Slaves or Siblings? Shaking the Downside Up!

This post is an assigned response to Paul Louis Metzger’s post, The Crucified God Confronts Gendercide in which he engages Elizabeth Gerhardt and her book The Cross and Gendercide: A Theological Response to Global Violence Against Women and Girls. As I have worked my way through this doctoral program, my eyes have been opened in a rather uncomfortable way to the terrible injustices of the past that contributed to our white dominant culture lifestyle and also to the hidden oppressions that surround us still—including racism in its various incarnations from slavery to mass incarceration, the genocide of Native Americans, human trafficking (especially of women and girls) in addition to the gendercidal war on girls, to name a few. So much objectification—treating people created in the image of God as though they were mere objects in the way of our expansive greed. How could the Lord continue to delay his return to judge the earth? He is for us. It is his mercy that has stayed his hand (2 Peter 3:9). 
Much of what we have read has been rightfully heavy and heartbreaking. Jesus knows something about that as he carried the full weight of our sin on the cross where his heart was broken at our inhuman injustice to each other. He is for us. Even though we don’t deserve it. 
Dr. Metzger, invoking Luther’s theology, writes,

"The theology of the cross that gives rise to this doctrine of justification by faith removes the idols of self-justification/works righteousness. As we ascend to Christ in faith because of the outpouring of God’s love into our hearts (Romans 5:5), we are free to descend to our neighbor in love." (See Luther’s early Reformation treatise, “Freedom of a Christian”) There is no need for self-concern. Like God who is for us, we are now free to exist for others, especially those who are marginalized. It follows from God’s glorious revelation hidden in Christ’s humble and marginalized human state that we will find God revealed especially in the margins among the oppressed. 

What a powerful passage. Now because of the work of Christ, we no longer have to think about ourselves—because he is for us in ways better than we could ever manage. Being free of the drive to satisfy the boundless greed of the unregenerate self (James 4:1-3) we are free to finally serve others in love.

I recently posted an article on my pastoral blog from a message based on Colossians 3:22-4:1 entitled, Whatever: Our Work Belongs to God which addressed the idea of “descending to our neighbor in love.” Because of the transforming love of Christ, all our relationships should be transformed as well. Written into the specific culture of the Greco-Roman world, it describes a passage that is no less revolutionary today. It pushes everyone’s buttons—wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, and masters alike. These last few verses speak to the relationship in Colossae between masters and bondservants (slaves) in the household and in the church. I would like to use part of that post here as well.

²²  Bondservants, 

       obey in everything

           those who are your earthly masters, 

       not by way of eye-service,

                              as people-pleasers,

       but with sincerity of heart,

                                         fearing the Lord. 

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, 

                                           as for the Lord

                and not for men,

                    ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord 

                    you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 

                    You are serving        the Lord Christ. 

²⁵ For the wrongdoer will be paid back

     for the wrong he has done,

                   and there is no partiality.

^4:1 Masters,

         treat your bondservants

                                       justly and fairly,

         knowing that you also have

 a Master in heaven.

While the New Testament is not primarily about social justice advocacy, we do see the inside-out working of the gospel, quickly impacting the economic and spiritual structures of evil. Paul’s exorcism of a demonized slave girl led her masters to stir up quite a bit of trouble in Philippi,

But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.

“The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.” (Acts 16:19-24)

In the following chapter of Acts, we see the early followers of Jesus being described by jealous men, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” (Acts 17:6-7) Were they trying to turn the world upside down? Probably not… but the gospel, when given free rein, has a way of shaking the downside up.

One more such incident occurred in Ephesus when the idol-making guilds rioted because so many people were turning to Christ that it was really hurting their business (Acts 19:21-41). Followers of Christ lived their lives with new hope and purpose and they didn’t buy silver idols (even as a hedge against the volatile market), or books on magic, nor did their teachings allow them to use those trafficked to the temples (prostitutes). Instead, they rescued infant girls that had been exposed (left to die in the elements). Turning from self-serving and power-hungry magic and idols of objectification, they turned the world upside down. Believers burned their own books of magic, not because they were required to do so, but because they rejected their premise and goal and would not wish that kind of bondage on anyone else. They had found something better—more life-giving, more hope-filled, more love-saturated—serving Jesus Christ by caring for others. Have we been so changed?

