Yesterday, I spent time scrolling and playing games on-line. I saw patterns and pictures and memes. I read articles and posts and e-mails.
I learned that the English word “ogre” comes from French, and the French word is from a translation of an Arabic tale. I learned that some dogs can be trained to walk on tightropes. I learned that the least populated state capital in the U.S. is Montpelier, Vermont; the second least populated is Pierre, South Dakota. I learned that grown women will act like second-graders on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, resorting to name-calling and screeching. And that their behavior will be talked about and analyzed for hours afterward.
Today, I spent some time walking around my neighborhood. I saw flowers in bloom. I heard the train as it came through town. I saw houses and cars and people walking their dogs (not on tightropes!)
I learned that it was pleasantly warm outside, but it felt good in the shade. I learned that one of the stores downtown was closed today due to a family crisis. I learned that crews have been working to freshen up the curbs and landscaping around the downtown. I met someone new, and learned that she likes dachshunds (though hers cannot walk on a tightrope).
Tomorrow, I’m going to spend some time with my eyes closed. I’m going to “see” God’s faithfulness as I review my life. I’m going to get a glimpse of how God is working in my life, and in the lives of others around me. (I’m going to wonder about how God will work in other situations.) I’m going to see how small my world is in relation to God’s universe!
I don’t know what I will learn, yet. But I’m quite sure it will be beyond my expectations. And more wonderful than dogs on tightropes and neatly manicured curbs! There is so much more to see! So much more to learn! What majesty!
Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent. Four weeks later, we will have Christmas Day. For some, the time will pass in a frenzy of shopping and wrapping– the time will fly by! For some, the time will pass in meditation and reflection– it may seem to crawl. For some, the time will pass with no difference from any other time of year. For most of us, there is a sense of anticipation…we are waiting for something: the “Christmas Spirit,” the festivals and events, the time spent with loved ones far and near…
Christmas, more than any other day, brings this sense of expectation. We sing songs, listen to stories, reach out to friends and neighbors– all in anticipation of a single day. And sometimes, the anticipation and expectation exceed the realities of the day. We feel disappointed in the gifts, or the weather, or the circumstances. But our anticipation shouldn’t be about the single day on the calendar. Christmas is so much more than just a day, or even just the “spirit” of the day.
We don’t know the actual, historical day when Christ entered human history as a baby. As the Gospel of John relates– “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.” (John 1:1) But this Word, this Only Begotten Son of the Father, this second person of the Trinity, DID enter human history as a member of the human race. He came and dwelt among us, His creation. He walked and talked, ate and slept, worked and wept, lived and died as a man. The Lord of All Creation tasted freshly baked bread and felt the first raindrops of Springtime. The King of the Universe wiggled His toes in the sand, and wiped sweat from His brow. The Lamb of God shared belly-laughs with His friends over a shared joke. The Lion of Judah wept over the death of His friend. The Author of Life knew what it was to die, abandoned and betrayed.
None of this is anticipation for us, as it was for the prophets of old. It is history. Christ has already come. He already lived a life of compassion and grace, wonder and weariness, agony and anticipation, and, most of all, Love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting Life.” John 3:16 Christmas for us is not about anticipating Christ’s arrival. Christmas is the celebration of what that arrival means for us all these years later and forevermore. And we can celebrate all the wonder of Christ on any day of the calendar year. But there IS real anticipation at Christmas– the anticipation of Eternal Life and Christ’s triumphant return. Just like the prophets waited and wondered, we wait in Hope of a glorious reunion.
Christmas, December 25, 2022, may be a disappointing day–it may be dreary, gloomy, lonely, or disappointing in its circumstances. It may bring us bad news, or heartache. But it will also bring us another opportunity to rejoice– to rise above whatever circumstance brings to focus our thoughts forward and upward, where Christ, who once came as a baby, now reigns and rules and waits– anticipating the same reunion that brings us hope and healing.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness–Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson (July 4, 1776)
We’re getting ready to celebrate our Independence Day in America. There will be parades, cookouts, parties, fireworks, and a host of other celebrations. There will be a lot of flag-waving and patriotic displays. At some gatherings, there may be readings of our Declaration of Independence. This document was drafted to outline, not just a list of reasons why they should rebel, but what they hoped to build as a result of their struggle for freedom.
Over 240 years later, this document, and what it stands for, is still relevant and calls us to a high standard– one our nation has not fully achieved. In spite of the great strides we have made and the example we have been to the rest of the world, in recent decades, we have left behind many of the very truths we aspired to hold.
First, there is a dangerous belief that “truth” is no longer self-evident, nor is it timeless. We don’t hold beliefs and truths anymore. We shift with the tide of public opinion and the shadowy promise of “being on the right side of history”– which just means being on the winning side of the current debate within our lifetime and hopefully into the next set of history books.
Second, we have spent countless hours, shedding blood, sweat, and tears over the phrase “ALL MEN”– struggling to reach the promise of equality for all humankind. We have fallen short of this vision, and twisted it into a grotesque parody of itself.  Instead of working together in unity and inclusiveness, we have devolved into factions each fighting to be “more equal” than others. Instead of looking at the equal value and humanity of all our people, we point fingers at all the people who are “less worthy”, “more privileged”, “entitled”, “marginalized”, “intolerant”, “judgmental”, who “need to be silenced”, or “need to be kept in their place”…how can neighbors and fellow citizens be so vicious? One answer may be found in the very next phrase…
ARE CREATED equal, and are endowed BY THEIR CREATOR…Usually, this phrase is emphasized in the exact opposite places– the emphasis is on EQUAL and ENDOWED. We have lost the “truth” of being “UNDER GOD”. We have lost the truth of being created. We have lost the truth that our worth, our rights, our values, are not a product of our own opinions and observations.
It is easy to point to others and say, “They are ruining our country– They are not living out these truths.”
The harder lesson is to look at my own assumptions, actions, and beliefs. Do I TRULY believe that all the people around me– of every creed, gender, race, political party, nationality, educational achievement, or economic level are created equal and endowed BY THEIR CREATOR with value, and inalienable rights? If, at any point, I make assumptions about the worthiness of “those people”, assuming that God loves me more, or will have more mercy or grace toward me because of who I am or how I behave; because of the color of my skin, or where I live, or who I voted for; because of the things I know or the good deeds I have done–I am part of the problem. Christians, if we bear the name of Christ who created all mankind, and we hate those whom Christ created, the love of Christ IS NOT in us.
That doesn’t mean that we ignore sin and compromise our character, and pervert justice in the name of a comfortable facsimile of equality. But it also means that we must stop whitewashing hatred and injustice in the name of morality. Morality without love cannot heal our nation. Nor can rewriting our history. Nor can declaring our Independence.
The Declaration of Independence is not a stand-alone document. It had no authority on its own. If our founders had lost the Revolutionary War; if they had abandoned their vision of a government “of the people, by the people, for the people”; if their descendants had failed to bring a divided nation back into unity; if our parents and grandparents had not struggled and fought to make our nation live up to its principles; and if our generations fail to come together and work toward that same vision– Independence will not be something to celebrate, but something to detest.
While it is called the Declaration of Independence, it is a spirit of dependence– on God, on His truth, and on the goodwill of our fellow Americans, that keeps this document alive and full of promise.
Pursuing Prayer 