The Hope of Christmas

Going out shopping during the Christmas season is always… interesting. There are some other words for it that aren’t appropriate for our current situation, and we’ll leave them right there, but it’s amazing to go out and see so many people doing so many things, spending so much money, driving so many cars, being so angry, and needing so much hope. In the middle of a season that is supposed to typify hope, so many in our culture have little more than a tiny bit of sentimentality over a traditional holiday that has more to do with Santa Clause and getting together with family than it does with hope. Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a big fan of Santa Clause, but he didn’t save the world from sin.

What is hope anyway? It seems like the further away from hope we get, the less we know about what it really is, and the less we know about how to get it.

We use that word a lot. Hope. I hope it doesn’t rain… I hope it gets cooler for Christmas… I hope this or that thing does or doesn’t happen. Hope, in our day and time has become less of a thing you have, and more of a thing you want… or don’t want. When you say I hope it doesn’t rain, you’re really saying I don’t want it to rain. Plain and simple. This kind of hope is not the kind of hope we need. It’s not the kind of hope the bible talks about. (ROM 5:3-5)"³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

The hope we need is a hope that’s given to us. And it is not cheap. In fact, it is expensive. It may cost you suffering, you may have to persevere through insurmountable odds (and what is the story of the birth of Christ if it is not a story of perseverance through insurmountable odds), and through it all, God will be developing in you character, that distinctive quality of being conformed into the image of Christ.

The hope that God gives us through this process is, in a word, unshakeable. So few of us ever experience it because it lies down a difficult road. Most of us chose to put up barriers and go the easy way. We are scared of suffering because it hurts. And when we suffer, we shake our fists at God and ask “why me?” “Why now?” “Why this?” “Why?”. As if it’s his fault that we suffer. Suffering is part and parcel of the human condition. It is part of our common human experience. And if we will let him, our God is in the business of turning our suffering into something beautiful. Isaiah says that He gives beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

The world, in many ways, was very different when Jesus was born, but the one way in which it is precisely the same is in its need for the hope that Christ brings. The world has always and will always need the hope of Jesus Christ. The wonderful thing about Christmas is that its message never changes. It’s never complicated, it doesn’t pretend to be something that it’s not. Over the years we’ve added things, and the meaning gets clouded, but if you look carefully, it’s still there hidden under the tinsel and wrapping paper. It’s lingering in the sky where the star once shown, above the crowds of people shopping at Target and Wal-mart. It’s in the echo of the Christmas carols we sing… especially the one the angels sang that night to an audience of shepherds on the hillside just outside of Bethlehem. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.

The message of Christmas is this. The Grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all… Through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We needed a savior… and God provided one, on a quiet night, in a way we could never have imagined. The hope of the world lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. And that night, the world changed forever. The shepherds found him… Eventually the wise men found him… What about you? Have you found him?

What's In A Name?

I’ve always wondered how Joseph must’ve felt. Its not every day that the girl you’re betrothed to marry is suddenly with child by the Holy Spirit. It’s not every day that your young bride to be is chosen to carry the savior of the world in her womb. Joseph was, to say the least, in an interesting situation. I’ve always wondered what I would’ve done…

It’s hard for us to understand the social and religious issues surrounding this event. There is so much about Jewish culture and Jewish law that we just don’t get as westerners in the year 2007.

The Jewish rite of betrothal held much more meaning than our tradition of engagement. To say that Joseph and Mary were betrothed to each other was practically saying that they were married. In every sense, they were legally and spiritually bound to one another to such a degree that Mary could’ve been harshly punished if not stoned to death for anything that might be considered unfaithfulness at this point. At the end of the betrothal period, the marriage was consummated and finalized. No matter what Mary’s reasoning behind her pregnancy might have been, to an outsider, and even to her family, all the signs pointed to infidelity, scandal, shame, and disgrace.

This makes Joseph’s initial response all the more unusual and it shows a side of Joseph that I don’t think we often see or think about. Our passage today says that Joseph was a righteous man. The Greek word translated as righteous there could also mean just, and the actions of a righteous or just man at this point could’ve been seen in one of two ways. In the sphere of Jewish culture, if you were a righteous man, and your betrothed was found to be unfaithful, your righteous position demanded that you hand her over to the authorities for the proper punishment. This was your righteous duty, and a man in Joseph’s case would’ve been seen as “just” if he went through with this process. But Joseph showed a deeper inner righteousness, and justness that wasn’t based on religious rules or laws. His act of planning to dismiss her quietly to avoid exposing her to public disgrace speaks volumes about Joseph’s character and it says so much about his love for Mary. In this passage you can almost feel the weight of the situation as it rests on Joseph’s shoulders. All of his anticipation and excitement about being united with Mary suddenly comes crashing down upon his head and he is crushed. How would you feel if you were absolutely taken with someone, and suddenly found out just before you were to commit to this person, that there was evidence of unfaithfulness?

