Miscellaneous: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! - Ron

MERRY
The term means cheerful and lively. It is a description of joyful festivities. For many people, the holidays are indeed ‘merry’. But why? In Luke 12, Jesus tells of a man who was pridefully at rest in his wealth. This caused the man to relax and be merry. In other words, “I’ve got it made in the shade. It is time to rejoice over my wealth and myself.” In Luke 15, Jesus tells of a man who was excitedly rejoicing over his lost son. The purpose of his merry festivities rested in God’s goodness. “My son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

Merriment can be found in many things. But not all are worthy of our joy, and not many endure the harsh realities of life. If one is in Christ, he has been raised to life; lost and found. This is reason indeed to be merry. And not just during the holidays, but every day of the year.

CHRISTMAS
The incarnation of Christ was neither the beginning for the Son of God nor the plan of redemption. But, even so, Christmas is the stuff of beginnings. “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” The long awaited Messiah had come. For those who would see Him, like Simeon, hope could be held. God broke into the world in a new way when Christ was born. A glorious truth is this: the Son of God wrapped in humanity, tempted as we are yet without sin, is our faithful High Priest able to enter into our pain and struggle. Because it behoved Him to be made like us, God came in the flesh (Hebrews 2:17). Apart from Scripture we would never dare believe it. And yet, “He knows our need. To our weakness is no stranger. Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend.”(1)

Perhaps this year has seen hope fade in your life. Maybe your faith has faltered. Today, begin again in worship. We cannot hold Him in our hands, but we can hold Him in our hearts. Originally Christ Mass, or, the worship of Christ, the reason for the season is in the name.

AND
As a conjunction the word carries an important function. It means addition, as in, “Oh wait, there’s more.” Whether or not this is a welcome conjunction depends entirely on the context and circumstances. In the context of the holiday season, merry and happy because of Christmas and the new year. Is there a reason inherent in the passing of one year into the next for which we ought to be happy? Likely not. For many, New Year’s Day is synonymous with hope for change and improvement. And for most, the end of January marks the end of those hopes for change.

Jesus shows the variety of the word in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Here’s the deal, if your hope for happiness in the new year is resting in anything but Jesus, you are hoping in a thief. And this thief will steal. That’s not good, but there’s more! The thief will also kill. Not great either, but there’s more! The thief will destroy. Contrarily, you can put your hope in Christ and find life. But wait, there’s more! Life in Christ is, as Gill writes, “the life of sons: eternal life, and besides life, an abundance of grace from Christ, all spiritual blessings in Him now, and all fulness of joy, glory, and happiness hereafter.”

HAPPY
Has any feeling eluded more people, more of the time, than happiness? If there is one thing on which we can agree, it is that happiness is fleeting. In our English Bible, Jesus used the word one time. In John 13, Jesus washes His disciples’ feet as an example of true servanthood. An example that His followers are supposed to, you know, actually follow. But Jesus reminds us that happiness is not found in knowledge or mere acknowledgment. Happiness (or blessing) is found in life application (John 13:17). You want to set yourself up for happiness in 2022? Set out to be a servant!

NEW
“It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23).” Specifically, it was God’s mercy that Jeremiah had not died in prison and that Israel (as a people) had not been completely destroyed. F.B. Meyer adds, “If only we would turn from our griefs to the mercies, compassions, and goodness of the Lord, there would be light in our darkest dungeons. Let us be at least sure of this, that the Lord will neither cast out nor cast off. He may hide His face for a moment, but with everlasting kindness He will have mercy, according to the multitude of His compassions.”(2)

May God bring these truths to you in your time of need, and when you doubt, may the Holy Spirit preach them to you.

YEAR
In Luke 4, Jesus likens Himself to a priest announcing the acceptable year of the Lord. There is a time and a season for everything. Only you and God knows which ways He has been growing and shaping you. What you don’t know, however, is how long your windows of opportunity will stay open. If you’ve never placed your faith and trust in Christ, then today is the day of salvation. That window may close at any time on account of your death or Christ’s return. Maybe there is something God has been calling you to or from. There’s only time while there is time. Step out on faith and do what He has called you to do!

And so, merry Christmas and happy New Year!

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(1) Christmas hymn; O holy night; Contributor Names: Adam, Adolphe. Created / Published: Sudds, W. F., 1883, monographic.

(2( F.B. Meyer Bible Commentary, 1979, Tyndale House Publishing.

