I Am Tired this Christmas

                I am tired today, and it is not because I did not sleep well last evening or because of the busyness of this Christmas and holiday events.   As I reflect on my tiredness, I realize there are some other things I am tired of.  As I think about the man going to Tennessee who I bought $10 of gas some time ago , I am tired of seeing people struggle with so little.  I am tired of hearing the sad tales of families that know strife.  I am tired of seeing in the newspaper the names of men and women soldiers who die in faraway lands and people in places in the USA who die even as they gather to worship.  

                The Gospel of John does not have a story about the birth of Jesus. You will find no shepherds or wise men there.  The closest that John comes to sharing about the birth of Jesus is this:  "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father"  (John 1:14). What that means for me is that God knows and understands what we experience in life because God in Christ lived among us.   If you are feeling tired at Christmas like me, know that God understands as Christ Jesus was so tired one day that he sat down beside the well (see John 4:6).    If you are tired of seeing poverty or know poverty, know that God understands because His Son was so poor when he was born that his parents wrapped him in swaddling cloths (see Luke 2:12).  If you are tired of strife in your family or in families around you, know that God understands because the family of Christ Jesus did not always understand him (see Matthew 12: 46-50).  If you are tired of war, know that when Christ was born the angels announced that Christ would bring a new age of peace and good will (see Luke 2:14).

  

                Christmas means many things, and one of the things that Christmas means is that God understands  because God in Christ became one of us.  God not only understands, but through that Christ he came to do something for  the plight of our humanity.   Have a joy-filled week and a Happy New Year!-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER

                Almighty God, thank you for your gift to the world of yourself in Jesus Christ.  We give thanks that you not only understand what it is to live, but through Christ you offer us salvation.  Make me mindful in this season of the eternal, changeless truths of Christmas;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

A Living Nativity on Graham Hopedale Road

One of the big influences on my beginnings in becoming a follower of Christ were  my experiences in the youth group of  Grace Church in Burlington.   The youth and the adults that worked with the youth of my home church were an important part of my life in my teen years  and I will always be grateful to God for them.  I remember an occasion when our youth fellowship group decided we wanted to have a “living nativity scene” for a series of nights in December near Christmas.       It was not uncommon for churches and businesses in those days to have wooden figures on their lawns in December that resembled Mary, Joseph, wise men, and the others in the “Christmas story”.    However, it was unusual in those days in our area  for that story to be told through real human beings and real livestock.

     

With the help and encouragement of our youth counselors and people in the church, we decided to have a living nativity scene for a series of nights near Christmas.   The lawn of our church seemed to be a prime spot to share the real message of Christmas with many since Graham-Hopedale Road was a main thoroughfare in that section of Burlington.    We built a outline of stable with old wood;  Carl Parks was kind enough to let us use some of his sheep and cows so we would have livestock for the stable.    Parents and youth counselors helped us create costumes that would resemble what our 1970’s mind thought was the way the shepherds, wise men, and the others dressed at the time.     Some parents volunteered to prepare hot chocolate and  snacks for us to enjoy when we came in from the winter cold.   We were excited and we were ready. 

Things did not turn out quite like we had planned or imagined.   Though some of the youth group were eager to sign up to be shepherds, after a few minutes they wandered away like lost sheep to other pursuits.     Though we thought it a great idea to have livestock in our 1970 stable, some of the sheep decided to wander away just like the shepherds and (unfortunately) one of the sheep was hit by a passing motorist.       While all of us were bundled with many layers of clothes, they were not thick enough to withstand the blistering cold and wind in piedmont North Carolina in December.     Youth that had been so eager to create a “living nativity scene”  soon realized that it was more than we had bargained for. 

I tell that true story because I think it a fitting metaphor of the way the story of the birth of Christ Jesus really is.   A young peasant pregnant girl named Mary and her betrothed, Joseph, make the trek to Bethlehem;   shepherds tending their flock have their tranquil night transformed by an angelic message and appearance.   Wise men in a country far away see a bright light in the heavens that beckons them to travel.    All came and all were  changed because of a God who gave them all more than they bargained for.  In the life of a small tiny child born in Bethlehem  God gave them and the whole world  a Savior who would save them from their sins.   Thanks be to God for this wondrous gift!-    Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   “O holy child of Bethlehem, descend on us we pray.   Cast out our sins and enter in, be born in us today.   We hear the Christmas angels; the great glad tidings tell.  O come to us; abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.”   Amen.  

Christmas Shopping: Finished or Just Getting Started?

