Baby Jesus - Luke 2:12

Luke 2:12 "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

I grew up singing the Christmas carol, “Away in a Manger.” I loved this carol as a child, but as I got older I came to think of it as just a children’s carol. I was happy to sing it as part of a children’s program or to sing it as a way of showing our love for children, but there was a time when I thought that I had outgrown this simple carol. Now, in the later years of my life I have come back to this anonymously written carol with new appreciation. I no longer think of it as a child’s song; today, I think of it as a simple but profound reflection upon the Christmas message.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;

The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we find the comfort that our God comes as gently as it is possible to come to anyone. A baby is not threatening. World leaders usually stand on the stage of history because they have demonstrable power. Babies are weak and dependent, not threatening, but soft and gentle.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see his universality. Babies belong to everyone. A baby has no language. A baby has no culture. In a sense a baby has no nationality. A baby could be raised in any country and he or she would become a citizen of that place, but a baby does not start life with patriotism. Babies are not aware of race or ethnicity or even gender; they learn in time to see themselves that way, but they don’t start with such markers. Babies belong to everyone. Jesus came as a baby, and he belongs to all of us.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we see that our humanity has eternal value to God. Clearly, God could have appeared in any form, but God chose to reveal himself as a human baby. In that sense God is a humanist. God cares about human beings. God loves us as we are: in all our humanity. Because of God’s affirmation in the incarnation, all human beings deserve respect and justice.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, we know that God chose for Jesus to die because, as we know from Scripture, it is appointed unto us humans to die. By taking on flesh and being born, God in Christ chose to die with us. When the Creator takes death upon himself we know that death’s power is broken for God is eternal. As a baby Jesus brings the promise of life eternal.

Jesus came to us as a baby, and in that fact, God has invited us to take him into our lives. Just as we can reach out and lift a baby from the crib to hold in our arms, so God has invited us to take him into our lives. We can know God because God has come to us in the Christ child.

Imagine yourself, reaching out and taking the Holy Child into your arms. Feel the gentleness of God. See how trusting this baby in your arms is: he belongs to you whoever you are. This baby is flesh and blood just like you, and he has come to bless every joy and overcome every trouble that is common to human beings. This baby will die on the cross, but from death he will arise to eternal life. Take him into your arms and rise with him. He is God’s salvation for the world and for you. Amen.

Church Beloved - Ephesians 5:25

EPHESIANS 5:25        “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her . . .”

This statement in Ephesians that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,” does not mean that Christ loved the church only or loved the church instead of the world or loved the church more than the world. The passage in Ephesians does mean that Christ gave himself to his disciples in a unique way. Jesus gave up his ministry of physical presence on earth so that the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, could begin its work of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In this sense the church is beloved. The church is not loved more than the world. The church is beloved by its being entrusted with the Gospel.

In John’s Gospel we find these remarkable words of Jesus “. . .whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these . . .” (John 14:12) No one could take these words of Jesus to mean that the church would do anything greater than the cross and the resurrection. Jesus brought salvation to the world. Through Jesus we come to know God in a personal relationship, and through his gift of the Holy Spirit we are transformed from death to life eternal. So, these words, “greater works,” mean something else.  

In only one way is the church greater. The church has taken the Gospel, the news of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection from the dead to the world. Jesus went to the Father. He ascended after the resurrection. To the church he gave the ministry of evangelism. To the church was given the work of spreading the Gospel to people who never heard the voice of Jesus or saw his wonders. This truth recalls the encounter between Thomas and Jesus in one of the post resurrection appearances. Thomas made the declaration before Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus responded to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) The church has received the blessing of faith, and the church has been the means by which God has given this blessing to the world.

Nothing the church does is more important than giving witness to the death and resurrection. Nothing the church does is more important than calling people to repent and to believe. Nothing is more important than being the means by which people come to know God.