Redefining Joy - Ben

I know Ron and Stephen already mentioned Christmas. But how can I not make mention of it too? Christmas is this week. What’s more, I wore my Christmas socks to church today, I have a slowly dying pine decorated haphazardly right next to me, and I currently have Relient K’s Let It Snow Baby…Let It Reindeer[1] blaring in the background. The only thing I’m missing is the Christmas classic, Die Hard, to round out these yuletide vibes. 

Now, if you didn’t know, I’m a grown man.  Admittedly, if you were to ask my wife, this little factoid would be up for debate. And I can’t really blame her for thinking that. After all, I did ask Santa to bring me the LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery model #10283 for Christmas.[2] (Twelve year old Ben would be very proud.) But, according to my driver’s license, I am technically a grown-up. And the point I’m trying to make is that Christmas for me today is different than it was for me when I was a kid. Rather than it revolving around the presents, Christmas has become more about making moments; it’s become about finding joy in the inconsequential bits of the holiday season and not, necessarily, finding it in the actual holiday itself. 

While my kids are no doubt looking forward to the presents on Christmas morning, I’m looking forward to the board games that follow. And while I know I’ll eventually be counting down the days till they go back to school, I will also enjoy the extra time with them at home. And, hopefully, it’ll snow. There are very few things more rewarding than pegging your kid in the back of the head with a snowball. You can’t buy that in a store. Thus, not to get overly sentimental here, but the holidays are an excuse for me to make mundane moments memorable. And, I’m not alone in this. The first Christmas is just a series of ordinary moments turned extraordinary by God. 

For instance, how about the angels? Of all the people they could’ve come to, Luke tells us that they came to shepherds—i.e., ordinary people. They did not go to some “important” world leader, but to everyday blue-collar people working the third shift.  The story goes that it wasn’t just one angel that came to the shepherds, but a whole heavenly “host” gave them a midnight concert. The term “host,” if you didn’t know, is “army” in today’s vernacular. Meaning a group honed for combat did not make war but made music! In all of history, has there ever been a military force marshaled to the front lines to sing a song about peace? 

Or, how about the manger? A newborn swaddled in their mother’s arms is as commonplace as presents under a Christmas tree. But how strange it must’ve been for shepherds to find a baby not only wrapped but lying in a manger—i.e., a feeding trough. Indeed, no mother would’ve done that had she any other options. Yet, stranger still, is the fact that when Jesus—he who made the world—came into the world, the world made no room for him. There wasn’t so much as bunk in a Motel 6 for him to lay his head. He spent his first night on earth in a nondescript barn. 

The most bizarre aspect of the Christmas story is that Jesus’ birth was equal parts unimpressive and impressive. God turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Can anyone think of a more insipid birth narrative with so many unique elements than this? All the great heroes have remarkable beginnings. And while, unlike Jesus, many of these famous people are nothing more than mere fairytales and, thus, their stories should be taken with a grain of salt, it is, nevertheless, worth making a brief comparison between myth and reality. 

For example, allegedly, the Buddha took seven steps after being born and said, “I am the chief of the world.” Whereas Jesus didn't enter the world as a fully matured human being. He had to grow up like any other person. Achilles was dipped in the River Styx, making him nearly invincible. But Jesus bled like us. He made himself vulnerable. And like any other child, if not for those swaddling clothes, the Son of God would’ve been cold that first Christmas night.  Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were raised by wolves. However, Jesus had a mother who changed his diapers, fed him when he was hungry, and rocked him to sleep when he was tired. Aside from an episode in the Temple when he was 12, Jesus had an ordinary upbringing. 

The Christmas story stands apart because it mixes the banal and the bizarre. It turns forgettable moments into memorable ones. And when we find God at work in the ordinary bits of our day, it is there where we find joy in the most unexpected places. The true gifts of Christmas are not the presents underneath the tree but the happenings going on around the Christmas tree. 

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[1] Wikipedia contributors, "Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer,"  Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let_It_Snow,_Baby..._Let_It_Reindeer&oldid=1004293963 (accessed December 19, 2021).

[2] This is the one with a miniaturized version of the Hubble Space Telescope that can actually be deployed from the model itself. Pretty cool, right?! Also, if you’re one of the few who actually read the footnotes, please send me money. This model is very expensive and my wife won’t allow me to get it. 

Redefining Joy: The Hardest Verse to Live Out in 2021 - Stephen

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”

Philippians 4:4

Have you ever scrolled through your social media feed and seen nothing but tragedy? After experiencing this, do you feel overwhelmed with the sadness and anxiety of those you know? No longer is it merely those you have personal contact with on a regular basis. Now, because of social media, it also includes people you knew from your childhood, your high school from decades ago, and friends of friends who became your “friend” because they once sold Pampered Chef and you like food. (Maybe that last one is just me.) 

