A Christmas Prayer

Almighty God, 

You have given us your Son. You have given us Yourself. 

Emmanuel. God is with us. 

When we are angry, afraid, alone, and anxious. 

You are with us. 

When we celebrate, are courageous, live in community, and are calm. 

You are with us.

Let this Christmas be our yearly reminder of your grace: 

You give us the Hope of the World. 

Bring hope to the world and to our world. 

With a baby, you brought joy into the world on this day so many years ago.

Help us accept this gift and share it with others. 

You give us love in the person of Jesus. 

Help us to experience your love and to be more loving to others and to ourselves. 

You give us the Prince of Peace. 

Bring peace to the world and to our world. 

You give us the Resurrection and the Life. 

Raise us to new levels of life. 

Through the piles of presents – remind us of your presence. 

You are with us. 

In our brokenness and busyness – remind us who you are and whose we are.

You are with us. 

Jesus is the Light of the World! 

Thank you for lighting our path. 

Help us to be a reflection of his light to the world. 

You have given us your Son. You have given us Yourself. 

Emmanuel. God is with us. 

Encourage us to accept and embrace this most wonderful gift. 

Teach us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. 

Christmas. This day and because of this day. 

You are with us. 

Amen!

The King and the Humble Maiden

It's Christmas Day. We celebrate the birth of Jesus. Soren Kierkegaard tells a parable about why God came to the world as a human. Fully human and fully God.

There once was a king who loved a humble maiden. This king was of uncommon royal lineage. He was a king above kings, with power and might to make all others humble before him. Statesmen trembled at his pronouncements. None dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all who opposed him. The wealth of his holdings was unfathomable. Tribute arrived on a daily basis from lesser kings who hoped to gain his favor.

And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden who lived in the poorest village in his vast kingdom. He longed to go to this maiden and announce his love for her, but here arose the king’s dilemma: how to declare his love? Certainly, he could appear before her resplendent in his royal robes and surrounded with the Royal Guard, ready to carry her away in a carriage inlaid with gold and precious stones. He could bring her to the palace and crown her head with jewels and clothe her in the finest silks. She would surely not resist this type of proposal, for no one dared to resist the king.

But would she love him?

She might say she loved him. She might be awed by his royal splendor and tremble at the thought of being blessed with such an amazing opportunity. She might tell herself that she would be foolish to reject such a marriage proposal. But would she love him, or would she go through the motions all the while living a life of empty duty, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she love him or regret the moment of being face to face with the overwhelming grandure of the king?

Or would she be happy at his side, loving him for himself and not for his title or riches or power?

He did not want a wife who behaved as a subject to his royal decrees, cringing at his word and unwilling to do anything but agree with all he said and did. Instead, he wanted an equal, a queen whose love knew no restrictions or limitations. He wanted an equal whose voice would speak to him at all times without hesitation. Love with his beloved maiden must mean equality with her. He wanted a relationship with the woman that had neither barriers nor walls in which he was not a king and she was not a poor subject of the crown. The love shared between them would cross the chasm that threatened to keep them apart, bringing the king and peasant together and making the unequal equal. In short, he wanted the maiden to love him for himself and not for any other reason.

He had to find a way to win the maiden’s love without overwhelming her and without destroying her free will to choose. The king realized that to win the maiden’s love, he had only one choice. He had to become like her, without power or riches and without the title of king. Only then would she be able to see him simply for who he was and not for what his position made him. He had to become her equal, and to do this he must leave all that he had.

And so one night, after all within the castle were asleep, he laid aside his golden crown and removed his rings of state. He took off his royal robes of silk and linen and redressed himself in the common clothes of the poorest of the kingdom. Leaving by way of the servant’s entrance, the king left his crown, his castle, and his kingdom behind. As the next day’s sun rose in the east, the maiden emerged from her humble cottage to find herself face to face with a stranger, a common man with kindly eyes who requested an opportunity to speak with her and, in time, to court her for her hand in marriage.

And so the courtship continues.

