The Empty Season 2

In my previous post, I related what I saw as the empty nature of our society's celebration of Christmas these days.
The good thing about emptiness is that it reflects an insatiable hunger that is built into the species. . . a hunger for God.  Emptiness can be a wonderful thing; if that hunger drives us to the Bread of Life.

This post will explore the "Emptiness" of the Christmas season from another perspective:

The Empty Manger
I am amazed at how God's immense sovereignty is revealed in so many small and detailed ways in the Christmas Story.  The tome is filled with instances of people doing common stuff that they do every day, because they have to or because it is what their family does or because they want to - and God weaves their work into His story.

No better is this illustrated in the manger.

Some time ago, I was allowed to explore something of a fantasy I had to become a farmer.  So we bought two goats.  I did not realize what tremendous eating machines these animals can be, so I had to devise some way of keeping hay available at all times.  I constructed a kind of "hay rack"of wire fencing and scrap wood and attached it to the side of their pen.  It was not pretty and it didn't work very efficiently, but it did provide some service.

I wonder if the "hay rack" in which the Savior was nestled, came about in a similar fashion. Whether it came about as an after thought or was designed with great care -someone constructed it or took part in getting it into place.
What an amazing thing, that God would fill the empty work of man's hands - and make it meaningful.
Meaningful work is a gift from God.

The Empty Manger also reminds us of a phrase familiar in the Christmas story - "it came to pass..." ; things change and we need go no further than the Christmas account in The Gospel of Matthew to see that by the time the Wise Men came to visit - Jesus was no longer occupying that manger.  He was now a "young Child" and living in a "house".

We tend to want to keep Christ in the manger, meek, mild ... tiny.  However, there came a time for Him to abandon it.  That doesn't diminish the qualities of the role the manger played; it only reminds us that "to every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven".

The Empty Season 1

Once again I have been impressed with the vacuum that has evolved from our society's celebration of the Christmas Season.  As many will note - I like my Christmas celebrations with a walloping helping of sentimentality along with a generous portion of corn. Color me schmaltzy.

But even one who lacks my passion for all things sappy, couldn't help but notice that something is missing.

Having exhausted our family supply of classic Christmas Movies and shows on DVD, along with the pittance of truly good Holiday movies offered on Netflix Instant, we resorted to a program of half-hour holiday offerings from PIXAR studios last night.

The two we watched tried to drum up some kind of holiday sentiment - but it was without heart (practically without Christmas) ...it lacked anything compelling. They trotted out the same tired "we're all different but we're a family" line that has become the constant fallback for any "family" movie these days.

 Early this season, my Bible reading for the Bethel Bible Series in which R. and I are involved, took me to 1 Samuel 12: 20b-21; the aged Samuel - the last Judge of Israel was being replaced by a King.  Samuel didn't like the idea but God told him to do as the people desired.  So at the end of the coronation ceremony for King Saul (which Samuel led) he reminded the people of their penchant for choosing evil over good.  He also reminded them of God's love and patience with them.  Then he said this:

...do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. (NKJV underlining mine)

It is that simple:  People will always following something or someone; when people turn aside from following God, the only other options are empty things.

A Christmas celebration - or anything for that matter- that ignores God and His story and influence becomes void and empty.

You can see it in the one-dimensional entertainment options that are out there this season.  You can hear it in the "Holiday" music that is often catchy or cute to begin with, but certainly has no staying power.  Finally, if you can get anyone to make eye contact these days in a Walmart - you can see it in the weary emptiness of their countenances.

I suspect that same crestfallen visage of emptiness would have been commonly reflected on the faces of most people in Bethlehem that  first Christmas night.  The entire village was full - the whole world was full ... full of empty; there was no room.

Then He came ...
Filling first a small manger ...
In a small corner ...
In a small stable ...
In the little town ...

Status Report

Change is difficult at any age, but more so when one reaches one's fifties. 

That being said, I have found myself in a process of change for the last three years or so.  I haven't written much about it because part of the flux of the situation has resulted in my being less certain about a lot of things.

About three years ago, our family moved from a denomination steeped in the pentecostal and Arminian tradition in which R. and I both grew up, to a Reformed tradition, Presbyterian church.

Big change. 

I think both of us have spent the past three years mostly listening; and that's been good.
I have had my thinking challenged almost constantly; and though that has not been fun - it has been good as well.

I like a "big-tent" mentality and find myself always searching for ways to join what I have held dear in the past with the truths I am presented with presently. I am discovering that it may just be impossible for Calvin and Arminius to exist in the same room; my attempts at wedding the two belief structures are mostly futile.

Awhile back I lunched with one of our pastors.  As we talked about how we each got to where we were at the time, he used a phrase that seemed to fit:  he said that at some point he "discovered that he was Reformed theology....".  It was as if the belief structure had been their all along - even when he was not in a Reformed church.  

In some sense, that has been the case with me:  many of the tenants of Reformed theology and many of the attributes of Presbyterian worship have been things that I have longed for for many years.

