"Paul's Perspective on Christmas"

A sermon preached at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on the Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2006 by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Galatians 4:4-7.

Most of us are familiar with the traditional Christmas story - the one we have heard since we were children told from Matthew and Luke’s perspective. Perhaps, when you were a child you even participated in a Christmas play that portrayed that familiar scene of Mary and Joseph in a stable in Bethlehem, complete with farm animals, and shepherds and even an angel or two. To us, that’s the story of Christmas, the one we’ve heard over and over again and that’s the one we are all familiar with. In fact, throughout the season of Advent and Christmas our hearts and minds are focused and centered on that scene in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go and watch The Nativity Story, which helped to bring the Christmas story to life. What a powerful movie!

I love the story that is told of a Sunday school class of first-graders who were asked by their teacher to write their own version of the Christmas story. They had the familiar cast: Joseph, the shepherds, the star and an angel propped up in the background. Everything else, though, was modernized. There were some bales of straw, behind which Mary was apparently in labor. Suddenly, the "doctor" emerged from the "delivery room" with a big smile on his face and exclaimed; "Congratulations, Joseph, it’s a God."

Virginia Giles told me of a unique interpretation of the Christmas story that she witnessed the week-before-last, of an African-American, Gospel Choral twist on the story. Now, I am one who always likes to see things from different perspectives and in different lights. I think it helps you grow as individual - not just intellectually, but also spiritually. And perhaps that’s why I love our Scripture Lesson this morning from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Here, the Apostle Paul offers his perspective on the Christmas story! Probably, most of us, when reading these words do not initially think of Christmas; in fact, Christmas is probably the last thing on our minds when hearing these words, but what we have here is Paul’s interpretation of the Christmas message.

The German bishop Rudolf Graber once said; "What took place in Bethlehem is infinitely more important than the creation of the world. For the fact that God’s only Son - the second person of the Trinity, was willing and ready to become man on this tiny little earth simply surpasses all else."

And certainly, I believe, this is the way the Apostle Paul felt, as well. He begins in verse 4 by saying; "In the fullness of time," which suggests that at the perfect time – at the opportune time - at the right moment in history! You know, this phrase expresses a whole philosophy of history. It expresses the supreme event in the divine plan toward which God had been moving since the beginning of time.

Things had been happening on earth. Prophecies had been fulfilled. The world had been prepared politically for the birth of Christ. The world conquest by Alexander the Great and the development of a common language - Greek - had helped to show the fullness of time. The world had been prepared morally. Heathenism, paganism, and false religions had buried God in the visible world; a literal God, an Almighty God, the God of love was unknown in the midst of superstitions and unbelief. All of the religious experience of the day had produced despair and hopelessness. Philosophy and moral values had produced widespread corruption, and a longing and yearning for better things. It was out of this despair - it was out of this longing and yearning that the people cried, as captured in that beautiful hymn;

"Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free;

From our fears and sins release; let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art;

Dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart."

"In the fullness of time," Paul writes, "God sent his Son," to be born and to later die for the sins of the world. God became incarnate - flesh, born of a woman, which speaks of Christ’s humanity, as well, as to his role as the ultimate "seed of the woman" as promised back in Genesis 3. God became one of us, in order that he might deliver us from sin and death! God heard and answered our prayer; "O come, O come, Emmanuel... O come thy people to deliver..."

The Apostle Paul also, in his interpretation of the Christmas story, points out that Christ was "born under the law," which means he was subject to the Jewish law, further establishing his identification with all people who are subject to the law. If God was going to save us, God had to become one of us - like us, and Paul stresses this through these words here. We do not have a God who cannot sympathize with us! No! God became one of us, like us, and he knows our struggles, difficulties and pains.

Paul is talking about God sending his Son from his pre-existent state in heaven. You see, there are three terms to refer to the stages of Christ’s existence. First, there is the pre-existent stage, Christ’s life with the Father - co-existing with God the Father, the second person of the Trinity, prior to his earthly existence as the Word made flesh. Then there is Christ’s existence, which refers to his existence as Jesus; and then finally is his post-existence, which speaks of his life following the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.

