kingdom travelin'

We are still in the season of Epiphany, the season where we celebrate Jesus as the light.

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””
‭‭John‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

You have to HAVE the light to be the light.

Follow him.

I have a buddy with red hair who works real hard, and succeeds, at being the light. He will often text or email “Be the light!” It’s like he’s a natural.

Let me tell you, it’s not natural for me. Is it for you?

Hard or easy, Red is right, be the light!

Here’s Jesus: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew‬ ‭5:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Jesus is the light (remember, it’s Epiphany – today is day 3 of 12 in the season) and he indwells us so we can be the light, just like my buddy likes to exclaim.

There are many ways to be the light, but the first is to love people more than judge them.

Let’s look for ways to love people that don’t seem so lovable to us. In this way we too can be the light. In the accumulation of all our little lights there can come a glow. That’s kind of like what I think the Magi saw, the collective glow from the angels giving glory to God. That got the Magi moving westward, but they will see light again. See, they’re not quite half way to Judea yet, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, be the light! In this way, Jesus says, we glorify the Father.

It is Christmas Day in the Orthodox Christian world.*

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Think about this, YOU are so important to God that, in his great plan, he sent his son to take on humanness so he could save us.

And the eternal Son of God was willing to leave heaven in obedience to the Father because he loved YOU.

The great and holy Creator of all there is was willing to sacrifice self for YOU, dear reader.

Thank you God!

Merry Christmas!

___________________

* This difference in date is because Orthodox churches (there are many of them and are nation based e.g. Ukrainian, Russian, Greek, etc.) still use the Julian calendar (apparently from Julius Caesar no less) instead of the Gregorian calendar (16th c. long after the East-West schism in 1053). I love it because it extends Christmas longer!

Fun fact: Kievan leader Yaroslav the Wise sought to spread Christianity across the realm.

He sent emissaries to Rome and Constantinople to choose the form of the church to spread through the Kievan state. As the story goes, the emissaries returned and described the mystical beauty of the Eastern churches in Constantinople, that factor was large among the reasons for his choosing Eastern style.

Happy Epiphany!

The LIGHT has come!!

Today is the traditional liturgical/Christian Year celebration of the coming of the Magi. (There is another one on February 2nd and that’s when we’ll dwell on why that day makes sense in linear time.) But today we will consider the main point: The light has come to the Gentiles.

Essentially it’s like this, if you’re not a Jew, you’re a Gentile. (There are those who are mixed but I’m not chasing that rabbit, I’m staying on this trail.) God made it quite clear throughout the Bible that he cares about non-Jews and Jews alike. Remember Melchizedek? Not a Jew. When Solomon dedicates the Temple the prayer including all peoples. The Temple had a court for the Gentiles. (See what Jesus said in Mark 11:17) If you think back to your Gospels you’ll recall Jesus was amazed at the faith of some Gentiles. A centurion comes to mind (Matt. 8:5-14).

Anyway, the Magi traveled to bring gifts (essential to God’s plan) and worship in newborn Jesus. We’ll get more into that in due course.

These scholar-astronomer-astrologer-religious followed the clues (they had studied in the Hebrew prophets) and the phenomenon they observed in the sky. They sought the king.

As the light, what clues about Jesus are we leaving for people? What phenomenal stories about him are we telling that they may seek the king?

Jesus came, the Incarnation happened, because God loves all people. Remember again the angels:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

The light has come for us.

REJOICE!!!

Be the light! One of Jesus instructions to us was to be the light! We’ve received, let us give!

Oh, and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Armenian Orthodox Christmas!

Oh, and Merry Christmas Eve to all our friends who follow the Orthodox calendar (Julian calendar)!

I think I’ll leave the tree up a couple of more days after all!

Today is the final day of this year’s Christmas season, or, if you will, festival.

When Jesus was 12 days old we might consider that Mary was now strong enough to travel, the government registration was complete and that the family soon began the journey home.

Traditions push the timetable up and we might think that the Magi (who are likely still on the way to find the new born king) and the dedication have occurred. But a careful reading of Leviticus is clear that Mary had to wait several weeks to come into the sanctuary. (Leviticus 12 indicates circumcision on the 8th day (last Saturday) and then 33 more days before the offering.)

So, by now the family is on their way or, maybe, already home in Nazareth. It was a four day journey so if they left after the circumcision, they would just about be home.

Since about the 6th century, the traditional celebration of 12th day of Christmas was the final day and night for celebrating Christmas before the end of the holiday season. (Shakespeare even wrote a play called 12th Night.)

According to some traditions, one should remove Christmas decorations on the 12th day of Christmas. This guy goes out today (the presents are long gone).

All along this journey through Advent and Christmas we’ve been reminded to think about the wonderful work of Christ because of God’s faithful love for us. Today let’s remember that Jesus commanded us to give. Love.

Give love, as he did, to neighbors, enemies, and one another. He said that people will know we are his disciples by our love.

But let’s be real, love is often hard. Our pride can (and does) get in the way of love. Jesus didn’t have that problem, the perfect union of man and God – the Incarnation that we are celebrating – meant that though he was tempted just as we are (Hebrews 4) he overcame temptation for us. This kept him the perfect sacrifice for our sins, which result from our giving in to temptation. He died the perfect death and rose and ascended to the right hand of the Father because the Incarnation began that aspect of the salvation work of Jesus. Then He sent the Spirit to indwell us and help us follow him.

So, …peace be unto those upon whom his favor rests… remember, believer, disciple of Jesus, YOU ARE FAVORED!

Just in case you have five more minutes and want to hear the story one more time, here you go…

We have not been left alone.

We have so much to celebrate on this 12th day of Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Rejoice!

On this 11th day of Christmas I’m celebrating the incredible surprising gift of quiet.

We received 10” of wet heavy snow early Monday morning and lost electricity at about 10am. (I’m writing this Monday night)

Since that time it has been wonderfully quiet. The only sound I hear right now originates from the flames and quiet hissing from this guy…

Not only did our trusty fireplace keep us warm, but was the place for grilling sandwiches (cast iron frying pan!) and heating coffee and boiling water.

So, that was fun, but it’s the quiet that is so beautiful. Very few cars driving by (our neighborhood roads are a mess), no heat pumps running…

It’s just quiet.

And dark…

I imagine this is what it was like in Bethlehem, when all the hubbub was over (you know… angels, shepherds, innkeepers, drummer boys, etc…. the Magi are somewhere in the desert, not even a quarter of the way from Babylon.)

It’s was just Joseph, Mary, and the new baby, now 11 days old.

Ponder if you can, our 11 day old savior, who is simultaneously the Creator and Sustainer of all the universe(s?) and a helpless human baby who basically just eats, sleeps and fills his diaper.

Diapers? They had to use some kind diapers in 4BC, didn’t they?

Why helpless? Because he lowered himself from Heaven (that’s the opposite of exalted BTW) to obey the plan of God.

On those quiet nights (like this one I’m experiencing) in Bethlehem, Mary pondered. Joseph pondered. They had some idea of the plan, thanks to the angels visits. But they could not know what we do.

How incredibly privileged we are to have the Scripture to fill us in with the things that they could not. How wonderful it is to contemplate how vast is the love God has for us.

Find some silence.

Ponder.

Exalt Him who lowered himself to save us.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians‬ ‭1:15-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Soli Deo Gloria