songs of the season

Each year there seems to be another battlefield being fought over the so-called War-on-Christmas. I confess that I do not know how one particular issue reaches such status, at times even in its ability to rise above all that peace and goodwill stuff. Now, one might assume I'm going to make a rant about how some businesses do not allow for saying "Merry Christmas," or how the corporate fat cats are shoving their pagan and insensitive "Happy Holidays" down our throats. Actually, I'm thinking of the modern trend of watching self-identified Christians to find some cultural burr, stick it under their own saddle, and ride the range of public irritation, offensiveness, and outrage.

In 2015 we had the infamous war on Starbucks because they did not print "Merry Christmas" on their paper coffee cups, which we were supposed to believe was an anti-Christmas (therefore anti-Christ) assault on the millions of Americans who simply wanted get their $8 sugar-caffiene fix. (Oh, the plight of the affluent!) Of course, none of this narrative was true to the intentions or actions of Starbucks, and it wasn't too long before those greatly offended were able to return to their mocha and frappe lifestyles, even if they had to wait for the non-seasonal cups to return –  the ones with the logo based upon Nordic mythology, which is must less-offensive to Christians than the ommission of a specific holiday phrase.

Perhaps it is only in the particular circles in which I run, but 2016 seems to have a lot of jabbing and condemning of Christmas music. Over the past few weeks I have seen a good number of articles (some more serious than others) and social media commentary on how terrible certain Christmas songs are that we should dump, or even ban their existence. Now, we've all enjoyed reading those lists that poke fun at some of the more campy holiday songs that are mostly ridiculous, even though we all know someone who will defend the likes of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" to the bitter end. My concern isn't for the playing-around, but with what appear to be more serious attempts to chide certain Christmas music on moral or theological grounds.

(If only we were this adamant when it came to our worship music!)

Not every holiday song (Christmas-themed or not) has the best message, or the most moral content. Some songs are not as well-crafted musically or lyrically as others, and there is always the great variable of personal preference. These are all fair game for discussion. But the cultural and theological discussions are going to need to be dialed back just a bit, because the church ought to be about more than manufactured irritation.

There have been a handful of songs that are drawing the ire of would-be social commentators this year (some not for the first time), but I will limit my push-back to just two of them. First is the classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside (1944)." Over the past few years this song has raised a nod of suspicion, driven mostly by the mainstream political-correctness crowd who claim that this song tramples on consenting relationships, the allusion to a date-rape drug, or both. This is the result of a culture that has become so enamoured with its own significance that it has lost a sense of its own history, not to mention its inability to read and understand the plain meaning of lyrics.

First, this song is from 1944 New York City, a place much different than today, when the social scene was filled with entertainment-types hosting parties in their high-rise apartments. To this, folks would often perform for their guests (or have entertainment provided), giving rise to a number of good songs over the years. One such case was "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which was composed and initially performed by husband-and-wife, and gained instant popularity. Thus, the phrases and concepts are bound to that time period and should not have our modern behavior superimposed on top of them. For a woman (even girlfriend or fiance) to spend the night at her suitor's home was still culturally frowned upon at that time, which is where the play of the song originates.

Second, a reading of the lyrics demonstrates that the woman wants to stay the night, but is conflicted by the social customs and expectations of the day. Hence, it is a consentual relationship in which two people are torn between staying together and being pulled apart. The oft-questioned phrase, "What's in this drink," is then best understood as an almost-self-depricating-and-humorous self-awareness, much the same as was common phrasing at the time whenever someone was less-inhibited due to 'a few too many.' It is sad that we would rather assume and impose our world upon what was a different world once-upon-a-time. No, I'm not claiming that life in 1944 was perfect, but there was a shared cultural morality that frowned upon premarital sexual relationships, which one might need to explain in our contemporary society, where such things are laughed at by the voices in our culture.

The second song that is getting roughed up on the Christmas playground is "Mary, Did You Know? (1991)" I suppose that a good amount of the push-back here is due to a lot of overplaying that has happened with this song since it first gained widespread popularity. That's understandable, but the last couple of years – and especially in 2016 – it has become a popular move to offer a theological challenge to the intended meaning of this song. From internet memes to social commentaries in blogs and articles, the knee-jerk reaction is simply paraphrased: Yes! Mary did know! So, shut up!

