The Gift of Gifts, A Prayer

The Gift of Gifts

From The Valley of Vision, pages 28 - 29

Banner of Truth Trust 

O source of all good,

What shall I render to you for the gift of gifts,
your own dear Son?

Herein is wonder of wonders:
he came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart,
he united them in indissoluble unity,
the uncreate and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me!

O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
and enlarge my mind!

Let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father!

Place me with ox, donkey, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my Redeemer’s face,
and in him account myself delivered from sin!

Let me with Simeon clasp the newborn child to my heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his!

In him you have given me so much that heaven can give no more.

Advent - One Body (2)

 Advent - One Body? (2)

“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). 

“Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15–16).

It is important to know the nature of a person or of an animal. Consider the difference in nature between a lion and that of a kitten. If you were a stranger to both, and were to meet both, not knowing the difference in their nature might be to your detriment.  

When we don’t understand the change in nature of a Christian, when we don’t understand that we are new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:14 – 17), it leads to failing to affirm the glorious work of Jesus Christ, to a diminished understanding of the Gospel, and to faulty premises in our preaching, teaching, and self-understanding. 

Similarly, when we don’t recognize the Divine Nature of Christ which fills His Body, we fail to know the Body and live in the Body as functioning members of the Divine Body. 

Again, I’m pondering this because this is the season of Advent. I suppose I’m also pondering it because the professing church in the U.S.A. seems to have pretty much sold its birthright for a mess of pig’s food, we haven’t even obtained decent pottage in the transaction. Regarding the latter, we have abdicated (if we ever had it) our testimony as children of another world, as citizens of heaven. Regarding the former, because if we only knew the reality of the Incarnation, if we only knew that Christ has many members, then we would function as One People, as that City set on a hill, as the Light of the Word. 

We’ve sold ourselves in too many ways to count, and most of the things we’ve sold ourselves for look pretty good on the surface, and they usually look practical. However, it always comes down to Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. Are we loving Him? Are we devoted to Him? Is Jesus our testimony? Is Jesus the center of our lives? Are we offering ourselves to Him every day in every way? Are we in love with Jesus?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Paul writes of a falling away from the faith that precedes the unveiling of the man of lawlessness. Now I don’t know when the ultimate fulfillment of that will be, but I imagine it has had many degrees of fulfillment and expression – and I think we are living through a fulfillment of such apostasy right now, for I think the professing church in the United States has prostituted itself in myriad ways – many of which look quite respectable. 

From our epistemology (how do we “know” things, and how do we know that we know?) to hermeneutics (interpretation and communication of the Bible) to philosophy (the idea of a “Christian worldview” has displaced Jesus and the Gospel, a bronze serpent) to politics and nationalism to our emphasis on more and more money (personal and church). Then we have the dominance of the social and marketing “sciences” in the professing church, our repudiation of holiness as evidenced by our choices in entertainment and recreation (pretty much just like the world) and the giving of our children as offerings to the educational and economic systems of the world (we don’t care what our schools teach as long as the sports teams win and we are more interested in the money our adult children make than in their character and whether they know Jesus).

This is all about the Incarnation, all of it. Jesus came to be as we are so that we might be as He is – as individuals and as His People. If the Incarnation were real to us, if it were the dominant reality of our lives, that is, if Christ were the dominant reality of our lives – then we would be a distinctive People on this planet. We would be distinctive members of a distinctive Body – the Body of Christ. 

“The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us” (John 1:14) is not only about Jesus Christ and Bethlehem and thirty – three years, it is also about the Body of Jesus Christ, it is also pointing to the reality of the Bride, the Temple, the Church – the continuing reality of Jesus Christ being on the earth. 

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9) ought to be our testimony as the Body of Christ just as it was Jesus’ testimony in the Upper Room. In fact, it truly continues to be the testimony of Jesus Christ in His People, in His Body – the question is whether it is true of us. Is it true of me, of you, of our congregations?

The answer to this question is the answer as to whether Advent and the Incarnation are living to us…or simply a piece of history wrapped in songs and music and dramas and candlelight services. 

Are we truly celebrating Advent? 

A Witness At Christmas (3)

 Vickie and I used to work with graduate students from Muslim nations. These were the future leaders of their respective countries. (Sadly, few churches in our metropolitan area had any interest in befriending these men and women, even though the students had expressed a desire to meet and get to know Americans.)

Christmas was one of the holidays that was especially sweet in these relationships, the students were quite open to being with us and talking with us and observing us. One couple’s first child was born on Christmas Eve and they called her their “Christmas baby." What would these men and women have thought if we had said, “O sorry, we don’t celebrate Christmas. O sorry, we won’t bring a tree into our home, it is an idol and it might do bad things to us, maybe even attack us in the middle of the night”? (Sorry, I’m trying to make a point.)

Friends, if we are passionate about Jesus and the Gospel won’t we want to use every means at our disposal to share Jesus with others? Won’t we be overflowing with a desire to communicate His love and grace in every possible venue, in every possible way, becoming all things to all people so that by all means we might save some? (See 1 Cor. 9:19 – 23). 

Our neighbor Maureen came to know Jesus Christ, and it began with her coming to our Christmas open house with its many Christmas trees. I can’t begin to count the folks who have been in our home for open houses during Christmas – people from across the world. Nor do I have any idea how many people I and my faithful coworkers in the workplace have been able to witness to during Christmas over the years – a witness in the context of relationships, a respectful witness – respectful to Jesus and to others. 

