Christmas Archives - Pastor Rich Eddy

Christmas Hopes

Christmas is the one time of the year when we have the highest hopes. We plan a big family gathering and hope everyone can make it (except that one crazy uncle). We look forward to a fabulous feast, great presents, and a good time with friends and family. Unfortunately, Christmas is also the time of great disappointments: some of the relatives can’t make the trip (except the crazy uncle), the dinner flops, and the presents are duds. For the young woman, an expected engagement ring never shows up, and for her clueless boyfriend, his favorite football team loses a critical game.

Our expectations may fizzle, leaving us with a less than happy holiday season. I recently had a disappointment: a local radio station offered a contest where a listener would win a 1 ounce gold eagle (worth $2,600). I thought that would be a nice Christmas present, so I entered the contest. Did I win? Nope. Santa let me down.

I was reminded of my last Christmas as a child. Each year I asked Santa for one thing for Christmas, and probably because my wants were modest, I always got that one thing. So that last year, I asked for a walkie-talkie set (this was in the days before cell phones). But on Christmas morning, when I opened Santa’s gift, I found a junky, non-functioning toy set of radios. Even with plenty of other gifts, good food, and family fun, I found that I was disappointed with Christmas that year.

Obviously, when we set our sights too high with our expectations for Christmas, we are preparing to be disappointed. We form a mental picture of how we want things to go, and when they don’t match that picture, we feel let down. We may even feel disappointment when things go well, because our met expectations don’t give us the happy feelings we wanted.

What are your expectations for Christmas?

Your expectations for Christmas may be wonderful: your family gathered around the dinner table, everybody all dressed up like a scene out of a Norman Rockwell painting? A fully harmonious gathering? The gifts you were hoping to receive? Happiness for those to whom you give gifts? A good sermon at church for the Christmas service? Enough in the bank to end the season in the black?

If your hopes are based on any such subjective wishes for Christmas, you may well be disappointed, because what Christmas truly promises is much greater and more sure than anything society has added to our expectations for the holiday.

The first Christmas is a prime example of people misunderstanding the event and thus having unreal expectations which led to disappointments. The Jewish nation did expect a Messiah, but envisioned him as a military conqueror who would drive out the Romans and liberate Judah. Therefore, when Jesus instead fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecies of being a suffering servant (Isaiah 53), who came “not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), and even proclaimed, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36), the people’s hopes were dashed.

Many potential followers of Jesus turned away from him when they realized he was not the type of Messiah they expected. In John 6, we read that because Jesus did the miraculous feeding, the people came to make him king by force. When he refused to allow them, and explained that he was the bread of life come down from heaven, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” (John 6:66). Then, when he was crucified, even his closest disciples most fervent hopes were crushed. Talk about being disappointed with the first Christmas!

What changed the disciples’ attitude and restored their hopes was Christ’s resurrection and their understanding of the promises of what Christ’s birth meant to the world. Christmas’s meaning is defined by Easter.

Easter fulfills Christmas.

Christmas is the beginning of God with us (Isaiah 7:14), of God taking on flesh to become one of us (John 1:14). Therefore, he experienced life as a man, able to suffer and be tempted as we are, “but without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Then, as our high priest, he offered himself in his crucifixion as a perfect sacrifice “by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). The debt of our sins was cancelled, being nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14), and our own resurrection is promised by Christ’s victory over death and the grave. 1 Corinthians 51-54 tells us, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.“

All of this is the promise of Christmas. This was all included in the message of the Christmas angels who proclaimed “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men!” This was all included in Isaiah’s prophecy, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” All this was foretold in the angelic prophecy that “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).

Our hopes are not based on wishes or fantasies, but on the facts of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Our faith is based on the promises which God’s word gives us of forgiveness and resurrection to eternal life. In those promises we will never be disappointed. Christmas is God acting in human history to bring his promises to fulfillment. For that reasons, Christmas, its true meaning, will never disappoint us, even if we never get a walkie-talkie!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2; Matthew 2.

The Not-So Little Town

It is now the season of Advent, the time when we anticipate the coming of Christ into the world, the first time as a baby, and the second time as a conquering king. As part of looking at his first coming, we read the many Old Testament prophecies about his nativity, which show the divine nature of his birth. In them we see the impossibility that all those 300 prophecies could have been fulfilled by any one person – unless God was behind the prophecies and their fulfillment.

One of those prophecies was one in Micah 5:2 which foretold the birthplace of the Messiah 700 years before the event: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Two New Testament Gospels, Matthew and Luke, report the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy when they record that Jesus Christ was indeed born in that little town of Bethlehem. It was a highly unlikely fulfillment, given that Jesus’ mother and Joseph both lived in a different town and province – Nazareth of Galilee, rather than Bethlehem of Judea. It took a Roman emperor’s decree for a census to make Joseph and the expectant Mary travel from their village to Joseph’s ancestral family home of Bethlehem, the city of David, because he was of the lineage of that famous king. And, to be in Bethlehem at just the right time for Mary’s child to be born there.

The town was about 5-6 miles from Jerusalem, and much of its economy was based on raising and supplying animals to be sacrificed in the nearby Temple. How appropriate that Christ, the Lamb of God, the final sacrifice for our sins, should be born alongside the other sacrificial lambs! How appropriate too, that the Savior who called himself the Bread of Life should be born in a town whose name means, “House of Bread!”

When I think about Bethlehem, I can’t help but hum to myself that familiar Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The song’s title and descriptions of a still, quiet village with dark streets reflect the small size of Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s. Estimates are that no more than 200-300 people usually lived there, though several thousand more came there for the census.

But though Bethlehem’s population was small, it wasn’t really such a small town after all. Bethlehem represents you and me, and with us, the whole world. Christ came through Bethlehem to all of us.

I. Bethlehem as part of the world. When Christ was born at Bethlehem, he was born as a real, flesh and blood human baby in a town of real, flesh and blood people. Bethlehem itself was a bricks-and-mortar type of place you could find on a map (you still can!). It was not some never-never-land, or some mythical Shangri-La. It was not some imaginary perfect place like Plato’s Republic or Thomas More’s Utopia (utopia means literally, “no place”), or to use a more modern reference, “A galaxy far, far away.” Bethlehem did not exist in some other dimension. It was a real earthly place.

Bethlehem was part of this physical world in which we live, and therefore it was an appropriate place for Christ to make his earthly debut. By coming to Bethlehem, Christ came into this world of human beings. In John’s Gospel, Christ tells Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world, but that he has come into the world. Paul likewise tells us that Christ came into the world to save sinners, and the book of Hebrews tells us that Christ came into the world to be the sacrifice needed for our sins. They don’t say, “Christ came into Bethlehem,” even though that is where he was born; what matters is that by being born in Bethlehem, Jesus was born in the world.

