It’s Christmas (Eve) Again

In years past, I couldn’t help but feel the inevitable letdown that came once Christmas had come and gone. It was as if I spent all that time and energy waiting for one day that went by awfully fast.

But I’ve learned to appreciate Christmas more in and of itself, aside from all the gifts and trappings.

For me, the more I celebrate the advent season, the less Christmas becomes about one single day and the more it becomes about the entrance into our world of the infant Immanuel, God with us.

If you follow the 12 days of Christmas, then you know that Christmas doesn’t really end until January 6. So this year, I’m milking the holiday for all it’s worth.

Yeah, I like presents. I like giving them, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I liked getting them, too. But more than presents, I like being around family and the intentional togetherness fostered by the celebration of the Christ child who came to bring us peace.

I love what I heard in a sermon tonight. Jesus came to take away our fear and give us joy.

That’s what Christmas is really about, Charlie Brown.

 

Just About Everything About Your Nativity is Wrong (But Not Everything)

Disclaimer: if you love your nativity scene and don’t want anybody messing with it, you might want to stop reading here. Just FYI. Otherwise, keep goin’. Fun times are ahead.

First of all, the wise men were not at the birth scene. According to Matthew, they didn’t arrive until Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were living in a house and Jesus was probably 2 years old. Already, your nativity scene is getting less crowded.

Also, there was no mean inn-keeper (sorry to burst your bubble, all of you whose dramatic career consisted of playing this one character in the church Christmas pageant). There was probably no inn, either. According to what I’ve learned, the Greek word used for inn in Luke 2 is probably better rendered as “guest room” and was most likely in back of the ancestral home where the family beast of burden would normally stay.

That means there weren’t animals at the birth scene. Again, not 100% for certain, but more than likely not. I don’t know if any little boy showed up and serenaded the Christ child with a drum solo, but it’s doubtful.

As far as the wise men are concerned, there’s no indication in Scripture that there were three of them. Just because there were three gifts doesn’t mean that there were three of them. And they may or may not have been named Gaspar, Melchior,  and Balthasar. For all we know, they could have been named Larry, Curly, and Moe.

The one thing that’s right about your nativity scene is that Jesus is there. The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. God took on human skin and became Immanuel– “God with us.” The Almighty became an embryo and the Creator became a helpless infant boy.

So you can keep that part of your nativity scene. You can even add in snow if the spirit leads.

Do You Believe?

“At one time most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I’ve grown old the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe” (from The Polar Express).

It would be very easy to turn Christmas into a season for shopping. It would be so very easy to get caught up in Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday sales and racking up debt on credit cards to buy more stuff for people who don’t really need it.

Don’t get me wrong. I like me some presents. I like giving them AND I like receiving them. But if that’s all it’s about, then there will always be a colossal letdown on December 26.

Christmas is more than presents and food and tacky Christmas sweaters. Christmas is even more than family gathered together in one place for one night, reliving memories and celebrating together.

Christmas is about the impossible becoming possible. Christmas is about the miracle of God becoming flesh, being born into our world as a helpless infant boy. I love the imagery I heard when someone said that Jesus came to us as the lowliest of the lowly so that he could lift us up from beneath.

That’s what Christmas is all about (in the immortal words of Linus). Christmas is believing that Jesus came for you and me. That when we couldn’t find a way to God, he found a way to us.

I love the sermon at the end of The Bishop’s Wife, a classic Christmas movie:

“Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking.

Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child’s cry, a blazing star hung over a stable, and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven’t forgotten that night down the centuries. We celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, with the sound of bells, and with gifts.

But especially with gifts. You give me a book, I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer and Uncle Henry can do with a new pipe. For we forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled, all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. Its his birthday we’re celebrating. Don’t let us ever forget that.

Let us ask ourselves what He would wish for most. And then, let each put in his share, loving kindness, warm hearts, and a stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.”

A Borrowed Blog (and a Very Good Reminder)

This was printed in a church bulletin and later posted in a blog by Jon Acuff called Stuff Christians Like, which is probably my favorite blog out there:

“We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, yo no habla Ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rail or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s Baptism.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.

If you blew all your offering money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!”

Here is the original blog.

http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/2012/07/how-to-welcome-people-to-your-church/

May we remember that no one is beyond saving or out of the reach of the love of Christ.

Last Thoughts on Chick-fil-A

This will be my last blog/post on the subject of Chick-fil-A. I promise. I realize it’s been talked to death. Kinda like beating a dead horse (or in this case, a fried chicken patty).