I have been moved recently by Paul’s short letter to a master named Philemon, who lived in Colossae, advocating on behalf of an escaped slave and thief (Onesimus) who had later come to faith under Paul’s ministry. We should not consider the passage in Colossians 3, about bondservants and masters, without reading the backstory to these commands. It can be found in Philemon 1:8-20. After initial greetings, Paul gets right to the point,

      Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)  I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

     So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.  I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Paul didn’t write a sweeping condemnation of the cultural practice of slavery but planted the seed for a new way of looking at it. Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon, but made it clear that he should treat him as more than a slave, even as a beloved brother (v.16), receiving him as he would receive Paul himself (v.17). Paul graciously used all his relational capital to bring reconciliation between master and slave. Paul worked within the cultural context, but through his advocacy using subversive kingdom values, the Spirit brought a profound change throughout the Christian community. It is amazing to me that Onesimus the returned slave (with Tychicus) probably delivered this letter along with letters to the Colossians, Laodiceans, and Ephesians. He had indeed become useful (his name means “useful”).

I hope you can see how this pun-filled letter (the Greek text contains several) of directions to a Christian in Colossae completely turned the slave-based economy upside-down by Paul’s simple, yet profound, identification of the slave Onesimus as “beloved brother”, “my child”, and “my very heart.” He made a very strong case for Onesimus to be set free to return and assist him in the ministry but gave Philemon the freedom to do the right thing without being compelled by Paul. The love of Christ took care of that!

Let me finish this post by turning my own customs upside down and giving the final words to Dr. Metzger,

“As I come to understand more fully the radical good news that God is for us (pro nobis) and not against us, even though we were once his enemies, I will give myself more fully to the care of others as a response of gratitude to God and free exercise of the divine love.

   May God increase the church’s confidence in God’s radical, gracious love…   

   May we, the church, not stand aloof as we hear the cry of the victims of violence and sexual abuse…

   May we enter their nightmare with the hope-filled advocacy grounded in faith in the all-powerful, gracious, and costly love of the crucified and risen Jesus. Our Jesus is their victor.”

Refugees and the Pesky Law of Hospitality

I must confess that I am concerned about the Syrian refugee crisis. But perhaps not for the same reason as most. While this issue has become quite a political football, I think the issue of Syrian refugees is deeper than the rhetoric.

Many fear that allowing unvetted refugees into the country will put us at risk of terrorist attacks by hostile individuals pretending to be refugees. Perhaps so, but you can’t vet where there is no infrastructure to accomplish it. In my snarky sense of humor, I like to say that "vetting is for farm animals and family pets, not for people." While I am convinced that we, as followers of Jesus, need to be different and extend as much love and care to authentic refugees as we can, I am not convinced that bringing them to the USA is always the right step for them or for us. Setting aside national security concerns, it may still not be a good idea.

What about That Verse?

Ironically, a common Bible passage used to address the refugee crisis has nothing to do with refugees, but with resident aliens. Leviticus 19:33-34 says,

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Similarly, “sojourning” refers to a temporary stay, not to permanent immigration. Visitors should be treated as citizens, but this verse is not about refugees. There are better texts for that, including:

• The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12);
• The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:22-37);
• The call of true religion to provide care for widows and orphans (Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18; 1:29; James 1:27); and,
• Passages about doing good (Matt. 5:16; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; Romans 2:9-11; 12:20-21; Galatians 6:9-10, etc.) and,
• Showing hospitality (e.g., 1 Peter 4:8-10; Romans 12:12-14).

^“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)

Having said that, once refugees are settled in our country, we will need to treat them like we treat each other... or better than that. However, I am not convinced that we are prepared to do this.

What Then Should We Do?

We should begin to pray for the Holy Spirit to release a newfound love for those who have historically been considered enemies, and with it the wisdom we need to bring honor to Christ by serving the "least of these." Here are some of my suggestions for ways that we can help Middle-Eastern refugees, along with my concerns. You can judge for yourselves whether I prayed about it before sharing them.

1. We can support sacrificial relief efforts by the church in Turkey.

Why not support those who are helping in Turkey (as my colleague Mark Nicklas shared in his blog post, Refugees), where it is both geographically near and culturally similar to what they have left behind? There is no government assistance in Turkey; help comes from a marginalized church. It is the formerly Muslim converts to Christianity who are helping the refugees, and who, after exhausting their own resources, are willing to go door to door begging on behalf of the destitute. Are we willing to go to such lengths of sacrificial humility for refugees? Are we willing to help the helpers? I hope so.

