What Child Is This?

Not to knock the pope or anything, because I don't mean to, I actually like Ratzinger the Bishop of Rome.  But catching a few glimpses of his midnight mass I wondered aloud if this is what St. Peter had in mind when he started the Christian community in Rome.  More importantly I wondered if this is what Jesus had in mind when He said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church.  All the worldly riches, the gold, the outfits, the elaborate and extravagant decorations, is this what God had in mind?

American consumers who are Christians and not Roman Catholic are just as much to blame.  There we all are banging down the doors of malls and Best Buy's to get the "best buy" we can and bring a smile to the faces of those we love.  Don't get me wrong, I love gifts, but is this all what God had in mind?  The gaudiness?  The piousness?  Does today's Church even really understand what took place that first Christmas, on a cool spring night approximately 2,000 years ago in a place called House of Bread (Bethlehem)?  

Jesus could have easily come into the world in the richest area possible.  He could have been borne at the governors place of dwelling, Herod's castle, Rome itself, or perhaps a great kingdom of Persia, but He wasn't.  The King of the universe and beyond instead chose to come the way of a servant, born next to animals in a dirty barn stable, son of a carpenter and a young woman who were betrothed to be married.  So you see, it is quite easy to answer the question, "Is this what God had in mind?"  Because the answer is, "No."  Religious piousness, carelessness for those "below" us, more mindful of money and riches then the miracles of Christ, are not what The Creator had in mind.  

Who came to greet Jesus at His birth?  Shepherds.  What kind of a joke is that?  I mean seriously, this baby is not only supposed to be a king, but the King of the universe and shepherds were the first outside of his mother Mary and earthly father Joseph to greet Him?  Shepherds were no palace dwellers in those days, not even today.  So it is a complete mockery of the term "pastor" or "shepherd" for Christians to be parading around in abundance while reflecting their own worth.  

What child is this?  This child is a servant, a servant who came to serve one and all.  This child is one who suffers, to suffer with one and all.  This child is God with us, Immanuel.  This child is the Savior, Jesus, who saves humanity from itself.  This child is a King, but unlike any other king the world has seen, because this King remains on the front lines fighting battles for His people, this King suffers completely with His people, for that is what He was born to do.  This King died, and this King lives for His people.

This King is not looking for a kingdom of this world, but a Kingdom of the worlds beyond and the new in the future.  This child, Jesus the Christ, is not about the gaudy.  The Christ is about the ugly, and making the ugly beautiful.  The Christ is about taking the sick, and making them healthy.  The Christ is about taking the stain of sin and eradicating it forever, by people being baptized into His name and His life.  

It would behoove those of us who are Christian to cherish this great news, because that is what it is.  So a hurting and dying world around us can see the Love of God reflected and they might believe and have life eternal themselves.  If we live contrary to how our King lives, the dying world doesn't get to see His love manifested in His people.  

What child is this?  Immanuel, God with us.  Let us be with others this Christmas and everyday as though it were Christmas.

All Dogs Go to Heaven?

Lost my dog of 14 and a half years today.  It's amazing the little things one takes for granted when they have a pet for such a long time and moments after they're gone, you miss them.  Like when I was laying on the couch watching t.v. like I've done so many times before, Ranger (named after the NY Hockey team) would stick her nose in my face.  It more often than not annoyed me, but what I'd give to have her stick her disgusting snout in my face.  The little things in life, which really turn out to be the big things that impact us so often get lost in the shuffle.  It's a lesson we never learn, until it's too late.  

There was a popular movie when I was younger called, "All Dogs Go to Heaven."  The plot surrounded around dogs who were also angels, because they had died and gone to heaven.  It's a story I have always laughed and never took seriously.  But when I got the news early this morning that the dog I have had since I was in first grade had passed away, the theologian in me began racing for answers.  The theologian in me had none.  No dogs go to heaven, no dog or pet makes it to everlasting life...or do they?  I stumbled upon this:

Q. My four-year-old son wants to know if he will see his dog when he dies and goes to heaven. Will he? Do I tell him that even though God created all the animals too, people are the only ones that go to heaven?

A. In the "Q&A" column of the January 1995 issue of the "Northwestern Lutheran" (the official periodical of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod), Rev. John Brug gives the following helpful response to the question, "Will there be animals in heaven?"

