We did a lot of holiday driving. Visited one set of relatives in Tennessee for three days before Christmas, then drove to Florida on Christmas day. In the spirit of the season, I found a continuous supply of radio stations playing “Christmas” music.
Guess how many of these popular Christmas season songs mentioned Jesus. None. Well, one station played one traditional Christmas carol (song). So, I think in 16 hours of driving listening to Christmas songs, we heard Jesus mentioned once.
Do you confuse traditional Northeast US wintertime nostalgia with Christmas? (Think “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”, “The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting)” and the like) How about all the Santa songs?
I’m sure that these bring back warm, nostalgic feelings from a distant childhood. But as far as keeping focus on Jesus–could be an entirely different season.
Now that Christmas is past and we’re beginning the new year, stick a note somewhere (on a calendar, your mobile phone, on a pop up window on your computer) with a memory jog to think of Jesus more often this year. It’ll help your overall outlook on life.
It’s Christmas Eve. Almost all the presents have been purchased and wrapped. Our retailers are happy. That makes some manufacturers happy. Sales have been pretty good this year in the US.
Are you giving presents just to show off your wealth? Or just because you’re supposed to give a lot so that the kids and others won’t feel deprived? Or is it a reflection of the relationship you have with others?
Jesus entered the world to point the way to a relationship with him and with God. He said to the leaders that they were burdening people with their many laws and interpretations. He said it was very simple, but hard. Just enter into a relationship. Live every moment with God as a companion. Deal with others in the spirit that God would deal with them.
Tonight and tomorrow, we remember and celebrate that Jesus entered the world to change the world’s view of God. Does your view need to change? Are you in a loving relationship with God? I pray this is so. Merry Christmas.
Take a close look at the manger scene Christians recreate every year at this time. Everything is neat, clean, clothes properly pressed and starched, all in a little shed outside the building. It’s so quiet and peaceful.
But read Luke 1 again. And understand how people lived. The “stable” was the first floor of a multi-story house. It has animals running around. It smells. It’s dirty and dusty. Bethlehem is packed with people in town for the census registration. It’s likely that the house has wall-to-wall people. So, people are going in and out of the first floor constantly.
Mary had just survived a donkey ride from Galilee to Bethlehem. Pregnant. Uncomfortable. She’s now among Joseph’s relatives. You know, second cousins once removed–that sort of thing. Her family and friends are back home in Galilee. The very people who would surround her with love and assistance at the time of a birth are not there. And giving birth is a dangerous occupation.
The baby comes. Who knows how long the labor was! Everyone is exhausted, yet overjoyed that the baby is healthy and the mother survived. Especially since she isn’t even married, yet. And then, the door bursts open and a group of shepherds rush in.
Nobody knew who these guys were. Shepherds are dirty. They smell. They are rough characters who speak roughly. What in the world are they doing there? They say something about seeing a vision from God and wanted to see the new baby who would be the Messiah.
God doesn’t need pristine surroundings, quiet and reverence to enter our lives. He can enter, and usually does, in the midst of busyness, yes, even chaos. He takes us by surprise. What’s this? Oh, it’s God. He showed up. He’s with us.
In Genesis we are taught that humans were created in the image of God. Walter Hilton (“The Ladder of Perfection” Book Two) describes something of the process. It is our soul that is image of God, not our physical body. As we celebrate the anticipation of the coming of Jesus who became the “pioneer of our faith” as the writer of Hebrews puts it, how do we go about reflecting the image of God in our lives?
There are three ways, but the third is impossible in this life–the perfect reflection of God. But first there is faith. You have to recognize and acknowledge Jesus as the leader who shows the way. This is just the first step–a crucial one, but just a step after all.
Second is what Hilton calls feeling. I’m not sure what I’d call it in 21st Century English rather than his 14th Century words. But he explains that this experience lies in overcoming the selfish and sinful desires of our “flesh” and coming to live in the spiritual realm that Jesus showed–and were taught by the early leaders and handed down even to this day. This same spiritual life existed before Jesus–it’s just that humans never constructed a way for everyone to have the opportunity to participate in the life of the spirit. Even for Hilton, who wrote to contemplatives who usually gathered into communities apart from society at large.
We teach today that anyone can and should seek to achieve the spiritual life that Jesus called us to live. As we live in Advent and then celebrate the birth, we need now, no less than during Lent, to seek the life that allows us to reflect the glory of God. Even if that reflection is a little imperfect. Put aside those desires especially fanned into emotional flame by intense marketing this month and seek to reflect God’s image of true life in the Spirit.
Have you thought about why you are rushing around, decorating, buying, composing wish lists, playing special music? Do you just do it? Of course, this assumes you are actually celebrating Christmas, I guess.
Walter Hilton has this great illustration in “The Ladder of Perfection.” A hound that runs after the hare only because he sees other hounds run, when he is weary, he stays and rests, or turns home again; but if he runs because he sees or is in view of the hare, he will not spare for weariness till he has caught her.
