The deconstruction of Christmas into an individualistic event is not something I am familiar with. Communion with Christ comes with communion with the church.
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The deconstruction of Christmas into an individualistic event is not something I am familiar with. Communion with Christ comes with communion with the church.
Let us sit here in the bleak midwinter and remember—this is where Christ comes to meet and redeem us.
I think it is necessary to begin this piece with a confession: I really just don’t like Christmas.
In conclusion, and because I’m still relatively new to the scene, I’ve asked some friends to each share a paragraph or five about their favorite mixed drink. Enjoy.
There is something more devastating when the God of all creation hides His face from His creature.
The Advent season prepares our heart, mind, and soul for the darkness that occurs throughout our life. It reminds us to rely not on any extinction of existence but the Christ who penetrated our deepest darkness and conquered them in His death.
When Advent is celebrated correctly, the whole heart is meditating on the magnificent glory of God. "In spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24), we "bend before Him" and "His greatness celebrate" by His grace. After four weeks of anticipation, the Angelic announcement is once again ours.
Advent is a time to set aside the pomp and circumstance of secular celebration. It is a time to clean house on our “speechless idols” and “silent stone[s].” Maybe that entails time away from social media or less spiked eggnog. It might mean taking less pride and confidence in our religious traditions. It is impossible to conceive of all the silent idols our hearts may create.
However, I would like to point out a few problems with the idea that God requires sinless perfection.
So don’t be dissuaded. Sing "Mary, Did You Know?" and reflect on the greatness of Jesus this Christmas. Sing it every Christmas until you pass on from this mortal life. Just don’t sing it after the Christmas tree comes down.
We are not perfect and our brokenness can be read in our social structures and our relationships.
This year, Torrey Gazette saw the publication of Coffee in Christian Ethics and Stop the Presses.
There is a comfort in hearing them from someone outside of your own head, someone impartial to your own internal noise.
Read in this light (not an immediate pun), the words of Rubarth become a soulful but softly whispered plea that the Christ with those "who have fallen asleep in Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:14) would return.
I am now "just sinking in" to the grace of Christ conquering the current cyclical cacophony of death and life.