2. We could use existing regional refugee camps more effectively.

While no one wants to live in a “camp”, perhaps they could still be used more intentionally with international resources to resettle refugees in Jordan and Saudi Arabia if they do not want to specifically assimilate into European or American cultures. To take someone who has already been brutally displaced, perhaps having lost family members to violence, and plop them down in a culture for which they are not prepared is not helpful and may, in fact, produce further marginalization. It seems this approach might better care for them and would take their preferences into consideration. If we could work for an acceptable peace in Syria within the next 1-3 years, this would be an even better option, but I doubt that the power players in the region have the will to do it.

3. We should prepare refugees for the culture shock of immigration.

In our pluralistic, politically correct, tolerance-oriented behavior, are we actually marginalizing immigrants by not teaching them our culture? Soon Ang and Linn Van Dyne, in Handbook of Cultural Intelligence (2008), suggest that we are doing just that, and caution those engaging with immigrants,

"When there is a large cultural distance, it is necessary to train immigrants to understand the consequences of their immigration, and to become somewhat culturally intelligent. In my opinion, it is irresponsible to give permanent visas to people who do not understand the local culture. It is also undesirable to use the "leave them alone" policy in "respecting" immigrant cultures. Immigrant cultures need to change, and people must become culturally intelligent or stay on the margins of society. People who are culturally intelligent zero in on aspects of culture that are different and respond appropriately."[1]

Suppose a refugee family wants to come to Europe or the USA, and we accept them. In that case, their cultural law of hospitality may lead them to believe that we, as the givers of hospitality, are responsible for providing for their needs on an ongoing basis. Are we really willing to send that message? One Oregon church has Iraqi refugees coming in every day seeking financial help. In our country, we have become used to institutionalizing assistance to the place where we now call them “entitlements”. However, this doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility and calling to care personally. We need to understand that we have very different views on hospitality. In the West, permanent house guests are not culturally appropriate except as fodder for late-night comedians.

4. We ought to ask refugees what they want and why they want it.

Even if we are prepared to accept refugees and mass migrants into our society, are they open to such a change in cultural values, or are they motivated by a false promise of affluence? Jesus asked Bartimaeus, the blind man, “What do you want me to do for you?” Doesn’t that seem like a “Captain Obvious” type of question? Of course, a blind man wants his sight restored…isn’t it that simple? No, not really. Bartimaeus was a beggar and likely had been one for quite some time. His cry to Jesus for mercy could merely be a request for a generous gift of alms (cash) to support himself in his current condition. Or it could be that he wanted Jesus to heal his eyes, but that would require him to stop being a beggar. He would have to get an education, work a job, etc. Was he willing to do all this? The question Jesus asked gave the blind man the chance to decide for himself whether he wanted to remain as he was or if he wanted to face the frightening responsibility of things being different. 

What does all this have to do with refugees? Two things: First, refugees should be told what they will face if they immigrate to America, and should be asked if they really want to move here, given our very different cultural values. Secondly, we need to honestly ask ourselves whether we are willing to be personally involved in their lives for the long haul, "to the end of the line" or not. 

5. We must be personally involved, no matter how scary it may be.

If we decide to allow refugees to come to America (and we will), we must be personally involved. That would be true hospitality indeed! How can we help?

• We can work to help them begin being educated about our culture (both values and systems) before they get here, so that they are not further marginalized once they arrive. Some of their culturally accepted behaviors will land them in prison here, just as some of our behaviors would land us in jail where they come from. We don’t want them to be ghettoized in addition to being transplant-traumatized already.
• We can specifically sponsor families (as families, small groups, or as whole churches) so that they have relational advocates to help them through the adjustment process. We can get involved on many levels, including helping them to learn English, teaching “culturally appropriate” driving skills, finding housing, navigating utility hookup issues, shopping, as well as helping with our healthcare and legal systems, etc. If help comes only through the government, it produces an institutional dependence that is more hurt than help. If help comes relationally through the love of Christ, then it will set the immigrant up to win, to be a contributing member of the community. 
• We can do our best to welcome them into our lives and allow them to teach us about their culture and invite them to make use of the gifts and talents which they bring with them…for the common good (Jeremiah 29:7).

If we are not willing to be personally involved with a refugee family over the long haul, then we should not bring them here. However, they are probably coming anyway, whether it is in their best interest or not, so how can we make the best of it for everyone involved?

Jesus shows us the way if we are bold enough to follow. Will we show ourselves to be the lambs or the wolves?

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:2-3)

[i] Soon Ang and Linn Van Dyne, eds. Handbook of Cultural Intelligence: Theory, Measurement, and Applications (Armank, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2008), xii.

