Rhetorical We

 to stand at the threshold of the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.

 - From Psalm 84

Have you ever tried to drop in at a friend's home, or better yet, the home of a close family member, and felt like they did not want you there? Let's say it is a place where you have always felt more than welcome. They've told you, more times than you can count, that you are welcome anytime. "You don't even have to call!" 

But this time, as you stood at the door, knocking, when they answered, they kept the door open to about a ten-inch crack, and the door between themselves and you. They were friendly enough, but the body language and tone spoke very clearly: "You're not coming in."

How did that make you feel?

The Psalmist says he'd rather be left on the threshold of God's door, than to be resting, eating, visiting, and laughing, in the warm, inviting domicile of a wicked person.

Ahhhhh . . . . but we do that all the time, don't we?

I've been resisted, recently, by others, when I use the rhetorical "we," as I just did in the previous sentence. They take it way too personally. With a haughty tilt of the head, they rejoin: "I do not include myself in your "we", Gordon!" 

Well, I did. Both you and me - - - I included both of us, or . . . all of us. 

We pick the bigger club, the richer friends, the cooler hobby, the more popular value system. 

We don't make waves. Keep the popular, the wealthy, the powerful person happy. You have to pay your bills! Be realistic!

We should prefer the proximity to God . . . even if it's a cold front porch, to the comforts of the wicked person. And the evil person always makes us feel comfortable doesn't he? We know that's how they control people. Except, they always control other people. But never me. 

Why do you really believe what you do? Does it have anything to do with the grades you may receive, the person you want to impress, the raise you may get, or the cool people you may get close to?

I really don't think we care to answer too honestly here. 

This Unreasonable Career

...he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver...''


 - From Malachi 3

The descendants of Levi. Artists. Writers. Scribes. Journalists. Bloggers. Preachers. Musicians. Teachers.

God has always been pretty serious about spreading the Gospel, and teaching the Law. He set aside an entire Hebrew tribe, to take on the task of making sure a few people were reading, studying, praying, reflecting . . . which turns out to be the most essential function in Israel or any other nation.

When a civilization has won all the wars, expanded all the boundaries, produced the most amazing inventions, and established the most just government . . . it always turns its sights on the arts, academics, and the pursuit of leisurely activities. We know our priorities, once we can afford them.

One of the great ancient Greek philosophers said something like this: "The questions are: Who is teaching the children, and what are they teaching them?"

God, who designed us, knows what we need to know. He knows what's important. 

And whether or not we value teachers, artists, and ministers; whether we work to ensure the right people are custodians of these highly, exceedingly influential professions (especially vis-a-vis future generations); it is certain that God will take care of them, some day. He has promised to do so. 

The reader may find himself in a conversation, in which people are disdained who follow a career in education, the arts, or the clergy. Why don't they go where the money is? If so, remember that God rewards them . . . . first. (Remember what a "tithe" is). 

And if you get a chance, if you cannot supplement the income of a teacher, or you are unable to provide a gift of supplies to a teacher's classroom; at least tell a teacher, or artist, or minister "Thank you. You are doing what I wish I could do. You are doing what I should be doing. What you are doing is more important than anything."

Furiously Enraged

Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against . . . 

 - From Acts 26

Ways to get normally centered/balanced people beside themselves in anger:

1) Suggest that we all try to become kinder towards, and accepting of, others. Utter Kindness.

That sounds okay, right? But what if you mean all others? As in . . . people with different opinions? What if it refers to people with different values? What if it means - - - be kinder to people that vote different than you do?

What if your acts of kindness mean: thinking so deferentially towards other people, that you are willing to entertain the idea that they may have information, or a perspective, that you are lacking? 

Do I really have to be open to Liberals? To Conservatives? To Bernie supporters? To Trump followers?

This is where people do more than draw the line. Despite their uplifting words about WWJD, etc, they think and act in ways that are decidedly hateful. Should we egg each other on, on-line? Should we stir the pot? Should we open up old wounds? Is it really smart to keep sharing articles, over and over again, that will "help" others understand how they should behave, or think, differently?

I was carrying on a rather respectful dialogue with a guy on-line recently. I think he is a Never-Trump Conservative. My point was, consistently, that we have to give some deference to people that vote differently. It's none of our business why they think differently. They are humans worthy of dignity and respect, and we should treat others accordingly, without qualification. This went back and forth, until finally he erupted in a barrage of vulgar invective against me. And all I did was suggest we be kind to each other. 

