Monday - A New Idea - The Night That Changed the Poor
Last week we started a new series called, “The Night that Changed Everything.” We’re looking at the significance of Christmas, a night that changed much more than most of us imagine. We’ll see its impact on five segments of society:
The Night That Changed the Religious
The Night That Changed the Powerful
The Night That Changed the Poor
The Night That Changed You
The Night That Changed the Wise
This week we’re looking at how it changed the poor. Often the poor are excluded from important events – there were reports of homeless people being temporarily removed from the streets before the Atlanta Olympics, for example. When the world was watching, Atlanta didn’t want them seeing poverty.
But strangely, the Christmas story puts poor people front and centre. Mary and Joseph themselves are travellers with apparently modest means. The first visitors to see the baby are shepherds.
We’ll explore this week why it’s significant that the poor are so prominent in this important event.
Question: What role do the poor play in our world?
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What do you think Christmas is all about? We’ve included a video of some people answering that question on the street at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ1050bLTVw
From that experience, or your own, you can probably identify some answers drive religious people crazy: Santa, gifts, Elf on the Shelf, and so on. They will shout – it’s about Jesus!
You can also probably identify some answers religious people would love. Jesus is the reason for the season. A saviour was born. God is with us.
You can see how polarizing Christmas can be! It is a religious occasion that is solemn, deep and meaningful, and yet it is also a cultural reality with rampant consumerism, time with family, funny traditions and oddities like eggnog and mistletoe.
You might think Chiristmas shouldn’t be polarizing, and that this is a new reality. But Christmas and its effect on the world was polarizing not just today, but 2000 years ago. We’ll see how later this week.
Question: How much of Christmas do you think is religious, and how much is cultural? How much Santa, how much Jesus?
Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party. Hope you're coming!