And how did the world receive him? Well, we can look at how Bethlehem received him.

The people of that little town were not prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Even though the prophets had foretold both the timing and location of the Messiah’s birth, nobody in Bethlehem or its region expected the Savior’s arrival when he came. Like the rest of the world, the people were going about their daily tasks, trying to make a living, unaware that the Savior was coming to them right then. So first off, they tried to shut him out. “No room!” was the message; “All filled up!” was the verdict. Jesus had to be born away from those he came to save, out back with the animals in a stable and laid in a borrowed manger, just as years later he would be laid in a borrowed tomb.

No one except Mary and Joseph celebrated his birth, at least at first. It took a special text-message delivered by an angel to alert nearby shepherds about what was going on, and it took a supernatural star to get the attention of distant wise men and start them on their journey. It took God’s word confirmed by his signs to let the people know what was happening, and it took the believing shepherds to spread the good news of what they had seen. So it would be for the rest of the world, too: believers would someday spread God’s Word and their testimony to others, and the news of Christ’s birth – and death and resurrection – would go into all the world.

Unfortunately, though many would receive him, many more would shout “No room!” to the Savior when he stands at the heart’s door and knocks to be let in. John 1:10-11 tells us, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The harshest rejection of the infant Jesus was by King Herod. At his command Bethlehem saw the shedding of its children’s blood when the evil king sent his soldiers to make sure the infant Jesus didn’t live long enough to challenge his kingship. Whether by fire or sword, by persecution or ridicule, much of the world still tries to stamp out Jesus and the faith which has endured 20 centuries of such opposition. Bethlehem is the world; Christ has come to both, and the reaction to his coming seen in that not-so-little-town has been duplicated throughout the world: ignorance or rejection by most, but by many, joyful acceptance.

II. Bethlehem as us. As Bethlehem represents the whole world, so also it represents each one of us – you and me. You are Bethlehem. Christ comes to you, sometimes quietly in the night like a baby asleep in a manger, sometimes dramatically like the angels with heaven’s glories streaming around you. How will you receive him? Are you so wrapped up in your daily concerns that you shout “No room!” to him, and either shut him out entirely or relegate him to some minor part of your life? Or do you open up and welcome him in, making room for him and watching him grow in you even as you grow in him?

Are you the inn or the stable, closed or open to Jesus? Are you like most of Bethlehem’s townspeople, spiritually asleep and unaware that Christ has come to save you, or are you like the shepherds who set aside their normal lives to look into this Savior whose birth was told them? Or are you like King Herod, angry to have anyone – even Christ – claim kingship over your life? You are Bethlehem; how will you respond to Jesus? Your answer is the most important thing in your life!

Robert Ingersoll was a well-known atheist of the 1800s. Ironically, he was also a friend of Phillips Brooks, the man who wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” When Brooks became seriously ill, he requested that none of his friends come to visit him. But, when his atheist friend, Robert Ingersoll, came to see him, Brooks let him come in right away. Ingersoll told him, “I appreciate this very much. Especially when you aren’t letting any of your close friends see you.” Brooks said, “Oh, I’m confident of seeing them in the next world, but this may be my last chance to see you.”

Let us all welcome Jesus and receive with him the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life. The last verse of the carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” says it well:

O holy Child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, Be born to us today. We hear the Christmas angels, The great glad tidings tell. O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Emmanuel.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Micah 5:2; Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 2:1-23.

Why Shepherds?

Recently, I was asked by the editor of The Evangel, the national magazine of the American Association of Lutheran Churches, to write an article about the shepherds who witnessed the events of Jesus’ nativity. The alternative topic was the magi, but since they were not present at the stable,and we don’t celebrate their arrival until Epiphany, I thought an article about the shepherds would be more appropriate for the November/December issue of the magazine*. And so, I wrote the article, and it was published as follows:

“While shepherds watched their flocks by night, all seated on the ground, an angel of the Lord came down and glory shone around, and glory shone around.” These words, an almost exact quote from Luke 2:8-9, form the first verse of the old Christmas hymn, While shepherds watched their flocks by night, All seated on the ground, written by Nahum Tate in 1700. Anyone familiar with Jesus’ nativity story know about the shepherds, how they were greeted by angels, and how they found the babe lying in the manger. And anyone who has set up a nativity scene has placed a few shepherds and their sheep somewhere near Mary and the baby Jesus. But, did you ever ask the question, “Why shepherds?”

Of course, the response of many people could be, “Why not shepherds?” Bethlehem was a locale known for sheep and shepherds, and they happened to be the people who were available and awake when Jesus was born. Sure, they were close at hand. But I think there was more to it than just that; God purposefully chose those shepherds to be the first witnesses to the birth of the Savior. There are three things that make this apparent.

First, Scripture tells us that God is not impressed by titles or social standing (Acts 10:34). It teaches us in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are…” He bypassed the political and religious leaders of the day, and sent his angelic messengers to lowly shepherds instead. The shepherds came as they were: lowly, unwashed, wearing the rough clothing of their trade, the lay people of their day. But God’s call exalted them above society’s celebrities to be witnesses to the arrival of mankind’s Savior.

Second, it was fitting that shepherds, who had witnessed the birth of many lambs over their years of work, would get to witness the birth of the Lamb of God, the birth to which all the other births had pointed. Bethlehem was just a few miles from Jerusalem, so it is quite likely that many of the lambs raised by those shepherds were intended for sacrifice in the Temple. Likewise, the baby they saw born that night would one day be sacrificed for our sins, serving as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29 and 36). Revelation 13:8 teaches us that this was God’s plan from even before the beginning; that Jesus was “the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.”

Third, it was also appropriate that God would choose shepherds to witness the birth of the Good Shepherd. The Scriptures proclaim God as our Shepherd many times, from Psalm 23 (written by David, a former shepherd), to Micah 5:4 which says the Messiah born in Bethlehem shall “shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,” to John 10:11, where Jesus calls himself, “the Good Shepherd.” The arrival of shepherds, rather than priests, kings, or generals, proclaimed the newborn’s main calling.

Finally, we need to recognize that God’s call on the shepherds was not just for their own personal blessing. What they saw and heard was not only for some spiritual high, what we would call a “mountaintop experience.” No, they were more than passive observers; they became witnesses to what they saw and heard from the angels, and of what they found in the manger. Their testimony to Mary caused her to treasure what they said in her heart, and their testimony to other people was such that “all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.” Then, they testified to the Lord, “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:17-20). And finally, they continue to testify to us today, as we marvel both at their experience, and at their faith that caused them to overcome their fear and obey an outrageous command. May we also overcome any doubts or holiday distractions we may encounter, and follow the shepherds to the Savior born to us that day – and then let us tell others, that they too may wonder at the good news of great joy we share!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord life up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2:1-20.