2) Take a good value that others are expressing, but nudge it a couple of levels further out, beyond their own definition of virtue. Utter Self-Control.

An interesting thing is how the great reform movements throughout history, always come back to issues raised by The Church, centuries before. Slavery is one example. And now, the "Me Too" movement is acting like it invented proper behavior between the sexes. I personally articulated such values for years, and for most of my life the people most likely to mock me for that, today are participating in "Me Too" events. 

Respect women. Absolutely. But take it one step further, and suggest people observe The Feast of St Agnes of Rome (January 21 - I'll leave it to the reader to research the background). What happens if we call on men to treat women as though they are equals . . . while simultaneously holding up as our example, history's model of chastity and virtue (self control)?

Well, on-line, the result is digital "crickets". Men of virtue absolutely control themselves, because they admire most, women that control themselves. Okay, I have just suggested "self-control" in the context of sexuality . . . which is fighting words in modern on-line debates. 

Suggest people be kind. Really kind. Suggest they be sexually proper . . . really proper; and you will get, not agreement, but anger.

Why?

Before Saul became The Apostle Paul, he was convinced he was doing the right thing. He was a religious guy. Of course, he believed in self-control. He had studied the Law and the Prophets. He knew about kindness and charity. He did all those things. 

By choosing to practice utter kindness, and utter self-control, these Christians, who agreed but preferred to ratchet up their values, a couple notches higher, frustrated and vexed Paul and his cohorts, desperately.

So much so . . . that he became "furiously enraged."

I don't get it, but I recognize it. I know that I have been subject to it before. 

Utter kindness. Utter self-control. 

It drives intelligent, successful, and respected people crazy.

And they know better.

Retirement

Follow me and I will make you fish for people.

 - From Mark 1

Glenn Beck said once, on his radio show, that he doesn't understand retirement. He mentioned figures in the Bible that never retired, (many of them died as martyrs). And then he mentioned Colonel Sanders, who at 65 was still an unknown . . . but built an empire that was way better than a retirement plan.

God has given us specific gifts. And I think it's clear that the purpose of the gifts is to build His Kingdom.

What does it mean, to be a fisherman, and to be made into a "Fisher of Men" by our Master? Does it mean that fishermen are never to fish again, for a livelihood? Probably not. Even Apostles have to eat and need shelter. They could still fish, for pay, or for food. But the unique skills it takes to fish would then be used specifically in building God's kingdom.

Does this mean that if you're a handyman, that you should spend your time replacing lightbulbs in the church, and repainting it every five years?

No, I doubt it. It means that as you are out and about, doing handy work, that you are to be purposefully adding people to the Kingdom. But the traits that good handymen have in common: spacial sense, problem solving, good with hands, a long, project-based view. Hopefully they take the long, effective path in working with others, helping solve their problems, fixing the little things, keeping their friends and family in great emotional and spiritual working order.

A church with a great handyman among it's membership shouldn't think in terms of having him replace a commode in the facility, when needed. Perhaps he should be supported as he goes out to neighborhoods in disrepair, lived in by people that cannot afford to maintain their homes . . . and help them.

Not during spring break. Not two weeks out of the summer.

But all the time. When needed. 

The Apostles did not reach some old age and move to Florida. 

Your skills, your talents, your passions. The things you do well. They must be utilized in building God's Kingdom. And unfortunately, you are most effective with people you know well. Your family. Your life friends. And yes, they are the most awkward ones to serve.

There was a very, very good teacher. The kids loved him. He was great at imparting math concepts. He got into teaching because he said that, as a kid, he struggled in school, and he wanted to take that attitude into his work with kids, because he understood them.

Partway into his teaching career, he became successful in an Amway-type business. He left teaching forever, but said to me: "I'm still teaching. Except, now I am teaching adults how to make money."

Right.

Or, I mean . . . not right. 

His skill was teaching children. And we desperately need good teachers that kids love, in our schools. Not holed up in their $500K home waiting for opportunities to go speak at MLM rallies. 

Your skills have been given to you to make the most good, where they can do the most good. And nothing is "more good" than ensuring that as many people as possible join the growing throng of citizens in God's eternal Kingdom. 

You're Crazy

For the present form of this world is passing away.

