Santa Claus is moving to Central Asia

According to this article, Santa Claus is finding a new home in Kyrgyzstan because the predominantly Muslim former Soviet republic is an "ideal delivery hub." Kyrgyz officials have declared 2008 to be the "Year of Santa" and have named a mountain peak near the capital, Bishkek, after Santa. According to a Swedish consulting company, Santa "can eliminate time-consuming detours and avoid subjecting his reindeer to undue strain" by moving to Krygyzstan.

Merry Christmas

Here's the story that everyone should read on Christmas. It's the combined accounts of Jesus's birth from Matthew 1-2 and Luke 2. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

18-19The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn't know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced.
20-23While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream: "Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married. Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God's Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—'God saves'—because he will save his people from their sins." This would bring the prophet's embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for "God is with us").
24-25Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God's angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
1-5About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire. This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for. So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there. He went with Mary, his fiancée, who was pregnant.
6-7While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She gave birth to a son, her firstborn. She wrapped him in a blanket and laid him in a manger, because there was no room in the hostel.
An Event for Everyone 8-12There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God's angel stood among them and God's glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, "Don't be afraid. I'm here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David's town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you're to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger."
13-14At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God's praises: Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men and women on earth who please him.
15-18As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. "Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us." They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed.
19-20Mary kept all these things to herself, holding them dear, deep within herself. The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen. It turned out exactly the way they'd been told!
1-2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod's kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, "Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We're on pilgrimage to worship him."
3-4When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified—and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"
5-6They told him, "Bethlehem, Judah territory. The prophet Micah wrote it plainly: It's you, Bethlehem, in Judah's land, no longer bringing up the rear. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule my people, my Israel."
7-8Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, "Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I'll join you at once in your worship."
9-10Instructed by the king, they set off. Then the star appeared again, the same star they had seen in the eastern skies. It led them on until it hovered over the place of the child. They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!
11They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshiped him. Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh.
12In a dream, they were warned not to report back to Herod. So they worked out another route, left the territory without being seen, and returned to their own country.
13After the scholars were gone, God's angel showed up again in Joseph's dream and commanded, "Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Stay until further notice. Herod is on the hunt for this child, and wants to kill him."
14-15Joseph obeyed. He got up, took the child and his mother under cover of darkness. They were out of town and well on their way by daylight. They lived in Egypt until Herod's death. This Egyptian exile fulfilled what Hosea had preached: "I called my son out of Egypt."
16-18Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he'd gotten from the scholars.) That's when Jeremiah's sermon was fulfilled: A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament. Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace, Her children gone, dead and buried.
19-20Later, when Herod died, God's angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt: "Up, take the child and his mother and return to Israel. All those out to murder the child are dead."

Your tax money at work

NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command is the military organization that has the job of watching for any threat against the United States and Canada that may come from the skies. This includes missiles, jets and spacecraft that are targeted at the North America.

At Christmas, NORAD also tracks Santa's travels around the world. You can see where Santa is right now. The site uses Google maps to show where he is, and puts icons on the places where he has already visited. You can visit links to learn more about the places he has visited, and the site includes some videos of Santa's journey, such as this one of Santa flying past the Great Wall of China. You can even call (877) Hi-NORAD to personally talk to a Santa tracker.

All this, paid for with your tax money. On the other hand, we can probably come up with many more ridiculous ways that the government spends our money...

Christmas Carol Quiz

How well do you know your Christmas carols? Check out this Christmas Carol Quiz. Some of them are gimmes, but a handful are pretty tough. I had an 84%. I was thinking I did pretty well until Cheryl came long and got a 96%. Way to go Cheryl. Feel free to post your results.

Christmas is all about the presents

I heard someone recently talking about how they feel like we have lost the meaning of Christmas. They said something to the effect of "Christmas isn't about presents." That started me thinking. And I have to say that I disagree.

In fact, the story of the first Christmas is all about presents. The one most people think about first is the story of the Wise Men. The travelled hundreds or possibly even thousands of miles bring presents to and to worship the one who had been born king of the Jews. This story is often used as the basis for our custom of giving presents for Christmas.

But this isn't even the most important present at the first Christmas. Jesus himself was a present. John 3:16 tells us that Jesus was a gift given to the people of the world by God because he loved us. It was the greatest gift of all time. God gave the gift not because we deserved it (we don't) or because we asked for it (we didn't), but simply because he wanted to. At Christmas, we aren't having a birthday party for Jesus. We're celebrating the greatest gift that has ever been given.

