Christmas People

Once there was a woman, a young girl actually, probably around thirteen. She was engaged to be married to an older man, a respected carpenter in her community in Nazareth. We don’t know that much about this young woman. One thing is clear, she loved God with all her heart. One day, while going about her business, she encountered an Angel. She was told she had found favor with God, and God was about to bless her in an unimaginable way. The Messiah was about to come, but not as people believed. He would arrive as a baby, born as the prophet Isaiah had promised long before, “behold a virgin shall conceive.” (Isaiah 7:14) Mary was to be that virgin. Surprise!

Much has been made of Mary. The Catholic Church raised her to godly proportions, creating a story that she too had been conceived by a virgin, making her fit to bear the Christ. Many prayers are given to Mary, believing she is a better, more open recipient than Jesus or God the Father. The “Hail Mary’s” are woven into Catholic ritual. But the Bible presents a much different story.  A normal, human girl found herself next to an angel with a remarkable announcement. God chose Mary to be the mother of the Christ. Why? Nothing about a virgin birth for Mary, only that she’d found favor with God. We find favor with God by faithfully following him, not by sinless perfection, because we have no sinless perfection. Remember, all have sinned, including Mary. (Luke 1:26-38)

Why a virgin? Some say to fulfill the prophecy, period. That seems silly, although a virgin conceiving is very miraculous in and of itself. Only God could do that. But couldn’t God have selected some doting mother who knew what she was doing? When a virgin conceives, no one believes she’s still a virgin after the conception. That’s just crazy. We all know where babies come from. And most people didn’t believe Mary’s story then, let alone today; especially today when we’ve lost sight of miracles. If a virgin conceives, without the help of any man, remaining a virgin after conception, that’s a miracle. We don’t do miracles very well today.

But beyond making Christ’s conception a miracle, establishing that this child came directly from God, lies a bigger reason. When Adam and Eve fell under the serpent’s words and ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, God placed the blame on the man, Adam. Not that Eve was less guilty, but that in God’s order, Adam was the head of this household and was judged responsible for the actions. Kind of like a corporate, CEO, responsibility.  (An aside here, people who cling to a patriarchal rule over women, saying that it is God’s way, often forget that in such a world, the responsibility lies squarely on the patriarch, bearing the weight of the household’s sin, and asking directly for judgement from God regarding that household). So sin comes through the male of the species, like bad genes passing on disease. This is the real curse of original sin, it is passed down to subsequent generations without fail, and leaves us all broken.  In order to circumvent the passing on of the sin nature, man had to be taken from the equation. What was required was a virgin birth. Then Jesus was born free of sin’s taint. (He could have chosen to sin at any time thereafter, but that’s another lesson).

So a virgin conceived. God asked a lot of Mary. She accepted it with humility and grace, and not just being pregnant without knowing a man, but living with that and all the other pain that came from watching how the world treated her beloved Son. Mary was at the foot of the cross.

Joseph was the carpenter, engaged to marry Mary. As I understand it, being “betrothed”, in the custom of the day, was as binding as a marriage, but the consummation of the marriage came after the wedding. Here’s Joseph, waiting for the wedding date, only to discover his betrothed is pregnant?! It must have been a terrible shock and insult. We know less about Joseph’s back story than we do Mary, but his actions portray a good, decent man. He could have had her stoned, made a public spectacle. But he decided to divorce her quietly, spare Mary some of the indignity. I’m sure she’d told him the story of the Angel’s announcement, but having not been there, well can we really blame Joseph his doubt.

Then in a dream, Joseph gets his own angelic moment. The dream confirms all Mary had told him, and gives him his own set of instructions, including naming the baby, “Jesus”. Again, Joseph could have dismissed the dream. After all, angels had been in recent discussions. Dreams are just dreams. But in the Bible dreams can be more than just dreams, and the faithful would know the stories of other important messages coming in dreams. Joseph believed, and rather than quietly divorcing, he quietly wed her. But the consummation of that marriage waited until after the promised baby was born. (Matthew 1:18-25)

This plays well in Joseph’s character. He was selected by God just as Mary. This would be the human father who taught Jesus to follow in his footsteps as a man and as a carpenter. And though young Jesus, being also God, knew who He was, we also know He honored His earthly parents. By the time Jesus begins his ministry at age 30, there is no further mention of Joseph. Most assume by that time Joseph was dead, and Jesus is referred to as the carpenter from Nazareth, so probably had been carrying on his earthly father’s business. He also had younger brothers (which blows away the idea the Mary remained a virgin for life. One of those brothers became the leader of the Jerusalem church and wrote the book of James in the Bible).

