In the days of Caesar Augustus came the decree, that all the world should be taxed….<\/p>\n
I’m quoting that from memory, but it strikes me that is a rather mundane and inauspicious way for the saviour to be born.<\/p>\n
All the world should be taxed. And in order to keep things beauracratically in order, everyone had to go back to the town of their birth.<\/p>\n
What a mess! There was not enough supplies or facilities for this to work out. A perfectly nice pregnant lady had to give birth in a stable.<\/p>\n
Shamefull. Who’s in charge here?<\/p>\n
Well, yeah. Unfortunately…Fortunately?–Jesus didn’t come to make the world run more efficiently. Maybe German or a Swede (the home of Ikea!) would have taken that on.<\/p>\n
No, restoring love and mercy with supremem generosity was his job.<\/p>\n
Oh yeah. Love and Generosity. Which means that the South Park kids were right.<\/p>\n
Christmas is all about presents.<\/p>\n
There are only three of us here in the house. Me, Chris and the cat. And I gotta say, Skellig doesn’t get that into christmas. Apart from trying to lay on top of the presents, he is not too interested in them. He is a cat of gratitude for small things.<\/p>\n
A bowl of cat food, a clean box, and the toilet lid left up. Add a few scratches behind the ears, and he’s good.<\/p>\n
So the presents that are piled high under the tree are really a testament to our generosity and relative affluence. Yay for blessings!<\/p>\n
But, a not-blessing…Chris is sick. He has a cold and is sleeping.<\/p>\n
We went out to lunch with Grandma and Judy (aka Mother) and Bryan. Chris couldn’t do much but prop himself up in the Marie Callendar booth.<\/p>\n
Judy said, “Too bad you are sick. You are the one who loves Christmas so much.”<\/p>\n
He does. He is an exceptionally loving and thoughtful gift-giver. He plots early and long to give unexpected but perfect gifts that people will enjoy.<\/p>\n
His family is a good challenge to him. “Good” because they are impossible to buy for. HIs Grandmother will return nearly ANYTHING.<\/p>\n
But even so, he has found good things for her.<\/p>\n
But this long rambling Christmas post is mostly to say, Christmas is about loving generosity.<\/p>\n
Generosity does not have to be with material things. Can we have loving generosity towards each other’s faults? Why not? Let’s get over the crabby-I-Haven’t-had-my-cup-of-coffee-yet attitudes of our co-workers.<\/p>\n
Or even when we must confront people for inappropriate behaviour, let us find a generous way to do so.<\/p>\n
Imagine. It’s easy if you try.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the days of Caesar Augustus came the decree, that all the world should be taxed…. I’m quoting that from memory, but it strikes me that is a rather mundane and inauspicious way for the saviour to be born. All … Continue reading