Since animals do not have immortal souls, we might think the answer is no. Several facts, however, make one hesitant to be satisfied with a simple "no." Our eternal home is a new earth (Isaiah 65:17ff, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1). Isaiah 65:25 speaks of it as a place in which the wolf and the lamb live together peacefully.

This may be figurative language, but one other passage suggests animals might be in our eternal home. Romans 8:21 says that "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage." In this present, sin-cursed world, we inflict suffering on animals, and they inflict suffering on us. At Christ's coming, when this world is freed from the effects of sin, animals, too, will be freed from suffering.

That text also says the creation will be "brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." That might mean there may be plants and animals in the new earth as there were in the first earth. If there are animals on the new earth, they will be good creatures of God as the animals of the first earth were.

In short, the answer is a cautious "maybe."

A cautious maybe.  From where I'm sitting right now, I'll take that.  It is the curse of sin upon the world that leads to tragedies such as losing a pet.  And it is just another reminder of how creation waits and groans for that day when there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more fear.  Christ's victory on the cross and His resurrection is what assures us that this day is coming.

Hail Mary, Full of Grace

Could not have said it better myself, so here is the LCMS' daily devotion, today centered around Mary, mother of Jesus, since today is in the Roman Catholic Church the "Immaculate Conception" of Mary.  Which states that Mary was given extra grace and born sinless, that God spared her from being conceived in sin because she would bare the Christ child, something this blogger does not believe.  One note I would make in addition to this daily devo however is that the word for grace relayed to Mary is the same as the word for grace given to all believers in Ephesians 1:6. Something to ponder or to inquire about with a Roman Catholic friend or priest.  Nevertheless, enjoy:

Hail, Mary

A voice calling...

 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

    "Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
   who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
    'Prepare the way of the Lord,
   make his paths straight,'"

 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

~Mark 1:2-8

A voice cries out from the wilderness and prepares the way of the Lord.  John the Baptist was a freak.  He stormed onto the scene preaching radical ideas.  He was pretty much homeless, had a wild get up, and ate bugs and honey.  As prophets go, he preached repentance and the Law, but balanced it with Gospel knowing full well that God would save His people.  We read this text during Advent because it helps us prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ.  

John the Baptist is an interesting story.  He was the baby in the womb of Jesus' mother Mary's sister Elizabeth.  The story goes that went Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, was in the presence of Elizabeth, carrying John, the baby inside Elizabeth leapt for joy.  What an incredible story.  Even then, John knew how big a deal this Jesus was.  And he knew what he was preaching about and what our eyes should be focused on.  The Christ child, Jesus, is where our focus is to be.  

Our hearts are prepared with joy as we anticipate His coming.  And how great would it be if we could anticipate it and follow it through like John the Baptist.  John was eventually beheaded for his preaching, a true Jesus freak.  Tradition says the first Christian martyr is St. Stephen.  This blogger says John the Baptist is.  He preached repentance and forgiveness and was the final prophet before the coming of the One into the world.  John prepared and made straight the pathways before Jesus' coming, and was killed for it.  Oh if only we could follow the straight pathways John made and march on in Truth and Love toward one another and toward our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

DC Talk's most famous song, Jesus Freak, has a verse dedicated to this John the Baptist.  May we be a people who fearlessly follow just as John the Baptist did. 

There was a man from the desert with naps in his head
The sand that he walked was also his bed
The words that he spoke made the people assume
There wasnt too much left in the upper room
With skins on his back and hair on his face
They thought he was strange by the locusts he ate
The pharisees tripped when they heard him speak
Until the king took the head of this jesus freak

Speaking the Truth in Love

Found this article over at LCMS Youth Ministry website "Youth E-Source."  The article, "Speaking the Truth in Love," by Reverend Jay Reed of Elk Grove, California hammers home this idea that we need to be proclaiming truth but doing it out of love in witness to the Truth Himself, Jesus Christ.  Good, thought provoking read.  Enjoy!

Spreadin the Cheer

Check this story out.

I have no idea why these people do what they do, but they sure shine.  And this is the kind of stuff I am talking about.  The only possible exception being the Santa aspect.  Good read.

Do WE Get It?

Normally, I don't like Eugene Peterson's The Message translation of the Bible.  I'm a seventh semester Greek student who also just started taking Hebrew, how could I possibly like that paraphrase?  But I have found, especially with the youth, it can be helpful in certain instances to convey The Message of the Gospel.  Here is one such particular instance:

29-30Levi gave a large dinner at his home for Jesus. Everybody was there, tax men and other disreputable characters as guests at the dinner. The Pharisees and their religion scholars came to his disciples greatly offended. "What is he doing eating and drinking with crooks and 'sinners'?"

