THE PROMISE FROM THE SHEPHERD

For thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord God. "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment."
(Ezekiel 34: 11-16)

We have seen many passages where the writer compares the Lord to a shepherd. To a pastoral culture, it was a ready and familiar comparison. In this passage from Ezekiel, we find that the Lord Himself chooses this comparison. From the days of the offerings of Cain and Abel to now, the shepherd and the flock have been a favored image to our God. Not that other activites have been disrespected. It is just that something about that work of a shepherd greatly touches the heart of God.

Here we find all the promises of good care from the Shepherd, that He will lead His flock to good pastures. But there is more than that. The Lord God promises that He will seek out His scattered sheep, no matter the circimstances. I particularly like the mention that He will seek the lost even when scattered on cloudy and gloomy days.

Here is the purpose of Christmas from God's side of the event: He wants to seek us out, to find us wherever we have wandered, no matter what darkness and gloom our scattering behavior has taken us into. At just those points when we are wailing that we have been forsaken, the Lord is heading toward us, intent on bringing us back to safety and to plenty.

If God is coming after us, why then do our times of trials seem to go on so long? James reminded us that trials serve to build our endurance, and that's "nice". But if God seeks us, why does it "take so long"?

We are sheep. Near-sighted, easily alarmed, stubborn creatures. If we wander off, we seem certain we can find our own way. I wonder ... when we find ourselves in barren territory or tangled in briars, do we stop moving and wait for the shepherd? Or do we try to push on, sure we can find our way back to the safe pastures on our own, even though we cannot see the bluffs that drop away on one side or the turbulent water that can drown us on another. Perhaps it is our own tendency to try and keep moving that stretches out the time it takes the Lord to reach us.

Until we are ready to be found, can we be found, even when the seeker is the Lord God Himself?

Very little children love the game of peek-a-boo. For a brief time as they grow, they place an amazing belief in the power of seeing: they believe that if they cannot see you, you aren't there; if they cannot see you, you cannot see them. As adults, we play along with this, because the simple delight of the child when he or she sees the face of the adult delights us in turn.

Sometimes we treat God that way: if we don't look at Him, He won't see us and we won't see Him. We can laugh with delight when we choose to turn to Him.

But we are stubborn. And sometimes we push on by ourselves.

Yet, all the while, the Divine Shepherd is seeking us. Not to punish us, but rather to rescue us and bring us back to all the good things we need for life. He finds the lost, the broken, and the sick, and will restore them.

To me, I think that is another reason for us to not attack those who hate believers and would destroy those who follow the Lord: since God seeks those who are lost and scattered, do we know who they are? When we look around us, and see other people scrambling, is our spiritual eyesight good enough to know whether it is a lost sheep or a mountain lion? Better if we leave that to the Shepherd.

Of course, there is the warning in the end of the passage: that the Lord will destroy the fat and sassy who linger in the midst of the flock.

It is interesting to me to realize that the Lord has expectations of us. Not that we simply follow Him and trust Him. He wants to provide us with everything we need for a healthy, secure life, but He has no interest in seeing us become so glutted on that life that we waddle along weighed down with fat.

On every side, we are reminded that our God is pro-active. He watches over us, protects us, provides for us. He seeks us, even when we are lost in our own wandering. He does not stop. (Humorous side thought: in the film The Terminator, Reese tells Sarah Connor that the Terminator will not stop in his quest for her. The word "terminator" led my mind to "Alpha and Omega" - "omega" being the last letter of the Greek alphabit, the end, the termination. Our God is like the Terminator, hunting and seeking. The big difference, the important difference, is that the Lord does not want to destroy us, but rather return us to the safety of the well-tended flock.)

The Lord will always seek us, whether we are looking at Him or not.

TRIUMPH BEYOND TRIALS

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anthing from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
(James 1: 2-12)

When I began writing the meditations at the beginning of Advent, I was feeling that I was in the midst of very great trials. I really needed God's intervention in my circumstances. And one of the things that really pulled at me, challenging me, was the beginning of this passage: "Count it all joy." I was certainly not feeling particularly joyful at facing Christmas in so much need. Yet everything and everyone around me told me to hold on and trust the Lord.

Simple endurance. But more than that is needed. James says that we must "ask in faith without any doubting."

I admit that at the beginning of Advent, holding onto complete faith and expelling all doubt was very difficult. And as a result, each day brought a great ebb and flow to my emotions - very, very low when I let myself fall into worrying about what would come next, followed by a quiet peace when I would put anxiety out of my mind. But each day brought that same rolling of the "surf" and tossing from the "wind," until I stopped and let go of all doubt. There came a day when there was absolutely nothing more I could do on my own, when I finally admitted that I would have to rely entirely on God.

Just as James had said, so long as I was doubting, I could not fully receive what God had to give. Oh, I had been given help prior to that point, for God's providence to those who love Him will not fail. But my hands had been clutched closed because I was so afraid of losing what I had.

I know that some read these words of James about the fate of the rich man and think he is condemning the wealthy. But I don't think that is what he means to convey. I think James wants to remind believers that all circumstances in this world are temporary, whether poor or rich. When circumstances change in either direction, James challenges us to give glory to God. Which ever way we move, we need to remain focused on the Lord.

James says we are blessed when we persevere under trial. It certainly doesn't feel like a blessing when we are going through the experience. It feels like we have been abandoned, forsaken. I began Advent with Psalm 22, the deeply heartfelt cry of a forsaken believer. Or rather, someone who felt forsaken. But once again, there is that warning from James not to give in to our feelings, which spring from doubt. Even the psalmist moves away from his "poor me" wailing and praises the Lord for His faithfulness to His people.

Troubles and difficulties tend to isolate us from the people around us. Or rather, we let them isolate us. Our distress makes us back away from others, because we don't want to spill that bitter stuff on other people. We feel we need to endure these things all by ourselves. Ah, those feelings again!

Joy is something that lets others come close to us again. Joy is a choice, not a feeling. We can find joy again, when we chose to praise God for His majesty, no matter what is happening to us at a particular moment.