Aside from perhaps some people hearing this song too many times in the December rotation, I really don't know why there is such pushback to this song. Probably this is another example of simply not reading the lyrics. The criticism of the song is based on the fact that Mary was told by Gabriel that her child would be the Messiah, and she sings in The Magnificat that this child will be great, sans the specifics that are mentioned in the modern song. That is to say: Yes, she knew that her child would be great and messianic, but there is little more than that in her self-stated 'knowledge' of what was happening. A longer reading of the Gospels shows that she did struggle with parts of Jesus' messianic role – she knew that he was to be God's Messiah, but she apparently didn't know what sort of Messiah he was going to be. We have no reason to think that Mary had a radically different understanding of messiahship than did everyone else in Second Temple Judaism.

Also to keep in mind here is that "Mary Did You Know?" is designed to be a reflection piece, centered on the mystery of the Incarnation, so that we too might ponder these things and treasure them in our hearts as well. Perhaps we miss out on this because so little of modern Christian worship involves reflection and meditation on the mystery of faith. The church in our culture, by and large, think of mystery as a riddle to be solved, not a person to be explored. Thus, we quickly get off on the wrong foot. No, this song isn't perfect theology, but it is a start – and it does seem to capture a lot of what people think about surrounding this Christ-child.

Again, there are more songs in question – some are genuinely poor, in musical quality and/or theology. But the endless complaints and manufactured irritation and criticism needs to go away, especially from those voices that are in the church. Christmas is indeed a significant season, and the gospel message that shines through the nativity ought to have teeth to it. But the Christmas songs are not the right battlefeld, and we ought to be doing more that is reflective of the Savior who has come.

There you have it – my Stop the Insanity plea for Christmas 2016.

Listen to that fireplace roar ...

all is bright 3

It would be a great blessing to be able to see the possible outcomes of each decision we make every day.  Indeed, many choices that we make seem insignificant in the moment, but perhaps have a profound impact on the direction of our lives.  A number of years ago there was a movie based upon this concept (Sliding Doors).  Whether or not a woman makes her train determines the entire course of her life.  The message here is that we ought never take any of our decisions for granted, lest we miss out on something important.  Scripture has this same perspective at points - showing us the potential outcomes for the decision we make today.  Sadly, such messages are often ignored by the casual reader, though the two paths remain before us.

[Micah 3:5-12]

The prophet Micah came to Jerusalem to confront the corruption that had taken over both court and temple.  He spoke words from Almighty God, and he describes two outcomes of a choice that was before the nation.  One would lead to certain catastrophe; the other would allow God to pour out the blessing of his covenant kingdom.

It was no secret that the nation was facing troubling times.  Unfortunately, there was no common agreement on how to fix the problems.  The politicians were rattling their sabers, facing off with the surrounding nations and daring them to bring military conflict.  (This battle would eventually come, and Israel would face disastrous consequences.)  The court-prophets gave their approval to anyone who gave them enough of the 'right incentive' to speak it - namely, those who fed them well.  Although both groups have been criticized by Micah already, it was not time for the prophets in specific to be called out.

The problem with false prophets is that they speak out of a false theology.  They are more than willing to preach messages which are socially acceptable, so long as the crowds continue to give their approval.  But, it is easy to attract crowds, it is difficult to make disciples.  Even the ministry of Jesus would experience this reality.

Even in our own congregation we have seen that the more serious the call for genuine disciples of Jesus, the more people leave in search of other things.  This has become a defining characteristic of modern American evangelicalism.  American faith is about three-thousand miles wide, and approximately one-inch deep.  There are many fair-weather churchgoers who simply lack the deeper commitment of an abiding faith, and the church as a whole are hurting because of an overall lack of faith-in-action.  And the more we compete among ourselves as believers the more the darkness around us wins the day.  Culturally speaking, the church is not winning right now.

The people of God are not simply challenged on its message, but also on their motivation.  Why are we here?

When Micah preached he did so in the face of those who told him to 'shut up' and 'go away.'  He spoke his piece without a majority behind him.  But the truth does not need a majority to prevail, especially when Almighty God is involved with its unveiling.  This is the decisive feature of the true prophet of God - the dynamic presence of the living Word.  When all is said and done this is more powerful than that gathering of crowds, the building of emotional excitement, or the perceived influencing of culture.

This was the problem that Micah came to call out.  There were far-too-many who were willing to 'speak on behalf of God' with words that only served to line their own pockets.  To any who would challenge or disagree with them, a war would be waged.  But this was the fight that Micah was looking to have.  Those who speak on their own behalf, rather than God's, will soon have their messages exposed for the shallow shell of spirituality that they actually are.  The profession of the preacher will become as empty as the messages they give - this is one option for the people of God.