Are you finished with your Christmas shopping or not even started?   If you have not started your Christmas shopping, it certainly is not because the retailers have not made you aware through television, internet,  and print of what they have to offer.    We give and buy our gifts for one reason- God’s great gift to the world found in Christ Jesus, God incarnate.   You might see some sales and bargains in this Christmas shopping season, but no gift compares with God’s gift in Christ Jesus.  And on top of that, God’s gift is free.  The apostle Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:8,  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”.    Thanks be to God for the gift of Christ and the gift of God’s grace that is ours in this season and every season. 

PRAYER

            O God, who came among us long ago and who comes among us in these Advent  days, prepare our hearts to receive anew the gift of your son, Jesus Christ.    Cleanse our hearts through the power of your Holy Spirit that Christ might live anew in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  

Complaining about the Right Things this Christmas

One of the things that I notice about people today (myself included)  even at Christmas is that they seem quick to complain, but slow to praise and offer thanks.      Don't believe that?   Well, take a few minutes to look at the evening news or to scroll through the news stories on your favorite 24 hour cable news cycle.    If you do not spend time with those news media,  take a few minutes and scroll through your news feed on Facebook.    If your experience is like mine, you will see a bounty of complaints but only a few praises and thanksgivings.  To put it in the words of that Christmas classic “A Christmas Carol”, there are too many “Ebenzer Scrooges” saying “Bah, humbug” and too few “Tiny Tims” saying “God bless us, everyone”. 

In Luke 17, we hear an encounter Jesus had with 10 lepers.  Leprosy was a dreaded skin disease in Jesus' day because it meant that a person was banished from their home, family, community, and community of faith.   As Jesus heals them, we see that only one out of ten of the lepers bothers to thank Jesus for his healing.     While the 10 lepers were eager to be healed, 9 out of the 10 lepers basically forgot to give thanks to the One that set them free from their plight.    Perhaps it be wise and important for us to spend more time giving thanks and grateful for what is and what isn't.   Perhaps it would lift our spirits and the spirits of others if we spent more time thanking God than bringing him a long list of complaints.  

Perhaps it wise for us to spend more time complaining about the "right things":  to complain less about what is for dinner and complain more that there are people who have no dinner to eat... to complain less about the color of the sanctuary carpet and complain more that there are people in the world who have not heard the gospel.  And while we are it,  don’t just complain about the “right things”.   Go a step further to do something so you have less to complain about.   I close with a poem I came across many years ago.   While you might have read it before, let it penetrate our heart.   Have a joy-filled day.-  Pastor Randy Wall

Today on a bus, I saw a lovely girl with silken hair
I envied her, she seemed so gay, and I wished I was so fair
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the isle
O God, forgive me when I whine
I have two legs, the world is mine

And then I stopped to buy some sweets
The lad who sold them had such charm
I talked with him, he seemed so calm, and if I were late it would do no harm,
And as I left he said to me “I thank you, you have been so kind”
It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see, I’m blind
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two eyes, the world is mine

Later walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue
He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do
I stopped a moment, then I said, why don’t you join the others dear”
He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear
O God forgive me when I whine
I have two ears, the world is mine

With legs to take me where I’ll go
With eyes to see the sunsets glow
With ears to ear what I would know
O God forgive me when I whine
I’m blessed, indeed, the world is mine

Joy Lovelet Crawford

Prayer:   God, I give you thanks for all my   blessings.    Give me eyes and a heart that are quick to see your goodness;  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Small Town Messiah

As Christmas approaches , it is interesting to me that many folks turn their thoughts to events in big cities.     We tune in to watch the Macy’s Christmas parade in New York City or folks tune in to watch the “ball drop” in New York City shortly after Christmas on New Years Eve.    Sport fans make plans during the days leading up to Christmas to see their favorite sports team in  person or via television in large cities like Boston, Los Angeles, or Dallas.     Those who like to shop for Christmas gifts in person rather than via internet make plans to fly or drive to large malls in places like Minneapolis, Charlotte, or Houston.  

And to think that we focus on events in these big cities as we prepare to celebrate a bigger event, the birth of Christ Jesus, who was not from a big city but a small town named   Nazareth.    You might say that Jesus was a rural, “small town” person.    Some less kind people might call Jesus a “country bumpkin”.    Though his stepfather, Joseph, was a carpenter,  Joseph’ carpentry skills did not rub off on Jesus as it is said  that Jesus had “no place to lay his head”.     And yet, it is this “small town” One whose birth is remembered hundreds of years after it happened, and it in His Name that people gather, people worship, and people give in this season.       A holy Advent and blessed Christmas to each of you.-  Randy Wall

Prayer:   God, I thank you for the matchless gift of yourself incarnate in Christ Jesus.  Help me to approach His birthday with childlike wonder as did the shepherds and with generous hearts as did the wise men long ago.   Amen.