Joy opens our hands, allowing us to receive the great bounty that the Lord wants to give to us.

If we remember that as believers we have already "been approved" perhaps we would do a better job of chosing joy. But when we are in the midst of trials, even that isn't easy to remember, because we get caught in the idea that we need to earn that approval. When we find ourselves stumbling over that, we need to go simpler and remember that we are the sheep in the flock of a Good Shepherd. He watches out for the dangers we cannot see. When we have to go past rushing, troubled waters, when the lion and bear try to get at us, the Shepherd deals with those threats. We may tremble in fear, but if we trust the Shepherd and stay put, instead of running away, we will find that He is trustworthy. If we endure this moment, we will come through to His blessings.

A PRO-ACTIVE LORD
Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him; "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me/"

And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do."

The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. (Acts 9: 1-9)

Like Herod, the young Pharisee Saul was really intent on resisting the Lord. He was so focused on getting rid of every trace of Jesus that he was tracking down disciples all the way to Damascus. He worked very hard at this hunt.

But remember, we're talking about the Creator of the Universe here. We're talking about a God so deeply engaged with our lives that He became one of us, walked among us. We're talking about a God who moved magi in a far land to seek the Infant Christ, a God who impelled Joseph to flee before Herod's destruction swept down upon the Child.

I see a parallel here between Herod and Saul, which is why I brought this reading into the Christmas story. I think we really need to remember this side of God's involvement in our world. He takes a pro-active interest is what goes on. This is the Lord we've been looking toward, the Lord whose coming we prepared for during Advent, the Lord who became one of us.

What happened to Saul gives us another way of looking at those who resist the Lord, who mock and persecute the believers. And I think it shows us that we need to rethink our reactions when our faith is attacked.

At one point, Jesus said "Seek and you shall find." And that is exactly what happened to Saul. He was so intent on his pursuit of Jesus and His followers, that he found what he was seeking. Of course, what he found was not what he expected. But isn't that what usually happens when the Lord becomes involved?

When we as believers stand in the midst of hostile company, do we remember moments like this? Do we remember that God led Joseph and Mary and the Baby to safety from the hunters of Herod? Do we remember that Jesus met Saul (who was out to capture and murder believers) on the road to Damascus, knocking him flat on his rear? I think we instead remember that Herod's troops slaughtered innocent children in Bethlehem, and that Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen. We think of those children and Stephen, and we wonder if that's the role assigned for us.

God only knows that.

But I think we would be wiser to remember the Bigger Picture. God is not stand-offish. He is eager to be engaged in our stories, our lives. He is right there with us, and even ready to stand on the path between us and those who would harm us.

Here is the balancing point of being a believer: on the one hand we have a God who shepeherds us, watches over us, even to the point of becoming one of us, and we are called to witness and testify to His actions in our lives; on the other hand the world around us is hostile toward that testimony, possibly even to the point of wanting to erase us from existence. The very thing we are most called to do - proclaim the glory of God - is the very thing that could get us killed.

I have joyful news for you! Christ the Lord is born! Go tell it on the mountain! Tell it everywhere! Oh, and remember that you will be persecuted for the sake of the name of the Lord.

But we are not sent out into that hostile, cold world without support. God is with us. When our persecutors are on the road to reach us, Jesus meets them on the way. We may not see it happen. The believers in Damascus weren't there to see it, but it happened. We need to trust the Lord to deal with those who are "after us." Yes, it is terrible when believers are persecuted, and we should not stand silent when it happens. But when we break our silence, it should not be to proclaim that we should be exempt from persecution, but rather that whatever happens to us, the Lord is engaged in our lives, in the world around us, even to the degree of having His hands upon the lives of those who would destroy us.

We are the sheep of His flock. It is our shepherd's job to deal with the threats to the flock. And He is on the job.

RESISTING THE LORD

Now when they [the magi] had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him." So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.
(Matthew 2: 13-16)

One of the consequences of the intersection of spiritual matters and worldly matters is the reaction of those who have no interest in spiritual things. Those who can only see worldly matters believe that the only "actors" in events are worldly ones and the only motives and purposes are also worldly.

Even though the magi had told Herod they had followed heavenly signs, even though the scholars he consulted were telling him the words of God's prophets, Herod only heard the words "child born King of the Jews." For Herod, there was only one interpretation for that, the worldly one. And as far as he could tell, this child was a threat to him. Or at least, that's the way Herod looked at it. So, he decided to do something about this threat. Eliminate it early and he won't have to deal with it later.

Of course, Herod was not seeing the whole picture. He was discounting any spiritual aspect to events, nevermind Someone active on that level of things.

As believers, we need to remember that this goes on around us. We share the world with people who cannot see God's signs around them, not even when someone speaks about those signs rather dramatically - like foreign magi showing up at court asking about a prophesied child because of a star in the sky. Believers live in the midst of people who not only do not think there is a God who intervenes in events, they don't think there is a God at all.

It's a little bit upsetting for believers to have what to them is a major part of their lives discounted by the worldy and mockers. We are human enough to want to argue, to defend, to protest that God indeed does interact with our lives. After all, aren't we called to testify about what God does for us? Isn't that what praise is about?

Well, no. Praise is what we give to God. Worship is the interaction between ourselves and the Lord. These things are not intended to be spectacles for an outside audience or demonstrations of proof. Praise and worship only have meaning to those who are engaged in the relationship.

Our testimony to outsiders is about what God has done for us. We don't have to pay any attention to non-believers say about our praise and worship.

But beyond that, this story of the Holy Family flleeing Herod's actions shows another thing: that God watches out for us, that He moves us well ahead of impending distruction. As believers our lives are both spiritual and worldly, and the Prime Mover of all things is spiritual. We know this. If we trust God at all, we need to trust that He will also move us away from what could destroy us.

I'm sure that Joseph and Mary thought the order to move to Egypt, and to go immediately, was just about the worst thing to happen to them. It meant that Joseph was leaving behind his home and work in Nazareth. It meant that Mary, who had just given birth would now have to face a journey at least twice as far as a Bethlehem to Nazareth transit, if not three times as far. It was going to be a hard journey, for which they were not prepared. But the angel of the Lord told Joseph to go immediately, and they went, without question they went.