*The Evangel, A Publication of The American Association of Lutheran Churches, Issue No. 214 – November/December 2023, p. 7. Editor: Editor: Gretchen Baker.

Lamb’s First Christmas

The little lamb was born this year to a world it found so fresh and new. From sun and grass to cows and deer, to rain and snow and morning dew.

The lamb learned all about these things, and many more besides, such as buzzing bees and birds that sing, woolly coats, and leathery hides.

The little lamb thought it knew it all; what else could there be to learn? But Winter came and followed Fall, and with it a brand new term.

For now, the farmer spoke a word the lamb had not heard before, “Christmas” was what the lamb now heard; it wanted to understand more.

“What does it mean, this word so new?” The lamb now asked, its face in a frown. “What Christmas is, I haven’t a clue, I know: I’ll find the answer in town!”

So the lamb took off and followed the road, its eyes alert and fully aware, looking, listening, onward it strode, till finally it reached the town square.

There before it stood a massive pine tree, all covered with lights from bottom to top. “Is this now Christmas before me I see? Has my quest finally come to a stop?”

As the Lamb gazed, transfixed by what he did see, came a man yelling, “Scram! Get away from the tree, you filthy old lamb!”

Surprised and not a little frightened, the lamb hurried away, but then its face brightened, when it heard music play.

For the lamb heard a Christmas tune, coming from a nearby store. So the lamb moved closer until it was soon, at the window, wanting to see more.

Inside were people rushing around, pushing and shoving and grabbing their gifts. Nobody smiled, instead they all frowned, and some even got into tiffs!

The lamb said to itself, “This can’t be it! How can Christmas be so full of strife? There just has to be more, just a little bit, of some joy it could bring into life.”

So the lamb walked on until it found a house. Out front stood elves, surrounding Ol’ Claus. Beside him stood the Mrs., his spouse, all of which gave our lamb some pause.

Then from the house came an angry kid, shouting, “Don’t do our display any harm!” He threw some snow even as he slid, saying, “Go away! Go back to your farm!”

“Is this what Christmas is all about?” asked the lamb to the setting sun. “Idols which people serve so devout? I fear my searching is done.”

The lamb walked, sadly, on down the street, continuing its hopeless search, when a group of people it happened to meet, gathered outside a church.

There were men there, dressed in robes like kings, and shepherds, to which the lamb was no stranger. And a man and a woman and an angel with wings, all bowing down before a manger.

When the lamb saw the straw, its hunger grew strong, And it thought, “I think I’ll grab a bite, just maybe!” But when it grew near, on joining the throng, it saw the manger had in it a baby!

The scene was so peaceful, the people so calm, the lamb settled down beside them. Its previous heartaches had found their balm, a new feeling did now overwhelm.

The lamb knew it had settled where it belonged, a place where Christmas reigned, it found the answer for which it longed: the true meaning it had obtained.

This Christmas was our little lamb’s first, but it would not be its last; each year to come it would be immersed, in the Nativity’s living cast.

For Christmas is about a little Lamb, but not the one that went looking. The lamb of God, the great I AM, came to save us, our sins overlooking.

So, join with me to celebrate, this soon and coming season. Put aside all greed and hate, for Jesus is the reason!

Merry Christmas!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: John 1:29, 36; Galatians 5:16-26

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Are you ready for Christmas?

Now that it’s mid-December, I’ve been hearing that question quite often: at church the last couple weeks, at lunch with a friend on Monday, and even on the radio. As one talk-show host put it, this question is just a normal greeting this time of year, sort of like asking someone how they’re doing or what they think of the weather.

But, what does “ready for Christmas” mean? Does it mean the tree and other decorations are up? Or the Christmas cards are in the mail? Or all the gifts have been purchased and wrapped? Or the house is cleaned for guests who are coming for a dinner party? Or, as the talk host said, is it just a way of saying “hi” in December?

While I recognize all the meanings I just mentioned, I think there are two other meanings worth considering as we approach this Christmas.

First, there is the question of readiness for Christ’s first coming. Was the world ready for it? Certainly, the coming of the Messiah had been wanted and anticipated throughout history. It had been foretold, and even predicted down to the timing (Daniel 9:25-26) and location (Micah 5:2) of his birth. God had set the time of Jesus’ incarnation from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20), and chose the perfect time for it to happen.

Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Consider the reasons why God’s timing was so good: the known world was at peace under the Pax Romana; sea travel for the apostles was safer because the Romans had suppressed piracy on the Mediterranean Sea; Roman roads sped up travel throughout the region; a common language (Greek) made the spread of biblical texts and letters easier; writing technology had advanced from cumbersome scrolls to book-form codices; and the internet had not yet been invented (yes,that was an advantage). So, the world should have been ready for Christmas.

And yet, when the Messiah’s birth occurred, many were not ready for it. There were of course, people from most nations who did not know that a Savior was coming from the Jews. Others expected a glorious kingly event, with trumpets and chariots and cheering crowds, and did not even entertain the thought of Savior coming as a baby born in a stable in a backwater town like Bethlehem. And then there were some like King Herod, who with all Jerusalem was troubled at the news of Christ’s birth (Matthew 2:3), because it would upset the comfortable status quo they enjoyed.

So while the world was ready for the first Christmas – as far as the hopes of many and the suitable conditions for the event – not every person was ready to welcome and believe in the One who was to be born.

That situation continues even today, because most of the world is still not ready for the reality of the first Christmas. They don’t believe that Jesus was and is the Messiah. They either deny there will be a Christ, or they keep putting their hopes in someone yet to come. They latch onto one false Messiah after another, whether a religious or secular leader. Many don’t acknowledge they even need a Savior, because they deny their sin and its consequences. For them, the answer to the question, “Are you ready for Christmas?” is “no.”

The second meaning of the question applies to Christians, to those who recognize that the Messiah was born, and celebrate that event. They attend special church services, decorate their homes, listen to Christmas carols, exchange cards and gifts, and enjoy gustatory feasts. But are they ready for Christmas spiritually?

Do they recognize their sinfulness and grieve for the sins that they know they have done?
Do they accept their need for a Savior, and their inability to save themselves?
Do they read the old, familiar Christmas Scriptures with true joy and wonder each time? Do they “love to tell the story,” and find “each time they hear it, so wonderfully sweet?” Are they “hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest?”*
Do they spend time praying, giving God praise and thanksgiving for what he has done in sending his Son into the world to save us?
Do they enjoy worshiping God with fellow Christians, bound together in love by the Holy Spirit?
Do they cringe when they hear movies and TV shows speak of the “true meaning of Christmas” as being anything other than the birth of Jesus?
Do they prefer Christian carols like “Joy to the World” over secular, winter songs like, “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”?**
Do they marvel how the Creator of the universe could and would come into the world as one of us, in so small and helpless form?
Do they say, “Merry Christmas” and really mean it, not worrying about whether non-believers want to hear it or not?
Do they remember that the manger begins Christ’s journey to the Cross, and what that means for them and the world?

