December 24 & 25: Micah 5:2, a Ruler from Bethlehem

Bethlehem, though small, plays an outsized role in the Bible.

In the Old Testament, we first come across Bethlehem in the book of Genesis. Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, died in giving birth to her second son, Benjamin. Jacob buried her at the site of Bethlehem and erected a memorial stone for her (Genesis 35:19-20).

We next encounter Bethlehem in the story of Ruth. It is the hometown of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. Naomi’s story is complicated, but Ruth, a non-Israelite woman from Moab, eventually comes to Bethlehem with Naomi and marries Boaz, a leading man in the town. This story is significant because Ruth and Boaz are in the family line of David, the future king of Israel (Ruth 4).

A third incident that involves Bethlehem involves Samuel, the prophet and judge of Israel. Samuel anoints Saul as the first king, but his reign is a disappointment to God. The Lord asks Samuel to designate a new king and directs him to go to the house of Jesse, a descendant of Boaz and an equally leading man in the town of Bethlehem. Here, the Lord shows Samuel that David is to be the next king and Samuel anoints him appropriately (1 Samuel 16). After this, Bethlehem becomes known as the town/city of David (1 Samuel 20:6, Luke 2:4).

The fourth significant biblical role for Bethlehem comes at the birth of Jesus. The two accounts we have of Jesus’ birth locate the event in this town, the city of David, because Joseph, his supposed father, was from David’s line. At the time of Jesus, the Jews of Palestine believed that Bethlehem would be the birthplace of God’s Messiah, their Savior, because it was David’s hometown. Jesus’ critics doubt his credentials because they think he was born in Nazareth, a city in the Galilee about 90 miles to the north of Bethlehem (see John 7:42).

Traditional Site of Jesus’ Birth underneath the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

The scriptural basis for this was a prediction from the prophet Micah, an eighth-century contemporary of Isaiah. Micah said:

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
    from ancient times. (Micah 5:2)

The famous nineteenth-century preacher, Phillips Brooks, immortalized Bethlehem in our imagination when he wrote:

O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

“Are met in thee tonight.” This is the promise of Christmas that we celebrate on this fourth Sunday of Advent. The long, long night is past. The morning breaks at last. Our Savior is born. God has taken on human form so that he might bring us reconciliation, redemption, forgiveness, justification, salvation, sanctification, and free us from the slavery of sin. May we all rejoice!

Mark Krause
Wildewood Christian Church

December 17: Isaiah 7:14, the Immanuel Prophecy

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:1, NIV)

Was Mary a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus? Those who study human anatomy will say this is physically impossible. A virgin could not become pregnant, and a non-pregnant woman could not give birth to a child. This is a vexing question for some Christians and a cause of rejection for some unbelievers. It is not new. In the third century, a great Christian scholar named Origen wrote a treatise called Contra Celsus. This was to counter the insulting claims of a Greek philosopher named Celsus who had written a scathing piece that attempted to debunk the claims of the church. In this, Celsus claimed that Mary had been impregnated by a Roman soldier named Panther (Panteras) and she had been convicted of adultery. (If this was true, the charge would now be statutory rape again Panther, I think.) Anti-Christian Jewish sources from this century and later picked up on Celsus’ tale, even referring slanderously to our Christ as “Yeshua ben Pantera” (Jesus the son of Panther).

For different reasons, the theologians of the church have gotten into this question, too. From at least the fourth century, they began to teach that it was necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin so that he could escape the curse of original sin, inherited human depravity. Only then could he be the “new Adam,” the originator of a new humanity. This eventually led to doctrines that proclaimed Mary’s perpetual virginity. Part of this was based on the teachings of Augustine and others that depravity was transmitted to babies through intercourse, an act of sinful lust. Thus, we are “born in sin” (compare John 9:34).

In a way, Celsus was correct. There is no physical explanation other than Mary had been impregnated by a man. The physical signs of virginity would have been violated. Unless … something other than a physical cause was at play. This is what Matthew teaches when he says Mary was “pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18, see 1:20). This is not physical impregnation, but a miracle. It is also what Luke relates when he says the angel Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35).

But the theologians, in their zeal to connect this to the doctrine of original sin, miss the point. Nowhere in the New Testament does it teach that the virgin birth was necessary to produce a man not born as a sinner. To the contrary, Hebrews teaches that Jesus was made like us, “fully human in every way” (Hebrews 2:17).

