By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.                              John 13:35

We are deep into the Christmas season, and it is a beautiful time of year. Friends and family coming by, parties planned, and those wonderful Christmas songs fill the air for a brief season. Yes, we are celebrating the liturgical year which indicates the season of preparation for the coming of Jesus. Even people who are only barely aware of the monumental impact of Jesus coming to earth celebrate this as a cultural holiday season.

Jesus came to earth to reconcile a lost people to the heavenly plan of peace and restoration to their loving Father, the Creator of the universe. We demonstrate that good will, perhaps better this time of year than any other. We give gifts to one another, we find ways to gather together, and we even decorate our environments with lights and festive ornamentation.

Jesus said that people will know that we are Christians by the way we love one another. It seems that Christmas is a good excuse to play that out in public. I know that many people feel that the Christmas season has been commercialized, and even hijacked by the culture.

I say, let’s enjoy the season, and use it as a way to love people in a special way this season.

Prayer: Lord, we keep in mind the wonder of your presence in coming to earth, Amen    

“Youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom                                                                Psalm 90:12

Today’s blog is for the senior set. I hope younger readers appreciate it as well. As I was speaking to clients the other day, I was going over some of the losses they had experienced. I discussed the fact that they were grieving a loss in their family due to a recent divorce. Seeing this divorce as a loss to be grieved was something that they had not really considered.

I went on to talk about the fact that as we age, we begin losing things in our life. We lose friends and family who have died. We witness changes around us that make us long for the past days when life seemed simpler and even safer. Finally, we grieve the loss of certain functions- we do not hear as well, see as well, move as fluidly, etc. We are experiencing loss.

The counterbalance to this is that we acquire wisdom. As we age, we gain certain things also. We gain perspective over a lifetime of experiences. We better recognize the things that we can control versus the things we cannot control. We have seen good times and bad, and we realize that neither last forever. We have seen that God’s hand is always present, whether we se it at the time or not.

So, there is a trade-off. Yes, we are in the process of losing some things around us and in us. But we gain wisdom, which is a marvelous gift.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the things we gain as we age, not the things we lost, Amen

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.                               Ephesians 3:1-6 (The Message)

I was speaking with a client recently who is facing jail time for an offense he deeply regrets. He related that he has trouble understanding why God loves him, especially since he feels so totally unlovable.

We talked further about his history of feeling inadequate and not being able to fit in with others. I talked with him about the fact that many people struggle with understanding why the holy, omnipotent God of the universe would love us. I explained that there is a difference in acceptance versus understanding. We can accept that God loves us, even when we don’t understand it.

I gave him an example of being a father, which he and I both are. I asked him if it gives him joy to know that his children know that he loves them. When we know that our children are secure in our love for them, we feel good. It gives fathers joy to know that their kids are secure in their father’s love. How much more joy does it give to God when we acknowledge his love for us?  

Prayer: Father, what a plan you have for your children, Amen

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 So, they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.   Luke 2:15-20

And the sign said “The words of the prophets are written on subway walls, and tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence…”

Paul Simon

I wrote in the blog the other day about Jesus going to the people on the margins. He came to be an example to us to do that very thing in our own communities. So it struck me as so appropriate that the first ones to hear about Jesus, and to spread the news to others, were people who were considered least likely to be bearers of that good news.

Isn’t it interesting then, that shepherds were the first bearers of the good news of the birth of Jesus into the world. It is my understanding that shepherds were people who lived on the margins of society. They were living in the fields, rough and rugged men who had courage and tenacity. They had to guard sheep from predators, and they had to risk their lives for their flock at times.

The angels sought these men out and gave them the gift of being the first witnesses of a world transformation. It seems fitting that the shepherds, those on the margins, were the first to bear witness of God’s grace.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus came to give the good news to the poor. Here the poor were the first to bring his good news to the world. They were the ones to announce that One who came to give his life for his flock had come. The Good Shepherd had been born.

