Christmas 2014: My Wish for You

Those of you who know me already know that my thoughts usually run pretty deep. To say that I am introspective would be a drastic understatement. I analyze everything and over-analyze much more than I should. Maybe this is why my hobbies require complexity and learning. Take my love of cigars and aged liquors as an example. It takes time to learn how to taste the subtle flavors and judge the construction and smoke of a fine cigar. Complexity is also important in tasting the hints of vanilla and oak in a snifter of XO Cognac. Noting the color and aroma before ever taking the first taste. It even matters down to where that small sip hits on the tongue as to how the senses will interpret the experience.

I can hear the reader's wheels turning already... what does this have to do with Christmas 2014? Bear with me... I just came from the 11pm candlelight service at our church and it is 2am on Christmas morn as I even start writing this...

I sometimes cringe a bit when I spend a few dollars for these pleasures. I do not smoke a lot of cigars by any means and an XO cognac for me is a rare treat. I would love to increase the presence of both in my life, but that would be dramatically expensive to continually partake in cigars and cognac on a regular basis... and it would probably promote more sitting and introspection... and that could be dangerous. It could lead to blogging of epic proportions while nothing else would really be getting accomplished.

Let's talk about the lap of luxury for a minute. I was reading cigar reviews the other day and came across an advertisement for a small batch Tequila that was to be enjoyed as you would a cognac. Intrigued, I looked it up to see where one might purchase it and how much it was. Any thought of ever trying it was quickly wiped from my mind. A single bottle was over $400. I knew that bottles of

Louis XIII cognac went for $3500, but I really was not expecting $400 for a Tequila, however well made it might be.

Padron 50th Anniversary Maduro

I saw another ad yesterday for a cigar. It was for the Padron 50th Anniversary Maduro. It doesn't come in a cigar box with 20 or 25 inside... it comes in its own humidor of 50 sticks. Here is the price tag: $5000 (basically $100 for each cigar). Trying one of those will probably not happen in my lifetime. Can you imagine? It would be like igniting a $100 bill.

Things like this do appeal to me but, thank the Lord, I do not act on things of this cost. I also hope that no one ever spends their hard earned money to buy me such an expensive gift as one of these things.

Even though told during the Christmas story, the three kings or wise men came at a later date. Many believe it to be actually closer to the two year point after Christ's birth before they visited and came bearing the gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. 

Jesus was not born in the lap of luxury. His first bed was essentially an elevated feed trough in that stable. His earthly family was most likely working class with heavy taxation due to the occupation by Rome.

Do you know what Myrrh actually was used for in the time of Christ? It was an oil used for incense in the temple. It was also used for anointing kings. Another use was in the preparation of the dead for burial (think about that last one for a minute... A gift of Myrrh for the King of Kings that could also be used for the preparation of the deceased... was this a message?).

Frankincense was also burned as incense in the temple. Both Frankincense and Myrrh were expensive, valuable gifts. Gold is gold... no need to explain more. These gifts may have financed their move away before the slaughter of the innocents. Maybe that same Myrrh had been saved and was being taken to the tomb for the preparation of his body on the morning of the third day? We will never know and to speculate could lead us in so many directions of which none would be fruitful. We simply do not know.

The facts are simple... we know that His coming was announced by the Angel Gabriel directly to the virgin Mary who was astounded and marveled at this. We are also told that she pondered these things in her heart.

One of my favorite Advent hymns (as we sing it from a foretelling point of view) is "The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came," LSB 356. The first verse of this hymn reads:

The angel Gabriel from heaven came,
With wings as drifted snow and eyes as flame;
"All Hail to thee, O lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favored lady." Gloria!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rimCxZzrgI

The hymn tells us, reflecting scripture from the first chapter of Luke that Mary humbly accepted God's will for her as she accepted the fact that she would birth God incarnate as man.

Christ was born into the lap of normality. God as man would have no palace, no ring placed on his finger in preparation of  a future coronation. There were most likely no servants in the household of a carpenter, so his hands would show the signs of work at an early age.

These gifts were given and were probably used for something specific along the way, but the certainly did not change the need for work or highly elevate the families status. When Christ started His ministry, he walked everywhere where one could walk. He spent time crossing water in small fishing boats. He had told His parents early on at a young age when He had went missing the he was about His Father's business.

Fact is we can all lament or discuss what we do not need when the real fact is we have been given everything we need to go forth and do God's will, including salvation from our sins.

We do not need to wait for the perfect time, the right set of skills to be learned or for a time an place where we are happy enough to decrease the chasing our own desires and be the servants we are meant to be. This is why I cannot stand the errant theology of those that readily preach that "God wants you to be happy." That is not our purpose here.

