11.08.2015

Dearest Christian Family...

Stop.

Just stop making it about you and what you don't get to do/be/say/think/feel. Because, after all, it isn't about you (or us, because I, too, am a Christian). It never was.

It's about Him.

It's about showing others Him through our every thought, action, and word. It's about belief in something greater by being something greater. It's about reaching out, helping more and lifting up those that we don't agree with or understand.

It's about love.

You know what it is NOT about?

A red cup. A chicken sandwich. The right for a person to love another. Or use a restroom.

We fail so many times when the spotlight is on us. We just get it wrong.

Acceptance of others isn't meant to be at the expense of us. What acceptance can (and should) be is the light of Him through us.

Jesus himself loved the lepers, the prostitutes, the thieves and liars. He touched the untouchable, loved the unlovable and sought the persecuted at the risk of persecution. And while I am no biblical scholar I do know that He teaches us to love. (There's an actual whole commandment about it). I do know that to be the hands and feet of Jesus, we need to be willing to do what He did. Love who He loved.

And He loves us all. Every single sinner. (That's you and me by the way).

Why is it so hard for us to do the same? Is it because we feel threatened? Unheard? Unloved? Probably so. And I get it - I understand.  We so desperately want to be recognized that we sometimes forget we already are. We are the majority in a world that is working to include the minority. And that's difficult because it feels like it is "at the expense of". I work at a public institution where my personal beliefs are hard to manage with my professional philosophy. But you know what? We are not being made to sacrifice OUR values, OUR choices, OUR faith because someone else doesn't share our ideals.

A red cup doesn't take away Christmas. It keeps your coffee warm(ish). And if we are going to choose a battle against a big 'ol giant company, let's just ask them to cut the price a bit, eh?

No one can take away the right for us to say Merry Christmas. To believe He died for us. To know that He loves us. Stores saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" isn't to spite you. They aren't doing this to leave us out - quite the opposite actually. They are doing it to include everyone in celebrating the season. It's to create an environment where we all feel loved. We all feel heard. We all feel welcomed - and I ask you... what's so wrong with that?

After all, if we want everyone to sit at Jesus' table with us... shouldn't we first send them an invitation?

8 comments:

  1. Yes! Yes! Yes! So proud to call you my friend. :)

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  2. Best.post.I've.read.in.a.LONG.time! We are so worried about being right that we end up getting it all wrong! {insert fist bump} I'm with you, sista!

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    1. Thanks, friend! I watched the initial video of that guy "defending" Christmas and just thought, "Man, you are just doing the exact opposite of what Jesus would do." Merry Christmas, friend! :)

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  3. 1st I LOVE THIS!!!!!! It is beautifully articulated.

    2nd Rant coming ya might wanna sit down ;)

    I saw this "red cup" business all over social media. I posted the following on a friends FB:

    "I saw this. It makes no sense. Cups from years gone by have secular reminders of this holiday, not Christian ones. And what is more Christmas than red and green. Oh yes, I know what that answer is. I just don't understand. Maybe if we were all forced to be different, the odd person out, the sore thumb, maybe then we would appreciate and learn for our differences. Maybe then we would finally realize we aren't really that different after all."

    I have really strong feelings about this topic. In the last decade I have found myself at odds with my faith, the Catholic teachings, Christianity in general. I admit to feeling shame when asked if I am Christian. I often say I am Jesuit rather than Catholic as I align well with The Society of Jesus teachings.

    Here's the thing Katy. I am really struggling with bastardizing of the word of God, with the repackaging of beautiful scriptures. loving words, instructions for our most challenging times and turning those very words into hateful proclamations. It has devastated me. And I am having a deep crisis. I am clinging to memories of my childhood. Stories told by nuns (sweet nuns) and religion teachers. Words shared each Christmas morning by my daddy as mama got ready to go to Grandma's. The true meaning he said, was not the gifts under the tree, but the gift of love available everyday for me. How do I reconcile those memories, those teachings with the hate I see every day in His name?

    It doesn't stop there, it goes deeper, this cavernous divide. If you aren't Christian, you cannot possibly be a good American or patriot. They shout it with such vitriol! If you seek to understand the intentions of the founding fathers and come to a different conclusion than "this country was founded on 'Christian' principles" turn in your citizenship. It you believe in peace and question war you are "against our troops". How absurd is that slippery slope line of logic? Questioning an act of war does not make someone a traitor. It does not mean they do not support the men and some who fight so hard to preserve our freedom.

    See, rant right? It's just that your post hits a nerve with me. Because I am a Christian, Catholic, Jesuit. Because I am American and proud. Because I do support those who serve to give me the right to opine. Because I think and feel and question and muse and disagree and agree. Because I believe there is room for differing thoughts, ideas and faiths. Because I believe our world is made up of differences and that those differences, when you strip away the veneer, reveal more similarities than some would like to believe. Because there is a song I have been singing as long as I can remember.

    God is Love
    And he who abides in love
    Abides in God
    And God in Him

    Sorry for the long rant and thank you for the opportunity to put "to paper" these thoughts that have haunted me for a very long time. I genuinely hope I do not offend anyone and feel free to delete if you feel it is inappropriate.

    A most glorious time of year is upon us. May it embrace your family with love in abundance!

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    1. I think you have it right ...

      God is Love
      And he who abides in love
      Abides in God
      And God in Him

      We [some Christians] lose sight of that so often and in the defense of our own beliefs without recognizing that our beliefs aren't being questioned or ignored. There is room for us all at that table - we just have to open our hands, welcome people in and choose love.

      Just like He asks of us.

      Praying for you and thankful for your honesty always!

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  4. Well said friend. If people spent have the time they had sharing love instead of bitterness or trying to prove others wrong, etc they would realize they have so much more time to make a difference! Cannot wait to share this post.

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    1. Yes! I had enough of reading all this silly stuff and just had to get it out of me. Glad my words had meaning for others!

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