Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Beloved!

Perhaps some of you read my greeting and thought, “Good grief, Pastor. Today is December 30, not December 25. Christmas is over!” Well, I wish to challenge that presumption on a few fronts in this space.

On a personal note, this is the first Christmas in a number of years that we have been blessed to see my mother, all of my siblings, and their children all together under one roof. In fact, I think the last time we were all together to celebrate the Christmas holidays was in 2002, the Christmas before my dad graduated to glory in February 2003. then, as now, we came together between Christmas Day and the new year. Unlike that last cramped and rushed gathering at my parents’ home in Indiana, this year my brother and sisters and their respective crews have brought Mom to our house for a few days. So, for me, Christmas celebrations have been happily extended this year beyond December 25. I say then on this Sunday, December 30, “Merry Christmas, beloved!”

Now, consider something of a historical – liturgical – traditional approach. Do you recall the holiday song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”? I must confess, this was never my favorite Christmas song, not even on my top ten list. I could not fathom what to make of the repetitive recitations of strange gifts. Aside from my total lack of comprehension about how these presents could convey affection to our true love, I was never sure what the twelve days of Christmas actually are.

Most people assume they refer to the twelve days before Christmas Day. Actually, however, the twelve days of Christmas begin with the night of Christmas and conclude the evening of January 5. The twelve days extend up to the dawn of the church’s celebration of Epiphany on January 6. Epiphany, by the way, commemorates the coming of the magi to present gifts to the Christ child. I will spare you some of the fascinating history I discovered about how our ancestors made merry for twelve days after Christmas Day. What interested me most was that these twelve days were traditionally and liturgically days filled with feasts and rejoicing and merriment – features of American Christmases that we have managed to squeeze into one day.

I say, let’s get back to celebrating our Lord’s first Advent for more than one day. Let’s redeem the time. Let’s extend our season twelve more days. Perhaps there is more to Christmas than we tend to think. What if, …

· On the first day of Christmas, we find ways to rejoice that “the Lord our God is one”?

· On the second day of Christmas, we contemplate the contributions of the two Adams or the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments?

· On the third day of Christmas, we meditate on and praised the majesty of our Three-in-One God or celebrate the three-fold virtues often found in Paul’s greetings – faith, hope, and love?

· On the fourth day of Christmas, we heed the witness of the four evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John?

· On the fifth day of Christmas, we trace God’s covenant love through the first five books of the Bible?

· On the sixth day of Christmas, we marvel in the power of a God Who created all that is out of nothing in six days?

· On the seventh day of Christmas, we thank God for the seven gifts of the Spirit and we commit to employ our special gifts in the healthy growth of His church and the advance of His kingdom?

· On the eighth day of Christmas, we reflect on the eight characteristics of kingdom citizens as Christ lists them in the Beatitudes from His Sermon on the Mount?

· On the ninth day of Christmas, we avail ourselves to the nine-faceted fruit of the Spirit in our lives?

· On the tenth day of Christmas, we measure ourselves against the standard of the Ten Commandments and thank God again and again for the One Who keeps them all for us?

· On the eleventh day of Christmas, we remember the eleven faithful disciples and their legacy of witness?

· On the twelfth day of Christmas, we ponder the twelve points of doctrine highlighted in the Apostles’ Creed?

(DISCLAIMER: For what it may be worth, I do not espouse the recently popular myth that the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally written as some sort of surreptitious code for persecuted Catholic believers. that story simply has too many holes in it. Still, I obviously find the notion of using the twelve days and their gifts in the song useful as a starting place for reflection.)

So, hear me friends as again on December 30 I declare, “Merry Christmas, beloved!”

One more thought. Will we celebrate Christmas in heaven? What if part of our joy in Heaven is actually the perpetual celebration of Christmas – a thought not entirely far-fetched? Remember, Christmas is essentially our remembrance and observance of Jesus Christ’s first Advent. Christmas reminds us that God is with us! We lay hold of “good news of great joy” with the fervent hope that we can be with Him in glory and eternity. We can believe this to begin with because Christ has come! For these very reasons, I advocate the singing of “Joy to the World” in July!

Today, as God leads, we will answer the question from His Word, “How should we live between Advents? Because of Christmas and in the expectation of His Second Coming, how should we live?” I would that you and I might get in the practice of saying every December 30 – and January 1 through the next December 30 – “Merry Christmas, beloved!” To borrow from St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel [“Merry Christmas!”] at all times and when necessary use words.”

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

God Rest Ye Merry

I have been singing and whistling and humming Christmas hymns for weeks. As I do so, I like to think on the words to these carols. Some of the texts are packed with peculiar and profound clarity and theology. For instance, can we find any more powerful a declaration of the Gospel than this line?

