Joy to the World!

Dear family,

It is that time of the year when we put up Christmas Trees, we hang lights all over the outside of our houses, and we invite our friends and family into our homes for get together around warm fires. It is a time to slow down and just breathe deep the emotions of the Advent Season. It is a time of love and laughter as we spend time in fellowship. And it is a time to reflect on the true purpose of this season.

Is it about a fat man in a red coat? No. Is it about a baby, born in a manger, to two parents with no reputation and no real status? Yes. Is it about gifts lying under a tree? No. Is it about sharing our lives, our stories, and our love with others? Yes. This season is more than what American consumerism has made it to be. It is more than the nice songs and beautiful lights. It is more, so much more.

But the irony is, is this: the more is actually about becoming less. Let me write that again. In order to fully grasp and embrace the Advent Season and the full measure of promise it brings, we must become less. Less about ourselves. Less about buying stuff. Less about fighting over trivial issues. Less about storing up treasures for ourselves. And less about focusing in on our own existence. Instead, it is more about giving to others, surrendering to Christ, loving others more than we love ourselves, reconciling with those we have differences with, and it involves living, honestly and zealously, in the light of God. Letting Him be our guide. It is about becoming more like Jesus and less like Jerry.

When that becomes our story, becoming more like Jesus, than this Advent Season becomes something entirely different than what we have experienced in the past. We learn to wait with anxiety with the emergence of the Coming King. We learn to make sure those in our midst fully grasp the beauty, the mystery, and the awe factor of this season. And we learn that consumer Christianity is not at all what God intended when He sent His Son to become God with us: Immanuel.

I dont want anyone to think that buying stuff for others is wrong. It's not. But when that becomes the totality of Christmas, we miss the point. When it becomes more about singing certain songs instead of worshipping the Author of music, we miss the point. And when it becomes more about serving ourselves, instead of helping those Jesus considered the "least of these," we have missed the point. We stand on this side of Advent, the side where we have, at least ideally, embraced the promised hope, joy, peace, and love.

But for so many, who stand on the other side, those whom Jesus invited to the table, those whom Jesus got in trouble with for associating with, for them, this season is just another reminder how lonely they are, how unfortunate they are. But it doesn't have to be that way. We can buck the trend and make this season about the Kingdom of God, and we can help those suffering in poverty realize the treasure in heaven that waits for them. We can help the sister or brother chained to addiction find the freedom in the love of Christ. And we can help the confused and lost find their way through the power of the Holy Spirit. These are the gifts we should take to those hurting this season. These are the gifts that promise a life so full, so abundant, so rich that no money or material possession can even come close.

This is our charge. The people are out there. Let's help them feel the joy of Jesus. Let's help them experience the hope in Jesus. Let's create a space for them to be overwhelmed with the peace of Jesus. Lets tear down every wall that stands in their way of knowing the love of Jesus. And let's simply stop at nothing to make sure that everyone and anyone comes to know Jesus. The true Jesus. The real Jesus. The peacemaking, earthshaking, troublemaking, revolutionary Jesus. Im game. Are you? Amen.

Shalom,
jerry