Because we are no longer a part of a group among whom we shared such a long history - and have joined a congregation with whom we share almost no history, it is sometimes difficult.  However, the discomfort that this situation may impart often has contributed to my ability to listen more.

I am very pleased with many things in this place God has led us: 

• I have a deep appreciation for the adherence to the traditions of church history this congregation embraces. 
• For a number of years we observed Advent in our home - now we also observe the lighting of Advent Candles in church as well.
• I have come to see worship more as a deliberate display of the gospel of Christ; and more about what we offer up, than about what we received.
• I appreciate the fact that most everything is done with intentionality - everything is for a stated purpose related to the gospel.
• Our children have been immersed into a culture of disciplined study and reflection on the Word of God and its application to their lives.

 I think it is good to have our thinking - and our faith challenged.  The result is that those things grounded in truth will remain and those things that can be shaken should be abandoned anyway.

The Christmas season is a reflective season for me (which is why I am so repelled by the distraction and busy-ness of it all), and I thought I would record some of these thoughts just in case you were wondering.

Glorious Inconvience

I don't think I have left much to the imagination regarding my political allegiences and my strong beliefs regarding American Exceptionalism, capitalism, America's Christian Foundation and the need for a smaller government.

Like many of you, I have felt oppressed and somewhat alienated in recent years because of these beliefs and our society's apparent turn from them.

From that perspective, I took a different view of the Christmas story this year.

"And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. . . "

Laying aside the idea that this "taxing" may have actually been a census - it was still a great inconvenience that was imposed upon the Christmas Couple. They, recently married, pregnant, and dealing with the whispers and finger-pointing that accompanied a couple in their state, would now also endure the hardship of complying with the demands of an oppressive despot.

Yet they went; apparently without complaint.

The inconveniences increased as they arrived in the crowded little town of their heritage.

No room.

No support.

Labor pains.

Surprisingly, all these things that the "government" and "life" in general had piled onto them were planned for in advance by a loving, yet sovereign God.

His plan was fulfilled immaculately amid their inconveniences.

What oppressive inconveniences have been handed to you this season?

The Mismatch at Michmash

I sat down in a friend's home last night and listened to the final points of a boy's bible study going on in the next room, as I arrived early to pick up AA.

They were talking about relationships and "sticking up for your buddies" - also about being able to rejoice when your friend gets a boost and you didn't.

The dad leading the discussion brought up Jonathan and David; and how Jonathan gave up his shot at the throne in preference to his friend, David.

This morning my reading in preparation for our Bethel Bible series at church took me to 1 Samuel 13 & 14.  I think this may be the first place Jonathan - the son of King Saul and heir-apparent to the throne of Israel is mentioned.

Saul, it seems, put together 3 platoons (?) of troops, one-thousand each.  He took charge of two-thirds and appointed Jonathan over the other thousand.  Relations were "chilly" (to say the least) with their vastly equipped enemy - the Philistines.  These troops would try to keep the peace.

Be it wise or no - I can't say - but Jonathan went on the offensive and attacked the garrison of Philistines.  I just like that he did something; it is one of the things I admire and long to see among leaders in a rightful cause.

This attack angered the Philistines, which resulted in calamity among the Israelites, who were subservient to the Philistines and possessed little or no weaponry. So they scattered.  Some hid, some defected, many went home. 

Saul tried to muster the people to take a stand should the Philistines attack - he could now only put together 600. 

I love "against the odds" stories.  I have probably blogged about this very one before; but this story just appeals to my affinity for the underdog.

It seems that among this army of 600, only Jonathan and his father were properly armed - the rest were not even allowed to have sharp farming instruments without the permission of the Philistines. So Jonathan, again, decided that he could no longer just sit around; he must do something.

He and his armour-bearer contrived a plan and even included God in the plan, by laying out a "sign" without which the plan would be aborted.

They would give themselves up.  If the enemy troopers told them to be still and wait until they sent soldiers to take them into custody - then God was NOT going to grant a victory to Jonathan that day.  However, if the soldiers beckoned them to come into the camp... well that would be the "sign" that this tandem would be empowered to fight like poet-warriors... to borrow from  Braveheart.

God allowed Jonathan and this nameless armour-bearer to join Him in the fray that day as they took on and emaciated a squad of about twenty.  That's when God's partnership in the plan really became apparent!

Verse 15 of Chapter 14 says something I don't remember noticing before:  one translation says the Philistine army "trembled" and there was an earthquake ; another says "panic struck" the enemy and the "ground shook".  The enemy began to "melt away" before Jonathan and his armour-bearer.  God was showing up.

Impossible odds.

Simply put, Jonathan was a man of great heart (not unlike that of his friend, David); he saw that something needed to be done; he willingly joined God in what He had already planned to do.  In so doing, Jonathan got to be God's linchpin.

God exploded on the scene.

What unlikely odds lay before you this Christmas season?