 31-32Jesus heard about it and spoke up, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? I'm here inviting outsiders, not insiders—an invitation to a changed life, changed inside and out."

Luke 5:29-32

Many honchos in the Lutheran Church would probably take issue with the fact that this paraphrase leaves out how Jesus said He was there to call sinners to repentance.  But it is conveyed, albeit simply, in Peterson's paraphrase.  Jesus is indeed, even still today, calling to the outsiders with an invitation to a changed life a metanoia (Greek repentance or change of the mind/self) if you will.  So long as the one presenting The Message does so understanding it is not a sound translation then I see no harm or foul in using it as a teaching tool to convey a certain point.  What is the point here?  The church is for sinners.  The church is for the sick, not the healthy.  If it were for the healthy we wouldn't confess our sins or receive the Eucharist weekly.  We are sick, twisted, unhealthy, human beings.  It is part of our condition as sinner.  We are wrong.  

One of the most damaging notions, bar none, that has come to represent the church is that we think we're better than everyone else and the "they" out there are the ones with a problem.  Yeah no kidding,  everyone has problems.  There are problems both inside and outside the church.  Even if we have the theology that says, "Yeah no kidding, thanks" we still have to realize that even us theologically sound Lutherans can come off as jerks and as pompous religious types.  So let's call the sick, as Jesus did at every turn, to the church and to healing (repentance).  Because the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, is the One who brought healing.  He is the One who was is and is to come, the Alpha the Omega, the Beginning and the End.  The phrase goes that "The buck stops here" when it comes to Jesus.  Through Him all can enjoy health and eternal life.  This is the message we need to get out there.  Jesus is for the sick, not the healthy (or those who think they are healthy).  

People are watching, stand guard and hold true to your faith in all circumstances.  You never know just when you are being watched, as I found out in a conversation last night with someone who may or may not have been sipping on grandmas cough medicine.  But that's not the point, the point is he told me he saw something different about me, and I know this has nothing to do with myself or on my own.  It is not because I am some great person, because I am not.  I am terribly sick.  But thanks be to God when it counts the Good Doctor is shining through and His remedy is working.  I say this not to be like "look at me, look at me!"  Because truth be told that's the last thing I want.  But I say this so that when people look at you, they can and WILL say "Look at so and so, man that is what I want my kids to see in religion and in this Christian God."

Invite them in, sit them down, offer them the remedy.  Jesus brings change.

The Library

Yeah, so I just spent my morning and part of my afternoon in the library working on an energy policy paper, that when completed, will liberate me from the bondage of having a political science major.  Political Science was always something I wanted to do when I was in high school, then God had other plans.  So here I am, as I have been since I got here, studying political science for a degree I won't even use.  What a waste?  

I would actually tend to disagree that taking political science has been a waste.  Due to the classes I have taken I have been exposed, and re-exposed to a wide range of thinkers and authors who have shaped, are shaping, and will shape US policy.  I disagree with Karl Marx on just about every point he has to make, but I can adequately recount his positions and not ad hominem attacks as to why Marxism or Communism is no good.  This helpful, especially in a hurting world.  Going back to that book I am reading, one of the authors Kara Powell identified how she spent so much time on the social justice end that some of her students were becoming Marxists or Communists just filled with cynicism instead of missionaries (local or abroad) who would fight for justice while carrying the cross.  It is important in these tough economic times (do not be fooled by the falling gas prices the economy is still in shambles) to be able to identify with people who are struggling.  And by struggling I don't mean people who have to maybe not purchase a second flat screen television.  By struggling I mean people who are losing their jobs and are filled with hatred for those who are successful because they feel stepped on.  

What is the Christian response to these people in their desperation?  The Christian needs to encourage a communal aspect in light of what Christ has done for us and not in light of what Karl Marx said was good.  There is no doubt Marx correctly identified some issues regarding Capitalism.  However, he also overlooked Capitalism's ability to adapt.  What has taken place that has put us in the dire straights we are now in is American greed on the heels of capitalism.  There is nothing inherently evil in regards to economic competition.  There is something evil about corporations stepping on others to get ahead without any real regard for what is going on around them.  There is nothing wrong with making money, there is nothing wrong with being rich.  When Jesus said it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom He meant those who felt they were rich in spirit, when they were sick, and those who use their earthly riches to abuse or oppress others.  In other words, unrepentant sinners.  For Christians well versed in politics or involved in the political process it would be wise to check yourself by making sure the cross is on your shoulders when you engage in such endeavors and that a godless communism or Marxism is not what is driving you.  Make no mistake about it, one of Karl Marx' points was that religion must be eradicated because it contributes to people stepping on the lower classes. 