If we are celebrating the greatest gift that has ever been given, what better way is there to celebrate than to give presents to the others? When we focus on giving to others, I think we are very close to the true meaning of Christmas because we are emulating what God did. So maybe Christmas really is all about the presents.

Jesus is for everyone

One of the things I love about Christmas is that it demonstrates beyond doubt that Jesus is for everyone. It doesn't matter what your economic status is. It doesn't matter what your social status is. It doesn't matter what your religious status is. Jesus has a place for you.

Jesus calls out to both the rich and the poor. In Jesus' time, poverty was a way of life for most ordinary people. And shepherds were close to the economic bottom. Many shepherds were itinerant workers, going from place to place to find work with people. Yet it was to these poor, humble shepherds that God chose to announce the birth of his son. On the other end of the spectrum, God sent a star to guide the Wise Men to Jesus. These would have been important, wealthy royal officials from another country. They were wealthy enough to bring very expensive presents to the baby Jesus.

The shepherds and wise men also represent opposite ends of the social spectrum. Shepherds were often considered social outcasts. In fact, some cultures of that time hated shepherds and refused to live with them. In Israel, shepherds were often considered social outcasts because, at least at certain times of the year, kept them in the fields 24/7. This meant that they were unable to keep the sabbath. This made them outcasts among their own people. Again, the Wise Men were the opposite. They were important leaders who helped run their countries. If shepherds were near or at the bottom of the social scale, then the Wise Men were near or at the top.

While the shepherds and Wise Men were on the opposite ends of the social and religious spectrum, they were in a similar place on the religious spectrum. The shepherds would have been seen as poor followers of God because they were not sabbath keepers, and the Wise Men were pagans. To the Jews, both groups would have been at the bottom of the religious scale. On the other end of this spectrum are Simeon and Anna, who were godly, devout people. They celebrated with birth of Jesus when he was brought to the temple when he was 8 days old.

Christmas tells us that no matter where you come from economically, socially, or religiously you have reason to celebrate Jesus. No matter where you come from economically, socially, or religiously Jesus wants you to experience him. He wants to be a part of your life and he wants you to be a part of his. Christmas tells us that Jesus is for everybody. I love that.

Turning Christmas Around

I love Christmas. A lot of times, I'm not even all of that bothered by the commercialism that has surrounded Christmas. Because while Christmas has in many ways become about stuff, for many (if not most) people it is still primarily about giving stuff rather than about receiving stuff.

Where I get bothered is when you come across things that make Christmas about me and the stuff I'm going to get, rather than about what I can do for others.

Last night on the news, I saw a story about the increasing use of Christmas gift registries. People are actually going to the store and putting together lists that say essentially "buy me this." The people they interviewed who liked the idea and used these registries all talked about how the registry helps them to make sure that they get the things they want for Christmas.

To me, that turns Christmas upside down. Christmas started because God gave humanity a gift, his son. Even for people who don't recognize a religious significance, Christmas is considered a "season of giving." At it's best, Christmas is a time when we do things for others. Giving to others, particularly the people we love, is at the heart of Christmas. Sure, I like getting Christmas presents, but that pales in comparison to how I feel when I give a present to someone else.

I don't think that commercialism, by itself, works against the idea and meaning of Christmas. There are all kinds of legitimate reasons to be against commercialism, but the idea that it is opposed to the idea of Christmas isn't one of them. I can still be more interested in doing things for others than for myself within the context of commercialism. To me, commercialism becomes a particular problem at Christmas when it turns Christmas into a time for me to get stuff rather than a time for me to do things for others.

One reason I love Christmas

I went out and did some Christmas shopping today. I love Christmas presents. Specifically, I love giving Christmas presents. It's the one time each year when I have the ability to do something nice for the people that I care about, whether they want us to or not. I can do something for them without requiring (or even expecting) anything in return. I can give a gift or do something else nice, even if the receiver doesn't want me to give them a gift. And I think that's one of the things that God likes about our modern celebration of Christmas. Because that's what he did for us. At that first Christmas, he sent us a gift, without requiring anything in return. He gave us a gift simply because he cares about us. And he gave the gift, regardless of whether people wanted him to give them a gift or not. I think that when we do something nice for someone just because we can, with no expectation of getting anything back in return, we catch a glimpse of the heart of God. And he sees a reflection of at least part of himself in us.