Leaving the Light On For You: A Response to “Lights Out”

This post is an assigned response to Paul Louis Metzger’s article “Lights Out: Shining a Light on Caring for the Dying in a Multi-Faith World,” which addresses the need for cultural and multi-faith sensitivity on the part of chaplains serving the terminally ill on palliative care teams. The dying process is a time when patients’ desires and as well as those of their immediate families, are to be considered carefully.  Dr. Metzger advocates for a kind and respectful approach and cautions that “Gentleness and respect require that we do not force our views on others.”

Please Don’t Point Your Light in My Eyes

Just as having a spotlight pointed at your face is obnoxious, so too some witnessing approaches and methods can cause us to close our eyes tightly. Light can be encouraging, helpful, and even attractive, but when pointed into someone’s eyes, it can also be something oppressive to hide behind. Christ’s light is not to be wielded as a weapon. It helps provide care that shows our faith well, “adorning the doctrines of God” (Titus 2:10), to understand what other people believe, how they are feeling, and why they feel and believe as they approach their death.

While time is short, and the need is urgent, there is no call to be pressing or pressuring on our part—unless it is in prayer. I find that there often comes a new openness to the spiritual realm on the part of the person suffering. This is a great mercy from a loving God. As the things they have trusted in are stripped away, they see their emptiness and begin to search for something, or someone, with enough throw-weight to carry their soul into the next life. So should we! I am reminded of  Paul’s “near-death” experience described in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10,

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

As a pastor, my job is different from that of a chaplain…and is unchained from multi-faith restrictions. However, my approach should also be “gentle and respectful” and never forced or coercive, yet neither should it miss the rescue opportunity by being too timid. Dr. Metzger writes,

Yes, as Christians committed to the biblical hope, we long to share about our faith in the eternal security of life with God in the resurrected Jesus through faith in his love poured out by the Spirit (Romans 8:18-39; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Romans 5:5). But hopefully we also desire to live out the biblical exhortation to do for others what we would want them to do for us (Matthew 7:12). If we wish to be treated with respect and not have others force their views on us, no matter how well-intentioned, we should respect them and not force our views on them.

I wholeheartedly agree with this. We do long to share our faith, not to somehow win or control another, but to simply share the blessing we have received. We also agree that no spiritual decision should ever be forced; neither a baptism by Jesuits 500 years ago nor an evangelical’s “sinners prayer” or a Shahada by Muslims today.

Ladybug, Ladybug, Please Don’t Be Offended…but Your House is On Fire

I remember a John Leo column from the early 80s (Newsweek) where he told non-believers that they should not be offended when evangelical Christians witnessed to them, for it was a sign that they really cared. If you believe your neighbor’s house is on fire, you will be motivated by human decency to warn them. Like the person warning residents that their house is on fire, sometimes witnessing is neither subtle nor soft-spoken.  I agree. If we really believe the Bible, we should care enough about our neighbors to tell them.

When I think of watchmen, I think of the well-known passage in Ezekiel 33. A watchman’s job was to warn the city of the approaching danger. However, the responsibility to respond to the warning is on the people of the city, not the watchman. The watchman need not force the city to respond to the coming danger; he gives his observations and leaves the response to the people.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and say to them,

Jerusalem before dawn

If I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their watchman, and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people, then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

Delivering My Soul…and Yours

So the trick is to “deliver our soul” (v. 9) by warning those in danger. But there is a catch that I don’t remember noticing before. In verse two, we find that the watchman's role is conditional; it is conferred by the people taking one from “among them” and making “him their watchman.” When we apply this watchman principle to our own lives and ministries (I have, since my name means “watchman”), have we ever stopped to consider whether “my people” have made me "a watchman" for them? Or do we just assume that we can be freelance “watchers and warners” without first earning the relational trust of others? If we don’t listen authentically, how can we ever be “among them” enough to be trusted as a watcher?

I read Metzger’s post as suggesting that we need to be relationally trustworthy before others might ask us for our input into the great crisis moment of their lives. God doesn’t want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9), not even the really bad ones (Eze. 33:10-11). Even so, people die every day, many without really hearing the life-giving gospel of Christ. Could it be that our methods of urgency are too transactional (“Do this...and get that”) to allow others to truly join us (or for us to join them) on a spiritual journey that no person was designed to walk alone? I don’t want to be a roadblock. How about you?

