Humble beginning

Luke 2:1-20 NASB

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.  This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,  in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.  While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
  In the same region there were  some  shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  "This  will be  a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
  When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds  began  saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."  So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.  When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.  And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.  The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

My thoughts -

God became man. In the form of Jesus the Lord our God became a human. Not only a human but a baby. That which is immortal and invulnerable became one of us mortals in our most vulnerable state. This never ceases to amaze me.

God didn't come down in the form of a handsome, muscled warrior/king. God didn't come down in glory and become us at our supposed best. He came down as a baby born out of wedlock into a manger because no one had room for his family in a place that humans were supposed to live.

When our Lord came he came humbly. But not only that, look at to whom the good news was given first. Angels weren't sent to the wealthy. They didn't go to rulers or important people. They didn't seek an audience with kings. They went to the shepherds. Jesus was born humbly and his good news was given humbly. Our Gospel has some humble origins.

Again we see an angel appear and the first thing that happens is the people who see the angel are gripped with fear. I wonder where our pop culture idea of angels comes from. Say what you will about Kevin Smith but his depiction of angels in Dogma, while being sacrilegious, is also about the most Biblical depiction you will see in pop culture.

So the angel appears to the shepherds and they are gripped with fear. So the angel tells them nit to be afraid and gives them the good news about Jesus.

Maybe seeing a heavenly being on earth awakened them to God's plan and purpose, but I think the shepherds had about the best response you can have when you hear about Jesus. They went to see for themselves. They were given the good news and they dropped everything to go see. And they celebrated, rejoiced, and praised God.

These were not wealthy men. What wealth they had was their flocks. And they left them. They left everything. Because seeing Jesus for themselves was more important than all the wealth they had in this world.

How do we respond to Jesus? Do we drop everything to respond to him, like these shepherds did? As we go through Luke we will see this response to Jesus time and time again. I'm beginning to think that this is the only appropriate way to respond.

Pictures from the morning ride

Some day I would like to pack up my real camera and bike across the state with it. For now this will have to do.

Salvation from our enemies

Luke 1:67-80 NASB

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying: "Blessed  be  the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant-- As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old-- Salvation from our enemies,
And from the hand of all who hate us; To show mercy toward our fathers, 
And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to Abraham our father, To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days. "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on before the Lord to  prepare His ways; To give to His people  the  knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, 
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To  shine upon those who sit in darkness  and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace."
  And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

My thoughts -

Zacharias questioned Gabriel about how he and Elizabeth could conceive in their old age. It seems like a fair question coming from the perspective of a childless couple who had already advanced in age beyond the normal childbearing age but it apparently rubbed Gabriel the wrong way. Gabriel told Zacharias it would be so because God says so and gave Zacharias a sign, that he would be unable to speak until what Gabriel had told him had come to pass.

From the moment until the moment that John was named John at the demand of his sign writing father against the objection of friends and relatives Zacharias was unable to speak. Not a word for months. And when his tongue was finally loosed he had these words of praise for God, from the passage above.

And what does Zacharias praise God for? He praises God for mercy and salvation. Zacharias's son John was sent to be a forerunner for the Messiah. Zacharias knows this. But did he know what kind of a Messiah Jesus would be?

Zacharias echoes the deliverance of God's chosen people from Egypt when he praises God for saving the people from their enemies. Was Zacharias's coming Messiah a political leader that would deliver His people from Rome? Would he have been disappointed to learn that, from a human perspective, Rome was going to beat his Messiah? How would he have reacted if he knew about the coming crucifixion? Would he have been dejected? Would he have protested, like Peter, that the Messiah can't die?

Zacharias praises God for defeating our enemies. But was Rome the enemy? Are people our enemies? Are all not created in God's image? Zacharias may not have realized this, but Jesus was sent to be the Messiah not for one people but for all. In Jesus there would be no more division between Jew and gentile. Jesus was sent to reconcile all to God.

