Close Menu
    Advertise With Us
    Religion

    Jesus is the Reason for the Season

    5 Mins Read0 Views
    Dr. Alveda King
    Advertisement
    Dr. Alveda King

    Jesus is the Reason for the Season

    By Dr. Alveda King

         In our darkest moments shines the light divine. As we consider the back-to-back tragedies of Superstorm Sandy and the Sandy Hook massacre, we must remember this Christmas season that there are hundreds of people who have lost not only their homes and material resources, but also their loved ones.

        One of the most poignant losses of this season came as the face of evil descended on the little children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Our emotions have been over-wrought and we are left trying to understand what happened.

        For me, as a fifth generation minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the first thing I did was to pray for the children, staff, teachers and their families. The second thing I did was recognize that the teachers and children of Sandy Hook weren’t able to pray as a matter of policy — even as their very lives were threatened.

        That’s been the case since prayer was banned from public schools back in 1963. I imagined how the students and teachers must have been huddled together, frightened and trembling, and not able to call on the name of Jesus without breaking the rules.

        As I considered those little school children huddling and hoping to live, I also couldn’t help but think of the unborn babies trembling in the wombs of their mothers as abortionists take away their chance at life.

        At the same time that our children were under attack in Sandy Hook, there were also little kindergarten children being stabbed to death in China. Oh my. This would seem hopeless if we couldn’t have the blessed promise of Jesus, especially in this season.

        Please bear with me as I recall that even the joyous birth of Jesus was surrounded by spiritual forces that caused hundreds of little Hebrew baby boys to be slaughtered as the king tried to prevent the birth of a savior.

        Similar shifts occurred during the time of the birth of Moses, the Old Testament prophet who told pharaoh that God said: “Let my people go.”

        I can’t help wonder what would happen if we would lift up our eyes to the hills where our help comes from these days? I know that we must be sensitive and prayerful, yet we can still have hope, and must not feel guilty for being able to thank God for Jesus this holiday season.

        I’m not saying we shouldn’t shed tears for those who lost so much. Yet, as we pray in the midst of all of the horrors around us, let us also remember that God is still supreme.

        In the words of my dearly departed grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., let us “thank God for what we have left.” Let us be grateful for His love. Let us continue to pray, according to 2 Chronicles 7:14.

        We can all take heart that humanity is still filled with stories of love, compassion, and triumph. Maybe we should turn off the gun control debates which will distract us from the real reason for this season.

        Instead of focusing on banning guns, why can’t our government officials work to put prayer back in schools? Such an act of compassion would surely be a comfort and could even make the world a better place.

        Who can argue that a reasonable firearms policy that protects the mentally challenged, their families and the broader communities wouldn’t be a good idea? We should have come to this conclusion long before the Sandy Hook tragedy.

        It is commendable that the cry for help is finally being heard. But there is still a need to bring love and peace back into the media rather than the gratuitous violence and promiscuous sex that floods our airwaves and permeates the living rooms and family rooms of our homes, consuming the minds and souls of our children.

        How many boxes and cartons of violent, anti-family DVDs, video games, software, CDs and other similar media burst into the lives of our children on Christmas day?

        I can only pray that agape love will prevail over the material, mercenary clouds that threaten to rain on our peace.

        And remember: Don’t leave Jesus out of the season, because he’s the reason for the season.

        Merry Christmas!

        For unto us a son is given, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son Jesus!

        DR. ALVEDA C. KING has continued her long-term work as a civil rights activist. Advocate for School Choice as a civil rights issue. Strong advocate for life of the unborn, faith in God not faith in government bureaucracy.

     

    Share.

    Carma Lynn Henry Westside Gazette Newspaper 545 N.W. 7th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311 Office: (954) 525-1489 Fax: (954) 525-1861