Those in positions of power had failed in the work of justice.  In other words, those who had the opportunity to bring about God's goodness to those in need did not live up to such responsibility.  Blaise Pascal once said: "Justice without power is powerless.  Power without justice is tyrannical ... Justice and power must therefore be connected so that what is just is also powerful and what is powerful is also just."  Those who live in God's kingdom have a responsibility to work on behalf of those who suffer unjustly, to lift up the hurting, and oppose that which would enslave others.

When God's people cannot do this then we are doing nothing more than serving a false faith.  Our congregations are filled with people who profess faith in Jesus, thinking that they have achieved eternal life, but who in fact make empty professions while they are headed toward eternal damnation. Why?  Because they have no evidence of an active faith in their lives - what James would describe as faith without works is dead.

If God's most sacred institutions are unable to serve its purpose (temple, church), then what is God to do with them?  All that we have built for ourselves - believing that we have achieved something grand - that has been lacking the presence of God's Spirit will eventually come to complete ruin.  This is what we have witnessed in our churches and our culture, most notably the deterioration of the family.  But, what if we were to take a different path?  There is a different reality, and Micah turns quickly to describe that experience.

[Micah 4:1-5]

Micah speaks of what will happen in the 'last days,' a phrase that is important to define.  It isn't so much a period of time that he points toward, as in a calendar.  Rather, it is a spiritual indication of what will happen in the time of God's presence being poured out upon his people.  These are the days that lie beyond the possibilities of our present time - days that we cannot imagine right now because of the difficulties which surround us.  But this is the future that God will bring which will ultimately reverse our present situation.  This will be the time when Almighty God renews his creation and restores his world.

And this will begin with the reestablishment of his holy people - and his holy temple - and the worship that happens among them.  The greatness of Zion is the greatness of God.  The powerful presence of God will be poured out upon his people, and upon the entire world.  Not because God has diminished in his holiness - God is an all-consuming fire.  This new reality comes because God has brought his presence into our midst so that we might be able to experience him fully - to touch it and to hear it.  This has come in the person of Jesus.

There is great joy available to us because God has given us his presence through Jesus.  And this advent season we celebrate his coming to us, knowing that the result of his coming is the establishment of God's kingdom.  This will put an end to the need for war, for all will be able to live in peace and stability.

If that is the great goal before us, then it is also our calling to bring that experience of heaven into our experience of earth.  The joy of the kingdom ought to be on our hearts and in our minds and working in our lives.  The joy of the kingdom ought to always be the primary experience of God's people - the church.

And our message ought to be clear that anything that moves in power, without justice - even governments, kings and presidents - are not part of God's kingdom.  Ours is the calling of the gospel that sees God at work in human history, taking on real problems and hurts.  If we can look to the turmoil and darkness with such a faith, then we can proclaim with great certainty that all is calm, all is bright.

all is bright 2

In those days there had been a great deal of change.  A recent influx of wealth into the country meant that never before had so many people done so well for themselves.  The biggest problem with increased economics is that when it comes through political arrangement (rather than through the free enterprise of a free people), then it tends to benefit those at the top more than everyone else.  As Orwell once pointed out to us, under such systems, "All animals are equal.  Some animals are more equal than others."

For those experiencing this dynamic shift there was a certain rise of economic opportunity, on the one hand, but there was, on the other hand, a certain cost of doing such business.  Here it was the squeezing out of the little guy from the farming communities that dotted the countryside - the family farms, the small business that either sprang up from or around them, and good men and women and children that made them work.  This was where the pressure came, once it had originated from the policies that were designed to further advance those in positions of influence.

Coming from his own rural hometown, the prophet Micah would have known all-too-well the tragedy and heartbreak that these 'land-grabbers' had caused.  He came to Jerusalem not only to speak his mind, but to give a prophetic word from Almighty God against such prevailing practices.  So it will be that Micah will become God's spokesman, and we can see that he will not mince words in his critique of a wayward nation.

Micah 2:1-5

No matter what, it seems as though there will always be people who are determined to cause all sorts of trouble for others, only to gain a little more for themselves - those who will work well into the night to plan their next move come daybreak.  When we think of a new day we are supposed to have an excited and optimistic experience of light and life and justice.  But in Micah's day this idea of a new day has been corrupted into a time when all sorts of iniquity is being accomplished.  While good men and women are busy caring for their families and getting along with their neighbors, the corrupted official leadership of the nation was plotting their next move.  Whereas the common person was concerned only for the freedom to live and work and worship as they see fit, there are others who seek control over the populace, and thus gain the profits that come from such dominance.

