Happy Holidays!

Anyone tired yet of the so-called culture wars? I am.

Does Jesus really care whether we SAY Merry Christmas? I suspect what Jesus wants is for us to LIVE Merry Christmas.

Not everyone in America celebrates Christmas. Everyone (pretty much) does celebrate Thanksgiving and the New Year, and there happen to be some other miscellaneous holidays that fall in between around this time of year in addition to Christmas. So yes, although I am a follower of Jesus, I am perfectly fine with a friendly "Happy Holidays" from the store clerk. It is respectful of our diversity as a nation.

No one actually knows when Jesus was born. This time of year was a pagan holiday of the winter solstice, from which we get all kinds of traditions that we love, such as trees, holly and evergreen decorations, feasts, gift exchanges, etc. The date December 25, was selected by the Catholic Church over 300 years after Jesus' death and resurrection and was meant to transform a pagan tradition into a Christian celebration. (see http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_invented_Christmas)

All that being said, Christmas is a wonderful holiday and I celebrate and love the meaning and joy of Jesus' birth. I also, by the way, like the meaning of Chanukah and the lamps that did not go out. What a great metaphor for being the light in the darkness and of good triumphing over evil!

Both these celebrations remind us of God's unconditional love and the hope, peace and light that is meant to be in the world. In addition, Jesus birth account SPECIFICALLY talks about Jesus being sent to the poor. Consider these passages from the Magnificat -- Mary's response to being selected to birth Jesus:

He has shown strength with his arm
and has scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones
and lifting up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.

So, back to my opening premise that what Jesus really wants for Christmas is for us to LIVE a Merry Christmas, not to just say it. What would this look like? Our pastor, John Edgar, said look to Matthew 25 for Jesus' gift wish list: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned. Help the LEAST OF THESE and you will give Jesus a great birthday gift.

How many more people might consider following Jesus if we just stopped talking about it and actually showed it? I know so many people who are so utterly turned off by Christianity and Christians (often with good reason) that they cannot even have ears to hear any more. Billboards telling people they will burn in hell do nothing but discourage people from really finding the love of God.

So, this Christmas I encourage everyone to say "Happy Holidays" and live "Merry Christmas" by helping someone in poverty, giving a toy to a child in need, visiting someone in the hospital, listening to someone who is struggling, cleaning the house of someone who is ill, making a donation to charity, volunteering time, cheerfully paying our taxes (which often help those in need!), and, in general, thinking of some way to say Merry Christmas with our hearts, not our lips. Maybe by doing so we will better show the love of Christ and invite someone into a relationship with Him.

Happy Holidays!

Picking Up Trash

I’d like to introduce you to Allen and Ken. A few years ago, Allen lost his job and so he and Ken ended up buying a house on the “wrong side” of Parsons Avenue on the Columbus South side. The East side of Parsons is an area known for high crime and low incomes. Allen decided that he was not going to live in a trashy neighborhood. So.. he did something about it.

Allen (pictured second from the left in the above picture) and Ken have started a revolution in their neighborhood by doing one simple thing: Picking up trash.

Every day Allen spends part of his day walking through his neighborhood picking up trash. When he first started doing so, people thought he was a little crazy. Then they started asking him why he picked up trash. He would share with them his vision for a safe clean neighborhood. Before long, other people also picked up trash or at least didn’t throw it on the street.

Allen and Ken and some other concerned neighbors started the Ganther’s Place Garden Club and Block Watch. Together they transformed the empty lot next to Ken and Allen’s house into a spectacular “pocket park” with community art, a greenhouse, green space, flowers and benches.

Then, the drug dealers started noticing that people who lived around there cared about their neighborhood and paid attention to what was going on. They moved their operation and were not so prevalent.

Now Ganther’s Place has two pocket parks with a gazebo stage, beautification efforts throughout the streets, annual garden tours, Christmas events, Halloween events, an arts festival, a large colorful mural at the entrance to their neighborhood, a newsletter, cleaner and safer streets, a gardening program with the local elementary school, and many other successes. They have spearheaded a larger effort, in partnership with Keep Columbus Beautiful, to put flower planters up and down Parsons Avenue and hold community cleanups twice a year.

And it all started with picking up trash – an effort that required no money, no organization, and only one person.

One great story from this effort concerns a missing tree. Allen had bought two trees to plant in the pocket park. He went outside and one was missing. He followed the trail of dirt down to a house and banged on the door. The woman who answered said she didn’t know anything about it. Allen pointed out the tree was in her back yard. Her grandson had apparently taken it.

Allen carried it back to his house. The next day it went missing again. Allen was really steamed now, and he went back down and banged on the door. This time the grandson was home. Allen made the teen carry it back and help plant it. He asked him, “Why did you take the tree?” The boy replied, “It was nice, and I wanted to have nice trees and shade at my house, too.”

Allen then went and bought the boy a tree and took it down to their house. Since then, that teenager has been involved in other efforts by Ganther’s Place and he and Allen are friends.

This story delights me because it shows how returning evil with good can be transformative. It also shows how we can start with just our own resources and assets and end up transforming the world. And, according to Allen, even losing his job turned out to be his greatest asset.