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!

Sometimes, we sing without care and miss the wondrous beauty and worship a hymn writer inspires by their craft, especially, it seems, when we sing Christmas carols. We miss the original meaning of the text or fail to grasp the significance punctuation may intend. Take, for example, the carol, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and note the placement of the comma.

God rest ye merry, gentlemen. Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.

Though first published in Britain in 1833 in a collection of carols compiled by William Sandys, the lyrics are actually from the 15^th century. This familiar Christmas carol became widely known in America in the late 1800s – so much so, that one A.H. Bullen would say in 1885 that this was “the most popular of Christmas carols.” In fact, this carol is the carol of Charles Dickens’classic novel, A Christmas Carol, written in 1843. Old Ebenezer Scrooge would have saved himself a night of hauntings had he heeded the caroling of one unfortunate lad at his stoop. For good reason, this carol is still quite popular today, and I would hope with this article to make it more popular with you this Christmas.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Adjustments made in culture and language over the centuries have led many of us to miss the import and impact of this great carol. We typically fail to recognize the comma between “merry” and “gentlemen” in the first line. Therefore, we mistakenly assume this is some glad song about some cheerful chaps at Christmas. This is far more than a song about “merry gentlemen.” This is a call for gentlemen to be merry, a call to courageous and manly godliness.

We only get this when we understand that the word "merry" originally meant strong or valiant. Think of Robin Hood and his “Merry Men” – Little John, Will Scarlett, Friar Tuck, and company. These were not merely happy rascals, but men noted for their bravery. These were manly men. To be “merry” meant to be noble, gallant, fearless, valiant, heroic.

In addition, the line beckons God Himself to “rest ye.” The word “rest” meant to make. Therefore, we should understand the first line actually to mean, “God make you heroic, gentlemen.”

Let Nothing You Dismay
This explains the second line, “Let nothing you dismay.” What have we to fear? If God be for us, if He emboldens us and makes us merry or courageous, what does it matter who or what may oppose us? Hooray! and Hallelujah! Though all people through every age, including 15^th-century commoners in Britain and 21^st-century families in America, most certainly encounter trials and disappointments and threats, we can be strongly encouraged and declare with Paul:

Who can separate us from the love of Christ?
Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him Who loved us! (Romans 8:35-37)

Remember Christ Our Savior
Was Born on Christmas Day
This Good News makes us strong in the face of the terrible turmoil and tribulation, be that trouble personal or national. So, the anonymous singer calls us to “Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day.” Keep and bear this glorious and gracious Truth in mind, and we will find ourselves made “merry” and thereby impervious to the dismay these shadowlands would have us embrace. Immanuel, God with us! “Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing!”

To Save Us All from Satan’s Power
when We Were Gone Astray
How exactly does remembering “Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day” evoke such hope? I believe the very essence of the Gospel is in this opening verse. Note, then, how the verse continues: “To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.” Isaiah reminds us: “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6). Because of our stupid sheep-like proclivity to wander, to go astray, and to sin – often, repeatedly, and foolishly – we have made ourselves subject to Satan, and we must reap the consequences. But, thanks be to God, Jesus Christ came to deliver us from Satan's power – that dominance that pulls us continually in the wrong direction and would have us utterly destroyed. “Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray!”

Remember, beloved, and rejoice!

O Tidings of Comfort and Joy, Comfort and Joy!
O Tidings of Comfort and Joy!

Merry Christmas, beloved!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Delight in Our Kids like God Does Us

She giggled – nearly laughed aloud. I looked up from my laptop and over at the table across the way and spied a grinning mother watching her exuberant young daughter with obvious affection and joy. I followed her gaze to the little pixie bouncing and flopping and rolling with glee on the trampoline floor. I could not suppress a smile myself.

I turned my attention to the large square mat on which Joshua lined up with 18 other Tae Kwon Do disciples. I searched and located my son, a be-spectacled warrior and the brightest young prodigy on the floor. He still beams with bliss when he spars. Practicing kicks above your head, one after the other on rapid succession – well, it takes my breath away just watching! Joshua, however, almost seems to find his breath as he jumps and spins and kicks, as if he were made for this.

What is it about children, our own children, when we see them caught up in the delight of play or even strenuous exercise that thrills us so? I think it must be more than pride, something more substantial than seeing them as “a chip off the old block.” I wonder if in our children, specifically in the pride and pleasure we derive from watching them try and triumph, we might gain some grasp of the Father-heart of God.

