Christmastide
January 4, 2020
Scripture Reading:
John 1:10-18
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. –John 1:10-13
In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace* is the headline to the recent Pew Research Center Study report showing that the number of adults identifying as Christian in the USA fell from 78% in 2007 to 65% in 2018/19 with an increase in unaffiliated adults. I do not blame people for leaving, I find myself not wanted to be identified with some of the ideas being set forth as Christian these days. The speakers seem to be as interested in greed and lust for power as the religious leaders and their followers were in Amos’ time. I heard an interview on the PBS Nightly News with an evangelical faith leader who said his people stood for the basic American rights that all people had a right to choose how to live and believe, and in the very next sentence said his group only supported candidates who were anti-abortion. They do not see the contraction in those two sentences.
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him, and we still do not today. Is it any wonder that particularly our younger adults are searching for something more meaningful to them? My sense of millennials is that they are very opened to a spiritual life grounded in love, community, and wanting the best for all people. Is that not what Jesus was all about? Is that not what we are called to foster in the name of our risen Lord?
My understanding is that God wants us to love God by choice. God wants us to love one another by choice. Jesus dealt with the world in community and set the example for us to deal with our world together as we grapple to love God and love one another. When Christ finds two or more gathered in his name, he promises to be with them**. The mystery of love is tied to the synergy of our developing relationship with God that then grows more love.
Prayer: God forgive us when we get so caught up in defining you we forget to let you define us. Amen.
*https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
**Matthew 18:20
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.