Matthew and Isaiah both give us the reason for the virgin birth. For Isaiah, this was a sign, a miracle to show “Immanuel,” that God is truly with us. To Matthew, it is the fulfillment of prophecy, a miracle that indicates the presence of the Lord. As John puts it, “the Son of God took on humanity and pitched his tent among us” (John 1:14, Krause paraphrase). The Christmas story tells us that God came down from his heaven to be with us in Jesus. And God has never left. He has never abandoned us. He is still with us. And when Christ comes again in glory, all will truly experience the presence of the Lord.

Prayer:

Be near me, Lord Jesus
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray.

Amen

Mark Krause, Wildewood Christian Church

December 10, Psalm 2:6-7, the King as Son

If truth be told, there was a very small window in the history of ancient Israel in which it could be said that the people were glad they had a king. This was during the first part of David’s kingship, a period of about 20 years. This is largely because God considered the people’s desire for a king to be a rejection of him as King. This image of the Lord as King is powerful and pervasive throughout the Old Testament. For example, Psalm 29 celebrates the power of the God of Israel over any and all natural forces such as oceans, mighty trees, as well as thunder and lightning. The psalmist punctuates this point by saying:

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord is enthroned as King forever. (Psalm 29:10)

King forever. The clear teaching of the Bible is that the Lord God is King of the Universe. It doesn’t matter if you don’t recognize him. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want a King. God is still King forever and ever.

With King David, the Lord recognized a human regent as his legitimate representative. In Psalm 2, the psalmist pictures God as King on his throne in heaven laughing at the impotence and insignificance of human rulers. The psalmist guarantees that even the greatest human kings will be terrified at the wrath of God. Instead, the Lord promises:

“I have installed my king
    on Zion, my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2:6)

The king ruling in Zion (Jerusalem) has been set there as part of God’s plan and with his blessing. He will be the Lord’s agent on earth. The psalmist goes on to say,

He said to me, “You are my son;
    today I have become your father. (Psalm 2:7)

Four things come together here: God as Kingmaker, God as Father, a person as God’s king, and that person as God’s son. Kingmaker/King and Father/Son. David, the likely author of this psalm represented these realities. He is chosen to be king by the Kingmaker. He becomes “son” as God adopts him as Father.

As with last week’s meditation, an important typology is going on here. The ancient King of Israel (David) rules with God’s blessing and authority. He rules as the Lord’s “son.” But as good as David might have been (especially as compared to his predecessor, Saul) he was imperfect and failed several times.

The fulfillment of this typology is the descendant of David, the Lion of Judah, Jesus the Christ. He is the true Son of God, not adopted or created. He is the perfect, eternal King. The author of Hebrews expands on Psalm 2 to pose this significant question:

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand
    until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet”? (Hebrews 1:13, quoting Psalm 110:1)

This background of fulfillment of Scripture in Jesus Christ helps us understand the story of the magi in Matthew 2. They come from lands east of Jerusalem to locate the newborn “King of the Jews” (Matthew 2:2). When they do find him, they bow down in worship and offer costly gifts fit for a king (Matthew 2:11). We don’t know how deep their understanding might have been, but their recognition of the infant Jesus as God’s King is remarkable and resonates with us today.

Jesus as King. Jesus as Son. These are inseparable roles and are at the very heart of our Christmas traditions. We realize that Jesus did not become a king in Bethlehem. He was already King, coming to earth as a Son to do the will of the Father. And how blessed we are for what he did. As the hymn writer said 150 years ago:

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee. (Emily Elizabeth Steele, 1866)

Mark Krause, Wildewood Christian Church

December 3: Genesis 3:15, the Protoevangelium

In studying the Bible, scholars identify the importance of “typology,” a method that spans the testaments and presents the plans of God from long ago. “Type” is a Greek word (τύπος, typos) that means “model” or “example.” We believe the Old Testament reveals things about God and his plans that reoccur and find fulfillment in the New Testament. The fulfillment of the Old Testament type is called the “antitype” (ἀντίτυπος). Moreover, the first appearance in the Old Testament is called the “prototype.”

