{"id":646,"date":"2015-11-12T22:59:59","date_gmt":"2015-11-12T22:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=646"},"modified":"2015-11-12T22:59:59","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T22:59:59","slug":"advent-and-red-cups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2015\/11\/12\/advent-and-red-cups\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent and Red Cups"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Starbucks_Red_Cups1\"<\/a>

Image Source: Starbucks<\/p><\/div>\n

When I first saw comments on Facebook about Starbucks and red cups my first thought was, \u201cWhy is Starbucks using Toby Keith\u2019s \u2018Red Solo Cup\u2019 song?\u201d Seriously, that was my first thought. Since Starbucks coffee is not high on my coffee palate, I didn\u2019t pay much attention to it until Twitter ran with the story for several days.<\/p>\n

I finally read what all the noise was about: apparently an evangelist is upset because these Starbucks red cups are not Christmas enough. In response, those who disagree with the evangelist are upset at him. Apparently a red line has been drawn in the coffee beans.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll admit that I grew up in an America that until recently was not shy about displaying a cr\u00e8che on public property, including government property. Saying \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d was common and in public schools we sang \u201cSilent Night,\u201d \u201cJoy to the World,\u201d and \u201cWe Wish You a Merry Christmas.\u201d But in our increasingly secular and religiously diverse society that day has passed, at least in most areas.<\/p>\n

While I personally wish that Starbucks, Google, and other businesses would recognize the religious foundation of this season, I don\u2019t expect them to do what we, the Body of Jesus Christ should be doing. It is our responsibility to tell the world about Jesus and show His love. Jesus commanded His disciples to \u201cGo into all the world and make disciples of all the nations\u201d (Matthew 28:19, NKJV). The Apostle Paul did not expect the Roman Empire to do his work for him, though he wisely took advantage of what the empire would allow.<\/p>\n

This does not mean we should passively surrender to the culture; rather, let\u2019s be wise in our efforts and position ourselves as leaders in places, and companies, where we can influence the graceful display of our faith symbols. For years I have prayed that the Holy Spirit will raise up a new generation of bright and creative entrepreneurs who love Jesus, and are not afraid or ashamed to use their voices, vision, and resources to impact this world for righteousness. They will know how to wisely and publicly declare the message of the Gospel personally and through their corporate image. Thankfully they already exist and I pray for more to arise.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to these opening thoughts about Advent, which begins on Sunday, November 29 (many IPHC members in Orthodox countries will begin Advent on Sunday, November 15). This is our opportunity to share with our communities the Good News of the birth of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Most importantly, we can do this by manifesting love and compassion to those in need. And, we can display Nativity scenes on our yards. We can invite neighbors into our homes, decorated with open Bibles (which are actually being read!), with various manger scenes, with Hanukkah candles reminding us of our Jewish roots of faith, as well as the usual Santa, reindeer, elves, and the like. And yes, we can say \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d in the store check-out line even if the clerk does not, or cannot, say it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something else we can do. Instead of lamenting \u201cred cups,\u201d we can follow the example of an IPHC congregation and start Advent this year with Red Sunday<\/a>. I think it\u2019s a great idea because it puts the focus on the real meaning of the season: the birth of the Savior who shed His holy blood for our salvation. A lot of IPHC congregations emphasize Advent and I encourage this practice. On November 29th we can connect the birth of the Messiah, which is often sentimentalized in our society, with the reality of His death and resurrection, and our need for salvation. Without Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the Incarnation we celebrate at Christmas is little more than a myth supporting year end profits. Without the Incarnation at Christmas, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are about a hero rather than the Son of God.<\/p>\n

So, here\u2019s an idea: next time you go to Starbucks during this Christmas Season, stop by Hobby Lobby, pick up some pens that can be read on red, and write your own Christmas expression for those around you to read. Let Advent begin!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[40,226,45,134,216,182,229,205,227,228],"class_list":{"0":"post-646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-bishops-blog","7":"tag-40","8":"tag-advent","9":"tag-bishop","10":"tag-bishops-blog","11":"tag-christmas","12":"tag-general-superintendent","13":"tag-merry-christmas","14":"tag-november","15":"tag-red-cups","16":"tag-starbucks","17":"entry"},"title_es":"Adviento y tazas rojas","content_es":"

