With all the preoccupations of this season with those things that have so little to do with Christ or "Christ-mass" or Christian anything for that matter, it is no wonder that some dear souls have chosen to barricade themselves into a total rejection of the season out of a sense of duty or desperation to preserve the real focus and meaning of the coming of Christ.
For those of us who search for "middle ground" on which to stand during these times, it is a perilous journey. Yet, interestingly, it was into just such a world as ours that Jesus came. The political climate was intense. There were wars and battles being fought to preserve territories and to protect interests. There were many who were the victims of exploitation. There were slaves. There were many desperately poor and others who demonstrated every excess imaginable in displays of power and wasteful self-indulgence. Jesus came into a world very much like our own times and season.
His coming brought much anticipation of change. He preached repentance and offered an invitation to discover the Kingdom of God at hand in one's own heart and life. He showed compassion and mercy and extended healing and welcome. He moved aside the distinctions of race and class and social expectation and entered into the homes and workplaces and gathering places of the men and women and children. He blessed all with his presence, his touch, and his message of life. In our generation, the same word of truth needs to be heard, received, and believed.
There is no escaping the fact that we live in desperate times. Jesus came to save us. His word to us is the resounding word of promise and hope for all. If you have to leave something out this Christmas, don't let it be that.
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