Day 31 Refugee Status

Day 31 Refugee Status. 

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt. Matthew 2:13-14

In general, the world despises refugees. We may feel a twinge of pity when we see them massed on the border or living in squalor in a camp someplace; but we would rather not have to deal with them in our country. Let someone else deal with them. Refugees represent human failure, particularly failure of government. We despise refugees as those who consume resources without a return on the investment. We sequester them in shabby camps in often inhumane circumstances. If we do give them food, it’s rather unappetizing. I know, I’ve eaten standard U.N. refugee rations, and they make MREs delectable. We apply the NIMBY principle to refugees, not in my back yard. We would just as soon forget them.

Advent pushes refugees and our attitudes toward them into the limelight. No discussion of the events surrounding the incarnation is complete without considering the “flight into Egypt.” Jesus accepted refugee status to understand the plight of humanity. While we do not know the exact timeline, we do know that Joseph, warned in a dream took Mary and Jesus by night and fled; the implication being that Herod represented an existential threat to Joseph and his little family. Scripture offers no details regarding life in Egypt. I think we can safely assume that it would have been difficult, living in a foreign land among the Jewish diaspora. Jesus might very well feel more akin with the huddled masses seeking entry into the U.S. than with me and my comfortable life here in Lubbock. After all, like many of them, He fled to secure a better future.

Day 30 Pondering and Worshiping

19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Luke 2:19-20 English Standard Version

We’ve nearly reached the end of this advent journey. Along the way we’ve encountered a wandering childless Aramean, a man and woman evicted from paradise, a few old prophets, magi from the East on a quest, an old childless couple from Judea, a craftsman and his fiancé with a problematic pregnancy, and some wild-eyed excited shepherds. All these players in God’s great drama, helping in some way to bring in Immanuel…God with us. Heaven opened and Jesus was born, and nothing has been the same since.

Like all the actors in this morality play, we get to make a choice. Do we make room for Jesus and let Him have His way with us? Or do we merely take Him out of the box once a year to sit on the shelf while we play Christmas music and eat too much? The shepherds glorified and praised God. The magi sought out and worshiped. The prophets looked from afar and yearned. The wandering Aramean offered his son. They all were changed by their encounter with God. Do we only confront this Jesus once a year as an infant, or do we let Him change us, alter the trajectory of our lives, transforming us? The prospect is breathtakingly sublime. The process may be painful. Mary treasured all of these things in her heart, wondering what it all might mean. Ask any parent, having children always changes the dynamic. This child changed the world. Will we let Him change us?

 Day 29 The Big Reveal

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 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. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:8-11 English Standard Version

Quiet reigns in my house right now. A few minutes ago, chaos reigned. Each year my family enjoys a Christmas Eve dinner of tamales, guacamole, refried beans, and various sweets. We gather ‘round the table with all the leaves put in and the food, happiness, and laughter flow. Then we watch one of our “standard” Christmas movies, while supper settles. Then everyone heads home. We will gather again tomorrow for more food and a small gift exchange. Over the years the gifts have become smaller and fewer in number, but the joy grows. We will eat and laugh some more. Bur for right now, Kimmy (our cat) and I enjoy solitude, peace, and quiet.  

Millenia ago, peace and quiet reigned on a rocky Judean hillside. Shepherds and sheep rested in the dark of the night. Suddenly everything changed. The veil between heaven and earth split open and light spilled out driving back the darkness. An angel brought good news of a savior, bringing peace and joy. Then a host of heavenly beings broke out in song. God announced the birth of His son.

He announced the birth of His son to a bunch of scruffy sheep herders, men considered among the lowliest of the low. I find it instructive that God revealed the birth of Jesus to this group of people. When He came into this physical reality, He rubbed shoulders with the lower ranks of Jewish society. Shepherds, carpenters, an old childless couple, a young girl probably a teenager, and some strange star-gazing foreigners made up the cast of characters in His great reveal. I probably wouldn’t have made the list. My zip-code is too toney. God reaches out to those of the lowliest estate, and they respond with adoration and worship. Perhaps that’s why He went to the shepherds; nothing stood between them and hearing the good news. 

Day 28 The Wise-Guys

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 ESV

“Wise men from the east…” I enjoy the mystery surrounding the mages from the East. Something about them appeals to my sense of wonder. They appear looking for Jesus. Asking Herod merely alerts him to a supposed threat. Their knowledge incomplete, the scribes narrow their search to Bethlehem and off they go to find this new king. They find Joseph, Mary, and most importantly Jesus, worship him giving gifts, and then depart, taking a different route after a dreamy encounter. We do not know much else. How did they know to look for Jesus? What alerted them to the importance of the star? I suppose that somehow during the Jewish exile, information about the coming Messiah leaked out; but that is pure speculation on my part. We just do not know. It is one of those things that God kept to Himself.