If you are going through all the effort and emotional swings of Christmas only because all your family and friends are or “it’s the right thing to do,” then you will be exhausted and weary. But if all you do is in the context of celebration of Jesus’ coming, if you devote this time as a period of renewing your focus on Jesus, if you share your joy, then you’ll not only survive the month, but you’ll thrive. And bring others along with you.
Another popular phrase in Christian preaching circles in December is either advice or admonition to prepare your heart for the coming of Jesus. There is a sense that this is a remembrance. We remember and celebrate the event of Jesus birth as a human in Bethlehem 2013 years ago–more or less.
Try out another sense of what it means for Jesus’ coming. Every new person who is born every day since that first event must welcome Jesus into its being. Some of us have already experienced that dwelling within us of God’s Spirit. But many have not. Some think they have, but are fooling themselves. That is the most lamentable.
But all of us must seek the renewal of Jesus coming into our lives or the expectation of meeting Jesus fresh for the first time. There is an ancient saying that a jar is not useful unless it is empty. The saying must be taken in the spiritual sense. If your mind and life are full of plans for what food you’ll be preparing for family celebrations, with what presents you must give to others, with what presents you wish to receive, with many cares about finances or conflicts, then there is no room for Jesus to enter. If you have something valuable to store, first you must empty a container before you can store the valuable thing.
Just so with Jesus. First, you must quiet your mind and emotions. Seek a quiet place, even if only for 15 minutes at a time. Read something from the Bible. Sit quietly, listen to your breathing and let thoughts, cares and worries drift in and out of your mind until you are finally empty. As you sit quietly in expectation you are now prepared for Jesus to make room in your inner life.
As you learn to seek quiet, you will experience what the Spirit can do for you. You will be refreshed. You will also gain perspective on life. And you will be able to enter the busy world with the attitude of serving in the name of Jesus–the very servant leader Jesus trained his first disciples to be.
I was listening to Bill Hybels’ talk from last Sunday this week on a podcast. He talked about meeting a new attendee at Willow Creek. The man was enthused about the worship, the service opportunities, the people. There was just one problem, he didn’t know about “this Jesus / God thing.”
How to understand the total significance of Jesus is a stumbling block to many. The concept of the Trinity (where one God is manifest in three ways–Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit) is not specifically Scriptural and somewhat “intellectual.” It’s hard to understand. To think that Jesus was at the same time God and a human is hard to understand.
That’s the problem. Sometimes we think too much. Our rational mind is best used to harness our emotions and keep us on the right path. But when we try to use our rational, thinking mind to analyze spiritual matters, the effort is less than satisfactory. Some really great thinkers, Hegel for example, tried to wrap the Spirit up in a Rational explanation. The results were devastating.
Early followers of Jesus did not comprehend Jesus’ meaning until after he died and left them in the body. Just as he predicted about leaving the Spirit behind for them, his body was a stumbling block. But when each follower was forced to develop in the faith on his or her own, they experienced Jesus as never before.
Do you know people who say all the right words yet their lives do not appear to be unlike any other people? Have you run across people who can’t express what they have experienced clearly or with the “right” words, yet their lives reflect the experience of Jesus within their souls?
For us, Jesus is not a theory or intellectual challenge. Jesus is actually an experience. When you experience Jesus/God/Spirit directly, it changes your life. If you are still hung up on intellectual ponderings, stop. Don’t be like the Apostle Paul who had to be blinded to make him stop his busy life and actually listen to God. You can do that now. Investing as little as 15 minutes a day in silence focusing on God, you can eventually experience Him and it will change your life.
Don’t get concerned about understanding “this Jesus/God thing” in your head. Quiet your mind and soul and let the experience of Jesus enter. It works.
At Christmas time, we often hear reminders of focusing on the reason for the celebration. But that admonishment may be too vague. What is the reason for the celebration?
I’ll never forget the sign I saw in northern Indiana once, “Keep Christ in Xmas.” I don’t know if they were being cute or if they ran out of room. But I’d have preferred that they spell out what they were talking about.
I’m reading Walter Hilton right now. “The Ladder of Perfection.” Interestingly, the topic of the day was the seven deadly sins, first of which is pride. It is amazing how pride can get in our way. The way Hilton describes it, pride is thinking too much about me. I’ve heard people in the very way they describe events that it’s all about them. Listen. They’ll say, “they did it to me” or “she ignored me” or “the company did this to me” when, in reality, those other people probably didn’t really care about them. Is your thinking about what you’ll give? What you’ll get? What you’ll do?
I’m reading more and more often about substituting service for giving and getting material gifts. Do it in the spirit of serving others. It’s not you, it’s them. Then, don’t boast about it. Giving extra to missions it good. At this time of life, we are financially blessed. We can give to people around the world and spread much good. Make micro-loans through Kiva, or support Compassion International, World Vision or a local missionary who does good deeds to people and spreads the word of Jesus.
Make Christmas merry for others. And meditate on just what Jesus’ coming means for you.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 