Por Doug Beacham<\/strong> <\/p> Cuando vi por primera vez comentarios en Facebook sobre los vasos de Starbucks y rojo lo primero que pens\u00e9 fue: "\u00bfPor qu\u00e9 es Starbucks utilizando canci\u00f3n 'Red Solo Cup' de Toby Keith?" En serio, eso fue lo primero que pens\u00e9. Dado que el caf\u00e9 Starbucks no es una prioridad en mi paladar el caf\u00e9, yo no le prest\u00e9 mucha atenci\u00f3n hasta Twitter corri\u00f3 con la historia durante varios d\u00edas. Finalmente le\u00ed lo que todo el ruido estaba a punto: al parecer, un evangelista es molesto porque estas tazas rojas de Starbucks no son lo suficientemente Navidad. En respuesta, los que no est\u00e1n de acuerdo con el evangelista est\u00e1n molestos con la mirada. Al parecer, una l\u00ednea roja se ha dibujado en los granos de caf\u00e9. Voy a admitir que crec\u00ed en un pa\u00eds que hasta hace poco no era t\u00edmido sobre la visualizaci\u00f3n de una guarder\u00eda en la propiedad p\u00fablica, incluyendo la propiedad del gobierno. Diciendo "Feliz Navidad" era com\u00fan y en las escuelas p\u00fablicas que cant\u00f3 "Noche de Paz", "alegr\u00eda al mundo", y "le deseamos una Feliz Navidad." Pero en nuestra sociedad cada vez m\u00e1s secular y religiosamente diversa ese d\u00eda ha pasado, por lo menos en la mayor\u00eda de las \u00e1reas. Aunque yo personalmente deseo que Starbucks, Google y otras empresas reconocer\u00edan el fundamento religioso de esta temporada, no espero que hagan lo que nosotros, el Cuerpo de Jesucristo deber\u00eda estar haciendo. Es nuestra responsabilidad de decirle al mundo acerca de Jes\u00fas y mostrar su amor. Jes\u00fas mand\u00f3 a sus disc\u00edpulos a "Id por todo el mundo y haced disc\u00edpulos a todas las naciones" (Mateo 28:19, NVI). El ap\u00f3stol Pablo no esperaba que el Imperio Romano para hacer el trabajo por \u00e9l, a pesar de que tom\u00f3 sabiamente ventaja de lo que el Imperio permitir\u00eda. Esto no quiere decir que debemos entregar de forma pasiva a la cultura; m\u00e1s bien, vamos a ser prudentes en nuestros esfuerzos y posicionarnos como l\u00edderes en los lugares y las empresas, en el que podemos influir en la pantalla elegante de nuestros s\u00edmbolos de fe. Durante a\u00f1os he orado para que el Esp\u00edritu Santo va a levantar una nueva generaci\u00f3n de empresarios brillantes y creativos que aman a Jes\u00fas, y no tienen miedo o verg\u00fcenza de usar sus voces, la visi\u00f3n y los recursos para impactar este mundo por la rectitud. Ellos sabr\u00e1n c\u00f3mo declarar p\u00fablicamente sabiamente y el mensaje del Evangelio personalmente ya trav\u00e9s de su imagen corporativa. Afortunadamente ya existen y oro por m\u00e1s de surgir. Lo que me lleva a estos pensamientos se abren sobre el Adviento, que comienza el domingo 29 de noviembre (IISP muchos miembros en los pa\u00edses ortodoxos Adviento comenzar\u00e1n el domingo, 15 de noviembre). Esta es nuestra oportunidad de compartir con nuestras comunidades la buena noticia del nacimiento del Salvador del mundo, Jesucristo. Lo m\u00e1s importante, podemos hacer esto mediante la manifestaci\u00f3n de amor y compasi\u00f3n a los necesitados. Y, podemos visualizar escenas de la Natividad en nuestros patios. Podemos invitar a los vecinos a nuestros hogares, decorado con Biblias abiertas (que en realidad se est\u00e1n leyendo!), Con varias escenas de pesebres, con las velas de Januc\u00e1 nos recuerda nuestras ra\u00edces jud\u00edas de la fe, as\u00ed como la costumbre de Santa, renos, elfos, y similares. Y s\u00ed, podemos decir "Feliz Navidad" en la l\u00ednea tienda de registro de salida, incluso si el empleado no lo hace, o no puede, decirlo. Hay algo m\u00e1s que podamos hacer. En vez de lamentar "tazas rojas", podemos seguir el ejemplo de una congregaci\u00f3n IISP y comenzar el Adviento de este a\u00f1o con Red Domingo<\/a> . Creo que es una gran idea, ya que pone el foco en el verdadero significado de la temporada: el nacimiento del Salvador que derram\u00f3 su sangre santa por nuestra salvaci\u00f3n. Una gran cantidad de congregaciones IISP hincapi\u00e9 en Adviento y animo a esta pr\u00e1ctica. El 29 de noviembre podemos conectar el nacimiento del Mes\u00edas, que a menudo se sentimentalismos en nuestra sociedad, con la realidad de su muerte y resurrecci\u00f3n, y nuestra necesidad de salvaci\u00f3n. Sin Viernes Santo y Domingo de Pascua, la Encarnaci\u00f3n que celebramos en Navidad es poco m\u00e1s que un mito apoyo ganancias de fin de a\u00f1o. Sin la Encarnaci\u00f3n en Navidad, Viernes Santo y Domingo de Pascua son sobre un h\u00e9roe en lugar del Hijo de Dios. Por lo tanto, aqu\u00ed est\u00e1 una idea: la pr\u00f3xima vez que vaya a Starbucks durante este tiempo de Navidad, pase por pasillo de la man\u00eda, recoger algunas plumas que se pueden leer en rojo, y escribir su propia expresi\u00f3n de Navidad para los que lo rodean para leer. \u00a1Que comience el Adviento!","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-aq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}