Christmas without the trappings (Day 3)

Can I celebrate Christmas without the traditional accompaniments? Can you?

Personally, I'd rather not. There is something comforting about the cookies, the shopping excursions, the festive meals, the decorations.  Indeed, to avoid being a Scrooge, we delight in our indulgance in holiday cheer. I love being right in the midst of the merriment.

But is it possible to enter into the spirit of Christmas without the trappings?  As economic uncertainty wreaks havoc on the status quo, we may have the opportunity to find out.  Maybe we will have the chance to discover what it feels like:  to push a grocery cart through the crowded market and be unable to buy baking ingredients; to say no to invitations to holiday extravaganzas; to be without means to send Christmas cards; to enjoy a Christmas tree loaded with ornaments, but empty of gifts. 

Tradition is a wonderful thing.  It is even encouraged in Scripture.  The feast days established for Israel were to be remembered and celebrated annually. These were days in which to prepare the traditional meals and enjoy the traditional ceremonies.

And tradition is a wonderful thing for us; it is right that Christ's coming be celebrated with joy and happy times, with nourishment for the body and soul. Yet, the joy is not in the trappings, the stuff, but in the event itself. When we are forced to do without some holiday garnish we have come to expect, we may then be left to adjust our idea of celebration.

I have read of prsioners of war who were able to keep Christmas in their hearts without any trappings whatsoever.  In fact, not only did they not have the garnish, they were underfed, cold and miserable. That isn't the way I want to spend Christmas, but their strength assures us it is possible nonetheless.

We all know that the real meaning of Christmas is God taking on flesh. Maybe at such time we are obligated to endure hardship at Christmas, we can more fully appreciate what it meant to Him to come to earth.

May this Christmas find you enjoying the delightful trappings of the season. But, if not, may you have the courage to celebrate anyway, to reach out for Christmas joy in the event of Emmanuel's coming, whatever stuff may accompany it.

routine gone awry (Day 2)

It seems the way to ensure you will experience complications is to declare you will do a certain thing in a certain way.  It has indeed been that way for me this week. Setting myself a goal to do a daily Christmas post for 12 days unleashed myriad setbacks to the fulfillment of said goal.  I will not bore you with the details, but I assure you it has been frustrating.

So, with determination to redeem those days that were lost, here is post 2 on the topic of . . . .  routine gone awry.  Yes, that was what happened to Mary of Nazareth. To her espoused, Joseph.  And to her parents, robbed of the joy of delight in a daughter's marriage (replaced with the shadow of shame and suspicion).

Christmas often finds us unprepared in some way - sometimes emotionally because we've been trudging through dark days; sometimes financially because we've been experiencing economic hardship; sometimes physcially because we've been battling an illness which leaves us fragile energy; sometimes spiritually because we've been enduring trials in our faith.

And Christmas often disrupts our normal routine; we are left to make room for events unplanned and guests unexpected, for divine detours in the path we prefer to walk during the holidays.

The noble thing to do is graciously accept and go forth, triumphant, to be blessed and bless others.  But am I the only one who struggles with the attempt to be noble?  Luke 1 records Mary's incredible acceptance; I am awed by it.  Convicted as well. Did she ever falter in her faith?  Did she have moments of struggle?  Probably; but underneath was the determination to accept and adapt; to make room for this inconvenient, yet indescribable blessing she was being given.

Is your routine gone awry?  Be prepared; blessings may follow. That's the pattern of Christmas - unexpected miracles along the way as we welcome Emmanuel - God with us.

12 Days of Christmas Musings (Day 1)

Apparently, for some with a vendetta against God, Christmas or the church, or who are merely obsessed with mischief, nativity scenes are of special interest. They come not to gaze at the simple beauty of the holy birth, but to confiscate the infant Savior. A recent news program surprised me with the information that "stealing baby Jesus" is a common practice during the Christmas season.

So, I guess, many churches will have empty mangers this year. Their "baby Jesus" will be tossed into a smelly car trunk or stuffed into a clogged basement or garage. The worshippers will have to replace the figure or simply leave the place of honor empty.

Certainly there is no divinity in the earthly image of the infant Christ, yet it is disturbing that pranksters would choose this particular figure as the victim of their vandalism. Because in a world were the manger is empty, all of living is void as well.

I am thankful that the manger in Bethlehem was not empty; it was filled with the very Son of God, the essence of heaven's love, the incarnation of redemption. Pity those who think stealing baby Jesus is cute; in reality, the only statement they're making is their own lack of understanding. For eternity, for everyone of Adam's race, the manger is always occupied. And blessed are those whose hearts have received him as well.

Not Mine

"Lo, children are an heritage from the Lord . . . . "  (Psalm 127:3)

My children?

No, not mine;

Gifts unearned, undeserved they've been from birth.

My flesh and blood?

Yes, of earth;

and yet, like me, their souls belong to Him.

My possession?

No, but His;

Who lets me custodian and mentor be.

My legacy?

Yes, the lives

They lead will bear the mark on them I've pressed.

My heirs?

Yes, and no;

I can bequeath them only dust, but He the realms eternal.

12-5-11

trust and obey

In the Kingdom of God the alternatives are not boundless, not so long as we live in this mortal coil. You can't have it all.  You are not there to do yourself a favor. You many not have it your way.  You opted out of all that when you made up your mind to follow a Master who himself had relinquished all rights, all equality with the Father, and his own will as well.       - Elisabeth Elliot

Obedience is the basic operating mode of the Christian life. This is the thing we are called to do, with no conditions. And it is tightly woven with trust.

I've been thinking about Abraham.  God tested Him not once, but at least three different times.  And each time, the stakes got higher.

1. Leave Ur for an unknown destination.
2. Trust God for a child.
3. Sacrifice your son on Mt. Moriah.

The first test was hard - leaving family and friends whom they would most likely never see again.  The next test was closer to the heart - believing that an aging man with an infertile wife would actually have an heir. The third test went straight for the jugular - offer back to God the child of promise.

James 2:23 tells us that Abraham was called "the Friend of God."  He is a star of the "faith" chapter - Hebrews 11.  God made a covenant with Him that would affect the future nation of Israel forever.  Yet, he was called to trust and obey, more than once.

Is it awful of God to ask things like that of His children?  No more so than for me to require my children to trust and obey me.  I see things they don't; I know the purpose of my request; I am overseeing their progress; I have safety boundaries in place.  (so does God.)

But it only works - for earthly and heavenly children - when we "relinquish our rights" to do things according to our understanding. The story of Abraham gives shining witness to the care of the Almighty.

The rewards?
1.  First test - the land of Canaan
2. Second test - a son
3. Third test - multiplied descendants - the nation of Israel.

Tests challenge what we know.  Abraham aced his because he knew God was worthy to be trusted.