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Many people no longer make the connection between Christmas and Christ, however, Christmas Day remains a prominent holiday. Most folks think it is a time to rest, enjoy family and take a break from all the stress. Maybe do some reflecting before the year is over. All cultures have holidays and festivals that are a part of their rhythm of life. Most of them were rooted at some point in a spiritual significance. Charles Taylor, who wrote A Secular Age says that secularism has flattened time. It has done away with sacred time, the concept of something or someone higher. The days and nights all pass back without any difference. Holidays are just another twenty-four hours.   Yet for believers, there is a higher order of time, something sacred. Christmas is set apart in a special space as it were. Taylor feels our religious holidays have meaning and purpose. He writes that these “higher times gather and reorder secular time. They introduce ‘warps’ and seeming inconsistencies in profane time-ordering.” But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5) There is something about Christmas that is timeless or apart from time. God lives outside of time and when we stop to celebrate his work, he meets us in a profound way. We are drawn closer to the manger scene to adore the Christ child. In the modern, secular world, it is challenging to pull ourselves away and engage in those sacred moments. At Christmas, we often see people who are hungry for something more but are not sure where to find it. As believers, we know the story of God’s love gives meaning and purpose to the rest of our year. We are shaped and transformed by something far greater than ourselves. As you pause to celebrate the birth of the King, I pray that you will be drawn a little closer to him.

I haven’t always understood the Advent Season. It really wasn’t a part of my church liturgy growing up. Advent was seen as more of a pre-Christmas preparation period if anything at all. However, Advent was originally intended to give a different focus. In some ways, it was meant to help us understand the dark period of time before Jesus was born. The Romans occupied Israel, life was hard and there was silence from God. People had longed for the Messiah, but he had not appeared. Then suddenly, the birth of a baby takes place and everything changes. God has begun to fulfil his promises. He isn’t finished yet. The season of Advent also teaches us to remember that Jesus will come again. Our world can also seem dark and dangerous. Believers are expecting the return of Christ, but it’s been a long time. Some have begun to wonder if God will keep his promise to return and put evil away. My Advent readings over the last few years have included more passages from Isaiah, a truly amazing book. The prophet foresees the work and ministry of the Messiah, his birth and his return. So, a passage like Isaiah 65:17-19 is an Advent passage: “See, I will create    new heavens and a new earth.The former things will not be remembered,    nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever    in what I will create,for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight    and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem    and take delight in my people;the sound of weeping and of crying    will be heard in it no more.” This is the world we hope for.  Some doubted that a Messiah would ever appear. Some think he will never return. We aren’t to become cynical, callous or lazy. We are called to watch and wait. For at just the right time, our Saviour will appear.

We got a lot of snow this past weekend which always helps prepare you for Christmas. I love this season but sometimes I find all the noise around Christmas can be distracting. The simple birth of our saviour has turned into so many other things.  It’s hard to just slow down and listen to what God might have for us during this month. John begins his gospel account by saying, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) Someone once said, that the coming of Jesus into our world was the beginning of the end. God’s plan for redeeming the world was entering its last stages. This is the hope I try to remember each December. It’s just that there is so much calling for my attention. Philip Brooks wrote the Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem and included these lines: No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sinWhere meek souls will receive him still the dear Christ enters in There is a kind of silent whisper at Christmas. We have to stop to hear it. It’s an invitation to make room for Jesus. It’s the opportunity to pause and reflect on how Christ has changed our world and can change our lives. As John says, “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

A young mother found her four-year-old son crying as he was tying his shoes. “Why are you crying?” she asked. “I have to tie my shoes,” he sobbed. “But you just learned how. It isn’t that hard, is it?” “No, but I’m gonna have to do it for the rest of my life!”  Sometimes ordinary, everyday tasks seem too overwhelming. There are those moments when the thought of doing the same things every day for the rest of our lives seems devastating. We don’t want to become boring old people.  While our lives can be filled with exciting and fun activities, most of our time is taken up with routine tasks that just have to be done. We must keep the house clean, fill the car with gas, pay the bills, do the grocery shopping and replace light bulbs among our many chores. Author Gordon MacDonald writes that we must learn to “make peace with the ordinary.” That phrase has stuck with me over time. I have often found it difficult to stay interested in my everyday chores. Making peace with the ordinary is really about living a disciplined life. We can’t accomplish our dreams and desires if we can’t master the basics of everyday living. Like Mom used to say, “Make your bed before you go out and play.” There are lots of exciting and challenging things to do in this world. There are plenty of dreams to pursue and we shouldn’t make excuses as to why we can’t make progress. However, it’s necessary that we make peace with the ordinary. In order to make a difference in this world – to have an impact on others – we must first be disciplined in the ordinary areas of our private world. Go to the ant, you sluggard;    consider its ways and be wise!It has no commander,    no overseer or ruler,yet it stores its provisions in summer    and gathers its food at harvest. (Proverbs 6:6-8)

