Gateway in Bethlehem, Source http://www.old-picture.com/middle-east/Room-the-Inn-No-001.htm (Public Domain)
Historians can become familiar with Julius Caesar or his nephew Octavian, later known as Caesar Augustus, by reviewing documents by or about them, and artifacts of the time in which they lived. Historians – or anyone else for that matter – may become familiar with Christ, in the same way.
But they become Christian only by knowing Him, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.
Christ is a reality to Christians. He has a fundamental impact on our lives. This does not make the facts about Him immaterial. Nor is it meant to suggest that the evidence for Christ’s existence and His teachings is in any way lacking.
But, in the end, it comes down to faith – something for which Christians are frequently belittled. The evidence may be compelling. Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy was certainly astounding. Belief cannot, however, be decreed.
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered…So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city” (Luke 2: 1, 3).
Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, You can use even the harshest governmental and legal decrees to Your ends. How perfect a demonstration that You would have utilized the exercise of Roman power to Your purposes, in the birth of our Savior! Emperors and kings will come and go, but You remain.
When it is time for our accounting, may we be able to claim Salvation through Your Son, Jesus Christ. May we be able to say on behalf of our nation that it stood as a beacon to those in darkness.
We ask this in His holy Name.
Amen
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My mother died this week. A woman of great faith, she is, we know, with the Lord. But she leaves behind her a great emptiness. Joy and sorrow mingled.
Transported in a cattle car during World War II, my mother came to this country a refugee with nothing except a lion’s heart. Standing only 4’10”, she was a tender, vulnerable woman, but gave of that heart generously to family, friends, and strangers alike.
Every Christmas, while she and my father still had the small delicatessen which provided their livelihood, my mother would sign and hand out hundreds of cards to customers. Proud to be an American (but speaking only broken English), my mother offered service and kindness in equal measure – a smile thrown in for free. Everyone to her was simply “honey” or “sweetheart”.
My mother was warned not to try doing business in Harlem, plagued during that era by poverty, crime, racial tension, and widespread heroin addiction. But from the time she was a young girl in Hungary, she had dreamed of working behind a counter. And she loved it. Customers would wave to her as she got off the subway, and keep watch while she walked to the store to make sure she stayed safe. She was my more assertive father’s strength, and was never harmed.
My mother never grew rich, but always called herself a “rich girl”. That meant she was surrounded by those she loved.
Unable to attend school beyond third grade due to the war, my mother encouraged her children in all their endeavors. She believed we could do anything. When I expressed reservations about moving out of state to take a job promotion, she said reassuringly, “Don’t worry, honey. They speak English there.” Read more…
Whole Foods Market, New Orleans, LA (CC A-SA 3.0 Unported)
“But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace” (Psalm 37: 11).
Ours is a nation that has been richly blessed. Walk into any supermarket. The variety of apples alone is staggering. Fujis, Romes, MacIntoshes, Granny Smiths, Cortlands, Sonyas, Royal Galas, and Golden Delicious – they line up, row upon row.
Next come the pears – Boscs, Comices, Forelles, Bartletts, and Anjous.
Fresh peaches and tree ripened plums vie with imported apricots and navel oranges the size of softballs, for our attention. Persian cucumbers rest next to bell and jalapeno peppers. Tomatoes range in size from beefsteak to cherry and Compari.
Can we not manage to share this abundance? Can we not manage to see our own differences as assets?
May God give us generous hearts. May we all, black or white, MacIntosh or Rome, red, yellow or brown, find a way to live together in peace.
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“Christ in the Temple” by Heinrich Hofmann, Photo by Bradley Slade, Riverside Church, NY (PD-ArtlPD-Age-100)
Years ago, as I was passing by a schoolyard on a winter’s evening, the sight of a solitary young boy playing basketball caught my attention.
It was beginning to snow, but the boy seemed unaware of the weather, despite his thin jacket. By the light of a nearby street lamp, I could see an expression of intense concentration on his face. Tirelessly, he shot for the hoop, retrieved and dribbled the ball, then shot again.
Anyone could tell that he loved the game.
Still, I wondered why he wasn’t in a warm room somewhere, having supper with his brothers and sisters at a noisy table. I wondered if his mother wasn’t worried about him, anxious for his welfare. Perhaps she knew from past experience that she could always find him on the court.
While on a trip to Jerusalem with Joseph and Mary, the child Jesus was inadvertently left behind in the city, causing great consternation. He was found three days later in the temple, listening to and questioning the teachers there.
Asked by His earthly parents why He had caused them such concern, Jesus replied:
“Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2: 49).