I can chase cigars and cognac for the rest of my days. They may deliver me a deceptive sense of happiness for my effort as well. They will not, at their high cost deliver me from my self and my sinful nature. Only Christ can do that and He did it by paying the highest of all costs. I am ransomed at a very high price, and even so with Him knowing the sins and sinful nature of all He would save.

Christ is king of all eternity. He wields this power without the riches of this world. As His servants we are free to do His will.

Consider the words of two other hymns:

"Whoever seeks the Christ lift humble eyes and view,
a babe encradled in a stall, a little Child so new." - "Whoever Seeks the Christ" by Michael J. Meyer and John Behnke

"Since all He comes to ransom,
By all be He adored,
The infant born in Bethlehem,
The Savior and the lord.
All idols then shall perish
And Satan's lying cease
And Christ shall raise His scepter,
Decreeing endless peace." - "A Great and Mighty Wonder, LSB 383"

My wish for you this Christmas? If your a Christian, I wish you His continued grace in all of it's abundance much as stated in the common benediction of Numbers 6:24-26.

If you are not a Christian, my wish is that He still watch over you and convict you to learn of His saving grace for you. There are many who scoff at those who believe and see this as folly of the utmost degree... scripture tells us that the Cross (message of the) is folly to those who are perishing, but to those who are saved it is the power of God.

My happiness comes from my knowledge of Him and what he has done for me. We live in a dark world. There are bad things occurring around us and plenty of reasons not to be happy. Christians look forward to the day when the struggle for happiness on Earth ends eternally and when we will see our Lord. All sorrows and pain will be wiped away.

Everything that occurs here on Earth is just a bump in the road for the Christian as we know our happiness is not temporal.

If you are a Christian, practice your belief, partake in the sacrament of the Altar, repent and obey your God. Raise your children in the Faith. Stand for Christ alone.

If you are not, visit and ask. Doors will be opened to your understanding. The world is little more than a dark abyss. There is refuge from the daily storm in Him. Come learn deeply what we Christians know to be true. There is more to the Christmas story than a simple babe in a manger or a commercially warped Santa legend bringing gifts. There is faith in knowing that the battle of battles, the one for your salvation has already been fought and won.

I normally am not outright with this wish. Know that I do it our of Christian love and concern for you the reader. I am a sinner, and without Christ I am nothing. I sin more times than I count daily and there is not anything I can do to be worthy. Christ has taken care of that problem. I simply want the same for you.

For those who are my friends, know that I am there for you whether you are of the same beliefs as I or not. I believe God loves you and any sin of yours is no greater than any sin of mine, but in love, through the Word, with the Law and the presentation of the Gospel, we point out our frailties and those of others for forgiveness.

No riches or false happiness needed.

Me, Myself and I at the Holiday Inn Express

Well... here I am on a Thursday night, away from the family, looking at a long day tomorrow with an early morning meeting, an Indiana EMS Commission meeting and a long drive home... and the wait... teaching about four hours of a Wilderness First Aid Class for the BSA Friday evening with another all day session on Saturday... then an Evansville Icemen game Saturday night.

 

My schedule is sometimes insane to say the least.

 

After a three hour drive today with it's share of near mishaps, working on some educational programs for my primary job and an employee dinner this evening in Greenwood, Indiana, I was a little tired. Since then, I have went to Walmart and retrieved a Coke Zero, a Kit Kat bar and a comb, read over the entire agenda again for the  Commission meeting tomorrow in Brownsburg and spent some intermittent time of Facebook. In between responding to Facebook posts, I have been reading from the Matthew 1:1-1:11 Concordia Commentary by Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs while listening to Pastor Jonathan Fisk at www.worldvieweverlasting.org

Tonight, I found a wealth of understanding of the Word in both Gibbs and Fisk. In trying to read and listen as I often do, an episode of Fisk's work from last week somewhat grabbed my full attention away from my reading for a few minutes as he really did explain well how as American Christians we attempt to divine what God is up to in the present. Specifically, what is God trying to tell me right now... rather than understanding what he has revealed is in the Word and what occurs in the world is allowed by God, but not his directly trying to tell us something. That is nothing more than mysticism. It was an excellent episode. You can watch it at:

The House That Mysticism Built

Back to the commentary by Dr. Gibbs...

 

Both of my Pastors had Dr. Gibbs for classes at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. Both speak very highly of him. Other Pastors I know highly recommended this commentary. Since it is Advent, I found it a good time to start with Matthew 1:1 and do some deeper reading and experience the exegesis of the first part of the book of Matthew by Dr. Gibbs. I could have probably picked something on the book of Luke also for Advent, but that is usually where I have concentrated in the past. As Gibbs clearly indicates, Matthew early on describes who Christ is in a multitude of ways.