But Paul reminds us in verse 5 of the purpose of his coming to us – redemption. You know, the word "redeem," which Paul uses here literally means, "to buy from the slave market," and it is a term that only Paul uses in the New Testament to speak of our redemption. And certainly this gives us the idea of what God has done for us in and through Christ. Although there is only one natural Son in God’s family - Jesus Christ, yet God has graciously adopted all believers as his sons and daughters. We are no longer slaves to sin, nor children under the tutor or guardianship of the law - we now belong to God’s family.

And then Paul reminds us in verses 6 and 7; just as "God sent forth his Son" in "the fullness of time," so "God sent forth his Spirit" at just the right time for every person who believes in Christ. We can know intimacy with God the Father because of the indwelling of his Spirit to the point that you and I can call God – Abba, which can literally be translated "Daddy!" What intimacy! That’s the message of Christmas. God didn’t just come to visit our world and redeem us, but he also came to dwell with us as Emmanuel - God with us through the power and presence of his Holy Spirit. God has not abandoned us. God has not left us to fend for ourselves. No! God has come to dwell with us – Emmanuel!

One fundamental truth of God’s Word is that Christ is reborn in the regeneration of every child of God. The Apostle Paul wrote; "I am again in the pain of childbirth until Christ is formed in you." When we receive Christ, it becomes true what is said that there is another incarnation of Christ, because Christ lives and dwells in us. We, like Mary, in a sense, are called to allow Christ to be born in us. When Christ is born in us Christmas comes into our hearts and lives. And then we, in a sense, become the incarnation of Christ to the world! We become living testimonies and representatives of God’s love and grace, redemption and presence in and through Christ to the world.

What is Christmas? Dr. Robert G. Lee said; "Christmas is the joyous celebration of eternity’s intersection with time." The Apostle Paul said it like this, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman." Indeed, this is the greatest story ever told. Paul offers us the theology behind what occurred in Bethlehem, in that familiar scene. God, in the fullness of time, came to deliver, redeem and dwell in our hearts and lives forever. What a perfect perspective on the Christmas story!

"A Season of Light!"

A sermon preached at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2006 by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon is based on John 8:12-30.

Light plays a major role in our celebration of Advent and Christmas. There is the light from candles being lit; to those lights which decorate our Christmas trees and houses. All around us we see light – even in the midst of darkness. Nothing brings joy to Miriam’s face quite like riding through neighborhoods and seeing the houses decorated with lights. In fact, when we come upon a house that is decorated she announces; "Lights, mommy! Lights, daddy!" And to Miriam, she doesn’t understand why everyone doesn’t decorate their homes at Christmas! She will ask; "Where’d the lights go?" When we come to a house that isn’t decorated. Light is essential! Some of you can remember the days before having the commodity of electricity in your home. When all you had were candles to illuminate the darkness.
I read once that part of the experience of touring the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico is experiencing the darkness. The tour guide will take you to the bottom of these magnificent caves and turn off all the lights to show you what it feels like to be in utter darkness! One person said of the experience; "Once the lights are turned off, it doesn’t take long before you can literally feel the darkness, you start getting anxious and afraid, and you long for the light!"
This is, in a sense, what the people of Israel felt. The nation was occupied by a foreign power, and thus the Jews’ aspirations, dreams, and hopes were blunted by reality and blighted by circumstance. They had "walked in darkness," they had "dwelled in a land of deep darkness." And they were longing for the light of God’s presence to come and illuminate them. They longed for the birth of the one who would restore their rejoicing and revive their joy, the Prophet who would renew their glory, release them from bondage, and reestablish their independence.
The setting of our Gospel Lesson is key in understanding the significance of Jesus’ proclamation of "I am the Light of the world." Keep in mind, on the evening of the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a ceremony called the Illumination of the Temple, which involved the ritual lighting of four golden candelabras in the Court of Women. For additional reflection, each person lit four candlesticks and set them in a floating bowl, producing such a spectacle of illumination that it is said that all of Jerusalem reflected the light. All night long the city glowed from the lights of the Temple. In celebration and anticipation, the greatest, wisest and holiest of Israel’s men danced before the Lord and sang psalms of joy and praise while the people watched and waited.
They watched and waited, hoped and prayed, because this festival reminded the citizens of Israel that God has promised long ago that a child would be born who would be the Anointed One who would redeem his people. And it was against this backdrop that Jesus defined who he was: "I am..." those magnificent words first spoken by God to Moses in the Burning Bush – "I am the light of the world!" What a magnificent setting for a declaration that God’s new age had dawned in the birth, person and work of the humble Nazarene. Picture it, the darkness of the countryside surrounding the brilliance of the light coming from the Temple area and then, the proclamation: "I am the light of the world."
You know, light enables one to see. Light illumines. "To shed light on the matter," means to reveal, or to disclose truth. Jesus is the Light of the world in that he enables us to see the truth about ourselves and the truth about God. He illumines our understanding both of ourselves and of God. In Jesus, who is the Light of the world, we see ourselves as God sees us, and we see God as he desires us to see him.
The poem, "Heavenly Light" reflects Christ’s nature as being light. It reads:

"Christ, who is light, shines forth as sunshine, allowing people to grow.
A miracle is performed of making a tare into a beautiful rose.
Thy spirit is content, at peace and free.
The joy of the Lord is surely upon me.
Through thy light thou has shown me the way.
I thank thee, O Lord, each and every day."

Light is the life-giving force of the universe – it is essential for survival. In fact, God’s first creative work was establishing light – "Let there be light!" In the first chapter of John’s gospel we have the spiritual creation and through an in depth study of these two creation accounts – the one in Genesis and the one in John, we see that they parallel one another. We see that light plays a major factor in both! Genesis chapter 1 speaks of the physical light, whereas John chapter 1 speaks of the spiritual light. In Genesis 1 God sends the light to dispel darkness. In John 1 God sends the Light – himself incarnate to dispel spiritual darkness. Through sending the light in Genesis 1 physical life is possible. Through sending the Light in John 1 spiritual life is possible. What a revelation!
I remember having to write a paper in Child Psychology some time ago to explain a child’s phobia or fear of the darkness through the theoretical perspectives of psychology. And I couldn’t help but think that there are many factors to consider in one’s fear of the darkness, as well as one’s fear of the light – especially the Light of Christ.
During the devastation of a tornado or hurricane that strikes during the night hours, it isn’t until the light of the day that one can see the damage. So, in through the light of Christ, we see our sinfulness and in receiving the light we experience transformation. Of course, we can choose to retreat to the darkness – we can choose to ignore our sinfulness and frailty and remain in the darkness. In fact, one quest of psychology is self-understanding. Light makes is possible, while darkness conceals the truth. Darkness concerns deception, while light concerns honesty. A great philosopher once said; "Walking in the light adds the perception that results in being honest and truthful with oneself." In the Light of Christ we see who we are!
Someone once defined darkness as the absent of light. And I might add, it becomes absent only through choice. We can choose to turn out the lights, pull the covers over our head, close our eyes; but the light still shines – "the sun never stops shining," as a poet once wrote. Darkness is a result of what we do to prevent ourselves from being exposed to the light.
Edith Wharton once wrote; "There are two ways of spreading light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." And in essence, that is our calling, we are called to be the mirror which reflects Christ, who is the Candle!
Another philosopher wrote; "If I take a lamp and shine it toward the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth… for understanding." And, you know, friends, too often we assume that the light on the wall is God, but the light on the wall is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. As Joseph Ratzinger said; "Christ is not the Enlightened One, but is himself the Light. By receiving the Light we become the enlightened ones," we become the "light on the wall." What a powerful reminder of who we are and who God is! And certainly, it is during the season of Advent - a season infused with light, that we focus on the Light of the world and our calling to reflect Christ’s light.
And so, as we celebrate the Light coming into the darkness of the world, we rejoice that we, who once walked in darkness, have seen and experience the Light! But our Advent celebration isn’t just a celebration of the past, it is also a celebration of the present and the future. Through Advent, we realize our responsibility to allow Christ’s light to permeate and enlighten us now - in the present, that we might become a reflector, until that day, which is to come, in the future when there will be no need of the sun or the moon, for Christ will be the Light!
So may we pray: "O come, O come, Light of the World, which enlightens us, and fill our world with the light of your presence and the truth of your word! But until thy kingdom comes and thy will is fully done on earth as it is in heaven, allow me to reflect thy light and truth." Just as John the Baptist was called to prepare the way of the Lord, so we are also called, as John, to prepare the way of the Lord who is coming again, Amen!