The final question is not about whether “they” are spiritually ready for Christmas, but whether “you” are. Amid all the hectic preparations for the season, with all the expectations you and others put on you for this holiday, are you feeling that joy and peace on earth which Christ’s birth should give? If not, take the time to evaluate what Christmas means to you, and why. And then have a wonderful and blessed celebration which refreshes your spirit!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 2:1-20.

* From “I Love to Tell the Story,” by Kate Hankey, 1866.
**”Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” by Randy Brooks, 1978.

Did You Hear the Bells?

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14, KJV)

It’s Christmas again, and once more, as in every year at this time, I have been enjoying the old, familiar carols proclaiming and celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. With its abundance of so many carols, this season is like no other, and that’s not even counting the songs about snowmen, Santa Claus, reindeer, grandma’s house, or grandma’s encounter with a reindeer.

A week ago, I was at our church’s senior luncheon (as a guest, since I can’t possibly be old enough to be a member of the group!), and enjoyed joining in the carol sing. We sang out many old favorites, led by one of our pastors who also accompanied us on the piano. He began taking requests from our song sheet, but then called on me. At first I feared he wanted me to sing a solo, but to the relief of everyone there, he just wanted me to pick the next song. One of the tunes popped into my head, and I immediately called out to the group, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day. And so, we sang it.

I didn’t know why that particular song came to mind; it’s always been okay to me, but it’s never that special or meaningful. Until that day. For the first time, I actually heard the words. For the first time, they touched me, and brought home the power of the Christmas message. Read them right now, aloud to yourself:

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Those words hit me like a hammer: the message that even in a world full of sin and hate, where there is no apparent peace, “God is still with us. He is not dead, nor doth he sleep.” That is the message of the Christmas bells as they play the old familiar carols. The message that Christ came into a world full of hate to bring us ultimate peace, true peace that overcomes all that is wrong. For that reason, the bells can chime and ring out joyfully.

I wanted to know more about the song, so I did a little research, and found its story enhanced the meaning of the song.

It was Christmas of 1863, in the midst of the bloodiest year of the Civil War.
The poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was a widower, his wife having died when her dress caught fire. Now, his son had returned from the war, seriously wounded by a rifle bullet on December 1. As he nursed his son’s recovery, he heard the local church’s bells ringing out on Christmas Day, and struggled with the message proclaimed by the angels of peace on earth, goodwill toward men. How could there be peace when thousand were dying in a war that had torn the country apart, and wounded his own son? Where was God and God’s promise in all this? Was God asleep, or even dead?

Longfellow picked up his pen and began to write: “I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play . . ” He laid out his sadness about the world, but like the ancient psalms, moved from doubt and hurt to an affirmation that God was still with us, and that his promise given to us at Christmas, still holds true. A promise announced by the angels, but fulfilled in the baby born that day in that stable in Bethlehem.

Why did this song affect me so much as we sang it, and again when I read its story? Could it be that the words of the song are just as true today as when they were written? After all, peace in our world, and even in our country, is in short supply. Or is it because that was the case when Christ was born in a country conquered by a foreign empire, ruled by a despot who would murder infants to abort the rise of a rival king, divided by sects and ethnic loyalties, and riddled with poverty and disease? Or because it has always been the case throughout human history, from the first child born on earth becoming a murderer of his own brother, to modern dictators who kill their own people, to religious fanatics who behead people they consider infidels?

The answer is all the above. But what means the most to me is not the despair such evil causes, but the final, triumphant message of the song, that the bells can still ring out joyfully because God has fulfilled his work in his Son, Jesus Christ. Even in the reality of sin and hatred, our God loved us so much that he sent the remedy: his only Son who would bear the penalty of our sins and open the way to a sin-free eternal life. Because of Christmas, (and Good Friday, and Easter), we can have hope – and peace – as promised.

So, I would ask you, “Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? If so, what do they mean to you? And if you don’t hear actual church bells ringing, have you heard the same proclamation in other ways: on TV, radio, online, in church, or in a blog (I hear there are some good ones out there!)? And most importantly, do you read your Bible, which contains the most definitive and authoritative proclamation of God’s promises and fulfillments?

Have you heard the bells on Christmas Day? Listen for them every day, and rejoice in their joyful proclamation!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Psalm 29:11; Matthew 5:9; Luke 2:1-20; Romans 5:1; Romans 14:17-19; Romans 15:13; James 3:16.

What? No Christmas?

Recently, news reporters have been talking about the backlog of ships and shipping containers in American ports. Freighters have been moored offshore from Long Beach, California, up to Seattle, Washington, waiting for an opening at the docks so they can unload their cargoes. This crisis in the supply chain has resulted in the scarcity and unavailability of many products which would normally line our stores’ shelves, or fill online retailers’ warehouses.

Lamenting these supply problems, various reporters and politicians have complained that because of the lack of toys and other gifts, there might not be a Christmas this year. What?! No Christmas?! What a disaster! Please say it isn’t true!

Well, of course it isn’t true. The arrival, and even celebration, of Christmas will not depend on whether we can buy and give a new game console, a new doll, a bike, a PajamaGram® outfit, or even a recycled fruitcake. Christmas is not dependent on any of our gift-giving, because what we celebrate on this special day is the greatest gift ever given: Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

You can find many written histories of the celebration of Jesus’ birth. The first Christians celebrated Easter rather than Christmas, because Christ’s resurrection, and its meaning for our own eternal lives, was what was so important and made the faith so powerful. It wasn’t until the 400s when Pope Julius I declared it and set the date of December 25 for the celebration, that it became a Christian holiday and a “Christ Mass” was observed. Much has been made of the fact that he chose the date to co-opt the pagan winter celebration called Saturnalia (especially by present-day atheists), but I think that celebrating Christ’s birth is better than worshiping a so-called “god” called Saturn.

Soon, the celebration of The Feast of the Nativity spread throughout Christendom, from Egypt to England, from Germany to Spain, and eventually to the Americas, once we were discovered and settled by European Christians. The English in Jamestown, Virginia, for example, celebrated Christmas in the 1600s, and in the 1700s the Dutch settlers did so in New Amsterdam (now known as New York), introducing Sinter Klaas in the process (guess who?). Then came Washington Irving’s stories about English Christmas traditions, Clement Moore’s An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas (aka ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas), and Thomas Nast’s cartoon rendering of the portly gift-giver. The Germans (thanks to Martin Luther) introduced Christmas trees (Tannenbaums), and here we are, celebrating Christmas in America. (Note: the NSA and FBI are still working to uncover who first introduced fruitcakes. . .)

