A few weeks’ ago, animal rights activists sought a court injunction that would have prevented a traditional Zulu ceremony from taking place. The ceremony involved the killing of a bull by a group of impis, or traditional warriors, using only their bare hands. The animal rights activists claimed that this traditional practice amounted to gross cruelty to the animal concerned that was quite unacceptable in this day and age. Those opposing the court application claimed that the ceremonial killing of the bull was an important cultural practice that was part of a time-honoured tradition. To prevent it from happening would have been an insult to the Zulu King and to the entire Zulu nation.
In the end, the court ruled that the ceremony could proceed – a decision which was greeted with joy by all those involved in the proceedings (except the bull, of course!)
Without getting caught up in the specific details of this particular case, it does raise an interesting question about the weight given to cultural claims over our lives. How often is the phrase heard, ‘But it’s my culture!’ to justify a certain behaviour or attitude that otherwise could not be justified?
Of course culture is important. Distinctive cultural practices and traditions are an essential part of the rich diversity of humanity. They add to the rich tapestry of life in this world. They can help to create a deep sense of identity and belonging. They can speak eloquently of the heart and soul of a people and can provide a framework for what is acceptable behaviour. And so it’s no surprise that the claims of culture can be weighty indeed, and can be very difficult to oppose, even when those claims are clearly no longer life-giving.
Which makes me wonder whether culture has become a sacred cow.
The Christmas story has much to say to this issue! Because in coming into the world, Christ Jesus was born into a very specific cultural context – a cultural context that shaped his identity and much of his behaviour, and left a deep imprint on the kind of person he was. However, and this is the crucial point, Jesus never hid behind his culture, and was never afraid to challenge any cultural norm that diminished the fullness of life that he came to bring. One just has to think of Jesus’ radically inclusive, counter-cultural attitudes towards women, children, lepers, outcasts and the poor. Or his subversion of many of the religious cultural practices of his day that had missed the whole point of who God really was and what God really required.
Yes, Jesus lived and died as a Jew – which shaped his identity in significant ways. But for him there was a more fundamental identity that went way deeper than the distinctions of nationality, race or ethnicity. It was the identity that was his as the Son of God, and as a member of the human race. Overtures of this ringing truth could already be heard at his birth when Magi from a distant land knelt in homage before him, revealing that the claims that he made would never be bound by the particularities of any specific culture.
And so the Christmas story invites us to reflect on the cultural context in which we find ourselves – to embrace the heritage that has been entrusted to us, but also to scrutinize the claims that our culture makes on us in the light of what we see revealed in Jesus. And anything within our culture that diminishes life must be surrendered to the higher claims of Christ and his Kingdom.
This includes, of course, any family cultural practices around the celebration of Christmas. My hope and prayer is that whatever those family cultural practices may be, that they would be life-giving for all who are affected by them. And if they no longer bring life, may you find the courage and grace this Christmas to relinquish them.
May you have a very happy Christmas tomorrow!
CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT MRMC
For those of you in the Durban area, you are warmly invited to attend the Christmas services at Manning Road Methodist Church, on the corner of Manning & Moore Rds in Glenwood. The details are as follows:
Thursday 24 December 11:15pm Christmas Eve Communion Service
Friday 25 December 7.30am & 9.00am Christmas Day Services
Thursday 24 December 2009
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Christmas and Climate Change
The United Nations Conference on Climate Change has just taken place in Copenhagen. Before the event the host city had been nicknamed ‘Hopenhagen’, because of the hope that a strong agreement would be reached by the nations of the world that would tackle the global crisis of climate change in a legally binding and accountable way.
Sadly, it was not to be. Instead a toothless, unenforceable Accord was signed that falls well short of what many scientists say is required to avert a global environmental catastrophe. The headlines of the Sunday Independent a few days’ ago read, ‘The Hopelesshagen Flop’. What’s most revealing about the Copenhagen Accord is that in trying to get it accepted before the UN-mandated deadline it was presented to only 28 of the 192 signatory nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, who just happen to be the strongest economies in the world (source The Sunday Independent, 20 December 2009, p.1.)
So, on an issue of far-reaching global importance that will impact everyone on the planet, but especially the poorer nations of the world, a minority consisting of the wealthiest and most powerful nations have determined the outcome not according to the principle of the greatest good for all, but according to their own narrow, short-term, economic self-interest.
Now I fully acknowledge that there are all sorts of complexities to these things that I do not understand, and that all sorts of delicate and extremely difficult balancing acts are part of the burden of global leadership. But I cannot help but think that ‘the rich and mighty’ have failed the people of the earth in this matter.
Which makes me think of Christmas, and its subversive, upside-down message of the respective places of the poor and the rich in God’s plans for the transformation of the world. I think of Mary’s song when she sings of what the world misses in what God is doing, who “…has scattered the proud, brought down rulers from their thrones, lifted up the humble, filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty” (see Lk 1:51-53).
I think of the shepherds, who were amongst the most economically-marginalized members of society, but who nevertheless were the first to hear the good news of the birth of a Saviour, and who were the first to spread this good news with others. (see Lk 2:8-18).
I think of the compelling truth that God entered our world not in a palace, but in the obscurity of a humble stable, as one who was poor, homeless, vulnerable to state power and soon forced to be a refugee / asylum seeker (see Matthew 2:13-14).
What does this say to the crisis of climate change? Well, it says to me that if we continue to look to the rich and mighty for providing the initiative and impetus this world needs for ecological transformation, we are looking in the wrong place – as the Copenhagen Conference so tragically reveals. Rather, it will be in the gathering, growing voices of ordinary people everywhere, and especially the poor, that will provide the groundswell for global transformation that ‘the rich and mighty’ will ultimately be unable to ignore.
For many this will seem like nothing – a hopeless scenario that cannot possibly bring about the change which we so desperately need. But for others with Christmas light in their eyes, they will see that this is how God’s greatest work always unfolds. And for them, it is reason enough to commit themselves to being part of the birthing of the altogether surprising answer that awaits our world.
PRAYER
Lord, it doesn’t make sense. That your change-agents in this world are not the mighty but the meek, not the powerful but the poor. We find ourselves asking, ‘How can this be? How can we be part of the healing of our planet?’
May the Holy Spirit come upon us, and may the power of the Most High overshadow us, and may we come to see that truly nothing is impossible with God. Amen
COMMENT
What ideas do you have for how ordinary people can become change-agents for the sake of our planet?
The Barking Dog-Collar is now available online at http://tt-bdc.blogspot.com.
On Facebook? Join the Barking Dog-Collar group or become a fan of BDC
Please post your comments on any of these forums or e-mail bdc@mrmc.co.za
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please SMS the words ‘MOBI BDC’ to 33978(R1.50 as a once-off SMS cost)
Sadly, it was not to be. Instead a toothless, unenforceable Accord was signed that falls well short of what many scientists say is required to avert a global environmental catastrophe. The headlines of the Sunday Independent a few days’ ago read, ‘The Hopelesshagen Flop’. What’s most revealing about the Copenhagen Accord is that in trying to get it accepted before the UN-mandated deadline it was presented to only 28 of the 192 signatory nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, who just happen to be the strongest economies in the world (source The Sunday Independent, 20 December 2009, p.1.)
So, on an issue of far-reaching global importance that will impact everyone on the planet, but especially the poorer nations of the world, a minority consisting of the wealthiest and most powerful nations have determined the outcome not according to the principle of the greatest good for all, but according to their own narrow, short-term, economic self-interest.
Now I fully acknowledge that there are all sorts of complexities to these things that I do not understand, and that all sorts of delicate and extremely difficult balancing acts are part of the burden of global leadership. But I cannot help but think that ‘the rich and mighty’ have failed the people of the earth in this matter.
Which makes me think of Christmas, and its subversive, upside-down message of the respective places of the poor and the rich in God’s plans for the transformation of the world. I think of Mary’s song when she sings of what the world misses in what God is doing, who “…has scattered the proud, brought down rulers from their thrones, lifted up the humble, filled the hungry with good things but sent the rich away empty” (see Lk 1:51-53).
I think of the shepherds, who were amongst the most economically-marginalized members of society, but who nevertheless were the first to hear the good news of the birth of a Saviour, and who were the first to spread this good news with others. (see Lk 2:8-18).