People are not the enemies. Sin is. Death is. And the Messiah was sent to defeat these enemies. Jesus was sent to deliver us from sin and the wages of sin, which are death.

I don't know what kind of a Saviour Zacharias was anticipating, but this is the Saviour, the Messiah, that Zacharias was praising God for. One who would forgive our sins, show us mercy, to shine a light in the darkness of the shadow of death and guide us to peace.

Zacharias's words here foreshadow the coming of a Messiah who would accomplish these things. And they bless the child, his newborn son John, who would be the prophet who would prepare us for this Messiah.

He has filled the hungry with good things

Luke 1:46-56 NASB

And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. "For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. "For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name. "And his mercy is  upon generation  after generation 
Toward those who fear Him. "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; 
He has scattered  those who were  proud in the thoughts of their heart. "He has brought down rulers from  their  thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble. "He has filled the hungry with good things;
And sent away the rich empty-handed. "He has given help to Israel His servant, 
In remembrance of His mercy, As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever."
  And Mary stayed with her about three months, and  then  returned to her home.

My thoughts -

Gabriel has given Mary the news that she will birth the Son of God and left. Gabriel told Mary not to be afraid and so she isn't. Rather than freaking out, which would be a perfectly normal reaction, she goes to see her cousin Elizabeth and they rejoice.

I wonder if Mary would have rejoiced about how God had blessed her if she knew what we would do to her son. I wonder if, when faced with his execution, Mary recalled this day of celebration. The disciples didn't seem to understand what must happen to the Messiah even though they spent every day with him at the height of his ministry. Did Mary know? Could she have rejoiced if she did? Lets look at what she says as she rejoices.

First off, she considers herself to be blessed by God. God is using her. If you have a heart for God there is nothing you would rather do than be used by God to accomplish God's purpose. And as far as God's purpose goes what could be more important than bringing God's Son into the world?

Mary refers to God here as the "Mighty One". We love God's power. But even more so we love God's love and Mary is rejoicing in God's might producing mercy for "generation after generation". Through Jesus, who Mary is rejoicing at the opportunity to bring into the world, God's mercy will be shown to all the world. Through Jesus God reconciles Himself to us rebellious, sinful humans.

But what else does God do with His might? Mary says here that God does "mighty deeds with His arm". What are these deeds? What does God do with His power?

Mary says that God brings those with power down and lifts those without it up. She says God "has brought down rulers from their  thrones, and has exalted those who were humble".

God flips the script on power. What else would you expect from a God who, in Mary chose a poor, unmarried woman to be the mother of His Son? What else would you expect from a God who chose His Son to live as the child of a carpenter and not a king or ruler? What we people see as power is not the same as what God does. Our ideas of power are laughable to that which made and maintains the entire universe.

So we get a little authority, a little ability, a little wealth and it goes straight to our heads. We have rightly observed that power corrupts. This God whom Mary is praising in not corruptible. This God makes things right. God humbles the powerful and empowers the humble.

Our power has gone to our heads and we have forgotten our obligation to others, so what else does God do with His power? God, Mary says here, "has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed". We have not cared for the poor as we have been commanded to. Our wealthy use their wealth to enrich themselves. Our powerful use their power to gain and hold more power. God rights this wrong.

Mary is praising a God who could not be any more different in the way He uses power than the people who were created in His image. This God is more than worthy of praise and to be able to be used by God to further turn human ideas of power on their heads by bringing into the world the person form of God, Jesus, is something to rejoice in.

Did Mary know what would happen? Did Mary know that her son, this blessing from God, would offend our sensibilities so much that we would curse him, spit on him, beat him, torture him, and kill him? I don't know. But to help bring about God's mercy and justice and peace and purpose is a thing to rejoice in, whatever the cost.

And so Mary rejoiced. And so do we. We praise and serve a God who uses power to lift up and care for the powerless. We praise and serve a God whose Son loved the unlovable and through His life, death, resurrection and ascension we have a way to be reconciled to the God we need but have run from.