Of course, not everyone has celebrated the religious aspects of Christmas, though many non-believers enjoy the winter holiday aspects of the season, the lights, the gift-giving, and the family gatherings. But certain Christian groups and sects also have forbidden such celebrations. For example, the English Puritans under Oliver Cromwell cancelled Christmas, due to its raucous nature at that time (1645). Likewise, the Pilgrims who came to America refused to celebrate Christmas; from 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston, at a penalty of five shillings for any violation. For the next two hundred years, very little was made of Christmas in the U.S., until June of 1870, when it became a federal holiday.

Today there are hundreds of Christmas carols, hymns, and popular songs that celebrate Christmas, even though many are more winter-holiday focused (Frosty the Snowman, anyone?). Truly, Christmas is a richly blessed celebration, much enjoyed by many, many people of all ages, full of fun, food, fellowship, and fruitcake. Then there are movies, television specials, music, decorations, and of course, worship services. Karen and I really love this holiday, even with all its excesses, and would hate to see it go away.

But the wonderful truth is that Christmas can never be cancelled, because it already happened. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, was born in a Bethlehem stable over two thousand years ago and laid in a manger. The eternal God and Creator of all things humbled himself and entered the world he created as one of us, to bear our sins on the cross and win salvation for us. Philippians 2:5-11 is one of my favorite passages in all Scripture:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This historical event really occurred in time and space, and cannot be erased, no matter what we have on hand to celebrate it. Do we need music, gaily-decorated evergreen trees, outside lights, blown-up Santa figures on our lawns, stockings on our mantle, eggnog, or a certain fruit-filled cake? Do we need big dinners, new clothes, and expensive gifts? Do we need foggy Christmas Eves or White Christmases? Do we need all those container ships to be unloaded in time for us to have Christmas?

The answer to all these questions is, of course, “No!” Not one of those things is essential to the Christmas event, nor to our celebration of it. What is essential is that the Son of God was born as one of us, lived, and died on the cross after teaching us the Gospel of forgiveness for our sins, and giving us the hope of eternal life. What matters is that we believe in that same Jesus Christ, and acknowledge that he is our God and Savior.

Romans 10:9 says, ” . . . because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Many billions of people have been born, but only one came into the world to save us, and it is his birthday we celebrate.

Luke 1:35, “And the angel answered [Mary], ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.'”

Luke 2:10-11, “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'”

Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

1 John 4:9-10, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Therefore, we can shrug our shoulders at the absence of gifts, cancel our parties, serve crackers and water, turn off the TV and our music, dress in sweatshirts and sweatpants, and stare at our bare walls and empty tree stands, . . . and still have a great Christmas celebrating the birth of the Savior of mankind. Supply chain worries? Bah, humbug!

May you and yours have a happy and blessed Christmas this year, and always!

And may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-20.

P.S. PajamaGram® did not sponsor my blog. Nor have I recently recycled any fruitcakes.

The Empty Manger

As I mentioned before, Karen and my decorating for Christmas has been pretty sparse this year. Our outside lights are up, but our main tree has just one ornament besides its built-in lights. There are one or two snowmen in view (not the melty type), and one nativity scene. Without company coming, and us still dealing with my sister’s stuff, the idea of getting out bins of decorations for a couple weeks just didn’t do much for us this year.

And then there’s the little wooden stable I made years ago for my sister. It sits in full view in our family room, but what’s left of the balsa-wood figures I made for that nativity scene are still wrapped up somewhere. So it sits empty: empty stable, empty manger.

One day, Karen looked up at it and said, “The manger is empty. Jesus isn’t in it.” To which I replied, without even thinking through what I was saying, “He’s not here; he has risen!” I hadn’t meant to quote Luke 24:6 (or its parallels in Matthew and Mark), but as soon as I said it, I realized how profound a statement that could be. Jesus is not here in the manger anymore; the manger is empty, as is the cross and the tomb. All are empty, because after they fulfilled the purposes which they played, Christ went on to fulfill his purpose, and provide us forgiveness and eternal life. Each played a part in his journey, but though he spent time in each, none could hold him forever.

Note that all three were man-made objects which were fashioned for earthly purposes: the manger as a feed trough for animals (and the stable to hold and shelter them), the cross as a brutal execution device to kill criminals and terrorize the population into obedience, and the tomb, as the burial chamber for a dead person. Man-made and -purposed, yet God took those objects and used them to fulfill his plan of salvation for you and me, and a multitude of other believers.

The manger. Do you realize that if God had wanted Jesus to be born in more comfortable surroundings, he would have made sure there was room for Mary and Joseph in the inn? But he didn’t; he chose the stable for their shelter and Jesus’ birthplace, and the manger for the newborn’s bed. It was part of God’s plan that Jesus would be of humble birth and childhood; not a social celebrity well-connected to the wealthy and influential of his day. He would be welcomed by humble, unclean shepherds in a stable, and grow up the son of a carpenter, eventually to not even have a home of his own. (Matthew 8:20 -“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”)

In addition, I think that the manger was significant because it was where food was placed for the animals to eat. Jesus said of himself, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51) As in Holy Communion, Jesus offers up himself as our life-living bread from heaven – his flesh for our salvation. Again, in God’s working all things for his purposes, Bethlehem was not only the “City of David” and home to an ancestor of Jesus, who happened to start out as a humble shepherd named David; the name Bethlehem literally means, “House of Bread.” Appropriate for the first earthly home of the living bread come down from heaven to give us life.

The manger fulfilled its purpose: to cradle the Christ-child with earthly and symbolic shelter, but it couldn’t hold him forever; if that child had not grown up and gone on to die on a cross and rise from the dead, we wouldn’t be celebrating just another child born into poverty in some obscure back-water of a country, over 2020 years ago. If that manger still exists, it is now empty.

The cross. While we feel all warm and fuzzy looking on scenes of the babe lying in a manger, surrounded by Mary, Joseph, shepherds, sheep and cattle (and an angel hovering overhead), the cross hits us with horror and revulsion. Especially if we consider what happened there, and not think of the cross as a nice, symmetrical piece of shiny jewelry. Echoing what the ancient patriarch Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery in Egypt, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20). So it was with the cross: something contrived to be evil, and the placing of Jesus on it an act of even greater evil; yet God intended and used that evil act for our good.