Thoughts on Christmas

The automatic piano in the hospital lobby plays and replays the old Christmas songs until their effect is like a child practicing a violin for the first time. Companies have Christmas parties that are like class reunions: people either really like them or really dislike them. People spend money they don’t have buying gifts people don’t need or even want. Fruitcake, lights hanging from roofs, Christmas movies, and Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town all make their annual appearance. But despite culture’s efforts, we haven’t quite ruined Christmas.

John is the most succinct of the biblical writers when it comes to his account about Christmas. He simply says the Word became flesh. Theologians call it incarnation. Luke gives a few more details. Mary gives birth. It wasn’t easy for her. She and Joseph couldn’t afford the Embassy Suites and the Motel 6 was booked, so they found a barn. The local pharmacy was out of epidurals and the midwife was on vacation for the holidays, so Mary and Joseph were on their own. The birth wasn’t as peaceful as most nativity sets indicate. The blood, the pain, the fears, and the tears—they were all present. They had to be. But out of Mary’s agony came a fragile baby and the world hasn’t been the same since.

A worn out Mary looked into the eyes of the baby. She didn’t notice the blue or green or brown eyes. Instead she saw the Light of the World. The wiggly baby she held in her tired arms was the Resurrection and the Life. She fed from her breast the One who one day would defeat and destroy death. She experienced Christmas like nobody else ever has: God coming to be with us. 

It was dark outside that night. They couldn’t find a plug-in for the incubator, so Joseph built a fire to keep the baby warm. A warm flicker of light defeated the cold darkness of the world. It was a sign of things to come. 

The baby became a boy and the boy became a man. At the end of his life the tears, the fears, the pain, and the blood made their return and the world was about to change again. He rested in a wooden manger as a baby. Decades later he hung on a wooded cross as a man. His agony became our life. 

It’s a gift. In Latin it’s gratia. In Greek it’s charis. In English we simply call it grace. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. It is available to all of us no matter how good or how bad we are and thank God for that! Now and in the end, there is nothing quite like the promise of God’s presence: God is with us. That is what Christmas and life is all about. 

Merry Christmas, 

Craig

O Holy Night - Hope

This morning we start a new sermon series as we use five Christmas Carols as launching pads to explore the biblical truth about Christmas: what Christmas means for the world and what it means for us. 

The first carol is “O Holy Night.” It’s a song we would rather hear being sung than trying to sing it ourselves. It takes a good singer to sing the song well. But when it’s sung well, no other carol is quite like it. The song is originally a French poem (Minuit, Chrétiens – Midnight, Christians) put to music by another Frenchman. A decade later, the song is about 150 years old, it was translated into English.




Part of the English version goes like this: 

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, 

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 

In this short verse, we discover a truth about humanity and a truth about God.

The truth about humanity is that we live in a weary world. Watch the news or observe the world. You’ll understand what I am talking about. People are tired, worn-out, and discouraged. Emotionally, financially, physically, relationally, and spiritually – it is difficult to be healthy and whole in all areas of life. Sometimes life is tough. Sometimes life is really tough. 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” –Matthew 11:28

The truth about God is that God’s hope is as real as the sun that becomes visible when the new day starts and the night vanishes. 

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. –Psalm 39:7 

Hope means something like this: In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, we stand on holy and sacred ground because Jesus once walked among us and still does. Hope means God knows us and out of our weariness God rescues us so that we can become the person God created us to become. Hope means that our pain and mourning and confusion will be overcome by God’s grace, healing, and salvation. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. –Romans 15:13 

Culture teaches us that the holidays are about parties and presents and lights. All these are good. But at the core of Christmas, better things exist. And the first of these is hope. 

I look forward to discovering, embracing, and living out the rest of God’s gifts with you during this season of Advent and Christmas. 

The best is yet to come… 

Craig

Christmas Eve Worship Video

Here is my sermon from Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day Prayer

Merry Christmas!

God is with Us

The automatic piano in the hospital lobby plays and replays the old Christmas songs until their effect is like a child practicing a violin for the first time. Companies have Christmas parties that are like class reunions: people either really like them or really dislike them. People spend money they don’t have buying gifts people don’t need or even want. Fruitcake, lights hanging from roofs, Christmas movies, and Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Claus is Coming to Town all make their annual appearance. But despite culture’s efforts, we haven’t ruined Christmas.