Joseph, out of his love for Mary, decided to neglect the path of an upright Jewish man, and this would be his one final act of tender care for her.

Joseph was facing a moment in his life not unlike moments we all face. Granted none of us have ever been or will ever be presented with this particular moment, but we face our own moments all the same. We come to these points in our lives where we are in crisis. We find ourselves in the middle of a situation that is unresolved. We’re pulled apart at the seams till it feels like we might rip in two. Our minds are consumed with nothing but this moment of crisis. Tossing and turning at night, fighting for a tiny bit of uninterrupted sleep as thoughts turn over and over in our heads. In some seasons of life, it seems like moments of crisis are tied end to end and come along in an endless progression of one crisis after another after another after another till we are ready to give up. And many have given up. You know the ones… those who have just shut down, living “flatline” lives empty of purpose or joy or vitality. Maybe that’s you. You’ve given up after one too many crisis moments, and you’ve stepped to the sideline of life.

Something happens to Joseph that represents an amazing truth about how God seems to repeatedly communicate with you and I. When Joseph was at the end of his rope, and when he had decided to take care of things in the best way he knew how, in the biggest crisis moment of Joseph’s life, the voice of God came to him and saved the day. Not only for Joseph personally, but for the whole world. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: (and here’s where it all comes down) “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “GOD IS WITH US.”

God is still speaking the same thing to us in our moments of crisis, if we will listen. If we will take the time to say, “God, what is this for? Why am I being pulled apart here? Three questions come to the surface in Joseph’s crisis. 1) What do you want me to know? 2) How do you want me to change? 3) What would you have me do?

There is no particular order to how these come along. And there’s no guarantee that they’ll all be answered, but maybe they’ll give us a practical way to listen to the voice of God speaking to us in the middle of our times of crisis.

“God, what do you want me to know?” The angel of the Lord gave Joseph the information he needed to affect his perspective, to alter the way he understood the situation “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” This was extremely important information that Joseph needed to know. He needed to understand that Mary had not been unfaithful. He needed to know that it was okay for him to take her as his wife. He needed to know that this baby had a purpose and that indeed He (that is Joseph) had a purpose in parenting this child. Joseph needed this information in order for the next question to be relevant.

“How do you want me to change?” Joseph needed a change of attitude. He was headed in one direction, emotionally broken and dejected. God wanted him to change directions, to make a 180 degree turn and head in the opposite direction with his purpose intact and a joy, and expectancy in his heart. God wanted Joseph to take his perspective from God’s point of view. Joseph couldn’t do that on his own. He needed to hear the voice of God for this, and he needed to know what God’s plans were so that he could adjust himself, and fall in line. Which leads us to the last question.

“What would you have me do?” God wanted Joseph to change his plans, and to go ahead with the marriage. But in Matthew’s passage, God asked Joseph to do something that held extreme significance for the Jewish culture. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The act of naming in Jewish culture signified more than just a name, more than just what you were called. It was a part of your essence, your identity, and it signified that you belonged. When Joseph named Jesus, he was saying to the world, I take this child as my son, he is part of my lineage, he is part of the Royal house of King David, and most importantly, he is Jesus, Yeshua (which means God helps or God saves) through him, God will help us, God will save us.

The moment of Joseph’s deepest crisis lead to the moment of his greatest significance. God wanted Joseph to be a part of calling Jesus into his destiny… can you imagine…

So, as the saying goes, we’re all either in the middle of a crisis, coming out of one, or on our way into one. None of us are spared crisis moments, and when I’m not in one, I’m usually thankful for that fact because I’m beginning to see how God uses them to grow us up into the people he’s calling us to be. If we’ll ask him what he wants us to know, how and what he wants us to change, and what he would have us do, and if we’ll give him time to speak to us in the midst of our busy lives, I believe he desires to transform us and to draw us, through our moments of crisis, into moments of great significance in Him.

