Reclaiming Santa Claus!

You think I’m a fraud, don’t you? [Kris Kringle]
Fraud is a bit too strong of a word. [Dorey Walker]
But you don’t believe in me. [Kris Kringle]
I believe that Christmas is for children. [Dorey Walker]
Well your daughter doesn’t believe in me, either. [Kris Kringle]
I don’t think that there’s any harm in not believing in a figure that many do acknowledge to be a fiction. [Dorey Walker]
Oh, but there is. I’m not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanour. You know, I… I… I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If… you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt. [Kris Kringle]
– Miracle on the 34th Street (1994)

I just watched Miracle on the 34th street and became a believer in Santa Claus. I have never fancied Santa Claus, and to be honest I thought he was a distraction, if not a nuisance for the Christmas season. To me, he was just a mascot for consumerism. But then…

I never realized his value for our Christmas celebration. He is a symbol of generosity and benevolence. We have lost him at the Shopping Mall.. and they make a profit out of him. The Santa Claus at our Shopping Malls is a poor shadow of the ‘real’  Santa Claus.

We have to reclaim Santa Klaus… and what he stands for… Santa is everywhere…reminding us that we need to suppress selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives.  It’s just a way of saying ‘peace and goodwill to all’ – which is the message of Christmas. And more importantly, he symbolically points to the need for redemption from greed and hate.

Children need the ‘real’  Santa Claus to trigger their imagination. The ‘real’  Santa Clause becomes a gateway for children to understand what it means to ‘give and forgive’. We need the ‘real’ Santa Claus to capture our collective imagination too. We need to reclaim him…for the sake of our children… I believe in Santa Claus…

Let’s invite the real Santa Claus… a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives…this Christmas…into our lifespace. Let’s celebrate, share, inspire  the hope and joy of Christmas.

Tagore’s poetic insight

Life of my Life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall every try to keep all untruths out of my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.

I shall every try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast they seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power that gives me strength to act.

Source: Gitanjali

Comic Book Art – Yes! We Can

Visual imagery is a defining feature of the wider culture.  We need to reach out to young people with visual imagery. Graphic art is popular among young people. Well… I am no artist and I have always found it difficult to draw…

Comic art is a specialized skill and therefore making comic strips was an impossiblity. I knew we could turn photographs into comic-book like art.  For some months, I have been struggling to make comic book like art from photographs. Thankfully, I found freeware softwares ( like GIMP, Photoscape, Paintnet etc) and free tutorials this week.

This is my first attempt: An Obama poster!

The Original & the Comic book like art I made with GIMP

For the tutorial click. There are also many video tutorials available on youtube and google.

You can download GIMP, Photoscape and Paintnet from the Internet.

A whole new skill sets are necessary if you are working with SCREENAGERS.  I know it isn’t easy. But! then it is not impossible!

Can we make graphic art? Yes! We can…

Bible Study 3: Peace – What does it cost?

A bible study on conflict resolution based on Genesis 13: 1- 12

Let’s read Gen 13: 1 -12

So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. From the Negev he went from place to place until he came to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been earlier and where he had first built an altar. There Abram called on the name of the LORD. Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land could not support them while they stayed together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. And quarrelling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom – Genesis 13: 1 – 12

Conversations

( Study questions prepared by samuel thambusamy)

1) What is this passage all about?

2) Who are the characters mentioned in the passage? What do we know about them?

3) What led to the quarrel between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot? What do you think about this? How did this affect the relationship between Abraham and Lot? Creatively, re-tell this story about the conflict over resources.

4) The quarrel was between the Abraham’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. Why do you think Abraham got involved? Does it take courage to face a conflict situation? What are the challenges involved in facing conflict?

5) Abraham and Lot parted company. However, Abraham gave Lot the first advantage. Interestingly, despite being older and even responsible for making Lot richer. Do you (dis)agree with his decision? Why? What do you think Abraham’s herdsmen felt about this?

6) Why do you think Lot listened to Abraham? Why do you think Lot did not choose to stay with Abraham? What did Lot’s servants feel about this?

7) Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. Lot chose the best. How did Abraham feel about this? Why do you think Abraham remained calm and was less worried?

What is God telling me through the passage? What am I going to do in response to God’s word to me?