We need boldness—boldness to listen long, to love with the love of Christ who loved us while we were his enemies (Romans 5:6-10, to consider the needs of others more than we impose our own perception of their needs upon them, and that they might see Christ in what we say and do, as well as in what we don’t.

The following poem was written a few years ago in response to my father-in-law’s emergency surgery, his 33-day struggle for life in the hospital’s intensive and critical care units, and his subsequent death. He was not open to discussing spiritual things earlier in his life and would leave the room when others talked about or answered questions about Jesus. However, after his wife died, he stopped leaving the room, but still didn’t participate in any spiritual conversations—until the day he was scheduled for emergency cancer surgery and his ears were opened to hear the voice of the Lord calling him. His transformation stunned us all. The following poem, written in the first-person, was inspired by that process and such scriptures as Matthew 7:1-14 and 19:23-26. I hope it speaks to you today.

The Narrow Gate

Utterly burdened beyond strength

Looking, facing, fearing

Narrow gate’s eye of the needle, knowing

I don’t, can’t, won’t fit.

Despairing painfully of any solution

But pressed, drawn, nonetheless by

God’s possibilities, and

My latent mortality.

Dreadful as death’s door was

From a distance, now

Up close, uncomfortably close,

Squinting against the needle’s eye

Perhaps glimpsing bright sparks beyond,

Through my grimace.

How could I trust,

Transition, from here to there

Through this impossibly narrow

Moment of prolonged surrender?

Yet I am sought, welcomed

Comforted as I hear his voice with

Others he has led this way before.

I reach for the rope

Grace’s already threaded

Sticky scarlet cord grasps me

In suffering’s fellowship.

What is earthly, mean, camelish,

Scraped off, exfoliated, removed,

Wrung out, expressed into a disposable bag,

What was once my focus, now

So much medical waste.

Good riddance.

The brass buttons of my autonomy

Catching on eternity’s door

I fight to free them, until with embarrassment in

Purgatory of my last years, days, 

Giving up, I ask for help

Slowly casting off the uniform of my birth

While putting on that of His

Through learning to love.

My eyes seem to blink away the mist

Suddenly seeing truly

Awesome God

Yet I am not consumed.

What was pressed, pulled through the eye

By the power, possibility of God’s love

Weightier, more expansive

Than I ever was before.

© Greg K. Dueker

We need to leave the light on for others to find their way. May it be the kind of light that draws us near and delivers us all from fear. 

The Lord is With You…Yes, You!

Photo by fa-barboza-on unsplash

As followers of Jesus, we celebrate Christmas in remembrance of his birth “long ago in a Galilee far away,” as the internet meme proclaims. Jesus is the One through whom God has revealed his righteousness, worked salvation, and made it known! We cannot help but declare his praise along with the psalmist,

Oh sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things!
His right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
    he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
    to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God. (Psalm 98:1-3)

Perhaps you heard many Christmas sermons this year, as well as read or listened to plenty of Christmas devotionals. Sure, the decorations are down now, but I would like to consider how the birth of Christ reaches out to the poor, the working poor, travelers, and refugees alike, who too often consider themselves excluded from sharing in the joy of Christ in the church.

I want to share with you the familiar verses from Luke 1-2 and a few simple thoughts that we considered in our Christmas Eve service this year about how to respond when God comes near and begins to reveal his will for your life.

1. “Strange Greetings” (Luke 1:26-29 ESV)

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

Gabriel said to Mary, “Greetings, O favored one, The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28). The greeting was strange! Mary was “greatly troubled” and couldn’t figure out what kind of greeting this was. Certainly, I would think that angelic greetings would be startling, but Mary was blown away and was trying to read between the lines and reconcile the message with her circumstances…perhaps asking questions such as:

• What do I have to rejoice about?
• How could God be with us, a sinful people? How will sin be dealt with?
• Wait…isn’t this the kind of greeting Gideon received not far from this very spot?

Perhaps you didn’t get that last question, but Mary was well-versed in her knowledge of the Scriptures, and perhaps it was that similarity to Judges 6 that caused her concern as she waited for the other sandal to drop. For those of us without familiarity with the story of Gideon, let’s read Judges 6:11-16:

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” 

And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” 

And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” 

And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” 

And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”

When Israel needed to be delivered from its oppressors, the Lord heard their cry and commissioned Gideon to lead them to victory…beginning with the admonition,  “The Lord is with you…”. Now, do you see why this got Mary’s attention?