Merry Mayhem

Because I am older (1/2 Century) and grouchier now, more has been made around my house this year, of my strict allegiance to THANKSGIVING . 

As I listened to Johnny Mathis sing "... they know that Sa-a-a-a-a-anta's on his way!  ..." overhead in Walmart about TWO WEEKS ago, I lamented the great hunger that is reflected by our society's desperate reach for some magic -any magic - to anesthetize the emptiness of a season that has lost its way.  This hunger is -in my opinion- the symptomatic result of a deliberate effort to remove the Central Focus of these holidays: a recognition of God's providence and the gift of Jesus Christ; and to replace the ensuing void with something else.  

Thanksgiving - the holiday that best seems to join the elements of God and Country- has been the victim of this mad rush into Christmas.
Now as "Black Friday" has bled into "Black Thursday and Friday", Thanksgiving Day is - at best - void of its original nature; at worst - totally ignored.

Retailers bear a lot of the blame; but the retail industry is amoral.  Despite the willing ignorance of the "Occupy - whatever" people, most retailers are just trying to stay alive, not stockpile extreme profits.
In this Great Recession, for many of them - their existence is down to the wire and unfortunately they have chosen to cast off the restraints of tradition and -despite the strain on employees - open at ridiculous times on Thanksgiving Day.

Today as I returned to the culture after my one day sabbatical, I was saddened by the headlines with which I was greeted.  Here are a couple of the stories that exemplify the chaos that ensues when a people lose sight of the "Pearl of Great Price" and pursue cheap bobbles instead:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501363_162-57331142/woman-pepper-sprays-other-black-friday-shoppers/

http://www.twitvid.com/QM7T7

Theatre of the Mind on Halloween

As parents there are some milestones in the experiences of our children that we choose to either lock-out or to lock-in: observances that you choose to ignore or embrace and that eventually become ingrained into the family tradition.

One item we chose to more or less "lock-out" was Halloween. When the kids were small, we opted out of the whole "trick or treat" thing.  It was a little more common among evangelicals at the time and we just decided that the fear and the extortion-like practice of hitting up the neighbors for candy set the wrong expectations.

Not judging; we just made that decision.

That's a decision I haven't regretted, although our kids might say something different.

We haven't let it dim the awesome magic that Autumn instills in us all; we haven't missed the annual viewing of  "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" very often; we'll even take in a "scary" movie at times... "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken", "Arsenic and Old Lace", or "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy".

For Halloween night this year, we stepped back in time a little and enjoyed a page from the more innocent days when radio was king.

On the evening before Halloween in 1938, the most popular evening radio show was the "Chase and Sanborn Hour" with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.  On another station, a young Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre vied for some pittance of attention during the same time block.

As the first Great Depression loomed heavy over America, the nation often sought distraction from the desperation through the radio.  On that night, they got distraction alright- and the result for many was widespread panic!

Orson Welles presented an adaptation of H.G. Wells' book, "The War of the Worlds".  He chose to bring the tale into the 20th century by presenting the story as if it were being reported on the radio.  Apparently, it wasn't his aim to trick people - the play began with a very straightforward introduction; then it faded into a program of ballroom dance music.

By some accounts, many of the people listening to the "Chase and Sanborn Hour" tuned out when one guest - an operatic tenor - began to sing a number.  That was when they tuned into the "War of the Worlds" broadcast - just in time to hear a "reporter" interrupt the program with a special news bulletin.

People listened in rapt attention as the story of a martian  invasion unfolded. As the plot developed, many reportedly fell into a panic - assuming the news reports were real.

I first learned of this event as a young teenager, our school library had a set of those Time-Life Books in which each volume gives an account of a specific decade.   My favorites were the 1930's and the 1940's.  Having an interest in radio - the story  about the "War of the Worlds" broadcast captured my attention.

Last night for dinner we all gathered around the laptop, where I had found a site streaming a recording of the broadcast. I was rather surprised that AA and Ab mounted little protest and for quite awhile it retained their attention.  Eventually, AA had to move on so he quietly grabbed his Mom's Ipad to play some games.

For a few moments, Welles was able to reach through the decades and nab that boy's attention again; screams emitted through the speakers as the martians decimated a crowd en masse with their searing heat ray.  As I said, AA's attention was arrested but only briefly, from that point on his activity level just increased.

With about ten minutes left in the program, we lost Mom and AA. . . actually, it was pretty good that they stayed as long as they did.
Ab stayed with me though. She stuck it out to the end and - I think - was glad she did.

I think she has something of her father's love for nostalgia in her.

For me, it was a good night.  In recent days, it has seemed more and more difficult for our little family to get together in one place at the same time, all focused on the same thing.  I think it is probably the nature of things; maybe partly due to the fact that the kids are getting older. . . or we are.

But this "all hallows eve" provided the best treat of all - time with the folks we love.


Resources include: http://www.radiolab.org/2008/mar/24/