Today marks the end of our "Christmas in July" journey to Bethlehem, that place where God meets us through dark and difficult times. It's been a great deal of fun and learning for me. I hope it has for you also. I hope as a result of our time together you will have a better grasp on the significance of Christmas when it rolls around this December. Maybe, just maybe, your celebration of Christmas will never be the same again. That has been my goal.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Dallas Willard on "The Great Reversal"
Dallas Willard, in The Divine Conspiracy, writes of what he calls The Great Inversion. Commenting on the story of the widow contributing a penny in the temple, he writes...
“The scene at the offering box in the temple is an illustration. What turns up so graphically in that case is actually a general structure that permeates the message of the Bible as a whole and the reality portrayed therein. This structure indicates that humanity is routinely flying upside down (ED: italics mine), and at the same time it provides a message of hope for everyone who counts on God’s order, no matter his or her circumstance. There are none in the humanly ‘down’ position so low that they cannot be lifted up by entering God’s order, and none in the humanly ‘up” position so high that they can disregard God’s point of view on their lives. ...To become a disciple of Jesus is to accept now that inversion of human distinctions that will sooner or later be forced upon everyone by the irresistible reality of his kingdom.” (pp. 89-90)
Thus, the Christmas story's "Great Reversal" reaches deep into God's reality.
“The scene at the offering box in the temple is an illustration. What turns up so graphically in that case is actually a general structure that permeates the message of the Bible as a whole and the reality portrayed therein. This structure indicates that humanity is routinely flying upside down (ED: italics mine), and at the same time it provides a message of hope for everyone who counts on God’s order, no matter his or her circumstance. There are none in the humanly ‘down’ position so low that they cannot be lifted up by entering God’s order, and none in the humanly ‘up” position so high that they can disregard God’s point of view on their lives. ...To become a disciple of Jesus is to accept now that inversion of human distinctions that will sooner or later be forced upon everyone by the irresistible reality of his kingdom.” (pp. 89-90)
Thus, the Christmas story's "Great Reversal" reaches deep into God's reality.
Friday, July 27, 2007
What a reversal: The Lamb is a Lion
Another writer pointing to the theme of God’s Great Reversal (see Luke 1:46-56) is singer/songwriter, Michael Card. The text for his song, “The Lamb is a Lion,” is based on Jesus’ overturning the tables of the moneychangers (Matthew 21:12-16; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-47; John 2:13-16). It goes like this...
Weak from the journey,
The long traveling days,
Hungry to worship,
To join in the praise.
Shock met with anger
That burned on His face,
As He entered the wasteland
Of that barren place.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord.
The priests and the merchants
Demanded some proof.
For their hearts were hardened
And blind to the truth.
That Satan’s own law
Is to sell and to buy.
But God’s only Way
Is to give and to die.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord.
The noise and confusion gave way to His word.
At last sacred silence so God could be heard.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord. (© Michael Card)
Weak from the journey,
The long traveling days,
Hungry to worship,
To join in the praise.
Shock met with anger
That burned on His face,
As He entered the wasteland
Of that barren place.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord.
The priests and the merchants
Demanded some proof.
For their hearts were hardened
And blind to the truth.
That Satan’s own law
Is to sell and to buy.
But God’s only Way
Is to give and to die.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord.
The noise and confusion gave way to His word.
At last sacred silence so God could be heard.
And the Lamb is a Lion
Who’s roaring with rage
At the empty religion
That’s filling all their days.