I think of the compelling truth that God entered our world not in a palace, but in the obscurity of a humble stable, as one who was poor, homeless, vulnerable to state power and soon forced to be a refugee / asylum seeker (see Matthew 2:13-14).
What does this say to the crisis of climate change? Well, it says to me that if we continue to look to the rich and mighty for providing the initiative and impetus this world needs for ecological transformation, we are looking in the wrong place – as the Copenhagen Conference so tragically reveals. Rather, it will be in the gathering, growing voices of ordinary people everywhere, and especially the poor, that will provide the groundswell for global transformation that ‘the rich and mighty’ will ultimately be unable to ignore.
For many this will seem like nothing – a hopeless scenario that cannot possibly bring about the change which we so desperately need. But for others with Christmas light in their eyes, they will see that this is how God’s greatest work always unfolds. And for them, it is reason enough to commit themselves to being part of the birthing of the altogether surprising answer that awaits our world.
PRAYER
Lord, it doesn’t make sense. That your change-agents in this world are not the mighty but the meek, not the powerful but the poor. We find ourselves asking, ‘How can this be? How can we be part of the healing of our planet?’
May the Holy Spirit come upon us, and may the power of the Most High overshadow us, and may we come to see that truly nothing is impossible with God. Amen
COMMENT
What ideas do you have for how ordinary people can become change-agents for the sake of our planet?
The Barking Dog-Collar is now available online at http://tt-bdc.blogspot.com.
On Facebook? Join the Barking Dog-Collar group or become a fan of BDC
Please post your comments on any of these forums or e-mail bdc@mrmc.co.za
To receive these devotions directly on your cellphone,
please SMS the words ‘MOBI BDC’ to 33978(R1.50 as a once-off SMS cost)
Tuesday 22 December 2009
Good news for Tiger Woods (and us all)
by Rev Roger Scholtz
About three weeks ago allegations surfaced about the world’s greatest golfer – Tiger Woods – having numerous extra-marital affairs. He has since confirmed that the allegations are true, has expressed his profound regret for the pain and disappointment that he has caused, and has announced his indefinite withdrawal from competitive golf.
Tiger Woods’ story is another tragic example of the wreckage that sinful choices inevitably produce. Because of his iconic status as a sports celebrity, his story has made the headlines, but it’s by no means unique. His story mirrors that of many, and is a sobering reminder to us all of the debris of broken relationships and shattered dreams that we can leave in our wake when we overstep the boundary lines of our own commitments. This is true not just of marital infidelity, but of any commitment that we violate.
So what does the Christmas story have to say to the likes of Tiger Woods (which incidentally includes the likes of you and me)?
1. The underlying point of Christmas is the recognition by God of our fundamental inability as people to deal with the destructive impulses within us that seem hell-bent on wrecking our lives. Christmas is God’s decisive response to humanity’s desperate need to be rescued from ourselves.
2. The poverty, humility and scandal surrounding the birth of Christ suggest that when God chose to enter the world in human form, God did so from the very bottom. Accordingly, there are no depths to the human condition that are lower than where God in Christ is willing to go. Not even our greatest shortcomings and most spectacular moral failures are greater than the compassionate reach of an endlessly gracious God.
3. While many people have described Tiger Woods’ demise as a “fall from grace”, the Christmas story reminds us that this is in fact a contradiction in terms. We cannot fall from grace, for when we fall we find out that it is into God’s grace that we fall. Christmas declares that humanity’s fall and God’s grace are inextricably bound together. This is the hope for Tiger and for us all – that it is precisely in our greatest humiliations and most crushing failures that we find an invitation for something truly transformative and authentically new.
This is “the good news of great joy that shall be for all people” (Lk 2:10).
SCRIPTURE
The Lord said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9)
PRAYER
Thank you Lord that there is nothing that can separate us from your love and your grace, which are greater and stronger than even the very worst things that we can do. Amen
COMMENT
What do you think are the necessary steps that must be taken by those who seek healing and restoration after a significant moral failure?
Monday 21 December 2009
The contemporary relevance of Christmas
What do you still have left to do before Christmas? Maybe a few presents still need to be bought, or certainly wrapped. Maybe there are cards still to be made. Maybe what you’ll be eating for Christmas Day lunch still needs to be finalized, not to mention the actual cooking thereof. Maybe your Christmas Day sermon still needs to written (or maybe that’s just me!)
Many people describe these last days before Christmas as incredibly busy, rushed and stressful. And many secretly long for it all to be over so that their lives can go back to ‘normal’. It would seem that the issue of there ‘being no room’ for Christ is as true today as when Joseph and Mary found no room at the inn so long ago.
So at the risk of driving you insane, let me add one more item to your ‘to do’ list for these final few days before Christmas. Set aside just ten minutes when you know that you won’t be interrupted to think about these two simple questions:
1. What do I really believe about Christmas?
2. What can I do to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe?
For me, I really do believe that Christmas is not just about something that happened 2000 years ago. For me, there’s a contemporary relevance about Christmas that is largely ignored. For me, the Christmas story has a remarkable ability to speak sharply into many of the issues of today with penetrating insight and searing truth. This is what makes it such good news.
And so, as I prepare to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe, I’d like to reflect on some current issues in the light of the Christmas story. Over the next few days I’ll be doing that in these devotions, as I take some of the stories that have recently been in the headlines, and consider what the Christmas story has to say to them.
Some of the headline stories I’ll be looking at will be Tiger Woods; the response to the crisis of climate change in the Copenhagen Accord; and the recent furore over the killing of a bull in a traditional ceremony with Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. I hope that you’ll find the time over these next few days to participate in these reflections. And any comments you may have will be most welcome.
PRAYER
Lord, guard me from the danger of seeing Christmas as some kind of fairy story from long ago. Help me to recognize the compelling relevance of the Christmas story for the issues of today. May my celebration of Christmas this year be a meaningful expression of what I believe, and may my convictions and understanding of what Christmas really means be stretched and grown. Amen
COMMENT
What good ideas do you have for making Christmas celebrations this year more meaningful / relevant?
The Barking Dog-Collar is now available online at http://bdc.posterous.com.
On Facebook? Join the Barking Dog-Collar group or become a fan of BDC
Please post your comments on any of these forums or e-mail bdc@mrmc.co.za
Many people describe these last days before Christmas as incredibly busy, rushed and stressful. And many secretly long for it all to be over so that their lives can go back to ‘normal’. It would seem that the issue of there ‘being no room’ for Christ is as true today as when Joseph and Mary found no room at the inn so long ago.
So at the risk of driving you insane, let me add one more item to your ‘to do’ list for these final few days before Christmas. Set aside just ten minutes when you know that you won’t be interrupted to think about these two simple questions:
1. What do I really believe about Christmas?
2. What can I do to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe?
For me, I really do believe that Christmas is not just about something that happened 2000 years ago. For me, there’s a contemporary relevance about Christmas that is largely ignored. For me, the Christmas story has a remarkable ability to speak sharply into many of the issues of today with penetrating insight and searing truth. This is what makes it such good news.
And so, as I prepare to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe, I’d like to reflect on some current issues in the light of the Christmas story. Over the next few days I’ll be doing that in these devotions, as I take some of the stories that have recently been in the headlines, and consider what the Christmas story has to say to them.
Some of the headline stories I’ll be looking at will be Tiger Woods; the response to the crisis of climate change in the Copenhagen Accord; and the recent furore over the killing of a bull in a traditional ceremony with Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. I hope that you’ll find the time over these next few days to participate in these reflections. And any comments you may have will be most welcome.
PRAYER
Lord, guard me from the danger of seeing Christmas as some kind of fairy story from long ago. Help me to recognize the compelling relevance of the Christmas story for the issues of today. May my celebration of Christmas this year be a meaningful expression of what I believe, and may my convictions and understanding of what Christmas really means be stretched and grown. Amen
COMMENT
What good ideas do you have for making Christmas celebrations this year more meaningful / relevant?
The Barking Dog-Collar is now available online at http://bdc.posterous.com.
On Facebook? Join the Barking Dog-Collar group or become a fan of BDC
Please post your comments on any of these forums or e-mail bdc@mrmc.co.za
Monday 14 December 2009
Beware The Day after Christmas
DAILY BYTE
The day after Christmas can be mildly depressing.
After the long build up to Christmas, and all the excitement beforehand, once all the presents are unwrapped, the family have gone home and the last of the Christmas meal is packed into Tupperware for leftovers; everything afterwards seems so blasé.