And as this happens even more frequently amid recent circumstances, we are quickly realizing something—Philippians 4:4 might just be the hardest verse to live out. 

The question then becomes: how does one obey this verse by maintaining joy during times like these? The short answer is to just ask the shepherds, the wise men, Mary, Simeon, and the rest of those within the events of that first Christmas who experienced some sort of loss and sacrifice, but all left with a deep-seated joy.

Shortly after my family and I moved to Alabama the struggle laid out in the opening described me. Through social media we had heard of a young boy in our community who had recently been diagnosed with cancer leading to the removal of one of his eyes. This boy’s family then sought to raise money for the treatments, the care, and the long hospital stays, and my emotions propelled me to help this family out as best I could. Having never met this boy or his family (and still haven’t to this day), his picture and story alone touched my heart to the point of action. 

It was during these days of helping this family that our social media feeds seemed to fill up with more stories, more children, more cancer, and more needs—the majority from people we had never met. And each story seemed to be equal or more dire than the last. I began to feel overwhelmed knowing that I could not help them all nor give to them financially nor handle emotionally following each of their stories day-by-day. I couldn’t do these things because my resources, as well as my capacity to handle such things, were both limited. I was also quickly realizing that my joy was fleeting. 

        Keep in mind this was pre-last election, pre-social justice riots, and, apparently, pre-inventing of the word “doomscrolling.”[1] This was also pre-790,000 COVID deaths in our country.[2] And pre-5 million COVID deaths in our world.[3]

        Imagine how many people, maybe even you, are struggling to find and retain joy during this holiday season right now. Struggling to cope much less rejoice. 

During that first Christmas the circumstances seemed much less than ideal for the birth of God’s Son…at least in our minds. Everyone given the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus on one hand was asked to sacrifice something on the other. 

The shepherds sacrificed their nightly routine at work in order to rouse the flock and visit the Christ. Doesn’t seem like much of a loss until you consider the extreme lengths some will go through to make sure sickness is shortened or outright done away with to keep their work schedule going. A daily routine seems that important.

 The wise men sacrificed riches. Mary sacrificed reputation. Simeon sacrificed time to visit the Temple daily. And yet nearly every character left their sacrifice and loss rejoicing like this—

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”
Luke 2:20

The only one within this story who had an opportunity to see the Savior but left with something less than joy was King Herod. Why is he the only one who left unable to rejoice? Let’s remind ourselves once more of the exact words of Philippians 4:4—

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”

Herod was trying desperately to defend his position as “King of the Jews.” In doing so he thought he was retaining joy, but it was actually in sacrifice of it. Herod left without joy not because he didn’t have a chance to see Jesus as the others, and not because he didn’t desire joy itself. But because he sought his joy through circumstance, not “in the Lord.”

In contrast, the shepherds left rejoicing even though they were still poor shepherds. The wise men left on their long journey home with gladness but fewer riches. Mary’s reputation was still marred in the minds of many and yet she was still the proud mother of a Son. Simeon’s joy was so great after seeing Jesus that His exact words were, “now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.” (Luke 2:29) He was speaking of a satisfaction so great that he was prepared to die. 

So how do people like you and I find that same deep-seated joy that permeated the hearts of those that first Christmas? By grounding our joy in the reality of Christ even within the loss, fear, and sacrifice that is sure to come either by choice or by circumstance. 

The Christmas gift of Bethlehem was not comfort for anyone including Jesus who found Himself wrapped in “swaddling clothes” while being poked by a manger’s straw. The gift was the promise wrapped within the Baby Himself—the promise of eternal hope, eternal peace, and eternal joy. A promise that Paul, the same writer of Philippians 4:4, would also say nothing could separate us from (i.e., Romans 8:37-39). 

Ron was honest in his post that many times we don’t feel like rejoicing and it is upon Christ to cause us to “feel” that joy again. Yet, although the circumstances may wrap our joy in tears, the gift of the manger will always remain in the hearts of those who believe. That is why every Christmas, no matter the circumstance, we can still proclaim and boldly sing— “Joy to the World! THE LORD IS COME!”[4]

Merry & Joyful Christmas everyone! 

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[1] “The Science Behind Doomscrolling,” https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/science-doomscrolling/story?id=74402415

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html

[3] https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-data

[4] This song was originally written by Isaac Watts to describe the future Second Coming of Christ. Yet, as we sing it every Christmas, the lines quoted here remain applicable to His first coming as well. 

