Waving or Drowning?

The Christmas Song

Admittedly this is the strangest Christmas of my life, but not in a bad way. In all the 'different-ness' of it I almost forgot about my traditional Christmas post. Here it is, for your enjoyment and reflection.

Merry Christmas to all from China.

 

 

The Christmas Song
Dave Matthews Band 

She was his girl; he was her boyfriend
She'd be his wife and make him her husband
A surprise on the way, any day, any day
One healthy little giggling dribbling baby boy
The wise men came, three made their way
To shower him with love
While he lay in the hay
Shower him with love love love
Love love love
Love love was all around

Not very much of his childhood was known
Kept his mother Mary worried
Always out on his own
He met another Mary who for a reasonable fee, 
less than reputable was known to be.

His heart full of love love love
Love love love
Love love was all around

When Jesus Christ was nailed to his tree
Said "oh, Daddy-o, I can see how it all soon will be
I came to shed a little light on this darkening scene
Instead I fear I've spilled the blood of our children all around"

The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children's all around

So I'm told, so the story goes
The people he knew were
Less than golden hearted
Gamblers and Robbers
Drinkers and Jokers, also searchers
Like you and me 
Like you and me 

Rumors insisted he soon would be
For his deviations
Taken into custody
By the authorities less informed than he.
Drinkers and Jokers, also searchers
Searching for love love love
Love love love
Love love was all around

Preparations were made
For his celebration day
He said "eat this bread and think of it as me
Drink this wine and dream it will be
The blood of our children all around
The blood of our children's all around
The blood of our children all around

Father up above, why in all this anger do you fill
Me up with love, love, love
Love love love
Love love was all around
Father up above, why in all this hatred do you fill
Me up with love, fill me love love love
Love love love
all you need is love love love
you can't buy me love love love
And the blood of our children's all around
And the blood of our children's all around

Discomfort

(From the Irony file: I'm posting this after being up half the night. Apparently you can still have jet lag after 3 weeks.)

I liked what Michael Hyatt had to say a few days ago about discomfort. You can read the whole post, but here are his main points:

1. Comfort is overrated. It doesn’t lead to happiness. It makes us lazy—and forgetful. It often leads to self-absorption, boredom, and discontent. 
2. Discomfort is a catalyst for growth. It makes us yearn for something more. It forces us to change, stretch, and adapt. 
3. Discomfort is a sign we’re making progress. You’ve heard the expression, “no pain, no gain.” It’s true! When you push yourself to grow, you will experience discomfort.

In my usual way I would probably have used stronger language for the above, but I agree with what he's said. I'm not all that concerned with discomfort quite frankly, but these points also apply to pain and sorrow.

Set Fire To The Rain

Great song, great arrangement, great performance, great production. 

I like it. Can you tell?

The Man With the Future in His Eyes

I've always been a John Cusack fan, but this just seals the deal:

Vanity Fair: Who are your heroes in real life?

John Cusack: Let’s go with Jesus. Not the gay-hating, war-making political tool of the right, but the outcast, subversive, supreme adept who preferred the freaks and lepers and despised and doomed to the rich and powerful. The man Garry Wills describes “with the future in his eyes … paradoxically calming and provoking,” and whom Flannery O’Connor saw as “the ragged figure who moves from tree to tree in the back of [one’s] mind.”

You can read the rest of this interview here.

(I posted this on Tumblr previously but it was too good not to pass along here as well.)

The Moral, Social and Political Irrelevance of Traditional Christianity in the United States

The Occupy movement is the force that will revitalize traditional Christianity in the United States or signal its moral, social and political irrelevance.

From Chris Hedges' December 5 column Where Were You When They Crucified My Lord?

Goose bumps as I read that line.

Read the rest here and contemplate.

Do we have eyes to see and ears to hear, or are we so stuck in a outdated, irrelevant, prefabricated view of our faith that we wouldn't know Jesus if we walked right up to him and pepper-sprayed him in the face...