The Simple Christmas Story

The Santa story transformed from a dim memory of the real St. Nicholas who brought gifts to the poor into a fun-filled imaginative fairy tale Santa who flies around in a sleigh pulled by reindeer, bringing gifts to everyone.

The Jesus story has also transformed from reality into a nostalgic warm nativity scene. Here’s the original story, told by Luke:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Despite artist renderings, no donkey appears in the story. Mary, in her last trimester, likely had to walk.

Setting aside Sunday school dramas, Mary and Joseph didn’t go knocking on doors only to be turned away time after time until someone finally gave them a place in the barn. The old King James Version 'There was no room for them in the inn' gave us moderns a picture of full motels and polite refusals from homeowners who had no room to spare for strangers. But it was based on a mistranslation—the word for “inn” was generic for any place a guest or traveler would use.

They went to Bethlehem because Joseph came from there. We can safely assume they stayed with relatives there. Mideast hospitality was so strong it’s hard to imagine anyone would have refused them. In simple first century homes families slept together in one room. Some houses had guest rooms for all the guests. If they were crowded, people would just move over and it would be more crowded.

The problem Mary apparently encountered was lack of space for her to have a baby, so…they used the manger for an infant bed. But they didn’t send them out to the “stable” or “barn”. Common 1^st century homes had space inside for their few animals. The animal area on a lower level, with family quarters on a raised level above—all under one roof. This kept the animals from intruding on the family’s space, and it kept the animals safe from predators at night. So Mary wrapped up her new born and placed him in the manger.

Luke describes humble beginnings for Jesus. For someone purported to be the Son of God, the long promised Messiah, a King, no less—what an unlikely, humble, beginning. What do you suppose Luke is trying to say to us by this?

Is He Real?

One of my good friends just doesn’t believe all this “Bible” stuff. We have great conversations about science, history, and faith, how they intersect—or don’t. As usual, coffee time conversations meander about, and one time we got talking about Christmas and Santa Claus. He wondered if my belief in Jesus might be something mythical like kids believing in Santa.

I shared with him good non-biased historical evidence that Jesus was a real person. And, actually, Santa was too: St. Nicholas of the 4^th century went around secretly bringing gifts to the poor. In the last 200 years the real person morphed into a mythical tradition of Santa and his reindeer coming from the North Pole to bring gifts at Christmas time.

With his quick wit, my friend challenged me: don’t Christians do something similar with Jesus—making him into a figure that little resembles the original. He had a point! The Jesus I see portrayed in churches often resembles more the kind of Jesus people want him to be to support their view of the world, rather than the one who really was.

But we do have some primary writings that speak the truth of his life and death. One writer in particular focused on separating fact from fiction. Luke starts his manuscript with these words:

Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. –Luke 1:1-4, New Living Translation.

Many past scholars discounted Luke as an accurate historian. One of them, Sir William Ramsay, changed his mind after excavating and examining the ruins of places in Luke’s history and concluded that Luke was “a historian of the first rank.” He couldn't find mistakes, even in the details.

If you’ve never read Luke, or if it’s been a long time, pick up a Bible and take a look at his Gospel. He did his best to present an accurate picture of who Jesus was, why he came, and what it could mean for us.

A Promise (6)

You will go out in joy

      and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

      will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

      will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,

      and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD’s renown,

      for an everlasting sign,

      that will endure forever.

Isaiah 55 ends with a promise. In our broken world it seems foolish to think of long ago promises for peace. Are we any closer today than 2500 years ago? Optimistically I look for evidence that, yes, we’ve made some progress—so many advances in health and diplomacy. But when I turn around I see so many dark signs: vast areas of the world still limit women and girls to second class status, sometimes with awful rituals—and these attitudes spill over into our own region. War and violence threaten around the world. Prison systems unjustly tear apart the souls of men and women.