I am NOT saying that the Chick-fil-A appreciation day was wrong. I am asking the question: what were your motives? Were they really out of love or were they all about proving a point or showing that your side was right and the other side wrong? I realize that I don’t have the best track record when it comes to having the best motives.

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend in social media-land. It seems that lately, if you disagree with me (or I with you), then not only are you 1) wrong, but you must also be 2) evil and 3) immoral. When you’re not busy dissin’ my dreams, you must be out there hating puppies and kittens, sacrificing small animals to Beelzebub, making fun of Girl Scouts and driving around with a bumper sticker that shouts, “I DON’T BREAK FOR UNICORNS OR RAINBOWS!”

That’s just my observation. We are free to disagree and still respect each other. Disagreement is not the same as hate, and love is not the same as condoning everything you believe and say and do.

Above all, I think we need the reminder (and me most of all) that what really matters is what is done out of love. What counts are those things done out of faith.

The Bible doesn’t say that the greatest of these is a well-thought out argument that no one can refute. Nor a picket sign with a Bible verse on it. It says that the greatest of these is LOVE.

I mean the LOVE that God has for us that accepts us just as we are but refuses to leave us that way. A love that won’t rest until we are a perfect reflection of the image of God. A love that won’t stop until all that is not of God is purged out of us and all that is left in us is God.

What really matters isn’t what I think. I’ve been wrong before. I’ve jumped on and off of plenty of bandwagons in my time. What really matters is this: am I showing the supreme love of Christ in what I do? Will what I do draw people closer to or push them away from following the Jesus I love and serve?

That’s all.

He Has Overcome

I was listening to my favorite worship song in the car on the way home tonight. The song is “Take Heart” by Hillsong United. The part I love is at the end where they sing about how God has over come all our troubles and all our tears, all our failures and all our fears, and so forth.

My word for you tonight is that whatever you’re facing, whatever is holding you back, whatever is keeping you from fully realizing the peace and joy in Christ, God has already overcome.

If you’re afraid of running off your friends or screwing up your relationships beyond repair, God has already overcome.

If you’re afraid that you will always be bound by the same self-defeating thoughts, God has already overcome.

If you can’t find hope anywhere in sight and are on the verge of giving up and giving in, God has already overcome.

If you can’t find the faith to pray for another or even for yourself for healing of any kind, God has already overcome.

If you feel like every dream and desire of your heart gets thwarted and nothing will ever go the way you want it to, God has already overcome.

If you feel lost in the dark and wonder if the night will ever end for you and if you will ever see daylight again, God has already overcome.

If you feel like all you’ve done is in vain and that nobody notices or cares, God has already overcome.

So take heart, friend. His love will get you through until you see with your own eyes the triumph of our God over every obstacle, every foe, every enemy, and everything you will ever face.

December 27, or Christmas III: Revenge of the Mistletoe

I have absolutely no idea why I came up with this title. It just felt good in a whimsical kind of way. And it will probably have nothing at all to do with the rest of the blog.

Today ends my Christmas vacation, or stay-cation, since I didn’t exactly go anywhere during my time off. It was also yet another memorable Christmas for me and once again, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea that Christmas Day has already come and gone.

The older I get, the more keenly aware I am of family and friends. The more I see how precious they are to me. The more I am aware of just how much God has blessed and encouraged and challenged and changed me through all of them.

I also see that while I take for granted that all my family and all my friends will always be there, I also know they won’t. This Christmas reminded me of how fragile this life is and how we must handle it with care. Life is much too valuable to be wasted on grudges and petty things and unforgiveness. The pain spent making a wrong right or mending a broken friendship or simply saying, “I’m sorry, I was wrong forgive me,” is much less than the pain of regret over words not spoken and forgiveness withheld.

I see that the most valuable things in life are too precious to hold on to with closed fists. I must hold them with open hands, always ready to let them go. Really, nothing in this life belongs to me, anyway. I’m just taking care of it. My job is  to make sure that everything and everyone in my life leaves me better off than when I received them.

My job is to make sure that in the time you know me and spend with me, I let you go looking more like Jesus than before I met you. That you run the race with more assurance and fight the good faith with more confidence and trust God more radically.

That’s where I am headed in 2012. Less of me and more of Jesus. Less of my own plans and more of surrender to whatever He wants. Less anxiety and craving and striving and more resting and trusting and believing the promises.