 - From 1 Corinthians 7

The scriptural excerpt that I am using today, has the phrase "passing away." We  talk about people "passing away," but what we actually mean is that they died. We think it sounds nicer, but we find it awkward to just say, straight up and biblically, that someone died.

In fact, when used in Scripture, "passing away" seems, almost always, to be referring to something bad that has gotten it's rightful due. He "passed away," meaning, his life was a whiff that came and went . . . and soon he will be forgotten, as well he should. 

Pass away - - - drift back into nothingness and no one will miss you. 

Or "fly away," which actually refers to the way a bird enters into our sight and field of attention, but then flits away beyond our view. In moments, we have forgotten there ever was a bird in our midst.

The present form of the world is passing away. Meaning, not that something nice and soft is going to happen to the earth. No . . . it's going to be gone and forgotten, and good riddance!

Paul states that, since this is the case . . . what are we so worried about so many pointless things for?

Probably because we don't want people to think we're crazy. Act as if I have no wife, or husband, when I do? What's that supposed to mean? Stop making deals and contracts in the world? What? Pretend like we have no possessions? 

You must be crazy! Here, I'll just continue acting according to the world's present state.

Now . . . it's probably true that what is really meant here, is that our attitudes should be as Paul mentioned. Of course we still have homes to maintain and bills to pay. 

But if we were convinced the world really was going to change into something more like the Garden of Eden . . . what changes would we make? Would we really retire early and take more vacations?

Or would we give more of our time and money, to people that really need it?

What would a crazy person do?

Table

You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me . . . 

 - From the Twenty-Third Psalm

When I was a kid, and a member of and regular attendee at the Penfield Advent Christian Church in New York, I remember that the congregation recited the entire 23rd Psalm every week, as a part of the service. It had the same status as The Lord's Prayer; sort of an Old Testament version of a highly important and catch-all passage.

It's interesting that everyone talks about the violence and vice in the Old Testament. Humanity is not portrayed well. Even the heroes: Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, had serious moral lapses. 

But this most famous of all chapters in the Old Testament conveys the opposite of all the Old Testament's barrage of harsh language and characters. It is comforting and soothing. And while Christ had not been born yet . . . the picture running through my mind, is of a walk with Him, The Lord, the Son of God, the King of Kings, in a beautiful mountain meadow, or peaceful garden. Adam may have written it, as a reflection of a good day with God, in the Garden of Eden.

Consider the highlight words from the passage - - - action verbs that describe God's treatment of us:

• Shepherd
• Lie down
• Still waters
• Revives
• Guides
• Comfort
• Anointed
• Goodness
• Mercy
• Forever

Even when enemies are mentioned, it is in the context of the Lord setting a table for us. Our enemies are within view of it. It's not about the meal; and it's not about rubbing it in our enemies' faces. In ancient Middle Eastern times, a table represented dialogue, or people coming together. The table was inviting. Good people welcomed even strangers to their table. You relaxed, enjoyed great food and company. There are no enemies around the dinner table.

God doesn't just take care of our enemies for us. He invites them to the dinner He has provided for us. He smiles and asks us all to sit down, talk, relax, and enjoy peace and safety.

Maybe this is what should be on our mind, when we bow our heads before eating. 

Uneducated

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men . . . 

 - From Acts 4

The first shall be last.

The weak will be made strong.

The mountains and valleys will be made plains.

The oppressed will find justice.

Yes the four preceding sentences are paraphrases. But you get the point. 

Sometimes I want to go completely militant over this. God doesn't work through the wealthy, the educated, the sophisticated. Got it?

The world looks for the trappings of "success." It wants to see your new car, your house, your expensive things. 

The world does not value scribes, teachers, ministers, servants, artists. If it did, we probably would solve some of the most pressing problems like injustice, war, crime. 

A pastor once said these words to me . . . and I am quoting directly:

"Gordon, people don't take you seriously because you don't appear to be successful." 

A school superintendent once told somebody that the reason I had not been hired as a teacher, was that "Gordon's always trying to change the world."

A leader in my church, a "scientist" with a PhD was asking me about my work in the arts, and with kids. He started to say "Where do you get the time to . . . ?" and then stopped himself. 

The world does not value the highest things, and that type of superficial thinking has infected the Church, and Academia (ostensibly dominated by "liberals").

I share all of this, not to garner sympathy or draw attention to myself. I do it because I know my own experience better than anybody else's . . . and I understand. 