Herod's troops swept down on the Bethlehem region and killed all male children two years old and younger.

But the baby Jesus was gone.

Joseph and Mary were told why they had to go, but often God does not tell us the whys. Do we trust Him?

When we listen to the world around us, which downplays the presence of God, dismisses God as an effective power in events, our trust in the Lord gets shaken. At times like that, we need to remember this story. We need to remember that the Creator of the Universe is not a remote figure, not an outside observer, but rather an active participant in events.

This morning, there was a passing story of entertainment "news" about Bill Maher mocking quarterback Tim Tebow for his open faith in God. Like Herod, Maher only sees the worldly manifestation. All he sees is a young man bowing down before "something" that isn't there. If he (Maher) can't see it, it must not exist. It certainly isn't effective or active in the world he lives in.

Those who resist the Lord will resist our declarations of His presence. They may even try to act against those who believe. Jesus told His followers to expect persecution.

But against that, we have a God who is an active player, who keeps His eyes upon us, and His hands upon our lives. We need to remember that when we are suddenly trudging through the desert to a destination that had not been in our plans, that seems to take us way outside the expected shape of our lives. There is a Bigger Picture in events than what even we can see.

Yes, Herod was dangerous. But remember, Herod failed in his intention.

The Lord intervened. The baby lived, and grew into a man who changed the world. And as believers, we are partakers in that power and majesty.

Do not resist the Lord.

WHEN SPIRITUAL AND WORLDLY MATTERS CROSS

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."

After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
(Matthew 2: 1-12)

Usually, when looking at the story of the magi seeking the baby Jesus, I'm thinking just about their intention to seek the Christ and bring Him gifts. They travel a rather long distance to perform this act of worship, and the gifts they bring are precious and significant. But this time, having recently considered the public clash of belief with unbelief over things like the public display of Nativity scenes, my attention was caught by another element in the story - the clash with King Herod's worldly concerns.

The magi made the trip from their distant home very much as an act of faith. Whatever the significance of the Star was to them, they couldn't be sure of what they would find. Their lack of certainty shows in their choice to go straight to the currently ruling "King of the Jews", Herod. Their own intention was to worship the baby they knew had been born, that they (somehow) knew would be a King, so perhaps it is not surprising that they sought this child with the worldly king.

How easily do we mistake spiritual matters for worldly ones? Fairly easy. Even the Wise can do it.

The magi knew they had traveled to offer worship, worsihp to one born to such a dramatic destiny that the very heavens proclaimed the news for those who could read the signs. The cosmos told them about the baby. And yet, it didn't occur to them that this special birth might be something other than of mere worldly import. So, knowing the child was destined to be king, they sought the current king, apparently assuming the child was of Herod's family.

Herod's own worldliness shows up in his reaction to this visitation. His family were actually Edomites, not Jewish, but in ruling over the Jews he'd obvioiusly become familiar with the fact that in Jewish history rulership didn't always proceed from tather to son, but also that the culture was riddled with prophecies and expectations. He turned to the learned scholars of his court and asked about the Messiah. He knew of the prophecies of an expected ruler who would overturn the worldly authorities. He was paranoid enough about his position to want to keep track of any possible threat to his kingship, and that included that prophesied savior. He too was thinking about worldly matters.

Herod was politic enough not to conceal the information from the magi. When his scholars told him that Bethlehem of Judea was supposedly the place for the Messiah to come from, he sent the magi on their way. He requested with seeming disinterest that once they'd found the Child, they come back and tell him about it all, so he could follow their example. Oh, yeah, all he wanted to do was offer worship to a Child that might one day replace him.

That factor may not have occured to the magi, because they were foreigners. The political, civil state of Judea wasn't of importance to them. They just wanted to worship the child the heavens declared king.

What a situation ripe for disaster!

But God watches out for the things that are important to Him.

God had the Star continue to serve as a guide to the magi, leading them to the Child, still to be found in the small, humble town of Bethlehem. Mary, Joseph and the Child had moved into the house, probably because the crush of out-of-towners had ended, with most of the visitors having gotten their census business done and gone back to their regular lives. But a young mother with a newborn child, they're not going to be shoving off for a cross-country journey right away. So now there was room for them in the inn. The magi arrived, presented their gifts, and performed the worship that they had traveled all this distance to make.

But then God intervened. Instead of allowing the worldly matter to take hold, instead of affirming worldly rulership, God warned the magi to avoid going back to Herod.

God knows perfectly well how civil matters affect our lives. But the birth of the Christ Child is at once more intimate and more vast than the issue of civil, worldly government. Christ became flesh to get God "under our skin", to change our thinking about God from being "out there" to something more intimate. That closeness and immediacy is more important to the Lord than the mere civil picture.

We live in the world. The sounds and sights and touches of the material and civil world press around us, drawing our attention and focus. We look to the worldly authorities for the shaping of our lives, because they do have such power.

But the magi were not seeking a worldly authority. They might not have known that when they set out. even though the sign they followed was distinctly unworldly. But by the time they found the Child, God made it clear to them that the matter of this Child was not something that was within Herod's purview.

Many Christians in the world have for long enjoyed a degree of security within their cultures, being allowed to gather and worship without disturbance from the civil rulers. Of course, just as many do not have that security. In America, I think we've taken it for granted. We have an expectation that the civil authorities will actually protect us as we go about our worship. Some even consider this protection to be ordained by God and therefore inviolate. But that was not the situation Jesus was born into. If the infant Christ was not born into a world where the civil authorities bowed to spiritual worship, why do we expect our situation to be different?

That can be a scary proposition, knowing that our worship might not be secure from disruption by the civil authorities. But look again to the story. God watches out for the things that are important to Him. The magi reached their desitantion. They performed the act of worship they had come so far to give. They saw the face of God Incarnate in the Infant. And then the Lord warned them not to return to Herod. This Child was none of Herod's business.

The Lord puts spiritual matters first, He protects those matters. Danger and persecution may prowl around, but God guides the believers and seekers to Himself, meets them, and then sends them onward by safe (if obscure) paths.

