(From a friend in the U.S.)

DT: Monday evening…23 December ‘2

journey

Christmas greetings…

Juxtaposed with this season are many thoughts as I continue to ponder my 60th year of life. Having been raised with cattle in Oregon, I’ve been thinking about the days of my youth…at Christmas time. For instance, though many will disagree, the carol, “Away In a Manger,” doesn’t make the same sense as when it did while singing the lyrics as a child, or even a younger adult.

Manger sounds so sweet, warm, cozy, kind. But I’ve yet to see an artists rendition of a feeding trough with the slobber of hungry cows, sheep and donkeys matting the straw down, with a few mid-winter flys sucking up the juices before they dried. That’s what happens in a barn, you know. And I think it would be an even more crude feast for the beasts in a drafty cave like shelter just outside rural Bethlehem.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still sing that old hymn/carol, just ’cause I like the melody, and there is a certain sentiment to the words combined with the simple tune. It helps to remember that Jesus arrived into this world through a messy birth canal just like you and me…no C-sections that night. We remember that Jospeh and Mary were most likely alone as Jesus got pushed into this world…by God’s wild design. Where the Lord Jesus Christ was first laid, after getting the birthing mess wiped off, was not quite as polite as the song makes it out to be.

It is important that we live in the paradox, the juxtaposition, of remembering Jesus, the Christ. Born in a stable cave, wrapped in swaddling clothes to ward off the night chill from the first response of baby skin to midnight air…sanitation was out the door as the steamy breath of animals and the tender touch of very young parents brought the first sense of being alive in this world to this babe.

It may be a little nuts to think about it just this way…but if two teenagers today delivered a baby in a barn in the middle of the night and kept it in a feeding trough…they would soon be up on charges of child neglect, and who knows what else. But that is just what happened then…on purpose by God’s great care for you and me.

Then this God/man, this man/child, grew up to once more be wrapped in a type of swaddling cloth as he was laid in an empty tomb on a cold slab of hewn stone. The only breath here was most likely from the angels (do angels breathe?…we know they can sing and blow trumpets). He arrived on earth into the cold and muddled and treacherous world…and he departed in the cold of a tomb, the result of chaos that still exists. What an arrival…what a send off…for the Son of God. (Ever wonder if Jesus was enough of a neat-nik that he folded up His own grave wrappings…or did one of the angels do it for Him?)

To those who don’t know the Gospel story…and even with some who do…God’s incarnation…revelations…and resurrection are confounding tales, which, I happen to believe are true. What an arrival. What a departure, encore and final glimpse of Jesus. Paradox? Yes. But without these confounding facts we would have no hope for that tomorrow about which He declared He would come again for each one who believes He IS the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…including mine…and yours. That should boggle the mind in the chaos and occassional oasis and joys of life

Among all the simple to glorious music of this season, I’ve also been listening to a song several times over by Steve Green from his CD, “Woven In Time.” The fourth cut, “If We Answer,” continues the tension of Jesus’ coming…and going…and the promise of a final return…for you and me. ‘Tis worth listening to…but until you get that privilege, read carefully the following words.

He is fierce and He is tender

He’s our judge and our defender

And He calls us to surrender

For He loves us to the core

He is frightening and resplendent

He is present and transcendent

He’s enmeshed and independent

And He cannot love us more

So He calls our names

And we fear Him for His goodness

For we know He won’t be tamed

So He calls our names

And we wonder if we answer

Will we ever be the same

He’s a comfort and a terror

A destroyer and repairer

He’s more terrible and fairer

Than our mortal tongues can say

He is hidden and revealing

He’s appalling and appealing

He’s our wounding and our healing

And He will not turn away

Holy Lamb of God

And He cannot love us more

Holy Lamb of God

He is wild, He is wonder

He is whispering and He is thunder

He is over, He is under

And He suffered for our gain

He’s a comfort and a danger

He’s a father and a stranger

He’s enthroned and in a manger

And He says we’re worth His pain

Take these thoughts into this week, Christmas day, the new year with a greater awareness and focus on God’s great love for you…in all circumstances. We are thankful that we get to share life, His life, with you on the journey…not just at this season…but every day between here and Heaven, His ultimate promised destination.