    Related Posts

    This College Chaplain Fills The Pews By Teaching, Not Preaching Lawrence Lockett Jr., Morgan State University chaplain. Credit: Lawrence Lockett Jr. via LinkedIn By REV. DOROTHY S. BOULWARE (Source: Amsterdam News) It’s understandable for parents of strong faith to worry about the spiritual lives of their children who’ve gone away to college. After all, it’s easy for a young person, perhaps on their own for the first time, to suc-cumb to the temptations of partying late on Saturday night and sleeping in on Sunday morning. But Minister Lawrence Lockett Jr., chaplain at Morgan State University in Baltimore, is packing them into the pews most Sundays. He is engaging them in lively ways during the week. And students are joining the choir, accompanying worship on various instruments, and serving as readers and leaders throughout the service. It is by the grace of God for sure, but also by the loving service of Lockett, who’s beginning his second year as the school’s director of chapel. He has grown his flock from the 25 or so students who showed up at his first services to more than 200 each Sunday. Sometimes, it’s standing room only. “We’ve been trying to figure out what to do next because on Easter Sunday we had 342 people, and some were standing in the back,” he said. Word In Black talked to Lockett about the secrets of his success: how his adjustment of Sunday ser-vices got people into the pews, why his philosophy for guiding students on their spiritual journey centers on independent thought, and how his “Spin the Block” initiative is shaking things up on campus. The in-terview has been edited for length and clarity. Word in Black: The first thing we want to know is, how do you get so many young people to chapel every Sunday?. Lawrence Lockett: Well, first of all, I changed the time of service from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. I realized a lot of the students like to sleep in late. It gives them time to do whatever they need to do. I’m sure many of them still like to party hearty over the weekend. So they have a good chance just to kind of refocus, recali-brate, get themselves lunch, and then come over to the chapel for service. When I started in November, maybe 20-25 students came, but now it’s over 200 that come every Sun-day, and it’s pretty cool. So now we’re repositioning ourselves to go after the freshman class this year. If we have the same success as last year, there’s definitely not going to be any room. Word in Black: Tell me about pastoring on a college campus. Lawrence Lockett: Morgan actually started as a biblical institute, so the Christian traditions have al-ways been here. As a pastor or shepherd, I’m walking students through their questions, not always just trying to preach answers to them. It’s about being vulnerable. I tell them I was in their same position, just trying to figure it out. And it’s not me just trying to give them answers. Having been there helps me really walk with them and anchor them in the storm of life that’s going to come. I want them to understand that their soul really matters. A lot of students focus on mental health, but they really need to focus on spiritual health as well. It should be one and the same. So I’ve been trying to preach that, if anything, spiritual health is just as important as your mental health. But we do encour-age the use of the counseling center, for sure, if there is a mental health crisis. WIB: What does Monday through Friday look like for you? LL: Mondays, we are usually off because of Sundays. On Tuesdays, we have Bible studies, so I’ll host a Bible study at noon along with my colleagues that work in the chapel. And then, I’m teaching a class called Hip-hop and the Gospel on Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m., dealing with mixing culture and religion. On Wednesdays, we do something called “breath and balance,” which is just a meditative type of pro-gram with breathing exercises as stress relievers. We work with the School of Nutrition Science and the food resource center so that the students get a nice free meal and practice breathing exercises and meth-ods to feel good about the day. For Thursdays, we started something called the mosaic, in which we have different campus ministers gather in small groups, just like a mosaic painting. So the students who come on Sundays then get plugged into small groups on Thursdays. And on Fridays at 1 p.m., we do prayer for Muslims.. We have an imam lecture and then lead in corporate prayer. It’s a good mix. WIB: What is “Spend a Block?” Didn’t you receive an award for it? LL: That started last year. We just basically do services outside: outside the residence halls, in the quad, wherever it may be. Honestly, worship on a college campus looks different than it did 20 or 30 years ago. Students want something real and authentic, something they can gravitate to, and something that’s convenient. So when we’re outside, people are like, “What’s all the noise outside? What’s all the music?” Then they come outside, and there are chairs, so they grab one and sit and enjoy the service. We come to them. They don’t have to come to us. At the very beginning of the semester, we do services outside the four resi-dence halls. And that kind of gives us a steamroll into homecoming week. And we’ve seen a lot of success because of that. WIB: What should I expect when I arrive for Sunday service? LL: You’re gonna see a lot of involvement with students. I’ve learned that students like to feel invested, and they want to participate in what’s going on. They don’t want to be told by adults what they should and shouldn’t do. So when you go to the service, you’ll see our praise team full of students. You’ll see a choir full of students. You’ll see students reading scripture. You’ll see students giving testimonies. And then I’ll come in and give a sermon, or I’ll have a guest friend or a guest preacher come in to do the sermon. But you’re gonna see a lot of student involvement, and I think that also assisted with a lot of the growth be-cause when they see fellow students, they understand they’re just like me, and if they can do it, I can do it. WIB: What about musicians and choir? LL: The musicians are also students. They say, “Hey, I love to play. I wanna use my gifts in some way, shape, or form.” And they’ll ask whether or not there’s a spot for them. And we say absolutely. And there is a chapel choir. Some of the members are also members of the university choir. WIB: What is the “next” you see for the chapel? LL: I want the students to know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and make a difference. The chapel really is the heartbeat of the campus, and I want students to know more about where faith, hope, and belonging really stem from. I also want the chapel to become more interfaith and involve as many students and beliefs as possible.