This is amazingly cute, and the singing is pretty good too!
Saturday, 5 December 2009
I often wondered if I, and the people of God, prepared for Sunday as much as we prepare the setting for a day of football, would we get much more out of our worship experience?Remembering how the Christmas story began is part of this: Luke 1:5-11
5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth...
8 Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. 11 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
The setting was an angelic visitation during his worship. The visit of God's messenger frightened Zechariah, even as it would frighten us today.
We're not use to seeing the heavenly up close. The incarnation story begins with a worship service. It begins with a priest doing his priestly thing. He's doing the normal, the typical, the everyday-priests-do-these-things service.
Sunday, after Sunday, after Sunday, don't we also "go" to worship? The question is "do I expect anything to happen?"
Friday, 4 December 2009
I don't know why it is that there's such a desire for many of us for a white Christmas. Is it the sentimentality of it? It is nostalgic? It certainly is partly crazy!
We got our first real snow fall last night. It meant traffic jams and slippery roads, and gingerly walking from the parking lot to the building I teach in.
White Christmas? The movie White Christmas is classic...the song, I believe, is the most recorded song in all history. Bing Crosby's rich voice and Rosemary Clooney's accompaning...it doesn't get any better than that. Remember?
I don't think it's just White Christmas that has immortalized it. Who can forget George Bailey running through the snow on the way back to his house, or the snow blowing on the bridge, or the scene in which he plows his car into the tree?
There's so many movies that have played off of that theme. It's engrained within us.
Of course a white Christmas is limited to the northern latitudes; but did you know that weather forecasters get inundated this time of the year with inquiries into whether or not there will be a white Christmas?
As a Wisconsinite, there's huge disappointment when the grass is still visible at Christmas time. Still, this morning out in the driveway, I was not singing the song as I shoveled off the first snow...I was thinking about buying salt! There's go the romance.
We had our first snow last night...there's more to come they say. It's almost certain that it will be a White Christmas.
Christmas is about Christ, and memories...and this snow is about tradition and "it's time" for Christmas once again.
We got our first real snow fall last night. It meant traffic jams and slippery roads, and gingerly walking from the parking lot to the building I teach in.
White Christmas? The movie White Christmas is classic...the song, I believe, is the most recorded song in all history. Bing Crosby's rich voice and Rosemary Clooney's accompaning...it doesn't get any better than that. Remember?
I don't think it's just White Christmas that has immortalized it. Who can forget George Bailey running through the snow on the way back to his house, or the snow blowing on the bridge, or the scene in which he plows his car into the tree?
There's so many movies that have played off of that theme. It's engrained within us.
Of course a white Christmas is limited to the northern latitudes; but did you know that weather forecasters get inundated this time of the year with inquiries into whether or not there will be a white Christmas?
As a Wisconsinite, there's huge disappointment when the grass is still visible at Christmas time. Still, this morning out in the driveway, I was not singing the song as I shoveled off the first snow...I was thinking about buying salt! There's go the romance.
We had our first snow last night...there's more to come they say. It's almost certain that it will be a White Christmas.
Christmas is about Christ, and memories...and this snow is about tradition and "it's time" for Christmas once again.
Thursday, 3 December 2009
A Scripture Reading from Luke 1:46-50,
46 And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
I cannot read the Messianic prophecies, nor the announcements by angels in Luke and Matthew, and not see that the only response that makes sense is prayer.
I have a confession to make. I have always struggled with prayer. Early on in my walk with Christ, I approached the pastor of the church and asked him, "Why do I struggle so much to pray?" You would think that after 40 years, 37 of them as a Pastor myself, I'd be able to laugh and say that was those days when I was young and not very spiritual. Well, I'm older, and although I can't speak to the very spiritual part, I still struggle with prayer. Are there reasons? Sure...and I'm aware of some of them, but not all, I'm certain. And, does it make any difference? Not really. One of the things I'm most comforted by in knowing God is that my personality, disposition, and even ways of acting and reacting are not foreign to him. He does not look at me, nor us, with a surprised look, as if to say "I didn't know you thought like that", or, "Wow, you shocked me with that response."
I take great comfort in what the psalmist says in Psalms 103:8-14 (NASB)
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
I have been a 25 year reader of Henri Nouwen, a now-home-with-the-Lord Catholic Priest whose writings moved me to a deeper awareness of Christ than most writings did. I have one book entitled "Advent and Christmas", and I read my way through it during the Advent season. I love Nouwen's prayers...they are simple, full of life, and truth, and always make me say "Amen Lord, wished I could have said it that way."
Here's an Advent prayer of Henri Nouwen that beckons us to seek God in quiet ways:
"Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!'”
May we each find a quiet simple place during Advent to pray, "Lord come to me and prepare my heart to hear you every day."