Prayer: Lord, you would have the poor and marginalized speak the truth to the world! Amen

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace                                                                                                         Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)

We are coming into the “home stretch” of the Christmas buying season. Days are slipping by as we count down to Christmas. Most people, often women, take great care in trying to get good things for their loved ones, spending hours, even days, searching out just the right gifts.  Some men I have known have spent up to 20 minutes trying to find the right gift before resorting to the tried-and-true gift certificate.  Hey, people appreciate them!

If buying gifts were all that Christmas was about, we would indeed be the most miserable of people.  I truly enjoy giving gifts to people, but that, of course, is not the essence of Christmas.  Christmas is truly an invasion of the heart with a renewed spirit.  The first Christmas was an invasion of earth by the visitation of Jesus born in the flesh.  This invasion was little noted at the time, being witnessed only by a select few people who scarcely knew what to make of the occasion. From that humble invasion came a spirit that we now know as God’s idea of how to show real love.  Christmas giving is meant to be an expression of love to one another, shown that day some 2000 years ago. 

So the expression of love, which is the real idea here, can be done in many ways, only one of which is physical gift giving. We can give the gift of life by listening closely and intently to others, especially in their time of need.  We can give the gift of life by a word of encouragement to others when they look a little defeated by the day’s worries.  We can give the gift of life to people without a word, but through a glance and a smile, or maybe a nod of approval.

In the next several days before Christmas, try a little experiment.  When you are sitting in a meeting, a group setting, church, or some other gathering where someone is a speaker, look directly at the speaker, give a little smile, and nod approval.  You will have just given to that speaker a little gift of life.

Most people reading this column have already sent their Christmas cards for the year, if indeed people still send them. However, I encourage another experiment. During the rest of the year, send a card of encouragement periodically to people, for no apparent reason other than to affirm them. You will be sending life to them.

So, as we settle into the commemoration of the gift of life that God has given to the world, let us give the gift of life to others.  Have a merry and blessed Christmas! 

Prayer: Lord, help us to spread the giving spirit of Christmas all year, Amen

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…                                                                                   Luke 4:18

“If the gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody…”             Rob Bell

Our pastor gave his sermon Sunday about Jesus “going to the margins”. What he meant was that Jesus always sought out those whom the current culture or ruling elites had put on those margins of society. Jesus came to proclaim God’s love and freedom for those whom the culture had forgotten or indeed, had even punished.

When that Spirit of the Lord rests upon the followers of Jesus, they are compelled to do the same- reach out to those whom the culture has marginalized. When Jesus related the story of the “Good Samaritan” he told the listeners, “Go and do likewise”. Our response to Jesus must be to do the same things he did.

I get a little concerned about the use and misuse of the term “personal salvation.” Indeed, Jesus came to give his life for us and to bring each of us into reconciliation with the Father, but too often, I think salvation becomes “only personal”. It can allow people to claim their own standing with God, and then feel like they are finished. We are to be followers of the way that Jesus taught, and not just “name droppers.”

If we are to be people of “the way of Jesus”, we need to act like him, and not just name him. The Christmas season is a wonderful opportunity to reach people who are on those margins. We can give of our finances and our time to help find people who may not know of the reason for the season. Then we can start to love them into the Kingdom that Jesus invited all to attend.

Prayer: Lord, what a beautiful opportunity we have to show your love to others in this season, Amen

During the Christmas season, we are often asked, “What do you want for Christmas?” A good question, and one that we also ask of our children and grandchildren. Of course, as we age, we get much more joy in giving than receiving gifts. Yet we also recognize that it gives joy to others to give gifts to us. Others want to surprise us, or think of that “perfect gift” in order to make us happy. What a wonderful set of circumstances this Christmas season brings!

This also gives me pause to consider what things I really need for Christmas. No, I do not need anything material, thankfully. What I want is for my wife, my kids and my grandkids to be happy. That is really the large consideration for parents and grandparents around the world.

