Christmas is over now for another year - I went into town yesterday - no difficulty parking - gone are the traffic queues - amazing to see the main car park so empty! But oh, the two sides of Christmas! First - not forgetting the homeless in this freezing winter - there is this take on last minute shopping. Charles Wesley is said to have written over 5000 hymns - this humorous adaptation of one of his most well-known hymns might represent the reality of Christmas in our Western world.
Come, Thou Unexpected Jesus (with apologies to Charles Wesley)
Come, Thou unexpected Jesus,
Interrupt our spending spree.
Shopping malls hold all that pleases;
Why would we then look for Thee?
In the midst of all the bustle,
We’ve lost the most important part.
Teach us that our lowly Savior
Is not found in a shopping cart.
-Jenn Kipp
Just in case - here is the original version.
This second side of Christmas reminds us that Christianity is under suppression in many parts of our world - and more costly. Jesus said, “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This story reminds me of what Jesus said - in some parts of our world at least - could be the cost of being a disciple.
