"No Crying He Makes"

(Here is an article I recently wrote for Focus Online, a web magazine. The article is based on a sermon I preached a few years ago).

Can you believe it is less than three weeks from Christmas? I have to confess to you that I love this time of year, and I love holiday music. But I am also concerned about the way lots of Christmas carols describe the birth of Jesus. My concern is not really about the trappings of Christmas per se. What troubles me the most is the almost fairy-tale quality of many of the Christmas carols, the unrealistic way they describe the birth of Jesus. The problem is that many Christmas carols paint such a rosy picture of Jesus’ birth, a scene of unrelenting joy and peace and beauty, that the story becomes too unrealistic, totally irrelevant for a world that is filled with pain and conflict and evil. When that happens, the miracle of the incarnation can easily be relegated to the same bookshelf as Mother Goose and the powerful message of the coming of Jesus is muted.

Here’s an example. Look carefully at the second verse of Away in the Manger -

The cattle are lowingThe poor Baby wakesBut little Lord JesusNo crying He makes

“No crying He makes.” This song expects us to believe that having been stirred awake by the lowing of the cattle, the infant Jesus did not cry.

I understand that poetic license plays a role in all lyrics. My guess is that the point of this line in “Away in the Manger” is that even though the circumstances of Jesus’ birth were less than ideal that Jesus and His family were at peace. But to say that the baby Jesus didn’t cry to is to stretch the limits of poetic license to the breaking point. In the first place, the biblical text nowhere says this. And in the second place, how realistic is it to think that Jesus wouldn’t cry? Babies cry. Jesus was a baby. Jesus would have cried and done all of the other things that babies do in the real world.

Yet some Christians through the centuries have been uneasy with the full implications of the humanity of the baby Jesus. One 4^th century writer said this:

Of Him then His mother's burden was light, the birth immaculate, the delivery without pain, the nativity without defilement, neither beginning from wanton desire, nor brought to pass with sorrow. For as she who by her guilt engrafted death into our nature, was condemned to bring forth in trouble, it was meet that she who brought life into the world should accomplish her delivery with joy." (St Gregory of Nyssa, Homily on the Nativity)

We would agree that Mary was a virgin and that the birth of Jesus was miraculous. But no Scripture suggests Mary’s delivery was pain free. This compulsion to “clean up” the story of Jesus’ birth is at the root of such lyrics as “no crying he makes.”

It is also typical of the artistic presentations of the Nativity, in

which the infant Jesus is beautiful, crowned with a halo. The stable is clean, and the animals look as well groomed as dogs preparing for the Westminster dog show! This highly sanitized version of the story of Jesus is in stark contrast to the real world in which childbirth is painful and bloody and dangerous. In the real world stables are smelly and dirty. And in the real world newborn babies are blotchy and don’t arrive with glowing cylinders around their head!

And of course, in the real world, little babies cry.  That is the insidious danger of lyrics like “no crying He makes.” Babies that don’t cry are for the world of make-believe, not the world that any of us live in, a world that is dirty and dangerous and often filled with tears. The gospel story needs to be more real for all of us, not less real.

After all, the adult Jesus certainly did cry. According to Luke 19:41-44, Jesus wept as He approached Jerusalem the final time and saw with prophetic vision the awful destruction that awaited the city. In John 11:35, Jesus wept at the tomb of His beloved friend, Lazarus. And the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus offered up prayers “with loud cries and tears” as He contemplated the cross in Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7-8).

The real Jesus cried, because in the real world sinful people reap tragic, devastating consequences for their actions. Jesus cried because in the real world loved ones suffer and die. And Jesus cried because in the real world doing the will of God rather than your own requires painful, heartbreaking sacrifices.

Uninspired songs might have the tendency to diminish Jesus’ full humanity, but the inspired song of Isaiah 53 did not. The third verse of that song describes Jesus as “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). I am glad my Savior cries, because it means He cares. He cares for me when I am heartbroken with grief. He cares for me when I wander way from Him. He cares for me when I face crisis and distress. And because He cried and because He cares, I can go to him with confidence that as I pray through my tears He hears me and knows exactly what I am going through (Hebrews 4:14-16).

God, Freedom, Evil and Love

Introduction

CBS Poll Assassination of JFK

Did Oswald act alone?

