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Guest column: Christmas Meditation 2014

Posted at 9:51 am December 24, 2014
By Craig Kallio Leave a Comment

Christmas is the time of year when we think about giving and receiving. For many, the giving part comes rather easily. Indeed, we are reminded how blessed it is to give than receive. But this morning, I want to share how it’s sometimes difficult to be on the receiving end.

One summer when I was a young lad, I attended a day camp, which included horseback riding among its assorted activities. Learning to ride horses for the very first time was very exciting, but it was diminished as I discovered how unkind the instructors (college students from the local college) were to me. I never understood why.

My way of dealing with it was to keep to myself and suffer through the perceived rejection.

One day, I accidently slammed my finger in the door of a truck used to haul us around. It hurt terribly, but I resisted the notion to report it to somebody. My thought was: “Who would care that I smashed my finger?” It was unusually hard for me to ask for help in this particular instance.

Eventually, the pain became so intense I broke down and asked for help. And when I did, I discovered the most remarkable thing: The people I thought didn’t care about me were eager to help me with my dilemma. Their compassion was amazing. Their love for me was evidenced in their care and concern for my injury. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: Bethlehem, Christmas, Christmas Meditation, Christmas story, Craig M. Kallio, gift, gift of love, giving, God, God of Israel, God's gift, God's son, Herod, Mary, Messiah, mother of Jesus, receiving, salvation, Savior, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church

Guest column: ‘More than true’…Christmas matters

Posted at 9:02 am December 24, 2014
By David Allred Leave a Comment

I had a talk not too long ago with a very intelligent person about Christian Christmas stories. He asked, “Surely you don’t actually believe that the Christmas story you preach really happened?” It was a question that I settled long ago, although it reminded me that many people still struggle with their faith around the holidays.

Even though there are probably some good reasons to ponder the “reality” of the Nativity story over the holidays, I honestly don’t even think about it anymore. I once read a quote that went something like, “The question is not always whether it is real, but whether it matters…the things that matter most become reality.”

Atheist Sam Harris has written about “tiny lies” and the cost they have on our culture. He even discusses Santa Claus, taking on a popular non-religious Christmas tradition as a form of deception. I see Harris, much like my friend, in a very “stuck” place. When we bring the wrong question to the table, we often feel the need to “force feed” answers. No one likes being force-fed.

When it comes to Santa, the question for families is not so much whether or not he and his reindeer troop are real; rather the question is whether or not he matters. Because if he matters, every family finds a way to make him real during the season. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: birth of Jesus, Christian Christmas, Christmas, Christmas story, Christmas tradition, David Allred, God, history, Jesus, Nativity, Nativity story, Sam Harris, Santa Claus, traditions

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