What's not to celebrate there?

Mary and Gabriel

Luke 1:26-38 NASB

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,  to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord  is  with you."  But she was very perplexed at  this  statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.  The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.  "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.  "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."  Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.  "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.  "For nothing will be impossible with God."  And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

My thoughts -

Gabriel has been dispatched to give baby news twice now in the first half of the first chapter of Luke's gospel. First he went to Zacharias and now Mary. Zacharias' encounter, which we went over yesterday couldn't have gone much more differently than this one, with the notable exception of the imparting of information regarding impending infants.

You get the idea that with Mary Gabriel is at least trying a gentler approach. Gabriel just appeared for Zacharias. He just showed up right by the incense. No announcement. No nothing. Just POOF, there's an angel here. And we're not talking some cute Precious Moments angel or some alluring Victoria's Secret one. This is a terrifying heavenly being that the story of Balaam and his donkey shows that even a jackass knows better than to cross. This is a warrior for God, and we're not speaking metaphorically. We're talking a sword carrying flaming wrath and vengeance providing hound of... well... heaven.

Just showing up out of nowhere scared the heck out of Zacharias. With Mary it seems that Gabriel is determined to have a better entrance, or at least a less terrifying one. So, on his way in Gabriel announces himself.

"Greetings favored one of God," he says as he comes in.

This perplexes Mary. But then, why wouldn't it? First off, there's an angel in her living room. This is not an every day occurrence for anyone. Second, this angel has called her favored, but has not given her the news yet. She doesn't know what's going on. She doesn't know yet that she's favored, much less how.

So now Gabriel, no doubt recalling every other interaction he's ever had with humans, gives the usual "do not be afraid" line. I imagine this to be much more comforting to Mary than it was to Zacharia, as Zacharia was working on recovering from a near heart attack just at the sight of Gabriel. Of course, rather than comforting a person who was already afraid Gabriel with Mary here is preparing her to hear news that, let's face it, could be pretty darn scary to hear.

"You're going to have a baby," Gabriel tells her, "and this child will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

That's good news to be sure, but a little heavy. And the logistics don't work out, as Mary is a virgin. She points this out to Gabriel and asks how the heck she can have a baby as a virgin.

Now, when Zacharias questioned Gabriel he got the spiel about how Gabriel stands in the presence of God, a presence that, it should be noted, would kill a human. God's presence is so powerful that just catching a glimpse of it caused Moses to glow for days. And Gabriel stands in it. Not only was Zacharias given this rank pulling lecture but he was also given a sign. That sign was the revocation of his speaking ability. At least Gabriel didn't use his sword to do it.

But with Mary Gabriel takes her inquiry and rather gently answers it. God will be the father of the baby. The Spirit will come over her and she will become pregnant. This is a first in all human history. Mary is indeed favored by God.

Gabriel gently tells Mary that, with God, all things are possible. He reminds Mary of the miracle that is her cousin Elizabeth's pregnancy in her old age. Humans see limitations but with God there is no such thing as "impossible". God created the universe and everything in it. The laws that govern being itself were authored by God. With God anything is possible.

An old woman can conceive. That child who should not even be can be a prophet. His cousin can be conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. That child, conceived in a miraculous fashion, who per the rules of nature as we understand them should not even exist can save us all from sin and reconcile us to God.

The author of existence itself can care so much for such a small, insignificant (in a cosmic sense) part of the universe that He intercedes for it by becoming a part of it to reconcile it to Himself while that small, cosmically insignificant blip on the universal radar wages an open war against Him.

This is good news, indeed. No wonder the angels say to not be afraid. If God is for us who can be against us? What can the powers of this world do against the maker of all worlds?