As is so often the case, people think they are in charge, and do things for their own purposes, but even their evil intentions fulfill God’s plans. They wanted to get rid of a trouble-maker; God allowed the death of his Son to atone for the sins of the world and provide us a way to forgiveness and eternal life. Without the sacrifice of the innocent Jesus, we would still be lost in our sins and doomed for eternity. But because Jesus went to the cross and willingly paid the price for our sins, we have hope – and a Church called by his name.

There has been some debate among Christians as to whether crosses should be bare, showing Christ is risen, or adorned with images of the dying Christ (in what is called a crucifix). I think both carry important messages, one a reminder that Jesus did suffer and die on the cross, and the other that Christ died once and for all time at Golgotha, and never again. I have no issue with either form, for we do not worship the cross, but the One who died on it.

One more thought about the cross: notice the differences between the birth and death of our Lord: in the one, Jesus was held and sheltered by a wooden box; in the other, he hung and died on a wooden cross. During the one, a supernatural light appeared, both with the angels and from the star; during the other, a supernatural darkness covered the land. One a celebration of joy, peace, and goodwill; the other of sadness and evil. And yet, like the manger, the cross couldn’t hold Jesus; if it had, we wouldn’t call that day, Good Friday.

The tomb. Finally, we come to consider the tomb in which Jesus was laid. It, too, had a human intention, a purpose for which it had been hewn from the rock. Specifically, it belonged to a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea, but when Jesus was killed, Joseph offered his unused tomb for the Lord’s burial. (I wonder if he knew he was only lending it to Jesus for a couple days . . .).

The tomb fulfilled God’s purposes as well: first, by providing visible proof that Jesus was dead; second, by providing a situation where Jesus’ enemies guarded the body under their watch to make sure the disciples didn’t steal the body; and third, to prove Jesus had bodily resurrected from the dead in a miraculous way, attended by angels and an earthquake (Matthew 28:2). When the disciples rushed to the tomb and found it empty except for Jesus’ grave clothes, they knew he had risen. (Thought: Jesus had been wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger; now he had been wrapped in burial cloths and laid in a tomb. You could say he “outgrew” both!)

Well, we know the rest of the story about the tomb: though closed by a stone, marked with a seal, and guarded by soldiers, the tomb was empty on the third day. Jesus appeared alive to the women, to the disciples, and to 500 followers at one time (not to mention to Paul, “as to one untimely born” – 1 Corinthians 15:5-8). The empty tomb was one proof of Jesus’ resurrection, and the sign that he had overcome death, our final enemy.

Because the tomb was empty, we can celebrate the empty manger and the empty cross; if the tomb had remained filled with Jesus’ lifeless body, there would be no celebration of Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter. There would be no Christian Church, no hope of life after death, and no promise of forgiveness nor proof of God’s love. And no Pastor Eddy’s blog, but that’s the least of our worries!

I hope you celebrate Christmas, keeping in mind the life journey of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world, humbling himself to a manger, a cross, and a tomb, only to rise triumphantly, leaving them all empty behind him, ascending to heaven and awaiting God’s appointed time for his return. Only this time, he won’t need a manger, a cross, or a tomb.

We hope you have a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you ad give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2:1-21; John 6:22-51; 1 Corinthians 15; Matthew 27:45-66

The Twelve Months of Covid

In my previous blog, I referred to different versions of favorite Christmas carols and hymns, modified due to the current pandemic. While not belittling the people who are suffering from this disease or the shut-downs, it does help to be able to laugh adversity in the face (even if that face is masked). Here is my version of The Twelve Days of Christmas:

The Twelve Months of Covid

On the first month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Stay home and you’ll be virus-free!
On the second month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Two hands keep washing!
On the third month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Three diff’rent masks!
On the fourth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Four sterile wipes!
On the fifth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Five quar-an-tines!
On the sixth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Six feet apart!
On the seventh month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Seven meals delivered!
On the eighth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Eight grades home schooling!
On the ninth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Nine Zoomers meeting!
On the tenth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Ten months and counting!
On the eleventh month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Eleven sports not playing!
On the twelfth month of Covid, my gov’nor said to me: Twelve recalls coming!

Of course, I actually prefer a different version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, one in which the numbered gifts serve as a memory device for Christian beliefs. In this other version, the verses represent:

“My true love” = God; “sent to me” = by God’s grace

The Partridge = Jesus Christ
Two Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
Three French Hens = Faith, hope and love, the theological virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Four Calling Birds = the four Evangelist and/or their four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
Five Golden Rings = The first five books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch” (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Six Geese A-laying = the six days of creation (Genesis 1)
Seven Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, understanding, piety, and fear of the Lord; all but piety listed in Isaiah 11:2)*
Eight Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-11)
Nine Ladies Dancing = the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
Ten Lords A-leaping = the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
Eleven Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles (Acts 1:13)
Twelve Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostles’ Creed, the twelve tribes of Israel

In keeping with the “laugh at Covid” theme, our Christmas decorations this year have changed. Since nobody is visiting, Karen decided to put just one ornament, a red cardinal, on our main tree. When she sent a picture to one of her friends, the friend replied that the bird was “in isolation.”

And then, there is the nurse ornament from my late sister, which we modified slightly before hanging it on our smaller, “retro” tree:

If only we could get her to keep her nose inside the mask!

That’s all for now. Until we communicate again, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 8:21; Job 39:22; Psalm 2:4; plus all the verses cited in The Twelve Days of Christmas listed above.

*But see also 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, which lists 9 gifts: “For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” (Emphasis added)

Contactless Faith?

Thanks to new restaurant dining restrictions here in California, I went to pick up a meal from one of our favorite restaurants for us to eat at home. As I stood outside the restaurant’s front door, waiting for my order to be brought to me, I read the various signs posted around the entrance: “Mask required,” “Maintain six feet of social distance,” and “Contactless Curbside Delivery Available.” I wondered about the last one; wouldn’t some contact be needed, since the food is handed from one person to another? Or do they just throw the food out the window like someone feeding bread to the birds?

I also began wondering about other areas where “contact” between people is discouraged. Schools, grocery stores, parks, sports events, and even churches. The last is especially troubling; it’s one thing to warn people about packing together in small spaces, and another thing to have “Caesar” intervene in matters of the free practice of religion, which is supposedly guaranteed by our Constitution.

And now, with the current three-week restrictions on gatherings, we are being told to stay away from church services even through Christmas.