Are we looking to the civil rulership for matters that are spiritual, that belong to the Lord? Are we bestowing spiritual kingship upon worldly leaders instead of seeking the One born King? It's an easy thing to do, even when extraordinary signs hint that the matter is far bigger than a worldly ruler.

Do you see that Star? Do you know where it is leading? And who did you ask for directions? Are they trust-worthy? The Lord awaits your coming.

TESTIFY, BROTHER!

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life -- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us -- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too many have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
(1 John 1: 1-4)

The shepherds witnessed the proclamation of the angels and sought out this unusual child, and then they talked about these wonders to those they met. When Zacharias was confronted by Gabriel, he was too anstonished to believe the wonder, and instead resisted it - with the result that he was muted for nine months, until his son was born. But then he testified to the wonders and glory of God, first thing out of his mouth.

John wrote his letter at a time when Gnosticism was beginning to infiltrate the community of believers. Gnosticism in its teachings questioned the very basic nature of the Incarnation of the Christ, that the divinity of God would merge with the material flesh of human beings. They also wanted to keep a sense of "specialness" about spiritual knowledge, a sense that only a few knowledgable persons could know the deepest truth about God and our relationship with Divinity.

Since the indications are that the writer of this letter was indeed the disciple John, son of Zebedee, it must have been frustrating in his old age to see such thinking start to take root in the community of faith. It ran counter to everything he had known in those three precious years of walking with Jesus. All the things he had seen and done in that short but powerful time was being treated as something ethereal.

Walking back and forth over Galilee and Judea with Jesus, talking with people. Watching Jesus lay hands on the sick and heal them. Listening to Jesus teach to crowds and see people changed. Hauling in baskets of food after a crowd had been fed, when all they started with was a handful of loaves and fishes. Holding the broken, empty body when it was taken down off the cross, getting it hastily wrapped and placed in the tomb before the Sabbath began, and then coming back after the Sabbath and finding the tomb open and the loved one he knew was dead instead standing in the garden, bright and living. Walking with the risen Jesus for days after that event, lost in the wonder of what had happened. And then standing watching as Jesus was taken into heaven. And in the years since those events, watching how the teaching of Jesus changed lives, healed lives. Enduring perseuction from a determined young Pharisee, who felt the followers of Christ were an offense to God, only to be smitten by the Lord and changed into a powerful voice, a devoted lover of Jesus. All this John had seen and endured, and now there were those who treated the heart of those events -- that God had become flesh and walked among us -- as a sort of fiction.

He cannot be slilent. It was no fiction. It was no joke.

He had seen it, touched it, walked with it. And he spoke of it so that others could join in the fellowship. Because John had discovered that his experience with Jesus was communicable. It could be passed on to others, so that they too would know that intimate relationship with God through Christ. He (and the other apostles) discovered that by teaching others to know Jesus, the students really did come to know Christ personally. It wasn't just the absorbtion of information about an admired "historical figure." If nothing else, the conversion of Saul into Paul showed the community that the Lord was pro-active, interactive. It was no flat, exterior, untouchable entity they were following now, but rather Someone beyond mere flesh, and yet as immediate as the touch of a child.

"I saw this. I touched this. This happened to me."

There is a tendency in society around us to dismiss many aspects of personal experience as "merely subjective." Those things which cannot be pulled out as objects so that others can directly handle them get treated as mere personal fictions rather than anything "real." Oh, my own experiences and feelings and emotions are real (so the mindset goes), but since you cannot objectify your experiences in such a way that I can have them too, they're not "really real." It's not the truth, of course, or else the act of communication would not be possible at all. Nor would storytelling be the least bit effective. If it were impossible to share non-material experinence generations of storytelling would never touch anyone's heart. And we know that is not true. We respond to the heroics of Homer's Iliad, we understand Odysseus' desire to get home to his wife, we fall into the dreams of Don Quiote because we've had those dreams too. Generation after generation we share the hearts of those who went before. And those are "just stories."

So John insists. The stories of Jesus and his power, and his being as the Son of God made flesh, they are not "just stories." John had walked with the man, talked with the man, ate fish with the man, fish cooked on an open fire by the Sea of Galilee even after his very public and definite execution on a Roman cross. It happened and he was there for it.

How is it that we manage to be so silent about the presence of the Lord in our own lives?

Are we really subdued by the fiction that subjective experience cannont be conveyed to others? Do we really think that because we cannot hand someone a material object the presence of the Lord is not with us?

Years ago, I regularly attended a Bible study lead by a wonderful teacher. It met in someone's home, and was usually packed to the gills with people, sitting on every possible surface - the chairs, the sofa, the footstools, the floor. And when the group prayed, there was an electricity to the air. At one period, one of my friends (who did attend this Bible study as well) was going through a time of trouble and doubt. He wasn't "feeling" the presence of Christ. At one point he actually said he needed the assurance of actually touching Jesus, very much like Thomas and his doubts. This particular night, I was thinking and praying about my friend and his doubts, praying very intensely that if that was what he needed, that Jesus manifest Himself for my friend in order to be reassured. Deeper and deeper into that prayer I went as the time of group prayer continued. And suddenly, I had that sense that Someone had walked into the room, the way people often do when someone arrives late to a function. The sense was so strong, that my eyes flew open, I jerked my head up and looked to a specific spot across the room in the entry way to the living room. There was nothing "extra" there for my eyes to see, but I knew that Jesus was present.

Oh, we pay lip service to it often enough: "Wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, I will be there." But I'm not sure how seriously we take it. But that night, I knew with a certainty the Lord had been among us.