Walking with congregations through Advent has been special, celebrating the Incarnation as God’s Family, humbly traveling to Bethlehem and beyond, rejoicing in God’s postcards of promise. 

I write as someone who loves Jesus and who wants to love Him more today than yesterday. I write as someone who believes that the Incarnation continues within the Body of Christ. Advent is a sacred time for Vickie and me. A sweet time. A time with memories and sharing and hope for the future. 

I also write as someone who has probably made all the mistakes anyone can make during Christmas, from going overboard in my immaturity to being a pompous self-righteous ass. Thankfully Christ is our Redeemer and He doesn’t give up on us. 

While I hope something I’ve written may help folks think about these things, it has not been my intention to dismiss serious concerns about the way we do things, for I think life ought to be lived in tension. Our witness ought to be thoughtful and credible – and joyful. 

I love the glory of Christmas, for it is the glory of Jesus…and without Jesus I just don’t know what I would do. 

A Witness At Christmas (2)

 We can be a distinctive people with a distinctive and gracious testimony of the Incarnation during Christmas. We can show others the Face of God during Advent. We can display peace and joy and thankfulness, and something greater than materialism and greed and drunkenness. We can teach our children a better Way. We can teach our children to give to others as Jesus has given to us. We can teach our children that they are not the center of the universe, that place must always belong to Jesus. 

When the People of Israel left Egypt, the Egyptians gave them [under duress!] “Articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing” (Exodus 12:35; Psalm 105:37). Now, dear friends, when the time came to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, just where do you think the gold and silver and fine linen came from that the Israelites dedicated for the construction of the Tabernacle and its service? 

Did God say, “Don’t dedicate anything you brought from Egypt”? Did God say, “Throw away the gold and silver and nice fabric you received from the Egyptians”? God Himself had said to Moses, “Speak now in the hearing of the people that each man ask from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor for articles of sliver and articles of gold” (Ex. 11:2). 

Just as God used the materials of Egypt for the construction of the Tabernacle which would be filled with His glory, we can use the materials of the world for avenues of witness and celebration of His glory. We can take possession of the seasons of the calendar for the glory of God. We can even take possession of some of the customs of the world and dedicate them to the glory of God.

And this brings us to the nefarious tree of Jeremiah 10:1 – 5. I have never heard of a Christmas tree farm advertising trees for sale that would make great idols. No one has ever said to me, “Bob, my family and I are going to the Christmas tree farm this weekend to get an idol and bring it into our house.” No one has ever invited me to a worship service centered on their Christmas tree. I can think of many things and people who professing Christians worship, but I have yet to meet any who worship Christmas trees. 

As the Lord points out in Jeremiah 10:5, “Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.” We do not need to stand guard over these trees, lest at night they come to life and swallow us up. News flash! A tree is a tree is a tree. 

O dear friends, if we were to eliminate all of our practices that have cultural and pagan roots, that have syncretistic roots, we may have nothing left – for here is another news flash, we are human and we have human cultures, human ways of doing things, human liturgies, human rhythms. Some argue that much of what we do on Sunday mornings have non-Christian roots. We can either spend our lives fretting about that or we can ask our dear heavenly Father to transform us into the image of Christ and to use our practices for His glory. We all only have so much time on this earth, shouldn’t we focus on loving God and others and sharing Jesus?

I personally wonder at many things and systems within Christianity, I wonder how we can do some of the things we do on Sunday mornings, but I don’t want what I think to get in the way of my koinonia with my brothers and sisters, I don’t want things to get in the way of worshipping Jesus Christ and sharing Him with others. 

I think that our self-righteousness gets in our way at times, and maybe even our greed. Greed goes both ways, it is not only manifested in those who want more and more and more, but also in those who want to hold so tight to a penny that it eventually becomes copper wire. That is, if we don’t celebrate Christmas then we don’t have to spend money on others. If we don’t have a Christmas tree then we don’t have the expense or hassle of putting one up and decorating it or putting gifts under it. An added plus is that if we don’t do the tree thing, or the Christmas thing, then we are more righteous than others. 

Sometimes we can just be old poops, and we won’t admit it. Why be an old poop when we can celebrate Jesus?

O friends, so much in life can be either used for God’s glory or misused. Money. Power and position and influence. Recognition. Our houses. Our cars. Our jobs. Our education. Wine. Entertainment and recreation. Food. Our bodies. Our hearts and minds. Christmas, Advent, the Easter season; these are no different. We are children of our Abba Father (Rom. 8:16; Gal. 4:6), children born to the Jerusalem which is above (Galatians 4:26), children who are free in their Father to celebrate Jesus in more ways than we can imagine. 

Rather than look for reasons not to celebrate Jesus, shouldn’t we be constantly seeking ways to glorify Him and share His love with the people around us?

To be continued...

A Witness At Christmas (1)

 This was written at the request of a friend...

We were so excited that our new neighbors, Frank and Maureen, accepted our invitation to our Christmas open house. During the evening Maureen approached me and said, “Of course, you don’t think that Jesus is the only way to God, do you?”

“Well, yes, I do. Thanks so much for asking. I’d be happy to chat with you about Him any time. We are so glad you and Frank are here with us tonight.”

There are many reasons I love Christmas, and they all center in Jesus Christ. To me the idea that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” means more than wearing a pin with those words on it; in fact, while I do have one of those pins, I’ve seldom worn it. I do have some Christmas ties, some red socks (thank you Red!), and red and green sweaters and turtlenecks that I mix and match during Advent. No, I don’t put reindeer antlers on my car or hang a wreath on my SUV’s grill. 