The passage in Ephesians chapter five belongs to Paul’s instruction on family life, specifically, the relationship of husband and wife. As Christ gave himself up for the church so a husband is called to give himself up for his wife.(Ephesians 5:25) However, Paul can never talk on any subject without moving to the Gospel, so he wrote in verse 32 that “this is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” We know that the relationship between a husband and wife is for this life only. One day we will be related to one another as the angels are—without marriage. Our love will transcend the limits of this world and individual families. So said Jesus. (Matthew 22:30) So, the work of the church is for this world. Like marriage it is a blessed institution between the beloved, husband and wife, which serves the purposes of God until each believer moves from this life to the next. Similarly, the church will one day fulfill its purposes and no longer be needed. It is an institution for this time only.

The relationship between Christ and the church is as mysterious as the intimate relationship of a husband and wife or better we can say that marriage should strive to be like the mysterious union of Christ and the church. As the wife is beloved of her husband so the church is beloved of Christ. As husband and wife have a special relationship in this world, so Christ and the church have a special relationship in this present time. The church exists to serve Christ by giving witness to the Gospel. Evangelism is the great work of the church; it is the “greater” work which Jesus charged his disciples to perform upon his ascension. When the church fails its “greater” work the church becomes like a wandering spouse who fails to love faithfully the one to whom the spouse has been united for God’s purposes. The faithful and beloved church will be true to its “greater” work of evangelism. In fulfillment of this purpose the church is, indeed, beloved. Christ gave up his life, his earthly ministry, for the sake of the church and its call to bear good news to the world.

_________

Grandchildren - Occasionally, we allow Sweetie Pie (age 7) and Mr. Happy (age 5) to watch a movie at our house. This week they watched one entitled, "A Bug's Life." At one point the movie became scary to them. I usually sit with them during movies so that they can crawl into my lap during any scary moment in a movie. This time I had gone into the other room to answer the phone, and when I returned I saw brother and sister hugging each other, cheek to cheek, as they endured the scary part. Sometimes they fuss at each other, but mostly their love is beautiful to behold.

Thanks - On Thanksgiving Day I was hospitalized in Farmville, VA with an infection. It was, as we say around here, "sub-optimal," but I am much better now, and I am grateful for all the expressions of love and all the prayers offered on my behalf. Thank you. My family, as always, was most supportive. I didn't get a big meal on Thanksgiving Day, but I did feel much loved.

Books. There is not enough time to read all the good books available to us. I find it more and more difficult to recommend books, because a book that helps or inspires or entertains us at one point in life may not be useful at all for another time in life. However, if you like literature and enjoy knowing about writers then consider reading The Autobiography of Anthony Trollope. He was a contemporary of Charles Dickens. Trollope wrote more than forty novels. Some of them provide laugh-out-loud moments and unforgettable characters. His insights to the church and to politics are amazingly contemporary.

Romans 5:20 " . . . where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

I  recently returned to my home town of Owensboro, Kentucky to attend the 50th anniversary of my graduation from high school. Judy went with me. We had a good time. She is, always, up for a party, and I enjoyed introducing her to my classmates. Only one or two had I seen in fifty years! Still, it felt comfortable to me to be there with them again in the context of our youth. A psychiatrist once told me that the heart knows no time; it certainly felt that way to me. With no effort at all I was back in 1966. 

I much appreciate my classmates who worked to make the reunion happen. Just being with friends from my youth was a good experience in itself, but there were highlights. I met with my debate team coach and fellow debate partners. I talked at length with several folks who shared their spiritual pilgrimages and their sharing inspired me. I went back to my home church and saw a few of the folks who made a big impact on my life of faith. I saw some of my relatives who still live in Owensboro and learned about their involvement in church mission work. But the big surprise of the weekend was a tour of my elementary school. One of my classmates arranged it through a current teacher in that school who was willing to come on a Saturday afternoon and take us through the building. Seven or eight of us made the tour. Several of us were in the first grade together. Our first grade classroom is still being used for first grade classes. I stood in that classroom and remembered an event that I have shared many times through the years.

