Simple Kingdom Theology

"The stocking were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." -  Twas the Night Before Christmas  by Clement Clarke Moore Stockings and presents are fundamental hallmarks of Christmas time. It is hard not to become giddy at the sight of gifts wrapped up, tied, and gently placed under the warmly lit tree. We all look forward to Christmas morning when we can tear open the crisp wrapping on the gifts that our loved one have picked out for us. The anticipation is almost unbearable to children: I am sure that a lot of us at one time or another asked, "Aw! please, please, please, can we open just one?" The gifts are ours, they have our names on the tags, they are promised to us. However, they are not ours  yet  but are to be opened on Christmas day. What would have happened if the children in Moore's poem did not put their stocking up for Santa? Would he have still given them the good things that were theirs since he now had no...

It was a not-so-silent night, and I doubt that all was calm. It certainly was a holy night— holy means different, and different could mean “weird,” right? And it was technically bright, but mainly to the shepherds who were scared out of their wits by that angelic host. So, no, I don’t think, “Silent Night, Holy Night” is a fair telling of what really went on when God came into the world. And now that I’ve deconstructed your mother’s favorite Christmas carol, let me cut to the chase: The night we sing about— but only after Thanksgiving— and celebrate on December 25th, was not what we so often make it out to be: quaint, soft, white—like a Thomas Kinkade painting or one of those Precious Moments angel figurines. If you can find it in a Hallmark store, it’s probably not Christmas. Rather, when God came into this world, it looked entirely different from what our brains are ready to imagine. It was gritty and tense. There was political intrigue and social stigma. Honestly, it looked...