They’ll flee from the harm
Of the Carpenter’s strong arm,
And come to know the scourging
Anger of the Lord. (© Michael Card)
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The kind of truth that leads to the cross
Writing in a way consistent with the theme of God’s Great Reversal (where the high are brought low so that the low might be brought high – see Luke 1:46-56), German theologian and Christian martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote:
“The people who love, because they are freed through the truth of God, are THE most revolutionary people on earth. They are the ones who upset all values; they are the explosives in human society. Such persons are the most dangerous. For they have recognized that people are untruthful in the extreme, and they are ready at any time, and just for the sake of love, to permit the light of truth to fall on them. This disturbance of peace, which comes to the world through these people, provokes the world’s hatred. Therefore, the knight of truth and love is NOT the hero whom people worship and honor, who is free from enemies, but the one whom they cast out, whom they want to get rid of, whom they declare an outlaw, whom they kill. The way, which God’s truth in the world has gone, leads to the cross.” (From A Testament to Freedom, p. 206)
“The people who love, because they are freed through the truth of God, are THE most revolutionary people on earth. They are the ones who upset all values; they are the explosives in human society. Such persons are the most dangerous. For they have recognized that people are untruthful in the extreme, and they are ready at any time, and just for the sake of love, to permit the light of truth to fall on them. This disturbance of peace, which comes to the world through these people, provokes the world’s hatred. Therefore, the knight of truth and love is NOT the hero whom people worship and honor, who is free from enemies, but the one whom they cast out, whom they want to get rid of, whom they declare an outlaw, whom they kill. The way, which God’s truth in the world has gone, leads to the cross.” (From A Testament to Freedom, p. 206)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Great Reversal
In Mary’s Magnificat, or “Song of Praise’ (Luke 1:46-56), Luke introduces the theme often called God’s Great Reversal, or Great Inversion. The high are brought low so that the low might be made high. It’s a powerful theme. Luke presents it as God’s “new thing,” proclaimed in Isaiah 43:19.
The Great Reversal is probably THE most difficult theme for me surrounding Christmas for two reasons. First is the lingering question, “What if I am amongst ‘the high’ who are brought low?” After all, Americans’ standard of living exceeds that of most of the world, and I am no exception here. I am ‘richer’ financially than millions across the globe. What responsibility does this give me in God’s eyes to be part of His “new thing?”
But the second reason The Great Reversal is so difficult for me is that it often seems so difficult to see the truth of it. What Great Reversal? The rich seem to get richer, the powerful seem to get more powerful – often seen in “merger mania” across corporate America (I write this as Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones is again in the news!). Is there a Great Reversal that began with the birth of Christ? Where do I look to see it?
I plan to dedicate this blog over the next several days to quotes from various writers who, in one way or another, speak to the theme of The Great Reversal. (Thanks to Teresa Rossy for posting my blog each day. I am away at Wesley Choir Camp with 142 kids this week! Pray for us!)
The Great Reversal is probably THE most difficult theme for me surrounding Christmas for two reasons. First is the lingering question, “What if I am amongst ‘the high’ who are brought low?” After all, Americans’ standard of living exceeds that of most of the world, and I am no exception here. I am ‘richer’ financially than millions across the globe. What responsibility does this give me in God’s eyes to be part of His “new thing?”
But the second reason The Great Reversal is so difficult for me is that it often seems so difficult to see the truth of it. What Great Reversal? The rich seem to get richer, the powerful seem to get more powerful – often seen in “merger mania” across corporate America (I write this as Rupert Murdoch’s purchase of Dow Jones is again in the news!). Is there a Great Reversal that began with the birth of Christ? Where do I look to see it?
I plan to dedicate this blog over the next several days to quotes from various writers who, in one way or another, speak to the theme of The Great Reversal. (Thanks to Teresa Rossy for posting my blog each day. I am away at Wesley Choir Camp with 142 kids this week! Pray for us!)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Luke lifts up the lowly
By entering human history as He did, especially in the announcements to the lowly shepherds, God identified with the powerless, the oppressed, the poor, the homeless. Among THEM God would do a new work. Shepherds were despised people. Although the reference to shepherds evokes a positive, pastoral image for us – and though it underscores Jesus’ association with King David (1 Sam 16:11; 17:15; Ps. 78:70) – by the first century, shepherds were scorned as shiftless, dishonest people who grazed their flocks on others’ lands.
