A Social Network Christmas

The Flight of the Nazarene

A Blessed Day

After spending the morning working on a couple of writing assignments, I headed out to visit our shut-ins and bring them their Christmas Gift, i.e. Jesus, who continues to come to us wrapped in the swaddling cloths of His Holy Word and Sacraments.  It is always a joy to spend time with these dear children of God and to lead them through the Divine Service.  What a blessing it is to speak the same language of the faith.  I love hearing them speak back to God what He has spoken to them in the Holy Liturgy.  They know it by heart.  It is a part of them.  It's like being home.  And it unites us in a common confession of the faith.  I cannot fathom what it would be like to bring Christ to shut-ins without the common language of the Holy Liturgy.  I'm sure it can be pulled off, but it simply can't be the same thing as hearing them say, "I, a poor, miserable sinner . . .," "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth . . .," "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth . . .," "Our Father who art in heaven . . .," "O Christ, Thou Lamb of God . . .," "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace . . .," and all their "Amens" at the appropriate places.  Just another huge reason to keep the Holy Liturgy in tact, seems to me.

I'm also ever so thankful for the Communion Kit I'm blessed to use, which was a gift from our Ladies' Guild upon the anniversary of my first year as pastor at Peace, some four and a half years ago now, and which does a wonderful job of facilitating the reverence the Holy Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood surely merits:

After an afternoon with some of our shut-ins, I spent the evening Christmas shopping with Sarah, Sam, and Aaron, which is time together that I cherish, especially since they're growing up so dang fast and I know the day is coming all too soon when we'll be saying, "Hey, remember how we always used to go Christmas shopping together for mom a few days before Christmas?"  Time sure does fly, doesn't it?  It seems like only yesterday when I was holding them in my arms and changing their diapers.  It also seems like yesterday when I used to think, "Why do old people always say, 'It seems like yesterday . . .?'"  Anyway, enough of that.  We had a blast together.  Still have a few things I want to pick up, but we put a major dent in my perpetual last-minute shopping spree.  And, we had a great dinner at Red Lobster!  I know, livin' large, ain't we? :) 

On deck for tomorrow:  Write confirmation quiz, visit last two shut-ins, prepare for upcoming Bible Studies, go over sermons and edit as needed, finish shopping, then Children's Christmas Program at 7:00 p.m. 

A Real Treat

I got to attend my first ever MSU men's basketball game at the Breslin Center this evening, which was a Christmas present from my daughter, Sarah.  Her boyfriend, Jordan, and his dad, joined us as well.  Lots of fun!  Wasn't much of a game, but it was great to finally get to watch a game live.  Sparty was playing Prairie View A&M, which is nothing more than a little extra practice time for them.  Sarah and I made predictions about the final score before the game started.  Sarah's was way off, but mine was MSU 96, PV A&M 49.  The final score?  MSU 90, PV A&M 51.  Not too shabby, eh? :)

Thanks, Sarah!  Love ya bunches and bunches, kiddo!

 

Twas the week before Christmas . . .

. . . The kitties were nestled 'neath the Christmas tree

As visions of catching mice filled them with glee . . .

Lisa and I . . .

worked really hard on this routine and would like to share it with all of you.  Enjoy! :)

Exactly!

Pr. Esget, over at his blog, on Atheism and the Virgin Birth:

Atheists, of course, mock the idea of Mary, a virgin, giving birth to Jesus.

Yet at the same time they believe in a far greater miracle, a cosmos which sprang into being on its own, all manner of life which by chance evolved from the sludge. In short, atheism (and its sister, evolutionism) believes not in a virgin birth of Jesus, but in the virgin birth of the whole universe. A virgin birth without father OR mother.

Now that’s faith.

Exactly!

Beautiful

I am thankful to Deacon Gaba for posting a link on his blog to this remarkable youtube site, which contains several beautiful liturgical chants, such as this:

A Beloved Gift

Tuesday evening after our Council meeting, I found a card and a little gift-wrapped box in my mailbox at the church.  This was in the box:

In the card was a beautiful, hand-written note from a dear parishioner expressing her sympathy to me and reminding me that my good friend and brother, Al, left this world to join Jesus in heaven.  To say that I was touched by this would be an understatement.  More like overwhelmed with deep gratitude for this sister in Christ and her very thoughtful and loving gesture.  I will cherish both the card and the ornament with my dear friend's picture in it for as long as I live!

Yep!

