What Really Happened in Bethlehem--by Linden Malki

Joseph needed to go to Bethlehem--not his choice, but the decree of Caesar. He and his betrothed, pregnant Mary, had to be ready to deal with whatever happened next.  As it turned out, there was no lodging available, and a kind person loaned them a stable for the birth of the most important baby of all.

King Herod, heard and was afraid. This was not surprising; he was king because of who he knew in Rome, but he was one of those people who was appeared strong, but showed his lack of confidence by killing a fair number of his family, not to mention anyone else who saw through his bluster. In this case, Persian astrologers who saw in the sky a phenomenon that they read as someone signficant being born in Judea. Herod's response was to kill, just as a generation later, the Jewish puppet establishment responded to the same someone, now grown to adulthood and acting in ways that they saw as a threat, by killing him. We know what happened next----

In our day, there is a lot of talk everywhere, especially shows of selfishness and fear. Too many people are afraid that they can only get what they want at the expense of someone else. This is one sign of people losing sight of God, who tells us that we shouldn't worry about what we think we are losing, because He is ready and willing to give us what we truly need if we are willing to give up what we think we need.  And what we think we need doesn't get us where we really want to be; too much of the world around us is grabbing more and more of what they're afraid to lose, but in the process they lose what they don't even realize they really need. Too many people think they need to grab what they want from other people because they are afraid of their own shadows--the dark sides of what they are convinced they can't get along without. Too many people don't even know what life could be for them if they are willing to look beyond stuff and attention and power and more stuff.

This is what really happened in that stable in Bethlehem--beyond the animals and the straw; the kings and priests. C.S. Lewis put it like this: "The principle runs through all life from top to bottom. Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and the death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you

have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find him, and with him everything else thrown in."
(CS Lewis: "Mere Christianity")

The Most Important Baby--by Linden Malki

                                                           
Back in the day when my kids were in Sunday School at then-Calvary Baptist Church, there was a tradition of giving each child a figure for a Christmas Nativity scene, starting with an angel for the kindergarten and followed by the Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, and wisemen,  until by sixth grade they had the whole set. (At that time, there were local stores that carried the figures open stock in a common size that had been around for many years--they were similar in size and design to the set my folks had that was older than me.)  The parents were encouraged to make a background for the growing scene.  By the time my youngest was in grade school, the individual figures were getting hard to get, and I happened to find a close-out with just enough odd pieces to complete most of the older kids' sets.  Later, one of my daughters suggested that I find similar sets, and give each of my grandkids one piece each year, in the same order that they had gotten.  The small sets were getting harder to find, and were more varied designs than the older one, which meant that each of the grandkids' sets were each somewhat different. The real challenge came in 2003, when the Old Fire burned out my older daughter's house and the only thing she found left of their  Christmas decorations was one scarred baby Jesus figure.  I found myself shopping ebay for more Nativity sets for three bereft grandchildren, and managed to find appropriate ones to fill the need. Somehow, for those of us who grew up in the church, the Nativity scenes were a common part of the Christmas decor that had been around forever. 
There is a story behind them, however.  The idea goes back to St Francis of Assisi, who lived in Italy in the 1200's and was known for his tireless evangelism and his love for the poor, and for animals. He travelled through an amazing number of the countries then in the throes of the Crusades, and not only managed to see most of the Christian Holy Land, including Bethlehem, but even managed to get to Egypt and have conversations with the Sultan on the other side of the conflict.  When he returned, he had been so moved by having visited the cave under the Church of the Nativity, which is said to be

the actual birthplace of Jesus, that he wanted to illustrate the setting to the local people. In a cave in the village of Grecio, Italy, in the year 1223, he got permission to bring in a manger with hay, an ox and an ass, which grew into full-scale depictions of the Christmas story-- not only live drama, but artistic displays and paintings, which soon became popular all over Europe.  St Francis himself commented that the "Christmas Crib" was the most effective evangelism in the mostly non-literate societies of that day.
People have often commented that they are not historically accurate, in that the shepherds and wisemen were not there at the same time--but the image of the little family in the rough setting of a stable has become one of the most widely known pictures not only in Christian churches but in the general culture of many parts of the world. We are reminded that God sent a baby--born like every other creature in the world--that became the most powerful Person in the world to those of us who know Him, and admired by almost everyone who knows anything about Him.

A Gift of God's Creation--by Linden Malki

One of the most common decorations used at Christmas is the "Christmas Tree", which grew out of the northern European custom of using various evergreen branches as decorations.  There is a legend that St Boniface, the original British missionary to the German tribes in the early 700's,  cut down a large oak tree used in the worship of Thor and showed the people that there was no reaction from the supposed god. Boniface saw a small fir tree growing in the midst of the roots of the felled oak, and he pointed it out as a sign of the Christian faith as it pointed to heaven.

  The first known modern Christmas Tree was put up by a merchants' guild in Riga, Latvia, in 1510. By the late 1500's, it was widely used in the Baltic cities.  Also in the late 1500's there is a story of Martin Luther, walking in the woods and seeing stars shining through the branches of a small evergreen tree, and he is said to have brought home a similar tree and lighted it with small candles. 


The custom of decorating a fir tree as part of a Christmas celebration was brought to the US by Hessian soldiers at the time of the Revolutionary War in the 1780's, but the main establishment of using a Christmas Tree as a shared community decoration came to England with the marriage of Queen Victoria to her German cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coberg in 1841.  They were usually lit by small candles attached to the branches, but the development of electric lighting for Christmas trees in 1882 made possible the large community trees that have become a major part of the season, and also made it safer to use them as part of household decorations.

