Jesus is the reason…Or is He?

I hope that you all had a very blessed and very merry Christmas. In light of the holiday, myself, Skywalker and Johnny left for a trip across the Red Sea for several days, planning on celebrating the Christmas Season in Egyption style. We have had a blast, and as soon as we return I will be sure to upload some pictures on the photoblog. 

 Although Egypt is some-what more Christian than Jordan, it definalty lacks in the “Christmas Spirit” catagory.  Being a huge fan of this particular season, I found it strange to be so far removed from the Christmas that we have all grown to love and enjoy.  When I woke up on December 25th, there was no tree, no presents to open (mom and dad sent me plenty though!), no carols to sing, no stocking waiting for me, or any of the normal things that we consider “normal”.  It was just me, and 2 guys. We spent most of the day in traffic in Cairo and then rushed off to catch a very cheap train after wishing our families and loved ones a Merry Christmas. 

It was odd. But why was it odd?  Did the Celebration of the Incarnation of God depend on lights, carols, trees and presents?     Had the ideas of tradition and the fun comercialism of the Christmas Season become so well ingrained into my understanding of the holiday?  I found my self realizing that although, “Jesus is the reason…”, He had not been my reason for a long while. 

Philipians 2 states that, “God became man and dwelt among  us.” Think of that, God all-powerful, and all-loving came to earth as a baby.  Paul goes on to state that He came and made Himself “nothing.” The reason being only to give the good news of life that we could receive through His horrific death.  This is Christmas. 

Jesus is the reason…Or is He?  If you took away all your traditions-your tree, your Honey-baked Ham, the lights, the presents- would you still be as joyful and happy about the season?

I confess, I was not. Everything was out of place.  Except the true reason for celebration.  He never left. He was never out of place. He became nothing, so that I could have value, love, and reason for living.

May God grant you a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year!

The Shabaab

As the semester is coming to an end, and Christmas is just around the corner, I thought it would be great to give an update on what the plans are for next semester. Originally, we had made plans to move to Zarqa, a city north-east of Amman. However, God has seemed to move our hearts to stay where we are at. Although we will be teaching at an English Center next semester in Zarqa on a weekly basis, we have come to the conclusion that concentrating on our relationships here, in Amman, were great opportunities that we could not pass up.

Let me explain. Amman is the home of the “shabob,” or the younger, secular Muslim. Basically, they are me, but Muslim. They are young, ready for change, and seem to desire something different than what they have been given for so many centuries. It is a breading ground for college students to come together, and just hang out. The idea of making friends with this group is easy and obtainable. If you can’t tell, this is my personal favorite part about this culture. There are only a handful of people in the city that are working specifically with this group. We want to add to that number. I feel that we have the unique opportunity at our age to reach out and befriend this part of the culture. These are the movers and shakers of the Jordan of tomorrow, and possibly the Middle East in general. They will and are currently reshaping the culture. It has become more Westernized, and more Post-modern. Don’t be fooled, they are still very much Muslim, but are open to accepting the ideas of other faiths, and most importantly critical thinking.

Critical thinking is something that the Arab culture lacks, almost completely. I personally believe that if the culture would begin to critique itself, and given a generation or two, many of the issues we see in the news today would cease to exist. Including the most important issue of all. This younger generation is in fact willing to learn, to question, and with the provision of the Holy Spirit, change.

the People part 2

The people of Jordan, and practically every Arab you will ever meet, are what I like to call “cause sensitive.” There are several issues, that I’m sure you are familiar with. Their viewpoint is very different than our western views however. This may seem like an obvious statement, and it is. Their views are different for several reasons. These differences stem from: religion, region, and history. There is one difference that I could never stress enough. It is essential to understanding them as a people. They live here. We as westerners do not. They go through the wars, they’re family’s have been uprooted from their homes. Something you and I as Americans have never experienced. Always keep that fact in mind when the you watch the news of the Middle East.

One of the major sensitive issues is obviously the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. Jordan is something in between 60% and 70% Palestinian ex-patriots. Most were uprooted and thrown out of the country after the war in 1967. Many still have family there, that they have not seen for years. These people lost their homes one generation ago. They are refugees in a land that doesn’t necessarily like them. Most of the Jordanians are not happy that their country is overrun with foreigners. Their hatred toward America (not Americans-just the government) stems from the lack of effort we have given to restoring them to their homes. In their eyes, we only work for the good of the Isreali government, which is very corrupt. Of course the Palestinian government is extremely corrupt also. It’s a two way street. Praying for the peace of Jerusalem has never meant more after being in this part of the world.

The other cause they seem to tae up is the war in Iraq, which, make no mistake is in civil war. It is a different civil war than the United States suffered. It has no defined borders. And many of the people literally live next to each other. Many of the refugees of the war live here in Jordan, and most hate the American government. Sure they have a new and better government in place, but once again, they are here, you are there. They have no homes to go back to. Many of the kids I work with have been kidnapped since the US entered Iraq. Rightful blame or not, the blame has fallen on the US in this area.

Those are just a few of the issues that Arabs are very sensitive about. There are a diverse group of people, with many “causes” to take up, most against each other. These are a few that are agreed upon by the Arab community. These unite them like nothing else, short of the Quran itself.