Ironically – and, I suspect, on purpose – Luke begins his story with Caesar Augustus (representing the human conception of power) and ends with the shepherds in Bethlehem (revealing the real source of power). Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-56) exalts the humble and lowly celebrating, in fact, that God would put down the rich and powerful. This is precisely what we see going on as Augustus orders the “worldwide” census while God is slipping in the back door. Augustus – and his empire – are but shadows in the dustbin of history. Jesus is still worshiped and obeyed. Wow.
Ironically – and, I suspect, on purpose – Luke begins his story with Caesar Augustus (representing the human conception of power) and ends with the shepherds in Bethlehem (revealing the real source of power). Mary’s song (Luke 1:46-56) exalts the humble and lowly celebrating, in fact, that God would put down the rich and powerful. This is precisely what we see going on as Augustus orders the “worldwide” census while God is slipping in the back door. Augustus – and his empire – are but shadows in the dustbin of history. Jesus is still worshiped and obeyed. Wow.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Mary's Little King
Member Betty Sullivan sent me this poem that she wrote, entitled “Mary’s Little King.” It was inspired by the song, “Mary, Did You Know?” written and performed by Mark Lowry. “I was so impressed by the image of Mary and her thoughts as she held our Lord that I wanted to write a poem, though the theme was not original to me,” she writes. Here’s her poem ...
I wonder if Mary realized,
That her little child was a king,
As He grasped her finger with His tiny hand,
Was she aware of the grace He would bring?
When she counted His little fingers and toes,
And touched His soft baby cheek,
Did she whisper His name and stroke His hair,
And dream of the thousands He’d seek?
Could she picture the miracles He’d perform,
And feel the breath of goodness surround Him,
As she looked upon His holy face,
Did she hear a murmur of angels around them?
When she sang a mother’s lullaby,
could she sense God’s presence there,
Did she see the golden halo,
Around His golden hair?
When she looked into His unforgettable eyes,
Was there a tear on her heart filled with joy?
Could she see a cross where He’d die one day,
Her precious little boy?
Or on that night of nights when our Savior was born,
And His mother held Him close in her arms,
Did she simply breathe the fragrance of His life,
And bask in her baby’s charms?
I wonder if Mary realized,
That her little child was a king,
As He grasped her finger with His tiny hand,
Was she aware of the grace He would bring?
When she counted His little fingers and toes,
And touched His soft baby cheek,
Did she whisper His name and stroke His hair,
And dream of the thousands He’d seek?
Could she picture the miracles He’d perform,
And feel the breath of goodness surround Him,
As she looked upon His holy face,
Did she hear a murmur of angels around them?
When she sang a mother’s lullaby,
could she sense God’s presence there,
Did she see the golden halo,
Around His golden hair?
When she looked into His unforgettable eyes,
Was there a tear on her heart filled with joy?
Could she see a cross where He’d die one day,
Her precious little boy?
Or on that night of nights when our Savior was born,
And His mother held Him close in her arms,
Did she simply breathe the fragrance of His life,
And bask in her baby’s charms?
Christmas and Outsiders
The Magi were NOT “one of us.” Given the fact that the Magi are so much a part of our December cut Christmas, this is hard for us to absorb. But the Magi were not one of us. They were outsiders. They were not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – they probably hailed from Persia or Parthia (immigrants?) – so they were not one of “God’s people,” at least from the Jewish culture’s point of view. They were “THOSE people,” the kind not welcomed here. The kind we put up signs and build fences to keep out or enact laws to keep at bay.
How does Christmas in particular and the Bible in general – especially God’s concern for the stranger in the camp – inform our current debate about immigration reform? That question is worth of a blog all by itself. But for now, I just point out how, again, the REAL Christmas story is more like REAL LIFE, dealing with issues we face everyday.
God has been warning that He would do exactly this – include outsiders – ever since His call to Abram in Genesis 12, when...
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; (so far so good!) I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Better still!) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3, NIV)
And hence, “blessed to be a blessing.” Blessing implies responsibility to be good stewards of the blessing. Which means sharing it with outsiders. Ouch. We usually want more of the Blessing!