 

The text is amazing. In many places, there are more footnotes on a page about the text than the text itself. There are some very deep dives into the Greek and an extreme level of explanation. In short, even for a lay person like me, this book is hard to put down. This copy is borrowed from the church library, so the urge to highlight and make notes must be suppressed... although, i think I will be adding this text to my "want" list.

So... am I enjoying myself? Yes, to a certain extent. I like driving, but I hate being on the road away from my family. I like being able to read and learn, but I miss having six year twins crawl up on me to snuggle.

So as I prepare for sleep and the hectic schedule of the next two days, my mind will turn to my thoughts such as this...

www.girlversusdough.com

My friend Shannon Marshall, posted a recipe link to my Facebook timeline yesterday. It is for sausage filled Piggy Rolls. You see... I have a six year old daughter infatuated with Pigs who just happens to love sausage... I cook, but I have never made dough before. After looking at this recipe, I guess I will be learning how to make dough. It doesn't look fun but I will manage.

But her reaction when they come out of the oven will be worth it.

Piggy Roll recipe:
https://www.girlversusdough.com/2013/06/17/sausage-stuffed-piglet-buns/

Advent related Worldview Everlasting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjosdC5D80o&feature=youtu.be

Concordia Commentary Matthew 1:1-11:1:

https://www.cph.org/p-685-matthew-11-111-concordia-commentary.aspx

Bring Me To Life... A Song Revisited

"How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb
Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

(Wake me up)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake up)
Wake me up inside
(Save me)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up)
Bid my blood to run
(I can't wake up)
Before I come undone
(Save me)
Save me from the nothing I've become

Now that I know what I'm without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life"

-First two verses and refrain from "Bring Me To Life" performed by Evanesence

Writer(s): Ben Moody, David Hodges, Amy Lee
Copyright: Chrysalis One Music Publishing Group Ireland, Zombies Ate My Publishing, Forthefallen Publishing, BMG Rights Management (Ireland) Ltd.



Photo Courtesy of Chief David Bretz

I was at the funeral home visitation for a friend who passed away a short time ago. While standing in line to view my friend and speak condolences to the family, I heard the music playing with the slide show. The music actually caught my attention before the slides did... Evanesence... "Bring Me To Life."

I know the song well. Back in 2005, I spent hours setting pictures of the destruction left by the November 6th, 2005 tornado to this very same piece of music. It just seemed to fit back then. The song is dark and it seemed to invoke the feelings that I had felt as a responder during those early morning hours before sunrise when we knew it was bad (then of course, the sun came up and we knew then... it was worse than bad). The song seemed to fit, "save me from the nothing I've become."

I remember the debris being all over the place. I remember the stories. I have even met many who were victims.

Photo Courtesy of Chief David Bretz

Everyone did their jobs. Lives were lost before we even had a chance to get there. In those cases it probably would not have made a difference anyway. Lives were lost in the rubble. Some lives were saved by interventions of rescuers... others by paramedics. The surgery departments at both hospitals were busy places that morning.


I remember the frantic search for one of my Cub Scouts that lived in the mobile home park that had been hit. It was four days later before I found out he was indeed alive and safe.

Anyone that was there was affected in some way. It was

Photo Courtesy of Chief David Bretz

overwhelming. It was also one of those events where everyone could say they did what had to be done as well.

So here I was nine years later, standing in a line at a funeral home. I had not heard the song in many years, Once again, from the secular side of me, the song seemed to fit the environment. That was as far as it went though as my very next thought was that the song did not fit at all. The Word simply came on the next thought...

"For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
- I Corinthians 1:18, ESV

and...

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

-Philippians 1:21, ESV

 

We do not have to have our name called to be saved from the dark. The Book of Jeremiah tells us that God knew us while we were still in the womb (1:5). He has breathed into us an made us real unto Him through His Word. Christ has paid the price so that we will not become "nothing."

 

"...for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

- I Corinthians 6:20, ESV

 

So many in this world despair when darkness comes into their lives... either through disaster and calamity or to them as an individual or family. Never forget the end of the story. It has been written and Satan knows how it will play out. In case you don't know, he has already lost.

 

Death is the penalty for sin. Christ overcame death and the stone was rolled away. For those in Him, death holds no power.

 

The song says as its climax, "bring me to life." This happens not through the dark pleading as the song writers have scripted, but through His body and His blood given and shed for us.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_Tornado_of_November_2005

 

 

Advent... A Time of Anticipation

November 30th, 2014 was the First Sunday in Advent. For many American Christians, the church year may be a little lost on them. For those of us who lean (heavily in my case) toward the liturgical practice of Christianity, the church year is an annual tour of our faith. It assures that we view the whole of scripture and the entire story of Law and Gospel, refreshing ourselves in the knowledge and listening to the delivery of the Word. The season of Advent is no exception.

