How We Can Keep “Christ” in Christmas

But there will be no more room for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious by the way of the sea on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
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 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 9:1-7

Intro: I recently read a rant written by a Christian regarding Christmas

It began with a complaint about the abbreviation “X-mas”
– basically, this person saw it as a larger conspiracy to secularize a Christian holy day
• I don’t think she knew that Christians were first to use this abbreviation
◦ X, the Greek letter chi, is the first letter of the word “Christ”
• so let’s be good X-ians and keep X in X-mas
– Christmas is our nation’s favorite Christian holiday
• but it’s also the easiest holiday to get distracted from God
• we don’t even have to drop “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays”
◦ with all the craziness goes on, we would still forget Jesus,
◦ even if we called it “The Jesus Day”

Long before Jesus was born, Isaiah made this announcement

Something we need to know about biblical prophecy
– “prophecy” does not mean “prediction”
• what it means is inspired speech
• in fact, there are times when it refers to an inspired event or activity apart from any message spoken or written (cf. 1 Sam. 19:23-24; 1 Chr. 25:1-3)
– when there is a prophetic prediction, we can’t imagine what that future would look like
• even the prophets did not know

Isaiah 45:15, Truly You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!
Jeremiah 32:25, You have said to me, O Lord GOD, “Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses”—although the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.”
Habakkuk 1:5, Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days— You would not believe if you were told.

• the fulfillment would arrive in a future different from the prophet’s time
◦ the message given in one context would be fulfilled in a different context

It is as Helmut Thielicke wrote, “God interprets his promises by the way he fulfills them.”

What amazes me is how quickly the disciples connected OT scripture with Jesus after his resurrection
– when Matthew reported the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, he quoted this passage in Isaiah

He introduced it, saying This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet (Mt. 4:12)

• he saw Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as God’s light shining there

What did God promise his people in this passage?

A future very different from their present experience
– it is difference of earlier times (contempt) and later on (glorious)
• they have lived in darkness, but a light would shine on them

Walter Bruggemman observes that “‘Light’ is regularly linked to the coming of Yahweh’s ‘glory,’ that is, to the visible evidence of Yahweh’s splendor, majesty, and sovereignty”

◦ that’s what Matthew saw when Jesus arrived in Galilee
• a time when the nation would grow and prosper
◦ the outstanding characteristic of new situation was a pervasive joy
◦ the people would know to attribute this blessing to God’s presence
– at last they would be rescued from oppression
• Israel’s monarchy lasted for about 400 years
◦ towards the end, they lived under constant threat of invasion
◦ more powerful nation conquered them and imposed tribute on them
• villages frequently raided by neighboring kingdoms
◦ but all of that would end

At the heart of these future changes was a person

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us

– can you hear the difference in these two lines?
• a child would be born, but a son would be given
◦ God told David he would have a son
◦ and God would establish the kingdom of that descendant – then God added,

I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me (2 Sa. 7:14)

• on that first Christmas night, angels announced to shepherds

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 [Messiah] the Lord (Lk. 2:10-11)

– Isaiah also says, And the government will rest on his shoulders
• that is, he will have responsibility for running the nation
• it will be up to him to bring about justice, righteousness, and peace
◦ and there would be no end to the growth of his rule, neither in space or time

There’s one more statement I want to emphasize Continue reading →

“What Do You Say?”

O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south. Psalm 107:1-3

Intro: I have been reading Resilience by Rick Hanson

I don’t like it – the same way I don’t like taking medicine when sick
– he said all the same things in a previous book I read
• but I’m someone who needs to be reminded to do the work
• so it’s okay that I’m going over these things again
– “resilience” is the ability to recover quickly, to bounce back from negative emotions
• one chapter in his book is devoted to gratitude

Rick Hanson says, “We spend our lives seeking to feel good in the future, but this is stressful and tiring in the present. With gratitude, you feel good already . . . .” “Thankfulness feels good in its own right.”

According to Hanson, researchers have discovered thankfulness “brings:

• More optimism, happiness, and self-worth; less envy, anxiety and depression
• More compassion, generosity and forgiveness; stronger relationships, less loneliness
• Better sleep
• Greater resilience”

I’ll tell you right now, this isn’t going to work!
– what I mean is that we’re not going to get the benefits of gratitude,
• by giving thanks just one day out of the year
• we have to learn thankfulness every day
◦ and return to it many times in a day
– a book that has helped me greatly is Ann Voskamp’s, One Thousand Gifts
• the first point she establishes is that she knows pain, grief, and suffering
• she was inspired to make a gratitude list of 1,000 items
◦ she reminds us that Jesus gave thanks before multiplying the bread for the crowds
◦ the Greek word to give thanks is eucharisteo, derived from charis (grace), which is related to chara (joy)

Voskamp says, “As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible …. Whenever—meaning now; Wherever— meaning here. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location …. The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.”

