Rejoice? After Sandy Hook?

It has been a week of mixed emotions as we prepare for Christmas.  There is a heavy sadness that hangs over our nation at the atrocious violence in Newtown, CT.  All week I have seen tributes and prayers for the families who have had their lives torn apart by what now seems to be a cold calculated killer.  Alas, that anyone should face such days!  At the same time several families in our congregation are dealing with the loss of loved ones ranging in age from newborn to nonagenarian.  There is so much sadness in this life! 

These days before Christmas are usually seen as days of celebrations and delight.  We resonate with the first half of Paul’s words in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with those who rejoice!” as we bake cookies, read Christmas stories, watch movies, go caroling, and the like.  However, this week we have also been confronted with the last half of Paul’s message in Romans 12:15, “Weep with those who weep.” 

Such sorrow and sadness in our world confirms the suspicion that all is not as it should be.  Indeed, Jesus confronts us with the truth that our world is broken, held hostage, and in rebellion against the God who made it to be good. 

How, then, do we respond to such awful events?  Lately, I have found myself constantly thinking for political solutions to problems like these, wondering why all these shooters are white males between the ages of 14 and 25, and feeling agitated, bothered, distracted, and upset.  I feel the pull to respond to the tragedies we have faced this month as the world would respond to them.  I need to learn to be in the world while not being of it. 

When we are in the world but not of it, we will certainly grieve over such injustice, but there will be peace for God is still God and we trust Him to make all things right.  We may experience anger and frustration, but it will flow from love for those who are hurt or have been lost.  We will deliver the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control – to a world which lacks all these things. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not berating you or anyone if you’re feeling the weight of sorrow on your shoulders right now.  You’ll find no pie-in-the-sky, Polly Anna, proclamations of forced happiness or faked perfection here.  What I am saying is to take a good look at the baby in the manger and think about His life.  He dealt with reality and gave us hope.  He was crushed by sin’s consequence, but He also overcame it for us so we can live.  He could have stayed in heaven and avoided all the suffering and sorrow of our world, but because He loves us He became one of us, leaving the glory of His home for the brokenness of ours. 

Jesus gives us the ability to have a clear view of life.  We see the reality of evil.  We experience the presence of pain.  We do not gloss over these and pretend that they are aberrations in world that is basically good.  This is the way of a world that has fallen, been redeemed, and will be renewed, and the hope we have in Jesus is the Good News that will renew it.  We bear that hope and message into the world. 

Remember, as it says in Philippians 4:  The Lord is near!  Christmas shows that to us so clearly as Immanuel, whose name means, God with us, comes to us in the flesh.  He is at work, even when you cannot see or imagine how, and He loves you.  So we say, “Rejoice in the Lord!” in the face of all that would cause us to doubt His presence, love, and goodness for Jesus has won the victory. 

Questions to Ponder

-          What is the cause of all the woes of the world?

-          What did God do about it?

-          When have you wept with those who weep?  How can simply weeping with someone be a comfort to them? 

-          When have you rejoiced with those who rejoice? 

-          Seeing the events of the last week, what do you weep over?  What do you rejoice in? 

-          How can our belief in Humanity’s Fall into Sin and Jesus’ Atonement for Sin help us deal with evil in the world?  

Dear Malachi - yeah, I'm talking to you!

Dear Malachi,

Yes, I mean you, dear reader!  You might be saying, “My name is not Malachi!” but it is a good title for us as followers of Jesus.  You see, the name Malachi means, “My messenger.”  Each of us has heard the Word of the Lord proclaiming God’s forgiveness, love, and salvation, and we are all authorized to share that message with others.  So, …

Dear Malachi,

We are well into our preparations for Christmas, and this past Sunday we ran into one of the key figures of the Advent Season:  John the Baptizer.  (I know it is more common to call him, “the Baptist,” but John was by no means a Baptist, as in today’s denomination, but he certainly was one who baptized people – a Baptizer.)  It was almost obligatory that we should sing, “On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry announces that the Lord is nigh….” 

