The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 6

The end of Christmas week is always bittersweet. Sweet because Christmas has finally come, and then bitter because by the end of the week, Christmas begins to end. Yesterday I saw two Christmas trees on their way to being recycled, and it made me a little sad. One of my fondest childhood Christmas memories was lying on my stomach as far under our Christmas tree as I could get, reading a book by the light of the tree lights and enjoying the pine scent as I read. This year, Kathy and I created an inadvertent Christmas memory by sleeping in our living room, near our tree, with the lights on the tree and our window candle lights lit all night. Kathy's parents spent Christmas with us and we gave them our room to sleep in. We enjoyed eight nights with our tree. A few nights I woke briefly, and the multi-colored lights bathing our room, and the peacefulness of the atmosphere was wonderful. I learned to love the story of Christmas as a child, and it has only intensified as an adult.

For almost every year of my adult life, I have planned, rehearsed and performed one or more Christmas concerts, plays, or events for the various churches that I have served. I normally began working on the event sometime in June, and normally performed the last of the Christmas music for the year on the last Sunday of the year. While I have heard colleagues say after a long season of planning, rehearsing, and performing  something like "I'm glad that is over," I have never ever felt that way. In fact, for me, it was the other way around. Turning the last page, of the last song, at the last performance, was always a sad moment. I think if we could, I would have loved performing the concert or play, every day of the year. I would be like the little girl who loved Christmas so much, she'll willed it into existence. (Christmas Every Day by William Dean Howells)

I think because of all the research, reading the story hundreds of times, listening to copious amounts of music to glean the best each year to perform, reading many Christmas stories each year, and all of the other Christmas planning, I have become a true Christmas fan. I love every moment from the beginning to the end. However, since the story is so embedded in my heart and spirit, the story never ends for me. As each season of the church goes by in the year, it simply builds on His coming, Emmanuel, God with us. It is not accidental that the New Year begins a week after Christmas Day. Peace, hope, love, and sense of God's presence and guidance, should propel us into a new year filled with expectancy, hope, and gratitude that God is with us! 

God's first act of creation was, and God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. Gen 1:3 The prophet Isaiah wrote, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isa 9:2 Our nation and world are in desperate need of the Light. They must know that the Light has dawned. As our nation approaches a new year of uncertainty, Christians must let the Light shine through their lives. Christ did come as a baby, but He is still among us now as God Eternal, Powerful, desiring to touch our lives with His Spirit. God is with us...

The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 5

Today's blog is a slight departure from the actual Christmas story. I have always loved the idea of Santa Claus. Now I know that many Christians have a problem including Santa Claus in their Christmas celebrations. Some see him as a competitor to Jesus. Yet Santa, unlike traditions such as Christmas trees, holly, and mistletoe, is at least partially based on Christian principles and the example of Christian men. There is nothing theological about Santa, but there is a great deal that makes him the perfect secular companion for the holy day when we stop and recognize Christ's birth.

Santa Claus's roots can be traced back to St. Nicholas of Bari. The son of wealthy parents, Nicholas was born in the fourth century in the the own of Patara, Lycia (now part of Turkey). Legend records that when his parents died, the young man took all the family's money and distributed it to the needy in his hometown. He then accepted the call to full time Christian service, becoming a monk when he was only seventeen and, shortly thereafter, a priest. Nicholas was a remarkable man, exhibiting a maturity that few gain in their lifetime. He was said to have saved many lives and to have been a powerful prayer warrior. Yet far more than his spiritual powers, it was his generosity that most endeared Nicholas to those who knew him and that made him into a legend that lives on today. One of the wonderful stories about Nicholas's generosity tells about a widower and his three teenage daughters. The impoverished man and his family were literally starving to death. As the story goes, the widower was considering selling a daughter into slavery. However, each time Nicholas was in town, a gold coin was found in the stocking of one of the daughters that had been washed and hung by the fire to dry. Nicholas's generosity kept this family together.

The date of Nicholas's death, December 6th, probably in the late 340s or early 350s, was one of great sadness of the people of ancient Asia Minor. But he was not forgotten. On every anniversary of his passing, his life was commemorated with an annual feast. On St. Nicholas's Eve, youngsters would set out food for Nicholas and straw for his donkey. The next morning obedient children awoke to find their gifts replaced with sweets and toys. St. Nicholas's Day is still observed in many countries and on this day gifts are exchanged in honor of the spirit of faith, hope, and charity that he embodied.

The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 4

Every year, just after Thanksgiving, I begin to look for Christmas lights. Not the commercial mall or store displays that go up before Halloween, but the lights that people put on their houses. It is fun to watch more and more houses decorated. More than once we have gone way out of our way to drive down a street where we spotted lights from an intersection. Normally, I try to be an electricity miser, reminding everyone in our household to turn out lights and shut off appliances that aren't being used. But when Christmas comes, it all changes. The more lights the better. The picture you see on this page is one of the days right after Thanksgiving. It was in the mid 80s the day that Shawn and I hung our outdoor lights. When we lived in Colorado and St. Louis, we froze some years trying to get the lights up. This year we were sweating by the time we were done. But it didn't matter, there is something about lights and Christmas that simply go together.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah first put light and Christmas together. Looking into the future, he wrote: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shined. (Isaiah 9:2) The meaning of his words became clear when, seven centuries later, a man named Simeon saw the Christ Child and proclaimed in prayer: I have seen the Savior You have given the world, the Light that will shine upon the nations. (Luke 2:30-32) It is amazing what just a little pin point of light will do to darkness. It's even more amazing to see an entire block of houses lit up in the most creative ways. Even the most crooked string of lights gives off a glow that shines through the night.