I've always preferred "uneducated" people to the "educated." I would casually observe, four decades ago, that I'd rather hear an enlisted military man give a sermon, than a guy with a Dallas Theological doctorate. The best preacher I ever heard was a career worker in a print shop. His hands and nails were stained and creased from years working in ink and heavy machinery. He did not have a college degree. But he could quote the Bible better than anybody . . . and harmonize it.

Our politics today are drawing a line between "educated" and "uneducated." I'm taking the side of the "uneducated."

And I've got two Master's Degrees.

Antisocial Media

Do not believe every spirit . . . 

 - From 1 John 4

I can't believe the intensity of passionate disagreement in social media. It should be called "anti-Social" media (yeah, I'm sure no one's come up with that yet!).

When I was young, I dreamed about the world in my old age. I was immersed in the telecommunications field, using what later became called "email," when it was the bailiwick of only the most leading-edge scientists.

Futurists looked at what was happening in the labs, and predicted a wonderful world in the 21st Century. In the 1990s, experts like Stephen Covey, whose system involved treating others with respect; and the research of men like Noel Tichy, whose work proved that good teams out-perform bad teams, heralded an ethic that was good news for creative people, visionaries, scribes, team-builders, etc. I relaxed in my middle years, knowing that the best years of my career would be the final ones - - - where my passions, and skills as a networker and innovator would finally become highly valued. The Internet would lead the way - - - people would be exposed to lots of new ideas, and powerful synergies would be unleashed as people learned to collaborate across time zones.

Look at the Internet of 2018. What happened?

In many ways, it saddens me deeply. The hate that people feel for others that they have never met . . .

My vision and passions go further back than the 1990s and my background in technology. I was reared in an attitude from Scripture, that there was a lot of noise in the world, that obscured the simple message of Christ. The paradox is that . . . we actually should NOT trust anybody. Every viewpoint is suspect. We have to have that view, in order to get to the Truth of God. Think about it. It is something that anybody from any philosophy should agree to. We all want the truth. Therefore, we all have to hold in suspicion, anybody that tries to sell it to us.

We are very gullible. All of us. And I have learned that even the most educated among us, seem like the most gullible of all. They put too much trust in their diplomas. They deceive themselves by believing their minds are inquisitive. But how can one be a true seeker, while making a career of lecturing? I would rather hear the wisdom of a farmer, or blue collar worker, or police officer, or teacher, than that of an entire faculty of an Ivy League school.

The truth comes when we stop talking and start listening. We can't all be right, otherwise we'd all be in agreement. And "having your own truth" is a cop-out. A person that hangs on to such is a person that has given up. Yes it makes you uncomfortable. If it didn't, then there would be no disagreement at all.

My philosophy came from Scripture, and the diligence of people in my youth, to drill such verses into my thinking:

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1

There are some who are disturbing you, and want to distort the Gospel of Christ. - Galatians 1:7

But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. - 2 Corinthians 11:4

Why would John, and Paul, be so concerned about error, unless they believed it was a real threat to us? We have to be careful. And the proof that we are not careful enough, is that everybody reading this has some point of major disagreement with somebody, about something.

The truth is in listening, and giving everybody a chance to express and ask. And to treat all with dignity and respect.

This is what will soften the edges of Social Media. It is what will destroy the divisions within Christianity.

And if we can be unified . . . imagine . . .

Earth's Depths

I was being made in secret and woven in the depths of the earth.

 - From Psalm 139

The Psalmist is going way beyond any other effort, to describe the magic, the miracle, and the wonder of life. He leaves nothing to change. Every single life is precious, marvelous, and of great value. 

It goes way back, way before conception, even. Our cellular structure originated in the earth itself. God knows what He's doing with each of us, ages ago, when the cells that became us, were still inert organic compounds deep in the ground. 

It is so wonderful, that we can't even begin to understand it. 

This idea of "life," is something to be treated with more awe than anything else. "In the beginning, God . . . "

It's all about life - about God starting it in Genesis, and then God making it last forever, in Revelation. Christ died so that we may live, forever. And He was born so that He could die. 

If only our world-view, our philosophies, our politics, our values, our choices. . . were based on a total deference to the sacredness of life. 

I have said before, that the most selfish act in life is the sex act. But the most unselfish act is to bring a baby into the world, that we have already committed to care for and love, for the entirety of his or her life. If unselfishness is the highest plane of human dignity, then the conception of a new human life is the finest expression of it. 

