Last week we started a new series called, “The Night that Changed Everything.”  We’re looking at the significance of Christmas, a night that changed much more than most of us imagine.  We’ll see its impact on five segments of society:

  1. The Night That Changed the Religious
  2. The Night That Changed the Powerful
  3. The Night That Changed the Poor
  4. The Night That Changed You
  5. The Night That Changed the Wise

This week we’re looking at how it changed the powerful.

This one can be hard for us to see.  In Western culture, we’re used to thinking that those who celebrate Christmas are far from powerless.  They have long been the majority in Western countries, and the Christian church has been a dominant player in society.  Christmas is a visible sign of that power – it’s become a huge part of even secular culture, even if that version is stripped of its truth.

But what actually happened at Christmas was the birth of a baby boy – one of the most powerless things you can imagine.  Human babies are so helpless and vulnerable, not powerful except in the emotional control they exert without knowing.

As we saw last week, the baby named Jesus was identified early on as a king – given gifts from Magi, and so on.  But unlike Prince George, he wasn’t born in a private hospital with attendants and staff looking after it all.  He was born powerless, in a stable,  laid in a feedtrough.

And yet, he struck fear in the hearts of the powerful.  We’ll look at that story this week.

Question: What scares powerful people?

Reminder: We have a great Christmas event coming December 14th, 2013: The Original Christmas Party.  Hope you’re coming!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - September 23, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Neighbours to Acquaintances

When people ask you how you’re doing – have you every included the word “busy” in your answer? One NY Times article called “The Busy Trap” that went viral commented, “It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy.”” Notice it isn’t generally people pulling back-to-back shifts in the I.C.U. or commuting by bus to three minimum-wage jobs who tell you how busy they are; what those people are is not busy but tired. Exhausted. Dead on their feet. It’s almost always people whose lamented busyness is purely self-imposed: work and obligations they’ve taken on voluntarily, classes and activities they’ve “encouraged” their kids to participate in. They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence. Yes, for most of us, busyness is a choice, and we kind of like it! But what are its consequences? One psychiatrist listed a few: It is so easy with cellphones and BlackBerrys a touch away. It is a kind of high. It is a status symbol. We’re afraid we’ll be left out if we slow down. We avoid dealing with life’s really big issues — death, global warming, AIDS, terrorism — by running from task to task. We do not know how not to be busy. There are many, but we’ll focus today on the consequence for our neighbours, since Jesus said this was so important. When I first moved to Ajax, it naturally took a little time to meet all our neighbours. Most memorably, two distinct families said the same thing when they met us. One said, “I’m really sorry we’re just meeting you, I had made cakepops for you guys, but then got too busy to bring them over.” Another said the same thing, “my wife was going to bake a pie to welcome you, but we got too busy.” It’s heartbreaking – firstly because I could have had some excellent desserts, but also because it’s obvious how hectic our lifestyles can be, and how it inhibits forming lifegiving relationships. Question: On a scale from 1 to 10 how busy is your life right now?

Related Topics: Busy, Distractions, Neighbours | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

From Series: "Won't You Be My Neighbour?"

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