Yes 10% No 76%


Will we ever know the truth?
Yes 19% no 77%

Why?

-Distrust of government (even though few have actually considered the evidence presented by the Warren Commission)

-Refusal to accept that one person could be responsible for such evil and hurt

Lessons from Laments

Introduction
Psalms of Lament are songs that express grief. These songs, not limited to the Book of Psalms, arose from various challenging situations:

• Sin (Psalm 51)
• Illness (Isaiah 38:9-20)
• Enemies (Psalm 3)

Oswald Acted Alone

As a history nerd and hater of conspiracy theories, here is the first of five reasons Lee Harvey Oswald and Oswald alone killed JFK.

Oswald Acted Guilty

Oswald displayed clear consciousness of guilt. Of the many employees at the Texas School Book Depository, only Oswald failed to show up at the roll call after the murder. Of the hundreds of thousands of people in DFW, Oswald is the only person to shoot and kill a policeman moments after the murder. These are the clear actions of a guilty person. 

Genesis 6:1-8

Introduction

This text serves as a bridge between the end of the “Book of the Generations of Adam” in 5:1-6:8 and the “Generations of Noah” beginning in 6:9.
This text can be divided into two main parts: 6:1-4, which describes the spiral of evil throughout the land, and 6:5-8, which describes God’s response to it.

Harmony Is Hard - But Worth It

My text this morning is from Romans 15:1-7.
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

We're Moving!

Kristi and I have had an extremely busy summer, which is why there have been no posts here. The highlight of the summer was Kristi's surgery to reverse her colostomy, marking the end of her cancer treatments! We are now at the "watch-and-pray" stage. Every few months she will have blood tests to check the various levels that may indicate there is a recurrence. And every year she will have scans and scopes to make sure she is clean. We have a lot to be thankful for.

The other big news of the summer/fall is that we have decided to move to Valrico, FL, to work with the congregation where my friend and mentor Marty Pickup served. Valrico is about 30 minutes east of Tampa, in the Brandon area. The most difficult thing about this decision was the choice to leave a group of people we deeply love, our family at Woodland Hills. But we think this is what the Lord wants us to do, and we will be headed down in Mid-January.

This move will take Kristi and me back to the area where we first met while students at Florida College,   and reunite me with my friends in the Sunshine District of the Barbershop Harmony Society, including my friends in the Heralds of Harmony. We will also be in an area where many of my former students from my time as a professor at Florida College now live, and it will be great to reconnect with them.

Sermon: The Father I Wish I Had

Recently I read a book called Little Britches, by Ralph Moody. It is an autobiographical tale from his early childhood as his family moved from New Hampshire to Colorado. It is a fabulous book, but as I read it I could not help but be drawn to Ralph's father. The way Ralph described his dad prompted me to think of the kind of father I wish I could have had growing up.

I wish I had a father who...

Eulogy for Marty Pickup

Some of us here today knew Marty Pickup because he was our teacher. Others, because he was our preacher. Many, because he was our colleague. Those are the ways that I knew him, and as best as I can, I hope to represent all of you who learned from him, worshiped with him, and worked with him.

Random Thoughts about Gay Marriage and the Supreme Court

1. As a Christian, I believe that Christ is Lord, and what He says is authoritative. So when Christ says that marriage is for one man and one woman for life, that's what I believe (relevant passage is Matthew 19:3-9). Not everyone is a Christian, and not everyone believes that the Bible is the inspired word of God. But I am, and I do, and that faith guides me on crucial matters like this.
2. As a traditionalist, I believe that thousands of years of human experience and tradition are valuable guides, and that the reality that enduring societies have seen marriage as between a man and a woman as what is best for civil society (even when those cultures openly embraced same-sex relationships of other kinds) provides a much more compelling case than any argument I have heard from same sex marriage proponents.
3. As a citizen, I am terrified that the Supreme Court may suddenly discover a Constitutional right to gay marriage, knowing that if the Court can discover rights that are clearly not in the Constitution, it can just as easily deny rights that clearly are in the Constitution.
4. As a human being, I appreciate the fact that there are those who disagree with me, and who see this issue not in terms of faith, or tradition, but equality, justice, and love. 
5. As a citizen, I also understand that democracy means citizens can change laws at the ballot box, and that the demographics clearly show that my views are not going to be the majority for much longer, if they even are now.
6. As a traditionalist, this concerns me, because I think most changes from the long established traditions of civil society are bad, such as other changes like no-fault divorce, cohabitation outside of marriage, and the rise of single parent homes (I say this as one raised by an unwed mother).
7. As a Christian, I ultimately think that whatever the civil state may say about a matter, the real power to change lives is not through the coercive powers of the state but through the love and grace of the gospel, both in its teaching and through its practice. So I will try even harder to be loving and gracious to those with whom I disagree, keenly aware of my own failings.