All of this had become for God's people the way the nation was run.  And this is the precise reason why Micah came into town.

Why do these people act in such a way?  Simply stated, they do so "because it is in their power to do it."  Those in positions of power have decided that they want something (in this case land that belonged to others), so they take it, either through the existing system or through alterations to the system that was designed to protect those outside of the power circles.  Those at the top became fond of changing the rules to further benefit themselves.  And this was the type of behavior that seemed to have become prized and rewarded in those days.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?  It should.  Our own nation is designed to be governed by laws that protect the freedom of all people, that we may live and work and worship in a way that we see fit for ourselves and our families.  But the last few generations have seen the American Dream become something else entirely, as more and more of our 'representatives' become enamored with the rewards of political power (and the profits that come from it) over others.  Our own limited government has become a behemoth that can - and does - take what it wants through taxation, limiting resources, and the overall manipulation (or rewriting) of a system designed to preserve our culture of freedom.  Often this is done throughout the night while others are not watching closely.

(How many times in the last few years alone have we seen non-emergency legislation passed on Sundays, Christian holidays, or in the late hours of the night when most of us are spending our efforts on things much more important than our government?)

As much as it might appear to be, I submit to you that this is not a government problem.  Although ours is a national problem, our biggest issue is not that we are missing the right legislation, the right administration, or otherwise.  It is a far deeper and more serious problem - we as a nation have lost our sense of morality and belief, not only in God but with one another.  A recent poll showed that approximately 70% of Americans do not trust one another - a serious statistics that serves as a symptom of our present trouble.

Micah has a stern warning for those who conduct this type of business-as-usual, and he appeals to God's law as he puts forward his case.  There are those who covet, cheat one's neighbor, act in violence to another's property, and defrauded others.  Each of these is specifically and strictly forbidden in the God-given law for Israel.  Micah promises that to those who have taken the freedom which God had given through the covenant and redistributed it among themselves will find that it will be Almighty God who will redistribute all things according to his will.  Those who decide to take what they want by force will quickly discover that they can lose what they have by force.

The issue of morality is that of a misplaced confidence in one's own accomplishment and achievement.  Whenever we forget that it is God alone who gives to us and blesses us with all things, then we are set up for catastrophic consequences.  Micah came with this message and, understandably, was not readily welcomed by those who were indicted by his words.  Instead of hearing his voice they turned to their own so-called 'official prophets' found in the king's court.

Micah 2:6-11

Instead of considering for a moment that Micah's warning might hold some merit, the voices within the administration tried to shout him down.  In those days any voice that did not participate in the positivism that was being pushed by the PR campaigns of the court were simply shoved to the side.  Instead, it was reported that people only wanted to hear about God's love and special regard for his people - forget all of that wrath and judgment, overly fundamentalist stuff.  But Micah knew that the preaching of half-truths would only lead his nation further down the path to destruction and death.  So he then went after the nation leadership in specific, for they were the ones who decided to only listen to the more popular - but fake - theologies.

The problem with these other messages was that they did not result in covenant obedience.  If the greed and dishonest type of behavior was what came from those who followed these other so-called prophets, then Micah knew that they were not speaking on behalf of God.  The same can be said of us today - the way we act is a sign of our devotion to God's Word, and if we have churches and church-cultures that continue to act immorally, then our message (and messengers) might be suspect.

When Micah's generation had rejected God and his Word they forfeited the covenant-blessings that were promised to them.  They refused to admit this, but the evidence shows otherwise, that God's promises are for God's saints.  What happened in those days is that the vast wealth that God had poured upon his people as they inhabited the land was not being manipulated and concentrated to the wealthy.  Therefore, the land has become defiled, and rejects those who try to inhabit it with such sin and malice in their hearts.  The nation is headed for certain disaster because of this heart-problem.  Who are we to think that we are not on this same disastrous path?

While the dissenting voices, like Micah, decry those who manipulate God's Word and the freedom he has endowed to his creation, there are those living it up and guaranteeing us that such disaster would never happen to us.  But how can anyone make such assurances against that which God has spoken in his Word?  If our injustices and our iniquities look like that which is described in Micah, then why do we think that we will not arrive at the same catastrophic result?  Our nation is presently in deep trouble, and it will not do to pretend that all is fine ... even though so many of those in our national leadership, and even among the most popular pulpits, are content to fiddle away while the city burns.