And that is what I like. The arrival of the Magi reminds me that God is up to things. He’s busy working His will in ways that I do not know. In my buttoned-down, well-ordered world, I think I know. But God periodically batters down my prideful assertion that I have things figured out. He reaches out to all His children in a myriad of ways. Somehow, He reached out to the Wise Men, and they responded in worship. We do not know what happened to them or what they did after they returned to their homes…someplace in the nebulous East. But they were changed. They had seen the newborn king, the Messiah, Immanuel, God with us.

Day 27 Comfort for the Weary

Day 27 Comfort for the Weary

1Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned… Isaiah 40:1-2a English Standard Version

Life can be tough. Anyone who’s lived through a few years knows this. Sometimes life throws unexpected challenges our way. Sickness, financial failure, familial fracture, betrayal, and the list goes on. When I was in Iraq my work area was next to the office of the General Officer that exercised field-grade courts-martial authority for the entire corps. One evening a week he held court. On that day the waiting area would fill up with senior officers and senior non-commissioned officers awaiting their fate. They all sat there looking extremely dejected. They all knew that their careers were over. Oh, they might escape discharge, but they would not escape the disgrace that accompanied their misdeeds. Their lives were in a shambles, a shambles of their own making. So, there they sat alone and hurting with no one to help. After their appearance before the General, they left his office, shoulders slumped and shuffled off into an ignominious oblivion. They needed comfort and there was none to give. Their iniquities had born fruit.

We think of the Isaiah passage as providing comfort for a people beset by enemies around them. But look again. Their pain is for their own iniquities, things they did wrong. When we fail, we feel the weight of our indiscretion. Jesus came to set us free from that crushing burden. The old prophet cries out, “Comfort, comfort my people. Jesus endured the incarnation to bring comfort and freedom from the guilt of our own intransigence. Yes, in Him I find surcease from pain others inflict upon me; however, I also find the greater gift of release from the guilt inflicted pain of my own creation. Jesus came so that we might enjoy a life free from the burden of our own mistakes. The babe in the manger extends comfort, comfort for His people. 

Day 26 He Grew Up

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52 English Standard Version 

I had a pleasant childhood. Oh, there were trying moments. I could have passed on zits. Skipping those awkward times learning how to tell a joke or story would have been nice. I wouldn’t have missed avoiding all of the seventh grade. But the reality of my growing up was quite good. As an officer and now teacher, I deal with children that suffer greatly. Their childhood is unfolding in very dark directions. They often suffer because of what others, frequently their parents, choose. Most of my memories center around good times. Growing up in Abilene was fairly benign. 

We do not know much about Jesus’ youth…very little. Scripture provides a handful of details. Even though we’d love to know more, God chose to keep most of that to Himself. One of the things that we do know is that Jesus learned. The creator truly emptied Himself. He set aside the vast knowledge required to create and operate the universe and learned. Luke records that Jesus “grew in wisdom.” The inventor of gravity had to learn how to manage to navigate with two chubby uncoordinated feet. Imagine Jesus, Immanuel, learning to use a fork and spoon, how to use a privy. Sometime around the age of five or six, Mary would deliver him to the synagogue school in Nazareth where He would learn to read and write. All those experiences common to school were common to Him. He “grew in wisdom.” Luke records the temple experience, which indicates that Jesus was an exceptional student; but He was still a student. The incarnation was complete. When we celebrate Christmas, advent, we celebrate God becoming an infant, toddler, boy, teenager, youth, and then a young man. But it all starts with Him giving up, setting aside, all that power and expertise. He limited Himself to draw near, to be with us, to be one of us. Immanuel…God with us. 

Day 25 Faith and Trust

Day 25 Faith and Trust

24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. Matthew 1:24-25 English Standard Version

Matthew tells the Christmas story from the perspective of Joseph while Luke narrates the story from the viewpoint of Mary. As an English teacher, I emphasize the role of viewpoint as part of how an author communicates their point. While I believe that the Holy Spirit is the true author of scripture, I also believe that the men who took up pen and paper helped shape the message of the text. Matthew wanted to communicate the role of faith and trust in the incarnation, so he laid out how Joseph trusted both the Lord and Mary. 

We know precious little about Joseph from scripture. He descended from David. He normally lived in Nazareth where he earned a living as a carpenter or craftsman. He was an upright, or righteous, man. He was willing to put off consummation of marriage for nine months, give or take. As a veteran of multiple deployments, I know a bit about putting such things off. That would not be an easy task, but one that Joseph shouldered willingly. He took Mary into his home, ‘but knew her not.” He complied with orders delivered in a dream. Later, he uprooted his family, fleeing to Egypt because of a dream. He walks across the stage of scripture with quiet obedience, setting an example of faith and trust that comes down to us today. He enters and leaves the written record with no trumpets, no fanfare. He receives a message through a dream and does what he’s told to do. Would I take such life-altering actions based on a dream? I doubt it. But Joseph did. Faith and trust altered the dynamic and opened a door for God to enter the world and change everything. 

