Our Brother

The days of Christmas last through January 5.  So should our thoughts and great joy!

Now then, one way to put the Christmas Gospel is to say that God is now our brother!  The eternal Son has put on our flesh and become our human brother.  On Christmas Eve I was meditating on this Fact as I visited a nursing home.  "Our brother," I kept thinking.  "Incredible!"  Then suddenly I began to pray, "Our Brother who art in the manger."  I had never done this before.  I was thinking of the Lord's Prayer, but changing it to address the Christ Child!  I soon began to wonder what the rest of the prayer might sound like.  I worked on it over the next few days and arrived at the following.

Our Brother in the manger, hallowed be Your name, "Jesus."  Your kingdom is not of this world.  Your will on earth is that of the Father in heaven.  Give us often Your body and Your blood, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Lead us out of death by Your cross, and deliver us from evil by Your resurrection.  Amen.

The Lord's Prayer goes by the Latin name "Pater Noster," for "Our Father."  Interestingly then, the above prayer could be called "Frater Noster," for "Our Brother."

The goal is to deepen our understanding of the Lord's Prayer.  When we pray, "Our Father who art in heaven," let us remember our brother Christ, who not only taught us this prayer but makes it possible to pray.  And He is the one through whom the Father answers every petition!

Christmas Is for Children

In tender memory of the 20 children

of Sandy Hook Elementary School

 

God must have had children in mind when He planned the Christmas Gospel.  For the story is just full of the sort of things children like and can understand.

 

For starters, there are lots of animals: a donkey, sheep, camels.  There's a barn with hay, and more animals.  Add to that shepherds, angels, a special star, kings with treasures, and a curious object called a "manger."  In the middle of it all a mommy keeping her baby warm.

 

Luke 2:1-20 reads like a play for children to put on, complete with manageable speaking parts and a little carol for all to sing:

 

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

The only one littler than the children is their Lord in the manger.  The children learn in this way to go near to Him, love, and trust in Him.

 

God is nothing if not a teacher, a teacher of children, and a teacher about Himself.  The Incarnation (God coming in our flesh) is the single greatest theological mystery.  Yet God conveys it in a way understandable to a child.  And then calls all of us to "become as children" (Matt. 18:3).

 

God grant you - this Christmas and always - the wonder, joy, and faith of a child!

Walk On

"...struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Cor. 4:9).

I am putting this here on the chance it will help you as it helps me.  The band is called "U2," and while it dates back to right after 9/11, it fits this moment too.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBwrX1MingU

Love,
Pastor Matt

Round Yon Virgin

"Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son..." (Isa. 7:14).

"Silent Night" may well be the most beloved Christmas carol.  It dates back to the year 1818.  The English translation of the German original contains the following lines:

All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.

I admit that for many years I have happily sung these words without really understanding their meaning - in particular, "Round yon."  Maybe you can relate!

After studying the matter, I offer this simple explanation.  The sentence can be understood as though it were written, "All is calm, all is bright around yonder virgin mother and child."

"Yon" is a poetic little adjective telling us that a virgin mother and her baby are "just over there, not far."  It's as though we are being pointed in the direction of the stable from which is coming a calm and a light.  Let us go!

The world, as we know, can be a dark and troubled place.  Christmas reveals the only Source of lasting peace and hope for such a world: the Child born of a virgin mother.

Let us sing sweetly of this hope!

Holy Day Advice

"Therefore the child to be born will be called holy" (Luke 1:35).

Let me see if I can help.  The next time you hear it called a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree," or someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," use it to add to your joy.  Yes, add!

How do you do that?

Simply remember that "holiday" comes from "holy + day."  It is really "holyday."  What a beautiful word!  What a perfect description of Christmas!  Who doesn't love listening to "O Holy Night"?  "Holiday" is like someone singing "O Holy Day."  Enjoy!

But now add in the word of the angel to Mary: "the child to be born will be called holy."  This means that the "holy" in "holiday" is the Christ Child!  And that means that "holiday" is not a secular substitution, but a sacred synonym.

That is how we can hear it, and then pray for people to know the love of God in Christmas.

Holy Christmas Day and its Twelve Days are the Happy Holidays.  They are the holy days that make us sad sinners so very happy, because from them we learn and remember throughout the year that a Savior has been born to us!

God's holiness is on bright display when He moves into the world to save us.  Meaning that the right response to "Happy Holidays" would be (happily spoken): "Holy days indeed!"