Genesis 3 relates what we might call the prototypical story of human sin. This does not deny its historical nature but sees that the experience of Adam and Eve is one that we all share. We are tempted to disobey and yield to our lusts. Then we involve others in our sinful actions. When we realize what we have done, we attempt to hide from God in shame. We are unsuccessful, for we cannot hide from God. When confronted with our sin, we attempt to shift the blame, the original “whataboutism.” But God is not mocked, and our sin has consequences. In Genesis, the most significant consequence is our loss of intimate fellowship with our Maker. We fulfill the “type” or example of Genesis 3 in our own lives, every one of us.

The Lord, when speaking to Adam, Eve, and the serpent, explains the dire results of this sinful episode. God knows that the human couple and their descendants will not be able to repair the damage they have done to themselves and their relationships. God knows that the serpent (Satan) will continue to tempt them and invite them to disobey. Rough times are ahead for humankind.

But the Lord offers a word of hope to the first couple. Speaking to the woman, God says,

And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel. (Genesis 3:15)

This is both prototypical and prophetic. The experience of the woman will be repeated many times, an “enmity” that continues to this day. But the Lord includes a word of hope. A future “offspring” of the woman will arise. The Satan Serpent will strike his heel. To be bitten by a snake on the foot would be painful, even disabling for a time. The offspring, however, would crush the serpent’s head, a death blow.

From ancient times, Christians have called this the “protoevangelium,” meaning the “first Gospel.” It is the first instance in the Bible of God revealing his plan for human redemption. An offspring of the woman would come to save humankind from the power of Satan and from the consequences of their sins. We believe this is looking forward to Jesus, who saves us from our sins. But Satan would have a temporary victory, the wounding of the Savior’s foot. We believe this refers to Jesus’ death on the cross, orchestrated by Satan (see Luke 22:3). This “victory” is an illusion, though, for Jesus rose from the dead to welcome us into God’s kingdom forever.

Paul plays on this ancient story when he tells King Agrippa that he sees his role like this:

To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:18)

As we look forward in this month to the birth of Jesus, may we not forget that Christmas fulfills the ancient promise of one who would free us from the power of Satan himself and from the penalty for our sins. He comes to rescue us from the curse of sin and the reign of the tempter in our lives.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

Mark S. Krause
Wildewood Christian Church

Advent 2023, November 28

Advent begins the fourth Sunday before Christmas. Most Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25, although we don’t know what the exact day of Jesus’ birth was. Very early, the church felt it was of value to commemorate a day each year to remember this, for if Jesus had not been born as a human baby, he could not have died thirty-some years later as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

“Advent” is from a Latin word. The ad- part is the preposition that means “to” and the –vent part is from the Latin verb that means “to come.” An advent is a “coming to [a place]” or an arrival. In the season of Advent, Christians anticipate the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, who was born in Bethlehem.

The coming of the Messiah did not arise in a vacuum. Many Jewish people of the day were expecting the Lord to send a deliverer for their nation. This was based on the reading of their Scriptures, what we designate at the Old Testament in our Bibles. It is with this in mind that I offer these Advent meditations to you for the next four Sundays.

Our approach will be guided by seeking to answer these primary questions:

• Does the Old Testament look forward to a Messiah, an anointed servant of the Lord?
• If so, what kind of Messiah do we see in the Old Testament?

Let us prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of Jesus.

This is He whom heav’n-taught singers sang of old with one accord,
whom the Scriptures of the prophets promised in their faithful word;
now He shines, the long-expected; let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!

Mark S. Krause
Wildewood Christian Church

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 1: Hope of the Prophets

Religions have always had priests and prophets. Priests, on the one hand, perform rituals to bridge the gap between humans and gods. These might be sacrifices, prayers, or symbolic actions. Prophets, on other hand, have a more expansive role and a claim to higher influence and authority. A prophet is one who speaks for a god or goddess.

Prophets are not confined to the biblical faiths of Judaism and Christianity. Islam is anchored in the belief that the seventh century Arab, Muhammad, was a prophet. The “creed” of Muslims is, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet (or messenger).”

