by | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
The holidays are overwhelming. As a Christian and an introvert, I take refuge in church.
The day I look forward to most every holiday season is January 2. After the bustle and sensory overload of the holidays, the second day of the new year comes like a quiet snowfall, an invitation to rest in blessed solitude.
Appropriately, it’s also National Introvert Day. Up to half of the US population is introverted like me, and though the official designation may not be widely known, my sense of relief is no doubt widely shared. Many Americans report finding the holiday season stressful—but also lonely. Hectic, yet sad.
The pressure to socialize, consume, and celebrate can feel like too much. But if you scale down the celebrations and opt for a more restrained vision of the ideal holiday, you may be perceived as a killjoy. The holiday introvert in popular culture is the Grinch, friendly only with his pet dog. In church culture, introverted behavior can be seen as selfish or, perhaps, less useful for the gospel.
But in a season now marked by excess and decadence, there’s value in leaning in to a quieter, more intentional vision of the holidays. Like introverted hospitality, introverted feasting can benefit the whole church. Introverted or not, we can celebrate with more depth and intention if we follow the model of the early church and put “mas” back in “Christmas.”
Today when we hear feast or holiday, we think of decidedly extroverted enterprises: chattering with family and friends around a table, jostling elbows on shopping sprees, singing carols at strangers’ doors. But early Christians would have heard these words very differently.
Though early holidays included elements of what we think of as “feasting” today, the overall thrust was far …
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by | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
A Palestinian Israeli Christian reflects on Christmas, justice, and war in Gaza.
Politicians and political activists are arguing about labels. Some are demonizing every Palestinian in Gaza and the West Bank: They are all terrorists or terrorist sympathizers. There are no innocents. They do not deserve to live. Others are dismissing Israeli grief after the indefensible October 7 attacks by Hamas: They are guilty of apartheid, ethnic cleansing, genocide. They got what they deserved. All are speaking of war as the path to tranquility and security: It is self-defense. It is resistance. It is our right.
In politics, the point of this debate is clear; the vocabulary we use shapes what is politically achievable. But it shapes our ethics too, and language like this traps us in an ethical vision that justifies war and bloody violence. It is not a Christian ethic, yet too many churches are caught up in applying these labels instead of providing a peaceful prophetic vision, a countercultural and distinctly Christlike stance.
Meanwhile, violence rules. People are suffering and being killed. Yet we want to celebrate Christmas. We want to look at the embodiment of perfect humanity, the baby Jesus. Can we also honor and serve him as our Prince of Peace?
Palestinians and Israelis need a call to peace to replace the drums of war. Almost 14 million people live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. About half are Palestinians, including Palestinian Israeli citizens, and half are Jews.
War will not resolve our conflict. We have tried many wars, but the results are always the same: Peace is lost on both sides. No one truly wins. We are losing our young men and women, our children, our dignity, and even our humanity. Wars will not heal our land or our souls or our pain. Killing our neighbor …
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by | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
How Mary and Elizabeth exalt God through their mutual joy
Often when we find ourselves in a similar season of life to those around us, we note how they are handling their situation compared to our own. It can be dating in high school, the wedding season that starts in college and continues into the following decade, and especially the era of bearing children. In our lives, competition may be the natural underbelly of this comparison, but in Luke’s account, that is thoroughly eclipsed by the focus on God’s coming kingdom.
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would miraculously bear a son and that her cousin Elizabeth had also become pregnant in her old age. When Mary visited Elizabeth, surely the two women would have noticed where their situations diverged. Elizabeth’s disgrace among her people was taken away in pregnancy; Mary’s began in pregnancy. Elizabeth’s son was given through the institution of marriage; Mary’s was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
The tension I imagine in this meeting is further compounded by the Magnificat. With Christ’s imminent entry into the world, Mary’s song describes what kind of kingdom he has come to establish. It is one that will reverse societal norms. The proud will be scattered, the rich sent away empty. The humble will be lifted and the hungry filled with good things. It is clear when reading Luke that Elizabeth had been lifted up and that Mary was lifted even higher. To the contemporary, undiscerning eye, however, Elizabeth had a right to be proud and Mary had none.
How understandable it would have been for Mary to only seek shelter in their visit or for Elizabeth to only offer commiseration. Perhaps they could have fallen into the awkwardness of not acknowledging their differences while preparing …
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by | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
How Mary and Elizabeth exalt God through their mutual joy
Often when we find ourselves in a similar season of life to those around us, we note how they are handling their situation compared to our own. It can be dating in high school, the wedding season that starts in college and continues into the following decade, and especially the era of bearing children. In our lives, competition may be the natural underbelly of this comparison, but in Luke’s account, that is thoroughly eclipsed by the focus on God’s coming kingdom.
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would miraculously bear a son and that her cousin Elizabeth had also become pregnant in her old age. When Mary visited Elizabeth, surely the two women would have noticed where their situations diverged. Elizabeth’s disgrace among her people was taken away in pregnancy; Mary’s began in pregnancy. Elizabeth’s son was given through the institution of marriage; Mary’s was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
The tension I imagine in this meeting is further compounded by the Magnificat. With Christ’s imminent entry into the world, Mary’s song describes what kind of kingdom he has come to establish. It is one that will reverse societal norms. The proud will be scattered, the rich sent away empty. The humble will be lifted and the hungry filled with good things. It is clear when reading Luke that Elizabeth had been lifted up and that Mary was lifted even higher. To the contemporary, undiscerning eye, however, Elizabeth had a right to be proud and Mary had none.
How understandable it would have been for Mary to only seek shelter in their visit or for Elizabeth to only offer commiseration. Perhaps they could have fallen into the awkwardness of not acknowledging their differences while preparing …
Continue reading…
by | Dec 20, 2023 | Uncategorized
This year’s favorite print articles chosen by the editorial team.
In 2023, we published nearly 100 articles in our nine print issues, including 51 feature-length essays. It’s hard to choose, since they’re all of our favorites, but we attempted to narrow down 10 pieces that we felt everyone should read. Here are our print editors’ feature picks for 2023:
Check out the rest of our 2023 year-end lists here.
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