Yes, I am turned off by stores with Christmas displays during September and October and early November, and also by Black Friday. But I also have sweet childhood memories of department store windows with trains, planes, automobiles and fake snow during Christmas in Washington, D.C. 

While I was nominally raised in a liturgical church, after encountering Christ I participated in churches and fellowships that did not pay much attention to Advent or the Easter season – yes, yes, they recognized Christmas and Easter and some had children’s pageants, but that was the extent of it. However, during seminary I served as an interim pastor in a Congregational church that made a big deal of Advent. Vickie and I participated in the “greening of the church” and I prepared an Advent series titled, “Postcards of Promise,” which focused on God’s promises being fulfilled in Jesus Christ. (If anyone from Cliftondale is reading this, “Thank you!”)

In part, because of Cliftondale my preaching schedule has always included an Advent series and an Easter series, two times during the year that we have extended seasons of reflection, and hopefully witness, to the Incarnation and Crucifixion – Resurrection. Hopefully we have learned to not only observe Jesus Christ in His Incarnation and Crucifixion – Resurrection, but to also participate with Him in His Incarnation and Crucifixion – Resurrection as our Way of Life. 

However, it is not only my preaching calendar that has included Advent and Easter, more importantly it has been my living calendar, including my living calendar in my business career. I recall how, as a young Christian working at a gas station, I gave a Christ – centered Christmas gift to the owner of our chain of gas stations. As an executive, the gifts I gave my bosses and peers and direct reports need not have been explicitly “Christian” in message, but they were in intent. What I mean is that they were thoughtful, of quality, and were heartfelt. I did not buy junk for people, including, if you will pardon the expression, “Jesus junk.” I think I can say that I have never run into a store to just pick up something to give to someone – if anything I overthink my gifts.

But you see, all of this is part of the package of sharing Jesus during Advent (and Easter), because whether Christmas is observed reverently or not, it is all around us; whether it has been prostituted or not, it is all around us and it provides a natural conversation starter about Jesus. 

Because my coworkers knew me, and knew the way I was throughout the year, they naturally expected me to talk about Jesus during Christmas, after all, I talked about Him during the rest of year. During the Easter season they were not surprised if I asked, “Well, what do you think? Did it happen? Did Jesus rise from the dead?”

When I was a young executive, I worked for a Jewish – owned firm and was the only non-Jewish executive with the firm. During Jewish holy days I covered for my colleagues, and during Christian holy days they covered for me. I shared my story with them, and they shared their story with me (and since they represented Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism I heard more than one story). What would they have thought had I said, “I don’t celebrate Christmas or Easter”? That would have been a great testimony…yes? Would I have been a good steward of the Gospel? 

Vickie and I once worked for one of the finest men we have ever known, Earl was quite active in our city’s Jewish community and a leader in his synagogue. He used to say, “I have a rabbi, and I also have a pastor.” He gave us both freedom to share our faith with others, to be a blessing to others, and we always did so with respect for him and thankfulness for his kindness to us. What would Earl have thought had we said, "O Earl, we don't celebrate Christmas. Leave us out of our company’s festivities”? (We were his two key executives). Would we have been good stewards of the grace of God, of the gift of Earl, of Earl’s gift of trust in us, and of the Gospel?

In my last business position prior to retirement, I again worked for a firm owned by Jewish families. During large corporate gatherings I was often asked to pray an invocation. During our regional Christmas luncheons, attended by employees from around our region, I was able to say a few words about Christmas prior to my invocation. Not only that, but employee groups from different locations performed songs telling the story of Jesus’ birth. Would we have been gracious to our coworkers, and good stewards of the Gospel, had we said, “We don’t celebrate Christmas”? 

Suppose in our offices we had said, “Don’t ask us to help putting the tree up. Don’t ask us to help hanging wreaths”? Would people have understood us? What would they have thought? How would this have helped us share the love and grace of Jesus and the story of Christmas?

Now some folks get worked up over the likelihood that Jesus wasn’t born in December, or that the winter solstice was celebrated by non-Christians. O my, there are a number of responses to these concerns, more than it makes sense to touch on, but we’ll mention a few.

Firstly, we are called to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23–24) and “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” (John 6:63a). We are called to stand fast in the freedom that Christ has given us and not be entangled in a yoke of slavery (Gal. 5:1). 

We have the freedom to celebrate Advent as well as the Easter season, whether Jesus was actually born on December 25 or whether or not He was actually crucified on the day we celebrate Good Friday or raised on the day we celebrate Easter. It would be, I think, dangerous to actually know the date of His birth because then we would make something out of it that would be pagan, truly pagan. When we think we know dates, when we think we know actual locations of certain events in the life of Jesus, we tend to get legalistically religious about those things and attribute importance to them that is earthly rather than heavenly. The holy places of the true and living God are in the hearts of women and men and children, they do not have GPS coordinates.

While I am not opposed to a trip to the land where Jesus lived, if we want to truly visit the Holy Land then we ought to pay attention to our brothers and sisters and get to know them, for the Holy Land is the People of God; it always has been and it always will be. I’m not saying that “place” cannot have a place, but I am saying that there is a holy dance in how we live; we hear the music in Spirit and in Truth, we dance to the music of the Trinity. There is much beautiful music surrounding Advent – in many spheres. Advent can be a special realm in the Holy Land, in our life with the People of God and in our witness to the world.

