A Final Meditation: Thoughts of Christmas Passing

Another Christmas Day is nearly past as I write this. For me and many or you, it has been a blessed time of family and love. I have been reflecting all week on the slim amount of information we actually have about the birth of Jesus, the central event of a Christian Christmas celebration. I see these verses in the Bible:

1. Chapters 1 and 2 in Luke which relate the events leading up to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and the immediate after-events. This has the most direct statement: “she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.”
2. Matthew 1 and 2 tell of Joseph and Mary’s pre-birth relationship and of their domestic situation in Bethlehem after the birth (when the wise men visit). Matthew comes mentions the actual birth in passing when he says, “[Joseph] he did not consummate their marriage until [Mary] gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
3. Paul gives an indirect reference to Jesus’ birth in Galatians 4:4, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman …”
4. A disputed reference is Revelation 12:5, “She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” Some see this as a future prophecy, but I think it is at least an allusion to the birth of Jesus, perhaps a well-known story to the first readers.

Elsewhere, there are several theological references to the incarnation of Jesus in general. A couple of famous ones are:

1. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”  (John 1:14)
2. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity …” (Hebrews 2:14)

There are other theological references to the incarnation, including some prophetic texts in the Old Testament, but here is my favorite, one of the greatest of Christmas verses:

2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor …”

These words inspired the Anglican clergyman, Frank Houghton, to write a beautiful Christmas song. The first verse goes like this:

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love’s sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love’s sake becameth poor.

Houghton was a missionary to China in the first half of the twentieth century. He traveled widely in the country and its grinding poverty at the time made a lasting impression upon him. He found strength and comfort in knowing that Jesus identified with the poor, having been born into very humble circumstances himself. Houghton condenses the Christmas story to that wonderful turn of phrase, “All for love’s sake becameth poor.”

In our times of plenty and our times of poverty, let us remember that Jesus was rich, and that he was poor. He knows our needs and he willingly came to save us from our sins. This is what Christmas should be all about, I think.

If you are unfamiliar with this hymn, listen to it on this link as your last bite of Christmas this year: https://youtu.be/uhEr6asRRBg. This is from the marvelous Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, England.

Mark Krause
Scholar in Residence, Wildewood Christian Church

Advent 2021 Week 4: The Angels’ Candle (Peace)

Our story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem comes mainly from the book of Luke. One of my favorite parts is the appearance of a choir of angels. The first angel who appears to some shepherds is joined by:

A multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying …

I quibble a bit with the translation here. Although the Greek verb lego is usually translated “I say,” it can also mean, “I sing.” That is what is happening here:

A multitude of the heavenly host praising God and singing …

They are the heavenly chorus, a choir-army of singers! I would have loved to witness this personally. And what do they sing? We might be surprised to learn they don’t sing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” that comes from the book of Revelation. Luke says they sing this:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Many people who do not identify as Christians are attracted to the Christmas story because of the promise of this angelic anthem: Peace on earth. We look to a fulfillment of this sentiment, a time when there are no more wars in our world, and everyone gets along.

I’m not sure that is the point, though. For the people of Jesus’ Israel, “peace” was shalom, a central concept in the Jewish faith. Shalom is not the absence of hostilities or strife. Shalom is more like personal and community well-being. It is the absence of hunger, poverty, hate, and fear. Six hundred years before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Jeremiah advised the exiles in Babylon to pray for the shalom of the city to which they had been relocated (Jer 29:7). The presence of God and his people should be a blessing to any community.

But there is a deeper sense here. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be the “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6). Paul makes this even more explicit when he writes that “He (Jesus) himself is our peace” (Eph 2:14). Christ is our shalom, the one who brings peace.

The angels were not heralding a new era of non-war. Seventy years later, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in the terrible first war of the Jews. The twentieth century saw some of the most horrific wars in human history. The angels were announcing that the Prince of Peace had come, and this was good news for all people. As Matthew put it, we now know that “God is with us” (Matt 1:23).

So, in this final week of Advent, let us remember that God’s peace is among us through Jesus Christ. Let not your hearts be troubled. Let us enjoy God’s peace in our lives, the peace that passes all understanding. For, “of the greatness of his government and of peace there will be no end.”

I recommend a newer Christmas song for you to consider this week, Chris Tomlin’s “Adore.” (Link) It is a Tomlinesque blend of older tunes and words into a great new song. Listen for the “bridge,” which has the words,

Angels sing, praises ring,
To the newborn king.
Peace on earth, here with us,
Joy awakening,
At Your feet we fall.

Have a joyous Christmas and remember the Prince of Peace.

Mark Krause
Scholar in Residence, Wildewood Christian Church

Advent 2021 Week 3: The Shepherd’s Candle (Joy) with Quiz

Living in a city like Omaha has separated many of us from the agricultural roots of our society. City kids don’t experience farms growing up and have little sense of what this life is like.

