Merry Christmas from CELTIC CROSS PCM!
Dan Boles
Friends,
It's almost time to ring in a new year. Time to celebrate all that we have achieved, all that we have overcome. And most importantly, time to celebrate the coming of our King. On behalf of CELTIC CROSS PCM at Kennesaw State University, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thanks for all your commitment and support to our ministry this year.
May God's peace be with you all and your families as we approach the bitterly cold, mysterious, and humble scene of Mary, a nobody among nobodies, and Joseph, a just man to whom she was pledged to be married, huddled together, in a manger with the wild, smelly animals - a place none of us would rest our heads - a place where a small band of shepherds who had been out in the fields keeping watch over their flocks that night were compelled to visit after the appearance of an angel of the Lord proclaiming good news of great joy that will be for all the people; a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger - the place where Christmas began.
As we approach that place… may we also approach God with a renewed commitment and understanding of Christ's purpose and thus, our own purpose as the body of Christ, the church. May we refuse the secular and claim the Holy - during the "Twelve Days of Christmas," just like the Wise Men, diligently searching for the child, falling down to worship Him, and offering him our gifts. Because Christmas doesn't just come and go every year on December 25th. Christmas goes with us everyday. Officially, Christmas lasts until Epiphany - which will be on Tuesday, January 6th. It is in this, the humbleness of Mary and Joseph, the diligence of the Wise Men, the spirit of Christ, that I share with you "Joy to the World!" (below) the words of the Rev. Gail Neal, and in which I also issue to you this Christmas, this decorum: "BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST, DO NOT PACK AWAY CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR. INSTEAD, KEEP IT WITH YOU, PROCLAIMING IT'S GOOD NEWS TO ALL, DILIGENTLY SEARCHING FOR CHRIST, WORSHIPPING HIM, AND OFFERING HIM YOUR GIFTS THROUGH YOUR LOVE FOR GOD AND ONE ANOTHER. IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO HAS LESS TO EAT THAN YOU, SHARE YOUR CUP. IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS HURTING, COMFORT THEM. IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS OPPRESSED, DEFEND THEM. DOING ALL THESE THINGS IN THE NAME OF CHRIST."
Blessings to you, your friends, and your families.
- Dan
Joy to the World!
“Joy to the world! The Lord has come!” So begins one of my favorite Christmas carols. What does it mean that the Lord has come? Is Christmas only about the adoration of a sweet, innocent baby born in a manger 2,000 years ago? Surely Christmas is not simply a time of nostalgic remembrance.
The second verse of the carol begins, “Joy to the world! The Savior reigns.” As I look around, it seems that God does not reign in today’s world. Everywhere I look, it seems that people in our culture worship money. As the economy has become increasingly depressed, that god has proven to have clay feet. But still we want congress, or Wall Street, or the president, or the auto makers, someone, anyone to redeem our lives and life styles. While they watch the stock market for news of the coming of a savior, they miss the good news that our savior not only has come, but reigns!
In today’s economic climate, I’ve noticed that many congregations are falling into this same cultural trap. We attend session meeting where more time is spent worrying about how to pay the bills than about how to bring the good news of the gospel to the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the jobless, the traumatized, the dispossessed. It is in times like these that people begin to look to the church for both a hand out and a hand up. Providing food and shelter gets the attention of people who need the bread of life.
It is today, more than ever, that the church can fulfill its purpose by witnessing to a watching world that God does indeed rule the world with truth and grace, as the last stanza of the carol asserts. It is during this Advent and Christmas season that the church can demonstrate that Christmas is all about the wonders of God’s love.
The greatest Christmas present the church can give the world this year is the evidence that we live as if it is God that really does rule this world. Why not perform one random act of kindness during each of the 12 days of Christmas. Pay for a stranger’s milk and bread at the convenience store in the name of Christ. Let a harried mother and her small children ahead of you in the grocery store line in the name of Christ. Offer to water a neighbor’s plants while they are gone for the holidays. Donate a bag of food to the pet shelter.
This year, and especially this time of year, present to the world personal and concrete evidence that God’s healing, reconciling, loving reign is here in this life and is practiced now by those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And lift your hearts and sing with all creation, “Joy to the world! The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.”
- Gail Neal
While We Live, We Serve.
Dan Boles
Presbyterian Campus Minister
CELTIC CROSS PCM
Kennesaw State University
Email: dbo...@kennesaw.edu
Phone: (404) 384-7756
Web: www.celticcross-ksu.org
Celtic Cross PCM is the Presbyterian Campus Ministry at KSU; a mission ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in partnership with Cherokee Presbytery and it’s 41 member churches in Northwest Georgia. Your prayers and financial contributions are greatly needed and appreciated. If you would like to support Celtic Cross PCM, please contact Dan Boles at (404) 384-7756, or Cherokee Presbytery at (770) 382-6280.