To be continued...

Reading the Birth Narratives

 

The birth of Jesus Christ, His Incarnation, is found in the following Gospel passages:

 

Matthew chapters 1 and 2; Luke chapters 1 and 2; and John 1:1 – 18.

 

It is also helpful to look at how Mark begins his Gospel, right out of the starting blocks, getting to the action of the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. This is a characteristic of Mark’s Gospel – action, action, action – one action happening on top of another.

 

How is John’s approach different from Matthew’s and Luke’s? Where does John “begin”? What perspective does John give us and how does it complement what we see in Luke and Matthew?

 

What do you see in John 1:14? What do you see in John 1:18?

 

We might say that Matthew, Luke, and John provide us with three legs of a stool, on which rests the message of the Incarnation – we need all three legs to have a level perspective of the mystery of God coming to live with us. Of course there are other passages in Scripture that speak of the Incarnation, most notably Philippians 2:1 – 18 and Hebrews Chapter 2. There are others such as Galatians 4:1 – 7, often we read over these passages without stopping to consider how they throw additional light on the birth of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of the Son of God. Perhaps during the coming year you might be on the lookout for Incarnational passages in your Bible reading.

 

Perhaps you might consider reading the birth narratives aloud with your family and friends? There is nothing quite like hearing the spoken Word of God, spoken in your immediate presence. There is reason that historically people read aloud, even to themselves; I know that I “see” things when I read aloud that I wouldn’t otherwise see; I find it exciting.

 

Look for the Trinity as you are reading.

 

When reading Luke, consider the “songs” the people are singing, the verses they are composing in the midst of their experiences.

 

What is the thrust of the messages from the angels? Do they have a common thread?

 

Contrast the responses of Zechariah and Mary to the messages they received – what is the difference in their responses? What can we learn from them?

 

Enjoy the glory of Christmas! The glory of the Incarnation!

 

Is The Word Becoming Flesh?

 

It is Advent and a new year, the Lord willing, will soon be upon us. I have two burdens this morning, the first is that the People of God embody the Word of God, that they live as the Temple of God, acknowledging that the Incarnation continues in them – for the Trinity lives within them. The second is that we see the Bible as God’s Word, God’s Law, and submit ourselves to it in obedient love. Of course, these two burdens cannot be separated, for God’s will is many faceted and is one in Jesus Christ.

 

Limiting the Incarnation to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem to His Ascension is to truncate the Bible’s teaching on the Incarnation; for if the essence of the Incarnation is captured in the phrase, “And the Word became flesh…” (John 14), and if Jesus Christ lives in His People, if He is indeed the Head of the Body, if we are “growing into a holy temple in the Lord…a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21 – 22); then to be sure the Incarnation continues in us.

 

As the Word lives in us we are able to say, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).

 

“The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him; the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:4 – 6).

 

“For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

 

Perhaps we live in the church of the turtle? What I mean is that when we start to believe the above, sticking our necks out in faith, we are intimidated to quickly draw back within our shells, hearing that such passages cannot possibly be for "poor sinners" like us – we dare not move toward living in our inheritance and in the fulness of life that we have in Jesus Christ. We dare not believe that Jesus Christ is actually the organic Head of His Body, we dare not presume to live in the realization that the Trinity lives within us.

 

There is a sense in which the Word becomes flesh in us, and we become (are transformed into) the Word; that is, we eat the flesh of Christ and drink the blood of Christ and so live by Christ (John 6:41 – 58). There is a lot to be said for the adage that we are what we eat; we don’t know how true that is!

 

I want to attempt to reflect on the Bible as the Word of God, the Law of God, the revelation of the Son of God. When I was working through Romans 1:1 – 7 recently I was struck by the term “holy Scriptures” in verse 2 (see also 2 Timothy 3:15), and I wondered, “Do we view the Bible as “holy Scripture”? Do we view the Bible as “holy” and “sacred”?

 

Let me say at the outset that there is much about the Bible that I don’t understand, most of all the great mystery of its nature, for its nature is God’s Nature, and its words are God’s Word. I cannot explain this, but I know it is true and its truth resonates within me, and I have seen it affirmed again and again within the People of God, both in my lifetime and in ages past. This is what the Bible testifies about itself and it is what God testifies about the Bible (we will ponder this in a future post, the Lord willing).

 

Yet, one of the things that has puzzled and concerned me the most over recent years has been the erosion of the authority of the Bible within the professing church. Again and again I have been in small groups, Sunday school groups, and congregational gatherings in which professing Christians have sat in judgment on the Bible, rather than submit themselves to the judgment of the Bible. I have seen Bible curricula produced from once pretty reliable denominational publishing houses (and others) that call into question the reliability of holy Scripture and our obedience to God’s Word. It is as if our audience is the world and not God; we seem to be more concerned with being acceptable to the world rather than living lives pleasing to God. We echo the serpent’s, “Has God said?” rather than our Lord’s, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

 

Would we do this if we were before the Throne of God? Would we question the Word of the Creator of all that there is? Would we look the King of kings and Lord of lords in the Face, in the Eye, and say, “You can’t really mean that”?

