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| Wednesday, November 22, 2006 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com |
But then comes the Dreaming of a …..A Christmas….
Funny how it’s hard for me to embrace the motto “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” when I see so little of Jesus in the Christmas season. As I see the cars wheeling in and out of mall parking spaces, jumping curbs and heading for the nearby grassy area where “parking is not allowed” -– except for today, merchants are flagging you down to break that little rule. I see frustrated patrons almost colliding and scratching their symbolic bumpers adorned with fish that swim (for Jesus), fish with feet (for Darwin) and then the “I’d rather be fishing” guy just looking for an Xbox. None of the three were donning glee, in my opinion. My favorite bumper sticker to date is “Jesus called. He wants his religion back.” If I was into marking my bumper for some stranger to read, that doesn’t have the slightest care what I think, I would paste that sticker on with Gorilla glue from Mandy. But then, again, we all know Jesus was not about religion, quite the contraire. I do, however, like the message this means to portray (I think). Bottom message I read here through the bumper sticker mentality: No matter what, today is the day for the good parking space and “open an account today and save 10%” -– well, I ain’t buying.
I embrace the teachings of Jesus, God’s son. I know without a doubt he suffered and died for my sins, rose again the third day and has gone to prepare a place for me. My faith is that simple. No matter the circumstance of my life, that truth is what my heart knows. I pray I don’t forget it at the escalator this year.
Christmas is another story. We all know Jesus was not born on December 25th. We all know there was no snow, that many artists’ rendition of the time is quite inaccurate. It was not a clean stable. I’m certain after such a journey Mary & Joseph’s attire was not sparkling Tide-clean Downey-soft Febreze-scented raiment. The Maji (all three) did not come to the stable, bringing anything, much less frankincense and myrrh. Scripture is pretty clear Jesus was a toddler when the three wise men were blessed to kneel to him, in his home, not in a stable. There was no snow. Bethlehem rarely experiences snow. It is the Middle East. Jesus was born in a lowly dirty smelly stable. He was not born to resemble anything of the king that he was.
Fast-forward to a more important time, to me. Easter -- no bunnies -– no spring flowers -– still the Middle East, dusty, dirty -- just ask any soldier gone or going there, working hard to keep terrorists at bay.
Anyway –-
fast-forward to the life & death. In life, scripture tells us Jesus was not attractive. There was purpose for that. He doesn’t look like the handsome long-tressed bearded portrayal by Warner Sallman or Da Vinci’s last supper (bigger than Ryan’s) Jesus. He was not fair-of-face, nor fair-skin. I imagine he looked more like the Muslims America fears today. He was, again, from the Middle East.
The example etched in my mind of Jesus’ life is that he traveled. I don’t mean as in vacation. I mean, he didn’t stay in one place, get stagnant. He didn’t beat anyone over the head with his message. He taught. Either the student (us) accepted the message or didn’t. Then he moved on to tell another. I want to live that example. Represent him in my life, don’t beat anyone over the head, move on and pray. He did a lot of praying.
But then to me, all He did and all He taught comes down to one moment. Resurrection. That is when He bridged the gap. That is when he truly suffered, bloodier than any CSI episode imaginable, ridiculed and spat upon. This is the Jesus I see when I see a manger scene.
I have pondered why Easter is not my favorite holiday, since it is supposed to be the marking of our calendar for the important event it was. Maybe it’s the image of the pain -– the pain it took to set us free.
Thanksgiving still tops the list for me. I will reflect on the two holidays that greeting card companies and Simon Malls “cheer up”. And when I do, I hope I see beyond the twinkling lights to a dingy, dusty place where many a troop will lay his or her head down with one eye open tonight, where many a victim of where they were born will be afraid to let their child play in the street or be careful driving down a road in fear of an explosion. I pray I do not lump all Middle Easterners with al Qaeda, that I remember there are some who are suppressed and forced to cover their face and not speak out, that want an education, that want to be free from oppression, women who are fighting a personal hell in a “war with the Taliban”, who cry when they have female babies knowing what may lie ahead in their future. I pray I remember the ones from my country who are abused, hungry, jobless, homeless, lost in the midst of it all. I pray I remember the Ethiopians, the Africans who are just a victim of where they were born. I pray I know that not all Mexicans come here to gang-bang America, knowing from the depths of my soul that if I had not landed in America, when my mom’s pains were too hard to bear, that I would have struggled any way I could to get to this soil, faster than Scarlet to Tara, chew a turnip and swear “As God is my witness…I’ll never be hungry again”. That’s what I hope I remember this season.
And I hope any of you who have taken the time to read this know you are an integral part of my life in one shape, form or fashion, because I do not accept FB friends that are not -- seriously. So to you and yours I extend a very loving and happy holiday season. Whatever your reason, I hope you find all the little things to be thankful for and the big ones too!!!!
Disclaimer:
Any views or opinions presented in this blog is unimportant to most and do not represent those of the company (Nate’s CEO). I accept no liability of road kill you may have seen this morning on your a.m. drive or stroll. I accept no liability of anything other than what my Progressive policy states I am liable for. And if loving you is wrong, I accept no responsibility for being right J
Brittany recommended a disclaimer for my thoughts. Hey, Brit, did I deliver?
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