Posted on 12/22/2009 2:08:52 PM PST by Chi-townChief
Christmas approaches. Families gather. For some, there is a whirl of presents to wrap, cards to address, meals to cook. For many on this Christmas, times are hard, and it's worth recalling what the real story is about. The real story is not about Santa Claus, it's about Jesus the Christ. His birth is the real reason for the season.
The real story is about two parents, ethnic minorities in the Roman Empire, fleeing for their lives, later to become immigrants in Egypt, traveling to make the census count or be punished. They had no place to stay. The innkeeper took one look at them and said there was no room at the inn. The baby was born in a manger, on a straw floor in a working barn. It was cold. Stars in the heavens provided the heat. The great holy blessing to save the world came from the manger up, not the mansion down.
These weren't normal times. Among the poor and the oppressed, there grew a mighty expectation. Prophets said a messiah would come -- a prince of princes, a king of kings -- to free the oppressed. The expectation gave hope to people.
Wise men from the East saw a mighty star in the sky and knew that the messiah had come. They traveled far seeking to worship the new king. They met with Herod in Jerusalem on the way, telling him of their mission. Herod, the Bible says, "was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him." He asked the Magi to report back to him when they found the child so that he could worship Him. The Magi found the child and worshipped Him. But warned in a dream, they avoided Herod and went back another way. Herod was furious and ordered the execution of all the children 2 and under in Bethlehem. But an angel warned the couple; they fled to Egypt and avoided Herod's wrath.
Why was mighty Herod fearful? The prophet Isaiah predicted a child would be born and the "government will be on his shoulders," and he would "preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives." No wonder Herod was "disturbed." Whenever the oppressed rise up with righteous indignation, whether in Soweto, South Africa, Montgomery, Ala., or Gdansk, Poland, they obligate the nature of God to be in their midst. The birth of the messiah foretold a revolution, a transformation, one that rightly threatened Roman governors, moneychangers, the elites of the time.
At the time, everyone expected a mighty soldier, a general of generals. But the messenger was very different. He was a mighty prince of peace. He never lifted a sword or carried a shield, yet his Gospel overturned an empire and transformed the world. He taught us the power of love and hope and charity.
This country needs to pay attention to this story. We now wage two wars on the other side of the world, but grow less secure. We spend record amounts on weapons, while more go hungry in this nation. Billions are devoted to bailing out banks, but millions remain unemployed. Powerful lobbies frustrate efforts to provide decent health care for all. A record 2 million are in jail, most of them for nonviolent offenses. We have grown fearful and angry at the immigrants in our midst. Bankers are paying themselves million-dollar bonuses while one in four children is raised in poverty. This story speaks directly to us.
Sadly, our great nation in the lineage of Rome has bailed out Herod and the power elite while the manger is now overcrowded with at-risk babies. We are too great and too blessed to repeat this tragic mistake. We must be on the right side of history.
So this Christmas Day, take a moment to think about the real story. The story of a liberator, an apostle of love, a prince of peace. Let us commit to his mission: to raise the poor, to feed the hungry, to free the prisoner, to shelter the stranger on Jericho Road, to bring peace to Bethlehem. Let us remember that the real gift wasn't the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the Wise Men brought. The real gift was the child whom God sent wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger.
Merry Christmas, everybody, as we celebrate the arrival of the holy and sacred one, the real reason for the season.
mailto:jjackson@rainbowpush.org
I MUST go Christmas shopping. Ughhhhh.
What the hell is he talking about - I thought he was into Kwanza. Hey Jesse - your black ass has been trumped by a half black ass - nobody listens to you anymore - go sell some budweiser of something.
“U.S. must to be on right side of revolt (IRONIC TITLE FROM JESSE JAGMO)
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Does Jesse speak English?
If it was up to Jesse and his Democrat friends,. Jesus would have been aborted.
Jesus was born, and Jesse saw in that birth a way to not have to work for a living, he could scam his own people using religion, he could use these people to extract extortion from white businesses and get his son a vote in the House and another son a beer distributorship.
Jesse has used Jesus Christ his whole life as a path way to riches, How many poor does Jesse feed, Or instead of feeding them he takes what little they have and puts it in his own pocket. Jesse has gotten rich off religion and the poor of his own race.He has used his position to extort businesses and Government.
Jesse has no Church.He uses the Church’s of other Pastors who are actually working hard for their people. To pass out his race baiting BS and collect .
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