 

I am not compelled to answer all the questions I have about the Bible. I am not obligated to understand all that I read. I might as well try to take in the Grand Canyon with one glance, or even with ten thousand views from ten thousand vantage points; that great wonder of the world will always be deeper and larger than I am, it will always overwhelm me. By God’s grace I will allow the clear portions of the Bible to clarify, to whatever degree possible, the portions that are obscure. By God’s grace I will seek communion with God and my brothers and sisters in the Bible. By God’s mercy and grace in Christ I will obey His Word. By His help I will approach the Bible as holy, and I will submit myself to the Bible and not participate in the serpent’s rebellion which continuously attacks what God says and the way He says it.

 

While I may not always understand Paul, I will affirm that it is ultimately not Paul speaking but Christ in Paul, and I will not stand in judgment of Christ and His Word; rather I will bow my knee and my understanding and submit myself to my Lord.

 

Along with a deep desire for us to know and obey the Bible as the Living Word of God, is a desire to see us put distance between ourselves and the lawlessness of this present age. For if we are not obeying holy Scripture, if we are not drinking from the cup of obedience to the Bible, then we are drinking from the cup of the serpent, and this is the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Cor. 10:21; 2 Cor. 6:14). It is especially disturbing to me to see professing Christians engaged in disrespect of legitimate authority, to hear vicious vitriol, to see us engaged in toxic “culture wars” when we are not called in Christ to any such thing – but rather to be witnesses to Him, as individuals and especially as an identifiable People, as His Bride, His Church, His Temple. How sad to see professing Christians enabling and affirming lawlessness both in the professing church and in society. (Please consider 2 Timothy 2:24 – 26; and James 3:13 – 18. Are we displaying James 3:17 and 18?)

 

We do not have the capacity to live autonomously; we will either serve God or we will serve the devil – we will either surrender our will to Jesus Christ or to the destroyer of the souls of men. The only lasting antidote to lawlessness is a life of obedience to Jesus Christ.

 

Let me ask you to please consider Proverbs 28:4, 7, 9; and 29:18. What do you see? We’ll come back to these verses in a future post.

 

Is the Word becoming flesh in our lives?

 

 

 

The Magi

Here is what I've written for our small men's group to ponder, maybe there is something here for you. 

For December 24^th, lets please take a look at Matthew Chapter 2.

Where do you see yourself in this passage?

Herod? The priest and scribes? The magi? (Wise men – “magoi” is the word used in Greek – it is plural).

I imagine that I’ve played each part in my life, let me rephrase that, I know that I have played each part in my life. What about you?

The important thing is where we are today…isn’t it?

Some observations and questions:

It is likely that when Matthew wrote his Gospel that his immediate audience was the Jewish people. Throughout his Gospel, including in this chapter, Matthew appeals again and again to the prophets of ancient Israel. While the other three Gospel writers also work with the prophets, this is a primary focus for Matthew – more so than Mark, Luke, and John.

This being the case, Matthew is somewhat “in your face” by bringing Gentiles (the magi) into the story at the beginning. This reminds me of when Jesus spoke in His hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:14 – 30) and His hometown folks wanted to kill Him because He spoke about God’s grace to two Gentile women. Furthermore, Luke also introduces a promise to Gentiles in Luke 2:32.

We don’t know how many magi there were, we may think there were three because they brought three gifts that were mentioned, but we don’t really know. In fact, there is a lot we don’t know about this chapter – but at the end of the day Matthew tells us what we need to know.

The magi were likely from Persia, and they were likely of a caste that studied the heavens and natural sciences. We see glimpses in the Old Testament of non-Hebrews with special knowledge of the true and living God: I am particularly thinking of Balaam in Numbers chapters 22 – 24 (fool though he was, and evil as he went), and of course Melchizedek in Genesis Chapter 14. My point here is that God seems to be always revealing Himself to the peoples of this world who are open to Him (Romans 2:12 – 16).

The magi were looking to the heavens with expectation and hope – they had some understanding of the birth of Messiah (“Messiah” is Hebrew, “Christ” is Greek). Psalm 19 is one of many places in the Bible that tells us that God reveals Himself in Creation – see also Romans 1:20 (most of us, including me, have lost our “sight” to discern God in Creation – at least in the manner Paul and David wrote of, and which the magi practiced).

The magi were willing to make a long journey – it may have taken around two years (Matthew 2:16) – the were willing to go on pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is an important Biblical concept – 1 Peter 1:1; 2:11; Hebrews 11:13; Genesis 47:9; Psalm 119:54.

Are you on pilgrimage? What does that mean? What does that look like? Just as a ship’s captain maintains a log, are you keeping a log of your pilgrimage?

Are we looking to the heavens, to God’s Word, to guide us in following Christ? What does that look like?

How is God molding you into the image of Jesus Christ as you are on pilgrimage?

We put our time and energy and money into the things that matter to us – what does that look like in our lives?

I guess the magi assumed that the people in Jerusalem would know about the birth of the King of the Jews. Here Matthew introduces two themes found in the Gospels – the antagonism between government and God’s Kingdom, and between “self-righteous religious leadership” and God’s Kingdom.  The magi went to the center of civil and religious power and didn’t find the Messiah…that is typically the case throughout history…and in current events. We ought to know better (James 2:1 – 7; 1 Corinthians 1:18 – 31). Pilgrims keep moving toward Christ and His Kingdom, they tend not to be seduced by earthly centers of power, wealth, and prestige – they learn to see them for what they are – things that are passing away.

Are we seduced by what the world considers power, prestige, religious knowledge; or are we following Christ?