Notes on Jeremiah 27-29

These chapters focus on the message of judgment, and especially in contrast to the reassuring messages the false prophets were giving the people. Jeremiah already had a tough job – such false prophets only made it more difficult!

Sermon: God (Mature in the Faith Series)

Isaiah 6:3

I.  God is holyBasic idea: separate, apart“Holy, holy, holy” – the MOST holyIn what sense? Isaiah 40:27-28-Eternal vs temporal (“The LORD is the everlasting God”)
-Creator vs creation (“the Creator of the ends of the earth”)
-Infinite vs finite (“He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable”)
Read Isaiah 40:12-26

Sermon: Learning from the Suffering of Paul

Some brief notes from Sunday morning's sermon on Paul's suffering in Second Corinthians:

Notes on Jeremiah 21-24

Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah (Jer. 21:1-23:8)

This section contains a series of prophecies against the latter kings of Judah. For the historical background of this section, see 2 Kings 23:31-25:21.

Sermon: Forgiving Like Joseph

I apologize for not having thorough notes on this lesson, but then, if you read it, you will have to forgive me! I preached on the text of Gen. 50:15-21-

The Squared Circle: The Greatest Announcing Team Ever

In previous posts I have talked about some of my favorite wrestlers and matches, but this week I thought I would give kudos to the unsung heroes of professional wrestling: the announcers. Because pro wrestling is so story-driven, it is crucial to have announcers who can help viewers make sense of the narrative the wrestlers are creating. Of course, it is ultimately up to the guys in the ring to get the story over, but the announcers calling the action are absolutely essential in making sure the viewers know what to pick up on.

Philosophical Fridays: Science and Religion, Conflict - Concord - Complements?

It is very common for dogmatic Christians and dogmatic atheists to agree on one thing: science and religion are in complete disagreement with one another. But from a biblical point of view, this can hardly be the case. Passages such as Psalm 19 teach that God is the creator of the natural world as well as the ultimate author of Scripture. Since there is one God, all truth is God's truth, and there can be no conflict between the study of the natural world (science) and the study of the supernatural (religion).

Notes on Jeremiah 18-20

The Potter and the Clay (Jeremiah 18)

This chapter contains another object lesson for the prophet (cf. 13:1-11).

Sermon: What God Has Joined Together (Matthew 19:1-11)

Introduction

Someone asked me to do a lesson as a follow-up to the sermon on marriage last week on the subject of divorce. I am glad to do so, for several reasons:

First, Jesus taught on the subject, and as followers of Jesus, we need to know what He said about the matter.

Notes on Jeremiah 14-17

The Drought – Jeremiah 14

-The land of Judah has been plagued by a drought (14:1-6), prompting the people to ask God for forgiveness (14:7-9). The Lord refuses, and orders Jeremiah not to pray for them (14:1-12; cf. 7:16-20; 11:14-17).  There is no specific episode in 2 Kings that reflects this drought, but it is certainly consistent with what the Lord warned about in Deut. 28:22-24.

Sermon: The Weaker Vessel (1 Peter 3:7)

Introduction

This morning I have been asked to do a lesson on the relationship of husbands to wives, and particularly to explain the expression found in 1 Peter 3:7, in which Peter describes wives as “the weaker vessel.” We heard that passage read in the Scripture reading this morning, so let’s take a look at the big picture of what’s going in here in 1 Peter and then figure out what Peter has in mind by calling wives “the weaker vessel.”