Therefore, God immersed the idea of birth, into a set of trappings that divorced it from an act of sheer pleasure. We needed to frame childbirth into a practice of commitment and real love, otherwise the act of conception would diminish into a mere gratification of a momentary hunger.

Psalm 139 is a pro-life passage - - - but way beyond the intentions of the politically-motivated modern pro-life movement. Understood in its proper context, none of us come out looking particularly noble. 

Behold God's first, eternal, and all-important act: creating you, and me, deep within the depths of the earth . . . long before any of us will ever know.

Eli

It is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him.

 - From 1 Samuel 3

Eli was a pretty good man. He was a priest, and for his time, quite diligent. He lived in a time when God was not terribly active in the world, and in Israel. The Bible says that there was not much prophecy, and the Word of God was rare. 

There are a lot of people today, that don't know a thing about Scripture. It's like today, where church membership is on the decline. And while people may watch evangelists on TV, and read best-selling books written by Christian authors, and participate in Bible study groups, Sunday Schools, and special ministries in their church . . . still a passion for God's word, where people dig deep and let it challenge and change them, seems lacking.

Eli had no control over his own family, and house. His sons were "blasphemers." They openly mocked the mission of their father, and got away with it. They spent their time in self-absorbed pursuits. They deserved to be happy. 

There was a pastor in town, when I was a teenager. He was well-liked by his congregation, and was held in some high esteem in town. But his kids were among the wildest kids in the schools. Eli's era was something like this. Faith was very weak, and those that served in the ministry had to get along. They kept quiet, and stayed in their place. 

But he had one powerful redeeming value. When God acted to straighten out Eli's lapses of leadership, Eli proclaimed: "It is the Lord. He can do whatever He wants."

This one little act of acceptance and trust, by one of the few spiritual leaders of the day,  by recalling the attitudes of Abraham and Moses, may have been the turned corner that got Israel back on the right path. It had an impact on young Samuel . . . who would figure quite prominently in the next big phase of Israel's life.

The Wise Guy, Nathanael

Nathanael said to him . . . 

 - From John 1

Nathanael has a reputation. Most serious Bible students are probably familiar with the verse that includes "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" And in the minds of most people, I would bet their picture of this, is Nathanael rising to his feet, stoically, sternly, with a furrow across his brow and disdain in his voice: "Hmmmph! Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

You know . . . like a guy wearing robes in front of the Church, with several doctoral degrees. White hair, deep, booming voice.

But like all the Apostles, Nathanael was blue collar. He was not educated. And when I read this passage, I see something more like one of my funny, snarky uncles. Nathanael grinned, shrugged and said "Oh really? As if anything good came out of Nazareth!" And then the bystanders all joined in some hearty laughter.

Nathanael had a sense of humor. He loved sarcasm and irony. He was quick with his wit, and kept people on the edge of their seats. "What's he going to say next?"

But the problem is, he was about to engage in three years wandering around with the Son of God, and King of Kings. Wasn't Jesus serious all the time, like a Vulcan? Imagine Nathanael mouthing off at almost everything that came from Jesus' mouth, or one of the others! He got on the nerves of some of them, especially Judas. "Why don't you get serious?! Don't you have any dignity? You're making us look bad!"

Jesus just smiled and moved on.

And often, Jesus, too, laughed at Nathanael's clever rejoinders! 

The Scribes and Pharisees found Nathanael proof positive that the Jesus Movement was a hoax, a passing fad. They couldn't stand his irreverence, and his lack of class. A real holy man would not put up with it. 

Yes . . . God chooses people that drive the educated class crazy. 

God has a sense of humor. 

First, Master Yourself

 “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.

   - From 1 Corinthians 6

The law was a very good thing. It still is a good thing. We all prefer to live by some code. It gives our lives structure. It takes out some of the unpredictability (research shows that humans generally do not like surprises).

But it is hard to feel free when you're under the law, and God wants us free.

Think about someone you know, that is always stressing about details; doting over this or that; always asking questions, checking up on others; parenting, where parenting is not appropriate. Does that person seem particularly happy to you?

Look at a person's language. Do they use the word "have to" a lot? Do they say "I have to be at work at 8:00"? This is a sort of tip-off that they are under the law, to some degree. Rather, they should say "My work starts at 8:00". You don't have to do anything. If you're a Christian, especially, please consider talking like it. Our language says a lot.