Adam Sandler's Original Hanukkah Song

So, in a conversation about secular Christmas music the other day, I mentioned that, while it's not about Christmas, I always get a kick out of hearing Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song. A few people said, much to my amazement, "What's that?" Well, here it is (Sandler has added to this song over the years, but this is the original):



Okay, so now I have to get back to writing lots of sermon-anukkahs, and preparing for many Service-anukkahs, which is always lots of fun-anukkah! ;)

One of My Favorite Movies Just Got Better . . .

HT: FB friend, Pr. Steve Stolarczyk

An Excerpt from . . .

a Christmas sermon preached by Dr. Luther (Text:  John 1:1-14):

This gospel text allows of no other doctrine beside it; it desires only to testify of Christ and lead men to him, who is the Light. Therefore, O Lord God, these words, "He was not the Light," are truly worthy to be capitalized and to be well remembered against the men who set themselves up as the light and give to men doctrines and laws of their own fabrication. They pretend to enlighten men, but lead them with themselves into the depths of hell; for they do not teach faith, and are not willing to teach it; and no one teaches it except John, who is sent of God, and the holy Gospel. Truly much could be said on this point. 

In short, he who does not preach the Gospel to you, reject and refuse to hear him. He, however, preaches the Gospel who teaches you to believe and trust in Christ, the eternal Light, and not to build on any of your own works. Therefore beware of everything told you that does not agree with the Gospel; do not put your trust in it, nor accept it as something external, as you regard eating and drinking, which are necessary for your body, and which you may use at your pleasure or at the pleasure of another; but by no means as something necessary to your salvation. For this purpose nothing is necessary or of use to you except this Light.

O, these abominable doctrines of men, which are now so prevalent and which have almost banished this Light! They all wish to be this light themselves, but not to be witnesses of it. They advocate themselves and teach their own fancies, but are silent about this Light, or teach it in a way as to preach themselves along with it. This is worse than to be entirely silent; for by such teaching they make Samaritans who partly worship God and partly worship idols, 2 Kings 17,33.

A Waste of Time

Yesterday, Fr. Peters had a great post on his blog, titled "A Royal Waste of Time."  In it, he rightly identifies the notion held by many that the Church must have some practical purpose in order to be worthwhile for people as false and deceptive.  It is this false and deceptive notion that has led many to turn "Christ into a commodity and the Gospel into a marketing plan."  Those who fall prey to this false and deceptive notion are always busying themselves with finding ways to make the Church more appealing to those who would otherwise have nothing to do with her.  Jesus always loses in this approach.  At best, He becomes nothing more than a mere example to follow; at worst, He becomes completely irrelevant.  Those who go out of their way to create "a Church for people who don't like Church" almost always simultaneously offer "a Jesus for people who don't believe they need Jesus."  So very sad, that. 

"Divine Humility and Love" - December Newsletter Article

Not a palace, but a stable.  Not a cushioned crib, but a feeding trough for animals (a manger).  Not in a rich powerful city, but in lowly Bethlehem.  Not to rich, powerful, royal, and influential parents, but to a simple carpenter and lowly maiden.  Not with great fanfare, pomp, and circumstance, but while the world slept unaware—the only announcement made by the angels to shepherds in the fields.  This is how the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity made His entrance into our flesh in order to bear our sins and be our Savior.  It is nothing short of amazing!  Hearing the remarkable details of our Lord’s birth never gets old, which is why the Church continues to sing, “Marvel now, O heav’n and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth” (“Savior of the Nations, Come” - LSB 332, st. 1).

Marvel, indeed!  God is born a baby!  The Eternal Word of the Father, the very Creator of all things, the One who spoke creation into existence, descends from heaven to be born into His creation.  In Mary’s arms, nursing from her breasts, is God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God.  He humbles Himself to assume our human flesh and become dependent upon the milk of His mother and the care of his earthly father, even while He continues to hold the entire universe in His tiny little hands.  If this does not cause you to marvel, nothing will! 

The Divine Humility of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, is truly a marvelous thing to behold.  The holy angels are taken aback by it and long to delve into what they perceive to be the mystery of mysteries.  They have seen the One who lies seemingly helpless in a manger in all His glory.  They know Who this Baby named Jesus really is, and it amazes them to see Him in this manner.  Not only that, but they know the reason God takes on human flesh and is born into this dead and dying world, namely to save sinful humanity, and they cannot help but sing His praises.  As they gaze upon Almighty God, their Lord and Master, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a dirty, feeding trough, they marvel not only at His Divine Humility, but at His Divine Love for sinful mankind, for it is that Divine Love which moved Him to subject Himself to such humility. 

