We don't know how wealthy we really are...

The American celebration of the Christmas season is marked with so many traditions. Big dinners of roast turkey and stuffing. Ripping into gift after gift at 6 o'clock in the morning. Steaming cinnamon buns. Fragrant pine and fir trees decorated with every ornament in the house.

We don't know how wealthy we are. One of my favorite blogs, the Yarn Harlot, writes, "It should be impossible, in a world is as decent as the people that I meet in it, that some of us should have three coats and are trying to drop a few (or more) pounds before we fête the season with more food and gifts, that others will starve or die of preventable illness and disease while we party on. I am convinced we can do better. I really am."

So am I. And we've found wonderful ways, as a Christian community, to reach into our pockets and provide for others. We've donated all sorts of winter wear and toiletries for the soup kitchen guests, we've spent our time and money on our angel from the Angel Tree, and we've spent our time ministering to those who need to be reminded of God's love for them - everyone from our college students and retirement community residents, to the homeless of Raleigh.

Isaiah 42:6-9 says:
"I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to graven images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

I love this passage because it shows us the way of the Christian life in VERY definite terms. Our task is to reach out to those in need - the poor, the marginalized, the afflicted. God calls us to live lives of compassion. (In larger terms, this is called liberation theology.) The former life of living just for yourself is no more. In God's kingdom, every person is important - and our role is to be a light for the people. It's not only a spiritual sort of liberation, but in physical, tangible ways too.

If you're interested in other ways to get involved with sharing some of your wealth - check out the links below.

Church World Service - this is the organization I interned with while at Duke - my favorite good guys. They lead the CROP Walk in the U.S. to raise funds for international and local hunger aid.
Heifer International - for Christmas this year, why not sponsor a water buffalo or a goat in honor of your mom? Alternative gifts are an awesome way to spread the word AND donate to a worthy cause.
Doctors Without Borders - a great multi-national resource. Won the Nobel Peace prize in 1999!