"Magic Eye"

Meditation preached at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Hanging of the Greens Sunday, December 3, 2006 by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Meditation based on Matthew 5:8.

Perhaps, some of you are familiar with the puzzles that became popular in the early 90's called, Magic Eye. These puzzles were designed to test your ability to see a three-dimensional image that has been camouflaged, if you will, by various patterns, shapes and colors all of which are two-dimensional. Now, some people are really good at diverging their eyes and finding the 3-D image with little effort, while others find this exercise to be very difficult, not to mention time consuming. In many ways, this is also the test we find ourselves faced with during the Advent and Christmas season. Do we allow all of the hype and commercialism, all of the hustle and bustle, all of the secular influences of this season to camouflage the true message of Christmas? Do we have trouble seeing Christ in Christmas?
Perhaps you can relate to the man who walked into a grocery store in search of a product with which he thought he was familiar with. He went to the appropriate section of the supermarket, searched high and low, but could not find the desired item. Finally, he gave up his search and asked a clerk for assistance, to his surprise the clerk immediately located the item from the very shelf where the man had been searching. I think we can all relate to that situation. Sometimes, we have trouble finding that which we are looking for because there are so many distractions around us. And certainly this can be true of Christmas.
I love Jesus’ beatitude found in verse 8 of the 5th chapter of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus said; "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God." Sometimes we have trouble seeing God, don’t we? Now obviously, I am not talking physically; but spiritually! And for that matter, sometimes we have trouble spiritually hearing God, as well. Oh, it’s easy for this to happen with all of life’s distractions. But Jesus said; "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."
The Greek word for "pure" is katharoi, which describes a person who is wholehearted and committed, in this case to God - being purely motivated, purely focused, purely dedicated and devoted to God. These words echo those of Psalm 24:4 and 5, which emphasizes truthfulness and integrity as defining characteristics of purity. The Psalmist wrote; "He who has clean hands and a pure heart; who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from God his Savior."
We, as Christians must have a pure heart - kardia. The heart often stands for the "center and source of the whole inner life, with its thinking, feeling, and motives." The heart makes it possible to see God and experience a relationship with Christ. The Psalmist declared; "My heart says to you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, O Lord, I will seek" (Psalm 27:8). And the Apostle Paul wrote; "...[for] Christ... dwells in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:17). Having a "pure heart" means that your thoughts, emotions, and will are solely and entirely devoted to and focused on God. For when this is true, we shall see God. For Jesus reminds us, "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."
This is what John describes as the destiny of God’s faithful in the final revelation of the Book of Revelation, John writes; "They will see his face" (Revelation 22:4). That is the blessed hope of those who have a pure heart. We, as Christians, have a foretaste of Christ’s presence now, we see God’s face, spiritually. But we shall see God and enjoy his presence completely in the life to come. "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."
Benjamin P. Browne suggests that the millions who have no concept of the spiritual significance and meaning of Christmas are "Christmas Christians." He explains in this way; "Christmas Christians are limited Christians. It might seem safe to try to keep Christ wrapped as a baby and restricted to Bethlehem’s stable, but by doing this, too much is lost. Rather," he said, "it is in the context of his life and ministry, death and resurrection that Bethlehem has meaning." Those who properly celebrate Christmas should want to shout with Paul; "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15), and that gift is Jesus Christ. And if I may barrow the words of Cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation; "That’s the gift that keeps on giving." You see, friends, Christmas isn’t just an isolated event that is over in one day. Rather, it is one in a series of glorious events that all involve God’s redemptive plan and purpose.
And so, let us prepare our hearts for this celebration of Advent. By focusing on the lessons of the Advent and Christmas decorations. Many of the beautiful traditions and customs of Advent and Christmas came to us from as early as the 4th century, where the Church thought of unique and interesting ways to honor Christ and reflect upon his birth, his life, his death and his resurrection. The origin of many of these customs came to us from paganism. December the 25th was originally a pagan festival to honor the sun - it was, in a sense, the sun’s birthday. But the Christian, December the 25th is the birthday of the SON - Jesus Christ. And the Church seeking to put an end to such festivals and practices took many of these once, pagan customs, traditions and practices, and transformed them into rich, beautiful and meaningful symbols and practices for Christians. As in all things, so it is in Advent and Christmas, we are called to see Christ’s presence, and so may we do so as we focus on the decorations and traditions of this season. Let us, this day and throughout this season, prepare him room in our hearts, our lives, our church and our homes that he might be born anew and afresh in us. "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God" - that isn’t having a Magic Eye, but a spiritual eye!