Day 24 Do Not Fear

Day 24 Do Not Fear

…but do not let God speak to us, lest we die. Exodus 20:19 English Standard Version

I remember the first time I briefed a General Officer. I was still a Second Lieutenant and mortally afraid. General Officers enjoy great power in the Army. A casual word from their lips can make a career or end it before it even starts; consequently, I was rather nervous when the moment arrived. Fortunately for me, my NCOs had well prepared me, and the briefing went off without any problems. The Israelites felt an even greater, more realistic, fear. They had seen the power and might of the Lord, plagues, parted seas, a pillar of fire by night, water from a rock, and other demonstrations of His dominance. They knew they served a holy God and that they were manifestly unholy, unworthy. Yet God wanted to be close to them. Enter the incarnation.

Since the fall, God has worked diligently to draw close to His children and renew the relationship we ruptured. His burning holiness presented a great obstacle. So, He decided to become one of us. Somehow, He packaged His innate nature in human form so that we might draw close without fear. Late in his life, John would look back on this marvel and say, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—,” I John 1:1.

Emanuel, God with us. God made the journey we could not so we might approach that which we could not. Undergoing the incarnation enabled God to renew relationship with His children. By becoming an infant, dependent upon a mother and father for everything, God came near. Suddenly the voice which thundered on Sinai, cried out plaintively for comfort in the night. The hand that parted the waters fumbled uselessly in the dark, groping for His mother. The feet that had stepped out into space, hovering over the formless void, could not support his own body. The almighty became powerless so that we might draw near without fear. He loved that much.

Day 23

55 Is not this the carpenter's son?... Matthew 13: 55a

One of my students wrote a short story for a class assignment. It was some of the best writing I read the entire semester and surprised me greatly. I shared it with my principal, who was also quite surprised. This student has no plans for college. They are diligently working to get their welding certification. I’m certain that they will make a fine welder. Despite his somewhat rough ways, I’d give him the keys to my truck. This story surprised all who’ve read it. We never expected to see this kind of story flow from his pen. We all think of him as blue-collar.

Jesus was blue-collar. His father was a carpenter, or perhaps a craftsman, not exactly the lineage of a world changer. We tend to look toward those with fine pedigrees or education for leadership. Yet, when God chose an earthly father to guide His son through His early years, He chose a craftsman from Nazareth. A few years later, Nathaniel would famously ask, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46 ESV In part, we were all surprised at the quality of my student's writing because we think of him as a welder. Can any good writing come from a welder? God sees things differently. He chose Joseph for the quality of his character. Matthew notes that he was a “just” man. We do not know much more about Joseph. He was a carpenter, and he was just…oh, he was also willing to listen to and follow his dreams. 

Perhaps those are the qualities I ought to work on in myself, my craft, being just, and being willing to follow my dreams. God cared more about the character of Joseph than his bank account. We know precious little else about the man God entrusted with His baby boy. Just maybe, that’s all we really need to know.

Day 22 Hard to Explain

Day 22 Hard to Explain

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34 English Standard Version

I teach at a small parochial school. One year a female student turned up pregnant. After much soul-searching and prayer, we let her, and the father, go. They were allowed to finish the semester but could not attend the next semester. It was a painful experience for all involved, especially for the young woman and her family. While some might criticize the decision, I understood the reasoning and supported it, and still do. The young woman kept her child and later was allowed to return to continue her scholastic pursuits. Her family has supported her and from my vantage point, she’s done very well. I admire her and her family. In a tough situation, they behaved very well, setting a fine example of how to sort through a mistake with grace and compassion. What could have been bitter, ugly, and dark, is slowly working out. As this Christmas season has unfolded, I often think of her and of Mary.

While the Bible remains silent on the subject, Mary must have suffered through this inexplicable pregnancy. Virgins do not get pregnant. It just doesn’t work that way. Yet, this is what God asked her to do. Perhaps that is why she went and spent some time visiting Elizabeth. Again, we do not know. Whatever happened, surely Mary, and Joseph, endured the odd looks, awkward pauses, rumors, and sidelong glances. They did so to fulfill God’s promise. Often God asks His followers to endure uncomfortable situations. Now, you and I know the rest of the story. We understand the miraculous nature of Mary’s pregnancy. We rejoice in the result. But then, it must have been a difficult and painful time. It was good that Mary had Elizabeth to turn to. As part of the unfolding nativity, Elizabeth would know and understand. 

So just perhaps, the next time we run into one of those awkward situations we can show a bit of grace and compassion instead of judgment and censure. After all, the mother of our Lord endured significant embarrassment so we might enjoy Christmas. Besides, we all know the pain of the result of a moment's reckless folly. 

Day 21 Empty, Away

53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. Luke 1:53 English Standard Version

I do not think of myself as rich. I consider myself comfortably middle class. I do not live ostentatiously. I drive a truck that is seventeen years old, and Christy drives a van that is fourteen years old. I live in an older, but nice, neighborhood. Our house was built in 1979, the year I graduated from high school. We give at our place of worship and a few other charities. My income meets my needs and lets me do most of the things I want…read good books, drink good coffee, and listen to jazz in the evenings. The rich live much differently…right?