During my first week of school my mother came to class with me. She sat by me as I worked on a assignment given by the teacher. I was copying something she had written on the chalk board. My mother pointed out a mistake I had made. I erased the mistake and tried again, but I still got it wrong. In fact, I had to erase three times, and on the third erasure the paper which had gotten black with smudges from my attempts to erase, tore. The paper was ruined, and I was devastated. In my childish imagination I thought that the teacher would probably not allow me to return to school. My mother tried to console me, but I was unconsolable. Miss Dobson walked to the back of the classroom where I was sitting and asked what was wrong. Through my tears I pointed at the paper and explained between sobs what had happened. Then she did what was remarkable to me. Miss Dobson had a big tablet of paper, and she tore out a clean sheet of paper and put it on the desk in front me, and she picked up the sheet that I had ruined. It seemed miraculous to me.

More than six decades later I stood on the spot in the same classroom where Miss Dobson had worked her miracle. I never went back and told Miss Dodson how much her intervention meant to me, but I’ve told people around the world in sermons and talks about that moment of grace in my young life. She is now living in a nursing home in Owensboro; she was not available for a visit. Heaven will provide a time to talk with people who blessed our lives, a time to say thank you. Miss Dobson is on my list of folks I want to see.

Romans 5:20 is a passage of Scripture meant for adults. It reads, “. . .where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” As a first grader I had not sinned when I tried to erase the paper and tore it. Still, that experience is a picture for me of how gracious God has been in my life. Again and again a clean sheet of paper has been placed in front of me, and the ruined has been removed. 

Apocalyptic: In the End All is Well

Apocalyptic grows in importance for me. Partly, perhaps, it is my age. I think older people reflect more on the end of the ages as they realize their own personal end is hastening upon them. However applicable that element of my interest may be, there is another reason that apocalyptic means more to me, and I think, rightly, means more to people of all ages. The message of the apocalyptic writers is that in the end all will be well. In the end all things will be made right.

Judy and I recently watched a 1948 move entitled The Search which told the story of a young Auschwitz survivor and his mother who searched for each other across post WWII Europe. Many scenes were difficult to watch, but I stayed with the movie because I knew that a film from 1948 would conclude with a happy ending. Because I knew all would be well I enjoyed the movie; if I had thought that the writers would have given their viewers a tragedy I would not have enjoyed the movie. I wouldn't have watched it.

The message of apocalyptic assures us that all will be well in the end. This belief which is the meaning of Christian hope enables us to go through each day confidently however difficult the day may be. In another movie, a comedy which I much enjoyed,  a main character assured someone who came to him with a complaint, "In the end everything will be okay, so if it's not okay now, it's not the end!" Jesus said it this way, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

I've heard it said that "God does not re-write history." The message of apocalyptic is just the reverse: in the end God re-writes all things to make them right. Nothing is beyond the power of God. Every tear will be wiped away. (Rev. 21:4) Every injustice will be reversed. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead brings us the assurance of the truth of the apocalyptic message: in the end all is well.

*******

Grandchildren. Recently, I preached at a church that has three worship services. The first two services have children and young people, but the last service of the day is attended mostly by seniors. Judy was taking care of our grandchildren on that Sunday, and because I had to leave early in the morning, she did not come with me, and I did not expect to see her at the church where I was preaching. Happily, she surprised me, and she came with all three grandchildren to the last service. Of course, the seniors were happy to see small children and a baby at their service. Much was made over them. Sweetie Pie and Mr. Happy ran down the aisle before the service and gave me a big hug. I walked to the back where Judy was holding the baby; folks were all around him making appropriate comments of admiration. When I came to them, he held out both arms to me! I think I preached better at that service! 

The Pruning of the Church

JOHN 15:1  ". . . he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (NIV)

God is at work. Statistics about church decline may tempt us to think otherwise. Reports of denominational wrangles may bring us a measure of disillusionment. (I remember hearing Gordon Cosby say, “Disillusionment is good; it gets rid of our illusions!") Seeing religious interest and participation on the wane in our neighborhoods may cause us concern. Despite these realities in the present day we can be hopeful because we are confident that God is at work. In John 15 Jesus used the image of a vine. He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” Let us hope that in America we are being “pruned.”  Pastors and churches are being cut back so that we may bear more fruit.  

