Keeping Christmas Alive

  

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." Luke 2:15.

Well, I guess I won’t go to the stable in Bethlehem as the shepherds did, mainly because Bethlehem is a distance away, and I don’t want a stray bullet in my back. Besides, the stable is long gone, and the ornate structure that replaces it, or where they think it was, is totally out of character with the original.

Mind you, we can visit it regularly at children’s portrayals in myriad locations, at crèches in front yards and on mantle shelves. We can’t hear the angels sing, but we can hear their song in malls, shopping centres and on radio. And we can see and hear it in the comfort of heated homes and public places, not the windswept winter hills of Bethlehem.

Trouble is, yearly repetition and a barrage of the Babe’s birth every Christmas dulls the message behind the excess. Even I find it hard to reflect on the wonder of the Christmas message when constant use devalues its impact. I cling to the mental knowledge that for me, for many of us, it is the greatest wonder of the world, but I have little emotional attachment.

How do you keep the freshness of Christmas alive?

Like Us, Mary Faced Adversity

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Luke 2:1.

Of course, this text reminds me of the hype over Canada’s recent decision to make the long form census voluntary and remove jail time for those who refused to fill it out. Opposition complained this would undermine accuracy, as though coercion ensured it. In our time when convenience or just plain cussedness trumps truth, census accuracy can’t be guaranteed.

Joseph and Mary didn’t have the choice. The self-styled god Caesar could exact dire penalties for refusal to co-operate. Thousands probably travelled to their ancestral homes to register; the edict was for all the Roman world. So Joseph with Mary, now his wife and close to delivery of her firstborn, made the arduous journey to Bethlehem.

How did Mary cope with this? With some difficulty, I am sure. Did she really have a donkey as many pictures suggest, or did she walk all the way? And when she arrived, no place to sleep and bear her child but a stable? Beyond the physical endurance necessary, did she wonder if she was mistaken in believing God was orchestrating all this?

After all, if this was God’s Messiah in her womb, surely He could have arranged for a smoother pregnancy. Perhaps move the census to later, and leave them at home for more comfort; or some other easier alternative. From what we know of Mary, I’m sure she bore the hardships with great patience. Besides which, in her devotion to God she would have known the Scriptures.

If Herod could find Messiah’s birthplace, Mary would have known it. She would recognize this exhausting trip to Bethlehem as part of God’s plan. Knowing He traveled with her, she would have strength for it. In addition, sufficient Scriptures pointed to His coming as one who would be “despised and rejected”; the stable was an appropriate entry point.

Of course, we do not have Mary’s detailed map for our lives. Without precise reasons for our adversity it’s difficult to find meaning in it, and even if I’d had Mary’s assurance, I would still have doubted along the way. Bumps in the road regularly occur that can make us doubt our sanity, if not the Scriptures.

But when all else seems awry, the promises of God stand secure. We may not know the details, but we can be sure of the outcome. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28), and “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:20).

Sometimes, we simply have to cling to His promises in raw faith as beneath it all we know we can trust Him. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

               

Wasted Time?

This week has not been a good one. Oh! Not that anything particularly bad happened, or that nothing good occurred; it just didn’t go the way I wanted. Of course, that last phrase should raise the question of why it seemed so unprofitable.

Distractions are the first problem. Not necessarily frivolous pastimes, but needful things. Health requires visits to the clinic, doctors, check-ups, massages or chiropractic care, and, while we are out, why not some needful shopping?

Home by noon, lunch and a rest—Ann and I sleep for an hour or more!—and the day is shot.

Now it’s Christmas. Let’s get the tree and decorations up. Have to do it this morning, we have a visit planned this afternoon. Can I write in some Christmas cards?

Another day requires a trip to Calgary; the day is gone and no time for a sleep either! Then a day spent in our daughter’s house looking after some visitors, and most of the week has gone also.

The second setback is tiredness. A day or two of the common round seems to sap both our energy and resolve.

I recall starting my first pastorate. Why not tackle some basic research for next Sunday’s sermon on Monday morning? I soon learned that the emotional energy spent at several services on Sunday left me exhausted on Monday.

No wonder many pastors take Mondays off. One wise pastor told me never to resign on a Monday. I’d probably regret it Tuesday!

