Christmas Eve 2008

It’s Christmas Eve and I am sitting in my living room near the tree. The lights in the house are off and I am writing this blog by the lights of the Christmas tree. I have a lot of thoughts going through my mind tonight. Since I have been back in America this year I have noticed some new things that I don’t remember so much before. It always happens when I return from Europe after being gone awhile.

One example of this is “lines”. Since I have returned to America I have noticed how Americans, or at least southerners where I live in Florida, have to have so much space as they stand in store or café lines. In other word when I walk into a café and want to buy a cup of coffee the “line”, even though there might just be three people standing in it, is so long. At first I almost walked in front of people to the counter not even realizing they were actually standing in line. My son or daughter, who has been living here longer than I have, had to remind me that those people, even thought they were standing so far from each other and so far from the counter, were actually standing in line. It took me some getting used to at first. I would walk up to pay for something in a store and I would feel the urge to push from the back of what I perceived was the end of the line so that we would be a little closer to the cashier. Now you might read this and wonder why I was in such a hurry, well it wasn’t really being in a hurry, I just had to realize that we Americans need our space and don’t to try to change them. This is just one example of what I have observed.

Another thing I have observed this Christmas here in America is that some Americans don’t seem to decorate their houses with any lights and others seem to put so many lights on their house that it looks like something out of Disney World or some Hindu Temple. I don’t ever remember so many lights on one house in my life and that is not counting all the reindeer and Santa’s and etc… Whatever happened to that word “modest”, like in a modest amount of lights? Here it seems that it is either all or nothing. Now this discussion on Christmas lights gets me to the subject of what I really wanted to write about tonight. The amazing amount of lights, even though I am not really impressed, makes me think about what the shepherds must have experienced that first Christmas night. The Bible says that on that night the Angel of the Lord appeared to the Shepherds and the “glory of the Lord” shown around them. Now I have no idea of how bright the glory of the Lord (surely brighter then my neighbors house) must have been, but it was sure enough to scare the shepherds. And even before this night we read that the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah, had already said when speaking of the Christ child that He (Jesus) would, “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death and guide us to the path of peace” (Luke 1:78). A little while later when Jesus was brought to the Temple by Joseph and Mary, to present Him to the Lord, there was a man there by the name of Simeon. We read that Simeon was a righteous and devout man that was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come (Luke 2:32) and when he saw Jesus he took him in his arms and one of the things he said was that Jesus would be, “a light to reveal God to the nations”. Over and over again in the Bible we read that Jesus was is a light. He is the”Light” in a very dark world that will show humanity the way back to a relationship with God, one that would, give us life and peace.

It is Christmas Eve 2008 and tonight I am thinking about the light of Christ that shines in the darkness. What hope it offers in a darkened world. What joy it gives those who receive it and walk in it and find their way back to God. Tonight, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and may the light of God shine on you and your family. May His light show you how you can find the Life and Peace that comes from knowing Christ.

A father and a husband

When I think about the nativity of Jesus, the person that always attracts my curiosity and makes me ponder is Joseph the stepfather of Jesus. I underline stepfather because according to the story Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18), not through a man. The Bible also says that Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until the child was born (Matt 1:25).

Imagine being Joseph! To hear from the girl you are engaged to be married to say that she is pregnant and you know for sure it isn’t yours. Joseph had not been told at the same time as Mary about what was to take place. God waited a little longer to tell Joseph then He did Mary. Why would God do that? Why did God wait a little while longer to tell Joseph such an important thing?

I can never say that I totally understand why God waited but one thing that I do learn from this is the type of person Joseph was. When I read the nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke’s Gospel I begin to learn something about Joseph as a father and husband that I would never have known if He had known everything that Mary knew when she knew it.