"How Old Is God?"

Sermon preached at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Christ the King Sunday, November 27, 2006 by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Revelation 1:4b-8 and 12-20.

When I was a child playing baseball there was a boy on my team that I eventually became friends with. However, our friendship didn’t start off too well. You see, this boy’s father would help our team out by coming to practice and pitching with us, to help warm our arms up. He would sometimes bat some balls to us so that we might practice our fielding. Needless to say, on the second day of practice, I was speaking to this boy and said innocently; "It sure is nice to have your grandfather helping us out." Now, I don’t know if my father at the time just looked younger in comparison to his father; but, for some reason, I thought he was his grandfather - he just looked older. As I said, we eventually became friends in time. I guess I’ll have to find another job if and when I decide to join the circus, because I have never been good as guessing people’s ages and I sure won’t venture to guess a person’s weight, especially a woman’s.
I came across a story a while back of a church men’s group that met for lunch one Saturday. The group was comprised of men of all ages. The speaker was talking about the importance of forgiveness. He said, "The Lord has given us the command to forgive the wrongs of others, but he has not given me the ability to forget them!" From the back of the room, an elderly man interrupted the speaker and said; "Just wait a few more years and you will have no trouble forgetting them."
Perhaps some of you can relate to that! Along with old age comes forgetfulness, bad eyesight, aches and pains - it’s a part of life. And it sure makes it hard to adhere to that saying; "Grow old gracefully." In fact, some might claim that there is no grace in growing old.
But how old do you think God is? Is God a baby? Perhaps a child? Maybe a teenager? Or maybe God is in the prime of his life and is a young adult. Or, God could be a wise elder. There’s an old proverb which says; "There are no right answers to a wrong question." And certainly, the question; "How old do you think God is?" is a wrong question to which there is no right answer. In the wonderful and intriguing Book of Revelation, God is spoken of as the One "who was and who is and who is to come." We also see in our Scripture Lesson this morning, that among other things, the Lord God identifies himself as "the Alpha and Omega," which are, of course, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Thus our Lord is saying, that as far into the past as we can go and as far into the future as we can imagine, we’ll find God there - God is eternal - and what a profound thought that is!
Someone has written; "God is timeless, yet related always to every time." And certainly that is true; especially when we consider what our Scripture Lesson says pertaining to God who was and who is and who is to come.
He was! "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God..." This is a reference to Jesus - Jesus is the Word, the very logos "idea" or "expression" of God, who was and is and is to come. Jesus’ origin doesn’t begin in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago, that is when he became flesh, but he was in the beginning - co-existing with God the Father and God the Spirit. The Greek word used to describe Jesus as being in the "image" of God in Colossians 1 expresses this. Jesus is the eikon "image" of God. He didn’t come as a representative of God - he was and is God - in the flesh.
Some Christians believe in the God who was - the God of the past, the God revealed in Scripture. But friends, we are not to look back to God’s past actions simply to satisfy our interest in history. Or, as a testimony of the way God used to be. Rather, our purpose in looking back to God’s acts in the past is to help us look up and look in and to learn that this same God is with us today! As the Apostle Paul wrote, pertaining to the Old Testament, "These things happened to serve as an example to us, and were written down to instruct us" (I Corinthians 10:11).