John came to prepare the way for the Lord.  He called people to repentance.  That is, he called them to turn away from their sins and to return to God.  He urged them to turn away from their sinful behaviors and return to the God who had saved them.  Throughout his ministry his message was, “The kingdom of God is at hand.”  He reminded the world that it had a King – and it was not Herod or Caesar.  His preaching found its highest point when he pointed to that King and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” 

Like John, we modern day Malachim (plural of Malachi) share the same message.  We still call people to turn away from sin and proclaim forgiveness in Jesus’ name.  We remind the world that the King will come again.  He is not far away, disinterested, or non-existent as some suppose, but He is nigh, close at hand, at work in the Word and Sacraments to touch us, transform us, and give us life.  And, we point to Jesus as say, “Look!  The Lamb of God!”  It is by Jesus blood shed on the cross that our sins are paid.  And, of course, we remind the world that Jesus not only died, but rose in victory, lives, reigns to all eternity and will come again. 

How do we do that, though?  We have not been called to go out to the Cuyahoga River dressed in camels’ hair to cry out, “You brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?”  Instead, our sharing of the message happens in a variety of ways.  The message in our Christmas cards is one; we point people to the real meaning of Christmas.  Our conversations are another opportunity to declare to people the King has come and has saved us as we discuss the matters of our lives.  Our actions also speak a message to others.  When our choices flow from the forgiveness we have received people will see mercy, generosity, kindness, humility, and Christlikeness in us, and they will hear loud and clear. 

So, share the message.  Remind your children about the real meaning of Christmas.  Tell a friend, “I think Christmas is all about God’s love for us and that He came to be one of us!”  There are many ways to say the message that Jesus is the Lord Who Saves His People – literally. 

Questions to Ponder

Read Luke 3:1-14

-          Why does Luke go through the trouble of naming so many people at the beginning of this reading?  How is it significant to place the historical setting of this event?

-          What was John’s message to his listeners?

-          What did John tell the crowd, tax collectors, and soldiers they should do? 

-          What is your impression of John?  What do you feel is the most important part of his message in this reading?

-          Luke quoted Isaiah in vv. 4-6.  What message did Isaiah say John would proclaim?  How do you prepare for the coming of Jesus? 

-          God comes to us in the Word and Sacraments when we gather for worship.  How do you prepare for coming to meet the Lord on Sunday morning?  What kinds of things do you/could you do to prepare for worship?  

Christmas is about Jesus. Duh!

I once heard a story about a person who called tech support because his computer would not turn on.  Tech support walked the man through several steps to try to fix the problem.  He was urged to try “Control-Alt-Delete.”  It didn’t work.  He was instructed to press and hold the power button for fifteen seconds and then release it, wait a minute, then press it again.  Nothing.  Tech support asked the man to check to see if the computer was plugged in.  It was, but would still not turn on.  Finally the technician asked the man to check the cable connecting the screen to the processing unit.  The man said, “I’ll try, but it’s really hard to see in here.”  The tech asked why it was hard to see.  The man replied, “Well, the power is out in the whole building, so we don’t have any lights.”  Technical support replied, “I think I’ve found the problem.” 

It may seem obvious, but if the power is not on your computer will not work. 

It may seem obvious, but Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. 

That fact, which may be so obvious to us, seems to be lost in our world.  And as we live in the world and experience its influence in our lives we must take care to not lose sight of the truth, nor let our children buy into the world’s agenda for the holidays. 

If you will allow the analogy, it is essential to our faith to remain “plugged in” during the Christmas season.  While some would have us plug into festivities and sentimentality – both of which can be quite nice and good – we are urged to plug into Christ.  Advent gives us exactly that opportunity as we dig into God’s promises, remember the prophecies regarding Jesus’ birth, and reflect on our need for the savior who was born in a stable. 

Advent also brings us to the beginning of a new church year.  You will notice that our Gospel Lessons will come to us primarily from the Book of Luke.  Last night at our midweek Advent service I commented that Luke 1 is one of the most overlooked sections of the New Testament.  I’d like to encourage you to look it over to see what God did to prepare for the first Christmas, and to draw from there what we can do to prepare for our Christmas celebration and to get ready for Jesus’ second coming. 

Luke is also the book that we will begin with if you join me in the challenge to read the New Testament next year.  It just seems right since we’ll be reading from it almost every Sunday this year. 

So, let me state a couple of things that are obvious: 

1.       Christmas is about Jesus.  Look for ways to remember and remind people about him in your celebrations, as you listen to Christmas music, and as you prepare. 

2.       You have to have power to live the Christian life.  That power comes through the presence of the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, through the Word and Sacraments.  Reading God’s Word, hearing it, singing it, etc. are like plugging in.  God gives us great gifts in His Word and through the Sacraments – including forgiveness, life, hope, peace, joy, love, salvation, and so much more. 

God bless you as you prepare for Christmas!