The day after Christmas, everything goes back to normal all too quickly.
But the promise of Christmas is NOT just for one day a year, or even the month preceding it. The promise of Christmas in NOT just for happy days filled with friends and presents, laughter and feasts.
No, the promise of Christmas is for everyday and that includes sad and difficult times.
Zephaniah’s prophesy encompasses this by promising that although troubles will come, they will not overwhelm us. Because of Christmas, Zephaniah is saying, everything that oppresses us will be dealt with, the lame will be rescued and the scattered will be gathered.
This is not to say that we won’t ever face troubles because no literature on earth is more realistic about the harsh facts of life than the Bible. Scripture never says life will be perfect, but does promise that God will make sense out of the imperfections.
The story is told of a church in the USA where for many years the children’s Christmas pageant had run like clockwork. The director was highly efficient, demanded perfection, and insisted that only the very best children got roles.
One year, a new minister at the church insisted that all children who wanted to be a part of the pageant could do so – parts would be found for them. The Director resigned in a huff. Now the pageant didn’t fall flat without her, but it certainly was different.
Firstly, there were far too many children cluttering the stage – about 20 angels, dozens of shepherds and even more sheep. About half-way through the play the sheep decided they would have a much better view from the seats, and so bleated their way down into some empty seats in the front. But the real climax of imprecision came when Mary and Joseph entered. The narrator was to read how Joseph was going to Bethlehem with Mary ‘his espoused wife, being great with child.’
One of the mothers had realised the children didn’t really understand the Elizabethan English of the King James Version and so changed it to the Good News Version at the last minute. So as Mary and Joseph entered, the narrator read: ‘Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. She was pregnant’.
As the last word echoed through the P.A., little Joseph froze in his tracks. This was not how he had heard it at rehearsal! He gave Mary an incredulous look, then looked out at the congregation and said, ‘Pregnant? What do you mean pregnant?’
Needless to say, this brought this house down. The pastor’s wife, wiping the tears from her eyes, said: ‘You know, that may be exactly what Joseph actually said.” Afterwards, everyone agreed that the pageant was the best it had been in years. Not perfect of course, the way it had been previously. In fact, it was a mess, but a wonderful mess filled with laughter and joy.
You see, it was perfect in another sense. Perfect in the way God makes things perfect – for sometimes life gets messy and troublesome, mistakes get made, people get it wrong, and yet God can still bring sense to it all.
God takes meaningless, tough situations and somehow presses divine meaning into them.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, we commit into your hands every tough and difficult situation we may be facing. We trust that you would be able to press divine meaning even into our messy and disordered situations. Amen.
FOCUS VERSE
Zephaniah 3 : 19-20 (NIV)
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honour
in every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
The day after Christmas can be mildly depressing.
After the long build up to Christmas, and all the excitement beforehand, once all the presents are unwrapped, the family have gone home and the last of the Christmas meal is packed into Tupperware for leftovers; everything afterwards seems so blasé.
The day after Christmas, everything goes back to normal all too quickly.
But the promise of Christmas is NOT just for one day a year, or even the month preceding it. The promise of Christmas in NOT just for happy days filled with friends and presents, laughter and feasts.
No, the promise of Christmas is for everyday and that includes sad and difficult times.
Zephaniah’s prophesy encompasses this by promising that although troubles will come, they will not overwhelm us. Because of Christmas, Zephaniah is saying, everything that oppresses us will be dealt with, the lame will be rescued and the scattered will be gathered.
This is not to say that we won’t ever face troubles because no literature on earth is more realistic about the harsh facts of life than the Bible. Scripture never says life will be perfect, but does promise that God will make sense out of the imperfections.
The story is told of a church in the USA where for many years the children’s Christmas pageant had run like clockwork. The director was highly efficient, demanded perfection, and insisted that only the very best children got roles.
One year, a new minister at the church insisted that all children who wanted to be a part of the pageant could do so – parts would be found for them. The Director resigned in a huff. Now the pageant didn’t fall flat without her, but it certainly was different.
Firstly, there were far too many children cluttering the stage – about 20 angels, dozens of shepherds and even more sheep. About half-way through the play the sheep decided they would have a much better view from the seats, and so bleated their way down into some empty seats in the front. But the real climax of imprecision came when Mary and Joseph entered. The narrator was to read how Joseph was going to Bethlehem with Mary ‘his espoused wife, being great with child.’
One of the mothers had realised the children didn’t really understand the Elizabethan English of the King James Version and so changed it to the Good News Version at the last minute. So as Mary and Joseph entered, the narrator read: ‘Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. She was pregnant’.
As the last word echoed through the P.A., little Joseph froze in his tracks. This was not how he had heard it at rehearsal! He gave Mary an incredulous look, then looked out at the congregation and said, ‘Pregnant? What do you mean pregnant?’
Needless to say, this brought this house down. The pastor’s wife, wiping the tears from her eyes, said: ‘You know, that may be exactly what Joseph actually said.” Afterwards, everyone agreed that the pageant was the best it had been in years. Not perfect of course, the way it had been previously. In fact, it was a mess, but a wonderful mess filled with laughter and joy.
You see, it was perfect in another sense. Perfect in the way God makes things perfect – for sometimes life gets messy and troublesome, mistakes get made, people get it wrong, and yet God can still bring sense to it all.
God takes meaningless, tough situations and somehow presses divine meaning into them.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, we commit into your hands every tough and difficult situation we may be facing. We trust that you would be able to press divine meaning even into our messy and disordered situations. Amen.
FOCUS VERSE
Zephaniah 3 : 19-20 (NIV)
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honour
in every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
The Christmas ‘Yes’!
DAILY BYTE
When our elder daughter first started to speak, her very first word was ‘No.’ I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with the fact that I was sneaking a swig of her Liqui-Fruit straight out of the carton at the time. But whatever the reason, that was her first word. Which evidently is not that unusual. Linguistically, a ‘no’ is easier to pronounce than ‘yes’ and usually comes pretty early in a child’s vocabulary.
But I wonder if there’s more to that early ‘no’ than linguistics. I wonder if, at even an early age, there is something within us that leans toward saying, ‘No!’ Maybe it’s something we inherit, or perhaps it’s something we learn. But certainly, as we grow older and experience a little more of the world and its ways, so this word can easily become our first response to what life presents to us.
Jim Harnish writes, “Saying ‘no’ is a form of self-protection. It wards off the risk of commitment; it protects us from involvement; it shields us from intimate relationships. An unqualified ‘yes’ is a much harder sell. To say ‘yes’ is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.”
Saying no protects us from being taken for a ride. And it’s often appropriate in a world of scams and abuse. But when it’s our default response in life, we WILL end up missing out on much of the richness that life has to offer.
Which brings us to the whole point of today.
Christmas is God’s unqualified ‘Yes’ to the world. Christmas is God declaring that He will risk sharing life with us. That He is open to us. That He is passionately committed to being in relationship with us. Christmas is God taking the monumental risk of having His life bound up with ours.
Listen carefully to the vulnerable cry from the manger and you will know it’s true. Listen carefully to Joseph giving this child his name and you will hear an echo of God’s yes. YESu. ‘His name will be called YESu, for he will save his people from their sins.’
Today, may you hear God’s great ‘YES’ spoken over your life, and may you in turn say ‘Yes’ to God.
Happy Christmas!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord for never giving up on me, for always believing in me. Help me this Christmas to hear you saying ‘Yes’ to me again, and to let it echo in my own life as I seek to respond to you. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
Matthew 1 : 20-21
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
When our elder daughter first started to speak, her very first word was ‘No.’ I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with the fact that I was sneaking a swig of her Liqui-Fruit straight out of the carton at the time. But whatever the reason, that was her first word. Which evidently is not that unusual. Linguistically, a ‘no’ is easier to pronounce than ‘yes’ and usually comes pretty early in a child’s vocabulary.
But I wonder if there’s more to that early ‘no’ than linguistics. I wonder if, at even an early age, there is something within us that leans toward saying, ‘No!’ Maybe it’s something we inherit, or perhaps it’s something we learn. But certainly, as we grow older and experience a little more of the world and its ways, so this word can easily become our first response to what life presents to us.
Jim Harnish writes, “Saying ‘no’ is a form of self-protection. It wards off the risk of commitment; it protects us from involvement; it shields us from intimate relationships. An unqualified ‘yes’ is a much harder sell. To say ‘yes’ is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.”