So while we should all try and conserve energy, at Christmas, I think its okay to turn on the lights! Jesus Christ, the Light of Christmas, has come!

The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 3

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Luke 2:14  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (emphasis mine) In the approximate 3,100 years of recorded history, only 287 years, or 92 %, have been recorded without a war somewhere in the world. Over 8,000 peace treaties have been agreed to, and broken. In the year I was born, the Arab-Israeli war was on. When I began junior high school, the Sino-Indian was was just ending, the Cold War was in full swing, and the Viet Nam war was just beginning. Throughout my lifetime, there has not been a year of peace. Today, the Middle East has several war hot spots, North Korea is poised to flex its muscles with a missile launch and African countries are skirmishing in border disputes, race wars and other difficulties. Even at the time of Christ's birth, Quirinius,the governor of Syria, was fighting a war in Macedonia.

Christ came to bring peace to the heart, not to the nations. The disciples expected Christ to become the political and military head of the government  They expected a kingdom, but he came to establish the Kingdom in our hearts. Even today, some Christians believe that somehow the world is going to improve, that things will get better as there is more influence for good. That somehow God's Kingdom is going to be established among the nations. The truth is, we are seeing mankind at its worst, sliding down the slope of complete Godlessness. This season, Christ is still changing lives for good, but He does it like He always has, one at a time. We can help people find Him, and peace. John 14:27 I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left — feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught. (from THE MESSAGE)

The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 2

Quite often the portrayal of Mary is of this young teenager who isn't quite sure what is happening to her. Oh, she knows she's pregnant, but it seems like she is cast as just another character in a story that rightly features the Savior of the world. If you look closely in Luke 1 and 2, you get a glimpse of a very strong and aware young lady, who has spent some quality time thinking and working through her situation. Luke 1:46-55 says: And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." (emphasis mine)

Mary understands that what is happening to her will have multi-generational implications, and that the birth of the Savior is prophetic fulfillment that had its roots in God's promise to Abraham to build a nation that is culminating very soon with the birth of the Savior. How does she stay humble under these circumstances? How does she not start telling everyone that she comes into contact with, that she is going to deliver the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords? Luke 2:19 gives us a clue. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. This verse comes directly after the visit by the shepherds. The word "pondered" means to consider something deeply and thoroughly, mediate, to weigh carefully in the mind. I suspect that in Mary's deep consideration of all the events that were happening, the Holy Spirit helped her keep everything in the proper perspective.

In his book, "God Came Near", Max Lucado has a chapter titled "Twenty-Five Questions For Mary". Did the thought ever occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep in your arms? Did you ever feel awkward teaching him how he created the world? Twenty five great questions, questions that helped Mary keep the balance between being called "blessed" throughout the generations, and quietly pondering her role in mothering the Savior of the world. More on Mary, and this amazing Christmas story, later...

The Amazing Christmas Story - Part 1

Every year as I read and study the Christmas story, I bemoan the fact that in each of the Gospels, along with the Old Testament prophecies, there is so little written of the "behind the scenes" narrative. For instance, there are only 13 verses in the book of Luke that tell about the angelic visitation to the shepherds and their encounter with the Christ child. I would love a little background on these guys and maybe even some "what are they doing now" information. How did this encounter change their lives? Did they remain shepherds? Did they become followers of Jesus?

One of the most dynamic encounters for me comes in Luke, chapter 1, where Mary visits Elizabeth.
Mary didn't waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah's house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,
  You're so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! 
  And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? 
  The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears,
  The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. 
  Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! (The Message)

When Kathy was pregnant with our three children, I enjoyed having her put my hands on her belly and feel each baby move. Sometimes they were subtle movements, and other times they were real kicks. In Elizabeth's case, the narrative says the baby "leaped in her womb" and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. What a dramatic encounter. Somehow I don't think this was an isolated event. While I realize that Elizabeth was carrying John, who would be the prophetic announcer of the coming the Messiah, somehow I've got to think that there must have been other encounters like this. Mary, at the market, and suddenly a vendor breaks into tears as she shares with Mary her loneliness, or sadness because of a broken relationship. As Mary interacts with other women of her age, and the realization among them that there is a wonderful sense of peace and contentment among them. Even her times with Joseph, and his wondering about the feeling he is sensing as he sits with Mary, a peace that washes over him, even as he tries to sort out the dilemma that he is in. I'm sure that every time Joseph was with Mary, the words of the angel came back to him, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Do you think he dared put his hands on Mary's belly and feel the baby Jesus move and kick? Do you think Joseph was filled with the Holy Spirit as he sat next to Mary? Somehow I feel that from the beginning, these two, plus the people closest to them, all knew that a supernatural event was taking place. We'll explore this in a few Christmas posts this month.