The day of the professional pastor has passed. The day of the missionary pastor has come. We are not going back any time soon to the day of the professional minister. This change affects all believers; it brings both a challenge and an opportunity. 

These days I am serving churches in transition. I supply preach, and I serve as an interim pastor while churches look for a settled, permanent pastor. My advice to churches: learn the difference between a professional pastor and a missionary pastor. The professional pastor was good for an earlier time, but that time has passed; the missionary pastor will lead the church into the future.

In my understanding a professional is one who works from a profession of faith or a commitment to a higher standard than one’s own benefit. So, a pastor professes faith in Christ and lives life in service to the lordship of Christ. A teacher professes the importance of learning and devotes his or her life to education. A doctor professes the importance of health and works for the well being of the community without making remuneration or recognition the most important part of one’s service. Likewise, a lawyer professes a commitment to justice and works for justice as a calling that transcends his or her personal benefit. For pastors, teachers, doctors and lawyers there have been standards of conduct adopted by the church or the university or the medical association or the legal society which call professionals to account for their training, their service and their behavior.

Over time the word professional has been stretched. For example, a professional athlete is someone who plays the sport well enough to make it a high paying career. No particular training or certification is required. The word professional just means that the athlete plays the game better than an amateur. In this stretched definition a person is a “real professional” if that person is good at what they do. One could imagine a person saying, “He’s a professional bank robber or professional con man,” and when a criminal can be called a professional the word has been stretched beyond meaning. 

For pastors the day of the professional meant that clergy would train for their profession through university and seminary. These trained clergy would be ordained by a church. They would adhere to a code of ethics and etiquette. The etiquette included such matters as the way one dressed, talked and interacted with other clergy members, e.g. no proselytizing or what is popularly called, “sheep stealing.” (Sheep being used as a term for members of another flock, another church.)

Just as teachers went to the school, and doctors went to the hospital, and lawyers to the court house, so pastors went to the church. The church was a building that was constructed for beauty and permanence. In the days when the word professional had more meaning, a pastor, as a professional, would be asked to serve the community by participation in a civic club or membership on a hospital board or be invited to host and speak at a high school baccalaureate service. The pastor was understood to be a contributor to the welfare of the larger community. 

In the mass media pastors in previous years were most often depicted in positive ways. In 1944 the movie, “Going My Way,” starred Bing Crosby as a priest, and it won seven oscars, including best actor in a leading role, best actor in a supporting role, best director, best writing, and best music. In stark contrast the 2015 movie “Spotlight” won the Academy Award for best picture and best original screen play for its biographical drama telling the story of a newspaper investigation into child sex abuse by priests in the Boston area. The 1944 movie gave an idealistic picture of priests, and the 2015 movie gave a picture of the Catholic Church that reflects a serious failure but also does not leave the viewer with an accurate picture of the church overall. In the media today clergy are more often depicted in demeaning ways and very seldom is religion included in TV shows or movies as a normal part of life.

In the days of the professional pastor weddings and funerals were exclusively in the pastor’s purview. Today, of course, weddings are often done at vineyards and gardens and other beautiful places as well as buildings that are designed for that purpose and are never used for worship. Almost anyone can get a license to perform a wedding. Pastors are not required. Today some people choose not to use pastors for funerals or even to have funeral services.

In days past when the community suffered a crisis such as a natural disaster the clergy were called upon to help the stricken with prayer and assurances of God’s care. Today, “professional” counselors are called. The clergy may minister to their church members, but they are not understood to be contributors to the community in the way they were in the day of the professional pastor.

The Pew Research Center has published studies that show religion is waning in its influence in America.http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ Although there are still many people—a majority—who claim belief in God, the number is in decline. The neighborhood church led by a pastor who has been trained in ministry and is held accountable by peers to the faith professed, is fading. Church buildings still exist in great numbers, but many of them are near empty.