Saying no protects us from being taken for a ride. And it’s often appropriate in a world of scams and abuse. But when it’s our default response in life, we WILL end up missing out on much of the richness that life has to offer.
Which brings us to the whole point of today.
Christmas is God’s unqualified ‘Yes’ to the world. Christmas is God declaring that He will risk sharing life with us. That He is open to us. That He is passionately committed to being in relationship with us. Christmas is God taking the monumental risk of having His life bound up with ours.
Listen carefully to the vulnerable cry from the manger and you will know it’s true. Listen carefully to Joseph giving this child his name and you will hear an echo of God’s yes. YESu. ‘His name will be called YESu, for he will save his people from their sins.’
Today, may you hear God’s great ‘YES’ spoken over your life, and may you in turn say ‘Yes’ to God.
Happy Christmas!
PRAY AS YOU GO
Thank you Lord for never giving up on me, for always believing in me. Help me this Christmas to hear you saying ‘Yes’ to me again, and to let it echo in my own life as I seek to respond to you. Amen.
FOCUS SCRIPTURE
Matthew 1 : 20-21
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Looking Up
DAILY BYTE
Yesterday, I mentioned the rush that Christmas can be. It seems that we hustle to and fro with our heads down as we desperately try to complete shopping lists and other chores in time for the big day. We keep our heads down so much that we don’t stop to pay enough attention to what is really important at this time of the year.
For Christmas is a time that we should remember to look up.
To look up to the God who is in all life’s experiences because this profound truth is never made more clearly to us than at this time of the year.
For Christmas celebrates the wonder of God’s incarnation – that God became human and so has shared in our lives in awesome ways. God walked earth and knew hunger, thirst and suffering. He attended parties and feasts and so also ate tasty food and drank good wine. He experienced both tears and laughter.
The very presence of Jesus on earth teaches us that God shares all of our life’s experiences with us – God is not distant and aloof from us.
Many, many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Zephaniah looked up to God and prophesied the coming Jesus. He foresaw the Messiah’s coming and understood what that would mean for us. Twice within the space of two verses, Zephaniah proclaimed the great Christmas truth: ‘The Lord your God is WITH you’! (See focus verse).
This cry was later echoed by the author of Matthew’s Gospel who informs us: “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, - which means ‘God with us.’” (See Matt 1. 22-23).
In Manila, tens of thousands of people make their homes on garbage dumps. People are born, live and die without ever leaving these dumps. They try desperately to eke out an existence from what they can scavenge.
Did you know that there are missionaries who also make their homes on these dumps?
They live there so they might tell the people about God’s love for them. It is very difficult to hear this message from someone who lives in an entirely different world from you, and so these missionaries leave their first world comforts in an effort to reach out to their brothers and sisters.
When I think about how selfish I can often be, I find what those missionaries do to be extremely humbling. But not as humbling as the thought of God stooping down into human flesh so that we might truly know that God IS WITH US.
God With Us means that God has held nothing back from us, not all the treasures of heaven, and not even his own life.
Because Christmas is a time we should remember to look up to the God who is an all of life’s experiences.
God IS with you. Don’t ever forget that.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Almighty God, the Christmas story is a reminder of Your constant presence with us, and for that we give You thanks and praise.
For calling us into intimacy with you … we give thanks!
For forgiving us of our sins and restoring us … we give thanks!
For healing us and making us whole … we give thanks!
God of grace and wonder, receive our praise, and the love of our hearts, souls, minds and strength, expressed in these words. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Zephaniah 3 : 15b-17 (NIV)
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
Yesterday, I mentioned the rush that Christmas can be. It seems that we hustle to and fro with our heads down as we desperately try to complete shopping lists and other chores in time for the big day. We keep our heads down so much that we don’t stop to pay enough attention to what is really important at this time of the year.
For Christmas is a time that we should remember to look up.
To look up to the God who is in all life’s experiences because this profound truth is never made more clearly to us than at this time of the year.
For Christmas celebrates the wonder of God’s incarnation – that God became human and so has shared in our lives in awesome ways. God walked earth and knew hunger, thirst and suffering. He attended parties and feasts and so also ate tasty food and drank good wine. He experienced both tears and laughter.
The very presence of Jesus on earth teaches us that God shares all of our life’s experiences with us – God is not distant and aloof from us.
Many, many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Zephaniah looked up to God and prophesied the coming Jesus. He foresaw the Messiah’s coming and understood what that would mean for us. Twice within the space of two verses, Zephaniah proclaimed the great Christmas truth: ‘The Lord your God is WITH you’! (See focus verse).
This cry was later echoed by the author of Matthew’s Gospel who informs us: “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, - which means ‘God with us.’” (See Matt 1. 22-23).
In Manila, tens of thousands of people make their homes on garbage dumps. People are born, live and die without ever leaving these dumps. They try desperately to eke out an existence from what they can scavenge.
Did you know that there are missionaries who also make their homes on these dumps?
They live there so they might tell the people about God’s love for them. It is very difficult to hear this message from someone who lives in an entirely different world from you, and so these missionaries leave their first world comforts in an effort to reach out to their brothers and sisters.
When I think about how selfish I can often be, I find what those missionaries do to be extremely humbling. But not as humbling as the thought of God stooping down into human flesh so that we might truly know that God IS WITH US.
God With Us means that God has held nothing back from us, not all the treasures of heaven, and not even his own life.
Because Christmas is a time we should remember to look up to the God who is an all of life’s experiences.
God IS with you. Don’t ever forget that.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Almighty God, the Christmas story is a reminder of Your constant presence with us, and for that we give You thanks and praise.
For calling us into intimacy with you … we give thanks!
For forgiving us of our sins and restoring us … we give thanks!
For healing us and making us whole … we give thanks!
God of grace and wonder, receive our praise, and the love of our hearts, souls, minds and strength, expressed in these words. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Zephaniah 3 : 15b-17 (NIV)
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Fatigue
DAILY BYTE
I don’t know about you but I find December to be an exhausting time. December arrives at a time of the year when we are already feeling tired and drained. We then find ourselves pushed onto a treadmill of Christmas parties, shopping trips, and seemingly never-ending lists of things that have to get done.
Fatigue poses great dangers to our spirituality.
This is because fatigue affects our perspectives and ability to think straight on issues. Fatigue drains us emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Instead of being a time of rest and renewal, the Christmas rush can lead to even further exhaustion, leaving us depressed and down.
It is very important that we learn how to deal with our fatigue if we want to renew our Christmas spirits. In the next few weeks try out the following two suggestions:
Take regular time out to rest. This seems so obvious but the fact remains we just do not do this enough. Did you know that in his 3 year ministry, Jesus is recorded as having a holiday or retreat 14 times. 14 retreats in 3 years! What is more, in the story of Creation, we are taught that God worked only 6 days before resting on the 7th. Rest is a gift given to us by God and modelled to us by Jesus. We may say to ourselves that we cannot afford the time to rest but the truth of the matter is that we just cannot afford the time NOT to.
The second suggestion follows on from the first. Henri Nouwen once said that, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Again I would remind you of how often Jesus took time out to spend in solitude and silence. Jesus knew that times of solitude and silence provide fuel for the soul and therefore are vital to countering the effects of fatigue.
This is your challenge today. Book yourself time out to rest, not to do shopping or other chores but just to rest. Ensure that at least part of this time is spent in solitude and silence – just you and God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, today we want to bring to you our tiredness. Help us to remember the great danger that living continually with a sense of fatigue can be to us. Give us the strength and discipline to regularly place ourselves in your presence. Help us to take time out in silence and solitude. Thank-you Jesus for your promise that if we do come to you we will certainly find rest for our souls. Help us to be still and know you as God. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
I don’t know about you but I find December to be an exhausting time. December arrives at a time of the year when we are already feeling tired and drained. We then find ourselves pushed onto a treadmill of Christmas parties, shopping trips, and seemingly never-ending lists of things that have to get done.
Fatigue poses great dangers to our spirituality.
This is because fatigue affects our perspectives and ability to think straight on issues. Fatigue drains us emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Instead of being a time of rest and renewal, the Christmas rush can lead to even further exhaustion, leaving us depressed and down.
