#The Why of Christmas | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

momentsbeforemass · 2 years

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The why of Christmas

Thinking up the worst possible outcome.

Maybe even two or three or more ways that it can go wrong. And then getting stuck thinking about them.

It’s one of my least useful skills.

Especially when it comes to imagining how someone is going to respond to something hard. Or how a difficult situation is going to work out.

If you’re like me, then you know how this “skill” can really run you through the wringer. Long before anything has actually happened. Much less anything bad.

One of the worst ways that this plays out? With other people. Especially people we don’t really know. When we have to rely on what someone has told us about them.

Probably the most obvious (and most damaging) example of this is with God.

Here’s why I say that. We live in a culture that’s created a lot of versions of God that are horrible.

And it’s not just people who supposedly hate God. Some of the people who proclaim their faith the loudest proudly show off their petty, vengeful, resentful, hateful versions of God.

So it’s really no surprise that even people who don’t horrible-ize things imagine the worst possible outcomes from any interaction with God. They’ve been given every reason to get stuck thinking about God that way. They’ve been given every reason to stay away.

Except the truth.

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 1:1-25) gives the names of the Son of God – Jesus and Emmanuel.

Jesus means “God saves.” It tells us what God will do through Jesus, and how God works.

Emmanuel means “God with us.” It tells us who Jesus is, and what’s in God’s heart.

That’s the truth about God. How do we know that’s really the truth about God?

Because that’s what plays out in the Incarnation. In the pattern of redemption that runs from Christmas through Good Friday to Easter.

God saves. And He does it by being who He is, by being God with us.

The thing to know is how God does it.

God doesn’t save us begrudgingly. God isn’t the God of “if-I-have-to.”

God doesn’t save us judgmentally (although some of God’s noisiest alleged followers want Him to be). God isn’t the God of condemnation.

So how does God do it?

Isaiah tells us in the first reading (Isaiah 62:1-5), and it has zero to do with anything about what you and I have done. Or how far we’ve wandered. Or how much we don’t fit in someone else’s messed up version God.

Here’s the truth. And it’s the why of Christmas, the source of the joy of Christmas.

God looks at you and loves you.

God looks at you and gets excited about being with you.

God delights in you.

This Christmas, may God fill your heart with the joy that comes from knowing just how much you mean to Him.

Readings for Christmas Eve

#Christmas #The Why of Christmas #God #Jesus #Catholic #Christian #Church #God delights in you #God's Love #God with us #Emmanuel #Christmas Eve #Moments Before Mass

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christadeguchi · 9 months

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j… jesus oppa ;____;

#ashsksjsks jesus k-idol era… and when he does his comeback stage…..???#i just want you to know the last thing i saw before my plane took off was an “i’m going to jesus cafe” message from my grandma #and the first thing i saw when i landed fifteen hours later yesterday was 130+ unread messages on kakaotalk #and i opened it and most of it was cutesy photos my grandma had sent me of her and white jesus #also: she is not even christian…. her friends were like wanna come and she was just like WHY NOT?#also… if you’re interested… in japan there’s a manga called 聖☆おにいさん (translated as ‘saint young men’)#which focuses on the lives of roomates jesus and buddha #(also there are fancomics based on this… including. of course. jesus/judas)#christmas

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hakogyi · 6 days

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#why he got buttcrack lips 😭#the REAL nightmare before christmas #vil schoenheit #twisted wonderland #I DONT KNOW THE NEW GUY'S NAME #twst #thihart

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courfee · 10 months

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christmas season at the wolfstar flat

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lonelyzarquon · 1 month

Photo

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paintedcrows · 8 days

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Christmas Party of Two (Finished drawing here)

#WIP!!#why did I make a background. why did I do this to myself truly #technically it probably would have been more orderly by christmas but I wanted them to have random alien junk strewn around #I then greatly regretted that decision #my art #gravity falls #ford pines #fiddleford mcgucket #fan art

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ihatebrainstorm · 2 months

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small collection of sketchy doodlydodads from @bloominglegumes 's Jazz n Powl humanformers au bc they live in my head rent free all day everyday ;v;;