The second week of Advent is supposed to be about peace, and it is difficult to grab hold of that them when you consider what we have said thus far.  Indeed, there is a lot of work before us if we are going to be the people of God in both word and deed.  But it appears that God is not yet finished with his people, for the words of Micah have a bit more ...

Micah 2:12-13

Even in the blackest hour Micah looked forward with great expectation for the coming of Almighty God, when he would restore and renew his own and take away the injustice and iniquity.  These will be the days when his covenant will be firmly established.  It appears as though God is not afraid of governments, political machines, or the rich and powerful.  Even when such entities appear to us as insurmountable obstacles, he breaks through those chains which weigh upon his people - his freedom is never thwarted.

The story of God's deliverance once again come sot his people when they have been overtaken by corruption, even in the highest levels of national and religious leadership.  Micah's words promise God's salvation to come once more to restore his people form their captivity to sin and corruption.   And this would happen in one particular event that would come many years after Micah had said his piece.

Luke 2:1-5

Luke's telling of the gospel reminds us that, even in the midst of the greatest worldly powers - in this case it is the reign of Caesar and the rule of Rome - that God comes to his people with the salvation they so desperately need.  This child would come to save his people from their sins - the deliverance that goes beyond politics, governments, social-change, and the like.  It will be salvation of our heart-problem - a radical transformation of our lives, if we allow it to enter.

There is great darkness around us, but we have no reason to be fearful of it.  We have a peace that goes beyond all human understanding, for we have the light of the world at work in us and through us that we might go out and illuminate the surrounding darkness withe the presence of Christ.  It we hold firm to our belief in Christmas then we will not be overcome by the turbulence of our culture, nor will we be overshadowed by the corruption that surround us.  We will be those who embody the gospel of Jesus, proclaiming that all is calm and all is bright.

all is bright 1

It was a time of great upheaval and unrest.  The political landscape was dominated by ever-increasing threats, both from the internal moral corruption of the nation's leadership, as well as from the external threats of a hostile emperor's bent on worldwide conquest.  It seemed, even among those who believed that God was the sovereign ruler of the universe, that the world was an unstable place.  Perhaps if you had the means to weather such storms - to play the political and financial games of survive-and-thrive - you could preserve yourself and your family when these circumstances would inevitable come crashing down.  But that sort of 'comfort' was reserved only for the very rich, while the average person was simply working to make it through today, with very little thought being given for tomorrow.

Immorality, corruption and greed were the winning hands of the day, or so it appeared.  Dishonest practices abounded in business and commerce as well, to the point where it made a mockery of the dedication of hard-working men and women who thought it right to color inside the lines of truth and honesty.

In the king's court there were prophets; the monarch was surrounded by the religious tradition that was established to safeguard God's covenant as it played out in state business.  But, as they had gone to the capital it seems that these so-called prophets became more concerned with the lining of their own pockets, through the participation of state public relations campaigns, helping to sell whatever political agenda was needed by those seeking to gain, or maintain, their power.  When all was said and done these false voices would be exposed by the truth - blinded by their own greed to the point where they could not see the imminent disaster that was to overtake them all.

This nation - the one that was supposed to be the chosen people of Almighty God - appeared outwardly to be religious and devout.  The temple cult was active, sacrifices were being made, and they knew how to espouse properly sounding theology.  But, somewhere in the midst of it all, they had replaced God's morality with one of their own.  It had become a time when everyone worked to gain the best position for themselves, and the successes they had brought for themselves led them to trust in their own self-asserted importance.  They believed that they were strong enough to withstand any force that would rise up against them.  And, as everyone knew, they had God on their side at all times, even in the midst of national apostasy.

So they foolishly set out to match strength with strength.  Along the way, they also matched religion with religion, becoming quite cosmopolitan and sophisticated in their acceptance and tolerance of other religious beliefs.  After all, what good is it to appear as close-minded and shallow rubes while trying to establish oneself on the world stage of politics and government?  These were the days of an elitist leadership, and those who were too simple-minded to support the current administration - in courts of both king and temple - were simply written off and marginalized by their own fellow countrymen.

It was out of this context that a voice began to make itself heard.  Actually, there were a few voices that echoed through the Judean hills in those days.  These were men who did not participate in the modus operandi of the statist system that had emerged over the past generations.  Our modern culture would do well to listen for these voices once agin, though one in particular is worth considering on its own.

