Merry Christmas . . . and
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 7:12 am
. . . have a Happy Kwaanza too.
I hope all six of you have an excellent day of good food, good people, and maybe some cool gifts in there too.
I have turned away from the yip yip yip commercialized stuff big time. God blessed me with one excellent Christmas oh about twenty two years ago where everything aligned into a magical moment where my deeply held beliefs merged with this alleged celebration of the birth of Christ in the presence of people (little ones) who were truly grateful and wonderstruck and it looked to me like the adults were doing their best to make it that way.
What I sensed before and after that Christmas was that we humans touchingly don't know when or how to quit. We overdo so much of the celebration that I see stampedes at Walmart and tantrums on Christmas morning. A shout out to all toddlers who would rather play with the box that the plasticky present came in, good for you!
I am here to tell you that after fifty nine of these Christmas days, I do not remember the $75.00 coffee table book half so much as the walks we took after Christmas dinner. I remember for all time the Hallelujah chorus from the Messiah filling the house.
So yeah, what about that Christ guy? How do you celebrate a birth over two thousand years ago without it being sort of weird? Well, many many people have *made* it weird. You know the types. Something beautiful happens and they come in and try to imprint it with their own perceptions which of course are limited by the very fact that people who try to boss over others aren't really taking in the moment.
I came to Christ (careful) as a kindergartener on my own. I liked that he existed at all, and if we are telling stories about him, I figured there was a reason. I did not buy into their reasons. They were too fanciful, and many times too angry and frankly, the "virgin birth" stuff is totally icky odd to me. But I liked Jesus and developed an affinity for his parables, and I have, thank God, met people on this Earth who strike me as a lot like Jesus.
They hang out with "whores" and "criminals" and get pissed with bankers and don't lord it over others and make water out of wine and feed others without a second thought, what is not to like?
Today is my day to desperately celebrate the Good Ones. It seems more obvious to me in my autumn, that all along, it was to claw our way through to the simple task for all of us, be nice, share, do good things, like Jesus did. It is not beyond us, like the religions like to tell us.
"YOU'RE A SINNER!"
"I know."
"YOU'RE GOING TO EVERLASTING HELL!"
"Oh, take a chill pill."
This is Ours. And we are Active Participants in making it all work. And there is work to be done. What God told me last night was that it is all necessary, and the frightening storm clouds of chaos that threaten to envelop us are all part of It too. Be nice, share, and do good things, oh, and keep getting pissed at the money changers.
Colin
I hope all six of you have an excellent day of good food, good people, and maybe some cool gifts in there too.
I have turned away from the yip yip yip commercialized stuff big time. God blessed me with one excellent Christmas oh about twenty two years ago where everything aligned into a magical moment where my deeply held beliefs merged with this alleged celebration of the birth of Christ in the presence of people (little ones) who were truly grateful and wonderstruck and it looked to me like the adults were doing their best to make it that way.
What I sensed before and after that Christmas was that we humans touchingly don't know when or how to quit. We overdo so much of the celebration that I see stampedes at Walmart and tantrums on Christmas morning. A shout out to all toddlers who would rather play with the box that the plasticky present came in, good for you!
I am here to tell you that after fifty nine of these Christmas days, I do not remember the $75.00 coffee table book half so much as the walks we took after Christmas dinner. I remember for all time the Hallelujah chorus from the Messiah filling the house.
So yeah, what about that Christ guy? How do you celebrate a birth over two thousand years ago without it being sort of weird? Well, many many people have *made* it weird. You know the types. Something beautiful happens and they come in and try to imprint it with their own perceptions which of course are limited by the very fact that people who try to boss over others aren't really taking in the moment.
I came to Christ (careful) as a kindergartener on my own. I liked that he existed at all, and if we are telling stories about him, I figured there was a reason. I did not buy into their reasons. They were too fanciful, and many times too angry and frankly, the "virgin birth" stuff is totally icky odd to me. But I liked Jesus and developed an affinity for his parables, and I have, thank God, met people on this Earth who strike me as a lot like Jesus.
They hang out with "whores" and "criminals" and get pissed with bankers and don't lord it over others and make water out of wine and feed others without a second thought, what is not to like?
Today is my day to desperately celebrate the Good Ones. It seems more obvious to me in my autumn, that all along, it was to claw our way through to the simple task for all of us, be nice, share, do good things, like Jesus did. It is not beyond us, like the religions like to tell us.
"YOU'RE A SINNER!"
"I know."
"YOU'RE GOING TO EVERLASTING HELL!"
"Oh, take a chill pill."
This is Ours. And we are Active Participants in making it all work. And there is work to be done. What God told me last night was that it is all necessary, and the frightening storm clouds of chaos that threaten to envelop us are all part of It too. Be nice, share, and do good things, oh, and keep getting pissed at the money changers.
Colin