Ironically, the Lord was with her, and she was going to carry the child who would be called Immanuel. So what does "Immanuel" mean? It simply means “God with us” (Matthew 1:22-23), and it is the answer to the cry of our heart...individually and collectively, whether we know it or not. As believers, our community comes from the presence of God, as does our witness. It is not based on our personal impressiveness, wealth, or social standing, as the Apostle Paul pointed out to the church in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:26-31).

God is with us. In the incarnation (God the Son coming in a physical body), God has made a permanent link with his creation. The scope of this goes way beyond this short reflection. Suffice it to say, God is all in; he is with us to the end…which is much brighter for his having come to us!

2. Don't Be Afraid (Luke 1:30-31)

And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 

This is the second dose of “fear not” in Luke 1 (Zechariah got one). It is rare for an angel to not lead with the “Fear not!” line. Sometimes when God calls us to respond to him in faith, we are afraid, and our fear is quick to make excuses for us:

• I’m not good enough.
• I don’t have anything to offer.
• It is too good to be true for the likes of me.

Well, long ago the Lord spoke through the prophet Micah about a “too little” town that felt how we saw Gideon feel, and perhaps you feel as well…

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days… (Micah 5:2)

Does the thought of God speaking to us, average people in the little wooden church by the laundromat in the bad part of town, and calling us to be part of something with cosmic ramifications scare us? Yep…pretty much! But the messenger of God says to us, as to Mary, “Don’t be afraid.” The basis of our courage is the love of God for us and his presence with us!

3. Know the Power of God (Luke 1:34-37)

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

To her credit, Mary didn’t doubt that the Lord could do what he said, nor did she argue over being chosen. Her question was simply because she didn’t understand how the Lord would work it out. It seemed impossible since she was a virgin, but as the angel answered, “Nothing will be impossible with God.” I think we could also say that nothing God has said will fail. This One who was to be born was the power of God working to shepherd and protect his people. He is our peace.

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace. (Micah 5:4-5a)

Mary took this message at face value, responding, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

4. Believe What He Says (Luke 1:38, 45)

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

“…And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary was blessed when she believed what God had said to her. Abraham was similarly blessed. The trick for us average people is to believe, or trust, what God has said in his Word. We want to believe, but sometimes we have to be honest about our doubts. It reminds me of when Jesus came down from the Mt. of Transfiguration and encountered an argument arising from his disciples’ inability to cast out a demon that was convulsing a man’s son. The boy’s father petitioned Jesus,

“But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:22-24)

Will we respond in faith to the God who loves us and came to earth to show us that he exists and is good?

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Jesus is not like some fictional fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants Aladdin-type asking us, “Do you trust me?” But perhaps we should be a little more like Jazmin, or in this case, like the real-life Mary, and say “Yes!” to him this year. Indeed, we cannot change the world by our own power and plans…but it never was about that. It is about Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who were sent by the Father—God with us. Yes, with us!

If there was one group of people in the dark that night who had no expectation of being included in God’s marvelous plan, it was the shepherds, which leads us to our last point.

5. Tell Others (Luke 2:8-20)

v. 17 "When they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child."

v. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

We can’t have a Christmas message that leaves anyone out. From the oppressed peasant girl giving birth to the Messiah to an old woman who lived in the social shame of failing to give her husband a son and would have thought that it was too late for her to be a part of God’s plan, to simple shepherds who were not even allowed to worship in the temple (for they were considered unclean) now having God come to them that night to announce the good news—what a gift!  And they went and told all that they had seen and heard…who would have thought that they would one day announce the birth of the Good Shepherd!

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising… (Isaiah 60:1-3)

And speaking of gifts, we can’t leave out the Magi who came later,

the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
    all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
    and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. (Isaiah 60:5b-6)

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Lord loves you—no one is beyond the reach of his plan to fix a broken world. He is our Advocate, our Helper, but he didn’t just come to fix things; he came to dwell with us!

Perhaps you may still be puzzled like Mary was about this whole incarnation thing. Let me share a helpful story with you that I first at Christmas in 2001.

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THE MAN AND THE BIRDS (written by Paul Harvey)

Now, the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a Scrooge. He was a kind, decent, mostly good man, generous to his family and upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story, about God coming to earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite and that he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed, and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier, and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud. At first, he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window.

But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large [picture] window. Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it.

Quickly, he put on a coat and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, and sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted, wide-open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them. He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them, waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me – that I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how, because any move he made tended to frighten and confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm . . .  . . .  . . . to the safe, warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear, and understand.”

At that moment, the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.