Of late, I've had my cage of certainty rattled a bit. I've had questions about whether the Lord will indeed provide for my needs. I have wondered if my own lapses and inconsistencies have put me out of the favor of God. But I couldn't quite let go, and the prayers of many have strengthed my grip. And the Lord has met me in my need. I have been touched by the care and concern of others, knowing that their expressions have been boosted by the Lord's hands. I do not believe that God was making anyone do anything that was not already in their hearts. But I do believe that the Lord gave them more power to act upon what was in their hearts, giving them that extra little jolt of energy that made them move. This I have seen with my own eyes. I have seen a man who had once been told that he only had three years left to live because of cancer in the fourth year after that diagnosis (the year I met him) have the joy of the birth of a son, and in the following years endure recuring challenges to his health (that experts expected would kill him), and yet continue on in his ministry (for yes, he is a pastor). This man is still among us, touchable, accessible, and a walking witness to the power of God, and it's now over twenty years since I first met him.

"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life .... These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

Testify, brother!

WITNESS TO THE GLORY OF GOD

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness , and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1: 1-14)

So often, when we cite the beginning of the gospel of John, especially at Christmas, we drop out the middle of this passage. We focus on the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. This is the glory of God, that He became human and lived with us. We drop out the middle because we don't want to distract from that.

But is it a distraction?

This year, there's been a major aggitation in Southern California over the holiday displays in Santa Monica in the city park along the Palisades. Activist atheists, irritated by the tradition and seeing as the city "establishing" religion made some moves against the practice. They are, in fact, wrong about the legal issue -- private citizens actually do have a legal right to place religious displays on public lands, so long as they are not the "government" property (ie, city hall). It's a matter of free speech. Anyway, because there were more requests for display space than there were spaces, the city opted to assign the spaces by lottery. Any individual could request multiple spaces. So the atheists organized and basically gamed the system, each requesting the maximum number of spaces. The result was that most of the spaces ended up in the hands of the atheists, and only a few in the hands of those who wished to put up religious displays.

What was achieved here? The atheists limited the amount of public expression of religious belief during the season of some major religious holidays (both Christian and Jewish - and even semi-secular, if you count Kwanza). They've presented themselves as blatantly hostile to the public expression of religious belief, claiming that such declarations are oppressive to them. Their own actions aren't the least bit oppressive or injurious to free speech, of course.

In a photo of one of the atheist displays there is a sign that reads "37 million Americans know MYTHS when they see them" Below that is a row of pictures, supposedly of "mythic" figures -- the photo was tiny, so I couldn't quite make the details of what three of them represented, but one was an image of the adult Jesus. Below that was another line of text that says, "What myths do you see?"

What can I say? It made me smile.

Because there is so much wrong with the declaration.

Let us just begin with the images. Although I couldn't see the details, it was clear to me that three of those four images were of fictional figures, whereas Jesus actually lived in history. The historicity of the New Testament documents has been well established. There certainly was some human being who inspired a movement notable enough to be commented upon by the ancient historians Josephus and Pliny the Younger. The display attempts to imply that by simply placing the images together they represent the same class of object. It's very poor logic from a group of people who profess high respect of "reason and logic."

Then there is the word "myth." When atheists use that term, they mean it entirely in a very narrow definition, that being "an unfounded and false notion." And by "unfounded," it is meant that it has no grounding in fact or relaity.

As noted, since there is historical support for the claim that an actual religious visionary named Jesus gathered a group of followers around himself, the atheists are already losing the logic argument on the "unfounded" aspect. There actually is some foundation for the beginnings of Christianity.

It's the God part they really want to dismiss. If they can get rid of that, they can then ignore the actual precepts of the Christian faith.

But "myth" isn't about "unreal fiction." Myths came into being as ways of describing what is meaningful to people. They reflect the reality of the world and display the meanings people give to the world around us. I'm a writer. I've studied mythology for years. For most mythologies, what is important is not whether or not the "story" happened in actual fact, but rather what the significance of that story is to the people who tell it. I could easily go on for pages about this aspect of myth-making (in fact, I've written a whole book about it!), but that's not the point here.

Christianity does indeed tell a mythic story: God became human; that human, Jesus, lived a life teaching people how to draw nearer to God; He died to bring that cycle to a completion; and then He rose from the dead.

It's a story of deep meaning. We can come close to God. We are given a hope of closeness with God that goes beyond the boundaries of our mortal life.

And it really happened, in a specific time and place. And there were witnesses to it.

Which brings us back to what the gospel writer was trying to get across by including reference to John the Baptist in his celebration of God becoming flesh.

John the Baptist was a witness. He went before Jesus, declaring the coming of the Lord. And the writer of the gospel was there to see the events that followed.

There is nothing for a believer to fear in the atheists' declaration that Christianity is "founded on a myth." They are truer than they imagine in putting out that statement. The problem is that they do not understand the words they are using. They use the word "myth" because they think it is squishy enough to serve their purposes, to cloud the issue. They are afraid to say "Christianity is a LIE." They are afraid to say "Jesus NEVER lived!" They are afraid to say, "No aspect of this story EVER happened." Because those statements can be challenged on the ground, the very foundations, of what they consider to be their exclusive realm - "reason and logic."

It is Christmas Day. Do I believe that Jesus was born on this exact day of the year? I don't find that an important question, and I don't see why any believer needs to fear it or be mocked by it. It is the day upon which I choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Because He was born and did live among the people of that time. That is enough for me. It happened. It's real.

I will stand on a corner, proclaiming like John the Baptist -- "a voice crying in the wilderness" -- that Jesus is born! The Lord God became a little child! My Redeemer has come and lives today!

May the blessings of Christmas be upon you. Because it really did happen, at a specific time, and a specific place. The Glory of the Lord was and is with us.

A DRAMATIC BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because thre was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepehrds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
(Luke 2: 1-20)

A couple of years ago, I chanced upon someone critiquing Luke's story of Christ's birth, calling it fiction because of the detail about shepherds with multiple flocks being gathered in one place. According to the critic, shepherds are usually out in far-flung fields, where the flocks would not mix at all. The critic felt that because Luke got this detail "wrong," it made the whole story about angels appearing and shepherds running into town to see the baby suspect.