The use of the Christmas tree as part of our Christmas celebration is an interesting illustration of the ways that traditional symbols can become "baptised" with meanings appropriate for the underlying reason for the season. The custom of celebrating the coming of Jesus at the time of the year that the daylight is returning is an example how we can use a phenomenon created as part of our world as a reminder of our Creator's provision.  Providing a tree that keeps its beauty throughout the year, and is shaped to pull our gaze upward is a gift. Using lights at this season is a reminder that we celebrate the greatest gift of all: the Light of the Word has come!

The Legacy of St Nicholas--by Linden Malki

Yes, there really was a Saint Nicholas! He lived on the south coast of Asia Minor (Today's Turkey), the son of a wealthy family. He took the teaching of Jesus literally-used his inherited wealth to assist the needy and suffering, was known for his caring and love for children--stories are still told of his supplying dowries to daughters of poor families who couldn't afford to get them married; saved children and young people from kidnappings by pirates and slavers, and calmed a storm at sea when he was returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was also arrested at one point, as he lived during the period that the Church was just becoming acceptable.

As far as possible, he did these things anonymously, not wanting the credit for his miracles and generosity. His traditional feast day is December 6, the day of his death in 343AD.  In many countries this is the day that St Nicholas comes with presents; we in America give gifts in the name of St Nicholas  as part of our Christmas celebrations; and in some countries gifts are given on January 6, the celebration of the visit of the Wise Men. who also brought gifts. (The name Santa Claus is based on the Dutch or German "Sant Niklaas.")I told my kids that we give Santa presents when we give without wanting the credit.  My mom explained to me that Santa is the spirit of giving, that he has many helpers dressed up during the Christmas season, and we can be his helpers as well when we give gifts in his name.
 
St Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, on the  Mediterranean coast just east of the Aegean Sea. This is now a part of the Islamic country of Turkey, but one of the few areas where there has always been a Christian presence. It is near Smyrna, the only one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 which survived until modern times. His remains were moved to Bari, on the south coast of Italy, in the 1000's AD, and the church there is still a pilgrimage site. Within the last few years, renovations to the church led to the opening of his tomb, and bones were found that match what we know about Nicholas, and forensic artists have made models and drawings based on the bone structure, so that we may have a good idea of what he actually looked like.

The fact that the stories of his life and ministry have been told and retold, spread up into Europe and the American colonies, is an example of the strength of one man's faith and his works in the name of Jesus. What I was reminded of is St Paul's message to the church in Colossae about the results of following Jesus: "For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14) It is the presence of God in our lives that enables us to be like Nicholas of Myra, whose love for God and mankind is still inspiring an overflow of generosity as we celebrate Jesus' coming.

Appreciating Our Creator--by Linden Malki

The latest discoveries I have read about in both cosmology and biology indicate that not only is the universe an amazing place, but our home planet is possibly unique as a home for life, and life itself is incredibly more complex than was understood even a few decades ago.  I am also becoming more convinced that our Creator is also more complex than we understand. It is not uncommon to hear both believers and nonbelievers question why evil exists, and does it indicate that God is either less powerful or less "nice" that we wish He is. Without claiming more than human logic, I would like to offer a few suspicions.
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I suspect that God has deliberately allowed evil to exist in this world, so that we have the necessity of tapping into His strength to deal with it.  He gives us options: the parable of the sower (Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8) is a basic description of our choices.  There are those who hear and ignore the Word; those who initially listen but it doesn't take root in their lives (I suspect there are those who are willing to live in this mode: not rejecting but not taking it seriously either); those who let it get choked out by the things of the world; and those who listen, accept, and actively seek to grow in it.  And to make it more complicated, even a healthy spiritual relationship is not easy. I have noticed that no matter how much we learn about God, there is no end to our growth on this world. This is consistent with other factors in life as well--the simplest example is that muscles don't grow stronger unless they are stretched; we don't learn without effort and setbacks.  We are finding out that children who are not challenged and allowed to make mistakes and accidents don't grow up with the strengths and skills to deal with real life. C.S. Lewis once commented that God apparently wants Heaven to be populated by all sorts of people of all ages and stages of life. I have long suspected that our bodies are designed to wear out so that we will be willing to trade them in for new ones.

It is also obvious to me that we are all responsible for each other. We can accept the temptations of great evil, and we can accept the knowledge and strength to do great good, both of which are beyond our basic human abilities.  I believe that we will be held responsible for how we treat others, and what they learn from us. God has given us knowledge of how people should be treated and how children should be raised, and again, our shortcomings can bring serious problems, and our following the principles we have been given will bless our families and others.

An important question is whether we appreciate what God offers us: do we recognize the gifts we are given, and the life we were created to live? We are, as Scripture tells us, "fearfully and wonderfully made".  Do we thank God for not only who He made us to be, but the awareness of both the good He gives and the warnings of the evil that we need to deal with?  I suspect that evil is like a boxer's punching bag: if we control it, it will make us stronger; if we don't, it will knock us out. Many of the things that we share this planet with have elements of both good and evil: the wolves in Yellowstone

Park hunt the deer--but when the park authorities eliminated the wolves, the deer overran their food supply. Life is a balance--we can catch and eat sharks--but they can catch and eat us as well. In the proper balance, it works.