When our kiddos volunteer to tell me what they think is really cool, in other words, what they think would be a cool Christmas present for them, my first impulse is to want to find out what in the world they are talking about! Honestly, I am anything but in-the-know when it comes to stuff like Webkinz^® or PSP or NDS! Still, generally, I want to know what they want and try to find a way to get that for them if such gifts align with what we, their parents, deem most helpful for their pursuit of God’s best in their lives. Sometimes, I think some of the things they ask for are silly, but some of their wishes stun me by the maturity of taste and affection they suggest resides in our kids’ hearts. I wonder, what does Father make of the requests I make to Him? Do the things I ask God to do or give reflect a heart bound fast to this world or to His ways, His works, and His will?

When I watch my children open their Christmas gifts, I embrace a confident satisfaction that we have selected for them the perfect gift, that present that fits them best and that ideally expresses our love for each child in their personal love language. I also wonder, though, if they will appreciate the gift and all it represents. How does my appreciation for and application of the gifts God gives me touch His heart?

When they come to me or to Donna to discuss what gift they might give their brother or sister, I am thrilled that they have learned to love one another in the same way their parents love them. Moreover, I am often amazed by their insights into their siblings wants and needs. When I read the words our kids write about and to one another in their blogs or community messages on the Internet, my heart stands up and melts at the same time. I love how they love one another, how they are such friends to one another. Somehow, I feel like they honor me by their fondness and care for each other. What does Father make of my treatment of other people – my brothers and sisters in Christ and my cousins in Adam? How well do I know my brother or my neighbor? How well do I serve them?

When I hear my children writing and singing hymns of worship together, I revel as much in their affection for Jesus Christ as I do in the splendid development of their talents and blending of their voices. What does the nature and frequency and fervency of my contribution to worship with one or two, or a small group, or a congregation of fellow believers say about my devotion and gratitude to Christ our King? How does Father receive my worship?

When all our children come home to celebrate Christmas together under one roof, I get a sense of equilibrium as if everything is just about right with the world again. Somehow, the house seems warmer, more complete, and all the furniture more perfectly arranged when Lauryn, Bethany, Jonathan, Joshua, and Caitlyn are all home laughing and singing together or even sleeping. The house comes alive and becomes that for which it was originally constructed, namely, our home. When does our connectedness as members of First Baptist Church, South Lyon, transform the steepled building addressed 60820 Marjorie Ann Street into a church? When and where and how does this house become a home – a home to the Lord Holy Spirit where Jesus Christ is honored and the Father glorified?

When I see any of our brood settling for less than their potential, I want to lift their chins and direct their eyes to higher aims. I also want to provide for them every resource available to me to help them reach ridiculous goals for God’s glory. How many provisions have I missed or misappropriated when God intended them to inspire and enable me to attempt the heroic for His honor? How has Father been able to keep from throwing up His hands in disgust at the mediocrity I all-too-often embrace? How is it He continues to persuade and push me beyond what I see? He must see something I do not, and He sees it in me (and you). Shouldn’t that be enough to inspire us all?

As much as in me is, when my children try something new, I cheer for them. When they fall, falter, or even fail, I hurt for them and implore them to get up and try again. When they are hurt by what other kids say or do, after I squelch a desire to punch the offending kid in the snot-locker, I seek to assure my child of their worth in my eyes and God’s and to help them understand why people hurt people and how we might break the cycle with blessing and prayer. O, Lifter of my head, do you not also like a father cheer me on, raise me up, defend me, and train me through trials?

When I see one of my children reading their Bible or a devotional while they eat their breakfast or I discover their Bible on their nightstand, I breathe silent but exuberant prayers of thankfulness that they seem to be reading the signs we have planted beside the life road. They are following the bread crumbs Donna and I have left to the path of wise choices. Do I ever consider what my Bible reading and study mean to the Author of this sublime love letter?

When they come into the room, I want to rush on them and hug them. In fact, I often do, even though I know my displays of affection sometimes embarrass them a bit. When they get near me, I want to touch them, stroke or mess with their hair, tickle them, or pat them on the back. When they sit next to me, my arms instinctively go around their shoulders. Is God not very much like the father of the prodigal in Luke 15, a dad who strains his eyes daily for the first hint of his wayward son’s return at which he runs – yes! God runs! – and falls upon him with hugs and kisses and party pronouncements? Does Father not yearn to touch us?

Admittedly, I cannot honestly suppose that every parent feels precisely what I feel. I am surely anything but exemplary, and I definitely fail frequently as a father. Moreover, I do not intend to compare my paternal practices to God’s Fatherhood. My point is that I often catch the most profound insights into God’s heart when I least expect them, when my own heart is seized and squeezed by one or more of our tribe of five. If ever I write any books, one will surely be How My Kids Raised a Godly Dad.