Yes, God is the God of the past - God who was, is also the God who IS! God is active now in our lives. We have the power and presence of his Spirit with us as an assurance of that promise - that God isn’t just the God who was, but also the God who IS!
And God is also the God who is to come! If we could look into the furthest reaches of the future, we would find God there. And this promise should give us not only comfort but hope. God is in control! He has promised that "he who has begun a great work in us" - God who has begun a great work in and through creation, "will see it through to it completion." God doesn’t start a project he cannot finish! God sees his projects through. Sure, you and I don’t know what the future holds, but we can rest assured and know with certainty that the one who holds the future is the one who is holding our hand.
I find it interesting that the Book of Revelation is a wonderful way to finish the story that began in Genesis. All that began in the Book of Beginnings (Genesis) is consummated in the Book of Unveiling (Revelation). In Genesis the heaven and earth were created, in Revelation we read of a new heaven and a new earth. In Genesis the sun and the moon appear, in Revelation we read that there is no need for the sun or the moon, for Christ is the Light! In Genesis there is a garden, in Revelation there is a holy city. In Genesis there is the marriage of the first adam - man, in Revelation there is the marriage supper of the second adam - Christ! In Genesis we see the beginning of sin, in Revelation sin is done away with, and in the midst of it all is God - Elohem! .
But these verses give us a picture of our Lord. We see that John describes our Lord as being "dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet." Keep in mind, flowing robes were a token of dignity, respect and honor. It was also the garment of the high priest in the Old Testament - thus reminding of that Christ is now our High Priest - our Mediator. John says that his "head and hair were as white as wool" - this is probably where we get that image of God as being an "old man" - but certainly it is validation that the Lord is the Ancient of Days! White, of course, symbolizes the Lord’s nature as being pure and holy. I love John’s description of our Lord’s eyes, which were like "blazing fire." What an image! But certainly this is perhaps symbolizing intelligence - bringing things to light. Like two lasers, the eyes of Christ look with a penetrating gaze into the depths of his people. His "feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace," which symbolizes judgment. His "voice was like the sound of rushing waters," symbolizing his power and presence, which are ever flowing. In his "right hand were the stars" the stars symbolize his messengers; here, of course, he is talking about the messengers of the church, thus symbolizing his power and control over the church. He is, as Paul reminds us, the Lord of the Church - Head of the Church! And "out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword," the symbol of judgment and authority coming from his mouth - his word!
So overpowering was this vision that we are told that when John saw the Glorious One, he fell at his feet as though he were dead. But Christ’s words were reassuring. He said he was the living one, and though he had been dead, he is alive forevermore, and holds the keys of death and Hades. Christ is the author of life and death! We do not have the usual picture of Christ starting in Bethlehem and ending at the Mount of Olives here; rather, we see him as the Exalted Christ, Lord of all - Alpha and Omega, First and Last, Beginning and the End, who was and is and is to come!
I love the interpretation of the scroll or book that John sees in Christ’s hand in the 10th chapter of Revelation. We are told that it is the Lord who is the only one found worthy enough to open it. The book contains Christ’s authority for reclaiming the "sea" or, better yet, the people and the "land" for himself.
When Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas and launched on an island here in the Western Hemisphere, he got off his ship and went to the shore and planted the flag of Spain claiming the island in the name of the queen of Spain who had sent him on his journey. It appears that the same method has been used from time to time. When men came to unoccupied territories, they claimed it. And so, with this scroll or book in hand - the title deed of the earth, if you will, our Lord places his right foot on the sea and his left foot upon the earth, and with a great voice reclaims that which is his. That’s the image John gives us here in chapter 10 of Revelation. As Creator, this world and all that is within it belongs to him - he gave his life for it.
When we commit ourselves to God in faith, God changes us continually. God continually engages us a relationship with him - one that is ever evolving and growing. God isn’t just the God who was, he is also the God who is and who is to come, and in his coming, he will make all things new - paradise restored. Until then, may we live in the hope and assurance that God is with us always!