During this Advent season I have been particularly struck by the magi’s reaction to finding Christ (Matthew 2:10). Matthew didn’t just write, “They rejoiced exceedingly.” He didn’t write, “They had great joy.” Instead he wrote:

ἰδόντες δὲ τὸν ἀστέρα ἐχάρησαν χαρὰν μεγάλην σφόδρα.

“When they saw the star, rejoiced joy great exceedingly.”

Or in good English, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

Matthew is emphasizing the joy the magi experienced – it must have been overwhelming.  They were filled up with joy, they were overwhelmed with joy. Every fiber of their being was filled with joy.

Gold, frankincense, myrrh – worship is divine (gold) and fragrant (frankincense and myrrh).

Is there a Divine fragrance is my worship of Jesus Christ? Am I falling on my face before the Face of God in Jesus Christ?

What about you? What does your worship of Christ look like? What does it smell like?

Ted Williams used to ask young sluggers, “Can you smell it?” He didn’t explain what he meant; he simply asked the question. You either knew what he was talking about or you didn’t.

There are times when the bat hits the ball so hard that the wood of the bat gets so hot you can smell it – you have either had that experience and know that smell or you don’t.

What does our worship smell like? (Revelation 5:8; 8:3).

Just some closing observations:

Jerusalem is six miles from Bethlehem, yet the religious leaders didn’t even make the trip, just in case the magi knew what they were talking about. This is a characteristic of religious arrogance – “if it didn’t come from us it can’t be true.” This is a dumb jackass attitude – don’t you think?

People can know the Bible and be dead in their sins – the religious leaders exhibited this truth throughout the Gospels (a good example is John 8:31 – 59).

Herod – Governments, at the end of the day, will never tolerate the worship of anyone or anything but the State. (Psalm 2).

This is all about worship – this is all about who we give our hearts to, this is all about falling on our faces before the Living God, this is all about loving God with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.

This is all about giving Christ everything we have and everything we are. This is worship.

The Magi rejoiced with exceeding joy. We joy over the people and things that mean the most to us. Are we rejoicing over Jesus Christ? Are we falling down on our faces to worship Him?

What is in your wallet?  Who is in your heart?

What does the Incarnation look like in your life? Is Christ born in us as He is born in Bethlehem? Is the Incarnation continuing in us, and in our churches?

As St. Athanasius says, “He became like us so that we might become like Him.”

I love you!

Merry Christmas,

Bob

A Christmas Carol Poem

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, 1874 - 1936

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down

In The Bleak Midwinter

BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim, worship night and day,

Breastful of milk, and a mangerful of hay;

Enough for Him, whom angels fall before,

The ox and ass and camel which adore.

Angels and archangels may have gathered there,

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;

But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,

Worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Simeon and Anna – Ponderings

Luke 2:25 – 38

Preliminary thoughts: Why didn’t any of the religious leaders go from Jerusalem to Bethlehem? (Matthew 2:1 – 6).

In Luke 2:21 – 38 Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to Jerusalem; neither Herod nor the religious leaders knew what Child was in their midst. The same can be said for the religious leaders in Luke 2:41 – 47.

But then we have Simeon and Anna, they knew – they may not have known much, we don’t know how much they knew, we don’t know the breath of their understanding, but they certainly had a depth of understanding, of connection, they knew the Child…and knowing the Child was enough. Is knowing the Child enough for us? Not that we shouldn’t be growing in the grace and wisdom of our Lord Jesus, but if simply knowing Him and being in His Presence is all we had would it be enough?

Simeon was “looking for the consolation of Israel”. Anna, after seeing Jesus, spoke “of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” It appears that there was a “people within a people” in Israel, a remnant within a people. The perfunctory, and often political, practice of religion in Jerusalem was not what this remnant understood to be in keeping with the Law of God. Christ came to two representatives of this remnant, Simeon and Anna.

Since the fastings of the Bible are related to intercession (and if there is an exception to this forgive me for missing it), I think Anna’s fastings must be related to seeking the God of her fathers for “the redemption of Jerusalem”. (Yes, intercessory fastings result in our continued spiritual formation; and I do not mean to suggest that we may not fast for clarity and devotion in our individual and familial lives, but the thrust of Biblically – based fasting is not ourselves but God and others. When Jesus fasted in the wilderness He fasted, I think, in preparation for what was to come, and also as the Representative New Man, New Humanity – just as we were once in Adam, we are now in Christ.)

Daniel fasted and interceded in relation to the deliverance of his people from captivity – what we see played out in Ezra and Nehemiah is the result, in some fashion, of the workings of God through the intercession of Daniel (and others perhaps?). God spoke a promise of deliverance from captivity through Jeremiah, Daniel read the promise and Daniel engaged in intercession in response to the promise.

Simeon and Anna knew the promises of Yahweh, their covenant-keeping God, for the redemption of His people Israel and all nations of the earth, hence their hopes, their prayers, their intercessions.

Well, what about us? What are we looking for? Are we looking for our Lord Jesus?

Paul writes in Philippians 3:20 that we are “eagerly waiting” for our Lord Jesus from heaven. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9 – 10 we read that we have been redeemed “to serve a living  and true God and to wait for His Son from the heavens.” Hebrews 9:28 speaks of those who are “eagerly” awaiting Him. What about us? We are eagerly looking for Jesus? Are we eagerly awaiting Him?

The Holy Spirit was upon Simeon. Simeon comes into the Temple in the Spirit. How do we come when we assemble as God’s People? Do we come in expectation? Do we come prayerfully? Do we come in the Holy Spirit?