Zacharias and Gabriel

Luke 1:5-22 NASB

In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.  They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.  But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years.
  Now it happened  that  while he was performing his priestly service before God in the  appointed  order of his division,  according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.  Zacharias was troubled when he saw  the angel,  and fear gripped him.  But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.  "You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.  "For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.  "And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.  "It is he who will go  as a forerunner  before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
  Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this  for certain?  For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years."  The angel answered and said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.  "And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."
  The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.  But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he kept making signs to them, and remained mute.

My thoughts -

One thing in particular jumped out at me in reading this passage this morning. Yes, we have another older couple who were unable to conceive being blessed by God with a child. And like Sarah before him Zacharias responds to this news with disbelief, or at least incredulity.

But what jumped me here this morning was Gabriel. When Zacharias sees Gabriel he is overcome with fear. He did not count on encountering a heavenly being while doing his priestly duty. They cast lots and it was determined to be his turn to go burn incense. Was this a sacred time for him? Was this an opportunity to worship and connect with God? Or was he just doing his job? It was his turn so he went.

I wonder what his attitude about this was. Was it just another day of doing his job? When the lot was cast and he say that he would be going did he shrug his shoulders or was he excited to go? Would he have responded differently if he know what this encounter would bring?

I confess that there are times when I go to worship and I am just doing my job. It is easy to have each week be yet another one out of fifty two in which we worship. Encountering the Divine is not always on my agenda. Sometimes I'd just like more sleep, or more coffee, or to not have just fought with my wife or kids about getting ready. Some times I wish the music was better, or certain people were here, or that my dad would value what I do. Some times I'm just doing my job, it is a week like any other week, there are distractions, and then I encounter something heavenly.

Zacharias encountered Gabriel and nearly jumped out of his skin. Can you imagine this? And angel of the Lord right there.

Have you noticed that when angels show up the first thing they always say is "do not be afraid"? Maybe this is because they are messengers of comfort and peace sent from a loving God who wants us to know that he cares and we have nothing to fear.

I'm a guy and so that explanation is not satisfying to me. I saw that one movie with Christopher Walken in it. Angels are fricking terrifying. That's why they have to tell people not to be afraid. Do a search for "angel of the Lord". Have you noticed how many times battles and swords are mentioned? It was important to have an angel fighting on your side or, failing that, at least not have one fighting against you.

Zacharias wasn't afraid here until after he saw Gabriel. Then he freaked and Gabriel had to tell him not to be afraid. I wonder how we ever got the image of those Precious Moments angels? My angel figurines would be designed by Todd McFarlane.

So this terrifying McFarlane-esque creature visits Zacharias while he's just going about his business, doing his job, burning incense, and probably longing to get back home to his wife. Zacharias has no idea what is going on. And then the angel tells him that he and his wife are going to have a baby. This would be startling enough on its own. But they are old and childless. And not only are they going to have a baby but this child will be a prophet, not only that but a forerunner for the Messiah. Zacharias is taken aback a bit. So he asks, "Are you sure."

Note to self: The next time I encounter a terrifying heavenly creature sent from God to send me a message... DO NOT QUESTION IT.

The angel did not draw his sword but he did pull rank. He explained that he stands in the presence of God and was sent by God for this very purpose and of course he's sure. And furthermore, since Zacharias was unbelieving he gets to have a sign. He will no longer be able to speak until the words the angel spoke to him come true.

Zacharias left stunned and mute. I guess he was running later than usual because a crowd had gathered wondering what the hold up was. And when they saw Zacharias they knew something special had happened.

This side of eternity

Ecclesiastes 9:1-6 TNIV

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

As it is with the good,

so with the sinful;

as it is with those who take oaths,

so with those who are afraid to take them.

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!

For the living know that they will die,

but the dead know nothing;

they have no further reward,

and even their name is forgotten.

