A Christmas tartan green and red,
much like a tapestry of thread,
portrays the grace for which Christ bled
to give us life eternal.
For woven in that joyful plaid
are cruel stripes our Savior had
inflicted by a mob most mad
who caused his crucifixion.
The Savior born amid the hay
would die to take our sins away.
What we unwrap this Christmas Day
is only the beginning.
Here’s to the rest of the story…
‘Twas the night before Christmas
and there in a barn
a young woman labored
while feeling forlorn.
Her husband, discouraged,
had been turned away
from VRBOs
so he settled for hay.
Without creature comforts,
his wife screamed in pain
as she pushed and she called out
on YAHWEH by name.
And next to some cattle
in a rough hewn-out stall,
a baby was born
who’d be Savior of all.
Some shepherds and wisemen
were advised where to go
and there was the infant
with Mary and Joe.
But it wasn’t a picnic
in that cold drafty place.
Midst the cow dung and rat nests,
they beheld YAHWEH’s face.
‘Twas the face of forgiveness,
of mercy and joy.
What was laid in a manger
wasn’t just Mary’s boy.
He’s the crown prince of Heaven.
The Creator with skin
who came down to our planet
to save us from sin.
When Philip Van Doren Stern’s 4,000-word short story “The Greatest Gift” failed to impress a prospective publisher, the writer and Civil War historian decided to print it himself. He sent it out as his Christmas card to family and friends in December 1943. The story had to do with a despondent man contemplating suicide who is given the opportunity to see what the world would have been like had he never been born.
One of those who happened upon this unique Christmas greeting was Hollywood director Frank Capra who bought the movie rights to the story for $10,000. Capra adapted The Greatest Gift into a screenplay and gave Stern’s story a new title. It’s a Wonderful Life was released as a motion picture in December, 1946.
What originated as a Christmas card became a movie released at Christmastime. And each Christmastime, It’s a Wonderful Life is shown multiple times. If it wasn’t for Christmas, we would never know the story of George Bailey. But more significantly, without Christmas our world would be drastically different.
British writer C. S. Lewis imagined such a dark, Christ-less planet in his brilliant children’s story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The world he conceived he called Narnia. Paralyzed under the frozen spell of the White Witch, it is a world in which it is “always winter but never Christmas.”
A world in which it is always winter but never Christmas would be a world in which the mail carrier stuffs your box with bills, bank statements, and third-class junk. No Christmas would mean no Christmas cards or caroling or gift giving. The world would be devoid of twinkling lights and festive decorations. By definition, a world without Christmas would be a world without Jesus.
The shock George Bailey felt as he wandered into the dark and depraved city limits of Pottersville is nothing when compared with what we would feel if our sin-infested planet had been denied the “Light of the World.” What worked as a brilliant literary motif in Stern’s story works as a startling exercise for those tempted to approach their faith casually. We would do well to ponder what our world would be like had Jesus Christ never been born.
If Jesus had never been born, not only would there be no Christmas, there would be no Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras, Easter, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. Each one of those popular American holidays is based on (or somehow tied to) Christianity. But a world without Jesus would have even greater implications.
Can you imagine a world without the artistic masterpieces of the Renaissance largely influenced by the Christian message? Can you imagine a world without a boat named the Mayflower transporting victims of religious persecution to the New World determined to populate a land where faith could be freely practiced? Can you imagine a world without William Wilberforce and his Christian witness against slavery in Britain’s Parliament?
Can you imagine a world without George Frederic Handel’s immortal oratorio Messiah? Can you imagine science textbooks that do not include the findings of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, Pascal, Newton, Faraday, and Mendel all of whom embraced the Christ of history and were shaped by his teachings?
Can you imagine a world without universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and many others that were founded by Christians to train Christians? Can you imagine a world without Clara Barton and the lifesaving efforts that came from her Red Cross?
Can you imagine a world without General William Booth and his army of soldiers fighting on the frontlines of homelessness, hunger, and poverty? Can you imagine a world without Bill Wilson’s Twelve Steps or his Big Blue Book or the countless lives who have regained sobriety through the organization called Alcoholics Anonymous?
And furthermore, if Jesus had never been born, we would not have the assurance of forgiveness and confidence of the Creator’s acceptance and the wonderful life we were created to experience.
*This article is excerpted from “Finding God in It’s a Wonderful Life” by Greg Asimakoupoulos.
 Greg’s book, “Finding God in It’s a Wonderful Life“ is listed on the BOOKS menu at $2.99-$14.99 Lulu Books. |
A young girl born in Italy
would be remembered ‘cross the sea
for how she served humanity
without concern for honor.
With glowing candles on her head,
Lucia followed where God led
to comfort those she also fed
with saffron buns and coffee.
Her flickering flames would light the way
to where those jailed for faith would pray.
And so we honor her today
by serving those in crisis.
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/st-lucys-day
The Reverend Greg Asimakoupoulos, who has been the chaplain at Covenant Living at the Shores on Mercer Island since 2013, has published a new book. The 350-page volume is titled Intersections: Reflections on Life and Faith and is a collection of newspaper columns Asimakoupoulos has written for the Mercer Island Reporter over the past seventeen years.
According to Mercer Islander Michael Medved, who wrote an endorsement for the book, “The writing of Greg Asimakoupoulos has the power to move, inspire, amuse and, best of all, to surprise you. His unexpected enlightening connections can help the reader see the world with refreshed eyes as we travel the intersections of faith and everyday life with a wise and sympathetic guide.”
Asimakoupoulos, who grew up in Wenatchee, began writing a faith-and-values column for the Reporter when he and his family moved from Illinois to Mercer Island in 2005 to become lead pastor of Evergreen Covenant Church. His bi-weekly columns have subsequently been picked up by The Wenatchee World and The Chicago Daily Herald.
“I’m grateful these columns have a second life,” Asimakoupoulos observed. “My simple essays with a spiritual application were written to provide a crosswalk at the intersection of where daily living meets what we believe.”
Asimakoupoulos, the author of fifteen books, began publishing articles while on the pastoral staff at Interbay Covenant Church in Seattle (now Quest Church) forty years ago. The cover art for Intersections features a painting of a rainy downtown Seattle. The renown Pacific Northwest artist, David Marty, was a member of Interbay Covenant Church when Asimakoupoulos was the pastor. The book is dedicated to the late Carl Taylor, who as senior pastor hired Asimakoupoulos, a young inexperienced seminary student in 1979 to be his associate at Interbay. Taylor passed away earlier this year as the book was being envisioned.
Intersections: Reflections on Life and Faith is available at Amazon.com
 Greg’s new book, “Intersections: Reflections on Life & Faith” is listed on the BOOKS menu at $20.78. On the Tracks Media |
My Rhymes and Reasons 