It had been revealed to Simeon by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. This reminds me of Hebrews 11:33, that our fathers and mothers of faith “obtained promises”. Note that the promise given to Simeon was for Simeon and that it was not normative for Simeon’s contemporaries, including those of the remnant.

I have seen much heartache and confusion within the church when people, especially people in authority, attempt to make an understanding or perspective that is particular to them and their relationship with Christ normative for others. Often such a perspective or understanding is in its infancy, often it is misunderstood, often it does not reach maturity in a context of Biblical support and understanding, and often (perhaps nearly always) it is not vetted and tested by mature brothers and sisters. We have a common relationship with our Lord Jesus, and we, of course, have our individual relationships with our Lord Jesus – there is a mystical reciprocity and interchange in all of this, it is Trinitarian in nature for it is rooted in the Trinity.

What was it like for Simeon to awake each morning? Will this be the Day? Will this be the Day?  What about us? Are we looking for our Lord Jesus? Will this be the Day? Certainly our Lord will come to us today, if it is not the Day it is assuredly a Day – a Day in which Jesus comes to us, lives with us and in us, comes to us in other people, comes to us in the vicissitudes of life, comes to us in and through the Scriptures and prayer, comes to us as we see His hand in creation.

Are we looking for Jesus today? How is He coming to us?

Musings on the Incarnation

“Christmas” is nice, but I think “Incarnation” is better. Yes, “Christmas” does have historical roots, but I’m not sure it makes us stop and think the way the word “Incarnation” can. Yes, I agree, “stopping” is seldom done, as is “thinking”, but we can keep trying.

There is something about “And the Word was made flesh and tabernacled among us, and we saw His glory” (John 1:14). Have we also seen His glory? Have I? Have you?

Hebrews Chapter Two unveils the Incarnation in its many-faceted mystery, which quite frankly, even though I see it I don’t pretend to understand it. God’s love is so utterly unlike who I am that it overwhelms me, to think that God in Christ would die for me, His enemy (Romans 5:6 – 11), is more than I can comprehend.

Christ came to “taste death for every person” (Hebrews 2:9). He came to deliver us from the “fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15). He took on “flesh and blood” (Hebrews 2:14) and was made like us “in all things” (Hebrews 2:17).

Then there is the enigmatic suffering which Jesus Christ experienced, He was “made complete…through sufferings” (2:10); “through death” He rendered the enemy “powerless” (2:14); He “made propitiation for the sins of the people” (2:17); He faced temptation “in that which He has suffered” (2:18).

In Hebrews Chapter Two we also see that Jesus came for His brothers and sisters, and that through Jesus Christ the Father is bringing “many sons [and daughters] to glory” (2:10). In 2:11 we see that Jesus Christ calls us “brethren” because those who He is sanctifying are from His Father (see also John 15:16; 17:6, 14 – 26).

As Athanasius wrote in the fourth century, “He became as we are, so that we might become as His is.” Jesus is calling us back to our Father, ever calling us, ever sanctifying us. John writes, “By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world” (1 John 1:16).

We now call out to God, “Abba, Father!” (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6).  As Paul writes (Galatians 4:7), “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

The Incarnation continues in the sons and daughters of the living God. The Creator has come to re-create us into His image. That which was marred is being restored. That which was dead is brought to life.

Is the Incarnation continuing in me?

In you?

Born of a Woman

“Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, which He promised in the holy Scriptures, concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection of the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord…” (Romans 1:1 – 4).

“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4 – 5).

God Himself was born of a woman, sharing in our flesh and blood (Hebrews 2:14), being made like us all in all things (Hebrews 2:17), yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus shared in our flesh and blood so that we might share in His flesh and blood (John 6:53 – 52 – 58). This is something to ponder.

Jesus is born of the seed of David according to the flesh (Romans 1:3) and He gives help to the seed of Abraham (Hebrews 2:16). Jesus shares in humanity that He might taste death for every person (Hebrews 2:8 – 9). So we have this great cosmic mystery in which Jesus Christ comes to us through the seed of David, the seed of Abraham, the seed of humanity made in the image of God (Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:38).

Can we see this vast flow of Divine purpose? Do we see this promise of the Gospel of God? Are we participants in this unfolding mysterious drama – playing out before things seen and unseen?

Jesus Christ was “born of a woman” that He might be born in us; that from Christ and in Christ and through Jesus Christ a new humanity would rise from the dead and cry “Abba Father!” (Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15).

And so in Christ we are His Bride; He “gave Himself up” for His Bride (Ephesians 5:25 – 32); and from the union of Christ and His Bride children are born; that which Adam and Eve did not do, Jesus Christ came to accomplish – perfecting His Bride and bringing many sons to glory (Ephesians 5:27; Hebrews 2:10 – 13).

This is something to ponder.

Angels and Prophets

Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.”  (Luke 1: 8 – 20.)

This is the first of much recorded angelic activity surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ (see Matthew chapters 1 and 2 and Luke chapters 1 and 2). It is also the first prophetic – angelic activity recorded in the Bible since the prophet Malachi, who lived around 400 – 450 years before Zacharias and the birth of Jesus Christ. There has been 400 years of silence – and now, in the above passage, God is speaking once again to His people and to the world. After 400 years of darkness the true Light is shining, the Star is appearing, God is coming to earth to recreate humanity. “Let there be Light” is playing out once again.

