Santa Claus Day???

Today is my daughter's birthday, and it is also St. Nicholas' Day!

I have two brief thoughts that I want to share this Advent season, on the subject of Santa Claus. And they are both anectdotes about my, now, four-year-old daughter. :)

1) Last night, we had a birthday party for Ana. It was a great time, and at the end, my wife started to give out little gift bags for the children who came. Ana saw this happening and excitedly asked, "What else can we give away?" I praise God that, while she was very enthusiastic about receiving her gifts -- thanks everyone! -- she was also very interested in giving gifts! Luke writes, that Paul said, that Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Amen! Beware greed!


Segue: We do not want to deceive our children into "believing in" Santa Clause. I have too many thoughts on this to attempt to explain here. Here are three brief scripture which I think support my case, but even moreso, I hope this anectdote will suffice to illustrate.

2) The weekend before Thanksgiving was Light-Up Night in downtown Pittsburgh. We went into one building which was all decked out. Ana looked across the crowd from where we were, and exclaimed, "Look! There's a man all dressed up as Santa Claus!" That was one of my most proud moments, I think.
Some obvservations: she clearly recognized the jolly, old character. She was even excited about him! BUT she was not deceived into thinking that this was Santa Claus himself. I don't know about your kids, but my kids "make believe" all the time: various stories come to life in our household, with all of us playing different parts. And while in the game, we are strictly in character, we all know who we are in reality.

Kids know how to pretend! Children need not be lied to to enjoy Santa Claus. That statement stands by itself. But, more importantly, nothing should overshadow the reason we celebrate Christmas (i.e. the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14)) or the Season of Advent (i.e. remembering Jesus' first coming even as we anticipate his return). Doing so is distracting, at best. But, it seems to me, sadly, that Santa and gifts are typically far more than a mere distration...

I shall now step down from my soap box, for the time being, and direct you to: Wikipedia info on Santa origins. :)

Happy Advent, and enjoy the Christ's Mass!

The Sound

I just saw this music video, by Switchfoot, inspired by a Jubilee speaker from this past year, John Perkins.

Wow! Check it out...



Here are the lyrics:


The Static comes in slow
You can feel it grow
Our stream of conscience flows
Under the streets below

Ooooh

Ooooh

The rivers made of sound
Still running underground
Runs like a silent flood
We run as thick as blood

Ooooh

Ooooh

Can you hear it rise
Up from the ground
Can’t drown it out
Can you hear it now

This is the sound of a heartbeat
This is the sound of the discontented mouths
Of a haunted nation
We are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me?
This is the sound of the desperation bound
By our own collision
We are the voice of breaking down

The static comes alive
Beneath the broken skies
John Perkins said it right
Love is the final fight

Let it rise above
Rise above
There is no song
Louder than love

This is the sound of a heartbeat
this is the sound of the discontented mouths
of a haunted nation
we are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me?
This is the sound of the desperation bound
by our own collision
we are the voice of breaking down

Down

Down

Down

Can you hear it rise
Up from the ground
Can't drown it out
Can you hear it now

This is the sound of a heartbeat
This is the sound of the discontented mouths
Of a haunted nation, we are the voice of breaking down

Can you hear me
This is the sound of the desperation bound
by our collision, we are the voice of breaking down

This is the sound
This is the sound

freedom?

Taken from inside me,
It was ripped out.
I was so numbed, that
I didn't even notice.

But now I mourn.
I weep over my loss.
Stolen from within me,
and I gladly consented.

Under the pretense of
freedom of choice,
that which was my own
organic creativity

was strangled,
mutilated,
killed,
disposed of.

Only His love can
breathe new life into my dead
Imagination, aborted by
consumerism's imperial priests.

by Jeff Bergeson

written Jan. 5, 2008



What has happened to our imaginations when the majority of the average American's leisure time is spent in front of the television? Commercial television is less than a century old; is there really 'nothing else to do,' or have our imaginations been taken captive and we can't imagine doing anything else?

I don't have the answer, but I continue to pray...
How do we "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ," and how do we go about being "transformed by the renewing of our minds"? 2 Cor 10:5; Rom 12:2

caesar, colossians, poetry, and things...

So I just recently finished reading Colossians Remixed by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat. It is an incredible book by this Canadian husband and wife duo who work extensively on developing students who will live out a biblical worldview through Christian Reformed Campus Ministries. There was one or two chapters in the book that I'm still trying to think through (i.e. I'm not 100% if I understand or agree with), but largely, I can recommend this book hands down to anybody who is a Christian living in a consumeristic society.
While reading this book, poetry welled up within me, and I wrote it down. I haven't written poetry in years! The following blog posts are all poems inspired from reading Colossians Remixed, in response the all pervasive "empire" -- as Walsh and Keesmaat say -- of consumerism. The subtitle of the book is: Subverting the Empire. Basically, it takes the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians as a very subversive text within the context of the Roman Empire. It discusses what "empire" is, exactly, and how following Christ is -- necessarily -- in conflict with empires and their violent domination. Jesus, quoting Isaiah (who in turn was using Jubilee imagery from Leviticus), said in his first sermon,
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

He preached this in the midst of an empire who claimed that its leader brought prosperity to all -- but expanded its territory by conquest and had slaves from the conquests. This Pax Romana supposedly brought peace to all the many, many different kinds of people it brought together, and yet, Jesus was subject to capital punishment on the cross...and so were many of his followers. We must ask why? If Caesar was god and offered peace and prosperity...then anybody else claiming to have peace and fruitfulness from another claiming to be God was committing treason! But who was God, and who gave freedom, peace, and fruitfulness?

Anyway...the next few posts will be some of the poems that resulted from me reading Colossians Remixed.

Christ's Shalom to you!