Perhaps not. If you look worldwide, I’m richer than 98% of the world. It’s hard to believe, but I’ve traveled the world enough to know that it is true. Compared to almost everyone else in the world, I enjoy extravagant wealth. I like to look at others judgmentally. They are rich and should do more; but in reality, I am rich and should do more. In my comfortable chair, I read scripture and assume that when God speaks about the rich, He’s really talking either about or to someone else. Not true. He’s talking to me. My position in the upper 2% of wealthy people in the world means that the second half of Luke 1:53 is directed toward me. Advent is largely about Jesus coming to the poor and downtrodden, not me. Spiritually speaking, I’m impoverished and need the Gospel, but I still cannot escape the fact that I am rich and in danger of being sent empty, away. How often have I, like the rich man in the Lazarus story, walked past the poor? Empty, away. The knowledge of my wealthy status makes me reconsider passages in which the Lord speaks harshly to the rich. I do not like those sad, sad words, “empty, away.” Christmas and the advent stories remind me that I enjoy manifold blessings from God and ought to share the wealth. 

Day 20 The Reality

Day 20 The Reality

12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. Luke 2:12 English Standard Version

Over the years I’ve painted a comfortable patina over Christmas. I read the stories, watch the movies, listen to the carols, look at the lights, trim the trees, wrap the presents, eat the snacks (far too many), and bask in the memories. I enjoy the season. I always have. Every year I look forward with great anticipation to this time of year. It is the high point of my year. In the repetition, I lose some of the wonder. In the lights and business some of the gritty, not so pleasant details slip past me. I forget that participation in this great unfolding drama meant significant turmoil for the individuals concerned.

Zechariah, an old man, serving in the temple was visited by an angel, not some little rotund cuddly cherubic form. No, this was a powerful, mighty messenger of the Lord. We get no details regarding his appearance, but it did not inspire joy in Zechariah. Instead, he felt great fear. He knew from the history of his people that his life was about to change and change from God normally meant discomfort of one type or another. And this time was no different. Before the meeting was over, Zechariah would find himself dumbfounded and then struck dumb. 

Participation in God’s grand story normally means some sort of dislocation. He simply meddles in our affairs. He’s not content to leave us where we are. As with Zechariah, He has a better, bolder future planned. Of course, Zechariah and Elizabeth yearned for children. But, as a sixty-year-old, I don’t know if I’d be up for raising an infant. Thinking of all the sleep interruptions, diaper changings, baby spit-up on my favorite shirts, running after a naked toddler bent on escaping, and a myriad of other tasks leaves me exhausted. But that was God’s plan, the message delivered by the angel. So, Zechariah stumbled forth, unable to speak, and another line in the great redemption tale was penned. I wonder what odd role God has for you and me in the continuing unfolding of His story.

Day 19 Something Different

Day 19 Something Different

19 Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

For four hundred years no prophecy came to forth. The earth turned and moved around the sun. Summer followed Spring which followed Winter which came after fall. Children were born, grew up, married, had their own children, saw their grandchildren, and then followed their parents into the grave. Kingdoms rose up and then fell, replaced by some new kingdom. Nothing changed. Sin still reigned in the hearts of men and women. God’s chosen people languished under the lash of foreign rulers. Darkness seemed so powerful. But something, someone was coming.

God was doing something different; so different that almost no one noticed when it happened. A few shepherds late at night, a young girl and a carpenter with a problematic pregnancy, an old couple enjoying a late-life surprise, and some wandering star-gazers formed the list of those that noticed. The radical, world-changing force came in the guise of a squalling infant. And, he came to some transients who would soon become refugees, fleeing political persecution. None of this would normally herald greatness. This beginning is so humdrum and normal that it does not merit notice. Yet, this is how God changes everything. It is new and fresh, water in the wasteland.

So, this Christmas, as I consider the incarnation, what wastelands in my heart need a touch of His water, His radical change? What areas in my walk have I let grow dry and fallow? He still wants to do a new thing in me. He’s unwilling to let things remain the same. Of course, I must be willing to make room for Him and have the faith to let Him do His strange and marvelous work, His radical life-altering work.

Day 18 A Journey Undertaken

Day 18 A Journey Undertaken

2 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:1-2 English Standard Version

I enjoy my conveniences. I live three and half minutes from my work. We just moved into a new facility. Oddly, my commute time did not change. My old commute was almost the same, give or take thirty seconds. All the places where I conduct my normal business are within easy driving, with the furthest being less than fifteen minutes. I conduct almost all my financial business via the internet. Christmas shopping, internet. Vehicle registration, internet. Entertainment, internet. Music, internet. My cellphone enables me to communicate, take photos, and complete a myriad of tasks from the palm of my hand. This devotion to my convenience extends into my worship.