How does Christmas in particular and the Bible in general – especially God’s concern for the stranger in the camp – inform our current debate about immigration reform? That question is worth of a blog all by itself. But for now, I just point out how, again, the REAL Christmas story is more like REAL LIFE, dealing with issues we face everyday.
God has been warning that He would do exactly this – include outsiders – ever since His call to Abram in Genesis 12, when...
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; (so far so good!) I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Better still!) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3, NIV)
And hence, “blessed to be a blessing.” Blessing implies responsibility to be good stewards of the blessing. Which means sharing it with outsiders. Ouch. We usually want more of the Blessing!
C. S. Lewis on Gift-giving
What does that wonderful Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, think about the modern Christmas practice of gift-giving? In God in the Dock, Lewis writes...
"Three things go by the name of Christmas. One is a religious festival. This is important and obligatory for Christians; but as it can be of no interest to anyone else, I shall naturally say no more of it here. The second (it has complex historical connections with the first, but we needn’t go into them) is a popular holiday, an occasion for merrymaking and hospitality. If it were my business to have a ‘view’ on this, I should say that I much approve of merrymaking. But what I approve of much more is everybody minding his own business. I see no reason why I should volunteer views as to how other people should spend their own money in their own leisure among their own friends. It is highly probable that they want my advice on such matters as little as I want theirs. But the third thing called Christmas is unfortunately everyone’s business.
I mean of course the commercial racket. The interchange of presents was a very small ingredient in the older English festivity. Mr. Pickwick took a cod with him to Dingley Dell (The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens); the reformed Scrooge ordered a turkey for his clerk (A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens); lovers sent love gifts; toys and fruits were given to children. But the idea that not only all friends but even all acquaintances should give one another presents, or at least send one another cards, is quite a modern and has been forced upon us by shopkeepers. Neither of these circumstances is in itself a reason for condemning it. I condemn it on the following grounds:
1. It gives on the whole much more pain than pleasure. You have only to stay over Christmas with a family who seriously try to "keep" it (in its third, or commercial, aspect) in order to see that the thing is a nightmare. Long before December 25th everyone is worn out – physically worn out by weeks of daily struggle in overcrowded shops, mentally worn out by the effort to remember all the right recipients and to think out suitable gifts for them. They are in no trim for merrymaking; much less (if they should want to) to take part in a religious act. They look far more as if there had been a long illness in the house.
2. Most of it is involuntary. The modern rule is that anyone can force you to give him a present by sending you a quite unprovoked present of his own. It is almost a blackmail. Who has not heard the wail of despair, and indeed of resentment, when, at the last moment, just as everyone hoped that the nuisance was over for one more year, the unwanted gift from Mrs. Busy (whom we hardly remember) flops unwelcomed through the letter-box, and back to the dreadful shops one of us has to go?
3. Things are given as presents which no moral ever bought for himself – gaudy and useless gadgets, "novelties" because no one was every fool enough to make their like before. Have we really no better use for materials and for human skill and time than to spend them on all this rubbish?
4. The nuisance. For after all, during the racket we still have all our ordinary and necessary shopping to do, and the racket trebles the labor of it.
We are told that the whole dreary business of it must go on because it is good for trade. It is in fact merely one annual symptom of that lunatic condition of our country, and indeed of the world, in which everyone lives by persuading everyone else to buy things. I don’t know the way out. But can it really be my duty to buy and receive masses of junk every winter just to help the shopkeepers? If the worst comes to the worst I’d sooner give them money for nothing and write it off as charity. For nothing? Why, better for nothing than for nuisance."
I couldn’t have said it better myself!!
"Three things go by the name of Christmas. One is a religious festival. This is important and obligatory for Christians; but as it can be of no interest to anyone else, I shall naturally say no more of it here. The second (it has complex historical connections with the first, but we needn’t go into them) is a popular holiday, an occasion for merrymaking and hospitality. If it were my business to have a ‘view’ on this, I should say that I much approve of merrymaking. But what I approve of much more is everybody minding his own business. I see no reason why I should volunteer views as to how other people should spend their own money in their own leisure among their own friends. It is highly probable that they want my advice on such matters as little as I want theirs. But the third thing called Christmas is unfortunately everyone’s business.