Of course, there are examples of mega churches in every state, and pastors for many years have been encouraged to learn from these mega churches how to reach the community. Some of the mega church models are inspiring because they show the power of the gospel to draw people to faith; some are disturbing because a big crowd does not guarantee a commitment to truth, and some mega congregations amend the gospel to make their message more popular. With Paul (Philippians 1:18) we can rejoice that the gospel is being preached. Still, even with the mega church phenomena the decline in Christianity has continued in the United States. The mega church model has not stopped the move in the direction of waning belief. It appears that mega churches have mostly drawn people out of neighborhood churches and not made an impact on the nation as a whole.

The change in the standing of pastors in the community at large and the shrinking attendance at the neighborhood church reflect a decline across the nation in religious belief. Without a community to give its support and to express its need, the role of professional pastor is less and less viable. The day of the professional pastor has passed. (One could raise the possibility that the idea of professional is changing for teachers, doctors and lawyers, too, but that is another subject.)

The picture of Christianity world wide is much different. The largest religion in the world is Christianity, and Christianity is adding more adherents every year than any other religion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/05/20/think-christianity-is-dying-no-christianity-is-shifting-dramatically/What’s more, this phenomenal growth is occurring in the face of persecution in many places. The center of Christianity has shifted from Europe and the West to the Global South, Latin America and Africa, where there are more than one billion Christians.

The words of Jesus in John 15 make us hopeful about North America, too. The Lord has not given up on the church in the West. Let us hope that we are being “pruned.”  Pastors and churches are being cut back so that we may bear more fruit.  

In order to be more fruitful we come to this change from professional pastor to missionary pastor. The role of pastor will no longer be defined in the larger community alongside other professionals. The role of pastor finds its definition in the local church. Whether the larger community looks to the pastor as a professional leader is not so important. What matters now is the church’s view. The church relies on the Spirit to guide the faithful in a search of Scripture for the model of pastor that best serves God’s kingdom in this place and time. The word missionary is not appreciated by the larger community, but the church loves the word because it comes right out of the heart of God. To be on mission is to be sent. God sent his Son for the salvation of the world. We embrace the message and the lordship of Christ. We embrace our missionary role. We embrace the gospel. 

Missionaries are defined by their message. Whether we wear suits with ties or t-shirts with jeans we do not, by that clothing, define missionary. Singing hymns or singing choruses does not define a missionary. A building does not define a missionary. The number of people gathered for a meeting does not define what God’s mission means. What counts is the message.

God was in Christ reconciling himself to the world. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus is coming again to make all things right. We live in and through and by the life of Christ. He is our Lord. He is our message.

Again, my advice to churches in transition: search for a pastor who knows the message; search for a pastor who lives that message as the organizing principle of life. Search for a missionary pastor who will lead the church to embrace its call to the mission field, who understands that our mission field is right here in America.

_______

Grandchildren. One day this week Judy and I took Mr. Happy, our four year old grandson, to our house for the afternoon. On the way we stopped at the drive-through counter of a fast food restaurant to get ice cream. As we were ordering Mr. Happy heard me say that I wanted a cone for him. He shouted from the back seat, “No, Pal!” I was puzzled and turned to look at him. He went on to say, “I want ice cream in a cone.” I clarified that point with the counter person and learned a lesson about pre-schoolers. They are literally minded, and when something is important—like ice cream—they are good listeners and they can be assertive. Maybe he has a legal career in his future.

Jude 3 "Contend for the Faith"

A Reflection on Truth

“I felt compelled to write . . .” (Jude 3). These words from “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,” describe my feelings these days. I much prefer reading to writing; I usually discover that the things I would write have already been written more clearly and helpfully by someone else. Judy has encouraged me to take up the posting of my blog once again because she thinks that I should, at least, write about the books and articles I am reading and finding helpful. Jude was compelled by the Lord to write; I am compelled by Judy to write; however, I have a thought that she may be speaking the word of the Lord to me. So, my blog begins again.