Most of all, I want to remain a Ragamuffin whose mantra is still “My Abba is very fond of me (and you)!”

 

Christmas Is Over?

I can remember on December 26 that I always had a sort of letdown feeling. It didn’t matter that I got everything on my wish list or that I saw all my family happy and together. I still couldn’t help but feeling a bit depressed on the day after.

If Christmas is just a day, then that’s a natural feeling. If we spend so much time and energy in anticipation for one day of presents and food, then there’s no way the actual day can live up to all the hype. Especially these days when there is more and more pressure to buy the perfect gift and to go into debt to do so.

But if Christmas is a frame of mind, then we know that the best gift has already been given. There’s no need to try and compete with the perfect first gift of Christmas, wrapped by a teenage peasant in swaddling clothes and laid in a feeding trough. This gift isn’t for just one day a year, but for all 365 days a year.

If Christmas isn’t just about giving and receiving, then it doesn’t disappoint. If Christmas is about honoring the first gift, about celebrating the birth of Emmanuel, then Christmas takes on a whole new meaning. If we strive to fill the stocking of the Christ-child, so to speak, we find ourselves asking a whole new set of questions.

What would He want most from us? What gift could we bring that would most honor Him who gave everything for us? Who came to earth on December 25 expressly for the purpose of taking our place and dying the death we deserved, so we could have more full and abundant life than our wildest dreams could conceive?

I think what Jesus wants from us is us. Not out wallets or our talents or our calendars, but us. Living sacrifices and vessels set apart for God to use whenever and however He chooses. Vessels of mercy, kindness, grace, and above all, love.

I want to wake up tomorrow and live out a thank you to Jesus. I want everything I do and say, everywhere I go, to be Jesus working and speaking through me. I want to live out the true meaning of Christmas, not just one day a year, but every day of every year for as long as God gives me breath.

I hope and pray that every day for you will be Christmas where you seek to give Jesus the best present you have to give Him– your heart.

It’s Christmas Day and Emmanuel is Here

On Christmas Day, we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. God for us, God on our side, God over us, and (thanks to Jesus’ final and finished work) God in us. That means

The Light of the world has come into our darkness and all the darkness in the world could not comprehend or conquer this Light. The way to God has forever been illuminated.

The glory of God has come and, as one pastor put it, He is the only one strong enough to take all the pieces of our lives and hold them together. Only He can fill the God-shaped void inside us when no one and nothing else will.

Perfect Love has come and that love casts out all fear. Doubts vanish as we have beheld this one and only Son of God who pitched His tent among us.

This Jesus has come to give us a hope and a future, as Jeremiah promised, and give us each a new name . . . Beloved. We have more than a chance at something better, we have been adopted as sons and daughters and given an eternal inheritance that will never be taken away.

This God in mortal form has come for the sick and lonely and scarred and (best of all) broken. All those broken relationships and hearts and dreams and psyches find healing and wholeness as we find a stronger Love inside us that can pour out through us to those we love.

Death no longer has the final word. The Word, Jesus, has spoken victory forever over death and hell and the grave. He holds the keys to all of the above and His love is stronger than anything we will ever face.

When we could not get to God or bridge the gap that separated us from Him, He came to us and not only showed us the way Home, he became the Way. He has reconciled us to God by His own blood and turned us from enemies and outcasts and strangers into sons and daughters of the King over Everything.

Celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. The God who will be with us on December 26, and on every day after that, too!

The Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the world

People groped their way blindly in the dark, searching for the smallest hint of light.

People walked around with gaping holes in their souls that they tried to fill with careers, pleasures, sex, money, fame, and all sorts of little trinket gods that promised big but never delivered.

People lived in bondage to fear and doubt, looking to spouses or significant others or children to be their saviors, looking to medicate in any way those terrible feelings away.

People had no hope, no future, no name, and no chance at anything better.

People’s lives were filled with the debris of broken relationships, broken hearts, broken lives, broken dreams, broken psyches, broken promises and only memories of what it meant to be whole and healthy.

Death was the final horror, something to be avoided at any price, and its shadow cast pallor over even the brightest and best moments of life.

People were cut off and alienated from God, not only strangers but enemies to the One who made them, and there didn’t appear to be any remote possibility of reconciliation.

But then one December night long, long ago, a star shone brightly in the night sky over a lowly stable where the impossible became possible and everything changed . . .