I recently heard a poem about Joseph. It talked about how we often relegate Joseph to the back of the crèche, putting focus on the Christ child, Mary and the visitors. Joseph has to hang back in the shadows. In our manger scene, I couldn’t tell who was Joseph and who was shepherd, so I just picked one and made him Joseph. I might be wrong. The poem suggested that we all had it wrong. A good father would have been out front, protecting the child, guarding the door, and probably even holding the baby while Mary slept. Joseph was as much a participant in this story as Mary, and should get his due. I place him next to Mary, behind the baby.

In many versions of the Bible, the Christmas story in Luke 2 phrases how the shepherds found Mary and Joseph and the Baby lying in a manger. As kids we used to love hearing that and picturing all three of them cuddled up in the manger. As an English teacher I see the value of sentence structure so you create the right image. The Baby is in the manger, and Mary and Joseph are outside the manger, carrying for the Baby. But it shows how easily we get distracted from the story and focus on the wrong things. There are many details added to the Christmas story, details that are not in the Bible, like the donkey, not mentioned. We sing of 3 wisemen, and the Bible speaks of men from the east bearing three gifts, but doesn’t say how many men there were. Was it a stable or a cave? We don’t know, but apparently today in Bethlehem it’s a cave. Did the wisemen arrive on the birth day along with the shepherds? Probably not, so Mary and Joseph apparently stayed on in Bethlehem waiting for Mary and the baby to grow stronger before journeying back to Nazareth. They end up going to Egypt. That’s another time Joseph is intune and obedient to Angels. The Bible details are simple and to the point, and don’t give us all the details. I’m always left wanting more.

Finally, I want to bring in those shepherds, “keeping watch over their flocks”. There they were, up on some hillside, watching over their sheep, nodding off to sleep themselves, or dozing. We don’t know if it was two shepherds or ten. We don’t know how far they were from Bethlehem. But “suddenly“, an angel of the Lord was there, and moments later a multitude of the heavenly hosts” arrived. A multitude is a lot, the new NIV says a “great company”, and the inference is there are more where they came from. The first angel says, “don’t be afraid”. Mary’s angel said the same thing. I guess you shouldn’t be embarrassed if your first instinct when encountering an angel is to be scared half to death; you are in good company.

“Don’t be afraid, because I have great news!”  What a way to start a conversation. And the great news the shepherds were about to hear was that a baby had been born in Bethlehem. This baby was the long awaited Messiah, Christ the Lord! Oh, and you’ll find him in a cave, among the animals, lying in a manger. Sure. Right. Kings are born every day in stables, why not the Messiah? But even before they wrap their mind around that, the “great company” begins to sing “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels left, the shepherds said, “let’s go and see.”  Don’t you bet they had a lot more to say than that? You’d assume at least one was still back at the “don’t be afraid” part. They may have wondered if they had dreamed it all, the angels coming and going. But, when all is said and done, they decided to “go and see”. Pretty sure they were more than curious at this point. But they went and saw and believed. That’s the amazing part. They found a baby in a manger, just as the angels said, and they believed this baby was their promised Messiah, their long awaited King. The angels said it, they went to see for themselves, and they found it just as the angels said. Then they left, “glorifying and praising God”.

What a crazy night. No room in an inn, so the weary couple had to find shelter in a stable. Mary goes into labor and Joseph has to help deliver God in the flesh. They wrap the baby and place him in the feeding trough because it’s there. Then, just as things are calming down, shepherds arrive all excited with a story of angels and good news. Of course, both Mary and Joseph understand about angels. We’re told that Mary treasured up all these things, these events, in her heart. What an understatement. What a remarkable night. What lovely people.

The Christmas people really are not that different from you and me. The characteristic that stands out is willingness. They were each willing to do what was asked of them, even when it was very difficult. The shepherds left their sheep. If anything happened while they were away, they’d lose their job. And we know Mary and Joseph lost their reputations, not to mention their lives changed forever. In Luke 2, Mary’s response to the angel’s pronouncement is “I am the lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Would we be so willing? What is God asking of us this holiday season? This coming year? Are we willing? We see how God met each of the Christmas people, supported, empowered and blessed them. He met them more than half way. They just had to be willing to take a step, to say “yes” to God’s request. Though what was asked was hard, all of them were profoundly touched by God.

What is our response to God?

“O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for you.” “O come let us adore Him.” “What can I give Him? I’ll give Him my heart.”