The First Sunday in Advent marks the beginning of the church year. It is when we look for the birth of Christ to come, fulfilling Old Testament prophesy and promise.

The word "anticipation" is used quite a bit in connection with Advent. Soon, Christ comes and the Christmas season is upon us. All too soon, in the Spring, Lent and Easter will occur, finalizing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Cross and empty tomb, as our pastor would say, appeases the conviction of death placed upon us by the Law.

Then Pentecost and so forth throughout the year. I, for one, greatly appreciate the design and order of the
church year. Advent is a great place of reflection for me now.

Here is why...

I used to hate Christmas. And I mean HATE it. Even though I was a professing Christian from early in my youth, I had plenty of reasons in my mind to not like Christmas as a young adult. Maybe it was the fact that I had a few close friends die near or on Christmas. Maybe it was the fact that as a young paramedic I worked multiple cardiac arrests under Christmas trees while family cried in a corner. Maybe it was that I was just unhappy with myself and could not stand the fact that so many people got all joyous and happy with the "Christmas Spirit." Maybe it was just because all the bad stuff in my life seemed to always happen around Christmas. I was dumped by "girlfriends" around Christmas... had hard life realizations around Christmas... even started an EMT class within a week of Christmas (and we all know where that has led me!). Maybe it was that I simply did not fully understand the message (not that I, a poor sinful being, can ever fully comprehend the message). Maybe the rock had to hit me upside the head to get my attention.

The change for me occurred a few years after I made the switch from evangelical church shopping to becoming a Confessional Lutheran. Even then, the change in me was slow. Maybe even the number of children surrounding me had something to do with it too. As the family grows around you and having a wife who loves Christmas, it's kind of hard to play out the scrooge role without your bluff being called.

I am a winter person anyway. I like cold weather. I like the season, I just kept ducking Christmas because of bad memories.

Another excuse was used in my head too. I had heard all throughout my four years at a Christian High School that there was no real way that Christ was born in December and that it was an attempt to draw more pagans to Christianity by combining it with Yule. That was an easy cop out for me. "It's not really Christmas anyway."

What really changed this for me was not just the constant external nudging of the kids, the wife or the Christian world around me, but the more I dove into the Word, listened to the words of the Advent and Christmas hymns and attending the additional services of Advent whenever possible (which also resulted in me wanting to attend Lenten services... and then Tre ore and Tenne Brae. I can't include Maundy Thursday in that list as it was actually the first LCMS service I ever attended and had been a long favorite next to Palm Sunday... I digress, as usual).

The depth of traditional liturgy drew me the rest of the way in. The depth of meaning in what is visualized (actually visualized... not any new age or vision casting type idiocy... but connecting what is seen, heard and practiced with the scripture) and the connection of the liturgical services to referenced scripture and practice with a basis going all the way back to the early church and the Didache (the Teaching of the Apostles). Services for me were suddenly more worshipful, more referenced deep learning experiences that when over left me refreshed through the Sacrament of the Altar, less burdened by the things that have occurred in the past few days and more than anything... longing for more.

Our Service Book (or hymnal) not only contains our hymns, but the order of worship for multiple services. Each order of worship is annotated with directly applicable scriptural reference (which for me begs for even deeper study dives). As I learn, I understand more... not because by doing that it would affect my salvation, but because I am filled with the desire to do so. It is right to do.

The more I attend, the more comfortable I am with apologetics, or explaining my faith to others. That used to scare me to death. Now I look forward to those conversations. I have never went to church to be entertained or have a personally rewarding emotional experience and I hope that being a Christian is more than that for any of you as well. It is about the entirety of the revelation of the Word, our condemnation, His sacraments and His grace.

So how does this relate to Advent? I actually look forward to it with great anticipation... Advent and Christmas. When we celebrate it does not matter to me, but the fact that we do is of great importance to me. Stop and feel the reality behind Christmas and what His coming meant then and means now. I now feel the anticipation of the coming Messiah, both as they may have then and as we will know it when it happens again. Advent allows for more worship, more solidity in my faith and more learning about my Creator, Lord and Master. It also allows me to reflect upon my corrupt nature and the Law exposing my sin for which I can do nothing to appease.

Advent is the anticipation of the coming of our salvation.

This year, I am troubled internally because I am teaching a college class that is going to cause me to miss every Advent service. At least this is ended before Christmas Eve where I will attend a late night candlelight service with a demeanor of utter reverence in fulfillment of God, born as man, being perfect, crucified, dead, resurrected and coming again.

Please watch this short video on Advent: http://vimeo.com/112184868



Concordia Publishing House