As for material things, yes, they can be fun. Generally, however, people would much prefer experiences over material gifts. That is why cruises, trips, and vacations are so popular in our affluent culture. In an affluent culture, luxuries become necessities, and expectations are raised for givers and receivers.

So, during this Christmas season, revel in the joy you give to others through gifts or great experiences. Of course, we all need to remember that the best present is presence. That is the most remarkable gift of all.

Prayer: Lord, you gave us the gift of your Son’s presence and we are grateful, Amen

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons…                                                              I Timothy 4:1

I am guessing that you are already aware that denial of the Holocaust, which occurred during World War II, is an actual thing. Yes, there are many people who, for various reasons, have minimized or actually denied that Nazi Germany, under Adolf Hitler, undertook to exterminate the Jewish people. Further, other people groups were also targeted, including Roma people, and people with severe disabilities, among others.  Perhaps this is because the magnitude of the atrocity beggars the imagination. We find it hard to accept this perversion in the human spirit. Yet, the unspeakable horror of the Holocaust did indeed happen.

And as frustrating and improbable as that might be, there are thousands of people (perhaps, millions) who participate in this revision of history. Despite firsthand accounts of survivors, filmed documentation of it, and the Nuremburg trials which gave legal sanctions for it with proof, none of this prevails in the mind of some people who would wish it away for racist or political reasons. They simply deny the existence of the Holocaust.

This again is a reminder that the truth needs to be told and retold. If it is not, historical revisionism, lies and conspiracy theories can take hold and deceive many. Especially in this day of misinformation, disinformation, and deliberate falsehoods, we must remain diligent in retelling the truth.

Prayer: Lord, help us spread the light of truth in the darkness of deceit, Amen

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”                                  Luke 11:11-13

Today is December 6^th.  That may not mean much to you unless it is your birthday or anniversary, or some other specific occasion. For those of us from a certain generation and certain religious/cultural background however, it is kind of a big day.  You see, December 6^th is the feast of St. Nicholas- St. Nicholas Day.

Of course, “Old St. Nick” is the precursor of Santa Claus. This venerable tradition was very much a part of my childhood in a western suburb of Cincinnati, which was heavily German-Catholic. We would put shoes out for St. Nicholas to visit and he would put a little present into the shoe. That was the tradition, but as I recall, St. Nicholas found a way to get a little present to us on the porch whether or not we put out a shoe.

I have encouraged my kids to celebrate this tradition with their own children, and they have faithfully done this. The point of this is not presents, just like the traditions of Christmas are not about gifts. It is a reminder that those who love others us want to find opportunities to give gifts to them. Just like our heavenly father wants to give us good gifts.

So, if you want to make this Christmas season a little special just a little early, have St. Nicholas visit your family, or maybe some other family with a little porch gift.

It is a beautiful tradition.

Prayer: Thank you for the plan of giving good gifts to your children, Amen

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.                                                                                               John 8:12

It’s dark here in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States at this time of year, and it is only 5:30 PM as I write this blog entry. Yes, this time of year it gets dark pretty early here. In the farther eastern part of the time zone, it gets dark even earlier.  Suffice it to say, this feels like the dead of Winter. The darkest day, December 21 is, of course the shortest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

I suppose that such facts really color my thinking about the Christmas season in this part of the U.S. We tend to relate the dark days of mid-winter with Christmas. Hence the reason we love the outdoor illumination of the season. It just brings light into the dark.

The metaphor of Jesus being the light of the world comes to life in such a setting. When it is so dark, even a little light brings refreshment and hope. So, we celebrate Christmas at a time when we need a little more light, a little more encouragement.

This reminds me that Christians are, of course, all over the world, and my brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere are basking in a season where light abounds this time of year. That also reminds me that my United States view of Christmas is hopelessly parochial, and not at all relevant to a different cultural perspective.   

So, while I enjoy my cultural understanding of the Christmas season, I also understand that the true reason for the season has nothing to do with seasonal light changes, or snow, or Currier and Ives prints. It has to do with a celebration of true Light in a dark world.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of True Light, Amen