In my practice of Christianity, I often choose based on convenience. I look for a congregation that embraces a theology I’m comfortable with. The worship needs to suit my needs. I need to respect the preacher. They need to challenge some, but not too much. I look for a group of people enough like me to rub shoulders with. Unlike men of old, I do not want to drive too far.

We do not know much about the wise men, mages. They researched, poring over dusty tomes at great length. We know that they came from the east; perhaps traveling for over a thousand miles. A journey of such length would entail a significant expenditure of funds and could not have been too comfortable. Yet, they made the journey to worship a newborn king. They did not consider ease and expense when choosing who and how to worship. They went to great length and expense to worship. It must have taken them far out of their “comfort zone.” Their tale challenges me.

What expense and distance would I go to for worship? How far would I travel to bend my knee to the Lord? What kinds of gifts would I bring? We do not know much about these strange visitors from the East. What we do know challenges. What we do know makes me think about my own faith and dedication. Am I a wise man, or am I too comfortable?

Day 17 Wise Men

Day 17 Wise Men

2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:1

Sacsimo collapsed into a dirty white plastic chair and gazed out across Baghdad with tired, gritty, eyes. Dun buildings glowed in the setting sun as the sky slowly drew its purple curtain across the day. The plaintive evening call to prayer added to his melancholy. Sacsimo, called Sacs by his friends, fumbled in his pockets for his evening cigar and a light. A couple of clicks on an old Zippo, a brief flare of light, and a steady red glow later, and Sacs leaned back exhaling a weary blue plume into the deep blue velvet sky. Sacs absently reached out and touched his M-4, drawing reassurance from its familiar proximity. Gazing out across the city, Sacs reviewed the day, weariness from long days in a combat zone penetrating deep into his bones.

This day had been particularly long, frustrating, and painful. A visit to a Neighborhood Advisory Council had not gone well. Volatile Iraqis had argued and quarreled forestalling any progress on the issues at hand. Acrimony and suspicion marked every interaction with Iraqis. Centuries of suspicion and hatred made progress painfully slow. Sacs’ superiors measured success in vanishingly small increments. Then on the way back to FOB they encountered an IED and SPC Franklin perished in the flaming wreckage. Sacs hated his shadowy and unseen enemy. They lurked in the shadows, periodically visiting death and destruction on Sacs unit and innocent Iraqis alike. This war, and its seemingly endless round of deployments, drug on and Sacs grew increasingly weary in soul and body. In the gloaming, an indistinct shape clambered up to join Sacs in his contemplation.

“What’re you doing,” the dark shape asked?

“Nothing, just thinking,” Sacs replied, “Who are you, a new guy?”

“Yep,” replied the vague shape, “Staff-Sergeant Archi, just got here. I’m new to the unit. Who are you?”

“Sergeant First Class Sacsimo. Most everyone calls me Sergeant Sacs.”

“What are you doing up here,” dark shape asked?

“Smoking, thinking, and unwinding.”

“Got an extra smoke?”

“Sure,” Sacs fumbled and passed over the zippo and another stogie.

Another click or two, a bright flash, followed by a steady red glow. “So what’re you thinking about?”

“Not much. Mostly about how much I hate it here…how much I hate the Iraqis. This is one God-Forsaken place,” Sacs mumbled, “I don’t know why we care about these people or what they do.”

“Well, they deserve a chance to make their country into something worthwhile.” 

“Not in my book. They are just a bunch of ragheads, running around killing each other. We should just go home and let them kill each other off! I hate them. They are worthless!” The longer he spoke the more strident and agitated SFC Sacks became. “All they do is fight among each other and squabble over what’s left. We should kill them all, and then let God sort ‘em out!”

Sergeant Archi quietly mused as the stars slowly winked in agreement, “You seem rather sure of yourself.”

“Yes I am. You should ask Frankie and his friends what they think. They’re the ones that pay the price,” the red coal glowed fiercely, “This place totally sucks and I can’t get out of here fast enough. Like I said, this is one God-forsaken place!”

“How do you know God has forsaken this place,” wondered Archi?

“It’s so dark and they don’t place any value on human life. All they care about is power and their silly religion.”

“I don’t think God has forsaken any of His creation. He loves these people, just like He loves you and me.”

“How can you know that?”

“He sent His son, and…He shared that with men from someplace around here.”

“What?”

“Wise-men, Mages, came from the East. We don’t know exactly where or how, but He made sure that they knew, so He must care and had not forsaken this place. We don’t know much, but we do know that God answers all who seek Him.”

Sacs mused, turning over these thoughts in his mind. How could God care about these people who were so far from Him? How could he care about Sacs for that matter? He thought of the hatred that burned in his heart, the raged planted there, planted in the heat of battle. “I don’t know. All of that God stuff seems pretty useless to me,” he mused out loud.

Archi’s coal glowed brightly for a second, “Of course. We get so used to our hatred, our darkness, our warped view of things that anything else seems impossible. But I know that He has the answers, that wise men still seek Him, and that He is ready to be found. Look for Him like they did. They looked diligently from here…and so should you.”

