Ensign: Places!
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. Isaiah 18:3
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 16 December 2016
Today's message began in the year 1909.
At least, that was the copyright date on the book Christmas Sermons that I gave Pastor Gerald yesterday when I came to church for coffee with some people there. "Coffee With The Boys" is held every Thursday morning at Bethany during the school year, and coffee -- well, I'm just so there. We trade stories and share concerns and Pastor Gerald brought up that he was having difficulty coming up with the topic for the sermon he's to give on Christmas Day.
I was not in on planning this.
I happened to have Christmas Sermons that I'd gotten as a gift from an old friend in Kentucky in my bag in the car; I was going to read it through myself, but I end up forgetting to so instead I gave it to him, thinking that a perspective more than a hundred years gone (do the math: 2016 - 1909 = 107 years) might give some fresh insight. I know I could use some. Whether that coincidence qualifies as what Pastor Gerald's been known to call a "God moment" I leave to wiser heads than mine.
And they are many.
Writing this now I'm also recalling 1910, the following year in which the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica was published. "Eleventh Edition" is capitalized for a reason; it's considered a literary classic by itself and also it's considered by those who read it and have read it representative of a time when there was one correct answer to every question, and the perfectibility of man was just over the horizon.
Then came World War I.
And so on. Of course, human beings including you and I seeking our own perfection is nothing new. Thinking we can outsmart God or outdo His plan for creation -- that's as old as Eden itself. Just had to do two ... ok, three things. Dress (serve in, work in) the garden, keep (take care of, guard) the garden, and not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I bring up Genesis 2 here because when we're retelling the Christmas story every year we often don't go back to the beginning.
The first Christmas was not the beginning.
In fact, the story of Jesus born in the Bethlehem stable wasn't even the beginning. It was the event made necessary as a result of what happened when humankind took of in Satan's direction -- oh, we like to THINK it's our direction, but we are either acting for God or against God, there is no in-between, no neutrality that we can declare no matter what we believe. In a way, it doesn't matter what you believe -- there is an eternity with God or without God awaiting all of us.
You and I would most likely not recognize the first Christmas compared to now.
I'm not talking about Jesus being born -- in fact, Nativity scenes such as the ones you often see proliferating this time of year didn't exist until the early 13th century, and the earliest ones were live. Many still are. And many of the other trappings like Santa Claus and Christmas carols and pick-an-item came in bit by bit by bit over the centuries. And even the fact that December 25 is Christmas Day, that was as much a political decision by the then-extant Church to supersede a rival faith.
Seeing the Christmas of that year 337 would be interesting.
For it was the first time Jesus' birth was given a high priority. You and I and I expect everyone reading this was born at one point, so yes do the honors, sing the carols, exchange the gifts, eat the food (and drink the coffee!) and be thankful to God Who sent His Son Jesus to Earth that we not only can celebrate this way, but also that as we have asked Him to take our sins -- our acts of separation from God -- from us, we find not only our place in the story
but also what we will do in it,
David
P.S. I write this devotion to keep in touch, and I hope that it encourages us too! If it's not or you want me to get lost, please let me know. Thank you!
Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. And let us come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.
Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus the Christ.
And I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS 16 December 2016
Today's message began in the year 1909.
At least, that was the copyright date on the book Christmas Sermons that I gave Pastor Gerald yesterday when I came to church for coffee with some people there. "Coffee With The Boys" is held every Thursday morning at Bethany during the school year, and coffee -- well, I'm just so there. We trade stories and share concerns and Pastor Gerald brought up that he was having difficulty coming up with the topic for the sermon he's to give on Christmas Day.
I was not in on planning this.
I happened to have Christmas Sermons that I'd gotten as a gift from an old friend in Kentucky in my bag in the car; I was going to read it through myself, but I end up forgetting to so instead I gave it to him, thinking that a perspective more than a hundred years gone (do the math: 2016 - 1909 = 107 years) might give some fresh insight. I know I could use some. Whether that coincidence qualifies as what Pastor Gerald's been known to call a "God moment" I leave to wiser heads than mine.
And they are many.
Writing this now I'm also recalling 1910, the following year in which the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Brittanica was published. "Eleventh Edition" is capitalized for a reason; it's considered a literary classic by itself and also it's considered by those who read it and have read it representative of a time when there was one correct answer to every question, and the perfectibility of man was just over the horizon.
Then came World War I.
And so on. Of course, human beings including you and I seeking our own perfection is nothing new. Thinking we can outsmart God or outdo His plan for creation -- that's as old as Eden itself. Just had to do two ... ok, three things. Dress (serve in, work in) the garden, keep (take care of, guard) the garden, and not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I bring up Genesis 2 here because when we're retelling the Christmas story every year we often don't go back to the beginning.
The first Christmas was not the beginning.
In fact, the story of Jesus born in the Bethlehem stable wasn't even the beginning. It was the event made necessary as a result of what happened when humankind took of in Satan's direction -- oh, we like to THINK it's our direction, but we are either acting for God or against God, there is no in-between, no neutrality that we can declare no matter what we believe. In a way, it doesn't matter what you believe -- there is an eternity with God or without God awaiting all of us.
You and I would most likely not recognize the first Christmas compared to now.
I'm not talking about Jesus being born -- in fact, Nativity scenes such as the ones you often see proliferating this time of year didn't exist until the early 13th century, and the earliest ones were live. Many still are. And many of the other trappings like Santa Claus and Christmas carols and pick-an-item came in bit by bit by bit over the centuries. And even the fact that December 25 is Christmas Day, that was as much a political decision by the then-extant Church to supersede a rival faith.
Seeing the Christmas of that year 337 would be interesting.
For it was the first time Jesus' birth was given a high priority. You and I and I expect everyone reading this was born at one point, so yes do the honors, sing the carols, exchange the gifts, eat the food (and drink the coffee!) and be thankful to God Who sent His Son Jesus to Earth that we not only can celebrate this way, but also that as we have asked Him to take our sins -- our acts of separation from God -- from us, we find not only our place in the story
but also what we will do in it,
David
P.S. I write this devotion to keep in touch, and I hope that it encourages us too! If it's not or you want me to get lost, please let me know. Thank you!
Thank YOU, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. And let us come to You in prayer for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.
Thank You as well, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You by Your Son Our Brother, Jesus the Christ.
And I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.
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