These distractions sap my creativeness. After all, I write best in the morning. Worse still, the two or three mornings I had available, I couldn’t put two words together. I deleted most of what I wrote in desperation and annoyance.

So far the tyranny of the urgent has left tired gaps for the important. Can you guess how I felt by the end of the week, and who bore the brunt of it?

I’m not sure God was glorified in my efforts or attitudes this week. So how do we process times like this when all is supposed to be done to the glory of God.

In the grand scheme of things, I doubt one unproductive week adds up to much. And perhaps, those times are part of the process of accomplishment—some needed recuperation, or outside inspiration—certainly the week inspired this piece!

I guess winning the war is far more important than losing a few battles. In this vein, let’s hope this coming week is as good as the last.

Faith in the Impossible

For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1:37

Read verses 34 to 38 for the story behind this statement. I must admit Mary’s incredulity vanished far quicker than mine would. That Mary would become pregnant without male assistance was impossible enough, but that God the Holy Spirit would make her pregnant seems sacrilegious to say the least.

Of course, as a man, it is highly unlikely that the angel would come to me with that message. But much as I can, I put myself in Mary’s place, and try to imagine my reaction. Perhaps the devil played some cruel hoax, I dreamt in very bad taste, or entered some twilight zone? I probably would have reacted this way.

Note Mary’s reaction. She did not question the reliability of the message; clearly, Gabriel had some guarantee of his credentials that allayed suspicion. Even as a dream, the force of the event would have probably made it authentic. But the intangible twilight zone makes authenticity hard to validate, even counterfeiting Gabriel’s credentials.

Mary simply trusted God, not only for the message, but also for its legitimacy. After all, a year would establish the truth of the message. In addition, Gabriel provided some circumstantial evidence. Her elderly cousin Elizabeth was already six months pregnant; a repetition of the earlier promise of a son to Abraham, conceived beyond Sarah’s childbearing years.

However, my sceptical bent needs evidence; I don’t want to be considered naive. But matters of faith do not produce ultimate evidence or they would not be faith. Both theists and atheists base their positions on faith, so their conflict can never be resolved. Mary just preferred to believe God, perhaps in spite of misgivings.

What if she hadn’t believed Gabriel. Would her lack of faith have prevented the birth of the Saviour? We don’t really know. Rather, I believe God chose Mary because of her willingness to believe. An innocent faith in God is not naive; innocence does not assume ignorance, but trusts in spite of arguments or events ranged against it.

A Virgin Birth?

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. Luke 1:31.

Ah! The virgin birth; butt of jokes and derision, and even a sacrilegious excuse for an embarrassing pregnancy. I’m sure Mary suffered the barbs of contempt and scorn for her state; it was hardly a common occurrence. In fact, she would most likely have been an outcast in her community for this seeming infraction of religious mores.

But it’s not as if miraculous births were not a part of Jewish history. Sarah was past childbearing age when she gave Abraham his son Isaac. And for the observant, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was sufficiently “well along in years,” that her husband couldn’t believe she would have a son. She was already six months pregnant at the angel’s announcement to Mary.

Then as now, understanding God’s signs in time and space requires humility and faith. Jesus complained that those who could read signs to forecast weather were blind to the evidence of God’s activity. As I get older it becomes clear to me that belief in God’s involvement in life is a matter of what we want to believe, not necessarily evidence.

It is possible to explain away anything miraculous. In fact, for many, believing the miraculous does not exist is a prerequisite for assessing truth! Mind you, a healthy scepticism is a useful tool to avoid impostors and frauds, but to discard God or His intervention completely seems shortsighted at best and at worst plain ignorant.

Christ, as God, becoming a man is a stroke of genius I would expect of God. His virgin birth conceived by God the Holy Spirit set Him apart as God, and his birth from a woman completed His credentials as fully God and fully human. Only this way was He able, not only to take the punishment for human debt, but also have the authority to acquit the guilty.

The first wonder of this world for me is the virgin birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It assures me a place of release from my sin and guilt. It doesn’t absolve me from the consequences of my sin, for which I must make amends where I can, but reassures me of final acceptance by God, now and for eternity.