It's Christmas Again

It’s Christmas again. Remember as a child when it felt like Christmas would never come? Now it seems to return so quickly I don’t quite have time to finish putting away the last year’s gifts and decorations. I mean that literally. I still have two gifts sitting on my kitchen counter from last year, and a table cloth downstairs that I put on last Christmas. The cat likes it

It’s Christmas again. Every year I tell myself not to get too wound up in decorating and planning and shopping. But there is always something else that could be done, or tweaked, or tweaked again. Let’s face it, I’m going to be wound up over something. My house is an explosion of Christmas decorating boxes and garlands. I can even get wound up over keeping it simple.

It’s Christmas again. We wonder why we have no time to write those cards, bake those cookies or decorate that table. Then we remember we are still working, cooking, doing laundry, and all the other things that make up a normal day. Now we’ve added a million other things, and can’t understand why we’re so tired. So why are we trying to do two full time jobs and planning to stay rested and happy?

It’s Christmas again. Why do we love it so? Even with all the hassle I create, I love Christmas. Let’s start with the lights. Where I live it doesn’t get light until after 7 AM and then goes dark before 4 PM, lights make all the difference. Christmas lights literally make our world brighter. We have these laser lights that make all our trees look carefully lit in a blanket of lights, while creating a sense that it’s snowing color (and when it does rain or snow, the effect is incredible). Of course, some guests have been a bit disturbed seeing a red dot or two land on someone’s forehead, but it’s quickly gone.  I really love the houses totally covered in lights. I admire whoever took the time to lay it all out, synchronize their music and put it all in motion. There’s someone who loves Christmas.

Then there is the music. I could listen to Christmas music year round. I love both the secular and the sacred songs. I can sing along and know most of the words. I listen to a 24 hour Christmas music station that began broadcasting Christmas music in early November. I drive around singing, probably looking like a maniac. I had a panic attack because the drawer is stuck in one CD player. I still have 20 more CD’s to listen to. But the backup player is working. I remember as a kid drinking in the Christmas music coming from vinyl albums my parents had purchased for cheap from Firestone and Goodyear. Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand, Big Crosby, Robert Goulet all in my living room. I’d turn off everything but the Christmas lights and the music and just zone out. Last night we attended a Christmas concert, complete with orchestra and choir. I was in Christmas heaven.

I also love giving gifts. I even enjoy shopping if I get out before crowds and have time to just wander around. Sometimes I have ideas beforehand, but I also love the impulse of finding something that is perfect for a friend or sibling. I enjoy making gifts, and try to do that every year for at least one gift each. I love wrapping the gifts, and am known in my family as the “bow lady”, which could be a compliment. At least they notice I put on bows of real ribbon, not the stick on kind. I guess I am the snobby bow lady. I really enjoy watching people open gifts I’ve given them. You can tell when you’ve hit on a good one, their face lights up, or you make them cry, in a good way. I tend to go a bit overboard in the present department. It’s the impulse thing, sometimes the right present idea shows up at the last minute. Of course, I also love receiving presents, who doesn’t. But mostly, for me, it’s about the giving.

I do have a slight tension between the whimsical Christmas and the holy. I have always loved Santa Claus. I have a rather large collection of Santa Claus and Father Christmas figures now set up around my house. I have an enormous collection of Santa ornaments, alongside rabbits (yes, some even in Christmas attire) and Disney figures as well. I inherited a herd of Nutcrackers from my sister. My house if full of whimsy.  My nephew once asked me if I believed in Santa, and I responded that I believed in the idea of Santa. I really love the elfin gift-giver who can manage to climb down chimneys, even in houses that don’t have one, and never get stuck. And don’t get me started on how he’s able to hit all of us in one night. It’s magic, plain and simple. For my whole life Christmas has been magical, thanks to my parents’ love of the season.

But I’ve often wondered if people coming into my home see the real Christmas, the holy one? Do all my Santa’s get in the way? I only have one crèche. It’s beautiful, by the way, made in Bethlehem and given to us by my husband’s parents after a trip to Israel. It’s very simple, much like the original setting, lost in the noise of the world. But it sits in the center of one wall, on a table dedicated to it, hovered over by a tall, stately angel, a gift from a dear friend, and a star. Is it enough? One crèche against dozens of Santas?

