Christmas. Would Jesus celebrate it?

It would be hard for anyone to go anywhere and not relate December 25th with Christmas, the day to celebrate Jesus' birth. However, this day has not always been a day to celebrate Jesus. If you look up the history of Christmas, you will find many reasons why people chose this day. Some say it was to hide the fact they were celebrating a Christian God while others say it was because some people thought Jesus was born on the same day as the rebirth of the sun.

Now, in this blog, I do not want to you to walk away with the idea that I hate Christmas. I merely hope for all of us (including myself) to look at why we really celebrate Christmas and why it is we think we should "up the ante" for loving Jesus.

Growing up I have learned about Christmas and Chanukah. As a child, I experienced both and to some, had it made. I got Christmas and 8 other days of gifts. In all reality, as a child, I only cared about the gifts. I didn't give much thought about what the days meant. To me, it meant the newest Lego set. As I got older, I began to realize the importance of the celebration. Then, as I got a little older, I noticed I wasn't as happy around this time of the year as I was when I was a child. Why?

Well, I began to look around me. I saw people who would rush to the store at 5 am to buy the newest toy for their child. I saw people standing in long lines so they wouldn't run out of that doll they forgot to buy their daughter. I saw people standing outside in the freezing cold to pick a tree, chop it down, and decorate it. Is there anything wrong with any of this? No. If nothing else, it shows that you at least care enough about your children or friends to do some of these "crazy" things.

Along with this, I would go to church and would listen to a pastor preach about how we should show God our love, especially during this time of the year. Now, I fully agree that we (those who claim to be a Christian) should indeed show God and those around us our love. The problem I have with this statement is the, "especially during this time of the year." Now, what does that mean? We should show God's love, but during Christmas, we should give extra effort? Then, I can "really" show God's love in December and slack off during the rest of the year? This seems like pretty good news to those who like to slack off on this.

However, I believe that there is no certain time of the year that we should "especially" show Christ's love. I believe we should strive to show it with the utmost effort everyday of the year. God's love doesn't revolve around a certain day and neither should ours. His love is constant and never changing. We shouldn't think about the homeless or that old lady down the street who simply wants you to listen to her stories just on Christmas, but year round.

I guess it all comes back to your heart. Does a pastor really mean to show more love on Christmas when he says something similar to the statement above? I don't think so. I merely wanted to share my thoughts on some of the things I have seen and heard.

This morning while I was attending a church service, I heard a very similar phrase and it just made me slightly indifferent to the idea of what Christmas is all about. Is it really about Jesus who we(Christians) say it is about or is it more about personal desires? Since I have been in Korea, this question keeps coming up. Not just about Christmas, but about my every day life. Is this, what I am doing now, about Christ, or is it about my own desire?

A Korean Church

This past week, I was invited to my friend 창선's church. I accepted and went. The church was inside a building next to some retail stores and restaurants. We walked into a hallway and to an elevator. My friend punched the number 7 and we began upwards. At this moment, I didn't really know what to expect. I was a little nervous. I was going to be the only foreigner.

We walked out of the elevator and walked over to some of his friends. We introduced ourselves in some Korean and some English. It seems most of the conversations that would occur would be in both languages as I only speak a little Korean. Sometimes, a person would find out I spoke a little Korean and would begin to speak to me as if I was going to know everything they said. It usually ends with me saying I don't know in Korean.

At this point, I am beginning to expect a very traditional church. I thought the worship would be old hymns or something to that effect. After a short time of meeting new people, we went into the sanctuary. They began to practice for the service. Boy was I in for a surprise. The worship was not that of a traditional Korean church. Then, the service started. Everyone began singing, including me. I didn't know what I was singing nor do I know if it was correct. I was simply following along the words and trying to do my best.

The funny thing is, I could feel God. I wasn't worshiping in English, but in a language I didn't know very well. But God knew my heart. He understood the words. And He thought it was beautiful.

After the service, they asked everyone to come closer. My friend and I moved a little closer and after one person speaking, they asked me to come up in introduce myself. I was not prepared for this. I was extremely nervous and I am quite sure my face turned bright red. I said, "안녕하세요. 제 이름은 자니입니다." Which means, "Hello, my name is Johnny." Then my friend took the mic. and told what he knew about me.

Afterwards, his parents invited me over to their house. They greeted me and made me some plume tea. At least, that is what I think it was. We spent a few minutes at the house before we left to go have dinner. They took us to a restaurant that served mainly fish. The fish was good, but too many bones.

This was a good day. I enjoyed the people I encountered and hope to spend more time with them.