“Humph. I’m not sure that God cares about this place, but I’ll think about what you said. G’night sergeant,” and with that Sacs heaved himself out of the chair and clambered down into the darkness to find his hooch.

The coal glowed brightly for a few minutes and then slowly faded out.

The next day, SFC Sacs ran into First Sergeant Winston. “Hey Top, where’s SSG Archi? I ran into him last night.”

“SSG who,” growled the 1SG, “We don’t have a SSG Archi.”

“Yes, we do. I met him last night. He said he was new to the unit.”

“Nope, no SSG Archi. You must be mistaken.”

Sacsimo watched the 1SG stalk off across the dust FOB and wondered, thinking about who Archi was and what he said. 

 

Day 16 Great Anticipation

For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Matthew 13:7 English Standard Version

As a little boy growing up in Abilene, Texas much of my year revolved around Christmas, not in a spiritual sense, but as a center of excitement and anticipation. Each year the mailman delivered wondrous visions of possibilities in the form of J.C. Penny’s and Sears catalogs. These hefty tomes provided hours of entertainment. My brother and I would pour over them, examining each full-color slick page in the toy section, turning down the corners of pages with particularly good offerings. One of my personal favorites was the GI Joe section. I yearned, lusted really, for a complete collection. One year a GI Joe in a real wooden footlocker showed up under my tree. My friends and I spent hours fighting back hordes of imagined enemies with our GI Joes. Little did I know that I would end up spending twenty-seven years pursuing my childhood pastime. I do not know what became of my GI Joe, his footlocker, and the associated paraphernalia. They disappeared along with the other oddments of my childhood, but the sense of wonder and anticipation surrounding Christmas remains.

I still enjoy the lights, trimmed trees, music, presents, and food. This afternoon we gathered, enjoyed a brunch, trimmed our tree, and watched two Christmas movies. However, the feeling of anticipation remains the great joy of Christmas. Each year the possibilities brought by a renewed revealed incarnation grow within me. I look forward to God with us. Yes, I know that the incarnation took place two-thousand years ago, but each year He comes again in my heart. Like the little boy of long ago, sitting on a blue couch turning the shiny pages of a catalog, I turn the pages of the book which offers wondrous possibilities. Jesus is coming. His arrival changes things, turns back the hands of time to a long-ago place where sin and hate did not reign, where God and man walked in the cool of the evening.

Day 15 Fuel for the Fire

Day 15 Fuel for the Fire

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. Isaiah 9:5 English Standard Version

This past Memorial Day, I dug through an old footlocker and found a Bronze Star from my service in Iraq, toom it to my classroom and showed it to my classes. It impressed my students. Search my closets and you will find an assortment of old uniforms, boots, and head-gear collected during twenty-plus years of service. A variety of memorabilia graces the walls and shelves of my study and classroom. Any casual observer might note that I take pride in my military service. They would be correct. I devoted twenty-seven of my sixty years to serving my county. That period of time is a source of great satisfaction. But…

God turns everything topsy-turvy. What we embrace, He rejects. What we admire, He disdains. What we honor, He holds in disrepute. All those things I’ve stored away and hung on the walls count for very little in His economy. The scraps of ribbon, treasured medals, cherished memorabilia, precious uniforms, and odd reminders will all be burned up some day, scraps of fuel for a fire. He understands the true nature of power. Christmas reminds me that He set aside all of that to come and save me. He spurned all the perks and privileges of position to be born a lowly human. Christmas is a gentle, peaceful time, not one of power and might. It is quietness and calm, not brashness and tumult. 

Day 14 Walking in the Dark

Day 14 Walking in the Dark

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

When I was a young private, I was assigned to a Combat Engineer Battalion. Our command team insisted on training us as infantry as well as engineers. Accordingly, I found myself humping across the training area at Fort Riley in the middle of the night, a night so dark that all I could see of the soldier in front of me was the small luminescent tabs on the back of his helmet. We’d trudged through the dense underbrush and wait-a-minute vines for hours. Suddenly, the glowing green tabs in front of me disappeared. As I wondered what had happened the ground beneath me also disappeared, and I found myself tumbling down a steep incline into the dark, landing on a pile of men and equipment. Two or three others followed me off the same precipice before the column halted. Misoriented in the dark we lost our way and stumbled into trouble.

Since the garden, our history is a string of stumbles through the darkness. We fumble about in the dark, careening from one chaotic situation to the next. We have lost our way. Oh, we make minor advances here and there, but our history, corporate and individual, is one continuous string of errors, failures, and misdeeds. God wants to shine the light of His being into our dark existence. We have seen a great light, shining into the dark night of our soul’s lost wanderings. 