My children tell their mom and dad “I love you” in a thousand different ways every day, most of them without ever speaking directly to us. Be assured, however, we are certainly watching and listening. Donna and I are vigilant, eager to champion our children, to prod and promote and provoke them on to higher planes and vistas, and to lavish our love upon them. We delight in our kids.

In a similar way, but surely a way much more dignified by divinity, God delights in us. I believe God is waiting – watching and listening to His children. He longs for every son of Adam and daughter of Eve to know how very much He loves them and to dream the dreams He has for each one. For every joint-heir with Christ, for each of His redeemed prodigals, Father watches and seizes every opportunity not only to direct our feet to the homeward path, but to bring home along with us as many siblings as we can.

What does Father feel when He watches you and me? Do we ever give Him cause to grin and giggle and laugh out loud?

Merry Christmas, beloved!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob

Good News of Great Joy!

Have you heard any good news lately? If you are a Tigers fan, Christmas came early this year, so to speak. With the announcement this week of a blockbuster trade that brings two more proven young all-stars to the Detroit ballclub, local baseball enthusiasts have penciled in a lineup for manager Jim Leyland that they hope will carry the team into the 2008 World Series. That’s good news, especially for a sports town in the throes of promising football seasons evaporating. (The Lions will not win 10 games, and this year’s Wolverines may never live down Appalachian State).

Consider the impact good news has upon us. When we get good news, we become more hopeful and joyful. We are stirred from our slumber – enlivened and energized. We are enthusiastic to tell others our good news and to dream with our friends and family about the possibilities this good news may yield.

But what is this news about baseball compared to the bad news all around us? What power does this report have to see us through and beyond the tragedies we encounter? Does the acquisition of Cabrera and Willis really make a difference in the grand scheme of life – or at least that subsistence we commonly settle for and refer to as life?

When confronted by the daily barrage of bad news, hope and happiness begin to fade away. Our spirits get heavy and we begin to trudge about each day, from point A to point B, listless, lifeless, as if we were sleepwalking. We keep to ourselves, become cocooned, insulated and isolated, and lonely. We learn to stop dreaming.

What sort of headlines would it take to stir our sleeping spirits to life again? Wouldn’t it be grand to read headlines like these: “Business Booming Again,” “New Home Sales Skyrocket,” or “Mission Accomplished: Every Soldier Returns Home Safe and Successful.” Instead, I noted headlines this week like these: “Holidays Are Here, But Times Are Tight,” “Special Report: Detroit Foreclosures,” and “Testing Toys for Toxins.”

Here’s a 2000-year-old headline that simply keeps getting better and better: “Good News of Great Joy for All People!”

But the angel said to them, “Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: ¹¹ today a Savior, Who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. ¹² This will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!” (Luke 2:10-14)

Skeptics and cynics may shrug their shoulders and ask, “Really? What’s so good about that? How does that make a difference today?” They remind me of the one melancholy verse by Longfellow:

Then in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said.
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
of ‘peace on earth, good will to men.’”

Consider with me these reasons why the angelic message is still today such good news. These are but a few reasons. I trimmed the list from 14 to these 5 for the sake of space!

A Savior is born. We can be free from sin and death to walk in newness of life!
He is Messiah (Christ). We have a Mediator, an Advocate in Heaven, Who connects us with Father!
He is Lord. He is in control. He is all-knowing, all-sufficient, and all powerful!
He is for all people. Jesus Christ is for you!
God favors us. He created us for His pleasure and our joy. He has made a way for us to experience His love!

So what should be the product of this good news?

Joy! Great joy! Angels and shepherds and magi all understood the meaning of the message and rejoiced!
Investigation. The shepherds went to see if what they heard was true (vv 15-16).
Energetic Witness. After verifying the headlines from Heaven, they told everybody they met about Him (v 17)!
Worship while you work. They returned to their places as changed men and praised God even at work (v 20)!
Contemplation. Mary took all this in and reflected on its significance, probably for years (v 19). How else do you suppose Dr. Luke would have received and so powerfully reported this news many decades later in such a way as to be so cherished for more than two millennia now?

Beloved, Jesus’ Advent is truly sensational news! His birth means God loves us, He keeps His promise to rescue us, He pays the price to redeem us, and He will return to bring us Home. So, Longfellow would follow up his sad “reality check” with a victorious reminder:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep!
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
with peace on earth, good will to men.

Joy to the world, my friends! The Lord is come! Merry Christmas!

To the ends of the earth until the end of time!

Pastor Rob