Tag Archives: Christmas

Wait! Christmas is not Over

Posted by on December 25, 2011 Comments Off

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 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; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end”  (Luke 1:31-33 NASB).

Well, it’s Christmas afternoon. First thing this morning the kids rustled you out of bed to play Christmas.  While drinking coffee and eating leftover cookies, the gifts were passed around and everyone celebrated their favorite Christmas tradition – opening presents. Then, while someone was appointed to clean the mess, mom made her way to the kitchen to prepare the Christmas dinner. About noon, a few family guests arrived, and everyone shared Christmas joy and the Christmas meal. Everyone is gone now. The kids are busy playing with their new X-box, and after cleaning the kitchen and dining room you are settled down to watch an afternoon ball game, or take a nap. Christmas is over.

NO! Christmas is not over; it’s just beginning. This is the first day of Christmas. In the Christian tradition there are twelve days of Christmas. During these twelve days we are encouraged to reflect about the rest of the story. Luke tells us that the infant Jesus was presented in the Temple to be circumcised.

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John the Baptist: Witness to Christmas

Posted by on December 13, 2011 Comments Off

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light (John 1:6-8 NASB).

We don’t often think of John the Baptist when thinking of Christmas. As far as I know, there are no Christmas hymns dedicated to him, he does not appear in the manger scene, and he does not appear in any Christmas play that I’ve seen. But in the observance of Advent, the person and message of John the Baptist is significant in our preparation for the celebration of Christmas.

John is “a man sent from God.” The last words of the Old Testament prophets were, “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5 NASB). Malachi preached during the post-exilic period of Israel. It is common to refer to the time between Malachi and Matthew as “the silent years.” While I would not refer to them as the silent years (there was a lot going on!) it is true that for generations there was no prophetic voice. The appearance of John the Baptist stirred the hopeful imagination of the people that their day of deliverance was at hand. The Jewish leaders of Jerusalem send a party to inquire of John, “Are you Elijah… are you the Prophet?” (John 1:21). Although John denied it, Jesus later affirmed that John did come in the spirit of Elijah (Matthew 11:14); John is the forerunner of whom Malachi prophesied. As the “voice of one crying in the wilderness” (John 1:23), John personifies the collective voices of Israel’s prophets from Moses to Malachi. John is the last of the Old Testament prophets.

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Remembering St. Nicholas

Posted by on December 8, 2011 1 comment

Have you ever wondered where the traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas began? Some of the traditions regarding Christmas are not found in the Scriptures, but come to us from a long history of the Christian faith. One such tradition is the legend of Santa Claus.

In the year 325 a boy was born in what is now the country of Turkey and he was given the name Nicholas. As a young man he became a Christian and devoted himself to a life in the priest-hood and eventually became the Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. As the Bishop he became known for his generosity. Once, there was a man with three daughters. He was too poor to give them a dowry so that they could be married. Their future was to become beggars or streetwalkers. When Bishop Nicholas heard about these poor girls, he took a bag of gold coins late one night and went to their house. The girls had washed their stockings and placed them on the window seal to dry. Nicholas dropped the bag of gold coins into one of the stockings and it was found the next morning. He repeated this until each of the girls had a dowry and could be married. Throughout his life Bishop Nicholas gave to the needy.

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When God Comes Down

Posted by on November 27, 2011 Comments Off
“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at Your presence…” (Isaiah 64:1 NASB).
  • The absence of God makes us keenly aware of our need of God’s presence!

This prayer of Isaiah reflects a time when God seems to be absent from Israel and Israel is removed from the land of Promise. The perceived absence of God is painful to the point of being unbearable. It seems that there is a vast veil that separates God from the earth. God’s absence means that the people are alone in hopeless despair. This forces a cry of lament: “God, tear apart the heavenly veil and come down!” God’s presence causes a cosmic cataclysm. The heavens are rent, mountains quake, and nations tremble. God’s presence is “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

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Advent: Anticipating Christ

Posted by on November 21, 2011 Comments Off

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14 NKJV).

The Incarnation of the Eternal Word – Jesus Christ – is the great redemptive miracle of the Christian faith.  The union of humanity and divinity in the person of Jesus means that his crucifixion and resurrection have defeated the power of sin and death and brings the promise of eternal life to all who believe. This redemptive event is most often associated with the celebration of Christmas. However, in the last century the celebration of Christmas has lost its Christological focus. So, the challenge before us is to discover, or rediscover, ways by which the church can once again focus its worship on this wonderful event.

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The Sacred Seasons

Posted by on November 8, 2011 Comments Off

He shall speak words against the Most High, shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his power for a time, two times, and half a time (Daniel 7:25 NRSV).

In 586 BC, the Babylonian army destroyed Jerusalem and exiled the Jews to the environs of Babylon. For seventy years the Jews lived in exile. Even in exile the war continued. In his war against the saints of God, the Babylonian king sought to change the times which were established by God as holy days for His people.  In doing so the the king robbed God’s people of their spiritual heritage and promise. The Babylonian king was trying to transform the people of Israel into Babylonians.

If the Christian faith is to survive the onslaught of secularism, then Christians must strive to remember the Faith.

The sacred seasons of Israel stem from divine revelation and give the saints an opportunity to remember God’s saving acts.

To remember is not to reflect on a memory, but to re-live, to participate in, the redemptive event. As we remember these redemptive events the holy days become sacraments of God’s sanctifying power in the present. Also, they serve to disciple ensuing generations of the faithful.