Their love, their hate

and their jealousy have long since vanished;

never again will they have a part

in anything that happens under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 TNIV

Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of every human being.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

My thoughts -

I am not a fan of death. I don't much care for the idea of mortality. The whole notion that ultimately life ends and everything that you do in life will be undone by that end imparts a kind of meaninglessness to your actions. Everything here is tempered by its impermanence. Whether good or bad there is always that voice saying that it will not last.

I think I share this with the author of Ecclesiastes. The author of Ecclesiastes (we've been over whether or not it is Solomon before) sees death as the end and in response to this declares everything in life to be meaningless. All is in vain. He is not just responding to death, but also to injustice, suffering, and sin.

In the first passage we're looking at, from Chapter 9, the author is looking at the role chance plays in what happens to us (this is carried over from Chapter 8), how no one knows or can know what will happen in the future, and how it is all in God's hands. Furthermore, from the author's perspective, we're all bound for the same destiny. Whether we are good or bad, rich or poor, weak or powerful, God fearing or not, we will all die.

I sometimes wonder how Ecclesiastes made it into our cannon. You don't see a lot of books in the Bible take this kind of fatalistic approach to life and death. And you don't often see such a lack of hope in a future beyond the grave. One of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 88, openly questions whether or not God could be praised from beyond the grave. I think I like that and Ecclesiastes for the same reason. It gives voice from scripture to my own doubts, fears, and insecurities.

You don't see such questions raised in the New Testament, which is where a lot of us Christians like to reside in our scripture reading. In the New Testament we already have the incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. These questions about death are answered for us in Jesus. And yet to be human is to be mortal. We live each day in the knowledge that death will overtake us eventually. We can't help but see that. And sometimes the idea of resurrection is purely academic. I don't experience it here.

I've buried many friends and family members and I haven't seen one come back. Not yet. I have hope in Jesus but also fear, doubt, and insecurity. Ecclesiastes lets me know that I am not alone in this. For all of our bluster about certainty many of us are not certain. Not all the time. And that is perfectly human.

So you see throughout Ecclesiastes the author's observation of this existential issue. He declares life to be meaningless. He declares everything to be in vain. I've been there. Heck, I live there. But then we get to the last passage here. How does the author end this book?

Here is a different response. We've had the overwhelming majority of Ecclesiastes tell us that life is meaningless, whatever you do doesn't matter. Who you are doesn't matter. Wisdom doesn't matter. Wealth doesn't matter. Obeying God doesn't matter. Ultimately whoever you are and whatever you do doesn't matter. You are bound for the same destiny as everyone else. You will die and nothing you have ever done will last. That's it. The end. Fade to black.

But here at the end the author tells us that we should obey God. Such a dim view of life and death, and with no hope for eternal reward or fear of punishment and yet we should obey God. We should keep God's commandments. Though chance and fate determine outcomes and all end in the grave we should fear God's judgement. We should keep God's commandments.

I don't know that I understand this from the author's perspective, but I do have my own. This is all we've got. I have lived without hope and I have lived with it. I have lived outside a reconciled relationship with God and I have lived inside it. It is better inside.

I don't know what happens when we die. I wish I could say I did. I wish I had certainty. But I don't and to say otherwise would be dishonest. I have hope. I believe. But I don't know. None of us really can know on this side of eternity.

But I believe in God. And I have found in my own life that living inside what I believe is God's will is better by far than living outside of it. And I trust God with my life. I trust God with my death. I trust God with eternity. Life doesn't make sense to me absent God.

So this is what we have. Trust God. Obey God's commandments. Love each other. Everything may be meaningless. Everything may be in vain. Life is short and often cruel. Horrible things happen to people. Things I can't explain or comprehend. Life is unfair. The wicked prosper and the good suffer. These things can not be denied. The author of Ecclesiastes does not deny them. I don't either.

And yet this is all we've got. And life can be beautiful and wonderful too. It's not perfect. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But I thank God for it. I praise God for it. And I place my hope and trust in God in it. And however eternity works out I feel pretty good about it.

This is all we've got. Trust God. It is better by far to do this than not to.