Real Meaning of Christmas

      Greetings to you all.  I am trying to finish out this week strong.  I have to finish writing my sermon today, and then study for two tests tomorrow.  One test should be pretty easy, in fact the professor said it will be the easiest test we ever take at the seminary.  However, I still have to study the different emotional words for it.  It is pastor as counselor and we have been working on active listening skills for the past two weeks.  This is where a counselor listens to the client or parishioner in my case and then reflects back to them both content and feelings of what they just stated.  This helps the client know you are actually listening, and it makes sure you are both on the same page.  The test is watching a video of different people talking, and then we have to write down what we would reflect back to them both about their content and their feelings.  We have a big list of different emotional vocab words, and being a guy I am not familiar with most of them.  So while I am not worried about the actual test, I still have to study that vocab list.  The other test is my history class and some of us guys are getting together tonight to study together for that one.
      I am going to post my paper that I wrote for Systematic's II as my thought for the day.  I want to preface the assignment a little so you know what I was trying to accomplish.  The assignment what to write about the "real meaning" of Christmas using ONLY Luke's two works.  The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were our Scriptural foundation.  It was supposed to be three to four pages and written as if it were an article in the Lutheran Witness.  However, I still wrote mine basically as an academic paper and it ended up being seven pages long.  The professor made a comment in class about when I handed him my paper he thought I must have used really heavy paper since it weighed so much more than everyone else's. For this class our papers do not get letter grades.  We get either Pass/Marginal Pass/Not Pass.  If you get Not Pass you have to re-write the assignment.  If you get Marginal Pass you have your choice whether you want to re-write it or not.  and if you get Pass you do not have to re-write it.  Then at the end of the class your grade is determined by how many Marginal Pass's or Pass's you had.  I got a pass on this first one which I was very happy about.  So I do not know if it is an A paper, but it was close enough to what he was looking for to pass.  I apologize for it being so long, but if you feel adventurous enough to read the whole thing, here it is.  Enjoy.

      Christmas to most people these days is all about buying gifts, decorating the house, making huge extravagant meals, traveling home to be with family, or going to church.  Even Christians who know the story of Christmas as the birth of Jesus get lost in the meaning of Christmas.  They may go to church and they may even wear a pin or button that says, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  They may even put up decorations that say, “Don’t take Christ out of Christmas.”  However, even these people have most likely been engrained to be confused about or just plain forgotten the “real meaning” of Christmas.  The Bible has many great answers to what Christmas is really about, but according to Luke, in both his Gospel and the book of Acts, the “real meaning” of Christmas is the birth of Israel’s King. 

            The Old Testament is the narrative of God’s people, Israel.  It’s not the happiest story as a lot of tragedy and hard times happen to them, but it is also a story of promise and hope.  God made a promise to Adam and Eve in the garden, God made a promise to Noah before the flood, God made a promise to Abraham, then Isaac, and then Jacob, and God made a promise to David.  The promise that God makes with almost everyone of these is that there will one day be a “savior”.  Abraham was promised to have offspring more numerous than stars in the sky and be the blessing to all nations.  This was passed down through Isaac and Jacob, with the promise that their descendants will inherit the entire earth.  Then God promised to David that his house and kingdom shall be made sure and his throne would be established forever.  This is the key promise to Luke.  In many of the Psalms, we see God’s people who have no human king and are under foreign rule and oppression cry out for a king to come and save them.  The Psalmists know though that God is their one true King who reigns and will send the messiah, the Davidic King that was promised to David.  No matter how bad the times in the Old Testament got, they had this hope of the promised king who would come and rule once and for all.  The King of Kings who would fulfill the promise made to David that his throne would be established forever.  This is the promise Luke zeros in on and points to as he writes his Gospel and the book of Acts. 

            The “real meaning” of Christmas is the jubilee that this Davidic King, promised for so long, from the rule of David through four foreign captivities of the Babylonians, Persians and Medes,  Greeks, and then the Romans, is born!  This King that will establish the throne of David, the one sang about in so many Psalms, the one longed for by the people Israel, the one prophesied about by the prophets, is here!!! He has finally come and is born to this world.  I am not exactly sure about this part of Biblical history, but I imagine that if a people with no king heard the news that the “queen” had given birth to a son who would be the one to reign and rule as soon as he reached a proper age, there would be grand celebrations, praising and rejoicing among that people.  Especially for a people who have been waiting centuries for this king to come along.  And on top of the fact that their king who will save them is born, this birth also shows that their God who had made this promise for so long is a God who keeps His word.  He promised them a messiah, a Davidic King to establish the throne forever, and now He has fulfilled that promise.  It is no longer a promise that is hoped for because it is a promise that is now trusted in.  It is assurance that God does indeed love His people and is faithful to His covenants.  The birth of a king who has come to save and a direct sign from God that He has not forgotten His people or promises of salvation all in one birth is definitely worth celebrating and this is the “real meaning” of Christmas that Luke focuses in on. 

            Now I am not just making this claim, but I have scriptural evidence for this.  I am going to mainly focus in on Luke’s Gospel because this is only to be a brief article and there is plenty of support in his Gospel alone without diving into the book of Acts.  The very beginning of Luke’s Gospel, with both the foretelling of John the Baptist and the foretelling of the birth of Jesus, points back to the Old Testament.  The foretelling of John’s birth is a parallel to the story of Abram and Sarai’s promise of Isaac being born.  They are a couple old in age, barren, and laugh at God when He tells them that they will have a son of their own.  I believe Luke starts his Gospel with this parallel to take the reader back to the original promise God made to Abram.  He is connecting all events of this Gospel with the one narrative of God’s people.  Then the foretelling of Jesus’ birth is clearly pointing to the promise made to Daivd, “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Lk. 1:32-3).  Jesus is the offspring of “his father David” and will establish his throne forever over the “house of Jacob” or God’s people.  In Mary’s song, even she sings of God finally saving His people when she sings, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (Lk. 1:54-5).  Mary who is a faithful servant to God, knows the Scriptures of the Old Testament, she knows the Psalms.  When the angel tells her she will give birth to the “son of David” she knows how grand of a deal that is for all of Israel, going all the way back to Abraham.  Luke goes on in the birth story to tell that Jesus was born in the city of David because he was of the house of David.  Simeon’s song in Luke 2, the one we sing most Sunday’s in liturgy, shows that Simeon through the power of the Spirit knows this is the Davidic King who has come for the salvation of the people Israel.  These are all ways Luke is directly pointing the reader of his Gospel to the fact that this one who was born is indeed the King of Israel, the King of all of God’s people. 

            So we know that the real meaning of Christmas is that Jesus is the promised Davidic King of the Old Testament, the promised messiah of the Psalms.  However, what did this King come to do?  He came to show that He has established the throne of David forever.  He came to show that He has salvation for the people Israel.  Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He shows the people what His salvation is.  When John’s disciples ask Jesus if he is the one to come, Jesus answers by saying, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them” (Lk. 7:22).  Later one when Jesus in continuing to heal people, He also begins to tell them that their “sins are forgiven” or that their “faith has saved them”.  Jesus, the Davidic King, was born into the flesh to bring the people Israel their long awaited salvation.  What did this salvation look like?  It looked like their King healing their diseases and afflictions, and it sounded like Him telling them they were forgiven and saved.  An important point Luke is making is that Jesus was giving salvation before His death and resurrection.  This is not the salvation the people of Israel were hoping for though.  They wanted a king who would come and defeat all their enemies and rule over them in prosperous times when they would suffer no more.  Jesus did not come with armies and riches to wipe out everyone else and make His kingdom a rich nation with a luxurious lifestyle.  However, a king being born in a stable should have been a good sign that He would not live up to the expectations the people had for Him.  However, He constantly reminded them that He was the fulfillment of the promises and the prophets.  Even right before He is betrayed and killed He reminds His disciples of what He has been telling them all along when He says, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me… for what is written about me has its fulfillment” (Lk. 22:37).  He has come to fulfill the promises of the Old Testament.  He has come to bring the people Israel their salvation, even if that salvation is not what they expected or wanted. 

            I think it’s important to show that Luke includes quite a few places where he shows us that Jesus is not just the King of Israel, but King over all of creation.  The miraculous catch of fish by the disciples in Luke 5, the calming of the storm in Luke 8, and the quote by Jesus of “even the stones would shout my praises” in Luke 19 are just a few examples.  Luke is showing the reader that Jesus is indeed the Davidic King of God’s people, but He is also the King of all creation and His rule extends to the animals, winds, waters, and stones.  He is King of all of God’s creation. 

            The fact that he claims to be their King, but is not the type of king they desired is what got Him killed.  Jesus foretells His death three times, and He tells them He will be rejected, delivered into the hands of men, and be killed. (Lk. 9:21, 9:44, 18:33).  He does not say, “I must sacrifice myself,” or “I must die,” or “I must lay down my life” in His foretelling.  Luke is showing that this is the King who came to save but was rejected by His own people.  He is not paying the price of our sins on the cross, but simply being denied as king by His own people.  In chapter 19, Jesus enters Jerusalem as the heroic King, with people shouting out, “Blessed be the King.”  However, that joyous occasion is short lived.  Throughout the rest of Luke’s account of Jesus betrayal, trial, beatings, and death, it is made clear that the people want Him dead because He claims to be a king, more specifically their King.  Again, the Davidic King that they had waited for so long was not what they expected and so they denied Him as the Davidic King.  They thought they knew better than God and rejected this one sent as their King.  As Jesus hung from the cross, looking down at the people who rejected Him as their King, the ones He came to save, He says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34).  He is saying that they do not know that they are rejecting their King; they do not know that they are throwing a coup over God Himself.  They are killing the very one they have begged God to send. 

            However, because He is the Davidic King who has established the throne of David forever, He does not remain dead.  Three days later He rises just as He told them He would.  He knows He is the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament prophets.  He knows He will rise again to once again take His seat at the throne of His Father.  When He appears before His disciples, He tells them, “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Lk. 24:44). 

            Luke wants us to see Jesus as the King of David’s throne, the fulfillment of God’s promise.  He wants us to see His death and resurrection as the rejection of His people and the fulfillment of the Scriptures.  However, this does not mean that His death and resurrection are not important.  Luke’s whole Gospel is concluded in chapter 24, verses 46 and 47.  “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”  The kingdom of God is now at hand because the King has come and fulfilled all promises and prophesies.  Jesus has shown us what His salvation will be when He comes back for that final day.  To believers, their sins will be forgiven, their faith will have saved them, they will be healed and all afflictions corrected.  This is what Jesus showed us in His ministry and it is what He will bring with Him when He comes back.  He is reigning on His throne forever because the Davidic King has come and established His throne forever. 

            So what does that mean for us?  What did it mean for the disciples after He ascended?  Luke tells us in His Gospel and throughout most of the book of Acts: “That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”  The apostles were given the directions to go and proclaim this way of life, repentance and forgiveness, to all nations.  They include this in almost all of their preaching in Acts.  And we know this is how we are still under the throne of Jesus today.  We are part of that all nations, that Jesus told to hear His way of life.  We repent and are forgiven of our sins because we believe in the one true King who reigns.  Even Gentiles have the fulfillment of the Davidic King, and they are included in the people Israel who now accept their Davidic King knowing He is indeed reigning and ruling.  And just as the people of Israel waited for His coming the first time, we now wait for His coming the second time.  His second coming, when He will not be rejected again, but he will be professed as King by all.  This is when He will bring His salvation once and for all.  What will it look like?  It will look the same as His salvation looked during His ministry.  The blind will see, the lame will walk, and all believers will be forgiven of sins and saved by their faith in Him. 

            So what is the true meaning of Christmas?  It is the birth of our King, the one promised to establish the Davidic throne once and for all, forever.  It is the assurance that God loves His people, including us today, because He kept His promise and fulfilled His Word.  And we can trust in His promise He gives to us that our King will come again with the salvation of His people.  We can trust this because Christmas reminds us that God keeps His promises and that our King, even though He was rejected, lives and reigns.  This is worthy of celebration for sure.

Rejoice!

       Greetings to you all.  I hope you are all doing well and having a blessed Advent.  Not much is new with me, just trying to finish out this last week of classes.  I head home Friday after classes for a two week Christmas break.  I plan to spend the first week in Iowa with family and friends and then most likely Nebraska the second week but still not sure on that.  I will try to put up one or two posts over the break now that mom finally has internet capability.  I also will try to put up my sermon at the end of the week.
       My thought for the day comes from Pastor Laetsch's sermon yesterday.  Pastor Laetsch is my field work supervisor in Highland, IL.  He is a single 70 year old man who has told me he would have retired by now if he did not thoroughly enjoy working with us seminary guys so much.  He has been such a good supervisor for me to work with and learn from.  He lets me doing anything I want to try, but doesn't push me into anything I am not comfortable doing.  We also go out to lunch every Sunday together so there is a lot of one on one time to talk and discuss anything that I have doubts, worries, or questions about.  I truly appreciate having being blessed to wok with him.  I won't give his whole sermon again, just a few highlights.  The main point is his idea, but I will obviously put it into my own words with some of my own ideas.  His sermon was on the pink candle of Advent.  He discussed how the pink candle stands for rejoicing.  His main point was the difference between happiness and rejoicing.  Happiness is short lived, based on materials, moments, or memories in our lives, and comes and goes frequently.  So we get a new toy at Christmas, or a new car, or have a good family dinner together, we get very happy.  However, all it takes is one thing to snap that happiness away from us.  So even in this time of happiness during the season of Christmas as we buy gifts and prepare for family and are just excited and happy to celebrate the holiday, we turn on the news and that happiness disappears.  We see what seems like pure evil in a man killing twenty-six people at an elementary school, and that excitement and happiness is replaced with sadness, anxiety, and confusion.  Our happiness is short lived and can be taken away from us daily.  However, rejoicing is long-term, based on the truth of the Gospel of our Lord, and can always be found.  To rejoice can mean to express the joy  we have as Christians.  However, it can also men to show that we trust in God at all times and know He is always in control.  It is not based on anything we do or any materials we have in our lives, but entirely based on the work and will of our God.  So even during times of what seems like pure evil, even during times of complete sadness and mourning for twenty-six people who were shot to death for no reason, we still cling to our Lord who is in control, who has authority over all evil, and has given us the ability to know that truth through the death and resurrection of our Savior.  The truth of the Gospel is not just that we are forgiven and will join our Lord in Heaven someday.  The truth of the Gospel is everything our Lord does to us and for us.  He sustains us, protects us, guides us, and even in times of mourning gives us hope to cling to.  This truth of the Gospel is the reason we are able to rejoice at all times, even times of mourning.  The God we serve, trust, and believe in is the one and only, true God who is active in our lives each and every day.  Even when we think He is no where to be found and question how or why He seems to allow such evil to be present, He is there, actively in control.  So we do not question where He is or what He is doing, but we cling to the hope, the truth, and the faith we have in Him.  We rejoice, not necessarily by singing hymns of praise, but we rejoice by trusting Him, clinging to Him, and knowing He is God.  So if you have an Advent wreath in your home, or next time you're in church, and you see the pink candle being lit, remember to rejoice!  Even in the times of stress of the holiday, even in times of mourning death, even in times of doubt, rejoice in our Lord who is not only the reason for the season, but is God over death and sin.  He is our God who has the authority over all evil and is actively in control in our lives even when to us it seems He is not there.  We rejoice in the truth of the Gospel because it is not based on what we do, but what God has done and continues to do daily for us.  Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!"  All Praise Him who sent His Son, our Savior, to be our salvation and to be our hope in which we cling, and in whom we rejoice!
Dear Heavenly Father, 
We live in a present evil age, but do not let us forget that even in this age, You are in control.  We beg Your mercy for the families and all those suffering and mourning the school shooting in Connecticut.  We beg Your mercy for every one dealing with doubts, confusions, or feelings of abandonment.  Lay Your comforting hand on them all and help them feel Your peace.  Remind us all that at all times we have Your truth of Your Gospel to rejoice in.  Help us to always rejoice in Your name, staying strong in the one true faith of You and all You have done for us through Your Son and His active reign in our lives.  We pray all this, rejoicing in the name of our Christ and Lord, Jesus. Amen.  

2000 Hits!

         Greetings to the loyal readers of this blog that I have out there.  I want to say thank you so much for reading this, for tolerating my lack of dedication, and hopefully understanding everything I type.  I have now had 2000 page hits on my blog which is just amazing to me.  I give the glory to God and hope His Word is being heard through this page.  I have to write a sermon next week so I will put that up once I am done with it.  I also have to write a paper on what Christmas actually means according to Luke so I will put that up too once I get it back and its graded as acceptable.  So I am going to try to get more blogs up here for you guys because it is obviously worth my time to keep this going for you the readers.
        I mainly wanted to just say thank you, but while I am here I will include a quick thought for the day.  Today I had an extremely difficult experience.  I cannot discuss the details because of pastoral confidentiality, but just wanted to share some thoughts.  He is a dorm student and as dorm counselor part of my job is being there for guys needing to talk.  More than that though he is a friend of mine and I could tell something wasn't right today.  I could tell something was just a little off about him, and I started being my usual smart alec self. However, very quickly I realized that it wasn't anything little that was bugging him so I just told him I could use a hug and he gave me one.  Later when I was talking to him through texting I offered to talk to him if he wanted and so he came down and talked to me.  The opening line he told me hit me hard enough to almost knock me off my seat.  If he hadn't been so serious and almost in tears immediately I would have thought he was trying to pull a cruel prank on me.  It just reminded me that part of pastoral care is hearing people say things that you never could have guessed they were going to tell you.  Now before I go any further, please trust me when I say that this guy is going to be OK, has a better grasp on this issue than I would expect, and it is something that in due time will help not hinder his ministry.  As awful as it seems to say that this terrible experience he is struggling through will help his ministry, it's true.  In fact, he told me a story about how it has already helped him hugely once in his life and he isn't even in the ministry yet.  It's just hard though how these difficult things ht you when you are not ready for them.  Chris, Stein, and I were just talking today about how at times personal devotions, prayer-life, or even going to church or chapel seems like a chore or hassle.  We find a million excuses to distance ourselves from God.  However, the good Lord drags us along and eventually gets us back on track.  The only problem is once He gets us up and going, we take off running and think were doing fine.  Then we run out of gas and collapse and just want to lay there.  Then the good Lord drags us along again and the cycle starts all over.  We admitted that when our relationship with God seems to be in the right place, every other relationship seems to be so much easier and go smoother.  However, when things start going too well, we give ourselves the credit and this is when we take off running and don't pace ourselves.  I will admit I haven't been "running" on my devotional life lately.  I spend quite a bit of time in prayer every day, but Scripture tends to fall into homework instead of just devotions.  The point I am making is that just when I start thinking life is so good as a Christian, I hear this guy in my room doing everything he can to hold back the tears as he is telling me his struggles.  Talk about knocking me flat on the ground with no energy to move.  I was going along good and this hit me out of left field.  The hope I have is that God will pick me up from this and drag me along again until life is back to seeming good and easy again.  Even more importantly I pray he will pick this guy up and help him get back on the track.  However, it is a constant reminder that while the Lord gives us daily blessings we do not deserve, we still live in a sinful world.  Galatians 1:4.  Jesus rescued us from this present evil age.  He has rescued us through His death and resurrection.  However, we still live in this present evil world.  We live under this constant tension of the righteousness of God versus the evil of the sinful world.  It is not until the final day, when Jesus comes back that that tension ends.  Then the rescued creation will be the only world we know.  The righteousness will be the thing we know.  No longer sinners in a evil present age, but righteous children of God in a perfect new creation.  God gives us His Spirit to drag us along, to remind us that we are rescued even though we continue to live in this present evil age.  And the devil uses this present evil age to try to turn us against that rescue, against the Spirit who is guiding us.  However, that is why we need to make sure our relationship with Him is as strong as it can be.  We need to make sure we are spending time in prayer, time in devotions in Scripture, and time humbling ourselves.  The good days are all because of Him, nothing we do.  However, even on the worst days, He is still in control and still has the power through His Spirit to pick us up and keep us going.  I know you can't pray for this guy by name or situation, but I think if you pray for him, God knows who you mean.  Stay strong in the faith, stay strong in your personal relationship with Him, give all glory to Him, and then when the hard days hit, trust in Him alone to pick you up and keep you going.  All Praise be to Him who gives His strength to help us weak sinners get back up and stand in the righteousness of His Son.  All Praise be to Him who picked Himself up and walked out of the grave to be our rescue even in this present evil world.  All Praise be to Him who will come back to pick us up on that final day as His children perfect and righteous in His new creation.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
I beg Your mercy that as You are all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present, You will know this student's struggle, You will give him the strength to make it through this, and You will be with him as he continues through this issue.  We also pray that You would be with us to know our struggles, give us the strength to make it through, and be with us until You return to call us by name.  We also pray that You give us Your Spirit to guide us and keep us on track no matter what the devil or this world throws at us.  We pray all this trusting in the name of the one who rescued us and is our life and salvation, Jesus Christ.  Amen.  

God Cursed!

        Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior.  The first two weeks of the new quarter have been extremely busy.  Classes are going well, but they are requiring a lot of my time.  I have also been playing basketball several nights with friends besides playing intramurals.  I have been working extra hours too as the holiday season is a busy one on campus.  Today I did liturgy in church and then helped the Sunday School with practicing for their Christmas program.  Hearing them sing Christmas songs got me really excited for Christmas.  I still have two weeks left of class before I get to go home, but they will go by fast.
        My thought for the day comes from Systems class.  Dr. Okamoto put the fall of mankind in a way I had never heard it before.  He said that when Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed.  He cursed the serpent, He cursed Adam, He cursed Eve, and He cursed all of creation.  He said, "Damn it!"  God cursed all of creation.  This is the reason Dr. Okamoto loves the song "Joy to the World" so much.  In verse three it says, "He comes to make His blessings known, as far as the curse is found." He comes to make His blessings known to the entire creation.  The curse God put on creation is all from the fall.  However, God did not just curse and walk away.  He cursed creation, but then gave them the hope and promise of salvation.  He promised a King that would come and end the curse.  He sent that King in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the one who came to be King of Israel, the "true" descendants of Abraham.  He was rejected and killed, but rose again and now reigns in Heaven beside the Father.  However, He came as King to show He is the salvation that was promised in the garden.  When Jesus performs His miracles and heals people, He says, "Your faith has saved you."  He already had salvation and gave salvation before His death and resurrection.  He died because His own people rejected Him as King.  So what will salvation look like at the end?  When Jesus returns, what will His salvation be?  The same as it was during His ministry when He was here the first time.  The lame will leap, the blind will see, and all believers will hear Him say, "Your faith has saved you."  He is the King who has the salvation.  He is the King who will end the curse once and for all when He comes back.  The curse will be lost and the new creation will once again be perfect.  Now I am not trying to say Christ death and resurrection was not important, absolutely not!  However, I am saying that our King, the one who was promised and sent down from heaven to take on flesh and live a life in this world has shown us what His salvation will be on that final day when He returns again.  Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Him as Lord, as King.  He will not be rejected the second time, but will come to tell all believers that their faith has saved them and that they are healed of all sin, infliction, and disease.  What a wonderful day that will be!  All Praise Him who did not leave us cursed, but sent His Son to be our King and show us what His promise of salvation will look like on that final day.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank You so much for sending Your Son to be our King, our Savior.  Thank You so much for not leaving us cursed, but showing us what Your salvation will look like as we wait for You promise to be reality.  Give us faithful hearts this Advent as we prepare the birth of our King, and keep us faithful always until that day when we will stand before You healed and saved by the faith You give us.  In the name of Jesus, we pray for all things. Amen.