When I read that, I could only shake my head. Again, all that research I had done years before about King David and the actual practice of shepherding in those lands had taught me a key detail. What I learned was that each shepherd had about a two week duty with the flock. The shepherd would lead the flock out on a circuit, slowly letting them munch their way through various pastures. One week outward bound, the second week back toward town. On his return, the shepherd would take his flock to a large fold, which had a wall (probably only 3 or 4 feet high, just enough to keep the sheep from wandering). The flock would be let into this fold, and the "on duty" shepherd would trade off with the next one. Jesse, David's father, had large flocks and many shepherds, so David was only one of several. Other sheep owners would be doing the same things with their flocks. An archeological dig actually turned up the remains of this fold outside the walls of Bethlehem.

So, Luke's reportage is actually rather accurate. Unfortunately, the good doctor was probably not versed in this detail, and didn't realize that the shepherds being at the common fold was not their "usual" place. But it does explain why there were several shepherds gathered together, why they felt comfortable leaving the flocks (all the sheep were inside a gated and closed fold), and why they were near enough to the town to even run in and see the baby the angels spoke of.

I've always been fond of this part of the Christmas story. Some of that comes from singing in the chorus for Handel's Messiah for several years. I read the verses, but hear the music in my head. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying---" In the oratorio, that's a quick, bright solo, and then the chorus bursts out "GLORY TO GOD!" What a spectacular moment it must have been.

I like the moment when the angel appears to the shepherds. Suddenly he was there, and the shepherds were terrified. It wasn't just that "this guy" suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was that whoever and whatever he was, he was of such a different mode of being that the shepherds knew without a doubt this was not some other human. And the angel has to reassure them that he's not there to destroy them. "Don't be afraid!"

I see lots of Christmas cards with angels on them, very pretty angels. Sweet feminine forms, with flowing long hair, lightly holding musical instruments, giant beautiful swan-like wings spread out behind them, feathers and all. I recognize what these figures are supposed to be, but they never mesh with the description in scripture. The angels we scatter about in our decorations these days are more an expression of our sentimental feelings about the holiday than they are invocations of the actual event. These angels are sweet, gentle, friendly, even motherly, hovering about giving soothing strokes to our hearts.

But they are not particularly terrifying. None of these pretty "angels" would have any need to say "Do not be afraid" to a group of young men whose daily job is to keep watch for dangerous animals, who have probably fought off bears or lions while protecting their sheep, who have probably even fought off thieves intent on stealing sheep. A pretty feminine angel is not likely to shake men such as that.

This is why the angels I draw tend to be fierce creatures. No feathers on my angels - I imagine them as having wings of flame and light. They were, just moments ago, standing in the presence of God, gazing at His face. So I see their faces as being as keen and pure as the freshly honed edge of a knife blade. They are brisk, not lingering - they want to get back to standing in God's glory. They have their duty to deliver this message, but the real stuff is back in the light of God's face. It's not that they are hostile, it's just there's nothing in our world to compare with the Lord's presence.

Except for that baby.

All that the angels know of heaven, of the wonder and majesty of standing in God's presence, all the power and glory that they sing praises to for ever and ever -- all that has taken up residence in a little baby, born into shabby, temporary quarters, and the only cradle space available was a feed box in a stable area.

But if that is where God is, that is where God is.

And there's the wonder of it all. The glory, power and awesome spectacle of God in Heaven has taken up residence in a tiny infant, with delicate skin, tiny hands, great vulnerability, born into the most humble of circumstances in a borrowed location. And this great announcement is made to the rough and tumble workers who are most disregarded in their society, for they are almost always stinking of the animals they have to tend. And God thinks that is appropriate.

Have you heard the news? Christ the Savior is born!

THE LIGHT OF MAJESTY

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
For you shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian,
For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore,
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9: 2-7)

As humans, we have a very strong positive reaction to the appearance of light in the middle of darkness. It's very dramatic, of course. The very nature of darkness isolates us. We cannot see. We cannot see the space around us, we cannot see each other, we cannot even see ourselves.

Light changes all that, no matter the size of the light. A little candle in a huge space of darkness is still a spot of hope, and we are drawn to it. When we sit in a darkened theatre and the lights come up on the stage or on the movie screen, all our attention become focuses on where the light is. When we are outside in the dark, we set our course to the nearest light we can see. We have an desire to move from the darkness into the light.

At Christmas time, we play with light. We string strands of small lights around trees, around windows, across the surface of our homes, so that once darkness falls we can turn on those lights for delightful displays.

Near my apartment, there is a neighborhood high up on the hills that has a clear view out over the Los Angeles basin. I like to go up there at night when the air is clear, and spend a few moments looking out over the city. The grid of lights on the busy streets, the clusters of light around businesses and high-rise buildings, all glitters in the darkness, as if a star-field had settled on the surface of the planet.

All these things are small compared to the Great Light Isaiah refers to. The light of the presence of God is promised to the people: they shall see a great light. But it isn't "just" light. The light is only part of the manifestation of the glory of God.

I think this is something we overlook sometimes. We celebrate the coming of Christ as a metaphorical coming of light (of knownowledge and peace) with this season. But Isaiah promises even more. The prophet tells us that this coming presence will break the oppressors, that war-boots and cloaks will be burned away, the rods of the oppressors broken.

These days, when we see the word "government" we automatically think of the organization of our civil social structures. City management, county rules, state laws, federal authority; we have many layers of government around us, ordering our lives and activities. But when Isaiah says "the government will rest on His shoulders," he is talking about something that also encompasses more immediate things.

To train a young ox in the work of pulling a plow, the ancients used a special yoke. Because the team pulling the plow for the training would be uneven - the youngling paired with a more experienced work-ox -- the older animal would be doing most of the work. The pressure of the yoke would be on the older ox's shoulders. The younger animal would be learning the feel of the yoke, how it sits on the shoulders, the sense of the pressure on the chest when pulling the plow. But the training yoke also kept the youngling from wandering away, kept it focused on the task at hand. It obliged the younger ox to keep pace with the older as they went down the row. So, although the young ox was not yet doing any of the hard work of actually pulling the plow, it learned the feel of the yoke, the pace of the work, how to respond to the directions from the farmer. The government, the management, of the younger ox rested on the shoulders of the older one.

That is the "government" that Christ brings to us. It's personal.