"The Perfect Gift"

Well, the countdown has begun! The malls and stores are filled with shoppers. Hopefully, you all survived Black Friday. Amber, her mother, my mother and some friends battled the traffic and crowds to take advantage of the sales!

To some, Christmas is about the shopping frenzy - the hustle and bustle of the crowds, picking the perfect gift and finding the best bargains. Sadly, Christmas to them is something that is bought or purchased, wrapped in paper or stuffed in a stocking. Now, I am not saying that we should do away with the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas, but we must not allow this tradition to crowd out our understanding of the true "reason for the season."

Christmas is about a birth, but more than a birth, it’s about Emmanuel - God with us! In fact, Christmas comes from two words; "Christ" and "Mass". To the Catholics, the Mass is the celebration of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and coming again. You might say, the Mass is the celebration of the whole Christ event! Therefore, with this understanding, Christmas incorporates all of these events. Therefore, we can’t truly celebrate Christmas without focusing on the cross and the tomb, as well.

Soon, our Christmas tress will be loaded with gifts underneath - gifts for family and friends. I can remember as a child shaking those gifts with my name on them, trying to figure out what was being concealed by the wrapping paper. Very seldom would I be successful in my guesses. We spend a great deal of time, energy and money in shopping for the perfect gift to give to the special people in our lives. What would that gift be, if the recipient didn’t open it or utilize it? The gift would serve no purpose, it would be useless and meaningless. So, the same is true when it comes to God’s gift to us.

Someone once said; "The best way to send an idea out into the world is to wrap it up in a person." In a sense, infinitely more sublime of course, that is what God did on that first Christmas. He had an "idea" logos which he was eager to convey to humanity - the message of his divine love, a Word of hope, peace, joy, love, and an expression of grace. In God’s infinite wisdom he took this "idea," which he was so eager to communicate to humanity, wrapped it up in the person of Jesus Christ, and laid it into a feeding trough.

That is the eternal significance of Christmas. "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness," says the Apostle Paul. "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16). "The Word was made flesh," the Gospel of John reminds us, "and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

Indeed, God wrapped up the wondrous message of his love in the person of Jesus Christ, and sent him from heaven to earth, so that we might know the fullness and mystery of God’s love, grace and truth.

The Babe of Bethlehem is the Word of God Incarnate. He is the message of God to humanity. His holy birth, his sinless life, his atoning death, his triumphant resurrection, his glorious ascension and his coming again are all apart of the Christmas message. We cannot fully celebrate Christmas, unless we celebrate them all. Let us therefore open again the gift of God this Christmas and proclaim:

“Thou didst leave Thy throne

And Thy kingly crown,

When Thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem’s home

Was there found no room

For Thy holy nativity.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang

When the angels sang,

Proclaiming Thy royal degree;

But of lowly birth Didst Thou come to earth,

And in great humility.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for Thee.

The foxes found rest,

And the birds their nest

In the shade of the forest tree;

But Thy couch was the sod,

O Thou Son of God,

In the deserts of Galilee.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for Thee.

Thou camest, O Lord,

With the living Word,

That should set Thy people free;

But with mocking scorn

And with crown of thorn,

They bore Thee to Calvary.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for Thee.

When the heav’ns shall ring,

And her choirs shall sing,

At Thy coming to victory,

Let Thy voice call me home,

Saying ‘Yet there is room,

There is room at My side for thee.’

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,

When Thou comest and callest for me.”

May there be plenty of room in our celebration for CHRIST MASS! Thanks be to God for his perfect gift - Jesus Christ! What more could we want for Christmas then what God has already provided?

Peace;

Christopher Yopp