There goes the neighborhood…

If you’re reading this, it means Christmas has finally arrived.

All week I’ve wondered if we’d have a white Christmas. Probably not. I put my money on having to endure a gray Christmas or sunny Christmas or blue Christmas. We rarely enjoy a white one. Sure enough, rainy and 55-degrees.

I’m sitting at our dining room table sipping Dominican coffee, listening to Vince Guaraldi’s rendition of Christmas Time Is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas, and wondering why my beagle likes to movingly howl to this CD.

He never howls to Imogen or Coldplay or Jem. But he moans and wails to Charlie Brown and Linus and Lucy.  But, then, I do too.

If I were to ask you where in the Bible one finds the story of Christmas, thanks to Charlie Brown and Linus, most of us would go directly to Luke’s or Matthew’s Gospel where we’d read those familiar words recounting that first Christmas – the story of Jesus’ birth, the angels and the shepherds and the magi, the inn and the manger, Joseph and Mary, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

But tucked in the beginning of John’s Gospel is another telling of the Christmas story in words at once scandalous and provocative and inviting.  John writes, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

Jesus didn’t just put on a body; he became a full human being. God didn’t just stay up in heaven, safely removed from the mess of earth. He didn’t shy away from our evil and sin and suffering in some kind of eternal suburb. God came down and became one of us.

In all other world religions – in all the world’s prophets and seers and teachers and philosophies – God never dares become a human being.  God would never come down to earth and live among the mess and sin and brokenness.

Only Christianity claims that our eternal all-powerful sovereign heavenly Father actually became a human being and took up residence with us and in us. The Incarnation – God made his dwelling among us.

This is the essence of Christmas – God sent his Son, Jesus, to become like us so that by his life and death and resurrection he might reconcile us to be with the Father through the forgiveness of our sin as we trust him and take him at his word.

In a few days, we’ll pack away all the symbols of the Christmas story until next year. We’ll take down the Christmas tree, remove the wreath and lights, and box up the cards. We’ll replace red & green candles with other colors, the smells of pine & cider with other smells. And there’s a good chance we won’t revisit the Christmas story until this time next year.

But every day this coming year, you and I would do well to live out the reality that, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.”

Merry Christmas, friends.

Christmas time is here at last!

It’s Christmas Eve, some two thousand years removed from the actual event that prompts our reflection and celebration each December.

For many this is the “most wonderful time of the year – there’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow.” Around here it will be more like “caroling out in the rain.” Seems snow is something we only experience in our dreams in northeastern North Carolina.

Once a year, toward the winter solstice, just after Thanksgiving, folk’s attitudes go through an annual change. A transformation takes place.  People begin talking about peace and goodwill. They go out of their way to be kind. Year-long selfish takers become month-long generous givers. Families get together, songs are sung, food is enjoyed, $795 worth of gifts are exchanged, and memories are made. All to celebrate a two millennia year old event.

For others, however, Christmas time is anticipated about as much as a root canal. For some of you reading this right now on Christmas Eve, you’re thinking to yourself, “Christmas is a nice story and all but I live in the real world. I’ll have to get up Monday morning and deal with a cranky boss and taxes and in-laws and arthritis and kids who are growing up and parents who are growing old, so jolly I’m not. It’s nice to get nostalgic and sentimental for one week out of the year, but Monday morning its back to the daily grind. So, bah humbug!”

While we adults sometimes struggle with ambivalent Christmas feelings, children are counting the minutes until the morning. Their excitement and anticipation are unparalleled during December and even more so on this day before Christmas.

Clement Clarke Moore captured it in his 1822 poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” More commonly referred to by its opening line, “‘Twas the night before Christmas,” only four copies in his own writing are known to exist. The only non-museum copy sold a couple of years ago for $280,000 to a media company CEO. That’s a lot of candy canes!

So whether you’re anticipating or dreading this “most wonderful time of the year,” allow me to spread a little perspective on this eve of Christmas. The New Testament book of Luke reminds us of the Christmas significance which transcends silver bells and mistletoe, snowmen and “deck the halls.”

When God sent the angel Gabriel to visit Mary, a Jewish teenager in Nazareth pledged to be married to a young man named Joseph, the angel began with the words that angels always have to begin with when visiting humans, “Do not be afraid.” When the heavenly invades the earthly there is always fear. Just ask the crusty old shepherds of whom Luke wrote when the angel of the Lord appeared to them, “They were terrified!”

Gabriel said to Mary, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” Then the angel proceeded to predict five things about Mary’s Son; five things that sometime get lost in the hustle and bustle of our Americanized Christmas time holiday season.

