“Joseph’s Song” by Michael Card

One of my favorite Christmas songs — with special meaning for me this first Christmas as a daddy. :)

Christmas Foretold by the Prophets

Here are some of the Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus’ birth compiled by Mark Driscoll:

1. 4000 BC: Adam and Eve receive the prophecy that the Messiah (Jesus) would be born of a woman.

1. Promise: Genesis 3:15 – “‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’”
2. Fulfillment: Galatians 4:4 – “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law …”

700 BC: Isaiah prophesies that Jesus’ mother would be a virgin who conceived by a miracle and that Jesus would be God who became a man.

1. Promise: Isaiah 7:14 – “‘Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.’”
2. Fulfillment: Matthew 1:18–23 – “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”

Merry Parachoresis! A Christmas Reflection

This is a repost from a couple years ago. -JB

The Christmas story is all too familiar for most Christians today. We’ve seen two dozen pageants, have basically memorized Matthew and Luke’s accounts of wise men, shepherds, overbooked inns and barnyard manger scenes. The problem with familiarity, as Dallas Willard puts it, is that “Familiarity breeds unfamiliarity — unsuspected unfamiliarity, and then contempt” (The Divine Conspiracy, 11).

Thus, pastors often struggle preparing their annual Christmas message.  But as my recent post argued (See “And There Were Shepherds”), the Christmas story is filled with shock and mind-boggling surprises.  One has to work very hard to make this story ordinary and boring.  The story of Christmas is the most extraordinary story ever told.

This Christmas I shared a brief Christmas message at our high school Christmas dance — yes, my Baptist friends, our youth group had a dance to celebrate the birth of our savior.  This year my message centered around the image of “The Dance of the Trinity” and Christ’s relentless pursuit of more and more dancing partners to come back into a life of living in the harmonious rhythms of the Kingdom Dance.

My message outline went something like this:

The Real Christmas Story

Warning: If you don’t want your traditional understanding of the first Christmas challenged then do not read any further. If you are a historically minded person who loves getting the real story behind the many popular myths, then Dr. Ben Witherington, a very reputable New Testament scholar and ancient historian, corrects some of our misconceptions often found in our Christmas hymns and children’s pageants regarding the wise men, snobby inn-keepers, barns and animals and more. Enjoy.

You can read his full article entitled “Star-Studded Wise Men: Rethinking the Christmas Story” HERE. Here is an excerpt to give you a taste:

Getting to the bottom of the historical well when it comes to Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke proves difficult at times. It is rather like what happened to the Sistine Chapel ceiling when it was finally cleaned and all the lacquer and dirt of the centuries was removed. The end result was startling, much more colorful…. and more beautiful too.  Well, the real Christmas story is also more interesting and compelling than the usual stuff that passes for preaching at Christmas.  Lets take those famous wise men of Matthew 2.1-12   First a little ground clearing exercise.

1) We do not know how many persons were involved.  We are simply told that more than one showed up — Magoi is the plural of the Greek word Magos, from which we get the English word magic/magician.  A Magos was an oriental priest of sorts, learned in various sorts of esoteric arts, including astrology (studying the sky for clues about the present or future), the interpretation of dreams, the reading of animal’s entrails, necromancy, etc.

2) These men were definitely not kings — so enough with the “We Three Kings…” Christmas carol. These are the kinds of persons who were counselors and advisors to kings, which is precisely how Herod in the story treats them. They were consultants.  We could discuss why the Christmas mythology is more appealing than the Christmas history to some folks.

Treasuring All These Things

We had a little photo shoot on our cabin getaway this past week with PB. Too bad we already ordered our Christmas cards, because these would have been great!

Needless to say, this is a very special Christmas for Keri and I.  A healthy baby boy, full of life and joy, and already blessing so many with his life. Likewise, we’re doing our best to “raise up” a healthy, growing baby church at MainStreet, full of life and joy, and the potential for blessing many and glorifying God in the days to come.

We’re trying to find times this Christmas season to slip away to a quiet place, to give thanks and follow Mary’s example as she pondered her God-given miracle lying in the manger:

“Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). 