Day 13 The Little Ones Will Shine

Day 13 The Little Ones Will Shine

2  But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old,  from ancient days Micha 5:2

Leaders yearn for status and recognition. In the Army, men hungered for that next promotion. In the business world, it’s the corner office. While I was in Recruiting Command, for one brief moment, it was both. I’d been selected for promotion to Major. I could put CPT(P) behind my name, though that is not a true title. My commander, a lieutenant colonel, decided that I would pull double duty as a company commander and battalion operations officer. Our battalion headquarters was in a tall office building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It overlooked the Browns football stadium, the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, and the waterfront. The Operations Officer, as one of the senior officers of the organization, enjoyed a nice corner spot with great views. I showed up for my first day of duty eagerly awaiting the chance to move into the prime real-estate.

Much to my chagrin another officer, one who would be my deputy, had already moved into the much sought-after desk. I pointed out that as the Operations Officer that desk was mine. He replied that we were both captains, so I could go pound sand. He did not know that soon I would be a major. I chose to bide my time since it would only be a couple of weeks before I was promoted. Sure enough, two weeks later I pinned on Major’s rank. I went over after my promotion ceremony and told my new subordinate to clear out his things. I had attained the next rank. In a world driven by rank and status, I had moved up.

Unlike the human world, God operates differently. When preparing to send His son through the incarnation, God chose to send His Son to a minor clan in a minor, subjugated, nation. As if that was not enough, He sent His son to work in a blue-color career with very little in the way of status or wealth. God uses the small and insignificant to work His will and achieve great things. Each Christmas among all the acts of celebration, we should set aside time to contemplate God’s penchant for breaking into our reality through the inconsequential. Christmas reminds us that even if we are not great or wealthy, God may use us to do significant things in His plan. We submit to Him and He folds us into the warp and woof of His wonderful tapestry. Each year the incarnation reminds us of God’s penchant for using the opposite of what we would to achieve His goals. It is, truly, a wonderful time of year. 

Day 12 A Promise Made

Day 12 A Promise Made

4 I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26: 4-5

Much of the arc of the Christmas story, the salvation story, is made up of promises. God spoke to a wandering Aramean, promising Him a multitude of descendants, a homeland, and an astounding future that would bless all the nations of the earth. He believed, obeyed, and followed. Because of his actions God folded Isaac into the story, along with the multitude that sprang from the promise. Years later, a young teenaged descendent believed and God became flesh.

Each Christmas we celebrate a God who keeps His promises. We celebrate a God who is trustworthy. We celebrate a God who made the incredible journey. In a world weighed down with broken promises, failed words, few things are trustworthy. Every day many fail to keep their spoken word. When I was in recruiting, we struggled with many young people who promised to join the Army, taking the oath, and yet failing to ship out to basic training. Rare indeed was the parent that expected their children to live up to their promise. We all know men and women that shipwreck their marriages, ruining their families by failing to keep their promise. But God, who is not slow keeping His word, diligently and faithfully worked all things together in order to save His creation. His promise to Abraham passed on to Isaac and others. It also passes on to you and to me. At this festive time of year, we celebrate a God whose word is His bond. What he says He will do, He does…like no other. 

Day 11 Not This One

Day 11 Not This One

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Genesis 22:12 English Standard Version

In a story full of strange stories, Abraham offering Isaac stands as one of the strangest. God speaks to Abraham, directing him to travel to a mountain where he must offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. And Abraham obeys. It is only as he stands with knife upraised ready to plunge it into his son’s chest that God steps in, halting the action. He provides a ram as a replacement for Isaac. We recognize the allegorical nature of the story, the ram representing Jesus. But we often miss another lesson.

Isaac could not serve as a sacrifice for anyone. As a sinful human, he deserved death. How death occurs is immaterial, his sins separated him from God…as do ours. God makes a strong statement through this story. A sinful human cannot serve as a sacrifice. Only a perfect human could serve as a replacement for the sinful. Yes, this event sealed Abraham’s reputation as a man of faith. It also reminds us that our own sinful nature required a perfect sacrifice. Christmas is the perfect time to ruminate on our own desperate need and God’s own lavish love that would make such a journey. 

Day 10 We Required This

Day 10 We Required This

32 Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” Genesis 18:32

Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities found in the ancient world. Abraham’s nephew Lot chose to live there, the land being well-watered and lush. Two cities that somehow went astray in a particularly abhorrent fashion. Two cities that God blotted out. In one of the more famous incidents from his life, Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Interestingly at the beginning of this episode, God muses whether to tell Abraham or not, deciding to tell him, “…18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” Genesis 18:18-19 God expects Abraham to share the lesson he’s about to learn.

We focus on the salacious sexual sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. But the prophet Ezekiel clarifies things for us. 49 This was the sin of your warped sister, Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, gluttonous, and lazy. She never gave help to the poor and needy. 50 They were prideful, and they did abhorrent things right in front of Me, shamelessly and without remorse! As you already know, I put an end to Sodom and her daughters when I saw their behavior. Ezekiel 16:49-50 The Voice. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were prideful and arrogant. In their pride, they forgot to help the poor and needy…among other things. They set their own standard.