46 And Mary said: "My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.
49 "For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.
50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.
I cannot read the Messianic prophecies, nor the announcements by angels in Luke and Matthew, and not see that the only response that makes sense is prayer.
I have a confession to make. I have always struggled with prayer. Early on in my walk with Christ, I approached the pastor of the church and asked him, "Why do I struggle so much to pray?" You would think that after 40 years, 37 of them as a Pastor myself, I'd be able to laugh and say that was those days when I was young and not very spiritual. Well, I'm older, and although I can't speak to the very spiritual part, I still struggle with prayer. Are there reasons? Sure...and I'm aware of some of them, but not all, I'm certain. And, does it make any difference? Not really. One of the things I'm most comforted by in knowing God is that my personality, disposition, and even ways of acting and reacting are not foreign to him. He does not look at me, nor us, with a surprised look, as if to say "I didn't know you thought like that", or, "Wow, you shocked me with that response."
I take great comfort in what the psalmist says in Psalms 103:8-14 (NASB)
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
I have been a 25 year reader of Henri Nouwen, a now-home-with-the-Lord Catholic Priest whose writings moved me to a deeper awareness of Christ than most writings did. I have one book entitled "Advent and Christmas", and I read my way through it during the Advent season. I love Nouwen's prayers...they are simple, full of life, and truth, and always make me say "Amen Lord, wished I could have said it that way."
Here's an Advent prayer of Henri Nouwen that beckons us to seek God in quiet ways:
"Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, 'Come Lord Jesus!'”
May we each find a quiet simple place during Advent to pray, "Lord come to me and prepare my heart to hear you every day."
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Christmas for most people involves a tree. There are many historic reasons for the inclusion of the evergreen tree in the Christmas season, and I may share one or two of them as the season goes along. Perhaps the most basic idea is that in Autumn (in the Northern Hemisphere that is) the leaves fall from the deciduous trees and the days of light grow shorter, darkness more and more invades the earth, and the cold weather drives us indoors. I personally love winter, but the symbolic part of "life" retreating can't be missed. Along comes the evergreen tree and reminds us that life continues in the midst of the darkness, the cold, the winter season.
2800 years ago a prophet looked all around the land of Israel, and all he saw was "darkness, gloom", a foreboding sense of trouble that would lead to war, captivity, exile for his people, Israel. Isaiah prophesied faithfully to a nation that had lost hope, and forgotten it's heritage. He spoke truth into the situation and also hope for the Messiah to come.
A favorite Messianic Hebrew Bible passage comes from Isaiah 11:1-10. In the NASB...
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
The passage speaks of a different day in the future when "shalom", the peace of God's Kingdom will cover the whole of the earth. Where does this begin? It begins with the "root of Jesse...a branch" that speaks of Jesus' coming in the future.
Remember that Jesus' family line comes from David, who was a son of Jesse.
Psalms 72:18-20 (NASB)
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
When the angel visited Mary to tell her of the miraculous birth she was to have, he said to her,
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Luke 1:31-33 (NASB)
The tree, the tree of life from God has continued to grow, to survive even when chopped down, and all that remains is a root, and a branch from a stump.
The image from Isaiah of the Messiah is full of wonder. "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord"
We do not live in a day where it's popular to embrace "the fear of the Lord". We live in a culture that is centered on "me". The selfish aspect of that hearkens back to the reminder of what the Jesse tree is all about...that our roots are roots of faith that are linked to God's creation and his ultimate purposes, and the means for all of that is in His Son, our Savior, the branch, the Son of David, Jesus.
2800 years ago a prophet looked all around the land of Israel, and all he saw was "darkness, gloom", a foreboding sense of trouble that would lead to war, captivity, exile for his people, Israel. Isaiah prophesied faithfully to a nation that had lost hope, and forgotten it's heritage. He spoke truth into the situation and also hope for the Messiah to come.
A favorite Messianic Hebrew Bible passage comes from Isaiah 11:1-10. In the NASB...
1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea.
10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.
The passage speaks of a different day in the future when "shalom", the peace of God's Kingdom will cover the whole of the earth. Where does this begin? It begins with the "root of Jesse...a branch" that speaks of Jesus' coming in the future.
Remember that Jesus' family line comes from David, who was a son of Jesse.
Psalms 72:18-20 (NASB)
18 Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wonders.
19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
When the angel visited Mary to tell her of the miraculous birth she was to have, he said to her,
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Luke 1:31-33 (NASB)
The tree, the tree of life from God has continued to grow, to survive even when chopped down, and all that remains is a root, and a branch from a stump.