The statement was an early declaration of Jesus’ divinity. While we can make no such claim ourselves, we, too, should be about our Father’s business.
What then is that business? Surely, the God Who made men and women with all variety of abilities and vocations did not intend that we restrict our service to Him to a single sphere of human endeavor. He does not favor prelates over plumbers or stockbrokers over street sweepers. Read more…
“Isaiah Wall” – Bible verse across the street from the UN in New York City, Photo by Capt. Phoebus (Public Domain)
Rarely in human history has a year passed without war somewhere on the globe. War is mankind’s legacy and curse.
There has been extraordinary heroism associated with war: by Greeks at Thermopylae; by Saxons at Hastings; by French at Orleans; by Irish at the Boyne; by English against the Spanish Armada, at the Somme, and the Battle of Britain; by Americans at Lexington and Concord, Gettysburg, and Normandy on D-Day.
Not to mention the bravery of nameless dead on nameless battlefields. World War II alone had over 60 million casualties.
“…They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Is. 2: 4).
Lord God, with wars and rumors of wars all around us, we seek Your guidance and protection. Bless our nation in these difficult times. Keep our loved ones safe, and our troops strong.
Help us to defend the right, as we work toward peace. Whether our sphere of influence is great or small, teach us to bring calm where there is strife, unity where there is division, and love where there is hate.
Amen
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Though both are gone now, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers remain one of the most famous dance teams in all of motion picture history. They made ten films together between 1933 – 1949, including the classic “Swing Time”.
Fred was a perfectionist at his craft, and worked his partners hard. Every dance required hours upon hours of practice, and multiple film takes. At the conclusion of one dance sequence, Ginger’s feet bled through her shoes.
In ballroom dancing, one partner leads, and the other follows. The joke was always that Ginger had to do the same steps as Fred – only backwards and in high heels. Still, the two were so well matched, the end result appeared effortless.
The comparison is meant to be lighthearted. But Jesus, too, asks that we follow His lead. At times that can be painful. However, the result is worth it.
“If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also” (John 12: 26).
Lord Jesus, You make Your home among the homeless. You minister to the destitute. You comfort the grieving. You reach out to the lonely. You seek out the rejected and abandoned.
We desire to follow wherever You would lead, Lord.
Remove pride from our hearts, that we should consider nothing beneath us that would accomplish Your will. Remove fear from our hearts, that we may go wherever Your work should take us. And fill us instead with love, that those who know us may see You.
Amen
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“They [who have abandoned their faith in Jesus Christ] are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 1: 12-13).
Ours is an age of apostasy – if not the formal renunciation, then the effective abandonment of Christianity by those who were once believers. We see around us the institutional church being weakened from within, and doctrine corrupted.
Evangelization at a time such as this is a daunting task. While non-believers may not be familiar with Christian beliefs, they can form strong opinions about those beliefs. And there is something more insidious at work.
Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal
Consider, for instance, the subject of forgiveness. There are non-believers adamant that forgiveness fosters child abuse. This stems largely from the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal.
The Catholic Church hierarchy argued for years that believers had to be protected against the knowledge molestation existed, as if their faith were fragile; that priests were a limited resource, to be conserved at all cost; and that predators were entitled to retain their office, once “forgiven” by the institutional church. It took no action to report predator priests to police, insisting on the right to deal with criminal acts by these priests internally.
Needless to say, this ignored the plight of child victims, and the biblical mandate that the behavior of ministers of the Gospel be above reproach (1 Timothy 3: 2-5; Titus 1: 6-8; 1 Peter 5: 3).
Most Christians understand that the practice by Catholic Church officials of retaining predator priests in the clergy was not a by-product of forgiveness. At best, it was a misguided attempt to shield the institutional church from bad publicity. Non-believers do not see matters that way.
Predators were again and again let loose on unsuspecting populations, wrecking incalculable havoc with the lives of victims. Believers and non-believers can agree that was a perversion on a par with the molestation, itself. Forgiveness requires genuine repentance…not just lip service, and the completion of a rehabilitation program.
Questions still remain as to whether funds which might have gone toward the monetary compensation of abuse victims were deliberately hidden by so called “princes” of the church.
Christianity, Witchcraft Accusations, and Child Abuse
News from England indicates that accusations of witchcraft and spirit possession are widespread among the African fundamentalist Christian communities there [1]. The evidence of child abuse stemming from this is appalling [2], evoking the Salem witch trials of 1692. Exorcism can involve beating, burning or starving a child, and suggests African religious leaders have incorporated tribal practices into what appears on the surface to be a Christian belief system [3]. Read more…
“Lazarus at the Rich Man’s Gate” by Fedor Bronnikov (PD Art / Old-100)
Upscale New York City housing lately has a poor door [1]. Condominium owners and those who rent at market rates are allowed access to a posh lobby; renters occupying more affordable apartments are required to use a separate, inconspicuous, side entrance. This is the so called “poor door”.