But we’ve just celebrated American Thanksgiving. While it’s foolish to ignore the many injustices and negative influences—because we have to keep working to remove them, it is better to focus on and practice a positive forward looking trajectory of life. That’s why I value my faith in God and why the Bible’s message inspires me toward hope rather than despair. It motivates me to live in joy and peace, and to see the side of creation that explodes with life and beauty. He has given us an everlasting sign when Jesus was born, that will endure forever.

An Invitation (5)

As the rain and the snow

        come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

        without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

        so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

        It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

        and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I remember once, back in my teen years, complaining loudly about yet another ridiculously chilly, dreary, drizzly Pacific Northwest day in June, when I thought it was well past time for warm, sunny, summer weather. My Mom, wise soul at 50 years of age, reminded me that we wouldn’t have our beautiful green landscapes and blooming flowers without regular doses of clouds and rain. While her words didn't allay my displeasure about the long drawn out northwest spring, they continued to resonate with me in the nearly 50 years since.

Isaiah reflected on that same cycle of rain falling, plants flourishing, and somehow returning back to the sky to rain again at a future time. It's how God’s word works in human history. Even though his ways and thoughts are far too complicated for my little mind, as he applies them to our lives they bring about his ultimate purpose.

Like the weather, opposing forces—draughts, late spring freezes—thwart the life giving properties of God’s word. But in the end, his ways and purposes will win the day. He will bring a final, concluding peace one day. How or when I can’t imagine, but he began the process in ancient times, Isaiah saw it working as Israel returned to the homeland, and he predicted that one day Messiah would come to introduce the peaceable kingdom. Though he came some 2000 years ago, still we are waiting in a world often dark and stormy. But if we open our eyes and look, we can discern little flowerets blooming, trees budding.

Be still and know that I am God –Psalm 46:10

An Invitation (4)

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

        neither are your ways my ways,

        declares the LORD.

As the heavens are higher than the earth,

        so are my ways higher than your ways

        and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Yes, and this is a problem! Our world’s many religious expressions and conflicts reflect an arrogant human aptitude at creating God in our own image. I went through a difficult inner struggle with God related to my inability to lead a particular church into a vibrant self-supporting ministry to its community. Surely he would want this little church to prosper! Instead we had to close its doors. Where was God when we needed him? It shook my faith’s foundations—carrying on a theme from my childhood: why did my Dad have to die in 1960? Why was President Kennedy assassinated in 1963? Why was Martin Luther King killed in 1968?

I suffered on a small scale what ancient Israel suffered on a large scale. If God intended this little nation as a center piece to redeem the world from enslavement to evil and violence, why, in God’s name(!) did he allow them to be overrun by the violent Babylonian despot, exiled for two whole generations, while his favored city Jerusalem lay in ruin?

The answer begins in these short verses from Isaiah 55. God’s purposes and his ways are far beyond us. In the end, I had to accept that life’s meaning and God’s purposes are much grander than I can grasp. Faith, for me, is not so much trying to believe impossible things as accepting puzzling things beyond my understanding.

God is in his heaven and all is not well with the world. But he came down identifying with our suffering, breaking the underlying brokenness, promising that in his time justice and mercy will reign in his peaceable kingdom. 

An Invitation (3)

Seek the LORD while he may be found;

      call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

      and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,

      and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Stunning words: no matter where we’ve been, what we’ve done, how we’ve acted, God sets it aside and makes it of no account. This core message of the Bible, “He will freely pardon” continues to inspire masses of people around the world to turn and return to God.

Ancient Israel stumbled into exile because their society shifted focus to personal wealth and they let go of their spiritual moorings; justice fell to the side. The more their eyes riveted upon the attractive affluent way of life the less they saw the underprivileged and victimized. It came crashing down with a devastating invasion and deportation of the main part of Israel’s society.

Isaiah’s words invite people to turn to the Lord. Some churches and preachers like to focus on punishment, wrath, and retribution. But God’s nature is mercy, blessing, and forgiveness. But where can we find him? At what point is he near?