Which got me thinking even more: is faith possible without contact? Can we really have or practice “contactless faith”? How would this have changed the history of our faith, if today’s rules had always been in force? Just imagine:

If Adam and Eve had kept social distancing, none of us would even be here.
Mary and Joseph would have sung in the stable, “A way we’re in danger, no mask for our heads.”
The wise men wouldn’t have been allowed to travel across national boundaries to visit the infant Jesus. We’d be singing, “We three kings of Orient are, staying home, can’t travel too far . . .”
Other Christmas songs we’d be singing: “Deck the Halls with Rolls of Plastic,” “Edicts we have heard on high, telling us to stay inside,” and, “O Quarantine, O Quarantine, your rules are always changing. . .”
Pontius Pilate would have not just washed his hands at Jesus’ trial, he would have washed his face and used sanitizer, too.
Martin Luther’s famous defense at the Diet of Worms would have been: “Here I stand, six feet apart from you.” Then he would have self-quarantined at the Wartburg Castle for the next year.
And finally, we’d have to revise the old Twelve Days of Christmas to go something like, “The Twelve Months of Covid.”*

On a more serious note, the biggest change would have been in our Lord’s earthly ministry, which was all about making contact with us and all the people around him. Just consider:

Jesus had contact with lepers, who were the most socially-distanced people of his day: they were required to call out when they walked so other non-infected people could avoid them. When a group of them saw Jesus, they “stood at a distance” and called to him. Rather than running from them, he healed them, resulting in one falling at his feet (Luke 17:11-19).
Jesus associated with sinners, including tax collectors and prostitutes, who were the “social lepers” of his day. “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?'” (Mark 2:16).
Jesus touched several dead people (just before raising them to life), something that was socially and religiously forbidden in his day. Numbers 5:2 ordered, “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead.” (Talk about social distancing!)
And just imagine the Last Supper, with Jesus instituting a “drive-through” Communion service as the disciples filed in and out of the upper room.

But the whole point of Jesus coming to earth was to make contact with us, the “apple of his eye” (Psalm 17:8) to save us from our sins (Luke 19:10, etc.). Rather than “staying at home” in heaven, safe from all the ill effects of the deadly disease of sin, he came down to us to suffer and die for us. He didn’t just “Zoom” us from heaven; he showed up in person, freely accepting not only the risks, but the certainty of his death. And because he did, we have eternal life – free from any future diseases!

Jesus made contact, but what about us today? Can we have faith and maintain that faith in our “contactless” society? Can we have “contactless faith”? Well, the answer is both yes and no.

“Yes,” in that we all have God’s Word available to us in many forms, both printed and electronic, so that we need never lack for his saving Word of life. God’s law and his gospel are in our hands, though we be shut away from contact with each other. As God’s Word promises, it will not return empty, but will accomplish its purpose (Isaiah 55:11).

And “no,” in two senses. First, because even when separated from each other, we are not separated from God in Christ. His Holy Spirit has come upon us and remains with us no matter what. Jesus spoke of this Spirit in John 14:17, “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” No distancing there. And, even when Jesus was about to “distance” himself physically from the disciples at the Ascension, he promised them, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This was consistent with God’s promise made in several Old Testament Scriptures that he would “never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 13:6-8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 8:57, 1 Chronicles 28:20), as well as in the New Testament book of Hebrews (13:5). Even if we were locked up in solitaire, in a prison cell, or in a cage, Christ would still be with us. Apart from him, we have no faith, for it is his gift by his Holy Spirit that we can believe. As Luther’s Small catechism states, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

And second, though we find ourselves separated right now by circumstances, this situation is not normal and cannot continue. Christians are by nature called to come together, to be the Church, called out from the crowd and joined in fellowship. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to not neglect meeting together, “as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Faith when isolated and neglected can grow cold. We can get too comfortable not going to church, that we forget to hold up Christ as the center of our lives and as the core of all our decisions. We begin to look at the world in the same secular way that we hear and see espoused all around us. We forget that “though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”** We need the fellowship, teachings, sacraments, and sharpening of character that only the Church, by the power of God himself, can provide.

Therefore, join with me in praying for relief from this pandemic, from the sickness and death it causes, and from the social, economic, and spiritual damage our response has caused, for “contactless faith” is a contradiction in terms.

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lit up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Mark 2:13-17; Luke 17:11-19; John 14:15-27

*See the next blog for a full rendition of this slightly warped song.

** From the hymn, This Is My Father’s World, by Maltbie Babcock, 1901.

The Star Still Shines

The star that shone so bright in the night, pierced the dark with its glorious light.

Beneath the star lay a world dwelling in the dark, but also from the benighted condition of a world subject to sin and death. The Scriptures spoke of people living in darkness, and so it was: a darkness bred by greed, malice, lust, theft, murder, hatred, political intrigue, oppression, and worship of the creation instead of the Creator. A people yearning to be free outwardly, yet unable to change their internal bondage to sin.

And yet, the star still shone, knowing that in spite of the depth of the darkness below, it was announcing by its small glow, the coming of a more brilliant Light, One that would ultimately banish all darkness, that would be the great Light also promised by Scripture: the Light that would save people from their sins, that would break their bondage to iniquity, and make them free indeed. And so it was that under the light of that star a babe was born. And the light drew men from near and far, even those who had longed to see the sign for what it told.

The star still shines so bright in the night, piercing the dark with its glorious light.

The Scriptures told us that not all people love light and not all people will love the Light. Evil deeds love the darkness, for darkness promises its own rewards, of selfish gain, sensual satisfaction, pride, vanity and replacement of God with self. The world is filled with evidence of what darkness truly delivers, yet people blame God for what they have caused. So it is that most of the world rejects the Light, hoping to shine in its own way, but only becoming fireflies that glow briefly before being snuffed out. The world mocks those who love the Light Hoping to justify their own dark souls.

And yet, the star which shone before shines still, proclaiming that the promised Light has come. It calls all people to believe, and to rejoice that the unending love of our Creator has shone and shown us the way out of the darkness. No longer must sin rule over us; there is a new way, a way that leads to life by following the true Light of the world.

Though the darkness will rage and fight to the end, it cannot overcome Whom God did send. The day will come when there’ll be no night, for the Morning Star will be our Light!

Merry Christmas, and may your celebration of Christ’s birth fill you with the love and joy of the true Light!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Luke 2:1-29, Matthew 2:1-12, John 1:1-14

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Yesterday I listened to a radio station that was playing Christmas songs. Amid the mix of secular tunes and religious carols, there were two songs that particularly caught my attention: Burl Ives’ version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” and Andy Williams singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” In the first song, Burl sings, “It’s the best time of the year.” Then, Andy follows with the lyrics: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

But is it? Is Christmas (or the Christmas season) the best, or the most wonderful, time of the year? When the second song ended, it was time for the news. One of the news stories reported on a recent medical study which found that Christmas is the worst time of the year when it comes to heart attacks. According to their findings, the most dangerous time – when more heart attacks occur than any other time during the year – is at 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve.