Yet, even the people of Israel looked for a civil Savior, someone who would overthrow the worldly rulers that oppressed them. There were those among Jesus' followers who expected him to take up the sword, take up the rod of rulership, to throw the Romans out of their land, dismiss the Hasmonean kings and establish a "godly kingdom." And, even now, there are those who continue to expect that of the Lord.

I don't think that God is displeased with the rulers of nations comply with God's design, ruling justly and wisely, keeping in mind the good of the governed. What would there be to be displeased in that? But I think that is a pleasing consequence of what God considers His primary concern, and not the end purpose of it.

We are the subjects of Christ's government. We are the youngling oxen being trained, trained to walk straight in the furrow, trained to move at the proper pace and not race ahead or linger behind, trained to do the work, trained to know the pressure of the yoke so that we do not injure ourselves by settling it wrongly.

There is a peace that comes from doing our work well and smoothly, with grace and ease. It is far more durable than the pauses for breath that we snatch when rushing about.

The majesty of the Lord brings us great light, a beauty spread out before us that shows us all things around us. The majesty of the Lord crushes the oppressors, removing those who hinder us. And the majesty of the Lord governs us, teaches us to work with Him, lightly, without stress, giving us peace and joy in the accomplishment of the work.

Our God is not an inactive God, sitting in splendor only, doing nothing. He brings His light down among us, setting His feet into the broken earth of the field, training us to work with Him.

Now there's a thought: to be partners in majesty with God? Isn't that breathtaking? And it comes to us because a Child is born to us.

WHAT IS THIS GIFT?

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(Titus 3: 4-7)

When I sat down to think about today's passage, my mind went skipping back over things from other days: the grace to receive God's grace; the bigger picture of God's purpose; the assurance that we will be drawn into Christ's kingdom. All wonderful threads woven together into one fabric. It is the action of the Holy Spirit that draws these things together and fits them into the flow of our own lives. Certainly for me, as I look back over the last three and a half weeks, I marvel at the journey the Lord as taken me upon, and how He has fit my own life into the course of the Advent verse selections.

So I come to this inclined to pay close attention to the words at hand.

"Kindness." The kindness of God our Savior extended to us. I am suddenly reminded not of God's majesty and power, but of His kindness. The soft, stroking touch of affection. The warmth of sunshine on skin. The fresh soothing of cool water to a thirsty throat. The kindness of God.

And "His love for mankind appeared." That's the heart of Christmas, isn't it? That God came among us as a baby, a baby that grew into a man. That man walked among us, taught us, touched us.

"He saved us, not on the basis of deeds ... but according to His mercy." It wasn't anything we did or have done that brought God's kindness to us, but His own sense of mercy. He extends his love and kindness to us not just because He loves us and thus wants to give us gifts, but because He knows we need that love and mercy.

So many people we know go through life feeling alone and cut off. There may be people around them, people that care about them, but they can't see it or feel it. They desperately need to feel the touch of God's kindness and mercy. I say "they," but I think we've all had our times of feeling lost and isolated. Even as recently as a few weeks ago, I felt that way. I think the trap for us, though, is that we become so sunk in that feeling of isolation that we mistake it for knowledge of a fact, a fact that says we are indeed isolated.

But a feeling is not knowledge, and it certainly isn't an external fact. This is something that I have happily relearned in these weeks. Which brings me to the next points in the passage.

"The washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit." I have received much grace and mercy, conveyed by the hands of friends, but I feel definitely inspired by the love from God. And a consequence of that grace and mercy has been a sense of being refreshed and reinspired. "Regeneration" - a big word for being made anew. Or rather not entirely new, but rather restored to what was "originally generated," to be put back on track with what I was "supposed" to be. And renewing by the Holy Spirit - well, being an artist and writer, inspiration is a precious gift to me. So being renewed in that is a wonderful thing.

This. then, is the gift that God is giving us, not just for this holiday but for every day -- we are the justified receipients simply because God loves us.

BEING GRACEFUL ABOUT GRACE

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
(Titus 2: 11-14)

We are told that what "grace" means when we're talking about God is His "unmerited divine assistance and favor." Basically, that we get something that we haven't earned and don't deserve, something very good.

Everyone says they like it when "good luck" happens to them, when unexpected good fortune comes their way. We all like that kind of surprise.

But if we're honest, and basically good people, we also start to get uncomfortable when there's too much of it. Feelings that we don't deserve whatever it is we're getting surface, feelings that we haven't done "the work" to earn the benefit that we receive. And when those feelings start to rise, we get the impulse to back away from the "good stuff." We want to feel that we earned what we've received.

But the point of gifts of Grace is that we have done nothing to "earn" them. We don't get them because we "deserved" them. We get them because the giver wanted to give the gifts.

It is humbling to receive gifts of grace. And if you're anything like me, "doing humble" doesn't come easily. Oh, I can be grateful, deeply so. But it takes practice to receive the unexpected, unearned gifts that people choose to grace me with.

I had to overcome my own resistence, my impulse to shout that I needed to earn these gifts! The recent weeks have been a boot-camp for me on the practice of receiving grace. I have humbled myself in joy that there have been so many people willing to help me in big and small ways (some even giving me the grace of opportunities to "earn"). But it has also made me eager to thank my benefactors, and to extend that grace onward to others. As Paul says in this letter, to be "zealous for good deeds."

Yesterday, I was "graced" by a gift, a service that I am usually quite happy to pay for. But because my circumstances were known, my friend (for she has become such) did this for me without charge. I was deeply touched by her action. And we talked about how we both try to do acts of kindness when we can, giving help when we can. I guess you could call it a moment of "grace abounding." The phrase "pay it forward" has become very popular in recent years. It's the idea of keeping in mind the generousity you receive and extending it to others when you can later. It is like John the Baptist's admonition to the seekers' question, "What are we to do then?" "When you have extra, give to those in need."

Grace. To be the hands of grace. But also to receive grace.

And in Advent, we are reminded that what God gives is so much greater than anything we can possibly do ourselves in this life. We are given Christ Jesus - who redeems us from every misdeed, purifying us -- in a word, saving us. We certainly don't deserve this grace. It would be impossible to earn it - we are, after all, "only human" and we will screw it up at some point.