As long as it is today, we can find him and he is near. A simple call for help is all it takes; he will freely pardon our life’s failures, inadequacies, hurtful acts and words, as well as our selfish pursuit of possessions, blinded to the suffering of those around us. The longer we put off seeking him, the further our hearts wander and become less receptive—until finally “tomorrow” arrives and it’s all over.

An Invitation (2)

Isaiah continues with a cool prediction that has come true in an interesting way.

Give ear and come to me;

        listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

        my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

        a ruler and commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon nations you know not,

        and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the LORD your God,

        the Holy One of Israel,

        for he has endowed you with splendor.

God promised to renew his covenant, an arrangement with a pathetic broken nation to bring his long awaited promise to humanity. David’s devotion heavily influenced ancient Israel’s faith. He embodied the quintessential ideal of Israel’s hope—the one who united the tribes into a cohesive nation.

Nearly 500 years later Isaiah promised a new “David” who would attract unknown nations to himself. Christians believe Jesus fulfills this promise of the Jewish Messiah. The unknown nations are the peoples from the far flung corners of the world, like Ireland and Indonesia, South Africa and Siberia, who have looked to Jesus as their hope.

Could it be that we can find life’s meaning in him? I’ve spent my life contemplating this. So much wrong still pervades our world, and far too often Christ-followers perpetuate the problem rather than model the solution. But in the end, if we accept God’s terms, as mysterious as they can be, we can find peace, thirst quenching relief for parched souls, an inner peace amid the chaos abounding around us. 

An Invitation (1)

I mentioned Isaiah 55 in my previous post—a beautiful poetic invitation to consider coming back to God and receiving his peace. This was first written to a bedraggled people exiled from their homeland for two full generations, now given the opportunity to return.

Come, all you who are thirsty,

         come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

         come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

         without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread,

         and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

         and you will delight in the richest of fare.

I remember once, running out of water while climbing Mt. Garibaldi in British Columbia. It took a couple sun-baked hours to hike down from near the top to the first open stream of water. I remember falling down on my knees, and sticking my head in the stream, sucking water in—the most refreshing drink I have ever had!

God extends an invitation to a thirsty world—a world entangled in violence, conflict, lust, and greed, to come to his fresh waters to drink. And to come to his table to freely feast. In the end, what he offers is the best of the best—and it’s free. We just have to get off the out-of-control merry-go-round, turn off the mind numbing music, and let his peace envelop our souls.

Why bother getting in touch with God?

Why bother getting in touch with God? It is so confusing, so many different takes on how to do it, or even who God is. And he can be so vague and ambiguous! Some people sound so sure about it, but it’s not that way for me. I’ve had people try to control me and oppose me with their “god-talk”. It’s enough to make a person want to throw up their hands and forget it all!

I find solace in just going back and reading the Bible. Some parts of the Bible are confusing too, but many parts are deeply meaningful and convicting. One such passage is Isaiah 55. Try reading it and see if you agree—the words are compelling and comforting, a simple invitation, words that Jesus must have had in mind when he said:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. –Matthew 11:28-30

Does God Really Communicate with People?

Really, how can we know anything about God? People have always been frustrated trying to understand something about God. Does he speak to us? The Bible is full of God speaking: “God said to the woman”, “God said to Noah”, “God said to Abram”. We get the impression that God carried on direct conversations with these ancient people. So, why doesn’t he do that with me?

But this God speaking language is really just an expression that describes what people perceived God to be saying to them. In Numbers 12:6-8, after Miriam and Aaron challenged Moses’ leadership, God said to them[!]:

“When there are prophets of the Lord among you, I reveal myself to them in visions, I speak to them in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.”