It is very important that we learn how to deal with our fatigue if we want to renew our Christmas spirits. In the next few weeks try out the following two suggestions:
Take regular time out to rest. This seems so obvious but the fact remains we just do not do this enough. Did you know that in his 3 year ministry, Jesus is recorded as having a holiday or retreat 14 times. 14 retreats in 3 years! What is more, in the story of Creation, we are taught that God worked only 6 days before resting on the 7th. Rest is a gift given to us by God and modelled to us by Jesus. We may say to ourselves that we cannot afford the time to rest but the truth of the matter is that we just cannot afford the time NOT to.
The second suggestion follows on from the first. Henri Nouwen once said that, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Again I would remind you of how often Jesus took time out to spend in solitude and silence. Jesus knew that times of solitude and silence provide fuel for the soul and therefore are vital to countering the effects of fatigue.
This is your challenge today. Book yourself time out to rest, not to do shopping or other chores but just to rest. Ensure that at least part of this time is spent in solitude and silence – just you and God.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord God, today we want to bring to you our tiredness. Help us to remember the great danger that living continually with a sense of fatigue can be to us. Give us the strength and discipline to regularly place ourselves in your presence. Help us to take time out in silence and solitude. Thank-you Jesus for your promise that if we do come to you we will certainly find rest for our souls. Help us to be still and know you as God. Amen.
FOCUS READING
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Pessimism
DAILY BYTE
Christmas is just around the corner! For many of us Christmas is a time of great excitement as we think happy thoughts of food, family and presents. However, for others Christmas is something to dread rather than look forward to. Reports tell us that depression and suicide rates actually increase at this time of year.
With this in mind, we will be spending the next few days looking at some of the common issues which can turn Christmas into a real downer for some. Issues that can potentially kill off our Christmas spirit. We will be looking at how during a stressed holiday season, we can open our hearts to God renewing our Christmas spirits.
The first issue we will be looking at is pessimism. Pessimism can be defined as a general belief that things around us in the world are bad, and are tending to become worse.
There is a great deal of pessimism today that grips and even paralyses people. Some of the challenging issues we South Africans face can lead to pessimism if we are not careful. We read stories of horrible crimes, we drive past hungry street children, we hear tales of corruption and power abuse and we begin to lose hope as a result.
It is important though to remember that to lose hope is to lose life.
The movie, “Children of Men,” although graphically violent, is a stark portrayal of what happens to people when hope is lost. In the movie the human race loses its ability to reproduce and so begins to go into a downward spiral of deep depression. Pessimism becomes the norm because no one can see any hope for life beyond themselves. The lesson of the movie is that our outer worlds will surely collapse around us if we do not hold onto hope within.
The opposite to pessimism is not blind, idealistic optimism. Instead it is faith.
Faith is being sure of what we do not see (Heb 11.1); and so faith counters pessimism because it holds onto hope despite even the worst circumstances.
While pessimism can kill the Christmas spirit, faith is that quality which lightens our hearts and minds with the good news of Christ’s love and presence. Let us never forget that Christmas is a powerful reminder that God is with us always and everywhere. As today’s focus reading reminds us, even if we face great opposition (such as crime, poverty and disease), we need never lose hope if we can keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.
Pray As You Go
Lord God, we give thanks to you for Jesus Christ who is hope and life for all the world. We confess that we often allow a pessimistic spirit to grip and even paralyse all that is good and positive within us. We bring to you our fears and the feelings we get when we become overwhelmed by the world’s problems. We ask that you would renew our hope and strengthen our faith. Help us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, no matter what problems we are currently facing. Amen.
Focus Readings
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Christmas is just around the corner! For many of us Christmas is a time of great excitement as we think happy thoughts of food, family and presents. However, for others Christmas is something to dread rather than look forward to. Reports tell us that depression and suicide rates actually increase at this time of year.
With this in mind, we will be spending the next few days looking at some of the common issues which can turn Christmas into a real downer for some. Issues that can potentially kill off our Christmas spirit. We will be looking at how during a stressed holiday season, we can open our hearts to God renewing our Christmas spirits.
The first issue we will be looking at is pessimism. Pessimism can be defined as a general belief that things around us in the world are bad, and are tending to become worse.
There is a great deal of pessimism today that grips and even paralyses people. Some of the challenging issues we South Africans face can lead to pessimism if we are not careful. We read stories of horrible crimes, we drive past hungry street children, we hear tales of corruption and power abuse and we begin to lose hope as a result.
It is important though to remember that to lose hope is to lose life.
The movie, “Children of Men,” although graphically violent, is a stark portrayal of what happens to people when hope is lost. In the movie the human race loses its ability to reproduce and so begins to go into a downward spiral of deep depression. Pessimism becomes the norm because no one can see any hope for life beyond themselves. The lesson of the movie is that our outer worlds will surely collapse around us if we do not hold onto hope within.
The opposite to pessimism is not blind, idealistic optimism. Instead it is faith.
Faith is being sure of what we do not see (Heb 11.1); and so faith counters pessimism because it holds onto hope despite even the worst circumstances.
While pessimism can kill the Christmas spirit, faith is that quality which lightens our hearts and minds with the good news of Christ’s love and presence. Let us never forget that Christmas is a powerful reminder that God is with us always and everywhere. As today’s focus reading reminds us, even if we face great opposition (such as crime, poverty and disease), we need never lose hope if we can keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.
Pray As You Go
Lord God, we give thanks to you for Jesus Christ who is hope and life for all the world. We confess that we often allow a pessimistic spirit to grip and even paralyse all that is good and positive within us. We bring to you our fears and the feelings we get when we become overwhelmed by the world’s problems. We ask that you would renew our hope and strengthen our faith. Help us to keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, no matter what problems we are currently facing. Amen.
Focus Readings
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Monday 7 December 2009
Give More of Yourself
DAILY BYTE
A final ‘starting suggestion’ for the practical expression of your worship of Christ as King this Christmas would be this – give more of yourself.
Whatever you may give to others this Christmas, be sure to include more of yourself as an intrinsic part of every gift. It’s one thing to dig into your pocket in order to give a gift, but altogether another to dig into your heart and offer something of what is there.
Again, this gets to the very core of the Christmas story, which is all about the self-giving love of God that held nothing back in pouring out his love & his life in the person of His son Jesus. Our giving can truly become a worshipful response when it engages our hearts in the same kind of way.
Remember, it doesn’t cost anything to express sincere words of appreciation, or encouragement, or reconciliation, or love – whether they be spoken, or written in a note or a card.
It doesn’t cost anything to ask a family member who is going through a really tough time to tell you about it, if they want, and then to listen with kindness and care and without any judgement to what they say.
It doesn’t cost anything to come to church, not for the sake of appearances or because it’s the thing to do, but because you want to present the totality of who you are before God in complete surrender.
It is your presence that transforms the presents you give from mere things to generous and precious acts of love. It is the investment of your self that transforms the giving of gifts from soulless consumerism to life-giving gestures of love.
There’s a well-known story about a missionary who was working on some remote island, spreading the good news of the gospel. He had been telling the local population how Christians, as an expression of their love, gave each other presents at Christmas time.
On Christmas morning, one of the natives brought the missionary a seashell of exquisite beauty. When asked where he had discovered such an extraordinary shell, the man said he had walked many miles to a certain bay on the far side of the island, the only spot where such shells could be found.
The missionary was astounded. “Do you mean to say that you walked all that way for me?” he said.
The man’s eyes brightened as he replied, “Long walk part of gift.”
Give more of yourself this Christmas.
In concluding this week’s devotions I’d ask you to consider this question one more time: What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
Remember, there is a fundamental choice that we each can make. Either, like Herod, we can allow the pursuit of our own agenda and our own selfish needs and desires be the motivation for our ‘coming to Bethlehem’. Or, like the Magi, we can approach this season in order to worship Christ with the totality of our lives.
If you’re serious about wanting to offer the counter-cultural response of worship this Christmas, there are three starting suggestions as to how you can begin to do that. Simplify; practice hospitality, give more of yourself.
This is the way not just to survive Christmas, but to consecrate it. And through the worship of your life this festive season, may you encounter once again the God who comes to be with us in all of his liberating love and redeeming power.
PRAY AS YOU GO
“I want to give you more, all praises you deserve, you’re holy and you’re righteous!
I want to listen more, to your Spirit’s call, you’re holy and you’re righteous!
Jesus you are God, high above all else!
Maker of the universe, high above all else!”