In your life, in your vocation, prove through the Spirit that Marx was wrong.  Communism or Marxism or even socialism (Commie-Lite) is not the answer.  Christian communal living and love is.  Carry your cross.

Christmas and Good Friday

Found this devotional on the LCMS website this morning.  Found it quite relevant.  Check it out:

http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=1066&devodate=12%2F3%2F2008

Advent

Anxiety, stress, anticipation, etc, etc.  The Christmas season is upon us.  As a senior in college I find my mind wandering off constantly and that it is hard to stay focused on the current task at hand.  Less than two weeks until the semester ends however, so now is the time to buckle down.  

The interesting thing is that Advent ought to be a time of pondering and a time of anticipation.  Not so much a time of stress or anxiety, even though that unfortunately comes with the territory.  What shall we be expecting?  What shall be in anticipation of?  The prophet Isaiah lets us know:

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given;
 and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
   and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
   to establish it and to uphold it
 with justice and with righteousness
   from this time forth and forevermore.
 The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

This text from Isaiah 9 shows us the strong prophecy of the One who came and who is to come into the world.  2,000 years ago God came from His throne in heaven to embody lowly humanity.  This is the ultimate act of love.  It is out of this love that the illnesses of the world can and will be eradicated.  Things like poverty, disease, war, famine, hate, abuse, neglect, etc. etc.  They will all be gone in an instant.  Until then we keep fighting for what is right.  And that means that in this Christmas season we bring Christ to the poor and the impoverished.  

If our hope is in the Gospel, why can't we share that same beautiful hope with them?  It's time for the church to reclaim scripture and reclaim the pleas Christ gives us to help the down trodden.  It's time for the church to wake up to the needs around it and to stop hammering home one or two sins which they have made into political agendas.  The time has come for the church to rise up against the evil in the world with one voice as if we all worshiped the same God (what a novel concept!).  The time has come for the church to engage the lion that prowls around roaring and to beat it back with the Gospel of Hope.  That Gospel that says Jesus Christ came into the world to serve and to die.  The kind of Gospel that is utter foolishness to those who don't believe (and even some who do) because it is so radical.  The kind of foolishness that laughs in the face of evil and oppression and lends a hand saying, "There is a better way."  The kind of hope that proclaims boldly that Jesus died for our sins but that the story does not end there.  Jesus lives.  And if the American Church wants to be taken serious its time to rise up against the prosperity gospel which has given us the drunken antics of Wall Street and to take up their cross, cut from the same wood as the manger, and to follow Him.  Jesus is in the poor, Jesus is in the diseased, Jesus is in the depressed, Jesus is eating with the sinners.  Where do we spend our time?  

If the Gospel, the Good News, is our hope, then we should look at this as something we "get to do" and not at all something we "have to do."  At the same time, isn't there a better way?

The Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Service and The Gospel

Where does this all fit?  Tough to say, I'm reading a book by Chap Clark and Kara Powell from Fuller Theological Seminary called Deep Justice in a Broken World.  This book seeks to strike the balance between social justice issues and personal salvation.  Although the book is mainly pointed toward youth workers and interacting with their students it is very useful for all Christians.

It tackles tough questions about social reform and personal salvation and which end the gospel falls on.  The answer is not which side but both/and.  It really hammers home the idea that we get to do deep justice because we are saved.  That God would have that all be taken care of.  It also talks about how too many fall on the extreme conservative side where Christianity is solely about personal salvation, and the extreme Liberal side how forget the salvation part let's just do the work.  It strikes the chord of balance that says yes to both and seeks to connect the two practically.  

How much time has the church wasted because of theological reasons in helping the poor?  And how much time has the church wasted in throwing away the Jesus thing in order to "help" the poor?  This may be more of an evangelical problem, but Lutherans are stiff and need to engage the world because we do have the theology the world needs to hear.  Time to get off the sidelines and err on the side of grace.