And after Moses died, Deuteronomy 34:10 says:

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

So, although the Bible repeatedly refers to God speaking to people, it also tells us that other than Moses, God has rarely spoken directly to people. In truth, it is hard for little humans to discern what God says because he doesn’t speak directly to us. We have to live with ambiguity in understanding what he says. When the Bible says “God said…”, this is what people discerned and interpreted rather than literally heard what he said.

It’s a good thing too! We have more than enough religious leaders trying to control masses of people because “God told me, so you have to do what I say.” A better, although a bit messy, solution is “peer-reviewed” study, discussion, and discernment. It may result in disagreement and even conflict, but in the end, the better ideas and understandings float to the top and survive the ages.

It is tempting to just give up trying to figure it all out—but that’s not the human way. We have a natural inclination to figure things out, and are undaunted by insurmountable odds. So why give up on knowing God? Anyone can pursue God—we don’t need advanced degrees. We don’t even need to be particularly bright. Intellect can help our pursuit of God, but often just gets in the way. God-knowledge is on a different level.

And, knowing God has eternal implications.

How Can We Know God is Real?

A sense of knowing can only begin when we take some time to pursue it. If we don't seek God, we will never know him.

In the first century one of Jesus’ followers wrote:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. –John 20:30-31

Without reading this primary resource for knowing God, we might sense his reality from observing creation, but we won’t understand the depth of his purpose and love for us, tiny parts of his creation. The Bible is a most unique book, written by 50 or more authors over a span of 1500 some years.

--It is not a history of humankind, or of ancient Israel, or of the early church—although it contains historical events.

--It is not a book of law, for the purpose of telling us how to live—although it contains many instructions, advice, and helps us know right from wrong.

Rather, the Bible is a testimony of how God revealed himself to people in ancient days. It tells how God is rescuing people from a world that just can’t get it right, destined for eventual destruction. It teaches us how to get in touch with God. People who read the Bible often find themselves spiritually convicted by its truth. John, one of Jesus’ followers, said:

This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.
–1 John 4:13

Jesus himself made this interesting promise:

How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
–Luke 11:13

One of my struggles is why God doesn’t make things more obvious for me; I want to see
him break into our world—prove himself! But he seems to want us to learn to live and obey by faith rather than to have it handed to us. I don’t like that, but it is the way it is.

How can we experience his reality? A few people experience God quite profoundly; others are motivated by their testimony, or by intellectual persuasion, and some more quietly become convinced through the Spirit's work in our hearts. God’s Spirit will testify within willing and seeking hearts. 

How Real is Reality?

Atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons.

Protons and neutrons are each comprise d of three quarks,

and they are 99.999999999999% space.

Think about that next time you step outside,

terra firma isn't so firm after all! It's nearly all space!

All ordinary matter is made up of just two kinds of quarks plus electrons.

Trillions and trillions of neutrinos flow through as well,

but they are extremely small and hardly interact with other matter.

they pass through the earth and your body without even hitting a single thing.

Then the four known “force” carriers in the universe:

electromagnetic, the strong force, the weak force, and mysterious gravity.

They pass a force between particles

which, for example, creates the existence of gravity and light. 

I am utterly amazed at both the simplicity of our created universe,

and the complexity and mystery surrounding it.

It is also incredible to realize the implication that the Creator

Must somehow fully understand the complexity of our universe,

and manage it through these simple means.

Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.--David, Psalm 8 

creation's song

nothingness

complete absence of anything

absolute non-existence

 

no light

no sound

no sense

no space

no time

no perception

yet in time’s absence and matter’s nonexistence

elohim

conscious

beyond imagination

completely aware

perceiving cosmic wholeness

intricate detail considered

encompassing tri-fold being,

incongruous plural singularity

interconnected purposeful harmony

conception actuation sanction

conceived a thought

matured stream intense consciousness

focused singularity pulsating energy

infused profound pervasive love

a word erupted expanding mass of plurality

time began

as matter expanded,

and space was born.

                       

creation's song composed a hymn to elohim

(c) 2010, 2012 Kenneth Rip