If we can get to God through giving thanks,
– then we can get to joy and all the other benefits that come from being grateful

The psalm encourages us to give thanks to the LORD

And it immediately gives us a reason,

. . . for He is good,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

– God can faithfully see me through years of difficult situations,
• but the next difficulty comes up and my first reaction is worry

GOD: Why don’t you trust Me by now? Haven’t I always been faithful to help you?
ME: Yes, Lord, but this time I don’t deserve Your help.
GOD: Chuck, you have never deserved My help.

◦ this, to me, is actually very comforting and reassuring
• the same logic for giving thanks is embedded in Psalm 136 Continue reading →

Ain’t No Sunshine When . . .

Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.”
The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!”
But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed. Mark 15:1-5

Intro: A few weeks ago, I met ‘J’ at a local rehab clinic

In a group session, he told us he’d never believed in anything he couldn’t see
– but while there, J was introduced to Jesus Christ,
and through him became a new person
• he finished the program, but before he left the clinic I asked him, “Where’s home?”
◦ when he told me, I got excited because I have a friend there
◦ my friend, in fact, is the pastor of the Calvary Chapel in that town
• J asked, “Is he the guy who rides around on a Harley?”
◦ when I said yes, he replied, “I think I know that guy”
– Jay and my friend, Dave Sweet, lived in Paradise, California
• that town was burned to the ground this week

When one tragedy follows another, it is more difficult to recover emotionally
– last week, the synagogue shooting – and it seemed we all agreed it was evil
• but then another shooting this week
◦ and in bar and grill known to be a hang out for college students
• and hard on the heels of that devastating horror, multiple fires
◦ not only forests have been lost, but also many homes and human lives
– so many tragedies at once is like being caught in
• the danger is not only what one wave can do to you,
◦ but what multiple waves in a set can do
• each one makes it more difficult to fight back to the surface

The distress we feel over all of this reminds us,
– the path of our spiritual journey winds through the valley of shadow of death
• we cannot minimize the impact of these experiences
• we cannot pretend that Christians skate through them unharmed
– I’ll admit, if God offered an escape from reality, I’d take it
• in the valley of the shadow of death, we crash into reality
◦ the reality we fear and try to avoid
• but God, the ultimate Reality, is also encountered in these dark valleys
◦ we don’t find him by running from reality, but find him in it

Mark has created a very dark chapter

I’ll point out two symbols of its darkness

First: Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a skull (Mk. 15:22)
Years ago I watched a documentary (or travelogue, I can’t remember) and at one point it took us through a monastery and a crypt that contained the remains of monks who had lived and died there. What we were shown were not exactly the “remains” of the monks, but a large pile of human skulls.

– the effect of seeing it caught me off guard
• there was no sense of these skulls having been persons
◦ nor was there any differentiation between them
(like one of them could have once been Joe and another Fred)
◦ it disturbed me to think that I could end up a skull in a pile like that
• a skull no longer a person who smiled, winked, raised his or her eyebrows,
◦ but merely a digit — a bead on an abacus wire
◦ skulls are eerie, which is why on warning labels they symbolize death Continue reading →

It’s Like Waking Up

As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled.” Mark 13:1-4

Intro: Most everyone wants to know the future

It holds a fascination for us that is hard to escape
– fortune telling is an ancient practice that continues today
• people still turn to psychics, horoscopes, palm reading, fortune cookies
• for Evangelical Christians, the fascination centers on biblical prophecy
◦ people have come up with all sorts of calculations to pinpoint specific events
– Jesus made references to future events from time to time,
• but only once did he go deep into it like he does in this chapter
◦ notice, he didn’t hype his teaching
◦ for instance, he did not announce a seminar entitled, The Secrets of the Future Revealed!
• Jesus’ main concern was to prepare his disciples for the challenges ahead

Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. Therefore, be on the alert–for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning–in case he shold come suddenly and find you asleep. What I say to you I say to all, “Be on the alert!” Mark 13:33-37 
Notice his statement, What I say to you I say to all.

