Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?! December 23, 2009
Posted by dcostillo in Uncategorized.Tags: Charlie Brown, Christmas, Luke 2, nativity
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In Charles Schulz’s Christmas classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown, fed up from the commercialism and materialism of the holiday in 1965, asks with some angst, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?!” Forty-four years later, the question has just as much need for an answer as it did then. The truth is, the real meaning of Friday’s holiday gets a bit convoluted in the midst of getting presents for this relative or that friend, ensuring the Christmas cards get out on time, plus living life on top of that.
Over the weekend, I went with Jennifer and some friends to look at a neighborhood that had really done a great job decorating with Christmas lights. Street after street, home after home were covered with lights, reindeer, grinches and crosses. That’s right, crosses. The Christians in this neighborhood put up not only nativity scenes but also crosses, linking this week’s wonderful holiday with April’s wonderful holiday of Easter, giving us an answer to Charlie Brown’s existential question. The incarnation of Jesus, which we celebrate this week in Christmas, is only great in that Jesus’ work on the cross allows the God-man to pay the price for our sins—salvation—and allows us to enter into a life worth living as we are sanctified—a life based on forgiveness, relationship, play, joy and meaning. Thanks be to God for His goodness and His plan in the midst of our living in a chaotic and busy world of reindeer, lights and grinches!
Merry Christmas to each one of you!
T-Minus Ten Days and Counting… December 15, 2009
Posted by dcostillo in Uncategorized.Tags: Advent, Christmas, God, rest
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Wasn’t it just two weeks ago that we were up to our elbows in turkey and dusting off the Christmas decorations from the garage rafters? We’re now two weeks in to Advent, the time of preparing for the coming of Jesus, and Christmas is just around the corner. This is most evident as one drives the roads between 4 and 6 in the evening—it seems that there is just not enough time to get all the things done done, nor parking spaces at the local shopping center!
Take heart, however. Martha’s begging of Jesus that her sister Mary serve their guests during a dinner party of their own is an important reminder for us to remember during this busy Christmas season. What was it that Jesus told Martha in response? He said that “Mary has chosen the better part” which would not be taken away from her. The better part, for Mary, while her sister was distracted by much serving—errands, hustling and bustling—was to be with the One for whom their own party was for.
Take a moment and reflect on your own Christmases past—what memories do you recall? What presents do you remember receiving? If you’re like most, the memories of spending time with family and friends are more vibrant, fond and worth holding onto. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, may we remember the example of Mary Magdalene, and for Whom Christmas is all about, and choose the better part.
Coming Up for Air December 8, 2009
Posted by dcostillo in Uncategorized.Tags: air, growth, life, newness
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Does it ever feel like you need to come up for air? Get to the surface after being submerged for far too long? Your lungs are on fire with the need to get to the surface. You exhale the spent air that was too long in your belly and you inhale a breath of fresh air deeply into your abdomen.
This has been my journey and so the final-for-awhile name change of the blog fits better than previous names. Feelings of relief, freedom, fear, newness and excitement are all a part of the Surface. Life on the Surface is a putting away of living underwater, and a putting on of new ways of living in the new world of air, storms, blue skies and sunlight. Of warmth and starting again, rebirth. Of choppy waves, birds and looking underneath to see where you once were, in a world of muted tones and darkness. The Surface is much more real. Here, there is noise—foghorns, squawking, and the crashing surf. Here, there is light—sun, moon, stars, thunder. Here, there is real life. Here, there is growth.
Enjoy the Surface.
