Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Day After



Scripture records that the period following the completion of creation as we know it was a time of rest for the Creator (Genesis 2). The day after the Israelites had marched around Jericho for six days once each day, they marched around it seven times and watched the walls collapse allowing an easy conquest (Joshua 6). Seemingly the day after Elijah humiliated 400 prophets of Baal found him heading out of town fearing he would soon die at the command of Queen Jezebel (I Kings 18-19).

Most of the disciples disappeared the day after Jesus was arrested (Matthew 26:47-56). Many of them apparently hid in a room the day after Jesus was crucified and stayed there until Jesus revealed himself (John 20:19). What we do the day after an event may say something about our character.

Today is the day after Christmas. What are you doing? Has it in some measure been determined by what you did yesterday? How did yesterday affect your decisions about today? Did the events of yesterday both in the past and in the present affect your life at all?

A head cold, a demanding dog, the threat of storms and tornadoes, and the lingering emotional darkness from the violence of man against man has dampened the joy I usually have on the day after Christmas. The reality is the head cold will go away, the dog is fun to have around, and the storm front is long past. There is no ignoring, however, the grief we share with those who will forever more have an empty chair where a loved and smiling face should be.

I suppose Mary was glad, even if it was a stable, to have it all to herself and her family again after the shepherds had left. We are not told how many days the holy family had to stay in the stable. I cannot help believing that Mary and Joseph worked to make the crude nursery as comfortable as possible. For Mary the day after was most likely a day of rest.

With all the build-up we have for Christmas, perhaps that is what we should have as our own focus. Make December 26 a day of rest. Allow the beauty of the season to lie gently upon our spirits. Listen to the sounds of the first Advent fulfilled, Christ has arrived. See the vibrancy of life and hope in the middle of winter. We need to sit instead of go and let the reason for the season sink a little deeper into our minds, into that part where dreams are given birth and decisions are made to follow those dreams.

Today my wife and I talked of 2013 and what it might be like. We talked of the decisions we might make, the goals we might seek, and how things could or should change in the next twelve months. Tonight I am listening to Christmas music. In a few moments my wife and I will watch a Christmas dvd I received as a gift yesterday. We could not have done that if we were catching up on after Christmas sales or returning appreciated but unwanted gifts.

For all the other things that were going on today, there was still the conscious decision to rest. God rested after he had brought creation to the point he was satisfied. Mary rested after bringing the infant Son of God into world. I believe we are in good company with deciding to make the day after Christmas a time to rest. I think God may even smile with approval.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Evil Is Real



I plead ignorance, thankfully, as to the history of evil among mankind. The story of the first man and woman deciding to disobey God (Genesis 3) is good enough for me to speak of when evil came into our midst. Since then we are left with the simple statement occurring at the end of the book of Judges (Judges 21:25) to explain why things have turned out the way they have. Choosing what is right and wrong has been in the hands of the individual from the beginning.

All the blogs, all the news articles and commentaries, and all the psychological profiles created in the last few days will not remove the grief, the agony, the emptiness, the anger, and the desire for revenge felt by the families of Newtown, Connecticut. All of our analyzing and hypothesizing will not bring one single innocent life back to the loving arms of its family. This terrible tragedy becomes another statistic in the history of evil’s destructive power.

Most of us remember all too well the Virginia Tech Massacre. I had never heard of the Bath School Disaster in the Bath Township of Michigan before now. Yet it remains the worst act of school violence in American history when 38 school children and four adults were killed by a man filled with rage against his community. Evil knows no bounds.

In the early American West, laws were established to stop horse and cattle rustling. The penalty was often death by hanging. Yet people continued to steal horses and cattle. Today 33 states have the death penalty (deathpenaltyinfo.org). Nine out of the top ten cities recording the highest rate of violent crimes in our country exist in those states (Forbes Magazine). The threat of violence rarely prevents violence.

Passing more laws may create a climate in which a more violent and authoritarian response to crime is permitted by the citizenry, but more laws rarely reduce evil in a society. In our Judea-Christian history beginning with the start of human relationships, God’s forbiddance to touch the Tree of Knowledge did not keep the first man and woman from choosing to follow their own desires. The Ten Commandments and accompanying clarifications (Exodus-Deuteronomy) did not stop the Israelites from following another system of morality.

As I grew up in rural Kentucky, our school recited the pledge to the American flag, read the Bible, and had a prayer each day. That did not eliminate the need for our principal to sit on the front steps of the school each Halloween with a shotgun in his hand to prevent local “citizens” from coming by and breaking out the windows with rocks and guns. The façade of school morality does not stop school violence.

The Old Testament reveals a progression of God’s efforts to bring his wayward people into an understanding of his nature and will. The Ten Commandments are recorded on tablets of stone (Exodus 20, 32, 34). In Jeremiah 31 the prophet tells the people the law would no longer be external, but it would be written on their hearts as the original commandments were carved in stone. The prophet Ezekiel says God will remove the stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh made alive by his Spirit (Ezekiel 36).

This thought is reemphasized in the New Testament in the Person of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel-God with us, as he tells his disciples just before his death (John 14) he would not leave them alone. In the Person of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, he would live within them. He would guide them as they sought to fulfill the greatest law of all, the law of love.

Laws, an armed citizenry, prayer and Bible reading in schools will not stop evil. Evil is sin. We are all guilty of sin (Romans 3:23). The only answer is the power of Jesus Christ within us (Romans 6:23) and our willingness to forgive those who sin against us. Perhaps the final answer to evil in our world is contained in one of those last statements of Christ from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Why Do You Give at Christmas?