Notes on Jeremiah 11-13

The Broken Covenant (11:1-17)

As we discussed in 2:9, prophets were preachers of the covenant, serving as prosecutors on behalf of the Lord. In 11:1-8, the Lord tells Jeremiah to remind them of the words of the covenant (11:2, 6), as well as the curse that would come upon the one who does not obey (11:3, reflecting Deut. 28).

The Spiritual Resurrection Body

One of the biggest challenges to understanding the Scriptures is understanding what the biblical text meant to those for whom it was written. It is very easy to superimpose our own ideas onto the text and filter the Scriptures through our own interpretative grid rather than understand what the inspired author actually meant. As an illustration of this point, consider Paul's description of the resurrection body in 1 Corinthians 15:44:

Sermon: Do You Love Me? John 21:15-19

Introduction

Not long ago announced that I was going to do a series on mistakes I had made in preaching. One member said such a series would take several years! But like a lot of preachers, when I look back on lessons I have preached, I often cringe. Made lots of mistakes.

One of the most common ones was to misuse word studies. To think that the answer to every question about a passage was to try to understand the Hebrew or Greek. The most important task of Bible study is careful attention to the English text. I’d like to illustrate that with passage in John 21:15-17, and then draw some applications from this story.

Loving God's Word, Head and Heart

(This is the text of a chapel devotional I gave at my alma mater, Florida College, yesterday).

In keeping with the lectureship theme of the resurrection, this morning I am going to read some selected verses from Luke 24.

Notes on Jeremiah 7-10

This section of Jeremiah delves further into the reasons for the nation’s unfaithfulness, and also gives us more insight into Jeremiah’s feelings about the doom awaiting his people.

Philosophical Friday: Miracles and "Natural Law"

Last week I made the point that since Scripture presents God as constantly upholding the created order, one could legitimately question whether a Christian should ever speak of the “natural world.” While we may speak of visible and invisible realities, we should never fall prey to the notion that the visible world is removed from the sustaining providence of God.

This naturally (ahem) leads to a discussion of “natural laws”

Notes on Jeremiah 3:6-6:30

Israel’s Sinfulness

·      The most common imagery of Israel’s sinfulness is that of spiritual adultery/harlotry (3:6-10 [cf. Ezek. 16:46; 23:1-11]; 3:20; 4:30-31; 5:7-9).

·      Another common theme in this section is the prideful rebellion and stubbornness of the people (4:3-4; 4:19-22; 5:11-13; 5:19-29; 6:10; 6:16-21; 6:27-30).

Traditional Conservativism, Conservation and Climate Change

The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated, and continual revision of positive law, is evidence of what an age without veneration does to itself and its successors.
Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

One of the primary purposes behind my periodic posts about the nature of conservativism has been to show far far afield what commonly passes for conservativism has strayed from the roots of genuine conservative thinking. There is no issue which more clearly demonstrates this drift away from true conservative principles than the issue of climate change.

Philosophical Friday: The "God of the Gaps" vs The God of the Bible

In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone, and were asked how the stone came to be there; I might possibly answer, that, for anything I knew to the contrary, it had lain there forever: nor would it perhaps be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place; I should hardly think of the answer I had before given, that for anything I knew, the watch might have always been there. (...) There must have existed, at some time, and at some place or other, an artificer or artificers, who formed [the watch] for the purpose which we find it actually to answer; who comprehended its construction, and designed its use. (...) Every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature; with the difference, on the side of nature, of being greater or more, and that in a degree which exceeds all computation. —   William Paley, Natural Theology (1802)

The most famous example of the argument for God’s existence on the basis of design is Paley’s “watchmaker” illustration. The assumption of such an argument is that there are certain complex systems in the natural world that cannot be explained by natural means and therefore require a super-natural designer.

Introduction to Jeremiah

 Author

-Jeremiah, son of a priest, from Anathoth (1:1), a Levitical city in the territory of Benjamin (Josh. 21:18; 1 Chr. 6:60).

-Assisted by Baruch (36:4, 32; 45:1-2).

Notes on Jeremiah 1:1-3:5

The opening chapters of Jeremiah set the tone for the mission and message of the prophet.

Jeremiah’s Commission (1:4-19)

 Many of the prophets in Scripture recount a formal calling or commission (such as Moses in Ex. 3-4; Isaiah in Isa. 6; Paul in Acts 9). Jeremiah’s call is reminiscent of these other prophetic commissions.