I don’t have a good defense. I believe we have Christmas, Christ-mass – because 2000 years ago, God became flesh and dwelt among us for a while. He was born to a simple carpenter and his wife far away in Israel. They had gone to Bethlehem to be registered in a Roman mandated census, and traveled by foot (maybe by donkey; for Mary’s sake we can hope she didn’t have to walk), Mary ready to deliver, exhausted, in pain, no room.  But the inn keeper offered his stable, probably a cave, and there a son was born, and Joseph named him Jesus, as the Angel had told him.  And that baby, honored by shepherds sent by angels and wise men following a star, grew to be a man who gave himself in my place – took my sin upon himself and died for me.

Chris Rice wrote these powerful lyrics, “fragile hands sent to heal us, tender brow prepared for thorns, tiny heart whose blood would save us.” Look at the child, the newborn baby, and think of why He came. No wonder Mary pondered all these things. God, in the vulnerable flesh of a baby, come to one day save us. That’s the Christmas story. That’s why we have Christmas in the first place.

Out of that grew the secular lore, wed with European winter solstice customs. Decorated trees, holly, ivy, mistletoe, all co-opted to become Christian symbols, while still keeping their secular roots. Giving gifts because Jesus was the greatest gift, also became part of the culture. Of course, in America we’ve taken it to its greatest, commercial heights, but the sentiment was to remind us to love and give. The Angels told the shepherds they had good news of great joy…peace on earth good will towards men. So Christmas is full of joy and words of peace and hope.

Last year there was a big uproar over Starbucks’ red cups. The secular world somehow thought Starbucks was favoring the sacred and the Christians thought Starbucks had blanked out Christmas. The cups were just red cups. People file lawsuits over a crèche in a public place or Christmas trees in airports, as if both represent “religion”. For most Americans, the sacred heart of Christmas left long ago. “Something about Jesus” one of my students said. We’re even to remove the word “Christmas” and wish Happy Holiday instead. I do get it, “Christ”mas includes Christ, and that’s what’s missing and that’s what rubs. I was in a card store once around Easter, and a shopper said to her friend, “The Christians have even taken over Easter.”  The forgotten reality is, we would have nothing to celebrate if not for Christ. Winter and Spring Solstice celebrations went out for most a long time ago. Though Christians co-opted those celebrations and many of those traditions hundreds of years ago, the secular world has long claimed them back.

Ah, it’s Christmas again, politics and whimsy aside. Christmas is a time when friends and family gather and share their love and good will. I don’t have to separate my Santas from my crèche. It isn’t symbols that really share my faith with those I invite into my home, sit beside at work, or hand my money to in a store. It’s me. I am the walking, talking advertisement of Christmas, and I don’t mean my collection of ugly Christmas sweaters (which, by the way, I do not have). If I am a Christian, and have centered my life around the Christ Christmas celebrates, then that Christ should be reflected in me. Christians are the face of Jesus in the world, and we’ve failed miserably to reflect the Jesus in whom we believe. My responsibility is to that Jesus, and to give Him a real opportunity to be seen through me.

It’s Christmas again, and as I welcome my friends and family with hugs and food and all my decorations, I seek to keep my focus on also wrapping them in Jesus’ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness and self-control. I seek to provide a place of refuge where they can feel His presence above and through all the clutter and noise of the season.

O come let us adore Him.

O come let us adore Him.

Those Exclusive Christians

Christians and Christianity are often labeled exclusive. That term is the black ball in a world of tolerance. Any person or group who puts any limits or has any boundaries is accused of keeping people out. I know a lot of exclusive Christians. They prefer their own company, and hardly ever surface outside a church sponsored activity. The secular world scares them. If instructed to invite someone to a church function, they will find a friend who goes to another church.

Apparently many Christians would just like to enjoy being “in the club” and keep the circle small. I get that, that circle is quite comfortable and often safe. Why rock the boat? And though they understand we’ve been asked to share our faith, if someone really is searching, they’ll come to church on their own, won’t they?

Christians are not that different from most everyone else. Most of us like to find our niche and stay there. I’ve had a couple of friends who took great pleasure in stirring the pot, but I’m not of that ilk. I was as guilty as the next Christian when it came to staying in my lane. But then I moved back into the secular job force and it’s like I woke up. All around me were these great, kind, fun people who had never met Jesus, but who had met Christians that made them turn and run. I could never go back to church in the same way again. I tend to filter what I hear through “what would __________ think that meant?” or “How would _______ take that comment?”  Sometimes even the most well-meaning church can be very unfriendly, mostly, I believe, unintentionally. The words we use, often reminiscent of King James speak; the rituals we preform; the songs we sing and scriptures we read, are all foreign to someone who’s new. So yes, Christians can seem, and sometimes are, exclusive in their behavior.