Considering that I often preached at 10 pm at our church’s Christmas Eve services, it’s a good thing I retired when I did! As the saying goes, I “dodged a bullet” by getting out alive!

The report surprised me, because I’ve always found Christmas to be a very special season and one of my favorite times of the year – although growing up in Wisconsin I also looked forward to the summers. I mean, singing about Frosty was fun, but building snowmen in April was a bit much, so summers were always welcome.

In a way, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the report, because we know about the stresses this season puts on people: cleaning the house, shopping for presents, decorating, entertaining, and meeting various social obligations. On top of that, several million people suffer from S.A.D. – Seasonal Affective Disorder – a kind of depression caused by changes in a person’s body chemistry due to winter’s reduced sunlight. Most difficult of all, many people have lost loved ones at this time of year. While such a loss is felt and grieved at any time of year, it can be especially hard at Christmas when everyone is singing about being “happy and gay” (old definition), and the expectation is to have a wonderful, joyous time. The persons grieving see all the (real or contrived) cheery faces around them and their own grief is harder to take. Such losses are felt not only when they occur, but again every year when the “joyful” season returns.

Wow; I’ve just talked myself out of having a happy Christmas! There seem to be more reasons not to have a good time than there are to be happy. No wonder heart attacks peak on Christmas Eve!

But do not despair! Christmas can be, and should be, a wonderful season, especially for Christians. The key question to ask is, “What are we celebrating?” When we consider the various answers which people give, we find both the reasons for people’s disappointments, and the “formula” for true joy and happiness. So then, what are the various “reasons for the season” and how do they affect us?

The key question to ask is, “What are we celebrating?”

Christmas is a celebration of winter! Sure, Christmas is celebrated on December 25, just a few days after the winter solstice. And sure, some pope from centuries ago set that date, apparently to co-opt the festival that pagans were observing at the same time. In a way, he “baptized” a pagan feast and made it a Christian one, which is what Christ does for all of us in our baptisms. But you can see a number of problems with that when it comes to making us happy. For one thing, what if we don’t have a wintry holiday? What if, like in Sacramento, there’s no snow? What if (unlike in Wisconsin) there are no Frosty snowmen, sleigh rides, or “Jack Frost nipping at your nose”? No question: a forest of snow-covered pine trees is beautiful, but what if you expect a “white Christmas” and only get slush and fog? Your anticipation can let you down when your postcard image doesn’t come true.

And then there’s that S.A.D. thing. Maybe the reason for the pagans having a holiday when they did, was that they were facing a bleak time of year. Maybe that pope could have picked a cheerier time for Christmas . . . like at the summer solstice.

On top of all this, there’s the fact that we don’t know what day Jesus was born (or even which year, though we number our calendars based on his being born in 1 AD). Based on the shepherds watching their flocks by night (Luke 2:8) out in the fields, scholars believe Jesus was born just before the Passover, at the start of Spring. The reason for the flocks at Bethlehem was to supply the sacrifices for the Temple at Passover . . . anyone see any connection here to another Sacrifice offered at that time?

Finally, regarding Christmas as a winter holiday: what about those poor people living south of the equator? Their Christmas is celebrated at the start of summer, so if they based their enjoyment of that day on having “a sleigh ride together with you . . .” they would always be disappointed!

2. Christmas is a celebration of family! Yes, this is the theme of just about every TV Christmas movie which purports to teach us “the real meaning of Christmas.” It also is part of the richness of the holiday, that families come together and share their love in words and in deeds. And, certainly, families are important in our lives and in the health of our society as a whole. But if that is the core of Christmas, then we set ourselves up for disappointments and even sadness.

What about the people who don’t have a family? Plenty of people will find themselves alone at Christmas. They see the smiling faces of families in public or on TV, and feel left out of the fun. They may be alone due to divorce or the death of their spouse, or maybe never married. Others hear about the joy people have in seeing Christmas “through the wondering eyes of their children,” but don’t experience that themselves because they are childless. This familiar expectation is hard when Christmas was the time you lost a close loved one – parent, child, spouse, or sibling – and yet you hear about the joy of family.

Even when you have a large, fully intact family with whom to celebrate Christmas, there can be conflicts and disappointments when those real people get together with all their quirks and “issues.” For some families, the only time happier than the arrival of family is their departure!

3. Christmas is a celebration of gift-giving . . . and getting! Oh boy! It’s time to get that new (fill in the blank) thing I’ve always wanted! Or at least, wanted since I saw it in a commercial two weeks ago. Kids fill out lists for Santa, and adults drop hints to family or special friends to “help” them make informed choices when they buy gifts.

I still keep a list for Santa, but I have to keep updating it when I find I am always behind the curve when it comes to what I ask for. I had to cross off: a Zune, a Palm Pilot, an 8-track tape player for my car, a new typewriter, some nice bell-bottoms, and an AMC Gremlin (like I used to own!). As you can tell by my list, things I would have been happy to get once, would no longer excite anyone to get now. Such is the fickle nature of what will make us happy. At least, candy canes haven’t changed!

Yes, I keep a list for Santa, but unfortunately, Santa keeps a list, too, so I doubt I’m getting anything from him . . .

Gifts are nice, and can be a lot of fun. And the gift-giving spirit does reflect the generosity of our Lord who gave us the most precious gift of all: his own Son (Matthew 7:11, John 4:10, Acts 2:38, Romans 5:15-17, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8). This gift-giving was mirrored by the magi, who brought gifts to the Christ-child (Matthew 2:11). But when the giving or getting of material possessions defines our Christmas celebration, we are setting ourselves up for disappointments.

Can I get the right gift? Is the store sold out? Can I afford it? Will the recipient really like it? Will it break within hours, will the child get bored with it in a couple days (and play with the box it came in instead)? Will I find the precious gift I gave at Goodwill a week later? What do I do with this “white elephant” someone gave me but I don’t like at all? I wonder if they ever shop at Goodwill . . .

4. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Okay, there we go. Finally, a Reason for the season that won’t disappoint us. No matter who we are, where we live, what time of year it is, what our family is like or if we are alone, whatever our financial resources or accumulation of stuff might be, or whatever disappointments or losses we experience at this time of year, there is one constant fact that cuts through everything and makes all the difference, and that is the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Or as Isaiah put it,

“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.” (Isaiah 9:6)

When that is our focus, when HE is our focus, we can truly rejoice with the knowledge that our Creator loves us and gave himself for us, that we might be reconciled to God and have eternal life. There is no greater reason to celebrate Christmas than that, nor is there any reason more rewarding.

The most wonderful time of the year? When we celebrate the coming into the world of the Wonderful Counselor, it most certainly is!

Have a merry and joyful Christmas!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 9:2,6-7, Romans 5:12-21, Ephesians 2:8-10