Redefining Joy - Ron

When Stephen asked me if I was prepared to kick-off the December topic of redefining joy, my response was, "Absolutely." And to be fair, I was ready. Actually, am ready, obviously, because, well, here we are. But if I am honest, I am not in the most joyous of seasons. And any time in the past week that I would ponder what to write in this post, I would find myself needing to redefine joy in my own life. Consequently, the majority of this post is going to be my journey, with what I hope will be an applicable bit of practicality for everyone at the end. 

Lately, Mike Tyson has been practicing his right hook, and it seems as if my life has been holding the bag.

"But surely," I tell myself, "this is an over exaggeration." And it is. Unlike Prison Mike from The Office, I have not had a hard life. When I was a kid, my family went through some rough times, but we came out of them. I have slept on a mattress on the floor of an office building, but never out on the streets. I have told my wife goodbye before surgery, not knowing if I would see her again, but I have not had to live out that goodbye. I have spent a breathless minute wondering if my child would die before my eyes, but I have never buried my child. I've watched my kids go through sickness, but the run-of-the-mill stuff. I've never watched one of my own go through a nightmare like cystic fibrosis or cancer. 

I could go on and on with these examples. And so, when I say "I am not in the most joyous of seasons," I fully understand that there are people - many people - who would take my struggles over their own in a heartbeat. 

But land sakes does it feel like the joy has been sucked out of everything lately. Two of my grandfathers passed away within weeks of each other. One from dementia complications and one from lung cancer. At the memorial for one, all of us shared memories and half of us shared the flu. Thanksgiving was spent alone and in beds. At one point, our game room looked like the Bucket household from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, except with four kids instead of four elderly folks.

During that week, we also had to drop $2,000 on our family vehicle, which was both an unexpected and an uninvited surprise that has ramifications on our Christmas and life in general. On Thanksgiving morning, we discovered that our refrigerator had been leaking and I spent the days after the holiday ripping out flooring and a cabinet - with the flu. Since then, life and its busyness has also managed to kill our traditions for decorating for Christmas. 

My two favorite holidays of the entire year, and so far both have been obliterated by death, sickness, financial struggle, and strife. 

And then, like a stealth bomber, comes a tune as uninvited as my mechanic bill, summoned from my more-holy subconscious self: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice." You know the one. It is likely born out of Philippians 4:4, since the lyrics are kind of identical. 

And so I sit back and think, "Yeah, yeah, there is much to be joyous about and joy comes from the Lord and I know this and have known it and will be knowing it from here until eternity." But sometimes that joy doesn't carryover into the oppressiveness of the present. Unfortunately, First Thessalonians 5:16 doesn't allow for my kind of flippant been-there-done-that kind of excuse. It won't even let me say, "Right, there is much to joy about in the Lord, but the rest of this is garbage." Paul merely says: "Rejoice evermore." That is a straightforward statement. 

I googled the etymology of rejoice, because I couldn't figure out how Paul expected me to "always rejoice" myself (Young's Literal Translation - not mine, it is a genuine translation). What I discovered has helped change my outlook, and perhaps it will help you as well.

The word rejoice comes from the French word joir. This word means to experience joy. The prefix re- simply means to do something again. Initially, the word rejoice was used differently than how we use it today. Oxford dictionary lists the archaic definition as: "to cause joy to." As in, "someone is sad, and I am going to rejoice them." That is, cause them to experience joy again.

And this is what God has done, is doing, and will do, continually: cause His children to experience joy again. I read back on my past few weeks and in a simple change of perspective can see blessings instead of stresses. I can find joy in the struggle. I can rejoice. 

And maybe you are going through waters that make my storms look like sunshine and your joy has been cast to the depths. Would you dare to take comfort in knowing that Christ can cause you to experience joy again? 

Perhaps, at least in general, joy isn't a constant. Maybe part of our despair is in our attempts to be constantly joyous. After all, if the Bible tells us to "weep with them who weep" (Rom. 12:15), there must a time for it. So maybe the greatest part of joy is the knowledge that when despair and misery have had their say, Christ Himself will rejoice us again. 

Don't take my word for it, take His. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus reads from Isaiah 61: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

He then tells the listeners that He is the One to whom this passage is referring. And this is why Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always, because Christ was sent to heal our broken hearts. This is why we reexperience joy over and again because as our hearts break, the Great Physician is faithful to bind them up. 

Take heart and be of good cheer. Rejoice evermore.