Traditional Conservativism, the Second Amendment, and Gun Laws

The horrific shooting at Newtown, CT, has renewed the debate over gun control measures. I have noticed lots of my friends who consider themselves conservatives posting a lot of FB status updates on this issue, so I thought I would weigh in on the issue from my perspective of traditional conservativism.

Sermon: The Christian Basis of Human Dignity

Here is a link to the audio of the sermon I preached this morning on The Christian Basis of Human Dignity (it was given a slightly different title by our webmaster). Feel free to leave your comments here on my blog.

The Squared Circle: The Art of Selling

Describing pro wrestling as "performance art" may strike some people as ridiculous! But I don't know of any better description. It is a performance in the sense that the action in the ring is not designed to be a legitimate contest but a form of entertainment for the audience. And it is an art in the sense that an evocative performance requires skill. Not every painter is an artist, not every singer is an artist, not every wrestler is an artist. But those who excel in the skills to paint a beautiful painting, or sing a moving song, or execute an entertaining match, are truly artists.

Philosophical Fridays: Intelligent Design, the Nature of Science, and Truth

Many of you know that my wife was diagnosed with cancer last August, and since that time she has undergone chemotherapy and radiation to reduce the tumor, successful surgery to remove the tumor, and is now in the process of follow-up chemotherapy to prevent recurrence of the tumor. We appreciate all the prayers we have received, and all of the tremendous care we have been given by our fantastic doctors and nurses.

The Traditional Conservative and the Fiscal Cliff

In his discussion of the influence of Edmund Burke on conservative thinking, Russell Kirk made this observation: 

The modern spectacle of vanished forests and eroded lands, wasted petroleum and ruthless mining, national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated, and continual revision of positive law, is evidence of what an age without veneration does to itself and its successors. (The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot, Kindle Locations 779-781). 

Kirk's comments on careless stewardship of the environment deserve more attention in a later blog post, but for today I want to focus on his trenchant critique of debt, "national debts recklessly increased until they are repudiated." 

Sermon: The Perfect Work of Adversity (James 1:2-4)

I have been preaching on maturity, and yesterday I focused on the Book of James. Here is a skeleton outline of my lesson:

I.  Count it all joy when you encounter various trials (James 1:2)
 

In the Squared Circle - Memphis Style

Back in the days of the old territory system, before the WWE monopolized and homogenized the product of pro wrestling, each territory had its own style. Usually, this style reflected the personality of the primary promoter of the territory. For example, the old AWA territory (the upper midwest), usually featured lots of wrestlers with legitimate amateur backgrounds, since the head of that territory, Verne Gagne, was a great college wrestling at the Univ. of Minnesota. Similarly, Eddie Graham liked guys with good amateur backgrounds in his Florida territory, and throughout his career he was a big supporter of amateur wrestling in the Tampa area.

The wrestling I grew up on, however, was much different. The Memphis territory was known for a wild, bloody, brawling style of wrestling.

Chuck Hagel and the Sad State of "Conservativism"

President Obama's choice of former senator Chuck Hagel to be his new Secretary of Defense should be the cause for wide Republican support. Hagel is a decorated Vietnam veteran and a Republican with a lifetime rating of 84% from the American Conservative Union with a strong traditional conservative voting record. But not so fast. Senator Lindsey Graham expressed dismay at Hagel's nomination:

Tolkein, Kirk, and the Forgotten Conservatism

A few weeks ago I began posting reflections on the nature of conservativism, drawing heavily from Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind. Kirk was the intellectual godfather of modern American conservativism, though sadly, far more Americans know of Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh than Kirk. Hannity, Limbaugh, and others who are part of the media-entertainment complex that poses as conservatism are in reality ideologues (perhaps even demagogues), and thus are the antithesis of the conservativism defined by Kirk as "the negation of ideology."

In today's post I'd like to draw attention to a strain of conservative thinking that Kirk wrote about in The Conservative Mind that also happens to be reflected in The Hobbitt and The Lord of the Rings trilogy penned by J.R.R. Tolkein. That line of thinking is usually called agrarianism.