Here it is nearing mid-December and I’ve hardly begun to do any Christmas shopping. Frustration sets in and I ask myself why shop at all. Who needs what? Maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe I should ask who still hasn’t got what? What does “need” have to do with it?

In my house we already have too much stuff. Buying my wife more stuff means getting rid of some still perfectly usable stuff to make room for the new stuff. My children are out on their own and quite capable of buying for themselves any stuff they want when they want it which they do. Buying them more stuff leaves me wondering what stuff would they want versus resent if they had to fake an appreciation for stuff they now have to decide what they will do with it after I am out of sight!

Do I lose what little hair I have left trying to decide what to give whom? Do I try to find out in a sneaky way what they would really like without sounding like I am fishing for a suggestion? Do I just go on and buy everyone a gift certificate to places where the stuff they can buy will be all used up or eaten in a few days, weeks, or months? That is one way to deal with stuff.

Eat the gift. It’s gone. Read the gift and then give it away. It’s gone. Plant the gift (in my case) and when winter comes, it’s dead. It’s gone. There are ways to deal with certain kinds of stuff. Some are more practical than others.

Why do we give a gift at Christmas? Do we give because someone needs what we can give? Do we give because we need to give to relieve some inner compulsion? Do we give because we have so much we have to give it to someone else? Do we give because that is a simple act that says we remember and we care?

When God expressed his ultimate love for mankind by giving us a part of himself, Jesus Christ (John 3:16), he hoped there would be a response, but he didn’t require it. He loved us and gave us a part of himself to reveal how desperate he was to restore the broken relationship between Creator and creature. He gave us the Gift because he knew we needed it. He gave us the Gift because it was something we needed and could not provide for ourselves. That is really a pretty good reason for giving a gift at any time.

How would your Christmas look this year if every gift you gave went to two recipients? The thing of stuff went to a person who needed it but couldn’t provide it for themselves. The note of appreciation went to a person whom you admire, respect, or love saying that a gift was given in their name to a most worthy recipient, be it person or organization. How would you feel if you received such a note?

I love to eat out, but my age and physique say that I should do it a lot less. I love to garden, but you can only do so much on a twenty square foot plot. I love to work in a wood shop, but time is against me. Yet to get a note in the mail, perhaps a pretty Christmas card, telling me that a gift had been given to one of my favorite charities in my name would bring tears to my eyes and probably send them cascading down my cheeks.

I’ll probably send my elderly parents a small box of chocolates (stuff easily shared). My wife and sons are still on the question list. For myself I think I’ll offer a couple of suggestions for favorite Christian music group cds and a listing of my favorite charities. Knowing that someone who really needs stuff got it because of what someone else thought of me would make my Christmas complete. I cannot think of a better reason to give.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Got a Bright Light?



Last Sunday evening my wife and I attended a “Hanging of the Greens” service at one of our churches. This event emphasizes the symbols of Christmas and offers an opportunity to explain each one as the facility is decorated for the season. All age groups participated with scripture readings and music while evergreen roping, wreaths, and poinsettias were placed around the room. A tall evergreen tree was the recipient of several dozen chrismon decorations, each pointing to some aspect of the Christ event. An Advent wreath was highlighted and its first candle, Hope, was lit.

Often this service is the first activity during the four Sundays of Advent. Some have the church facilities already decorated and a full Advent Service is used to begin the season. Variations from church to church maintain a sense of uniqueness among the congregations.

In this particular church the service concluded with a candle-lighting time. While individual candles were being lit one by one down each row in the darkened sanctuary, the crowd sang “Silent Night”. Yeah, you guessed right. I teared up, choked up, and couldn’t sing most of the song. Seeing nearly 300 candles being raised while trying to voice the words “sleep in heavenly peace” was just more than my mushy emotions could handle. Through most of the song, about all I could do was watch.

Then it was over. The electric lights came on. We had to blow out our candles, go home, and get ready for another week of work. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

As we left the church, I was bothered by the thought of how many of us in blowing out our candles were also blowing out the only visible testimony of our relationship to God through Jesus Christ, the Messiah whose birth we are supposed to be celebrating. “You are the light of the world.” These words came from the One whom we recognize as the True Light whose coming brought truth and grace in their purest forms into our lives (John 1:17). The True Light of the World called his followers to carry his light in the world until he returned.

If Jesus is the light in our lives and he has told us that we are to be the ongoing lights of the world until he returns, it would probably be important that we let that light shine a little in the darkness in which we find ourselves. His title for his followers pointed to how spiritual light can impact and overcome the spiritual darkness around us.

If you are a follower of Jesus, I hope you won’t let your candle go out. You may have a family member that has never experienced the light of Jesus. You may have a neighbor whose idea of Christmas consists of a fat elf in a red suit who hangs around with reindeer. Coworkers may see the season as a time to send gifts they can’t afford to people they don’t like. These folks need a little light brought into their lives.

The sanctuary home for victims of spouse abuse could use your light. The local food distribution center could use your light. The elderly resident at the nursing home who has outlived all the rest of her family would love to see a bit of light come into her room. The single parent would find the season brightened by your light as you offer to provide free childcare.

You are the light of the world if Jesus has placed his light in you. Don’t blow out your candle at the end of the twelve days of Christmas. Don’t hold it close and hide it from those around you throughout the year. Take a chance and offer to share the light of Jesus with someone who has no light. If they are honest and willing to admit it, no one likes to stumble along in the dark.