The image from Isaiah of the Messiah is full of wonder. "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord"
We do not live in a day where it's popular to embrace "the fear of the Lord". We live in a culture that is centered on "me". The selfish aspect of that hearkens back to the reminder of what the Jesse tree is all about...that our roots are roots of faith that are linked to God's creation and his ultimate purposes, and the means for all of that is in His Son, our Savior, the branch, the Son of David, Jesus.
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
I have some vivid memories of Christmas past. Born in 1949, Christmas was a grand affair filled with Hallmark kinds of memories. I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin called Fox Lake. I was one of 7 kids - a twin and my parents were blue-collar hard working folks. I remember going with my Mom to the town near us that had a Sears and J C Penney's dept store for Christmas shopping. The stores were decorated to the hilt with Christmas fan-fare and Christmas hymns and music was pumped through the store. The city I grew up in hung decorations from the street lights, and banners across the main street declaring "Merry Christmas". We were a German immigrant community (by and large) and so almost everyone was either Lutheran or Catholic. Even in public school Christmas was recognized and celebrated. We actually had "Christmas Vacation"!
I remember hymns and carols on television. Every year the city would put on a Christmas party at the city's community building. There would be several hundred kids in one place and they'd show 16mm films of Christmas - often cartoons, and then at some point the fire department would drive up with Santa Claus in tow.
Our house was modestly decorated, but decorated it was. Dad put up the tree, but mom and kids decorated it. I remember Christmas music everywhere...department stores, the radio, even on the city streets.
The Lutheran church I attended put on a Christmas eve program and we had to memorize a passage of scripture and had Christmas rehearsals to learn the music and practice reciting our parts. I speak in front of hundreds today, but back then I was as nervous as anyone could possibly imagine.
The presents didn't appear under the tree until we returned from the Christmas eve service, and then magically so. When we left they were no where in sight, but when we returned, there they were. It didn't hit me until I was 8 or so that my Dad mysteriously was always late to get to the car for the Christmas eve service.
It was an old fashioned Christmas and it is nostalgic to still remember it today. There was much anticipation, and much in the way of celebation.
Forgive the nostalgic reminiscing, but it struck me, I've loved Christmas as much as anything over the 60 years of life. I hope the feeling doesn't go away.
I remember hymns and carols on television. Every year the city would put on a Christmas party at the city's community building. There would be several hundred kids in one place and they'd show 16mm films of Christmas - often cartoons, and then at some point the fire department would drive up with Santa Claus in tow.
Our house was modestly decorated, but decorated it was. Dad put up the tree, but mom and kids decorated it. I remember Christmas music everywhere...department stores, the radio, even on the city streets.
The Lutheran church I attended put on a Christmas eve program and we had to memorize a passage of scripture and had Christmas rehearsals to learn the music and practice reciting our parts. I speak in front of hundreds today, but back then I was as nervous as anyone could possibly imagine.
The presents didn't appear under the tree until we returned from the Christmas eve service, and then magically so. When we left they were no where in sight, but when we returned, there they were. It didn't hit me until I was 8 or so that my Dad mysteriously was always late to get to the car for the Christmas eve service.
It was an old fashioned Christmas and it is nostalgic to still remember it today. There was much anticipation, and much in the way of celebation.
Forgive the nostalgic reminiscing, but it struck me, I've loved Christmas as much as anything over the 60 years of life. I hope the feeling doesn't go away.
Monday, 30 November 2009
I love celebrating Advent. With apologies, I am writing on Day 2 as I begin this time of Advent reflection.
What is Advent? It is the celebration of the "arrival", the "coming" - from the Latin word, "Adventus". It is that time of the year that the church around the world comes together to proclaim together Jesus' advent into the world. He who was equal to God "emptied" himself and came as an infant male child, born of the virgin Mary and of Joseph his father...WHY? Because "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son..."
The Advent season begins with festive preparation. The day after Thanksgiving Linda and I venture out into the country to a favorite farm and go Christmas tree "hunting".
We talk every year of "what kind" of a tree do we want? The space we have is partly the issue, but we're looking for that "perfect" tree to decorate the space. Along with the tree, the village goes up. The village is the representation of a time when life was slower and community meant you knew everyone, and everyone participated in the seasons together...planting, growing, hoeing and weeding, harvest time and leaves to rake.
I remember raking leaves into huge piles and then after playing them for days on end, we'd rake them again and set them on fire. I still cannot go down a country road and ignore the smell of burning leaves
There's lights that get hung up outside and decorations on the tables and mantles, and finally the Advent wreath is in place.
IT'S ADVENT TIME...
There's Christmas music in the air and a wood fire, and the cold and shortened days are leading up to the greatest day of news to mankind...a savior is born, Christ the Lord.
What glory, what wonder, what joy in human kind. And, this is only day 2!
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