– Jesus knew these four disciples would tell other people
• and those people would tell other people, and those people would tell others, and so on
• eventually the message would reach all of Jesus’s followers:
Stay awake! Because you just don’t know

I spent most of this week at a hermitage near Big Sur

During my free time, I tried to stay focused on what I had learned in previous visits

Fr. Romuald had told me, “According to our tradition, anything human is a door to the divine. Anything physical is a door if you use it with respect and reverence.”

– What does this mean?

1. There is a mystery to be encountered behind all reality
   a. we just see the surface of things
   b. we’re trained to reject mystery and taught to look for explanations
   c. the mystery is there, but we don’t see it
2. Any object or event can awaken us to God’s presence
   a. scripture tells us God is everywhere
   b. but that’s not what our experience tells us
   c. we have to be awakened to the experience to know it
   d. I can sit in a room and imagine grandchild sneaking it, but when a human person actually enters, the feeling of his or her presence is completely different
   e. feeling God’s presence is different from “knowing that God is omnipresent” (everywhere)
   f. I want to sensitize myself to that feeling
3. Romuald’s advice was to “pay attention to what you are doing every moment, because the divine could break in at any moment. God truly does not care what you’re doing at the time.”
   a. notice the flower, the bicycle, the sound of a dog barking
   b. wake up to what is there, because something may be a door
   c. notice the door, and the next thing you’ll discover is God’s presence

If this is true, then there are doors to God’s presence here–now

In conversations, we can be aware of other sounds and sights
– we usually filter those other things out of our attention
• but we may be filtering out more than we realize
• in some conversations, I intentionally look into the eyes of the person
◦ instantly I am not only hearing their words, I am reading the person
◦ feeling what they’re saying, maybe even feeling what they’re feeling
– I am not merely listening – I sill hear the person’s words
• but I am hearing more – I am experiencing more Continue reading →

The Exploration of (Empty) Space

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul? For what what a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

Intro: You probably noticed this painting – perhaps stared at it

But I doubt you paid attention to the space between yourself and the painting
– “Why notice empty space?” you may ask
• the answer: Because there’s no such thing
◦ people have sustained serious injuries when bringing an open flame too close to an “empty” gas can
◦ there may have been no liquid in the can, but it was still “full” of fumes
• “empty” can be an illusion
– to notice empty space, can help us expand our awareness
• this is a theme Mark has developed through several chapters
– in the verses I read, Jesus’ message sounds harsh
• but we need to see it in its context
• the lesson here is so essential, we cannot afford to miss it
◦ it helps us discover what fills “empty” spaces

We will retrace Jesus’ steps through the previous three chapters
– pay special attention to the ways Jesus attempts to enlighten people

In chapter 5, A man begged Jesus to heal his daughter

But on the way to his home, they learn she died
– Jesus told the man, Don’t be afraid. Just believe

There is a way for us to move out of our fears and anxieties
– it involves expanding our vision
• my dad used to stress the importance of “the eternal perspective”
◦ big problems immediately before us can be overwhelming
◦ but our reaction changes when reflect on our situation in the light of eternity
• anxiety is a natural response to feeling trapped
◦ and we can feel trapped by “time”
(also by space, by our responsibilities, and so on)
◦ there must be a way out of anxiety traps if:
Jesus can say, Don’t worry about your life (Mt. 6:25)
or Paul could say, Don’t be anxious about anything (Php. 4:6)
– an expanded awareness frees us from the feeling of being trapped
• this is God’s, I am with you–or, as in this instance, Jesus saying, Just believe
• trust gives our brains the peace they need to stretch awareness

In chapter 6 Jesus is teaching in the countryside

This has the disciples nervous, so they tell Jesus,
“Send the people home before the shops close and they can’t find food”
– but Jesus responds, “Why don’t you feed them?”
• the disciples thought that was impossible
◦ then Jesus worked a miracle so that everyone ate and there were even leftovers
• when the disciples climbed in the boat, Jesus stayed on land to pray
◦ rowing against wind, the disciples were getting nowhere–until
◦ Jesus came walking toward them across the surface of the water
– the disciples were totally amazed
• Mark felt that he had to explain their amazement:

. . . for they had not gained any insight from the loaves, but their heart was hardened (Mk. 6:52)

• doesn’t that seem like an odd statement?
◦ the loaves were talking to the disciples, but they weren’t listening
• “hardened” does not mean they resisted understanding, but they were mentally “stuck”
◦ their hearts had been formed in a way that constricted their aware

In chapter 7, the Pharisees called out the disciples for a purity violation

Continue reading →