Living Nativity (Skit Guys)

The Star of Bethlehem: One Theory

What do we make of the story of the wise men following a magical star from the East to the newborn king in Bethlehem?  Sound a bit far-fetched and fairytale-ish?  I used to think so as well.

Many deny the possibility of a supernatural explanation to begin with. This is unnecessary.  If God can bring the universe into being with divine decree and raise the dead at will, then I see no reason why he could not have also sent a bright star that first Christmas.

However, must we rule out all naturalistic explanations?  A little historical and cultural background of this story also reveals some very plausible scientific theories as to what this astronomical/astrological phenomenon might have been.  Perhaps under God’s wise sovereignty and foresight, that “star” that led the magi to Bethlehem was a combination of natural astral activity in concert with God’s supernatural sending of his son “when the fullness of time had come” (Gal 4:4).  Let’s take a look.

First, these were not “three kings” as the song goes.  They were “magi” from the East — most likely superstitious astrologists perhaps from the royal court of the Babylonian empire. It does not specify how many. The ancients assigned great significance to the art of reading and interpreting the movements of the skies.  They kept careful records of the notable celestial activity, and with computer technology today we can calculate exactly where each star and planets were in the sky accurately all the way back 2,000 years and beyond.

Second, the scientific records indicate some pretty interesting astral activity occurring around the time of Jesus’ birth.

Christmas at Alcatraz

I’m reposting this reflection from December 2009 when Keri and I visited Alcatraz.  -JB

“He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” (Luke 4)

We visited the famous maximum security prison at Alcatraz last night.  If you’ve never been, here’s the scoop. The prison was active during the 40s, 50s and early 60s before closing due to budget cuts and wear and tear. It was the place where the worst of the worst criminals were sent and housed such famous criminals as Al “Scarface” Capone, “Machine Gun” Kelly and others of the American gangstar era.

The tour was filled with stories of the gray, gloomy life behind bars on a cold, foggy, windy island just off the coast of the bustling life of San Francisco.  When the wind was blowing in the right direction, the inmates could hear the sounds of the free people laughing and enjoying the lives of freedom just 1.5 miles inland.  The sounds of freedom just outside of reach only added to the misery of life behind bars.

The most intriguing part of the tour was hearing the tales of the many brave escape attempts which all ended in failure.  The most famous escape attempt was immortalized in the film Escape From Alcatraz (1979) starring Clint Eastwood. One unmistakable fact that comes through during one’s time on Alcatraz is that human beings have a relentless drive for freedom and will do almost anything and risk everything to achieve it. Saints and criminals alike all have an innate hunger for freedom and will stop at nothing in their pursuit of it.

After spending a couple hours on the cold, windy miserable island in the dark and dreary cell house I couldn’t wait to board the boat and be shipped back to the land of the free where we would soon find ourselves back at our lodging place in the company of friends and sipping hot cider by a warm crackling fire. Ah, the gift of freedom is precious.

As we near the celebration of Christmas I am reminded that at the core of the gospel is the gift of an even more profound kind of freedom offered to us all. The Bible reminds us that we are all born into the prison house of sin and death, and live with a constant craving for the freedom God originally intended us to enjoy.

1 Corinthians 13: Christmas Version

This is great!  From Rob Merola

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family, I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad holiday parties and sing in the choir’s cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tried.

Love doesn’t envy another’s home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bear all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.  But giving the gift of love will endure.

Meaning of the 12 Days of Christmas

UPDATE: Thanks to a friend, I have been informed that apparently the so-called Catholic origins of this song and encoded meaning is a fanciful myth. Read here. If someone has some research to back up these claims, please send them my way. My apologies for spreading the myth. :)

Ever wonder what this Christmas carol is about?  From 1558 until 1829 CE, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning; the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church.

Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

a.. The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

b.. Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

c.. Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

d.. The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

e.. The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

f.. The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

g.. Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

h.. The eight maids a milking were the eight beatitudes.

i.. Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Ghost: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.

j.. The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.

k.. Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

l.. Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.

So there is your history lesson for today. I found this interesting and now I know how this “very strange” song became a xmas carol.