Ah, Christmas—that season of peace and joy, full of good cheer and neighborly kindness. Except when family comes to dine. Then we dig our trenches and wait for that one topic (or several) that no one agrees upon to find its way into our conversation.
What but family ties can bring together a group so different? If there isn’t out-and-out arguing, it’s all awkward fork-clinking and averted eyes. How do we move through these tough moments as people of faith? How does bridge-crossing really happen if our neighbors or friends or loved ones hold views we find repugnant?
It isn’t that our prayers resolve the tension that exists. It isn’t that one side “wins” in the language of prayer. But the opening created by the “shoot” coming forth from Jesse is enough to make a crack in the status quo of enmity.
This message is an excerpt from “When wolves come to dinner” by Liv Larson Andrews in the December 2017 issue of Gather magazine.
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