Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
A Sufjan Christmas
Thanks to a friend who gave me a reason to love Christmas music again. Banjos just make every song much more enjoyable to me.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Epic Card Games - Thanksgiving Part 2
Still Thursday
Playing "Footsie" (aka: Hand and Foot) with the fam! My cousin is across the table (center), and is my all-time partner...we cleaned up and won with only 5 rounds. Next day, Hong and I weren't as lucky...
Monday, November 01, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Monday, July 05, 2010
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Christmas in a Nutshell
The Word of God, Jesus Christ, on account of His great love for mankind, became what we are in order to make us what He is Himself.
~Bernard of Clairvaux
I like that whole meeting us on our level idea. But to break open that nutshell a little more:
We are: weak and small and finite.
The Word of God is: Powerful, Everywhere, Infinite
God becoming human is like trying to shove a huge square into a tiny circle.
But then we have Jesus, who while human is still God. The Christian Paradox.
So if God in the person of Jesus becomes: weak, small and finite.
Does that mean we become powerful, everywhere, infinite?
I don't know about picking up these divine elements since we are still just flesh, but I think we need to look more at the humanity of Jesus to see what God wants us to become...
Broken servants.
Loving to all and especially our enemies.
Caring for the weak, the poor, the lost.
Putting ones self last.
So confident in God's love that we don't need any other identity.
Realizing that weakness is actually strength.
Giving thanks to God for everything at every moment.
Seeing the image of God in every person and God's work in the world.
Undoing injustice and heartless theology.
Building community rather than putting up walls.
These can only happen when I let go of my need to control my life and let God work in me. When I can open my eyes outward and look for what God is doing in the world instead of focusing on myself.
Sure, purity and righteousness and holiness are all extremely important, but to think we have to achieve that by our own will is a dangerous or futile notion. We can't strive to be God...but we can strive to be like Jesus, and maybe in our seeking and striving to serve (and resting and surrender and earnest prayer), God will transform those parts of us as well.
Christmas is when we no longer have to strive so much, but rest in wonder at God's love.
We gather to remind each other of this and to contemplate and act on this Great Love we've been shown.
And together, we start to look a lot like Jesus.
~Bernard of Clairvaux
I like that whole meeting us on our level idea. But to break open that nutshell a little more:
We are: weak and small and finite.
The Word of God is: Powerful, Everywhere, Infinite
God becoming human is like trying to shove a huge square into a tiny circle.
But then we have Jesus, who while human is still God. The Christian Paradox.
So if God in the person of Jesus becomes: weak, small and finite.
Does that mean we become powerful, everywhere, infinite?
I don't know about picking up these divine elements since we are still just flesh, but I think we need to look more at the humanity of Jesus to see what God wants us to become...
Broken servants.
Loving to all and especially our enemies.
Caring for the weak, the poor, the lost.
Putting ones self last.
So confident in God's love that we don't need any other identity.
Realizing that weakness is actually strength.
Giving thanks to God for everything at every moment.
Seeing the image of God in every person and God's work in the world.
Undoing injustice and heartless theology.
Building community rather than putting up walls.
These can only happen when I let go of my need to control my life and let God work in me. When I can open my eyes outward and look for what God is doing in the world instead of focusing on myself.
Sure, purity and righteousness and holiness are all extremely important, but to think we have to achieve that by our own will is a dangerous or futile notion. We can't strive to be God...but we can strive to be like Jesus, and maybe in our seeking and striving to serve (and resting and surrender and earnest prayer), God will transform those parts of us as well.
Christmas is when we no longer have to strive so much, but rest in wonder at God's love.
We gather to remind each other of this and to contemplate and act on this Great Love we've been shown.
And together, we start to look a lot like Jesus.
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