Lord Jesus, those words from a chorus express a deep desire of what we truly want – to give you more, in acknowledgement of the Lord and God that you are! May this be true for us this Christmas. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Philippians 2:4-5
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
A final ‘starting suggestion’ for the practical expression of your worship of Christ as King this Christmas would be this – give more of yourself.
Whatever you may give to others this Christmas, be sure to include more of yourself as an intrinsic part of every gift. It’s one thing to dig into your pocket in order to give a gift, but altogether another to dig into your heart and offer something of what is there.
Again, this gets to the very core of the Christmas story, which is all about the self-giving love of God that held nothing back in pouring out his love & his life in the person of His son Jesus. Our giving can truly become a worshipful response when it engages our hearts in the same kind of way.
Remember, it doesn’t cost anything to express sincere words of appreciation, or encouragement, or reconciliation, or love – whether they be spoken, or written in a note or a card.
It doesn’t cost anything to ask a family member who is going through a really tough time to tell you about it, if they want, and then to listen with kindness and care and without any judgement to what they say.
It doesn’t cost anything to come to church, not for the sake of appearances or because it’s the thing to do, but because you want to present the totality of who you are before God in complete surrender.
It is your presence that transforms the presents you give from mere things to generous and precious acts of love. It is the investment of your self that transforms the giving of gifts from soulless consumerism to life-giving gestures of love.
There’s a well-known story about a missionary who was working on some remote island, spreading the good news of the gospel. He had been telling the local population how Christians, as an expression of their love, gave each other presents at Christmas time.
On Christmas morning, one of the natives brought the missionary a seashell of exquisite beauty. When asked where he had discovered such an extraordinary shell, the man said he had walked many miles to a certain bay on the far side of the island, the only spot where such shells could be found.
The missionary was astounded. “Do you mean to say that you walked all that way for me?” he said.
The man’s eyes brightened as he replied, “Long walk part of gift.”
Give more of yourself this Christmas.
In concluding this week’s devotions I’d ask you to consider this question one more time: What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
Remember, there is a fundamental choice that we each can make. Either, like Herod, we can allow the pursuit of our own agenda and our own selfish needs and desires be the motivation for our ‘coming to Bethlehem’. Or, like the Magi, we can approach this season in order to worship Christ with the totality of our lives.
If you’re serious about wanting to offer the counter-cultural response of worship this Christmas, there are three starting suggestions as to how you can begin to do that. Simplify; practice hospitality, give more of yourself.
This is the way not just to survive Christmas, but to consecrate it. And through the worship of your life this festive season, may you encounter once again the God who comes to be with us in all of his liberating love and redeeming power.
PRAY AS YOU GO
“I want to give you more, all praises you deserve, you’re holy and you’re righteous!
I want to listen more, to your Spirit’s call, you’re holy and you’re righteous!
Jesus you are God, high above all else!
Maker of the universe, high above all else!”
Lord Jesus, those words from a chorus express a deep desire of what we truly want – to give you more, in acknowledgement of the Lord and God that you are! May this be true for us this Christmas. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Philippians 2:4-5
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
Practice hospitality
DAILY BYTE
The first suggestion of a practical way to express our worship of Christ this Christmas season that was made yesterday was to SIMPLIFY. A second suggestion is this – PRACTICE HOSPITALITY.
Hospitality is one of the great themes that lies at the very heart of the Christmas story. The truth of Christmas is that Christ enters our world in a manner and form we would least expect, and is found to be present in the least and the lowest in the eyes of our world. The great challenge of Christmas, therefore, is for us to cultivate an openness within us for the strangers and outcasts in our midst, for there Christ can be found in a special way.
The practice of hospitality is the way in which this can happen, and it can be a beautiful expression of our worship.
How might you become a little more open to the poor in your midst this Christmas? Might it mean taking the time to really listen to somebody’s story; or simply affording the beggar on the street the dignity of a friendly greeting and a warm smile; or even inviting someone in for a meal that you would never normally invite?
Of course, the practice of hospitality extends not only to those who may be strangers to you, but also to family and friends. If hosting Christmas lunch for your family feels like an ordeal, how might it be reframed in your mind for it to become an act of worship for you? How could it become your personal way of saying ‘thank you’ to God for the wholehearted hospitality that God has shown to you? How could your home become a Christmas stable this year, providing a gracious space where the miracle of the incarnation can be experienced once again?
What about your spouse, or your children, or your friends? There are very definite ways in which we can practice hospitality towards them. (Which, incidentally, will be a far better present than anything you could buy them.) It simply requires making space for them in your life – that means giving them your time and attention – and allowing what is most important for them to become what is most important for you.
Most wives would give virtually anything for their husbands to take them on a date and give them their undivided attention, taking an active interest in what they had to say, listening not only to their words but the feelings beneath them, without judging or offering advice, but simply being there and remaining present. That’s one simple, but powerful way of practicing hospitality.
Similarly with our kids. Most children would give virtually anything for their mom or dad to really play with them. To spend chunk time with them. To enter their world. To remain present to them for more than just a brief moment. To allow them the space to be kids, and to join with them in that experience.
The same principles apply with our friends. Practicing hospitality is a profound way to allow the heart of the Christmas story to be expressed in our lives, and as such can be a beautiful expression of our worship of Jesus.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus, we read in the Christmas story that there was no room for you at the inn. We confess with shame that the inn often reflects our own lives, especially at Christmastime – too busy, too cluttered and too crowded for there to be any real space for you. But as we practice hospitality towards others, making more room in our lives for them, so we trust that you also would find more space within us to come and take your rightful place. Thank you for the wonder of encountering you in others, when we extend ourselves towards them in sacrificial and self-giving ways. Help us, this Christmas, to be more hospitable. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Romans 12:13
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
The first suggestion of a practical way to express our worship of Christ this Christmas season that was made yesterday was to SIMPLIFY. A second suggestion is this – PRACTICE HOSPITALITY.
Hospitality is one of the great themes that lies at the very heart of the Christmas story. The truth of Christmas is that Christ enters our world in a manner and form we would least expect, and is found to be present in the least and the lowest in the eyes of our world. The great challenge of Christmas, therefore, is for us to cultivate an openness within us for the strangers and outcasts in our midst, for there Christ can be found in a special way.
The practice of hospitality is the way in which this can happen, and it can be a beautiful expression of our worship.
How might you become a little more open to the poor in your midst this Christmas? Might it mean taking the time to really listen to somebody’s story; or simply affording the beggar on the street the dignity of a friendly greeting and a warm smile; or even inviting someone in for a meal that you would never normally invite?
Of course, the practice of hospitality extends not only to those who may be strangers to you, but also to family and friends. If hosting Christmas lunch for your family feels like an ordeal, how might it be reframed in your mind for it to become an act of worship for you? How could it become your personal way of saying ‘thank you’ to God for the wholehearted hospitality that God has shown to you? How could your home become a Christmas stable this year, providing a gracious space where the miracle of the incarnation can be experienced once again?
What about your spouse, or your children, or your friends? There are very definite ways in which we can practice hospitality towards them. (Which, incidentally, will be a far better present than anything you could buy them.) It simply requires making space for them in your life – that means giving them your time and attention – and allowing what is most important for them to become what is most important for you.
Most wives would give virtually anything for their husbands to take them on a date and give them their undivided attention, taking an active interest in what they had to say, listening not only to their words but the feelings beneath them, without judging or offering advice, but simply being there and remaining present. That’s one simple, but powerful way of practicing hospitality.
Similarly with our kids. Most children would give virtually anything for their mom or dad to really play with them. To spend chunk time with them. To enter their world. To remain present to them for more than just a brief moment. To allow them the space to be kids, and to join with them in that experience.
The same principles apply with our friends. Practicing hospitality is a profound way to allow the heart of the Christmas story to be expressed in our lives, and as such can be a beautiful expression of our worship of Jesus.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus, we read in the Christmas story that there was no room for you at the inn. We confess with shame that the inn often reflects our own lives, especially at Christmastime – too busy, too cluttered and too crowded for there to be any real space for you. But as we practice hospitality towards others, making more room in our lives for them, so we trust that you also would find more space within us to come and take your rightful place. Thank you for the wonder of encountering you in others, when we extend ourselves towards them in sacrificial and self-giving ways. Help us, this Christmas, to be more hospitable. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Romans 12:13
Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Simplify
DAILY BYTE
What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
That’s the question we’re considering this week. Yesterday I suggested that the story of the Magi, who chose to come and worship the new-born king, reveals the only appropriate way to approach Christ – on our knees in worship. However, such worship will bring us into conflict with the norms and expectations of the systems of this world – represented by Herod.
