Not A Silent Night Chapter 5 – It Was Not a Silent Night This chapter concludes or Advent study. I am sure that no one will have time to read and study what I write today, but here it is 10:36 a.m. and I have found a minute to collect my thoughts and put them in this post. But that’s OK, as long as you come back and read it later. And this will be short. In this chapter, we have completed our exploration of Christmas through the lens of Mary, Jesus’ mother. We encounter the disparities between the idealized Christmas we yearn for and the realities of our messy, difficult, challenging lives at Christmas; between the perfect world we hope for and the broken world in which we live. We compare and contrast contemporary birthing experience and those of the first century, ad explore implications for Mary. We explore the real gifts of Christmas – the gift of the Way, the gift of love, the gift of forgiveness and new life, the gift of the resurrection – and affirm that these offer us the truth about life. We are introduced to and commit to practices that extend and deepen our lives as people of faith. The video is of Simon and Garfunkel’s 1966 song “7 O’clock News/Silent Night.” The news audio is from events of August 3, 1966. Again, ignore the ad, and watch. How does the concept of “Silent Night” relate to today’s news? Do you think the contrast is that different from the reality of the Silent Night to the world that Mary and Joseph lived in? The real gifts of Christmas are listed above. How have you received these gifts, and how do you continue to share these gifts? In what way will you recognize a Silent Night tonight?
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:14:36 +0000