Likewise, the Bible speaks of “prophets” from many religions. Elijah thought he was the only “prophet of the LORD” left in Israel but knew that there were 450 prophets of Baal serving King Ahab and Queen Jezebel (1 Kings 18:22). Nehemiah was threatened by an evil woman prophet named Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14). Paul encountered a man named “Bar-Jesus” (also called “Elymas”) who is called a Jewish false prophet and sorcerer. Jesus himself warned that in the end times, many false prophets would arise (Mark 13:22)

But lay these false prophets aside for a minute and imagine this, speaking for God! Not just speaking about God but being God’s mouthpiece! Uttering words put into one’s head by God himself! No wonder such a role has been assumed by many charlatans and crooks.

The message of the prophets had many aspects: call to repentance, demand for justice, warning of dangers, remembering the covenant (to name a few). But a primary, permeating, overwhelming message was that of hope. The prophets said, God has not forgotten you. God has not stopped loving you. God understands the predicament your sins have caused. God wants to save you and God will send a Savior.

So, prophets play an important role in the Christmas story. God revealed to them “bits and pieces” of his plan to send his Son to redeem us centuries before his birth in Bethlehem (Hebrews 1:1-2). The prophet’s role is most spectacular when he or she is given insights into God’s plans for the future and tells them to the people. The Scriptures are largely the testimonies of these servants of God (especially the Old Testament), but we often miss their central message. Jesus told his Jewish detractors that they scoured their Bible to find the secrets to eternal life. In doing this, they missed the message of the prophets. Jesus said the Scriptures “speak of me” (John 5:39). Jesus was the realization of the hope of the prophets. They had been speaking of him prophetically for hundreds of years.

In these difficult days, we may appreciate the words of the psalmist, “darkness is my closest friend” (Psalm 88:18). Or we may find ourselves saying with the songwriter of the last century, “Hello darkness, my old friend.” Truly, these are days when many have lost hope.

But the story of Christmas is a story of hopes realized. Israel had longed for a Deliverer, a Messiah. We long for a Savior to give our lives meaning, purpose, and (yes) hope! He has come! He has come!

Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus. There’s room in my heart for Thee!

Mark Krause
Scholar in Residence, Wildewood Christian Church

Christmas Eve Meditation: the Christ Candle

In 2008, Faith Hill released a Christmas album with a new song she had written, “A Baby Changes Everything.” It is the story of Jesus’ birth told from the perspective of his teenage mother, Mary, expressing the fear, excitement, and wonderment she must have felt. New parents will agree, a baby does change everything in their lives.

What about God’s perspective? How do babies relate to God? How does God relate to babies? The Creator of the universe did not begin as a baby. He has always been God (John 1:1). Babies are fragile, fussy, and utterly dependent, very non-godlike characteristics. Yet the Bible teaches that babies do have a relationship with God that begins even before birth (see Psalm 139:13, Isaiah 44:24).

God’s plan for human salvation required that his divine Son become a human being. Without being human, Jesus would not have been able to die for the sins of the world.  This necessitated his birth by a woman, and his years as a baby, toddler, and child. He was not to be like the mythical Greek gods who emerged fully-grown from the sea or a cave. Thus, while we may light the Christ Candle and bow the knee to the newborn King at Christmastime, we are not worshiping babyhood. We are worshiping God among humankind, the Word become flesh (John 1:14).

Faith Hill ends her song with Mary saying these words:

My whole life is turned around.
I was lost, but now I’m found.

Hallelujah!

This is central to the Christmas message. God had not abandoned Mary. She was found in a marvelous way. And he has not abandoned us, either. If we stop to consider the consequences of the birth of the Messiah on us, our lives will also be turned around. Jesus changes everything when we serve him as the Lord of our lives.

Hallelujah! Mark Krause
Wildewood Christian Church

Week 4 of Advent: Joseph and Mary

What was it like for Mary and Joseph the last week before Jesus was born? The details in the Bible are few and, as Pastor Ron pointed out in his sermon, some have been misunderstood. The traditional story of Jesus’ parents arriving in Bethlehem and finding “no vacancy” signs at all the motels is unlikely. More likely is that the couple were housed with relatives in Bethlehem and chose to sleep in the room of the home that housed animals because of the crowded conditions. The availability of a “manger” (animal food trough) to serve as an emergency cradle indicates the usual presence of a common donkey or two in this household and also indicates the home’s relative prosperity.