The Divine Humility and Love we see on display in Bethlehem on that Holy Night long ago continued to be exemplified in our Lord Jesus throughout His salvific pilgrimage to our sinful world.  He did not come seeking honor and fame, but to serve and love God and neighbor completely and perfectly in our place.  He did not come to conquer the world and establish a mighty earthly empire, but to do battle with, and defeat, sin, death, and the devil on our behalf.  He did not come to be served, but to serve.  The One who chose to be born in such low estate lived in poverty throughout His time here, relying upon His Father to provide for His every need.  He had no place to lay His head.  He had no accumulation of material possessions.  There was nothing about His appearance that would draw people to Him.  In short, the Divine Humility we witness at His birth continued throughout His earthly life.

Of course, the ultimate picture of our Lord’s Divine Humility and Love is seen in Jerusalem thirty-some years after His ignoble birth.  We see it when He washes the feet of His disciples.  We see it when He sweats blood while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, submitting to His Father’s will.  We see it when He submits to being arrested.  We see it when He is spit upon, beaten, mocked, and severely flogged.  We see it in His silence before Caiaphas and Pilate.  We see it when He carries His own cross to Golgotha outside the city gates.  We see it when He allows Simon of Cyrene to assist Him in carrying His cross.  We see it when the nails are driven through His hands and feet.  We see it when He hangs on that cruel instrument of torture, gasping for air.  We hear it in the Words He utters from the cross, and we see it when He takes His last breath and dies. 

And it’s all amazing; it’s all something to most definitely marvel over, for this is God Himself, Incarnate in human flesh, Who is born in such low estate, lives in such poverty, and dies such a heinous death.  It becomes all the more amazing (if it’s possible to ponder anything more amazing than God living and dying as a Man) when we consider that He did it all for us—for you, for me.  He humbled Himself and assumed human flesh to live as your substitute; to hunger and thirst as you hunger and thirst; to be tempted as you are tempted; to experience pain and suffering as you experience pain and suffering; to be mocked and suffer injustice as you are mocked and suffer injustice; to even suffer death as you suffer death.  All of it because He loves you with a Divine Love beyond our human comprehension.  All of it to rescue you from the eternity you deserve because of your sins.  All of it to win for you forgiveness, life, and salvation.  All of it because He desires that you spend eternity with Him in perfect peace, comfort, and joy. 

Dearly beloved, as we enter the holy season of Advent and make our way to Bethlehem to celebrate our Savior’s birth, let us take our cue from the holy angels and ponder the mystery of our Lord’s Incarnation.  Let us follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary and treasure this mystery in our hearts, pondering with great wonder and joy the reason our God humbled Himself to be born into this sinful world in our human flesh.  He came to live and die for you, dear friends, each and every one of you.  In Divine Humility and Love, He came to save you by living the life you fail to live and by dying the death you deserve to die for your sins.  This is the true “reason for the season,” the true meaning of Christmas.

But, let us not stop at pondering and treasuring up in our hearts this great mystery, as if this was all just some bygone story to be cherished, remembered, and passed on to others.  This is no legend or fairy tale or epic saga to warm our hearts and lift our spirits as we roast chestnuts around the fire.  This is no “Hallmark Special” to talk about as we sip our eggnog and open presents.  Our Lord lives!  His Divine Humility and Love is still on full display and still as active today as it was two millennia ago, for the same God who assumed human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary, the same God who lived to serve and love God and neighbor, the same God who allowed Himself to be treated shamefully and put to death, continues to come to us in Divine Humility and Love as we gather in His Name for Divine Service.  It should not surprise us that He makes no flashy appearance in our midst, but instead comes among us humbly and hiddenly, wrapped in the swaddling cloths of His Holy Word and Sacraments.  That’s His way.  And He comes to us in Divine Humility and Love to deliver the forgiveness, life, and salvation He accomplished for us.  This, too, is the meaning of Christmas.

“Marvel now, O heav’n and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.”  Yes, marvel away at that!  But, marvel, too, that our Lord chooses to continue to meet us in His Church in Divine Humility and Love to deliver to us His Divine Gifts.  Marvel and come, at His gracious invitation, to receive His Gifts and to be filled with His Divine Humility and Love! 

A Holy, Blessed, and Merry Christmas to you all!