————————————–

Further Reading

1) Why people avoid conflicts? by Susan M. Heathfield

2) Personal Courage and Conflict Resolution at work by Susan M. Heathfield

The Silent Revolution

We live in an an age where success is all about sound bytes. It is about being seen, being heard and being recognized. We want to be ’seen’ busy. We want to be where the ‘action’ is.We live and believe in ‘aspirational’ christianity and so all what we ’spiritually’ are is put on Face Book. We are ever in a ‘broadcast’ mode as we get lost in the craze for the world of megapixels and megabytes. And often times, we gain the whole world’s attention but end up losing on the heavenly joy of ‘rooting’ people in spirituality and ‘building’ them up to live out faith when it matters and where it matters.

Ministry is not about ’speaking/singing’ the gospel. It is about helping people to follow Jesus.

Ministry is not just about ‘events’.  It is about engagement with real people in the real world. Ministry is not merely about ‘expertise’. It is about sharing life-experiences.

Ministry is not about getting ‘numbers’. It is about building the kingdom.

Ministry is all about bringing in a silent revolution – wherein we faciliatate people to follow Jesus and therein bring Kingdom values to bear on systems, structures and communities. And therefore, younger Christians need ‘follow-up’ action and prayers.Perhaps the first step is to start praying for younger christians we know of.

Apostle Paul, despite his busy and dangerous schedule, prayed for people to whom he introduced Jesus.

We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy. I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. (Col 1:9-12 CEV)

We can and (must) make a list of young people (ten or possibly more) who follow Jesus and pray regulary for them. [This is not intended as a technique, although it can be reduced to one]

Dear God,

I thank you for ——–, for their faith and for their changed lives.

I ask you to help ——-, to know what you want them to do ( at school, at college, at work, at church etc)

I ask you to give ——- deep spiritual understanding (so that they would know, live and speak them)

I ask you to help ——-live for you (at school, at home, at work) I ask you to give ——- more knowledge about you (your love, power, grace, goodness, wisdom and power etc)

I ask you to give ——-strength for endurance ( in the enticing world of images, ideas and information)

I ask you to fill ———with joy, strength and thankfulness ( so that they may enjoy abundant life).

Let’s make a list of ten young people and find five minutes everyday to pray for young people .

Come! Join the silent revolution.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you – Jesus

I love the Sun

My second attempt at making a comic strip for my daughter. The strip is based on the song she is learning right now

I love the Sun and it shines on me
God made the Sun and God made me

Meet me – Acid

Book: Culture Making

Culture Making: Recovering our creative calling by Andy Crouch

It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture or to copy culture. Most of the time, we just consume culture. But the only way to change culture is to create culture.

Andy Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and have waged misguided “culture wars.” But we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed us to be. Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us. By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making.

Crouch unpacks the complexities of how culture works and gives us tools for cultivating and creating culture. He navigates the dynamics of cultural change and probes the role and efficacy of our various cultural gestures and postures. Keen biblical exposition demonstrates that creating culture is central to the whole scriptural narrative, the ministry of Jesus and the call to the church. He guards against naive assumptions about “changing the world,” but points us to hopeful examples from church history and contemporary society of how culture is made and shaped. Ultimately, our culture making is done in partnership with God’s own making and transforming of culture.

A model of his premise, this landmark book is sure to be a rallying cry for a new generation of culturally creative Christians.

visit Andy’s website: http://www.culture-making.com/about/book/#guide

Download free study guide on Cultural engagement: http://www.culture-making.com/resources/cmstudyguide.pdf

Meet Me – FLIP

Faith in the workplace

Excerpts from Faith in the workplace e-mag

“Messed-up people mess up their organizations,” Dr. Denise Daniels explained. “And messed-up organizations mess up their people.” It was a sobering thought for the folks at Laity Lodge that day, but it wasn’t the end of the story. The opposite is also true. Healthy people create healthier organizations. And healthy organizations create healthier people.

Our work is about more than just the products and processes and services we provide. Our work is about relationships and excellence and redemption and calling. Wherever we are, we can be leaders by keeping a healthy and positive approach to our work and our coworkers. We’re not just suggesting that people plaster inauthentic smiles on their faces. This is something more holistic.

We can each be emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, and physically healthy—when we love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And we will contribute to healthier working environments for our neighbors and our coworkers…to the glory of God

From faith at the workplace e-mag

Free Faith in the Workplace Newsletter visit

http://www.christianitytoday.com/workplace/