I Am Breathing

what is your name
you who spread the stars in the sky
who raised the mountains
who filled the oceans
your name is written on it all
but it is not to be read
you who knew me before my time
who has seen all my days to the end
who cares for me today
your name is written on my heart
but it cannot truly be spoken
You are the YHVH of my life's breath
You are, and I breathe.

For Those Who Have Ears To Hear

We all continue to grow and change. Did you know that human ears never stop growing. Your ears are one of the only parts of your body that don't stop growing when you reach a certain age. Is that why really old people have huge ears? No, really... they mostly just hang lower and lower, but they never stop growing. Kindof interesting... its almost as if our ears are trying to draw attention to themselves. What are they trying to tell us?

Well, since ears can't speak, maybe they are trying to communicate in the only way they know how. Maybe they're trying to tell us that listening is one of the most important things we can do as we get older. If the ears keep growing, even when we get old, could it be that they are trying to compensate for age-related hearing loss? Maybe, but either way I think the lesson is the same. Listen!

Remember that old axiom from childhood? "Children should be seen and not heard." That one is before my time, but here in the south, some still use it. I think it applies to more than just children. It also sounds a little better when its put like this. "Everyone should listen more and talk less." What kind of world would we live in if this was something we took to heart? A quiet one! Since many don't take it to heart, we don't have to worry about going insane with the silence of listening. We don't have to walk around in a society where everyone is starring at everyone else just waiting for someone to talk so they can listen.

I think listening is probably one of the hardest things to do, especially when we're trying to listen to the heart of God. Try that kind of listening in a society like ours, where loudness and activity are the norm and car commercials compete for the title of "most likely to drive you out of your mind", and you just might go out of your mind. The honest truth is that most of us could use a bit more quiet time to listen. We need to listen to each other. We need to listen to ourselves. We need to listen to God.

If you close your eyes on a breezy summer afternoon as the sun is setting through the pine trees, you can hear him... He speaks in the wind through the pine needles. His voice can be heard in the sound of kids playing down the street. The birds are singing to him as they bid the day farewell. And if you listen very closely, you can hear him in the beating of your own heart, rhythmically calling you to listen to his heart.

God's Love

The Love of God
seems to grow
from my perspective
almost as the sea
seems to grow
as you dive deeper
into its depths
But in reality
His Love
doesn't grow at all
it consumes.
You are consumed
by another reality
and eventually
there's no breathing
Only drowning
As your lungs surrender
to the pressure

Change

Seems like winter is gone for good around these parts...
Change is probably the most likely phenomenon on the planet. Why is it that humans are such creatures of habit if change is the "only constant"? Most of us, knowingly or unknowingly fight change tooth and nail. Not many in my generation will admit to fighting change because, for most of us, the battle to change the unchangeables of the previous generation is still too fresh in our minds. For some of us, that battle is still raging (against the machine even). Alas, we too, with all of our antidisestablishmentarianism (probably not the right word to use here but I had to use it somewhere) are not true agents for change.
Its funny how things that constantly change, like seasons, seem to change in patterns that don't change. Summer has never come after fall and likewise winter after spring. That's just not the way things happen. That's not the way things are supposed to change. People change in patterns too. As one generation gives way to the next, that generations fervor for freshenss and change becomes ensconced in tradition. The new becomes the status quo, and eventually the status quo becomes the establishment against which the next generation gets to rage against. If it didn't already have a definition, I would make this concept the definition of antidisestablishmentarianism.
So when you feel yourself becoming uncomfortable with change... when you feel yourself suddenly clinging to the way you've always done it... even if no one has done it like you do it ever before, beware. Change always comes.

so, if change always comes, does that mean that change never changes? my head hurts

Poor Neglected Blog

How many times have I promised the blog I would take care of it without fail... only to fall hopelessly into the arms of blogetfulness. What must be done to keep a healthy, happy blog these days. I have wonderful excuses... all of which are more than understandable and common to man. It comes down to the painful truth that my heart has been far from the blog. Duplicitous. Cold. Unfaithful.

No, seriously. D'you ever experience those seasons of little to nothing to say? Those months that pass when all you can do is keep up with the pace of life and kids. The speed of life with children seems like it might be about 185,999 miles per second. A mere 1 mile per second slower than the speed of light which conveniently makes all things pass with a hazy, blurry essence while seeming to take forever. It's not that life is going so fast, its just that it never stops. Maybe I can find time in my duplicitous heart to commit to more blogging. For my sake, I hope so. May the blessing of God Almighty; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen.