Sunday, December 30

It’s Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas are upon us! The Twelve Days of Christmas aren’t the last twelve shopping days before Christmas – they are, essentially, the Christmas season.

The twelve days begin the evening of Christmas (December 25). The first “day” runs from the evening of the 25th to the evening of the 26th, and so on. The twelfth day is from the evening of January 5 through the evening of January 6, The Festival of the Epiphany.

So…as you read this, December 30, we are in the midst of the 5th day. And according to the tradition of the song, five gold rings are in order.

Forget the number…it’s the gold we care about. It’s the ring I’m thinking about. Like the ring I gave my wife when we got married. I am sometimes a bit apologetic about it. It’s really not all that remarkable. Kind of small, and, well, thrifty…frugal…cheap?

Not according to my wife! She says it means something. Not money, not wealth, not even status. It means that there is a commitment between us, a covenant.

That is, in a sense, what Christmas is. A covenant. Nothing much is accomplished by Christmas, theologically that is. Sure, God is in our midst, incarnate in the person of Jesus. But so what? What matters is the cross and the empty tomb. THERE is where God brings about salvation!

So what of Christmas? Consider it a ring of sorts. A commitment. God hasn’t done much, but God has made one thing abundantly clear – God is with us for the duration, God is with us to stay! And in time, in the fullness of time, God will act. And when he does…watch out!

So take one more look at the manger before you put your Christmas decorations away. Sing the fifth day of Christmas one more time. If you are married, look at the ring on your own finger. Then glance over quickly to a cross – any cross. That’s where we are headed. Guaranteed. God’s made that commitment. It’s a promise!


Monday, December 31

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying…

A-laying what? Six geese laying around, taking it easy, doing nothing? Or six geese a-laying eggs?

I suppose someone out there knows what it’s really supposed to be (I think it’s the do nothing, lazy geese), but that’s not really important, at least not for my point. What’s really at stake here is a contrast – a contrast between views of God and just what God is up to these days.

Years ago (way back in the 60s and 70s) it was popular to speculate that God had died. Understandable since sometimes it seemed (and still seems) like God is nowhere to be found. Maybe evidence of God’s work in the world cannot be found because God is dead. That would answer quite a bit, now wouldn’t it?

Or maybe God is like those geese. Just laying around, taking it easy, relaxing, enjoying the hot tub, you know, living the good life. Great. But what about us? What about a life in which we work hard, never seeming to get ahead? What about a world in which the news always seems to be bad? What about a future that seems to be going down the tubes before we even get there? God’s in the hot tub…and we are in hot water!

Unless…God is not just being lazy…maybe God is like geese…geese laying eggs, that is! Now that would be different – a God who lays eggs like geese! Odd, but it does make some sense. What are geese who are laying eggs? They are busy, ambitious, and certainly not lounging around in a hot tub. Could it be that we have a God like that?

But wait – there’s more! What does it mean to lay eggs? It means to be creative, to usher in a new generation. It means to be about life and hope!

Isn’t that what Christmas does to us? In the gift of Christmas, God acts – and in acting God brings hope and life to a dark and dying world. Far from lounging around in a hot tub, God is at work in our world and in our lives, and the work of God is, well, simply put, life itself!

Many times these devotions end with a prayer. This week I’m going to let you do the praying. Go to the refrigerator and take out an egg, if you have one. Or if you don’t, grab a piece of paper and draw an oval, the shape of an egg. Take a look at it. Ponder the life that an egg represents. Then, like yesterday, find a cross and ponder the life that the cross brings to you. Finally, look up to the heavens and say, “Thank you!”

Tuesday, January 1

By now you’ve probably figured out that I’m working on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” this week. Popular legend has it that the song was originally written as a “catechism,” a way to teach faith to children using the numbers and symbols of the song. While an attractive thought, there really is no evidence to support that contention.

So, we are left to our own devices to see in the verses of the song some things that might point us to faith, life and hope. Today it’s the swans’ turn. They are swimming – swimming in water!

The image of water is a powerful one – for Christians, in baptism water is the sign of cleansing and rebirth. My favorite image, however, is the image of nourishment and restoration. Numerous Biblical references draw our attention to the gift of life in water. Passages like Isaiah 44:3-4 and Isaiah 55:10-11 speak powerfully about God’s gifts as water in the midst of our dry and weary existence. Water nourishes, refreshes, and renews.

Yet even today as I write this, here in the Upper Peninsula the gift of water is around us, ready to nourish the land. The water is not liquid – it’s snow! Yet, there it is, waiting for the fullness of time when the sun will warm the land, the snow will melt, and the water will nourish the land, making it ready to spring forth with new life!

Isn’t that something of Christmas? We are here at the very start of a long winter, and sometimes that’s the way our lives seem to be – long, cold, dark nights ahead – can there be any hope?

Yet the presence of the Christ child calls us to faith in God’s care, God’s commitment, God’s presence. Like the water in the form of snow that is around us, God’s promise is that in the fullness of time God will refresh and renew us. And God’s presence in Jesus makes that promise more than mere words – God has begun to act, and while we do not always see where God’s promises will lead, we know that they are certain and sure!

OK, time to pray. Take a look outside. If you are in the north country it just might be rather white out! Take a step outside and feel the cold snow on your hands. Or go to the freezer and take out an ice cube. Not much life in the snow and the ice. Yet, in a few moments the warmth changes the snow and ice to life giving water. Now, go find a cross. Take a look. Glance toward the heavens and ask. As to be refreshed, not just by a glass of water, but by the gifts of the cross!

Wednesday, January 2

Now that we are done with New Years, it’s time to get back to work. For me, at least, January 2 this year is a FULL day – from morning devotions at 7:30 AM to confirmation class at 7 PM. I will have two worship services, two classes to teach, maybe some meetings and visits, and lots of other things to accomplish. Good thing I just came off a holiday – a day off!

It will not take long, however, for me to think ahead to some time off again. Busy lives mean long days, and long days lead to a bit of fatigue. Let’s see...when can I snooze?

Yet among the many gifts of God which we celebrate during this Christmas season is the gift of abundance...and overabundance. Like a cup which overflows, like the land of Israel, a land flowing with milk and honey, God’s gifts are more than we can sometimes handle, and certainly more than we sometimes recognize.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” Don’t believe it. It’s not true.

Rather, “God gives us the strength to handle what comes our way.” There we find abundance! Time and time again, in the midst of a life of challenge, a life in which I find myself overwhelmed, God is there to lift me up, to empower me, to give me the strength to handle all that comes my way.

Indeed, that is at least part of the abundance of Christmas. The Child in the manger calls us to discipleship and empowers us with the Holy Spirit – and does so with the abundance, the overabundance of God’s gifts of grace.

As you head into a new year, try this – take a piece of paper and jot down some of the challenges you expect may come your way. You know, the things where God better give you strength, because without it, you haven’t a chance. Things that will push you beyond what you know you can do.

Got your list done? Now, go to the refrigerator and pour yourself a glass of milk. Remember, someone had to milk the cow to get you that milk. Now, remember the song? Eight maids a milking? Take a swig of that milk, and ponder the land of milk and honey. Ponder God’s gifts over abundance and overabundance. Maybe that list isn’t so overwhelming after all..

Thursday, January 3

Nine ladies dancing.

Hey, this one is easy! What else do you do at Christmas time but celebrate and party? And why not? ‘Tis the season to be jolly...

That, of course, is just fine. Party and celebrate! Good stuff. Just make sure you party for the right reasons?

Is it OK to party because family has gathered? Absolutely! What an incredible gift family is to us. Parents, children, extended family, even in-laws – marvelous gifts of a gracious God! What would we do without them?

Is it OK to party because we enjoy the beauty of the lights and decorations, the festive music and goodies? Sure it is – God has created all of the earth’s delights. They dazzle our senses and bring us a sense of wonder as we end one year and enter another.

Is it OK to party because we have a day or two off from work, we have the opportunity to share gifts, and we take some time to reflect on all that we have? Go right ahead! God gives us the gift of time, and the gift of “giving.” Enjoy!

But even as we find all these wonderful reasons to “party,” keep them in perspective. Remember the best reason to party.

What would happen, for example, if you had no family...or for whatever reason there were no lights, decorations, music, and goodies, or you had to work on Christmas, or had no gifts to give. Would Christmas be ruined? Would it be hollow and empty?

Maybe it would – but it shouldn’t be. It shouldn’t be because the real joy of Christmas is the life that God promises to us through the child. The real joy is not in gifts or lights, music or vacations, food or even family. The real joy, the real delight is the coming of God in our midst in order to walk the way of the cross.

So, here’s what I want you to do. Think of all the joys of Christmas – family, food, time off from work, gifts to give and receive, lights and decorations. Now, find a cross. Take a good, long look at the cross. Finally, get up, or remain seated if you must – but now, dance! OK, I’m not a dancer myself. But this is too good – this is the gift of life – and for that, even I will dance a step or two!

So join the ladies. Get a-dancing!

Friday, January 4

Ten Lords a leaping.

Hmm...we are still on the party theme here, but this time it’s a bunch of lords. Ten to be exact.

In the New Testament the word translated “lord” is the Greek word “kyrios.” Sometime traditional worship included a piece called the “Kyrie,” or “Lord, have mercy.”

Lord or kyrie had an important inference in the New Testament world. Someone who was a lord was a master, a person of authority. And in a highly structured class system the lines between lords and their underlings weren’t blurry at all. You knew who you were – and who you were not!

Jesus was born “not.” There is nothing in Jesus background to suggest that he is much of anything, and indeed nothing to suggest that he could ever become something. Insignificant at best, Jesus, at birth, is destined to be one of the countless forgotten babies of history.

Except for one thing. Jesus is God. John’s gospel tells us that “the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14).

Maybe that’s why the lords (all ten of them) are leaping. Leaping for joy, for even the lords understand their place. In the small corner of the globe which they inhabit perhaps they are the authority, the master. But in the presence of the child, time to leap – and to celebrate that God is God, and Jesus is, well, Lord!

Of course, not all lords get the picture. Death is one lord that doesn’t seem to get it. Never mind. Just remember that there is nothing “in death or life, neither angels nor rulers...nor anything else in all creation that can separate of us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

So sit back and relax. Picture the “lords” that try to demand your attention – illness and death, self-centeredness and envy, broken relationships and despair, and whatever else “lords” it over you. Now take a look at a cross, and sing...”ten lords a-leaping...” Don’t worry if the lords you encounter aren’t leaping. They will. The true light has come into the world (see John 1:9). The true Lord has triumphed on the cross!

Saturday, January 5

During my seminary days (a lot of years ago!) I did a fair amount of pulpit supply, filling in at a church when a pastor was on vacation, or when the church did not have a pastor. Pretty much all my pulpit supply gigs were at churches I had never visited before, so I didn’t really know much about them. Still, they were valuable experiences for a young seminary student – and I treasure the opportunities that I had.

One thing I learned was that the first person I needed to connect with when I arrived at a church was the organist, because, as I would say, “Your pipes are bigger than mine!”

Big, huge organ pipes put out a lot of sound. Even smaller pipes, or the amplifiers of digital systems can really crank the music – a lot more than I can lift up my voice, and a lot louder than the sounds of the street around the church.

So is Christmas. Christmas is a set of pipes that really puts out, greater than the din of daily life. As we approach the end of the Christmas season we are aware that the time of year is passing. We are also aware that there is more to this than merely a baby in a manger. We have a journey of faith and discipleship to share with Jesus. We will walk a road that will include many ups – and many downs. We will come to the gates of Jerusalem, walk the way of tears and sorrow, and come to the foot of the cross. It will not be easy.

But it is the way of life. And like the sound of the pipes that God has set into motion, will override all that is around us. God’s tune will prevail!

Try this. Go to a room where you have a radio, TV, or other electronic equipment. Sit in silence and ponder the “noises” in your life – the distractions, the temptations, all the things that try to get in the way of your relationship with the Child in the manger, the Savior on the cross. Now, go over to the TV, radio, stereo, whatever, and turn it on, but only very, very softly, so that you can barely hear it.

Not much, is it? Not nearly as noisy as say, eleven pipers piping.

No, not much. But enough. God’s pipe – just one – his Word through Jesus – is more than enough. Eleven pipers piping are pretty impressive, and the pipes on an organ are overwhelming. But the Child – the one Child – is all we really need!