But if you're free, it means you can choose to be holy. You can choose to serve. And when it's a choice, it is something you can do eagerly.

The passage today gives emphasis to sexual purity. It is something that has been lost in our generation. Even Christians have caved on this one. Paul says that you can have mastery over your body. Sexual sins are a base giving-in, and a failure to keep oneself focused on truly important things. The sexual act is (usually) a highly selfish thing. Would we want to do it, if it didn't feel so good?

And if we can master that one, perhaps we are on our way to mastering other sinful attitudes and actions. Place the most fundamental human drive into its proper context, and believe it or not, you have taken a couple giant steps to true freedom.

Voice

The Voice of the Lord . . .

 - From Psalm 29

Epiphany. A New Beginning. A Light in the Darkness.

A light that is so bright, it should be impossible for us to sleep through it. Like the Star of Bethlehem, perhaps the light is moving, slowly, across the sky. We follow it all the more. We're afraid that if we stop, or slow down, it will pull away from us and we will lose it. We'll lose our opportunity to see the great light.

There's something else that permeates the darkness. For, the darkness is accompanied by a profound silence. The darkness is complete, and the silence is maddening. The light appears in the darkness. But also . . . a VOICE in the Silence.

Epiphany begins, and the first thing we notice is the Voice of the Lord.

With one Word from the LORD, everything comes into focus. God's thoughts are more real than we are.

And if we can continue, unmoved, after hearing God's voice, then we have some serious problems indeed.

What kind of a year will we have, if we commit to acting, once we've heard God's Voice?

How will we respond, if we choose not to sleep through the blinding Light of Christ?

Brother Keith Green's piercing song, from forty years ago, puts it all quite plainly.

The Voice of the LORD!

The Point

Arise, shine; for your light has come . . . 

 - From Isaiah 60

There's a lot about Isaiah, that I would like to study in depth. I need a better sense of his placement in history. What was going on around him? What were the conditions in Judah, at the time? (I'm thinking Israel was gone by then, and that Judah was the focus.)

I have read that he came from a wealthy family, and had the world at his fingertips . . . yet he became a prophet. And as a prophet, he had a reputation of being excessive, severe, a little off balance. 

I have read that the Book of Isaiah may be read in two parts. In the first part, a God of vengeance and anger is presented. And Isaiah's tone matches it. But in the second part, we get all of the messianic promises. There is warmth, hope, and great joy foretold. 

I need to study Isaiah, looking for those things. 

God's mystery is revealed today, on the Day of Epiphany. An "epiphany" is a profound revealing. A sudden change comes over you, something happens in your life, and everything changes. 

Everything did change, when Christ was born. And Epiphany is the day that the world realized it. Pagan kings and Wise Men traveled far, to see this wonder. They wanted to understand. The world went on about it's way. During the days of Christ's infancy, commerce continued. The poor languished and the rich got fat. Wars advanced here and there. There was relative silence in places like the British Isles, and the future North America. 

But still, the world itself knew something was up. It would have been interesting to have lived during those weeks, somewhere on the other side of the world . . . just to see what it was like in far-off places. Because I am convinced that something had changed, and it was obvious.

In the midst of a Silent Night . . . a great light has come. Our path is no longer dark. There is a Way. There is a destination. There is a point to all of it . . . there always has been . . . except that now, we know what the point is. 

And all the world is being drawn into that single, defining, essential, eternal, Point. 

The Twelfth Day: Where is the Child?

"Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? "

 - From Matthew 2

It is the Twelfth Day. Now is the time to say . . . "We made it."

If you have been following the Twelve Day Journey, then perhaps by now you have a sense of the length of time that it takes. Twelve days is a long time. We're well into January, and 2018!

But for the Wise Men from the East, it was a journey that took weeks, even months. 

When you present a nativity play on Christmas Eve, with a role for the Wise Men, you have cut the narrative way short. You get no sense at all, of the passage of time. You lose the sense that, once the baby has been born . . . it is time to seek the baby, even if it takes days . . . weeks . . . months . . . a lifetime.

Twelve Days seems a perfect length of time to practice seeking. Advent for waiting. Christmas for seeking. And tomorrow, the Epiphany, for finding.

It is a perfect length, because so few people last this long. The Christmas Eve service, just passed, in which I participated as the "Frankincense King," now seems a long time ago. I caught and got over a flu since then. 

