surplus of grapes and the king gave them as New Year’s presents. It apparently also results in a lot of people laughing at each other with mouths full of grapes.
• In Taiwan employees present their workers with a meal that includes a whole cooked chicken. Everyone gets gifts, but if the chicken’s head is facing you during the meal, it is a sign that you will likely lose your job in the next year.
• In Ecuador and Colombia, families burn a stuffed male doll representing the old year. Each family makes their own doll for burning. They sometimes place fireworks inside it to add excitement. They also burn objects that represent the bad memories from the old year.
• In Korea, it is customary to go to the beach and watch the sunrise on New Year’s Day.
• In Brazil, people jump seven waves and throw flowers into the sea.
• In Mexico, people wear red underwear as a symbol of their desire to find love in the New Year. Others wear yellow underwear in the hopes that it will bring money.
• For Songkran, the Thai New Year (not the same date as ours), people drench passersby with water from buckets, garden hoses or water guns.
I hope you see in this New Year a chance to hit the reset button on some things. But I’d also like to point out that God does not restrict our opportunities for renewal to January 1. I would suppose that you know that already, but I can use a reminder of that fact from time to time. As we gather this Sunday morning, let’s take advantage of God’s never-ending mercies.
Robert Lee
Now What?
December 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
In The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey writes about the journeys of Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary, to 16th century China. In an effort to teach the story of Jesus across the language barrier he took several pieces of art depicting the life of Christ. The first images that he showed them were images of Mary holding her child. The Chinese looked on these serene, nurturing scenes with admiration. But when Ricci introduced them to images of Jesus’ crucifixion, his audience recoiled in disgust. He found himself struggling to convince them that this man who had been executed like a common criminal was actually the one who was worthy of their adoration. Instead, their affections gravitated toward the matronly virgin holding the infant Christ.
Yancey goes on to note that, if the Christmas cards he receives are any indicator, most of us prefer to do the same. He says: “We observe a mellow, domesticated holiday purged of any hint of scandal. Above all, we purge from it any reminder of how the story that began in Bethlehem turned out at Calvary.”
As you know, I’m a big proponent of celebrating Christmas with everyone else in December. Never mind that we don’t know when Jesus was born. If so many others are mindful of Jesus’ birth this time of year, then let’s do the same.
In fact, I think we should do many of our fellow celebrants one better. For most, Christmas ended at midnight last night. In no time at all we’ll see trashcans stuffed full of cardboard and wrapping paper. Once-green Christmas trees will be lying curbside, turning gray. And all of the baby Jesus’ resting in their mangers will be stowed away in attics and sheds until after Thanksgiving next year.
But for us, Christmas is just beginning. Immanuel, “God With Us,” is still with us. And he’s got more to do than just lie in a manger not making any noise. In fact he wants to make quite a bit of noise. And we need to pay attention.
Christ is born in Bethlehem. Now the real work can begin. Let’s start this morning.
GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY
December 17, 2009 | 1 Comment
It punctures my ego (which is often ripe for deflation) to be researching for a message and to find that this same message has already been written and in a much better way than I could hope to myself. That was the case here. I found this quote from Madeleine L’Engle, the author of A Wrinkle in Time, and I just had to share it. It originally appeared in her book, Bright Evening Star. I hope you’ll spend some time dwelling on it this morning in preparation for a time of worship:
“Don’t try to explain the incarnation to me! It is further from being explainable than the furthest star in the furthest galaxy. It is love, God’s limitless love enfleshing that love into the form of a human being, Jesus, the Christ, fully human and fully divine.
Was there a moment, known only to God when all the stars held their breath, when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second, and the Word, who had called it all into being, went with all his love in to the womb of a young girl, and the universe started to breathe again, and the ancient harmonies resumed their song, and the angels clapped their hands for joy?
Power. Greater power than we can imagine, abandoned, as the Word knew the powerlessness of the unborn child, still unformed, taking up almost no space in the great ocean of amniotic fluid, unseeing, unhearing, unknowing. Slowly growing, as any human embryo grows, arms and legs and a head, eyes, mouth, nose, slowly swimming into life until the ocean in the womb is no longer large enough, and it is time for birth.
Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, Christ the Maker of the universe or perhaps many universes, willingly and lovingly leaving all that power and coming to this poor, sin-filled planet to live with us for a few years to show us what we ought to be and could be. Christ came to us as Jesus of Nazareth, wholly human and wholly divine, to show us what it means to be made in God’s image.”
Amber Jacobi’s Baby Shower
December 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment
There will be a baby shower for Amber Jacobi on Sunday, Jan. 10th at 2 p.m. at the home of Tawnia Dossett. The Jacobis are expecting a baby boy. For more information, feel free to call the office.
Silent Monks Sing the Hallelujah Chorus
December 9, 2009 | 2 Comments
Rachel’s sister-in-law, Brittany (Is she my sister-in-law, too? I never get those rules.), posted this on my Facebook wall. Enjoy:
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