Ironically, many of these buildings were designed to include less expensive apartments, specifically so that developers would qualify for government incentives, including tax abatements and zoning variances.
Amenities are, also, being rationed. In some cases, rent stabilized tenants (whose rent is regulated by the state) may not be permitted use of a rooftop garden or on-site gym, though willing to pay a fee for the privilege. About one million New York City apartments are covered by rent stabilization.
Developers argue that they will be unable to find tenants willing to rent at market rates without such incentives. Condominium owners argue that they should be entitled to benefit for absorbing the lion’s share of building expenses.
Whether the deferential treatment constitutes bias had not yet been litigated.
Jesus told a parable about the beggar, Lazarus, who lay covered with sores at the gate of a rich man. When the two men died, Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom (a reference to the peaceful place in Sheol, where the righteous were thought to await the Judgment Day), while the rich man burned in Hades. Read more…
Taken from the headlines, these stories reflect the wide variety of moral and ethical issues facing the world today:
• Brittany Maynard, a 29 y.o. woman with brain cancer has arranged to commit the physician-assisted suicide permissible under law in Oregon [1]. Ms. Maynard has publicized her plight on social media.
• Alabama preacher, Juan McFarland acknowledges having slept with female parishioners at the Shiloh Baptist Church, despite having AIDs [2]. By his own admission, McFarland has, also, engaged in drug use and mishandled church funds. He has been removed as pastor.
• Uruguay, a South American country with a population less than that of Los Angeles, is accepting former detainees at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo, and refugees from the Syrian civil war (most of them children) [3]. According to Pres. Jose Mujica, “We wanted to earn the right to tell the rest of the world that there are other solutions, that we can take care of these children in other countries.”
• A Hindu Indian and an Islamic Pakistani have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize [4]. This has astounded observers which, itself, speaks volumes. Kailash Satyarthi has protested for decades against child slavery and the financial exploitation of children in India. Malala Yousafzay – at 17 y.o. the youngest ever winner – was shot in the head by the Taliban two years ago for advocating the education of Pakistani girls. She has since spoken on the importance of education at the United Nations.
Once the majority of these issues would have been assessed within a Judeo-Christian framework. Those days are gone. Fewer and fewer Westerners adhere to a Christian worldview. Standards have become fluid, if they exist at all. Even Christians are likely to be short on discernment, and long on ignorance about the Scriptures.
This should trouble us. We were called to love our neighbor; we were called to evangelize the world. There are lives – earthly and eternal – at stake.
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another…” (1 John 3: 10-11).
—
[1] Yahoo! Health, “One Woman’s Quest to Die with Dignity – and What It Means for Us All” by Ryan Wallace, 10/7/14, https://www.yahoo.com/health/one-womans-quest-to-die-with-dignity-and-what-it-means-99374572007.html.
[2] Fox 8 Cleveland, “Pastor Admits to Having Aids, Sleeping with Church Members” by CNN Wire, 10/9/14, http://fox8.com/2014/10/09/preacher-admits-to-having-aids-sleeping-with-church-members/.
[3] USA Today, “Tiny Uruguay Plays Big Role in Syria” by Alan Gomez, 10/10/14, News, p. 5A.
[4] CNN World, “Malala Yousafzay and Kailash Satyarthi Share Nobel Peace Prize” by Laura Smith-Spark, 10/10/14, http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/10/world/europe/nobel-peace-prize/index.html.
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
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The news these days can be discouraging, even for Christians. We hear of wars and rumors of wars, as the Lord predicted we would (Matt. 24: 6). He, of course, instructed us not to be troubled. Still, with terrorism a reality and thousands made refugees, we can feel very small.
God, however, remains in charge. Whatever the dangers around us, whatever the trials that befall us and our loved ones, we remain safely in His care.
This must not be confused with a guarantee of safety, as the world understands the term. As Christians, we are promised suffering. This is a war on evil in which we are engaged. We must be prepared to take up our cross and follow Christ.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance” (Psalm 42: 5).
Lord God, these are dark days. Evil is on the increase everywhere. We look to You for comfort and protection.
Remove fear and discouragement from our hearts. Help us to be patient when trials afflict us, that Your glory may be revealed.
Keep Your loving arms around us, for we know that You have overcome the world.
Amen
READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse
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A Lawyer's Prayers 