{"id":285,"date":"2016-12-22T16:16:15","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T16:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/?p=285"},"modified":"2016-12-22T16:16:15","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T16:16:15","slug":"we-need-a-little-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/we-need-a-little-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"We Need A Little Christmas…"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/a>\"wood_street_mission_santa\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Not here we said.<\/p>\n

Never here.<\/p>\n

But it is here<\/p>\n

and it is now.<\/p>\n

Wealth so repulsive, unethical, self-serving<\/p>\n

Built on the backs of the hungry, the hurting, the oppressed,<\/p>\n

the left out and\u00a0left behind.<\/p>\n

Power so arrogant as to despise kindness and human dignity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We need a little Christmas right this very minute<\/p>\n

We need a vision of the beauty in creation<\/p>\n

the ethic of vulnerability<\/p>\n

the power of love.<\/p>\n

We need a story that emerges in the midst of<\/p>\n

an oppressive state<\/p>\n

corrupt power<\/p>\n

religious factions.<\/p>\n

We need a story of perseverance<\/p>\n

Right over might<\/p>\n

Love over hate<\/p>\n

Goodness over evil<\/p>\n

Truth over lies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

America is built on ideas that are important\u00a0to hold on to and that many have forgotten. We are built on ideas that\u00a0require a strong commitment to diversity, to a free press and undiluted truth. Assumed in our constitution, in all our founding documents is the idea that we will remain in dialogue. That respect for one another grounds us in a way of being. That relationship is necessary and disagreement is always in context of relationship<\/em>. The concept of the \u2018loyal opposition\u2019 assumes we all seek the greater good for the nation.<\/p>\n

We have lost that relationship. Lost it because, in no small part, the right is now\u00a0so radicalized (see: Tea Party, white supremacists) that finding \u2018a third way\u2019 is no longer the goal. All or nothing is the goal. It\u00a0has rent us in two.<\/p>\n

So when I, as a pastor, say \u2018we need a little Christmas\u2019 I mean we need to remember the source of our faith journey. It begins in poverty, it values the outsider (moral, cultural, racial, etc) and it overcomes oppression, hate, and fear with love. Our story invites us to a kind of love that infuses\u00a0a deep sense of self worth, the courage to resist, and the willingness to sacrifice.<\/p>\n

Now the rubber meets the road. We must \u00a0live into ideas greater than ourselves and our own self-interest.\u00a0For my fellow Christians, this season I urge us to embrace\u00a0our story of hope, power, and promise. And let\u00a0us honor\u00a0faith traditions other than our own who journey beside us as they uniquely express the love of God.<\/p>\n

The story of this nation isn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n

The story of the incarnation isn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n

It is just beginning.<\/p>\n

Our hope is being born in the muck,<\/p>\n

in the stench of poverty<\/p>\n

in the belly of the oppressive beast.<\/p>\n

We must allow hope to be\u00a0born in us<\/p>\n

with power and \u00a0passion<\/p>\n

for the facing of this hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Not here we said. Never here. But it is here and it is now. Wealth so repulsive, unethical, self-serving Built on the backs of the hungry, the hurting, the oppressed, the left out and\u00a0left behind. Power so arrogant as to despise kindness and human dignity.   We need a little Christmas right this very minute … Continue reading We Need A Little Christmas…<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,5,13,22,8,21,23,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":291,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285\/revisions\/291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/connietuttle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}