Bethlehem, the city (village) of David’s birth, was known for its shepherds and sheep. Being a shepherd was not a respected or lucrative occupation. Shepherds were considered uneducated, dishonest, unreliable, and with poor hygienic habits. In the social ladder of Jesus’ world, shepherds were on a low rung. This is why Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep is so remarkable. Who would have heard of a shepherd who was brave enough and dedicated enough to seek out a single lamb that had gone missing? This is not what Jesus’ hearers would have expected from a sketchy shepherd.

This is also why the announcement of the Messiah’s birth to a group of shepherds near Bethlehem is even more remarkable. Wouldn’t it make more sense to proclaim the birth in the courts of the temple in nearby Jerusalem? No one would listen to shepherds!

Yet God chose a group of shepherds and sent his angels to bring the great news:

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:8-14)

I still like the wording of the King James Version here, that the angel’s message was “good tidings of great joy.” This concept of joy is central to the celebration of Christmas. Our Christmas carols are full of expressions of joy. Do you recognize the carol these lines come from? Test your knowledge (answers below):

1. “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, shall come to thee, O Israel.”
2. “Tidings of comfort and joy.”
3. “Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we …”
4. “Joy of every loving heart.”
5. “Glad tidings of great I bring to you and all mankind, to you and all mankind.”
6. “Joy, joy, joy! Praise we the Lord in heaven on high.”
7. “As with joyful steps they sped …”
8. “This Child, now weak in infancy, our confidence and joy shall be.”

A favorite Christmas song on my playlist is the Wexford Carol, a late medieval Irish carol about the birth of Jesus. A wonderful video of this, featuring Alison Krauss (no relation) and Yo-Yo Ma can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxDZjg_Igoc. Here are the words for you to consider:

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep,
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep.
To whom God’s angel did appear,
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
Arise and go, the angels said,
To Bethlehem, be not afraid.
For there, you’ll find, this happy morn,
A princely babe, sweet Jesus, born.

With thankful heart and joyful mind,
The shepherds went the babe to find.
And as God’s angel had foretold,
They did our Saviour Christ behold.
Within a manger he was laid,
And by his side a virgin maid,
Attending on the Lord of Life,
Who came on earth to end all strife.

I ponder the sentiment, that the shepherds, “in great fear,” went to Bethlehem “with thankful heart and joyful mind.” That’s where I want to be this Christmas, thankful and joyful. May God be gracious to you and to me.

Mark Krause
Scholar in Residence, Wildewood Christian Church

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1. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. O Holy Night
4. Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
5. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
6. How Great Our Joy
7. As with Gladness Men of Old
8. Break forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light

Advent 2021 Week 2: Faith from Bethlehem

Ancient Bethlehem was a small village about six miles south of the walls of Jerusalem and its temple. Although this was less than a two-hour walk away, Bethlehem was a rural place compared to the urban Jerusalem. Bethlehem’s residents were peasants: farmers, shepherds, with a few small-time business owners and shopkeepers. Jerusalem was a wealthy city with the aristocratic Sadducees and their massive houses and estates.

Why, then, is Bethlehem so important in the Bible? Three overlapping reasons.

First, humble Bethlehem was the home of the patriarch Jesse and his sons, a thousand years before the birth of Jesus. The Lord sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse’s house to designate one of his sons as the next king of Israel. This son was David, the most successful and beloved of all the kings of Israel. God made an eternal covenant with David, a promise that one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever. This is the basis of the expectation of a coming Messiah, recognized by Christians as Jesus the Christ, the true son of David.

Second, the connection with David led to a prophetic prediction that the future Messiah, when he came, would be born in Bethlehem. This is the conclusion of the great scholars of Jerusalem commanded by King Herod to identify the place where a new “king of the Jews” was to be born. These students of Scripture cite Micah 5, that foretells a ruler to shepherd Israel coming from Bethlehem.

Third, this prophesied and longed-for Messiah was born in Bethlehem under circumstances that can only be understood as providential. He was the son of Joseph and Mary, common folk from Nazareth, a village many miles to the north. Joseph was not a resident of Bethlehem, but he journeyed there with his young pregnant wife, Mary, fortuitously making Bethlehem the place of Jesus’ birth.

Kingdom, Prophecy, Birth; all three came from Bethlehem.

All of this took faith, trust in God. Samuel trusted God that David was the choice to be the next king even though he seemed ill-suited to the elderly prophet. Micah prophesied a glorious future for Bethlehem, even though it was not a prominent city, just a humble village. And Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem despite Mary being “great with child,” an act of faith on the part of both parents.

In this second week of Advent, we recognize Bethlehem, tiny and humble yet great and memorable. Today, there are ten cities named “Bethlehem” in the USA alone, and several in other countries. Let us remember that Bethlehem is the central location of the Christmas story, not the North Pole.

I love the poem/song “Three Kings” written by Peter Cornelius in the nineteenth century. The last stanza challenges us this way:

Thou Child of man, lo, to Bethlehem
The Kings are travelling, travel with them!
The star of mercy, the star of grace,
Shall lead thy heart to its resting place.
Gold, incense, myrrh thou canst not bring;
Offer thy heart to the infant King.

Offer thy heart!

Watch a wonderful version of this here: https://youtu.be/thu3vgz5y28

Mark Krause
Scholar in Residence, Wildewood Christian Church