Christmas...what? who...and why?

Christmas is special.
Would you agree?

'Xmas means different things to different people. As a kid, I always imagined the christmas tree decorated with dazzling lights, and surrounded by colourfully wrapped presents, all for me of course. And who could forget the times of watching Home Alone, laughing along to Kevin McCallister's triumph over the bad guys who try to spoil the spirit of Christmas. But, hold on a second...what is the spirit of Christmas?

Lately I've been reflecting on what exactly is it about Christmas that I celebrate. It is definitely no longer the toys or presents that I celebrate. In fact, I don't want things anymore for Christmas and I want to avoid the malls except for getting a gift for my loved ones who would really enjoy it. 

So then, what do I celebrate about Christmas? What do you celebrate? And I guess the bigger question is...why should I celebrate?

Now I'm not trying to disregard those who celebrate other festive holidays like Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. What I do want to think about is why we celebrate whatever we celebrate. For me in my North American context, the consumerism of Christmas is huge and, frankly, scares me a bit. It's not only the sight of the overloaded parking lots but also the attitudes of needing to "find the best deals" and to "get what I deserve" that makes me sit back and think about Christmas. And the image of Santa Claus makes me think...it seems we've transformed Santa into a semi-divine being who will grant us our wish if only we are a "good boy or good girl." I wonder if even as a Christian, there is a tendency to view our God as an impersonal, detached God who grants us our wish if we put on our best behaviour and do good deeds.

For those who want to think a bit more...read on...

Certainly, most of us would say Christmas is about spending time with family, right? Or for those of us who claim to believe in Jesus, it's about remembering our saviour's birth, right? I definitely believe in both of those, and yet I wonder if there is more behind the attitude in the way we carry it out...so, let me share my story.

Growing up as a Christian, I thought that this time of the year was about gifts and being nice to each other; yet, I knew that the sunday school answer was to say that Christmas is about remembering the birth of Jesus. Please don't misunderstand me because I'm not blaming anything on sunday school. In fact, I am thankful for how it has helped me remember the nativity story. However, all I knew was that Jesus came on earth to die for us, and was resurrected in victory over sin, so that we could have eternal life in heaven. That sounds nice and simple...that's the Gospel story, right?

In the past while, especially being influenced by N.T. Wright, I have been thinking about why in most of my life, I have only thought of the Gospel in terms of Jesus dying, resurrecting, and then saving me from my sins. Before I enrage any of you, let me affirm that I believe in the centrality of Jesus' death and resurrection, which indeed rescues us from our sins. However, with all the talk we have about Jesus dying for our sins...what about the LIFE of Jesus on earth? How did he live? How do the Gospels (emphasis on plurality) show us the life of Jesus, in the way he lived out God's kingdom? 

It seems that most of my life I have simplified and reduced King Jesus, the Son of God, the great I AM, into a personal-salvation-based Gospel, rather than exploring how Jesus inaugurates the Kingdom of God in the Four Gospels.

"The time is fulfilled!" he said; "God's kingdom is arriving! 

Turn back, and believe the good news!"

-Mark 1:15

The Kingdom of God, as Wright says, is the reign of God on earth. It is not merely about personal salvation by believing in Jesus (I do not contend that nor is there space to fully explain here) but Jesus' life on earth was about a new way of living, a new way of doing that was counter cultural and God-focused. It meant turning away from your current way of life, and witnessing how life in community is different when Jesus becomes KING. He is both yours and my personal King, as well as King over my family, my friendships, and my way of life in relation to others. For me, it's been about how to appreciate my family, and how do I speak lovingly and build up others in the way that Jesus would. And how do I start building meaningful and intentional friendships that help young people grow into the character of Christ?

That, my friends, is the good news. It is the news that we can live under the reign of King Jesus, the king who loved the poor, the king who ate with the oppressed and marginalized, the king who died for yours and my sins on the cross so that we may experience a new way of living under his reign of love, grace, mercy, and power. He is why I celebrate Christmas.

That is what I am beginning to see as the Gospel story of King Jesus. 
And that is just the beginning.

JENNY+JUSTIN WEDDING GOWN PHOTOS!

7 years ago, a boy heard a girl share her story of coming to faith in Jesus on her baptism day. the boy was impressed and thought she was friendly, cute, and shared a great story of faith. the girl thought the boy was a nice pastor’s kid, but not much more.

a bit of time passed, and eventually the boy got to know her better and thought it would be a great idea to ask her out to COFFEE at robustos. little did he know that this girl did not like to drink coffee. not surprisingly, the first date did not go very well and the boy went back home disappointed, but kept praying to listen to how God was working. 

fast forward 4 YEARS, after a long period of prayer and waiting, the boy decided to ask the girl out for a drink again at waves. she walked in, wearing a chic pair of sunglasses, with a halter top and jacket flowing. the girl took his BREATH away. this was a magical moment and the first, real date for this boy and girl. sparks were beginning to fly, and the girl felt the magic at their next date on the balcony at a UBC concert, where their elbows first TOUCHED. it was electrifying. not long after, the boy and girl decide to begin their relationship together and fall madly in love.

meet jenny+justin

they are so in LOVE, and i love being with them, creating magical moments together! they talk about EVERYTHING together. they are REAL with each other and love doing the simplest of things together, like making tea+coffee. they know who they are created to be and love giving back to the community. we had a blast shooting these photos at britannia shipyards! 

Mark Project @ REC "why...are you afraid? have you no faith?"

i was never too into drama growing up and remember seeing sunday school plays/performances which i called "boring" back then. when i heard that mark project was coming to perform the ENTIRE gospel of mark in a dramatized way that reflects the intended tone of the original language, BELIEVE me, i was excited! in our preparations, josh, damon, and i were a little bit nervous and fearful...


we feared things like...what IF only 15 people showed up, what IF we weren't prepared enough, what IF people didn't like it...all these "what ifs". as we got into praying fervently for this night, God revealed to us that he had his way and that we need not fear but prepare ourselves for what he was doing, and that even if there were only 15 people, he would work through it all. Thank God, many more people came, way beyond our expectations (think 150+), and so many were blessed by a powerful retelling of mark's gospel. i am NOT trying to say that it would have been a "failure" if 15 people showed up because even to bless a couple of people would be amazing, but what we did experience is that when we place faith in God's provision, he often surprises us and it's funny why we worry in the first place.


"WHY ARE YOU AFRAID? HAVE YOU NO FAITH?"


funny enough, the major theme running through the entire performance was FEAR. Fear of rejection, fear of death, of demon possession, of many things. there's no way i can capture the power of the play, but one scene in particular was powerful for me, which was when the woman with internal bleeding for 12 years (Mark 5) was healed by touching Jesus' garment.


But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."


the actors emphasized the fear in this woman...the fear of rejection and of doing the wrong thing. but JESUS praised her for her faith to step out, to realize her need for him. allison (the actress) did a phenomenal job expressing the fear in the woman in this moment, and we really got into her head. can you imagine what it feels like when Jesus calls her DAUGHTER? this woman who has been rejected and been in suffering for so long...to be cared for and called daughter? wow.


on a final note, i loved the ending. they preserved the original ending of mark, the indeterminate ending where the women see the empty tomb and flee, "for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid"


so the question is...will i allow Jesus to transform my fear into faith?