A more basic question, though, is why the trip to Bethlehem at all? True, Joseph was a descendent of King David and Bethlehem was David’s city. But surely the Romans cared nothing about this. The “census” ordered by Caesar Augustus seems to have been for the purpose of taxation. I think Joseph could have registered in Nazareth or in the nearby city of Sepphoris, paid his tax, and been fine. Why travel to Bethlehem (a four- or five-day walk) with a wife who was “great with child?” I can think of at least two possible reasons.

1. Joseph was a resident of Nazareth but had been born in Bethlehem. This might have been sufficient reason for him to return to verify records concerning his own birth if such things were available.
2. Joseph believed his soon-to-be born son was indeed the promised Messiah and that the Jewish Scriptures had prophesied the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Matthew presents Joseph as a man of righteousness, meaning he did the right thing. The right thing was to have the boy born in Bethlehem in a literal sense. This is reinforced if we see Joseph as a man of faith who believes the angel’s messages concerning Mary’s unexpected pregnancy and the identity of his son.

Both reasons could be true, but I like the implications of the second one. While Joseph knew that Mary’s pregnancy was not of his doing, he accepted Jesus as his legitimate son and wanted to provide for his future success. We also see this in Joseph’s immediate acceptance of the angel’s command to flee Bethlehem to save his baby son from the murderous decree of King Herod. This would have been no easy task, but the right thing to do.

Maybe, then, we can understand Joseph as a person of heroic and selfless love. The fourth week of advent is often seen as the “Love” week and rightly points to Mary, the dear mother of Jesus. But Joseph, this enigmatic figure from the Christmas story, comes into focus better if we understand him as a person of love, too. He makes a series of right decisions based on his faith in God’s messages to him, but also upon his love for Mary and his love for his son.

In this pandemic year, we may be faced with decisions that also require heroic and selfless love. We have read many stories of those who have sacrificed for others at great cost to themselves, and I do not expect we are at the end of such examples. As Chris Smith reminded us Sunday, God loved us so much that he gave us his Son. May we love others like God does and like Joseph loved his family over 2,000 years ago.

Mark Krause
Wildewood Christian Church

Week 3 of Advent: the Shepherds

Some of history’s greatest players are anonymous to us. Tradition has given names for the Wise Men of the Christmas story. For example, John Henry Hopkins, the author of the carol We Three Kings, styled verse 2 as coming from “Gaspard,” verse 3 as coming from “Melchior,” and verse 4 as coming from “Balthazar,” traditional names for the “travelers three.”

But no names for the shepherds. We do not even know how many were in the story. There were at least two and maybe only two because watching flocks at night would not have required gang labor. Bethlehem’s surrounding terrain was more suitable for grazing than farming, providing lots of employment for shepherds. These men (women would have been unlikely) were tending a flock not far from the stable where Jesus was born, perhaps little more than a mile, a 10-15-minute walk.

As Pastor Ron mentioned in Sunday’s sermon, shepherds were on the lowest rung of Israelite society. Bible students tend to idealize shepherds by looking at the best, David the shepherd of flocks and Jesus the Great Shepherd of Souls. But the shepherd’s job generally required little effort with many hours of idleness. They may have been socially awkward, choosing employment that allowed for solitary existence. It is likely their dress was ragged, their hygiene was lacking (think body odor), and their speaking was rough and uneducated. If they were in Hindu society, they would be near the “untouchable” caste. They were considered untrustworthy and were not allowed to give testimony in legal proceedings. They were some of the most unlikely candidates on earth for a glorious visit from an angel host on the night of Christ’s birth.

Yet the Lord God chose them. When the first angel (also unnamed) appeared, Luke describes the shepherds as being afraid, “they were terrified.” A literal translation: they were terrified with a mega-fear. The angel recognizes this and offers calm by saying “Fear not.” This is not a command so much as a way of saying, “You don’t have to be afraid.” Then the angel’s pronouncement, “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” A literal translation: Attention! I am announcing good news of mega-joy for every people. Mega-fear is transformed into Mega-joy. Cowering becomes celebrating. Being a despised shepherd did not mean their hearts could not shift from great fear to great joy.

We learn a lot from the shepherds about joy. When we are joyful, our faith is emboldened. Fear finds no room in our lives. The shepherds not only hurry to see Baby Jesus and his mother; they also speak about their experience and convey the message of the angels to anyone who will listen. They spread the word and the joy. This contagious joy still works its wonders on us today. How great our joy!

Mark Krause
Wildewood Christian Church