An old gospel song
In that part of town where
No angel belongs"
- Over the Rhine "First Snowfall"
With only days till Christmas many of us are thinking about that first Noel and imagining idealistic scenes of Jesus' birth. However, the reality may have been different. Jesus was likely born into the chaos of a typical Jewish home - right into the busyness of life. The first people that came to witness the nativity and spread the word were people that had no voice in the culture - shepherds. The later visitors from the East were likely decedents from Israel's most hated enemies the Assyrian Empire. Those facts alone might cause us to view Jesus' birth as a bit more of an arrival in our world than a Hallmark card nativity.
If there is room at Jesus birth for His enemies, can we make room for ours?
If those without a voice were first to speak of the new born king, then who in our world, that is not listened to, might have something to say that we need to hear?
If Jesus was birthed into busyness and chaos, can we find him in our busyness and chaos?
In among the wave of Christmas cards I have have pulled out of the mailbox this holiday season was a message from my friends over at www.streetpsalms.org in which they invited the readers to think about Jesus, and Christmas, from below. I am passing it along to you as a gift and a place to reflect about a Jesus who "Became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14 - the Message).
Merry Christmas!
Joel K
ASIAN-BORN
Middle East is Asiatic
Nearly 60% of the world is Asian born.*
MIXED RACE HERITAGE
Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites
Ruth is Moabite
Bathsheba is Hittite
“Multi-racial” is the fastest growing demographic in the U.S.
GRAND MOTHERS of CHRISTMAS
Tamar – prostitute
Rahab – prostitute
Ruth – legacy of incest
Bathsheba – murderous affair
4 million women and children are victims of the sex trade worldwide each year.
SHAMEFUL BIRTH
Not everyone bought the birth story
79% of births to teenagers in U.S. are outside of marriage, often resulting in the stigma of being a “bastard” child.
TEENAGE MOTHER
Mary was probably 13
One million teenagers become pregnant each year in the U.S.
POOR
Temple offering of the poor
1.7 million U.S. children live in families that earn less than $6,645 a year (family of five).
POLITICAL REFUGEE
Flees persecution to Egypt
50 million people in the world have been forced to flee their homes in the last 10 years.
IMMIGRANT
Returns to Isreal
8.7 million undocumented immigrants live in the U.S.
DRUNKARD AND GLUTTON
A friend of “sinners”
8 million suffer from alcoholism and another 15 million with drug dependency.
MENTALLY ILL
His family thought he was out of his mind
15% suffer from serious mental disorders in U.S.
URBAN
Went through the “cities” of Galilee
More than 50% of the world lives in cities. By 2050, 70% will be urban, young, and poor.
HOMELESS
No place to lay his head
3 million men, women and children were homeless last year in the U.S.
OUTLAW
Broke Sabbath laws
2.3 million are in prison in the U.S., up form 300,000 in 1976. One in three black male babies are expected to be in prison during his lifetime.
DESPISED AND REJECTED
Seen as cursed by God
Leading motivations for hate crimes in U.S. are race (53%), religion (16%), sexual orientation (15%).
INNOCENT VICTIM
Blameless
Every 11 minutes a child is reported abused or neglected, nearly 3 million.
FORSAKEN BY FATHER
My God, My God
Almost 25% of 72 million young people in the U.S. live without their fathers. The percentage is 50% for African Americans.
MURDER VICTIM
Crucified
Black males (14-24) make up 1% of the U.S. population but 30% of all homicides.
RESURRECTED AS A
WOUNDED HEALER
Shows Thomas his eternal wounds
50% of U.S. citizens suffer a chronic medical condition. 5 million suffer from chronic pain. 15% of veterans suffer severe depresson/PTSD.
*Statistics and individual citations can be found in Geography of Grace, Chapter 2 (Rocke and Van Dyke, Street Psalms Press 2012)
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