Most recently I have read a collection of excerpts from the work of Lesslie Newbigin. He was a missionary to India and then, after retirement and a return to the UK he became a pastor at age 72 of a small inner city congregation in Birmingham. Paul Weston of  Ridley Hall, Cambridge University put together a reader of Newbigin’s work which provides a helpful biography and an introduction to his thought. I recommend Lesslie Newbigin, Missionary Theologian, A Reader, compiled and introduced by Paul Weston. Eerdmans Press, 2006. 

As a long time missionary Newbigin saw the present day frontier for gospel ministry to be the secular West. In order to face the “new and unprecedented” situation of a missionary-sending region becoming a region in need of missions, he made the call for a “declericalizing of theology.”  He wrote, “What is needed is the co-operative work of Christian laymen and women in specific sectors of public life: industry, politics, medicine, education, local government, welfare, administration, the media, literature, drama, and the arts. In each of these and other sectors of public life there is a need to examine the accepted axioms and assumptions that underlie the contemporary practice, to examine them in the light of the gospel. That will not happen as long as theology is the preserve of the clergy or, what is equally dangerous, simply an enclave within a secular academic community.” (Reader, p. 212f)

In the Jude passage the text continues this way, “I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals . . . pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 3-4, NIV)

Newbigin argued in his writings that in order to contend effectively for the faith and to give a strong witness to the secular West believers will develop a critique of the prevailing modernist world view which has undercut Christian faith. This modernist philosophy rests upon assumptions that are not recognized and therefore go unchallenged in popular thought. The truth of Newbigin’s argument has come to me in many conversations in which people will make a point with these words, “Science says.” In the minds of many folks this statement, “science says,” brings all debate to a close. Newbigin wrote, “Science is still widely seen as being part of this body of public truth to be acknowledged by all.” Of course, the scientific method has produced remarkable progress in our knowledge, but such knowledge will continue to be corrected and improved upon. There is seldom, if ever, a final word from science, and there is no “Mr. Science,” to whom we can go for a definitive answer on the most profound questions of life. 

When our youngest son graduated from the University of Virginia Medical School one of the deans gave the commencement address. He made this memorable statement: “Half of what we have taught you is wrong; we just don’t know which half.” This commencement speaker is certainly a scientist; he is, perhaps, a post-modern scientist. He understands the limits of all claims to knowledge. 

All ways of knowing go forward on the basis of assumptions. Famed chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi has argued that all knowledge is personal. We make our assumptions. We theorize, and we test our theories. Copernicus took that approach. He went forward with an imaginative theory that contradicted what his senses observed. In time his theory was shown to explain the world more accurately than the Ptolemaic system had done. 

Christian faith goes forward on the assumption that Jesus Christ is Lord. As Jude said, he is our “sovereign.” We interpret life through our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In time our assumption that Jesus is Lord will be proven true or false. The sovereignty of Christ will be true for no one or it will be true for everyone. All truth is public truth.

In today’s secular culture which predominates in the West, people have accepted the erroneous idea that religious truth is private, that is, it can be truth for you but not for me. However, scientific truth, in the assumption of the dominant culture, must be true for everyone. The law of gravity is true for everyone. As Christians we conduct our lives with the truth that Jesus is sovereign, and we operate by this truth as confidently as we live by the law of gravity. 

What is difficult for us, as moderns, is to realize that scientific knowledge, as it is called, is developed experimentally and from assumptions. What seems unassailable today could, in fact, be understood quite differently in a later century. So, the dean of the medical school can say, “Half of what we have taught you is wrong; we just don’t know which half.” In the mean time we live by what we know or what we believe to be true. As Christians, we live by what we know or what we believe in faith to be true. Our experience with Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit give us conviction of the truth, and with God’s grace we are willing to place our very lives in the hands of the Lord. Truth is truth for everyone or it is not truth at all.