He was recognized as a prophet; he was one of those charismatic voices that stood within the great tradition of speaking on behalf of God to the nation (and to the world).  But he was also an outsider to the great halls where the 'real business' of the country occurred.  He was more at home among his hometown farming community than he was in the king's court, though he would soon prove that he could hold his own in either situation.  No doubt he was made into an easy target by those who were more 'sophisticated' than he (which might just be a polite way of saying that they were corrupted elitists who no longer listened for the voice of truth and reason).

In any event, this man came to the great city and shared his prophetic voice.  Jerusalem, a great city that had already mushroomed to over three or four times its former size because of the fear that overwhelms those in unstable circumstances.  Of course, the political machine would hail this as a sign that things were on the right track.  But, in reality, the nation couldn't handle the extra burden of these refugees and aliens.  This would prove to be yet another piece of the coming catastrophe.  Yet it was in these days that Micah came to preach, and he gave a stirring message that everyone needs to hear when faced with such an overwhelming circumstance: he spoke a word of doom, and he spoke a word of hope.

Read Micah 1:1-7

Whenever we hear the word of God we engage a spiritual filter: we readily accept those words of blessing as promises meant for us, and we readily assign those words of judgment as indications that other people will need to get their act together.  This passage plays off of this reality, for it begins as a message that is quite vague in its recipients, though there is a great urgency in it's call to listen ("Look!).  We are meant to grab the immediacy of these words, for God is coming to earth and everything that now is will crumble before his awesome presence.  When this happens it will appear as though all hell is breaking loose, unless you have eyes to see that it is the presence of Almighty God that melts away all of the corruption that has for so long established itself as 'just the way things are.'  While the ruling class and false prophets will struggle to make sense of the collapse, Micah clearly identifies a God marching on like a warrior who will not be stopped.

The surprise twist in this passage is that, while Micah ultimately preaches to the whole world, it is the people of God (presently divided into two nations) that will experience the terrible events that are to come.  It is true that that the nations of the world will face this coming experience, but it appears that judgment is beginning within the house of God.

On what charges?  Those will be laid out in detail over the course of Micah's message - the people of God have failed to be morally and ethically committed to the covenant.  For now, however, the message is clear.  Shocking, but clear: the judgment of God is about to fall on this nation, and the only way to escape his fiery wrath is to repent from the current course and return hearts to him.  In the description of Samaria's destruction, there is only mentioned idolatry.  This is interesting, for that seems to be the underlying theme of all of the corruption that is plaguing this nation - the placement of money, land, power, achievement and legacy have all pushed out our desire for God's presence.

Micah's message shows how God will step into our world and exact judgment on the immorality and corruption.  The details of this passage describe a theophany - a visible manifestation of God.  Once the world has been made right again will God begin the work of reestablishing the kingdom he has given over to his people.

Years after these words were proclaimed in the ancient land, to capitals who had spread their corruption throughout the cities and towns that were to be inhabited by God's own people, there would be another visible manifestation of God given to humanity.  It would achieve the same doom and hope that Micah describes, although in a way that would require eyes to see and ears to hear the sights and sounds of heaven.  And the sudden appearance of God to our world would once again shake us forward and shake us free into the new world of his kingdom.

It is no secret that we live in turbulent times, filled with greed and corruption from the highest levels to the cities and towns across our nation.  The more it is institutionalized, the less we feel the outrage and shock of our own behavior.  Our leadership has become so corrupted that it cannot tell its right hand from its left, acting as though this is some sort of game without consequences while so many families are hurting and struggling to make it through one more day.  There is a desperate need for hope in our world.  We might be the 'unsophisticated' simpletons who hold to what our culture identifies as 'ridiculous' notions of biblical truth and gospel, but public perception does not invalidate the power of the truth.  (Some, like the apostle Paul, might even think that such perception serves to prove the truth.)

No longer can the people of God be silent.  The darkness working within our culture is aware of the stakes, and that is why we see a manifested war on Christmas happening around us.  We must always remember that Christmas is a moral statement that, from its origins, challenges the powers of the world and asserts the transformative presence of God's kingdom and messiah.  Today we are in the throws of a crisis, being promised a utopia beyond every bend.  While we presently witness the waking up to the reality that the emperor doesn't really have any clothes, we will also see the destruction of that which is corrupt - a clearing of the ground - so that God can once more build his kingdom in our midst.

These are the necessary words of doom and hope, and the church needs to be clear in presenting the two options to our fellow countrymen.  The Christmas decision will be to turn our hearts back to Almighty God.  This is more important than any court case, legislation, or election.  Advent is the season to prepare for his coming, and we as his people are being summoned to enact his presence as a bright light shining into the midst of a dark and raging world.

To know that all is calm, all is bright.