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Christmas, 2017
on... Reconstructing the Christmas Story, as we Rest, Reflect and Retool
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I love Christmas. It matters little whether it is a Christmas celebrated in Colombia (as has been the case our last twenty years) or in my country of origin, The United States of America (which will be our case this year!)… Christmas holds a dear spot in my heart. I love the joyful spirit one feels in the air, the smells, the lights, the gift-giving and the yummy treats to excite the palate. And then of course I love what our family has customarily chosen to do each year… read Jesus’ birth narrative on Christmas Day, watch The Nativity Story at some point along the way and then, enjoy a time of corporate and individual contemplative introspection during the season whether through Advent devotions or extemporaneous readings. There is no time during the year quite like Christmas.
In all this I have learned something over the years… what we see as familiar not only seems to get more and more familiar with the passing of time, but can also take on a quasi mythological reality as we grow older. We think we know the story so well we give it little, if any attention at all. We’re sure we can tell it like it happened so we give it a simple ‘nod’ as we go about our Christmas shopping. After all, ‘the fun children programs we’ll see at church, mall or school will be all that we’ll need to help us remember the essence,’ we tell ourselves. And Christmas comes and goes.
This will be my 58th Christmas on planet Earth (I have had no others for the record) and it seems I am encountering the narrative this year in new ways that is calling me to rethink what I have always thought and assumed. I give praise to the Lord as He leads me and my family in a ‘Rest, Reflection and Retooling’ sabbatical that is giving such opportunity to visit the narrative once again and look to recover the historical truth of the greatest birth story ever told. Wow! Really? you might ask. What new things are you really getting out of the Christmas story this year that you’ve not encountered before, sabbatical notwithstanding? I’m glad you asked! If you are serious about the question and serious enough for similar discovery I invite you to join us in listening to four one-half-hour reflections from the late Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey. During these two hours you will not only visit the manger once again, but also the ‘inn’ that was unavailable to the young family. You will relate with the shepherds and magi in a fresh new way while looking at a genealogy you never knew was so key to it all. Along the way you may get a new sense at just how important a man like Joseph was to the story when you thought it was all about Mary. Finally, you will gain a new appreciation for the many incredible circumstances of the historical moment.
Such discovery will cost you something however. It will cost you time away from the usual and typical to ‘ponder and wonder’ with childlike expectancy. So grab some coffee (Colombian) and click away!!!
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6UC1Gzfq1s
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEiwtAKJi-c
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDJfdkdm40s
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl8ZPRa8pxg
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
From the GREENside
In all this I have learned something over the years… what we see as familiar not only seems to get more and more familiar with the passing of time, but can also take on a quasi mythological reality as we grow older. We think we know the story so well we give it little, if any attention at all. We’re sure we can tell it like it happened so we give it a simple ‘nod’ as we go about our Christmas shopping. After all, ‘the fun children programs we’ll see at church, mall or school will be all that we’ll need to help us remember the essence,’ we tell ourselves. And Christmas comes and goes.
This will be my 58th Christmas on planet Earth (I have had no others for the record) and it seems I am encountering the narrative this year in new ways that is calling me to rethink what I have always thought and assumed. I give praise to the Lord as He leads me and my family in a ‘Rest, Reflection and Retooling’ sabbatical that is giving such opportunity to visit the narrative once again and look to recover the historical truth of the greatest birth story ever told. Wow! Really? you might ask. What new things are you really getting out of the Christmas story this year that you’ve not encountered before, sabbatical notwithstanding? I’m glad you asked! If you are serious about the question and serious enough for similar discovery I invite you to join us in listening to four one-half-hour reflections from the late Dr. Kenneth E. Bailey. During these two hours you will not only visit the manger once again, but also the ‘inn’ that was unavailable to the young family. You will relate with the shepherds and magi in a fresh new way while looking at a genealogy you never knew was so key to it all. Along the way you may get a new sense at just how important a man like Joseph was to the story when you thought it was all about Mary. Finally, you will gain a new appreciation for the many incredible circumstances of the historical moment.
Such discovery will cost you something however. It will cost you time away from the usual and typical to ‘ponder and wonder’ with childlike expectancy. So grab some coffee (Colombian) and click away!!!
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6UC1Gzfq1s
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEiwtAKJi-c
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDJfdkdm40s
Part 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl8ZPRa8pxg
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
From the GREENside
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First name: KR
Last name: G
Personal account #: 004527
Project account #: 024527
Last name: G
Personal account #: 004527
Project account #: 024527