#don't ask why i'm drawing christmas stuff in the summer #it's always chrmsas winter holiday season to me #transformers #maccadam #transformers fanart #maccadams #tf idw #frootertooter archive #humanformers #prowl #jazz transformers #jazz #jazzprowl

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tanblaque · 10 months

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#slay the princess #spoiler #spoilers #slay the princess spoiler #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH #also unrelated but it takes me so long to draw him #why do i draw him all the time regardless? I have no idea #injury #blood #i cant make up my mind if he should have a BEAK or nah #or sometimes?#I wont be online as much for the next few days. gonna be preparing for Christmas and the New year. But expect a few art on queue

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parisoonic · 10 months

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Don't talk incriminating shop infront of your boss at the office Christmas party.

#tf2 #tf2 fanart #team fortress 2 #tf2 demoman #tf2 spy #tf2 pauling #i have....3 other ideas for the christmas party! hopefully i get time to draw them all o7 #im sorry engie fans he just really amuses me. engie really gets the short stick in my drawings lol #spy stooped to wearing a silly tie that you can't see at this angle kdjdjkfsdk #i might fuss with the holly garland later as i think it could be seen as mistletoe but i just wanted to do a christmassy border #IDK why there are lines near the edges! they're not there for me in PS ;;

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threshasketch · 10 months

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A little winter Shazam and Billy Batson doodle.

#shazam #billy batson #dc #why doesn't Billy know Shazam here? good question #it's either an AU where they're separate people or maybe Billy's trying to envision how it would be to meet Shazam as a normal kid #snowman rescue accomplished!#threshie #threshasketch #technically the Shazam movie happens around Christmas #so it's a holiday movie #♥

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homoqueerjewhobbit · 9 months

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A lot of Christians read A Christmas Carol and gloss right over the "pay workers a living wage" message and take away "not being merry on Christmas is a cardinal sin" instead.

#And then they use this for antisemitism #If you don't understand why a lot of non xtians and former xtians hate Christmas #Think about all the stories where not being sufficiently happy on Christmas is the sole problem to be solved in 22 minutes #we have multiple words of negative connotation just for people who don't like christmas #Christmas #a christmas carol #Charles Dickens #Chuckie Dick #post o' mine

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epiphainie · 4 months

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i'm genuinely so obsessed with tommy's deadpan, dry humor. "probably all gonna die anyway" "mm, not like that" "enjoy it while it lasts" while face looking like 😐😐

#need someone to make a tommy kinard being the funniest mf gifset with these and “they had henleys in the 80s”#“i came with the car this time”#“could be why i havent been getting your christmas cards”#“guess you can't have enough closet space” // “ain't that right evan”#and obviously the bonus fake mouth static #tommy kinard #911 #911 abc #bucktommy #lou ferrigno jr #mimi.txt

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bloodsbane · 2 years

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Kitchen Nightmares, S5 E1

#kitchen nightmares #kn lb #do i even have to explain why i dropped everything to capture this moment #you don't understand her smile makes me fucking insane #slowly unfurling like when the fucking grinch he realized he was gonna steal christmas #the staff on kn ARE NEVER FUCKING AROUND #especially when their bosses are shitty like. oh my god #it's the best part of this show hands down lol #love when the staff get tired of being nice #also im so glad i got that EXACT last frame it really really encapsulates the energy

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wacky-wonders · 5 months

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made even more horror stamps (+ hoffman getting punched in the face 😁)

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dustbunsinspace · 9 months

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Part of 🟢 Leo gets Overwhelmed au🟢

Aah, I’m so happy I made it in in time! 💙✨ Merry Christmas, tumblr nation! Here’s a little comic about 03 Usagi and Leo going so see the Rockefeller tree after the events of the Christmas Aliens episode.

Little post about events earlier that night

Also this is literally how maskless Leo looks to me, he’s so moomincore ;

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pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong · 3 months

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fx the bear is very good because there's an episode where richie nearly fucking kills someone and faces manslaughter charges and its not even a major plot line or anything meanwhile the episode where they go home for christmas dinner is literally one of the most stressful episodes of television ever made

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