The rebuilding of the temple wasn’t going well. It seemed to be taking forever and people were starting to question if it would ever be finished. Jerusalem after the exile was still in ruins. Daily living was difficult. There was a desire to see the temple rebuilt but it had now been close to twenty years and work was progressing slowly. God spoke to the prophet Zechariah in a vision and among other encouraging words said, “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?” (Zechariah 4:10) Don’t despise these small beginnings might be a good translation. God was assuring Zechariah and the people that he was still at work and would be faithful to complete it. It is sometimes hard to see God at work in the small things we do. Our world emphasizes big and flashy accomplishments. Teaching a Sunday School class of four or five students might seem small, but you have no idea how God might use the lives of those children. Giving a small sum in the offering might seem like it makes no difference to the church budget, but God knows just how he is going to multiply that gift. Inviting someone to church can be a simple act of friendship but don’t underestimate the power of an invitation to change lives. From small seeds grow mighty trees. Don’t compare your gifts and contributions to those that get all the attention. Don’t despise the little things that God is doing. His timeline is different from ours, his ways above our ways. Don’t weary in well doing or serving the Lord. One day all the world will rejoice when they see what God has done with the small things.

Noah Muroff of New Haven, Connecticut bought a secondhand desk from an online ad for $150 dollars. When he got it home it won’t fit through the door. After several tries, he finally decided to dismantle the desk and take it piece by piece. Hidden under one of the drawers was a bag of cash. Not just a little cash – a lot. Like $98,000 in various bills, all rolled up in a bag. The family was stunned as they opened the bag and counted the money. What an amazing find in an old desk. Noah is an honest man and so he telephoned the seller ten minutes after the discovery. The seller had received the money as an inheritance and forgot where she had hidden it. Really! How do you forget where you stashed nearly $100,000? Many of us have fantasies about finding money in the attic or buying a missing Picasso at a flea market for $10. Discoveries like that are fun and financially rewarding. Some people spend their whole lives hoping something like that will happen to them. Others actually spend time hunting for hidden treasures, looking for an unexpected bargain or hoping to stumble onto a deal. Paul told the people at Colossae that they had already found a great treasure. He wanted them to understand the great mystery of God, “namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) When I read the story about Noah finding the money I couldn’t help but think about what I would do with the cash. (Of course, I too, would return it. But in my mind I pretended the owner couldn’t be found.) To most of us, that is a large sum of money, a real treasure. But the Bible doesn’t equate dollars, gold, or riches with treasure. The real treasure is far more important and significant than money which will someday be all burned up. Too often we forget the value of what we already possess. Our search for treasure is over. In Christ, we have everything we need. We are to start living off the benefits that our treasure brings to us.

I wasn’t yet born when Bob Dylan released one of his most memorable songs, The Times They Are A-changin’. It is a song about the rapid transformations people were experiencing post-World War 2. It resonated with a younger generation who were impatient with progress, but the lyrics of the song seem to apply to just about any moment in time. While Dylan’s song might have had a particular context in mind, his poetry does have echoes of the Book of Ecclesiastes. This morning I am thinking about the verse that says, “a time for war and a time for peace.” (Ecclesiastes 3:8) The times are indeed changing and yet there have been times like this before.     The West has lived through an incredible period of stability, economic and political. Perhaps we have forgotten that this has not always been the case. In fact, the kind of peace we have experienced in the last 80 years is rare in human history. It really shouldn’t surprise us that we see conflict today. The question is, how do we as Christians respond? The divisions in our world seem so deep. If you mention support for one cause, you are accused of being against the other. We grow fearful of expressing general concerns or even stating clear biblical truths. What do we do? First off, in our daily lives, we need to ensure that we treat everyone we meet with respect and courtesy. “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” (1 Peter 2:17) Frontline workers from the medical field to restaurants are quitting jobs because people are rude and difficult. Christians ought to present a different aroma, offering words of encouragement and support in an age where difficulties abound. Second, we don’t need to have an opinion on every international issue. It’s complicated and complex. “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19) This posture doesn’t mean that we stay silent but rather we take time to measure our words. James encourages us to pray for wisdom when we need it. Finally, we should not fail to continue our spiritual disciplines – gathering in worship, bible reading, times of prayer and fasting, and service of others. “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13) In the midst of a changing world we must be steadfast in our commitments, even while others around us waver. The times are changing. The world our children are inheriting is very different and there is little we can do about it. But we are not helpless. When we prepare our hearts before the Lord, we can offer the world a very different picture of peace in a time of war.