There are two things I see in the life of Joseph that I think are very important for any man that is soon to be or already is a husband and father. The first thing is that he was a man of grace. According to the Laws of the Bible he could have made a public spectacle of Mary, but he chose not to. Joseph loves Mary, he finds out she is pregnant and it is not his baby and even before the Angel appears to him to explain everything we read, “Joseph her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly” (Matt 1:19). Joseph understood the God of love and grace. He could have been very angry and exposed Mary as an adulterous etc… but he chooses to show grace and love even before he understood everything clearly. According to the law he did not have to expose her and he chooses not to.

The second thing I notice about Joseph in the story is that he is a man of “immediate obedience” to the Word of God. We read in Matthew chapter 1 verse 20 and 21 that the angel of the Lord finally comes to Joseph and tells him what is going on. When this happens Joseph acts immediately on what he hears. He is told what happened to Mary and that he is to take Mary as his wife. In verse 24 we read that when Joseph woke up he did exactly what the angel asked him to do. He married Mary and didn’t even have a sexual relationship with her until after Jesus was born. There were three other times when Joseph was immediately obedient to God’s command and it sure helped in the raising of Jesus (Matt 2:13; 2:21 and 2:22). Each of these times had to do with situations that could have led to the death of Joseph and his family if he had not acted quickly.

Joseph was a man of grace and immediate obedience to the Word of God. God knew this about Joseph and that is why He chooses to let Joseph be the stepfather of His Child. At Christmas I am reminded that God has allowed me to be a husband to one wife and a father to three children that belong to Him. Josephs life and response to God, teaches me what type of husband and father I need to be.

Luke 2:13-14
“Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others-the armies of heaven-praising God and saying, Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

In today’s world it is hard for us to imagine an army that would desire peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased. They might desire peace for their own people and maybe peace for those that think like they do but to desire peace on those with whom God is pleased no matter what the country etc… that is a stretch isn’t it. It is also a stretch for us to think of an army that takes time to praise God.

Well, this is not just any army. This is the army of heaven. It was an army of angels sent by God to make known the birth of His son. Throughout the world at that time, human kings would make known the birth of their sons. It was a big occasion. Here we find God Himself making known the birth of His Son. I think it is Interesting to note that He didn’t make it known to King Herod right away. He didn’t make it known to Caesar either. He sent a host of Angels, the “Heavenly Army” to make it known to shepherds staying in the fields nearby.

But let’s get back to the message. I guess you could say I am amazed at this message. The Angel’s message was, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased”. I don’t see a lot of peace on this earth. When I read the news on line I read about wars and conflicts around the globe. People can’t seem to get along with each other anywhere. But notice that the message doesn’t say Peace on earth period. It says, “Peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased”. Well the next question would be, with whom, is God pleased? I think the answer to that is found in Hebrews 11:6 where it says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith”. I understand this to mean that God is please with those who trust Him. In other word’s God is pleased with those that know they can’t make it on their own, He is pleased with those that refuse to trust in riches, or fame or any other thing that promises happiness. He is pleased with those that put their trust in Him for all their needs and bow before His Son whom the angel said is the Savior, Messiah.

Peace comes to those that worship the Christ.

Luke 2:9-10
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

As we stand before another Christmas and New Year I am once again reminded of the words of the angel in Luke chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. The shepherds in the field watching over their flocks saw something that night none of them ever dreamed they would see. An angel appears to them and we read that all the shepherds were filled with fear. These men were about to hear the greatest news that the world has ever heard, they were about to hear that on that very night the Savior of the world would be born, and yet before they heard this news we read that they were filled with fear. This is not the first time in the Bible where we read that fear comes before good news. I have heard it said that the command God gives most to man in the Bible is “fear not”.

When one year ends and another begins there is always a temptation to fear the unknown. Let’s face it, we live in unsure times that can cause even the bravest of people to consider. But the Christmas message is not one of fear, the Christmas message begins with the command from the angel to “fear not”. The good news is that the Messiah has come and because of this we can be sure that we have eternal life. The Christmas message is a message of joy and peace not fear.