When we declare our sole allegiance to the One who rules on the basis of selflessness and love, it requires a selflessness and love from us in return. Now such selflessness and love is commonly understood to be the essence of the Christmas spirit. And there will be many wonderful stories again this year of acts of kindness and generosity that reveal this spirit. But what is often missed is the extent to which our selfless, loving worship of Christ needs to shape the totality of our lives, and not just a few isolated gestures.
Let’s consider then some practical ways in which this might begin to happen for us this Christmas.
The first suggestion is this: simplify. It’s no exaggeration to say that the many forms of excessive indulgence that are so common to this season are symptomatic of a widespread spirit of materialism and greed in our culture that constantly has to take in more and more and more, but is never satisfied.
We see this with people over-eating, over-drinking, and over-spending. It can so easily get out of hand, and is so glibly justified as part of festive living. But it’s not – that’s the lie that our consumerist culture presents as the truth. The lie that the more you have the happier you’ll be.
The way to expose the lie is through the simple commitment to simplify. To simplify what you eat and drink, the presents you buy, the kind of entertainment you pursue – and to do so as an act of worship.
I’m not for a moment suggesting that your entire Christmas become bland and boring. In fact, I’m suggesting exactly the opposite – to rediscover the source of real richness & abundance. For every time you choose to simplify what you consume, it’s an opportunity to affirm that true happiness and fulfillment do not depend upon the abundance of one’s possessions. Every time you do so, it will be act of counter-cultural defiance as you declare that there is a more fundamental spiritual reality to this world than the glossy superficiality of materialistic things.
Many of us know how little children often seem to have more fun playing with the box than with the expensive present that comes inside of it. There’s a truth in that observation that’s worth reflecting on, as we think about what is truly important.
This Christmas, as an act of worship – simplify!
PRAY AS YOU GO
O Lord, how easily we miss the point. How quickly our lives get cluttered up with empty things. How readily we believe the adverts that convince us that we need more stuff to be happy and fulfilled. But when you entered the world it was without any razzmatazz or fanfare. In simplicity you came – a baby born in a stable. This Christmas, help us to recognize the profound truth contained in the manner of your coming. Help us to simplify our consumption and reduce the many unnecessary excesses that only get in the way of truly seeing and experiencing you. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 55:1-3
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
That’s the question we’re considering this week. Yesterday I suggested that the story of the Magi, who chose to come and worship the new-born king, reveals the only appropriate way to approach Christ – on our knees in worship. However, such worship will bring us into conflict with the norms and expectations of the systems of this world – represented by Herod.
When we declare our sole allegiance to the One who rules on the basis of selflessness and love, it requires a selflessness and love from us in return. Now such selflessness and love is commonly understood to be the essence of the Christmas spirit. And there will be many wonderful stories again this year of acts of kindness and generosity that reveal this spirit. But what is often missed is the extent to which our selfless, loving worship of Christ needs to shape the totality of our lives, and not just a few isolated gestures.
Let’s consider then some practical ways in which this might begin to happen for us this Christmas.
The first suggestion is this: simplify. It’s no exaggeration to say that the many forms of excessive indulgence that are so common to this season are symptomatic of a widespread spirit of materialism and greed in our culture that constantly has to take in more and more and more, but is never satisfied.
We see this with people over-eating, over-drinking, and over-spending. It can so easily get out of hand, and is so glibly justified as part of festive living. But it’s not – that’s the lie that our consumerist culture presents as the truth. The lie that the more you have the happier you’ll be.
The way to expose the lie is through the simple commitment to simplify. To simplify what you eat and drink, the presents you buy, the kind of entertainment you pursue – and to do so as an act of worship.
I’m not for a moment suggesting that your entire Christmas become bland and boring. In fact, I’m suggesting exactly the opposite – to rediscover the source of real richness & abundance. For every time you choose to simplify what you consume, it’s an opportunity to affirm that true happiness and fulfillment do not depend upon the abundance of one’s possessions. Every time you do so, it will be act of counter-cultural defiance as you declare that there is a more fundamental spiritual reality to this world than the glossy superficiality of materialistic things.
Many of us know how little children often seem to have more fun playing with the box than with the expensive present that comes inside of it. There’s a truth in that observation that’s worth reflecting on, as we think about what is truly important.
This Christmas, as an act of worship – simplify!
PRAY AS YOU GO
O Lord, how easily we miss the point. How quickly our lives get cluttered up with empty things. How readily we believe the adverts that convince us that we need more stuff to be happy and fulfilled. But when you entered the world it was without any razzmatazz or fanfare. In simplicity you came – a baby born in a stable. This Christmas, help us to recognize the profound truth contained in the manner of your coming. Help us to simplify our consumption and reduce the many unnecessary excesses that only get in the way of truly seeing and experiencing you. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Isaiah 55:1-3
Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
Choosing to worship
DAILY BYTE
What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
That’s the question I want us to think about this week as we consider both the delights and the difficulties of Christmas that await us. Yesterday I suggested that the answer to this question is not merely a matter a chance. Of course, there are many things that can happen to us over which we have little or no control - things that can have dramatic consequences for our lives. (Think, for instance, about those families who will have to face the devastating trauma of losing loved ones in accidents on our nation’s roads this month.)
Yet, in spite of the many unforeseen things that can happen to us, I would still affirm that the kind of festive season we will experience is essentially a matter of choice, not chance.
The story in Matthew 2 of the Magi coming to Bethlehem to worship the Christ-child, guided by a star, is one of the iconic stories of the Christmas narrative. But embedded within this strange but wonderful story is a clear presentation of the fundamental choice that confronts all of us, as we come closer to Christmas.
On the one hand there is the choice of the Magi, who came to Bethlehem in order to WORSHIP the new-born king. On the other hand there is the choice of King Herod. He claimed that he too wanted to go and worship, but in fact he wanted to kill the child. He “came to Bethlehem” in order to serve his own interests, to preserve his own position, to affirm his continued authority as king.
This reflects the choice that confronts all of us as we “come to Bethlehem” this year. Either, like the Magi, we can acknowledge Christ as King, and kneel in worship before him. Or, like Herod, we can seek to serve our own self-centered interests as we continue occupying the throne of our lives.
It seems pretty obvious which option we should choose. And no prizes for guessing what I, a preacher, am going to suggest. But before we rush to that conclusion, let’s be clear about one thing: If we choose to make the worship of Christ our primary concern this Christmas, there are some serious implications to that.
The decision of the Magi to worship Christ is really an act of political defiance, and a form of counter-cultural protest. Think about it. The Magi walk into Jerusalem, the capital of Herod, the king. And they say, “We have come to worship another king. Not you Herod. We’re not going to bow down to you. There’s another king who we think is greater than you. He’s the one we have come to worship.”
And we read that when King Herod heard this, he and all Jerusalem with him were disturbed. They were disturbed because suddenly their entire system was under serious threat. The entire basis for the ordering of their society was being challenged.
That’s what authentic worship does. It challenges the way things are, and the assumptions of the dominant systems of this world. Authentic worship is an act of defiance that dares to declare that our ultimate allegiance is not to any worldly authority but to Christ alone.
Are you up for that this Christmas? Because that’s what it means to worship Christ as King. And should you make that your choice, I guarantee that it will radically change the kind of festive season you will experience.
Over the next three days we’ll explore some practical ways in which this kind of worship can be expressed this Christmas. They are really just starting suggestions, which hopefully will spark some thoughts of your own as to how you might journey through the festive season more faithfully this year.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, let my whole-hearted worship of you be my primary concern this Christmas. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 2:1-3
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
What kind of festive season do you want to have this year?
That’s the question I want us to think about this week as we consider both the delights and the difficulties of Christmas that await us. Yesterday I suggested that the answer to this question is not merely a matter a chance. Of course, there are many things that can happen to us over which we have little or no control - things that can have dramatic consequences for our lives. (Think, for instance, about those families who will have to face the devastating trauma of losing loved ones in accidents on our nation’s roads this month.)
Yet, in spite of the many unforeseen things that can happen to us, I would still affirm that the kind of festive season we will experience is essentially a matter of choice, not chance.