I mean of course the commercial racket. The interchange of presents was a very small ingredient in the older English festivity. Mr. Pickwick took a cod with him to Dingley Dell (The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens); the reformed Scrooge ordered a turkey for his clerk (A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens); lovers sent love gifts; toys and fruits were given to children. But the idea that not only all friends but even all acquaintances should give one another presents, or at least send one another cards, is quite a modern and has been forced upon us by shopkeepers. Neither of these circumstances is in itself a reason for condemning it. I condemn it on the following grounds:
1. It gives on the whole much more pain than pleasure. You have only to stay over Christmas with a family who seriously try to "keep" it (in its third, or commercial, aspect) in order to see that the thing is a nightmare. Long before December 25th everyone is worn out – physically worn out by weeks of daily struggle in overcrowded shops, mentally worn out by the effort to remember all the right recipients and to think out suitable gifts for them. They are in no trim for merrymaking; much less (if they should want to) to take part in a religious act. They look far more as if there had been a long illness in the house.
2. Most of it is involuntary. The modern rule is that anyone can force you to give him a present by sending you a quite unprovoked present of his own. It is almost a blackmail. Who has not heard the wail of despair, and indeed of resentment, when, at the last moment, just as everyone hoped that the nuisance was over for one more year, the unwanted gift from Mrs. Busy (whom we hardly remember) flops unwelcomed through the letter-box, and back to the dreadful shops one of us has to go?
3. Things are given as presents which no moral ever bought for himself – gaudy and useless gadgets, "novelties" because no one was every fool enough to make their like before. Have we really no better use for materials and for human skill and time than to spend them on all this rubbish?
4. The nuisance. For after all, during the racket we still have all our ordinary and necessary shopping to do, and the racket trebles the labor of it.
We are told that the whole dreary business of it must go on because it is good for trade. It is in fact merely one annual symptom of that lunatic condition of our country, and indeed of the world, in which everyone lives by persuading everyone else to buy things. I don’t know the way out. But can it really be my duty to buy and receive masses of junk every winter just to help the shopkeepers? If the worst comes to the worst I’d sooner give them money for nothing and write it off as charity. For nothing? Why, better for nothing than for nuisance."
I couldn’t have said it better myself!!
Gift of the Magi
So what role DO the Magi play in the Director’s-cut Christmas? The Magi DO offer Jesus, Emmanuel – God with us – gifts. But those gifts have a very specific purpose: to signal the fulfillment of what God foretold in scriptures about the nations coming to God. And in what scriptures does God foretell such things? Scriptures such as Psalm 72:10-11...
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. (Psalm 72:1-11, NIV)
And Micah 4:1-2...
In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains ... and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." (Micah 4:1-2, NIV)
And Isaiah 60:4-6...
Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; ... the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. (Isaiah 60:4-6, NIV)
The Magi represent "the nations." And their gifts are given to signify the prophetic vision of all the nations streaming to God to proclaim His praise. All peoples come to the One whose name is "God is with us."
In the Director’s-cut Christmas, even the gifts signal the praise of God. So next year when you’re opening that new 500 terabyte iPod, or that new iPhone, praise God – not for the gift, but for who He is – a God ever faithful to His promises.
The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. (Psalm 72:1-11, NIV)
And Micah 4:1-2...
In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains ... and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." (Micah 4:1-2, NIV)
And Isaiah 60:4-6...
Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; ... the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. (Isaiah 60:4-6, NIV)
The Magi represent "the nations." And their gifts are given to signify the prophetic vision of all the nations streaming to God to proclaim His praise. All peoples come to the One whose name is "God is with us."
In the Director’s-cut Christmas, even the gifts signal the praise of God. So next year when you’re opening that new 500 terabyte iPod, or that new iPhone, praise God – not for the gift, but for who He is – a God ever faithful to His promises.
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