Month: December 2022

What do you call this period of time between Christmas and New Year’s? The Norwegians have a name for these six days: Romjul. In the UK it might be referred to as Boxing Week while some in the United States are calling it Twixtmas.  It can be an odd period of time when we aren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves. Some people have to work for a few days. Others are off for the week and finding ways to spend the downtime. Not many of us feel like starting any big projects in the middle of this lull. No matter what you call it, it leaves us in limbo before we start the New Year and get down to working on our resolutions.   As we prepare to say goodbye to 2022, I want to leave you with a simple verse of scripture: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)  This week we might find ourselves with more time to think and contemplate. Each year brings its own joys and sorrows. It’s important to acknowledge the good times and the bad times. But whatever you have been through, whatever you are hoping for or expecting in the days ahead, know this – God is faithful. Remembering this truth will help carry you through the days to come.   My prayer for you in 2023 is that you would grow in your knowledge and depth of God’s faithfulness and love. 

The mystery of Christmas isn’t some secret that we don’t know. It’s about a reality that our minds have trouble comprehending: the God of the universe became a baby.   There is one common characteristic about every baby ever born – helplessness. They can literally do nothing for themselves. A baby must be fed, burped, and have their diaper changed by someone else. They must be picked up and moved, protected from the elements, and cared for or they don’t survive. How is it possible that the God of the universe would willingly subject himself to become such a powerless infant? How could he trust a young inexperienced couple with his future here on earth? That is the mystery. As one writer put it: “God’s infinity, dwindled to infancy.”  As Jesus grew, he was just like any other child. The creator of the universe, the one who separated the land from the sea, had to learn to crawl across the floor before he could take his first steps. I wonder what his first words were. Did he drool much when he started teething? Did he catch the typical childhood illnesses?   It is astounding that our God came to earth and was just like us. He knows what it is like to be helpless and frail, dependent on someone else. He did it willingly because he loved us. It wasn’t an experiment so that he could simply identify with his creatures. He came because there was no other way to rescue us from the powers of sin and death. To help helpless people, God himself needed to become the helpless one. A Christmas mystery indeed.   “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.”  Galatians 4:4-5  Christmas evokes many feelings in people. But seldom do we pause to try and comprehend the baby lying in a manger. He is fully God and fully human – Emmanuel, God with us. May we never lose the sense of wonder and mystery at Christmas.   Have a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas.  

In many ways, he was a man who had it all. He was a strong and powerful king who had been successful on the battlefield. He was handsome and a gifted musician. His court was well established; his kingdom was growing wealthier. This man of action was deeply prayerful and attentive to his inner life. King David was a man after God’s own heart. And yet, his family was a mess. More problems than we can count. Upon hearing about his son Absalom’s death, David cried out “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son! (2 Samuel 18:33) What’s so stunning about this verse is that Absalom died while trying to kill his father and take over the kingdom. Into this family mess the prophet Nathan had already spoken God’s promise: “‘The Lord declares to you (David) that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood … and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever … my love will never be taken away from him…Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:11-16) In the middle of his messy life, raising children, fighting battles, and dealing with the disappointments of family, God makes this promise to David of an everlasting kingdom and a descendant to rule. As Fleming Rutledge writes: “God did not wait until David got his family straightened out before he made the promise. God’s unconditional promise came to David in spite of himself.” Here in the middle of the Old Testament is the promise of God we find realized at Christmas. God did raise up a descendant of David to rule forever. Things don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to be perfect for God to keep his word. God’s promises are faithful and true even when we are not. All we can do is look upon God’s goodness in wonder and give him thanks.

When we think of Christmas, it’s hard not to think about children. It seems like a holiday for those who are carefree and innocent. We love watching their wonder and joy throughout the season.   But in Luke’s gospel, he starts with the old people. Well, not the really old people, more likely middle-aged. People for whom wonder and joy seem to be far away. People who have grown a little cynical. Zechariah and Elizabeth had been married for many years, but without children. Beyond social judgement, they would have suffered with their own disappointment and sadness. Yet they were faithful to God and continued to serve him. One day as Zechariah is chosen to serve in the Holy of Holies, everything changes. Their long-awaited dream, perhaps even a dead dream comes true. After many long years, God has answered their prayer for a son. (Luke 1:5-25)  Luke isn’t finished. He does include the really old people, the senior citizens. People who longed to hear from God but aged while waiting. Simeon, waiting for God’s promise to him, is moved by the Spirit to visit the temple. He lays eyes on Jesus and suddenly he is at peace. Anna spent years of her widowhood hanging around the temple in prayer and fasting. That same day the Spirit reveals the Messiah to her. God has indeed spoken and answered their heart’s desire. (Luke 2:22-40)  Many spiritual and faithful people have, at times, felt that God is hidden or silent. Anguishing prayers of sorrow, crying out to God are found in the Psalms and in the lives of many saints.  Amid pain and questions about life, God seems to be absent. Why doesn’t he answer our prayers? Theologians even have a term for that – Dues Absconditus, the God who hides himself.    There will be times when we feel we are in the dark of night, forgotten in some way. There will be times in our advancing age when we begin to lose hope in the promises of God. This season is a reminder that we shouldn’t give up that hope. The ‘Advent to Christmas’ movement is all about God who breaks his own silence and comes to earth in person. John tells us, “No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who dwells in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” (John 1:18)  Christmas is not just for children. It is for all those who are waiting for God to speak, to answer a prayer. The foundation of our hope is found in a baby laid in a manager. God has broken his silence, he has come.