The story in Matthew 2 of the Magi coming to Bethlehem to worship the Christ-child, guided by a star, is one of the iconic stories of the Christmas narrative. But embedded within this strange but wonderful story is a clear presentation of the fundamental choice that confronts all of us, as we come closer to Christmas.
On the one hand there is the choice of the Magi, who came to Bethlehem in order to WORSHIP the new-born king. On the other hand there is the choice of King Herod. He claimed that he too wanted to go and worship, but in fact he wanted to kill the child. He “came to Bethlehem” in order to serve his own interests, to preserve his own position, to affirm his continued authority as king.
This reflects the choice that confronts all of us as we “come to Bethlehem” this year. Either, like the Magi, we can acknowledge Christ as King, and kneel in worship before him. Or, like Herod, we can seek to serve our own self-centered interests as we continue occupying the throne of our lives.
It seems pretty obvious which option we should choose. And no prizes for guessing what I, a preacher, am going to suggest. But before we rush to that conclusion, let’s be clear about one thing: If we choose to make the worship of Christ our primary concern this Christmas, there are some serious implications to that.
The decision of the Magi to worship Christ is really an act of political defiance, and a form of counter-cultural protest. Think about it. The Magi walk into Jerusalem, the capital of Herod, the king. And they say, “We have come to worship another king. Not you Herod. We’re not going to bow down to you. There’s another king who we think is greater than you. He’s the one we have come to worship.”
And we read that when King Herod heard this, he and all Jerusalem with him were disturbed. They were disturbed because suddenly their entire system was under serious threat. The entire basis for the ordering of their society was being challenged.
That’s what authentic worship does. It challenges the way things are, and the assumptions of the dominant systems of this world. Authentic worship is an act of defiance that dares to declare that our ultimate allegiance is not to any worldly authority but to Christ alone.
Are you up for that this Christmas? Because that’s what it means to worship Christ as King. And should you make that your choice, I guarantee that it will radically change the kind of festive season you will experience.
Over the next three days we’ll explore some practical ways in which this kind of worship can be expressed this Christmas. They are really just starting suggestions, which hopefully will spark some thoughts of your own as to how you might journey through the festive season more faithfully this year.
PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord Jesus Christ, let my whole-hearted worship of you be my primary concern this Christmas. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 2:1-3
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
A Disciple’s Survival Guide to Christmas
DAILY BYTE
It’s December, and the holiday season is upon us! For many people (though not all), the next month or so is a time to relax and unwind, and hopefully take things a little more leisurely.
And in the midst of it all, of course, there’s Christmas, with all of its festivities. And then there’s New Year, with all of its fanfare. There’s food and family, parties and presents, singing and celebrating. No wonder we call this the Festive Season.
All of which can be very good. It’s important to feast and to celebrate. To reconnect with family. To lighten up and laugh a little more. To spoil our loved ones, and maybe even be spoiled in return. This is part of the gift of this season.
But we all know that there’s more to this time of year than just carefree fun and games. For even the festive season delivers its fair share of stress and strain.
For instance, there are the expectations and responsibilities of family that can often be quite demanding. Les Dawson, the British comedian, once said: ‘My mother-in-law’s been coming around to our house for Christmas for the past 17 years. This year we’re thinking of letting her in!’
Certainly, family dynamics at Christmastime are often complicated, to say the least. Particularly if there’s been a divorce, or some other kind of estrangement, or if there are underlying tensions between certain family members. For some, their annual family get-together at Christmas feels a bit like taking a stroll through a minefield. Maybe you’ve experienced your fair share of emotional shrapnel flying around your family at Christmas.
For others, the struggle of this season lies in family being far away. Or missing loved ones who have died, the grief of which is felt more sharply at this time. Many experience the constant ache of loneliness that is only heightened at Christmastime.
Then there’s the carefully planned, cleverly co-ordinated and meticulously executed assault of a consumerist culture that somehow convinces us to spend money we don’t really have to buy things we don’t really need.
Which is why so many people return to their jobs in January singing, “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”
But there’s an even darker side to this season. The number of suicide attempts at this time of year is higher than at any other. Domestic violence will increase this month, as will the number of abandoned pets, teenage pregnancies, the incidence of drunk driving, and the number of road deaths.
What does this say to us as a society? Is all this shadowy stuff of this season just an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of people going on holiday and letting their hair down? Or is something deeper happening, something damaging that touches us on the level of our collective soul?
Whatever you might think about that, I’m sure you will agree that as individuals we can handle the holidays and Christmas and New Year in ways that either good for us or bad for us.
And so the simple question I want to pose at the start of this week’s devotions is this, ‘WHAT KIND OF FESTIVE SEASON DO YOU WANT TO HAVE THIS YEAR?’ I’d like to suggest that the answer to that question is not merely a matter of chance, depending on how obnoxious Uncle Herbert gets at Christmas lunch or whether you find a decent parking place at the Mall. There are choices that we can personally make that will determine the kind of festive season we will experience.
This week, the invitation is for you to become a little more mindful of the choices you will be making this Christmas, in the hope that your experience of this festive season will be more in keeping with what God intends for you.
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, as Christmas draws near we know how easy it is to get caught up in so many non-essential and often superficial things. Help us to see more deeply into this season, and to recognise your presence at the very heart of it all. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 2:15
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.”
It’s December, and the holiday season is upon us! For many people (though not all), the next month or so is a time to relax and unwind, and hopefully take things a little more leisurely.
And in the midst of it all, of course, there’s Christmas, with all of its festivities. And then there’s New Year, with all of its fanfare. There’s food and family, parties and presents, singing and celebrating. No wonder we call this the Festive Season.
All of which can be very good. It’s important to feast and to celebrate. To reconnect with family. To lighten up and laugh a little more. To spoil our loved ones, and maybe even be spoiled in return. This is part of the gift of this season.
But we all know that there’s more to this time of year than just carefree fun and games. For even the festive season delivers its fair share of stress and strain.
For instance, there are the expectations and responsibilities of family that can often be quite demanding. Les Dawson, the British comedian, once said: ‘My mother-in-law’s been coming around to our house for Christmas for the past 17 years. This year we’re thinking of letting her in!’
Certainly, family dynamics at Christmastime are often complicated, to say the least. Particularly if there’s been a divorce, or some other kind of estrangement, or if there are underlying tensions between certain family members. For some, their annual family get-together at Christmas feels a bit like taking a stroll through a minefield. Maybe you’ve experienced your fair share of emotional shrapnel flying around your family at Christmas.
For others, the struggle of this season lies in family being far away. Or missing loved ones who have died, the grief of which is felt more sharply at this time. Many experience the constant ache of loneliness that is only heightened at Christmastime.
Then there’s the carefully planned, cleverly co-ordinated and meticulously executed assault of a consumerist culture that somehow convinces us to spend money we don’t really have to buy things we don’t really need.
Which is why so many people return to their jobs in January singing, “I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go.”
But there’s an even darker side to this season. The number of suicide attempts at this time of year is higher than at any other. Domestic violence will increase this month, as will the number of abandoned pets, teenage pregnancies, the incidence of drunk driving, and the number of road deaths.
What does this say to us as a society? Is all this shadowy stuff of this season just an unfortunate but inevitable consequence of people going on holiday and letting their hair down? Or is something deeper happening, something damaging that touches us on the level of our collective soul?
Whatever you might think about that, I’m sure you will agree that as individuals we can handle the holidays and Christmas and New Year in ways that either good for us or bad for us.
And so the simple question I want to pose at the start of this week’s devotions is this, ‘WHAT KIND OF FESTIVE SEASON DO YOU WANT TO HAVE THIS YEAR?’ I’d like to suggest that the answer to that question is not merely a matter of chance, depending on how obnoxious Uncle Herbert gets at Christmas lunch or whether you find a decent parking place at the Mall. There are choices that we can personally make that will determine the kind of festive season we will experience.
This week, the invitation is for you to become a little more mindful of the choices you will be making this Christmas, in the hope that your experience of this festive season will be more in keeping with what God intends for you.
PRAY AS YOU GO
O God, as Christmas draws near we know how easy it is to get caught up in so many non-essential and often superficial things. Help us to see more deeply into this season, and to recognise your presence at the very heart of it all. Amen.
SCRIPTURE READING
Luke 2:15
“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.”
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