But that is different from the belief as a whole. Even Christians misunderstand the message sometimes. Salvation, via Christianity, is offered to all.  The angels on that first Christmas morning proclaimed that the Good News would bring joy to all people (Luke 2:10). Everyone is welcome. In terms of salvation, the Bible is very clear that all are welcome. “to as many as come” “anyone who” and perhaps the most famous, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life.(John 3:16)”  (Italics mine) The “world” and “whoever” are pretty inclusive words. Christians are taught that everyone is welcome to come.

This is why we’re such a ragtag bunch (often referred to as “hypocrites” by those who assume Christians should be better, more consistent). We are all sinners “saved by grace,” (see Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:4, 5), people, who have found God. Our subsequent behavior depends on how much of ourselves we offer God for change.

Christianity is open to anyone, and you don’t have to clean up your act before becoming one. There are no tests, no behaviors you need to conform to, no required changes. This too is contrary to how a lot of Christians portray it, but the Bible is clear, God takes us as we are, then begins His work. No one is “too bad” or “too far gone” to come to God and accept His gift. The reason is that we are all in need of a savior. The Bible teaches “all have sinned and fall short” (Romans 3:23), no one can claim sinless perfection (and if they do, the Bible says they are a liar). So as much as I’d like to be free of sin, in this life I can still behave pretty badly. The only difference between someone who is a Christian and someone who is not, is that the Christian has given their life to God, otherwise we’re pretty much the same.

Everyone is welcome, anyone can come to God, but in one area the naysayers are correct. The Bible is very clear that not all roads lead to God. The way to Christianity is quite exclusive. The way to God is through Jesus Christ only. That is the major stumbling block. Today we’re offered a smorgasbord of spirituality from Depak Chopra to Dali Lama to Scientology to meditation. We are told that any and all of these ways are open to us and will provide a way to see God. Some even teach that all we need do is get in touch with ourselves, because the divine is within us, in fact is us. But Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

I went to a memorial service a couple months ago. The pastor was talking about how, contrary to popular opinion, Christianity is very inclusive. Everyone was welcome to become a Christian. She went on, however, to say that the way to Christianity was quite narrow. “Jesus didn’t say ‘I am a way, a truth, and a life.” Jesus didn’t present Himself as a choice among many, all of which provide the same conclusion. Jesus presented Himself as the only way to God.

Perhaps because it is so narrow it feels difficult. My one shot at being with God is Jesus? Interesting, in a belief that offers so much freedom because all the heavy lifting is done by God Himself, it’s so difficult to accept. People find all sorts of reasons to back away from Jesus. How could God become human, and why would He? Doesn’t that limit God, make Him weak? Yes, it did. Jesus was vulnerable to all manner of temptations and injustices, just take his death for example. But the Bible teaches, as awful as it sounds, that we needed someone to take our place. The wages of sin is death. Sin required a penalty with a holy God. So God took our place so we didn’t have to die eternal death (Romans 6:23)

Then of course, there are all the reasons to run from Jesus because Jesus’ followers are such: creeps, hypocrites, self-righteous, jerks. Yes, they certainly can be. So can the people pointing fingers. We all have the potential to be pretty awful at any point in time, thus the very need for a savior. And what about those Crusades? Those awful things done in the name of God? Again, yes, people have done heinous things under God’s name. That doesn’t mean God sent them. Oh, but what about the stories in the Bible when God did send them? OK, but if God is God, Creator of the Universe, Sovereign of the world, more than any world leader, He has the right, and assumably the wisdom, to do so.

We can throw out all sorts of reasons to not accept Christianity, but most often, if we are honest, it comes down to my desire to serve myself rather than a Sovereign Creator. We like our “freedom”, and tend to move towards religions that make it about us, hence the “divine within”. That’s a lot more convenient and self-serving. However, how is it working out?  Since we all have a propensity toward selfishness and the ability to hurt ourselves and others, we often come up pretty short and feel pretty empty.

Christianity offers hope, spiritual fulfillment, and satisfaction to all who would believe. When we stop looking for reasons not to believe and begin to bring honest questions to Christianity, that’s when we begin to find answers. This Christmas I challenge you to read a Gospel in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Find a modern translations (you can sample them all on-line) and start reading. Spend some time with Jesus.  Listen to what He says and look at what He does. Lay down your skepticism and just walk a little way with Jesus. You might be surprised at what you find. We Christians present a pretty limited picture, even at our best. Going to the source is always the best.

What a great Christmas present to give yourself, a sit down with the One who came to live with us for a while, the Reason we even have this season to celebrate, Jesus.