One of the things I could never understand as a child was why one group of people hated another group of people. Growing up in a mono-cultural environment it was hard to imagine. It is true that many people in my area didn’t like the French speakers who lived just across the river from us in Quebec. But everyone still did business with them and there was never any fighting between the groups. We didn’t have a century-long hatred between the peoples. They were different from us, but we didn’t wish them evil. That isn’t the case for many places around the world. It seems that some people are born enemies. Ancient feuds and hatred refuse to go away.  Often the initial problems have been forgotten but the need for revenge or fighting lives on. To be a certain nationality or ethnicity means you must hate certain other nationalities. How does this happen? I’ve been thinking about this and the situation in Israel in light of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. As a child, I really didn’t understand what it meant for Samaritans and Jews to be enemies. I didn’t understand why making the Samaritan the hero of the story was so radical or just how much Jesus was challenging the status quo of his day. Today, we have no trouble understanding animosity between two people groups. The names and labels might be different from Jesus’ example, but the same hostility exists. It’s encouraging then to read about little spots of light amid the conflict. If you look hard enough you can find new stories about an Israeli or Palestinian who has helped or protected someone from the other side. Not everyone wants to be enemies. At the end of the parable Jesus’ question to his listeners was, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”  (Luke 10:36) His meaning was clear. He wants us to recognize the boundaries and borders that separate people and for us to care for those in need whether or not they are part of our group. The wars in Israel, Ukraine and other places are a result of human action. It develops first in the hearts of men and women where there is hatred. Prejudice and racism grow distorting the human spirit. Evil intentions and violence result. Huge things can come from unchecked sins in the deep places of our hearts. We need to watch out for that. So who was the neighbor?  “The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)

The events of the last ten days in Israel are of concern to everyone. Sometimes there is a tendency to think that events in another part of the world have nothing to do with us. Yet, the events in the Middle East threaten to throw our world into more chaos. There are so many tension points around the globe that a spark in any location can have worldwide implications. The situation in Israel has a long and complicated history. Added to this dimension is a belief among many Christians that Israel’s role in the world is an important part of understanding the end times and the return of Christ. I don’t know what this current conflict might mean but Jesus told us to ‘keep watch’ and it would be foolish to think that these events are not significant. During times like this many believers turn to Bible prophecy for insight. There are many different approaches as to how to view world events and our role. Some passages are difficult to interpret, and we should be careful about building too much certainty from such verses. Other verses are clearer and more helpful.  For example, not everyone agrees on when the events of Revelation chapters 7 and 8 take place. However, one thing that is clear is that in the midst of conflict and suffering prayer matters. It has become common in our world for people to dismiss the power of prayer as if our words are simply floating up into the atmosphere and disappearing among the clouds. Do prayers in times like this even matter? Revelation 8:3-5 suggests they do, “Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne.  The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.  Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.” Two things are happening here. First, the prayers of all God’s people reach the throne room of heaven. They are not on the same level as wishful thinking or a feeling of hopefulness. Our prayers go into the very presence of God, they are heard, and they make a difference. The creator of the universe, the judge of all humankind, is attentive to the prayers of his people. Second, our prayers have an impact. “Then the angel took the censer…and hurled it on the earth.” Eugene Peterson writes, “The prayers which had ascended, unremarked by the journalists of the day, returned with immense force as ‘reversed thunder’. Prayers reenter history with incalculable effects. Our earth is shaken daily by it.” (Reversed Thunder, p.88) God answers the prayers of his people in astounding ways. What do we do when we see such conflict and suffering? What do we do when we see the potential for war? Prayer makes a difference. There is much in our world to pray for. Don’t think it is a waste of time or the least that you can do. Invite the prince of peace to move in history and save the many who are in danger and under siege.  Call upon heaven to shake our world with the righteousness of God.

We tend to think of people who are proud as arrogant or above it all. So we seldom think of ourselves as having a problem with pride. Yet it is one of the sins that the Bible continually warns us about. Here’s a sample:In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Psalm 10:4Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 13:10Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Romans 12:16 It’s hard to see our own flaws and sins. Pride can take many forms which often can appear quite subtle in our lives. How many of these can you identify in yourself? When our sense of self is inflated (pride) the Bible warns that a fall isn’t too far away. (Proverbs 16:18) Often it is a gentle reminder to not take ourselves so seriously but to keep following Jesus who shows us the way of humility.