First, Gabriel said, “He will be great.” The Greek word is “megas” from which we derive our English word “mega.” But Jesus wasn’t to be great in a mega-mall, mega-sub sandwich, mega-lottery sort of way. He was to be great in a God sort of way.

Second, Gabriel prophesied, “He will be called the Son of the Most High.” Mary’s baby would be the Son of God. In Jewish thought a son was a carbon-copy of his father, possessing his identical attributes. Can you imagine what must have been going through Mary’s mind as the angel revealed her baby’s “secrets?”

Third, Gabriel told her, “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” In addition to the picture of Jesus’ future majestic rule, the angel’s prophecy brings to mind the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant as promised in 2 Samuel 7. For a Jewish girl, this was almost more than she could dare hope.

And with the angel’s fourth pronouncement, the pieces of the puzzle slowly began to fall into place for Mary, “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.” Her son, her baby boy, would one day reign over her people, the nation Israel, as King beginning in the Millennium and continuing into eternity.

Then Gabriel delivers the clincher, “His kingdom will never end.” In other words, Jesus will reign forever. Darrell Bock writes, “Nothing will overcome Jesus or bring a halt to his reign. Neither official Jewish rejection nor crucifixion will stop the plan of God for his Davidic King.”

The joy of Christmas is that God has sent to you this day, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And, oh, how we desperately need a Savior.

When we place our faith, our trust, our lives in Christ, he changes us. Day-by-day he remakes us. Week-by-week he transforms us. Year-by-year he grows us until at last we resemble him.  He becomes our King and we become his sons and daughters.

It’s Christmas Eve, 2009 – Christmas time is here at last!  The Messiah has come to redeem us. Our Savior has come to set us free.

Happy Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Savior and King!

The End. The Beginning.

“The End – 5 Things to Remember as 2009 Ends”

Sunday, December 27, 9:15 & 11:00am

“The Beginning – 5 Things to Remember as 2010 Begins”

Sunday, January 3, 9:15 & 11:00am

Song for a Winter’s Night

The lamp is burning low
upon my table top
snow is softly falling
the air is still
in the silence of my room
I hear your voice softly calling

If I could only have you near
to breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy
just to hold the hands I love
on this winters night with you

Smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
my glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines
upon each page,
the words of love you sent me

If I could know within my heart
that you were lonely too
I would be happy
just to hold the hands I love
on this winters night with you

The Fire is dying
my lamp is growing dim
shades of night are lifting
morning light steals across my window pane
where webs of snow are drifting

If I could only have you near
to breathe a sigh or two
I would be happy
just to hold the hands I love
on this winters night with you
And you’ll be once again with me

Primal – Book Review

When Mark Batterson wrote his first book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, I was pumped for several reasons. First, someone other than me had actually stumbled across 2 Samuel 23:20-21 and fallen in love with the story of Benaiah. Second, Batterson’s church has the same initials as our church – National Community and New Community. Third, anything with the word “snow” in the title has to be good. I never said my reasons were scientific. On a scale of 1 to 10, I gave In a Pit with a Lion a 10, two thumbs up, five stars!

Fast forward to book two – Wild Goose Chase. Similar but different. In my opinion, good but not quite as good. WGC seemed to be more like a collection of sound bites wrapped around a theme. Nothing wrong with that, it just didn’t grab me like In a Pit with a Lion.

So when the opportunity to read and review Batterson’s newest release, Primal, the big question in my mind was which of his other books would it resemble more or might it be completely different.  Again, Primal is similar but unique.

The three things I most appreciate about Batterson’s writings hold true for Primal as well. First, I enjoy the fact that he’s not afraid to use big words, big ideas, and challenges.  Once Lincoln was asked what he thought of a particularly rousing sermon he had just listened to and he said the sermon had been “fine.” Someone put off by his choice of words, a friend probed as to why he had not found it fantastic but merely fine.  Lincoln remarked, “He did not ask me to do anything great for God.”  Batterson asks us to do great things for God.

A second thing I appreciate is he’s not afraid to mix science, psychology, arts, and history in with what it means to follow Christ. This is at once refreshing and right. God is not only concerned with our spiritual life; he is concerned with our life, period. I know when reading Batterson I’m going to receive multi-discipline truth.

A third enticement is that he is a rare person who examines life as he lives it. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Our culture is long on experience and short on reflection and life-change and lessons learned. Batterson encourages me to not only live life but to reflect and learn from my experiences as I go along.

