Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – Advent Four/Christmas

“In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16, New Living Translation)

                Have you been naughty or nice this year? Gifts or coal? Just asking!

                I have been following Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes) in the daily comic strip this week? He always faces quite the moral dilemma before Christmas; whether to give into his naughty side or struggle to maintain the good in hopes that Santa will reward him for his efforts. Should he make a snowball and hit Suzie with it or resist the temptation? Of course, it is never about doing good just for goodness’ sake but to reap presents from Santa. Or as he puts it, “To evaluate my character, my immediate pleasure is being pitted against my future greed.” While he is figuring all this out, he has built a mountain of snowballs. “The day after Christmas is going to be epic.”

                “For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” (Romans 7: 17 - 20 The Message Bible)

                Isn’t that the truth!

                We all wish we had made better decisions and wiser choices. If we could do some things over again, if we could have eaten our words, if we might have acted less selfishly, if we had taken more time, if we had shown more love and compassion, understanding and patience, then there might have been better outcomes. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty; if we only knew then what we know now, then we wouldn’t be in the predicament we find ourselves in.

                But here we are, sitting on a pile of snowballs, getting ready to compound our mistakes. He or she who is without sin, let them throw the first snowball.

                “It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?”  (Romans 7: 21 -24, TMB)

                But it is almost Christmas. Let’s think and therefore act on the good side. We celebrate the coming of one who puts things right even if we can’t. “The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.”  (Romans 7:25, TMB)

                We lay a lot on this babe’s shoulders: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, NLT) Yet, Jesus of Bethlehem is also the word made flesh. He is the embodiment of goodness, the living example of what it means to love others unconditionally.  Our own good works, done in Jesus’ name, help make this broken world a better place for us and others.

                So, melt your snowballs into watersheds of human kindness and compassion.  May the days after Christmas indeed be epic for one and all, because we continue to let our good deeds shine for all.

                May you all have a very blessed Christmas!

Dale

                (There will be no blog next week, so have a Happy New Year, too. God willing and the creek don’t rise, back on January 3^rd.)       

 

December 12, 2023 – Advent Three

“So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2: 6 -7. New King James Version)

             We are not talking about the Holiday Inn or Best Western or Days Inn.  The “No Vacancy” sign, was hung out, so to speak, in front of some small house in Bethlehem, where it was already full because of the influx of people to be counted in the census. A quick search through the various translations we find the inn called a hostel, living quarters, lodging and the like.

 Call it what your will - no room. No room service. No chocolate on the pillow.  Bring your own towels.

There is a wonderful story about a Sunday School Christmas pageant. One little boy had a crush on the little girl who was to play Mary. He hoped to get the part of Joseph, but he ended up as the innkeeper. During the pageant, when Mary and Jospeh showed up at the inn and knocked on the door, asking for lodgings, the little innkeeper yanked Mary inside and shoved Jospeh back out of the way.

“Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.”

It was not the last time that Jesus would find himself homeless. His family became refugees in Egypt for a while. During his ministry he seemed to be always relying on the kindness of strangers and friends for food and lodgings. He was always on the move. Always restless. Always looking ahead. To be with Jesus in those days was literally to follow, to go where he went. In fact, he said once, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20, New Living Translation). The Message Bible makes me smile: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

A few weeks ago, it was heartbreaking to see several Palestinian premature babies, all sharing one incubator as they were being moved to a safer location. What an awful way to begin life. The little tykes already had enough going against them. They too had no crib for a bed. No safe place to lay down their sweet heads.

Jesus identifies with those who have a rough start in their lives. He understands the plight of the homeless and the hungry. He moved among the restless, the lost, the hopeless, the forgotten, the down-hearted, the lonely, the desperate.  He made room for the least of these. He showed us an example of humanitarianism that was remarkable in its generosity, compassion and kindness, leaving no one out, not even the sinner. “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36, NLT) Jesus never gave up on anyone.

                Wars, poverty, food insecurity and such leave far too many without any room in the world.  People’s prejudices, hatred, judgment slam doors in the faces of others. Our apathy and selfishness leave little room for those who are different.

                The Son of Man who had no place to lay his head has experienced the human story of homelessness, violence, hunger, pain and death. But that is exactly why we can trust that  he is truly Immanuel, God with us and God for us.

“It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people’s sins, he would have already experienced it all himself—all the pain, all the testing—and would be able to help where help was needed.” (Hebrews 2: 17 -18, The Message Bible)

        Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
        When Thou camest to earth for me;
        But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
        For Thy holy nativity.
        O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
        There is room in my heart for Thee.

Dale

 Wednesday, December 6, 2023 – Advent Two

“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” (Luke 2:14, New Living Translation)

        War! Hunh!
        What is it good for?
        Nothin'!

        War! Hunh!
        What is it good for?
        Absolutely (nothin')

 So goes the song sung by Bruce Springsteen. And although I would much prefer to write about angels, shepherds and a babe in manger, I was appalled by a comment from an Israeli general yesterday. He said that two civilian deaths for every one Hamas’ death amounted to “tolerable consequences.” Not unfortunate, not regrettable, not tragic, not lamentable but tolerable. That seems to me to say that the thousands of deaths of Palestinian women and children are acceptable, a cost-effective measure of military success, a statistic that applauds the idea that it could be a lot worse.

War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!

Now I am no expert on Middle East politics. I believe the Hamas are every bit as evil as portrayed by the media. I also believe that Israel has every right to defend itself against such evil. But those are pretty simplistic ideas in a very complex situation. Naively perhaps, I hope for a ceasefire, a negotiated permanent peace, an end to all hostilities.

But tolerable?  The deaths of women and children in this war (both sides), any war, all wars.  Nope. I draw the line here. These are not tolerable.  They are deplorable. The general got the adjective wrong. They are innocent victims, like the children Herod slaughtered, searching for the baby Jesus. They are not statistical fatalities, just a harsh tally of war’s madness. These civilians had no choice but to be caught in the crossfire of war’s violence. I highly doubt there will be any war memorials to remember them by; only their grieving families will recall their names.

It is hard to hear the refrain of angels when bombs are falling. But we must.  We must strain our ears to catch the voices of angels who dare to sing through the din of unpeaceful times. “And on earth peace, goodwill toward all!” (New King James Version)

It sounds almost ridiculous. Unlikely, if not impossible.  But it is a far better, more hopeful message than “tolerable consequences.”

It reminds us that God has promised a day when the nations will be at peace. “The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him.” (Psalm 22: 27, NLT) A family of nations – what a radical idea! “Let the whole world sing for joy, because you govern the nations with justice and guide the people of the whole world.” (Psalm 67:4, NLT) There can be no real joy without real peace.

“The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4, NLT)

The angels sang for the shepherds. Perhaps, they were Palestinian hired hands. It doesn’t matter. They sang to the poor, the powerless, the weak, the least of these, the vulnerable, the meagre humanity of so-called tolerable consequences. “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)

Let there be peace and let it begin with me! Give peace a chance!

Dale