A Different Kind of Christmas

November 25, 2011 By Kyle Herron Leave a Comment

The Christian liturgical year ended appropriately with Matthew 25. In this passage known as the “Judgment of the Nations” Jesus declares the criteria for separating the sheep from the goats. Curiously (or not), they have nothing to do with whom one marries, the music one listens to, the company one keeps, or the dogma one subscribes to. Instead, they have everything to do with how we (collectively) treat the homeless, the hungry, the imprisoned, the sick, the thirsty, and the stranger.

For Christians these words are timely as the Advent and Christmas seasons begin November 27. These are challenging times for the Christian community. I would submit that the words of Matthew 25 gain relevance when the church (collectively) moves to distinguish itself from the consumer orgy that commences the day after Thanksgiving, culturally known as “Black Friday.” This doesn’t mean gift giving must cease.

There is great joy in the act of selecting, giving, and receiving of gifts. Even so, it impossible to deny that the hijacking of Christmas by the consumer mentality has cheapened the gift in the manger. We have purchased unwanted gifts, re-gifted, swapped gifts cards, and, in many cases, increased our debt in the name of what? It certainly isn’t in the name of the Gospel, Christmas, or Christianity. We are called to be something different.

Thankfully, hope has emerged in recent history through alternative gift giving. Fair trade gifts can be purchased through organizations like Ten Thousand Villages or local, fair trade, gift shops like From the Ends of the Earth in Dallas, Texas. I have found the folks at Advent Conspiracy to be particularly inspirational. Committed to building clean water wells, Advent Conspiracy has challenged Christians to view Advent and Christmas as a time to embrace their call to be justice oriented people (their video posted below).

The “holiday season” as it is celebrated in our culture through gift buying, parties and beautiful decor throughout cities everywhere is a wonderful time to celebrate the relationships in our lives. And there’s nothing that says a Christian shouldn’t participate. Yes, engage in the joy of gift exchange. Just don’t buy so many! The Advent/Christmas cycle reminds us that the gift in the manager calls us to a different kind of life. A life that is simpler. A life that celebrates generosity over consumption. A life that engages in acts of justice, love, and compassion.

So, find a local church offering an “Alternative Gift Market.” Host a “Wine to Water” party and help fund a clean water well. Buy a beehive from Heifer International to increase the pollination of the crops in an impoverished village.

Whatever you choose make it a Christmas that embraces the call of the Christ-child to engage this world justly, compassionately and mercifully.

Have a joyful and meaningful season!

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If the Church Were Christian

June 17, 2010 By Kyle Herron 81 Comments

As Barbara Brown Taylor says of Philip Gulley’s latest work, “If the Church were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus”, the chapter titles are worth the price of the book. Here are a few:

If the Church were Christian

  • Jesus would be a model for living rather than an object of worship.
  • Meeting needs would be more important than maintaining institutions (take note Mainline Protestants).
  • It would care more about love and less about sex.
  • Gracious behavior would be more important than right belief.
  • Peace would be more important than Power.

It’s one thing to affirm what the church, or an individual, believes.  It’s quite another to have to answer the question, “What does that belief look like?”  Gulley, a Quaker minister, is less interested in defending “right belief” and more concerned about the church being an embodiment of the grace-filled, justice oriented, inclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ.   If you’re not used to this kind of book, be prepared to have your Orthodox assumptions confronted.  This is a challenging and inspiring book.  A must for your summer reading list and even group discussion.

Read more theobloggers’ picks for Summer Reading at Patheos here.

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The Appointment

May 19, 2010 By Kyle Herron Leave a Comment

I was guilty of my own pet peeve a few days ago. I canceled dinner plans with a friend via text message.

Living in an iPhone world has made it quite easy and, for better or worse, acceptable to change or cancel the appointments we make with others with little notice. Overbooking, better offers, traffic, unexpected meetings, sudden lack of interest, wishing-we-hadn’t-made-that appointment (appointment remorse) and just plain exhaustion are all familiar reasons why we cancel.  We don’t even have to call the person to bail.  We can simply send a text message.  And, quite honestly, when we are the one to receive said text message, we are sometimes relieved.

But there is one appointment, says James Hollis, that can’t be avoided, despite all our efforts: the appointment we each much have with our soul. He says that for many that day comes when we wake up and realize we’ve been living someone else’s life. Hollis observes that at some point one must answer the question, “why is the life I am living too small for the soul’s desire?” (Hollis, Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life).  I thought about Hollis’ words in terms of a calling into ministry.

Is it possible that when Jesus began his forty-day journey in the wilderness he was merely keeping his own appointment? From that profound experience he emerges with a new task. A calling. A purpose. His life would now be larger than the one he previously knew. It would involve nothing less than the transformation and redemption of humankind.

Many of us are quite familiar with that disconnect between the life we are living and the yearning that lies within us. Perhaps that is the Divine provoking us to keep our appointment- or nudging us toward the next one.  Because our callings do change over time.

If you are like me and have missed your appointment, or tried to cancel for that matter, there’s no need for guilt or worry that it’s too late.  Instead, be affirmed with the words of an acquaintance of mine who reminded me that “it doesn’t matter if you missed a calling from God the first 100 times, it’s still valid on the 101st.”

During this time when recent seminary graduates are being ordained and commissioned by their various faith communities, it is a good time to reflect on our place in life.  Are we living our heart’s yearning?  Have we embraced the calling we have received?   And if not, isn’t it about time?

posted by Kyle Herron

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