Recently in one of my classes, a student remarked, “We set our own morality.” Most of their classmates agreed. They were not espousing some new and unforeseen theological failure. They merely reflect the culture in which they live. In our own pride, we turn away from God and develop our own morality, and this hubris necessitates Christmas. Back beyond all the tinsel, trees, lights, presents, and good food lies our own prideful nature and God’s constant work to let mercy triumph over judgment. We devalue holiness, forgetting that our own darkness separates us from the light. God carefully orchestrated the unfolding of history, leading up to Bethlehem…and the cross. Sadly, Sodom and Gomorrah are part of the Christmas story. They remind us of our own desperate need and His undying love. Love that makes the journey to the cradle. 

Day 9 About this Time, Next Year

Day 9 About this Time, Next Year

10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” Genesis 18:10

I do not enjoy looking in the mirror. Someone stole my reflection and replaced it with a balding, slightly overweight middle-aged man. I’m not certain when it happened, but it did. Now, instead of youthful vigorous eyes, the strange visage gazes back through bifocals, framed by bushy eyebrows, crow’s feet, and laugh-lines. Now the Social-Security-Administration sends me junk-mail that I actually read, as that date is just around the corner. My favorite kind of evening ends with soft jazz, a good book, and my feet up. I can honestly say that I like slow walks around the lake watching the sunrise gild the clouds. I enjoy being the “old-man” of the school. The kids have moved out and I buy comfortable clothes. The pace of my life slows, and I do not mind.

Every December, I think of Abraham and wonder. How would I handle an infant at the age of ninety-one, some thirty years in the future? God often calls us out of our comfort zone in order to fold us into His plan. The drama of Christmas, unfolding over millennia, reminds me that God employs unlikely players in His work. An elderly, childless, couple served as the progenitors of the nation through which He would restore relationship with His creatures. Christmas announces God’s intent to engage with us, and that engagement challenges us with something new, wonderful, and just perhaps, uncomfortable. 

Day 8 Go

Day 8 Go

12 1Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God does odd things, things which defy easy explanation. After God’s great burst of creativity, ending with His masterpiece, mankind, He lavishes His love on us, placing us inside a garden designed for thriving. Then in a fit of prideful rebellion, we turn our back on Him and all He offered, including the intimacy of evening walks. But He was not through with us. Not only did He plan on redeeming, restoring, and reclaiming us, He also planned on involving us in the process. 

Years later He reaches out to an old childless man, asking him to uproot and move across the ancient world to a land he’d never seen. Leaving behind all that he’d known, Abram sets out on this strange journey. His trust and faith in God brings him into the grand narrative of salvation. He joins God on this marvelous journey from darkness into light, from desperation to security, from broken relationship to safe intimacy. Through Jesus and the incarnation, God extends the same offer to us today. Christmas reminds us of God’s continuing creative work of redemption, restoration, and reclamation, bringing His lost sheep back into the fold. 

Day 7, The Coming Solution

Day 7 The Coming Solution

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

    and you shall bruise his heel.”

Hip-Pocket-Training. As a junior officer in the Army, I never failed to go out without some sort of plan for unscheduled training opportunities. Long ago, the Army learned that idle soldiers find something to do, and it is not usually a good thing. Leaders should always have something productive in mind for soldiers to do if an unexpected pause in the day came up. The wrath of superior officers was sure to descend upon any Lieutenant found with a platoon loitering about with nothing to do while waiting for transportation. More than one officer found their planned careers curtailed because of shenanigans generated by idle troops.  Similarly, Adam and Eve did not surprise God with their prideful actions.

God always planned on the incarnation.  He planned to dispatch His son on this critical mission to redeem, restore, and renovate. He had Christmas in mind when He said, “Let there be light.” Christmas is not a plan B, not hip-pocket. He always intended to put on flesh and walk among His creatures, reclaiming the intimacy lost so long ago. Christmas reminds us of God’s longing for a close, familiar relationship with His children. Each Christmas, as we celebrate the incarnation, we also celebrate His desire for connection and His willingness to undergo a radical alteration to make the journey.

Day 6 The Core of the Problem

Day 6 The Core of the Problem

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Genesis 3:7

Any discussion of the Nativity, Christmas, must include our own intransigent attitudes toward sin. We carefully feed our pride, stoking the fires of self-will to justify rejecting authority. Recently in my classroom when the conversation turned to driving responsibly, one of my students said, in all seriousness, “If no one sees it, it’s not wrong.” This statement elicited general agreement from many in my classroom. This should not surprise us. We all think highly of ourselves and regularly engage in a variety of mental gyrations to justify our questionable decision-making. We make decisions based on our wants, not God’s revealed will. We pridefully assert our independence. Each of us takes a bite out of the proverbial apple.

At its core, Christmas is not about tinsel, trees, lights, carols, and carols. Christmas is about God’s choosing, long ago before the clock was up and running. God chose to walk the path from Eden to Bethlehem for me, to set right those prideful acts that flowed from my mind and hands. When I sit alone in the evening, contemplating Christmas, the Nativity, the Incarnation, I must start with my own culpability, since it was my culpability that set in motion the events we celebrate at Christmas time.