But the salvation that Jesus brings doesn't have to be earned! That is the wonder of Christmas. It is Grace! All we have to do is humble ourselves and accept it.

Behind all the clutter of the gift exchanges between family and friends, the Secret Santa parties at work, the clutter of commercialism, the quid pro quo of some gift-giving, there shines something much greater. It is something that all those other transfers of objects and thoughts are supposed to be representing and reflecting. It is the gift from God of Himself to us, His love abounding. Can we accept that?

Advent is our time of preparation, of learning to be graceful in accepting grace, to receive with joy and thankfulness.

ALL ABOUT THE BABIES

Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.(Luke 1: 39-45)

Luke tells a story about pregnant women greeting each other that is very genuine and human.

Genuine, in that the story of a child in the womb making a sudden dramatic move, apparently in response to exterior events, is something mothers actually talk about. "I did Suchand such, and the baby gave a tremendous kick." It's not really the type of story you think to make up. But, if Luke was going around actually talking to the people involved in the life of Jesus, especially if he talked to the women in the family, it is the kind of story that they would tell.

But it is also a very human story. Most expecting parents learn of the pregnancy somewhere into the first month or so. As a result, the waiting time they have is about seven months long. It's still a long time, but it does give them time to prepare for this coming person. They prepare the nursery for the child, they inform the extended family that it is about to be added to, they gather clothing for the infant. They prepare. And the mother-to-be, as the child grows, becomes more and more focused on what the child she is carrying is doing. According to my mother, I would plant my feet on her diaphram and stretch, knocking the breath out of her.

So, just after the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she was going to have a child (most unusually, since she had never "been with a man"), she goes to visit her relative that is also "unusually pregnant." And Elizabeth, who by now was nearing the time for her delivery hears Mary calling from outside and her baby had a strong reaction to that sound.

But not only does Elizabeth's baby have a strong reaction, Elizabeth does as well. She knows that Mary's baby will be someone special, that indeed, her Lord comes to her in the womb of Mary.

What an amazing feeling that must have been!

Mothers (usually) look forward to the birth of their child as a wonderful event. It isn't just the end of having this presence inside them, it is the joy of finally having that child in their arms, to look at the face of the little one, to touch the tiny hands, to know the reality of this new being that has entered the world.

In Advent, we look forward to the coming of Christ. But often it is an external thing. We read the scripture stories. We sing the Christmas carols. We set up nativity scenes - either small ones at home or enacting them at church. But the expectation is "out there", not necessarily immediate to us.

I know expectant mothers, and parents who have just had their babies delivered. "Expecting" is a very immediate thing to them. Even a few weeks after the baby's arrival, all the waiting they went through is still vivid to them. And these are "ordinary" babies. They are children that are born of the bond between the parents, and the family enjoys the manifestation of this mixing of heritages. The parents may have hopes and dreams for these little children, but they are expecting very human lives for the newborn babies.

Elizabeth and Mary knew that their children were facing extraordinary lives. What wonder that must have added to the waiting time.

The Coming of the Lord. As a little baby. Something very human, vulnerably human. Something very familiar.

And yet .... it is the Lord that is coming. What a wonder!

MORE THAN JUST A GOOD TEACHER

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When he made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
(Hebrews 1: 1-4)

Anyone who has tried to live as a Christian has encountered those who resist the entirety of what being a Christian is all about. They resist the whole "God became man" part of it, for whatever reason. When the Resisters don't dismiss the whole of the faith (meaning even the principles involved), they downplay the full significance of Jesus by saying "Well, he was a good moral teacher, like Buddha or Gandhi."

But the writer of Hebrews reminds us that "just a good moral teacher" is not the full truth of Jesus. The Christ is far, far more than a mere good man. The Promised Shepherd, the one who would watch over us and guide us and protect us, is the Son of the Most High. Everything was made through him. Christ is the radiance of the Lord, and in the life of Jesus we see the "exact representation" of the Father's nature. There's something much bigger going on than "just a good man."

Why is there this impulse to diminish the nature of Christ?

I think we sometimes get uncomfortable with the idea of God being so interested in us that He chose to come among us. The idea that the "radiance of the Lord" did come, and even regularly comes, into our presence, that He walked among us, it's unsettling. It means that there are things outside our control, big things, powerful things. We accept that there are events outside our reach, but we're not so keen on thinking about something that is both within our reach but so vast that we cannot hold it.

When people visit the redwood forests in California, they like to take pictures of themselves beside the biggest tree they can find. Here is this living thing, that is so very huge it utterly dwarfs us. And yet it is alive. It is a wonder and marvel to us. We touch it. We spread our arms across its surface, to show how impossible it would be for one person to hug the entirety of its circumfrence. But that tree stays put in its forest. It isn't going to pull up its roots and follow us home and come into our residences. It isn't going to walk beside us in our daily activities. We're not going to have to accommodate that massive redwood tree on the road while we're driving, or when we're talking with our non-believing friends. We don't have to think about it as we go about our daily tasks. We saw it in the forest, we were awed and impressed, and then we came home.

But Christ is so much more than a redwood tree. He brings the vastness and majesty of the presence of God, the brilliance of God's radiance, the glittering pomp of that which is greater than all the angels of creation, and He comes among us - with all of that. Of course it is discomforting, disconcerting.

But that is the wonder of Christmas. This glory, this majesty, is coming to be with us, to dwell with us. And He is choosing to do it in the sweetest, smallest way possible, by arriving as a little baby.

In the last few weeks, some of my online friends have had babies. One couple had twins, slightly premature, so the boys were small. In the wonders of technology, he posted pictures of the newborns. I again marveled at the amazing nature of the human construction. Here were tiny, tiny hands, where the palm of one child was barely the size of the thumb of his father's hand. Looking at the pictures of the newborns, I am very conscious of how vulnerable these precious little ones are, how delicate and fragile.

The wonder of Christmas is that the majesty of Heaven, the Creator of the Universe, the holder of all power and glory became an infant.