Tuesdays with Morris

Every time I hear Jesus referred to as the “baby Jesus”, I just can’t help laughing a little bit as it makes me think of the prayer scene in Talladega Nights (”Dear Baby Jesus”). After visiting the Center Chapel Pre-School last week, I have a new image in my mind when it comes to baby Jesus.

I was invited to speak to all three of the pre-school classes about the true meaning of Christmas. We headed into the sanctuary and turn on all of the decorative lighting. I talked to the kids about what they do at Christmas. I asked them what they wanted for Christmas. We talked about Santa Claus (even in the class where a mother had informed other parents that her three year old knows there isn’t a Santa Claus and that she had given him permission to tell all of his friends…nice, huh?). Then, we talked about the bigger meaning of Christmas.

I had the kids gather around our manger scene that sits on our communion table (some of my readers will be offended that we place things other than bread and wine on the communion table…oh well). I told the whole story about Jesus’ birth and why he came to earth.

With one class, as I was wrapping things up, I asked if there were any questions. Now, it’s very risky to ask three, four, and five year old children if they have any questions. Most of the questions were comments, rather than questions. One little girl told me that she knew all about Jesus (she did answer all my questions correctly) and that no one had told her about him…she just knew. Mrs. Wallace asked the little girl, “Don’t you go to church?” She said, “Yes, but they didn’t teach me this. They don’t talk about that. I just know.”

One little boy picked up the baby Jesus figurine and boldly proclaimed, “Baby Jesus is cute!” I smiled, kinda laughed (I tried not to because I could tell he was serious), and said, “Yeah, I guess he is.” I had never thought of it that way. He went on to tell me that his mother is pregnant and is going to have a boy. His last statement to me was, “I sure hope my baby brother is cute like baby Jesus.”

So, this Christmas, when you pause to remember that the day is all about the birth of Christ, be sure to say, “Baby Jesus is cute!”

I just read a blog post about a group of church folk gathering at a Christmas market for an evening of carols and beer. For those of you who know me well, this is right up my alley.

So, this evening, I’m inspired! I’d like to have an evening of carols and beer. The sanctus group had their beer and carols in a public Christmas market. My evening of carols and beer doesn’t have to be in public…but the chapel-like area at the Heorot sure seems like a great spot for such an event.

This all takes me back a number of years to a pre-Christmas visit Emily and I made to downtown Chicago. We spent a couple of days in the city. One of the highlights was visiting the Christkindlmarket. We visited a ton of vendors, purchased some unique gifts for family and friends, and a visit to one of the beer, brat, and music tents! Each year, we have a great desire to return.

Many of my favorite breweries produce special Christmas beers. So, an evening of Christmas carols and Christmas beers…anyone interested? Let me know and we’ll put something together!

I think we should all watch this film before we go out and do our Christmas shopping. Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Choir are a performance/protest/art group…While much of it is for show…they convey a strong message. It’s hilarious…It’s intriguing…It’s eye-opening. You can watch the entire film on-line through this link.

While watching a rerun of Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”, I heard a comment that really inspired me.

Bourdain was in Saudi Arabia with a viewer who won a contest. She took him around the country and he made his usual observations. For Bourdain, the biggest fear going is was the fact that alcohol would not be allowed. For a guy who seems to have a drink in his hands in just about every shot (just watch the Ireland episode…the man loves his Guinness…I think we share the same heart), this would be difficult.

However, the observation and comment that he made that really struck me had nothing to do with the lack of alcohol. It had to do with the faith of the Saudi Arabian people.

Bourdain made it a point to show a glimpse into the every day life of the Saudi people. In doing so, he showed a clip of one of the five times of daily prayer. He was definitely impressed by this religious practice. In fact, it inspired him to share that, for the Saudi Arabian people, the five times of daily prayer served as a reminder that faith is the source of life.

I love that my Christian faith isn’t about a legalistic religious routine. But, there just might be something about getting ourselves into the habit of pausing throughout the day to pray…to remind ourselves that this life is about so much more than our normal daily schedules. Our faith in Jesus Christ is our source of life. How often do we remind ourselves of that? How often do we take time out of our day to spend time in prayer?

How are you reminded that faith is the source of life?

It’s difficult to find the words to describe it…When I do put words to the overwhelming feeling, they feel exceedingly inadequte. Today, all I can come up with is to call it “gracious kindness.”

Sometimes you are faced with situations that seem so bleak and desperate that you feel you will be crushed by them…that you will fall underneath the weight of the circumstances. Just when you are at your wits end and you feel like all hope is lost, someone comes along and offers you a dose of “gracious kindness.”

Today, a perfect stranger, extended a bit of “gracious kindness” to my family. For reasons unknown to me, the man basically bailed us out of a sticky situation and helped us accomplish an overwhelming task. All I know is that God has to be in control of this situation.

I hope that one day I also will be able to extend a great deal of “gracious kindness” to those around me.

How have you experienced “gracious kindness” in your life?