When you sang the words "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords" this year, did it feel like you were declaring your allegiance to an ongoing Revolution? Have we lost sight of what Christmas is about? A story of a God who tells an oppressed minority ethnic group "I'm with you, and I'm on your side. Things will not be like this forever. Caesar will not reign forever. Herod will not last as king." Where do you pledge your allegiance? Who is your king? Who is your lord?
Jeff, I listened to the sermon and it fit in perfectly with the posts that Rob's been putting on Tumblr.
ReplyDeleteI've befriended a guy who's been struggling really bad. On Monday night, I couldn't help but think about the money I was about to spend for gifts. I didn't create the time to be creative this year, so gift cards prevailed. He's been sleeping on the bench outside of the club I used to attend meetings at. I was putting him in a hotel room every night until my money ran out. Then, him and another friend of mine offered to take him to a shelter. He didn't want it.
He chose to stay on the bench. 15 days sober.
And it's day 17.
He got connected with a person about a job. And the owner of the company happens to work with alcoholics. And he offered lodging and transportation until he gets some money to flow in.
Knowing all this, and how hard my friend has worked at staying sober, and knowing that I didn't create the time to create gifts, I put him in the room until the 27th - the last day before he moves to a new sense of permanence.
Not to mention, the 26th (tomorrow) is the 1st anniversary of his oldest son's suicide.
Christmas this year for me is about solidarity with the exiled, broken, lost, and beaten. I'm living two lives - one with all the bells and whistles of trees and lights and presents, and the other in the secret shadows of oppression. Here's the kicker: which one do you think is the most life giving for me? I think you probably answered right.
If it wasn't for my friend being in the situation he's in, I wouldn't have even experienced the story of the Israelites, the oppression, and the hope of rescue. Christ came in the form of a dirty, toothless, beat up drunk with a fifth grade education. I couldn't find Christ no matter how hard I looked in the Christmas Eve service, at the family gathering, or at work. I found Him at the bench, and I've clung to him like a man desperate to not fall asleep.
My allegiance is to the God who lives on the margins, not in the spotlight.
I love you brother.