Joy for the unlovely

"Jesus loved and accepted others without approving of everything they did. That's our position too, but it upsets a lot of people ...."
- Rick Warren

I was pleasantly surprised to open up my weekly subscriber email from Sojourners this week to find this awesome quote from Rick Warren. This was his response to conservative Christians who didn’t like his tact when he issued an invitation to Sen. Barack Obama to attend an HIV/AIDS conference Rick Warren was hosting.

To me this is a great reminder of the Good News that is brought into the world through the Christmas event. What I find absolutely amazing is that more often than not, it’s the Christians, the ones who claim to follow Jesus, that are offended by his actions. At least this is true in Rick Warrens experience in this instance. However, I can relate to his experience. It is disturbing to me the amount of Christians I’ve come across who take offense at or exclude those whom Jesus embraced.

This Christmas the Foothills Neighbourhood Community (a Churches of Christ church) are embracing people such as these for the fourth year in a row (at least I think it’s four years). Their minister Steve Barrington, started something called ‘Christmas Day Lunch’. Very simple really, they invite everyone in the Ferntree Gully neighbourhood and surrounds, to lunch on Christmas Day. This includes the lonely & excluded, the isolated elderly, homeless, people with mental illness, drug addicts, alcoholics, unemployed, the list goes on. All of these people are invited to have lunch on them. I really admire Steve’s vision for this ministry. Verity and I have helped out a couple of times.

What I love about this is interacting with people who just aren’t used to being loved or accepted. Just to see that smile, that expression of joy on their faces makes it all worth it as we see the message of Christmas unfolding in it’s essence before our very eyes.

All Christians have been called to unveiling and proclaiming the Kingdom of God in ways such as these. We are not called to judge but to love and accept. The advent season of Christmas is about those who celebrate the birth of Jesus living out the attributes the advent themes represent; Hope, Joy, Peace & Love.

Wherever you are this Christmas, whether it be the usual crazy ‘relative run’, a quiet Christmas at home, or even helping out at Christmas Day Lunch please do not neglect to love and accept all who cross your path. Let this be a habit that sets your trend for the new year and continue to discover the Joy in Christ in yours and others lives.

Shalom
Mark