When Columbus made his first voyage across the Atlantic, there was constant pressure, for weeks, to turn around .There they were in the middle of nowhere, in the most terrifying conditions his sea-hardened men had ever faced. Yet their visionary leader gave the order to continue. But one day a bird appeared. And then a few days later, some wood, or bark, or grass, began to show up on the water's surface. And then eventually, land. Journeys are always attended with the words "Are we there yet?" 

The true spirit of Christmas past, present, and future, is to make it a journey. And to keep moving forward, and to keep asking: "Where is the child?"

I am going to break protocol now and speak directly to the reader. 

My first Twelve Days blog post this year had over 50 views. With each successive post, the readership dropped by a dozen or so. My most recent one had only eleven views, which is about average in this blog, when I do not link it to my Twelve Days Facebook page. I've clearly been droning on too much, and have not written much of interest. 

2018 is the bicentennial of the beautiful carol: Silent Night. This milestone needs to be recognized and celebrated this year. It's going to take all year. Three points:

1. I am volunteering my time and talents to make our Silent Night celebration worthy and momentous. Let Christmas Eve 2018 truly be a "silent night," globally. In the World Wars, as allied and axis troops stopped shelling each other on Christmas Eve, while all joined in singing the classic hymn, let war cease, at least for a few moments, this December 24th.
2. I'm asking my readers, of the blog and of the Facebook groups, to help out by sharing some of your reflections of Christmas 2017. Please share three things that were great, in your Christmas this year, and then share something you want to do more of, or differently, next year. Let's start the year off with some dialogue. 
3. On the 5th, and 25th, of every month this year, starting January 25, I am going to set aside time for prayer and planning, for our 2018 Silent Night and a truer, deeper Christmas experience next year, one that . . . as the song says, will last the whole year through. 

Where is the Child?

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

The Eleventh Day of Christmas: Joy and Justice

...which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ ... that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

 - From Ephesians 3

The demeanor of Christians should be something that would, typically, inspire passersby to ask: "Why the happy face?"

Joy to the World!

But really . . . why "joy"? What did the shepherds, the Wise Men, and all those that followed the star have, that we don't, that made them feel such "joy"? Because, it seems to me that "joy" is a special kind of "happy." There's a childlike thrill you get, when you're feeling "joy." 

Real joy should be lasting joy. You should still be feeling it eleven days after you sang it, among the trappings of lights, carols, goodwill, and lots of other smiling faces. 

When a child opens the very gift she had been asking for, and waiting for, for most of the year, you can see "joy" on her face.

For my entire childhood, I wanted one of those Matchbox cars service stations. Something like this. From about the age of 7, I asked Santa Claus for one. I reminded my parents, year after year, that this is what I wanted. 

Now, my parents were (and are) wonderfully generous people. It seems they got me everything else I ever asked for, and more. But apparently they always had to make budgetary choices and for whatever reason, the service station never made the cut. When I became an adult, I began to playfully remind them of this every year. And then finally, when I was about 26, I received one for Christmas. It was perhaps one of my favorite gifts ever. I felt joy,

But joy is not all about getting material things. Not totally. But if you want some understanding of it, just recall one of those memories. Joy is something like that.

During the twelve days, we remove layers of God's plan. We don't don't do it as well as our medieval forbears did, but we're trying. We should be enhancing our understanding of what Christmas is all about, day after day. You really can't get Christmas fully, if you just cut it off on the 26th. 

Paul writes to the Ephesians, something that sounds like "Hey . . . here it is. This is the great mystery. All of history, everything in the universe, hinges on this next piece of information. Are you ready for it? Here it comes - - - - God's gift is now offered to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews!"

And this should bring us great joy. It's why there is joy to the world!

Look at politics, perhaps the one topic that creates even more angst, more anger, more division, more stress, than religion! What's it all about?

Justice. 

We just want fairness. We just want someone to notice us. To take care of us. To lift us up when we're down.

But we just want all of that compassion, justice, mercy, and love to be bestowed equally upon everybody. Therefore, we invented politics.

Is that not the ONE thing that drives us all, at some primordial level? 

FAIRNESS!!

The great mystery of Christmas is that God has extended His love, His plan, His offer of eternal life, to everybody!

And if we all have eternal life, well, what could be more fair?

I think we could stand a special day along the way, just to reflect on that.