Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Christmas message that resonates with me

Growing up I was steeped in christian fundamentalism. One of the things I notice when I reflect on that is that most of the focus was on the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus. Fundamentalists tend to not pay that much attention to the life he lived.

It is for that reason that one of my favorite Christmas messages was written years ago by Kid Oakland.

Let me tell you something about the Jesus that I know.

He was a real man. Born in a poor region to working poor parents. He loved learning, he loved his mother and his father.

But he left them and spent his life with the poor, the outcast, the rejected, the defiled, the sick, the sinners, the bedraggled, the bereft, the self-hating, the lonely, the banished, the foul, the miserable, the desperate and finally, those sick with their own power.

He did this, not because of his ideology or his creed. He did this not because of his doctrine. He did this, quite simply, because he loved them. He preferred them.

Their company, their stories, their lives, their environs, their plight and their faith.

And they loved him. Because he touched them. He looked them in the eye and believed in them. Because, at the end of the day, when they looked to him they saw that his commitment to them was a commitment unsullied by qualifier or clause. It was a commitment to love them, even upon pain of death. And they saw in him, a love that promised to love them as they were, who they were...fully, without judgement or flinching glance, or hypocritical accomodation.

This man, Jesus, was surrounded by friends and disciples whom he mentored....not by carping or enforcing rules...but by example and teaching. By the force of his actions. By his resolute commitment to the least, the smallest, the most in need.

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this, Ms. Pants. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you!

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  2. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Wishing you a loving Christmas!

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  3. Oh boy, Ms. Smarty, that was lovely. This message, in the midst of these ugly and tense times, is so timely, so comforting.
    Would that those who represent us would follow the teachings of this man called Jesus. We'd have a better, fairer world.
    In the meantime, we have people like you to remind us of what the message of Christmas really is.
    I'm am a minister, and I thank you for this.
    I love reading your posts. Thanks for all you do. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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  4. Nice. And thanks for a great year of posting. You have kept a very even keel and said a lot of insightful stuff.

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  5. Mo'nin', Ms. Pants

    As ever, even with Christmas and explaining Jesus in terms of process, keeping the focus "on the North Star".

    THANK YOU so VERY much.

    A MOST blessed and happy Christmas to you and your family.

    Enjoy!!

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