Gabriel’s words to Zacharias concerning Elijah turning the hearts of the fathers back to the children are from Malachi; in fact, Gabriel’s words contain a portion of the last verse of the last book of what we call the Old Testament, Malachi 4:6.  God had not spoken for 400 years and when He begins speaking again He takes up where He left off.

(Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that God wasn’t speaking to individuals during this 400 years, God is ever looking for those who desire to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth and desiring relationship with them).

There is another connection in Luke Chapter 1 with Malachi; much of Malachi is focused on the degenerate priesthood and the degenerate worship of Judah. In Zacharias we see a priest serving in the Temple – so again the prophetic Word of God picks up where it left off. There is a contrast, however, in that in Zacharias we see a man “…righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (Luke 1:6) contrasted with the degenerate priests of Malachi.

Was Zacharias’s petition (Luke 1:13) concerning a child, or was it concerning the People of God and the coming Messiah? Could it have been both? Would Zacharias not have prayed for a child? Would he also not have prayed that the Messiah would come and that God’s People would be delivered from Roman dominance? While I do think that prayer for a child is the most immediate sense (a prayer that he had no doubt ceased to offer quite a few years prior to Gabriel’s appearance), I don’t think we need discount prayer for the Messiah.  

Sometimes we just don’t believe when our prayers are answered (Luke 1:20). Here is Zacharias, a righteous priest, performing acts of worship in the Temple, chosen by lot among the priests to offer incense, with people outside praying, and an angel appears at the altar of incense, the angel is quoting Malachi – the last words of the Law and the Prophets – Malachi, a prophetic book judging a corrupt priesthood, corrupt Temple-worship, and a corrupt people; and yet a book with promise, promise of restoration, promise of true worship, promise of the Messiah. O if Zacharias had only made the connection between the present and the past and the future, if he had only “seen” the Word of God from eternity past to Malachi to the words of Gabriel. But of course, God knows we are frail both in body and in understanding – His mercies are everlasting.

How is the Word of God coming to us today? Are we living in the Word of God? Are we breathing the Word of God? Has God’s Word taken up residence in our lives? In our souls?

Or…as Zacharias…are we mute?

A Christmas Musing

The juxtaposition of peace in the midst of pain,

Of comfort in sorrow,

Of hope when surrounded by despair,

Of love when buffeted by hate.

Where do such contradictions come from?

How do we know that the world is broken?

How do we know that normal is not normal?

That the ideal has not been realized?

In a place where animals feed lies the Bread of Life.

Into a world of darkness comes the Light of Life.

Into a humanity that celebrates deceit enters the Truth.

Into a world in which money means everything comes One to whom money means nothing.

He was wrapped in cloths and laid in a feeding trough.

Later He was wrapped in cloths and laid in a tomb.

Three days later He left the cloths in the tomb.

Now the question is: Will we be wrapped in His righteousness?

The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ either means nothing or it means everything. God gives enough light so that those who seek Him find Him, and enough darkness so that those who do not seek Him will not find Him.

If we will humble ourselves and eat from a feeding trough we will have the feast of the ages; if we insist on eating in palaces we will starve and die. The true Christmas message must be a powerful thing for the devil to work so hard to obscure it.

Jesus Christ either means nothing or He means everything.

Of the Father's Love Begotten

Of the Father's Love Begotten

Prudentius (348–413)

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framèd; He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean in their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun, evermore and evermore!

He is found in human fashion, death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below, evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessèd, when the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord, evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Righteous judge of souls departed, righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted none in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive, evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men, thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens, with glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring, evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

From God Christ's Deity Came Forth

From God Christ's Deity Came Forth
Ephrem (4th century)

From God Christ's deity came forth,
his manhood from humanity;
his priesthood from Melchizedek,
his royalty from David's tree:
praised be his Oneness.

He joined with guests at wedding feast,
yet in the wilderness did fast;
he taught within the temple's gates;
his people saw him die at last:
praised be his teaching.

The dissolute he did not scorn,
nor turn from those who were in sin;
he for the righteous did rejoice
but bade the fallen to come in:
praised be his mercy.

He did not disregard the sick;
to simple ones his word was given;
and he descended to the earth
and, his work done, went up to heaven:
praised be his coming.

Who then, my Lord, compares to you?
The Watcher slept, the Great was small,
the Pure baptized, the Life who died,
the King abased to honor all:
praised be your glory.

by Ephrem of Edessa, translated by John Howard Rhys, adapted and altered by F Bland Tucker, (Episcopal) Hymnbook 1982.

Nativity

Nativity

John Donne (1572-1631)

Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod's jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith's eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.

Annunciation

Annunciation

John Donne (1572-1631)

Salvation to all that will is nigh;
That All, which always is all everywhere,
Which cannot sin, and yet all sins must bear,
Which cannot die, yet cannot choose but die,
Lo, faithful virgin, yields Himself to lie
In prison, in thy womb; and though He there
Can take no sin, nor thou give, yet He will wear,
Taken from thence, flesh, which death's force may try.
Ere by the spheres time was created, thou
Wast in His mind, who is thy Son and Brother;
Whom thou conceivst, conceived; yea thou art now
Thy Maker's maker, and thy Father's mother;
Thou hast light in dark, and shutst in little room,
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb.

The House of Christmas

The House of Christmas, by GK Chesterton (1874–1936)


There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.

For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.

A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.