The reason for the season

One of the things that effects me the most about the Christmas story is how God chose to announce His arrival to a bunch of humble shepherds. A heavenly host appeared and sang of God’s holiness and glory, and proclaimed God’s goodwill to mankind.

It’s also amazing that the God most high would not only become flesh and walk among us, working and sweating, getting dirt beneath his finger nails, breathing our air…

and to be born in a dirty stable.

But even more amazing is that this God would desire to make his home in our hearts, which are far more filthy than any stable. He wants to take up residence, then goes about cleaning house.

There are times…

…I could be posting my deep thoughts on politics, social justice, intentional community and the like. Or, I could actually be doing something. Recently, I’ve been in the more ‘action’ phase of things: Community dinners, preparing our home to be more functional for hospitality, church government (funny being an anarchist and an elder at my church), preparing sermons, leading and supporting worship, initiating fellowship with in the community, helping out… And then there’s the improv and stand-up comedy stuff that I’m involved with.

I want to do more than postulate: I want to do. So if I’m not posting much, it’s because I’m doing.

Dictatorship in the wings?

I’m seriously not into conspiracy theories and the like, but I can read the writing on the wall. I know there’s folks who would disagree, but recent news worthy events point to a eventual dictatorship, or at least an (even more) oppressive government. Take this for example:

The U.S. military expects to have 20,000 uniformed troops inside the United States by 2011 trained to help state and local officials respond to a nuclear terrorist attack or other domestic catastrophe, according to Pentagon officials.

It looks innocent enough, all in the name of ‘national security’ and such, but there are already services established to do this kind of work. The real goal is to get people used to the idea of uniforms wondering around in public so it won’t be that much of a shock when the government finally assumes total control. States rights and local control will be gone.

So you take that and the way the government is buying into big businesses and propping them up while tapping the wallets of the average Joe and failing to do anything that helps local business… Freedom will be a concept that we talk about in past tense.