John is the most succinct of the biblical writers when it comes to his account about Christmas. He simply says the Word became flesh. Theologians call it incarnation. Luke gives a few more details. Mary gives birth. It wasn’t easy for her. She and Joseph couldn’t afford the Embassy Suites and the Motel 6 was booked, so they found a barn. The local pharmacy was out of epidurals and the midwife was on vacation for the holidays, so Mary and Joseph were pretty much on their own. The birth wasn’t as peaceful as most nativity sets indicate. The blood, the pain, the fears, and the tears—they were all present. They had to be. But out of Mary’s agony came a fragile baby and the world hasn’t been the same since. 

A worn out Mary looked into the eyes of the baby. She didn’t notice the blue or green or brown eyes. Instead she saw the Light of the World. The wiggly baby she held in her tired arms was the Resurrection and the Life. She fed from her breast the One who one day would defeat and destroy death. She experienced Christmas like nobody else ever has: God coming to be with us. 

It was dark outside that night. They couldn’t find a plug-in for the incubator, so Joseph built a fire to keep the baby warm. A warm flicker of light defeated the cold darkness of the world. It was a sign of things to come. 

The baby became a boy and the boy became a man. At the end of his life the tears, the fears, the pain, and the blood made their return and the world was about to change again. He rested in a wooden manger as a baby. Decades later he hung on a wooded cross as a man. His agony became our life. 

It’s a gift. In Latin it’s gratia. In Greek it’s charis. In English we simply call it grace. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it. It is available to all of us no matter how good or how bad we are and thank God for that! We can either accept it or not accept it. If we don’t, nothing else really matters. If we do, nothing else really matters either. Because now and in the end, there is nothing quite like the promise of God’s presence: God is with us. That is what Christmas and life is all about. 

Merry Christmas, 

Craig

Christmas Eve

Here is my column for tomorrow night. We have services at 4:30 and 6:00 at Millard West in the auditorium. Hope to see you there!

Christmas Eve. It used to be my favorite day of the year. My parents, siblings, and I would take the one block walk to my grandparents. Grandpa got the fire going. We snooped around the Christmas tree to see what package had our name on it. We never formally ate. We just grazed on a smorgasbord of Norwegian food: lutefisk, kringle, lefse, raw oysters, meatballs, and rice pudding. The adults drank some concoction my grandpa mixed together. All I remember is it was some kind of orange slushy thing that smelled funny. A nut was buried in the rice pudding. Whoever got the nut won a prize. Since I was the youngest, I usually won the prize. Ironically, the prize was a box of chocolate covered cherries, perhaps the only form of chocolate I don’t like.

Then my oldest brother took the stockings down from the fireplace mantle. We dug into our stockings and discovered small toys, books, and loads of sugar. Then I got to deliver the Christmas presents. Meticulously. One at a time. After each present was opened, we saved what could be reused of the wrapping paper and I burned the rest. As the boxes and wrapping paper heated the room, Grandpa gave me stern instructions of what package to deliver next.

As the fireplace cooled down, the presents were all put away, and the dishes were done—we went to church at 11:00 p.m. The little church would be packed full of people. We sang Christmas songs, listened to the pastor ramble on, and lit candles as we sang Silent Night. Great way to spend a night.

Years later, I still love Christmas Eve. Life is much different now. I’m the pastor who rambles on. It is a busy time for me. But in the busyness, blessedness can be found.

• Not under a tree, but in a manger.
• Not in a catalog, buy in a Holy Book.
• Not in Norwegian food and some smelly orange slush, but in bread and some wine.

Christmas Eve reminds me more than anything else about God’s grace. Undeserved merit. It’s nothing we can earn or take. It can only be given and received.

Grace is God’s idea. It is forgiveness from our past. Freedom in the present. Hope for the future. It is how the world began and it is how the world will end.

Christmas is a yearly reminder that God is with us. If we don’t know this, nothing else matters. If we do know this, nothing else matters.

Family, presents, food, hope, grace – enjoy them all and a have a Merry Christmas.

Craig