And a fourth thing (I know I said three things so this one is free of charge) is I always walk away from a Batterson book not only with the totality of his premise overshadowing my life, I also walk away with a single sentence ringing in my ears.  In Primal that sentence is found on page 123 in the form of a formula – “change of pace + change of place = change of perspective.” Wow. This is truth.

I realize there will be a plethora of books vying for your attention and time in 2010. And as such, I hope you make time for them all. But might I suggest you begin the New Year with Batterson’s Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity. It will be well worth your investment of energy and brain cells.  Thanks, Mark, for another challenging read.

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601421319

Christmas Presents

There is nothing more fun than searching for and happening upon the perfect present for someone you know well, love deeply, and with whom you enjoy spending your hours.  And there is nothing more draining than trying to find “gifts” for everyone else.

A Christmas Miracle

When my son was six-years old, I decided the time had come to introduce him to one of life’s greatest pleasures – Grape Nehi soda. Don’t believe me, just ask Radar O’Rielly.

One Saturday afternoon we drove to the only drink machine in town that had Grape Nehi, located on the sidewalk of the former K-Mart, now Farm Fresh, building.

Quarter in hand, I extolled the virtues of guzzling the tangy, fizzy, nectar of the grape bottled as Nehi. He was so excitement.

We ceremoniously dropped in our quarter and with reverence pushed the Grape Nehi button on the front of the drink machine. We listened with glee as the purple can cascaded through the machine’s innards, finally coming to rest in the receptacle at the bottom. My son was smiling from ear-to-ear. I was smiling from ear-to-ear.

And then a miracle happened. Seriously.

As soon as the first Grape Nehi came to rest, we heard the sound of another can making the six-foot journey and taking up position directly behind the first can. Two Grape Nehis with one quarter.  It was a miracle.

But as if to emphasize the point that he is not only good but great, God sent a third can of Grape Nehi down the chute. We had the makings of a traffic jam!

We barely managed to remove the first three cans when a fourth and a fifth can fell to our feet. This wasn’t just a miracle this was manna from heaven! My son and I, I mean, my son, was dancing on the sidewalk and shouting, “There is a God! There is a God!”

And as if to put icing on the cake, a sixth can tumbled down the chute. God had delivered a whole six-pack with a single quarter as if to say, “Merry Christmas, boys!”

There were visions dancing through our heads. My son was waiting on pins-and-needles for a seventh can to float down from heaven. I was eyeing the candy machine next to the drink machine wondering if I could manage six Milky Way bars with a single quarter.

But as we stood knee deep in Grape Nehi, I sensed God saying to me, “What a great chance to teach your son about integrity.”

“Really?” I said to God, “Now?”

So as we juggled the six cans among our four hands, I asked my son what he thought we should do. He said, “Let’s drink all six, Dad! But don’t tell Mom.”

I explained to him that while this seemed to be just about the greatest thing that could happen to a Dad and his son, it just wouldn’t be right to keep the six cans. After all, we had only paid for one.

So with the six cans of Grape Nehi in tow we marched into K-Mart and placed them on the Customer Service counter as we recounted to the salesclerk our story.

To make matters worse, she explained that she had nothing to do with the drink machines and that we should just keep the sodas.

But we didn’t. We kept one; the one we paid for. And my son learned that some things are more important than getting a six-pack of Grape Nehi for a quarter.

Not many, but some.

It’s cold!

Just did 5 miles in a 35-degree, 32-knot, rain/sleet mix Nor’easter at 4pm today. There is a fine line between courage and stupidity. I’m entertaining the possibility that I’ve crossed the line. Man, was it cold and windy.

Pre-run

Point of no return

Post-run...courageous or stupid?

Simple Christmas

Join us at New Community for:

Simple Christmas

Sunday, December 20, 9:15 or 11:00am

and

Simple Christmas Eve

December 24, 5:00 or 6:30pm

I love love poems

At Night
by Sara Teasdale

Love said, “Lie still and think of me,”
Sleep, “Close your eyes till break of day,”
But Dreams came by and smilingly
Gave both to Love and Sleep their way.

˜

I’m thinking of you again

I’m thinking of you again.
Wondering why I can’t keep your name,
your face, your voice outside my frame
of reference. I’ve never been

so agreeably distracted
by anyone; by you
who innocently invaded my view,
left me longing past days might be retracted

so we could begin free,
finally, in love;
a fairy tale of
you and me.

I’m thinking of you again…
…and again.

“I’m thinking of you again” © semi-true stories, 2009