Month: December 2005

The blogosphere is alive, not with the sound of music, but with opinions on Victoria Osteen’s recent incident while flying with the family to Colorado. I am assuming that unless you just returned from a filming of “Survivor”you have most likely heard the story (if not refer to the Dec.21st or 26th posts). Reader Jackie posted on this site the following comments (note – all italicized comments are from blog sites).

I found Ms Osteen “apology” to be more of a “spin” than an apology. I don’t care when she flies, where she flies to or what her title is. I do find that rudeness and poor behavior is unacceptable from anyone .What bothers me most is that she can issue a statement saying this was a “minor” event. A plane being held for 2 hours and the passengers leaving the plane ( whether they ask to leave or are asked to leave) is not a “minor” event. I do not think the public is stupid. Does Ms Osteen?

That seemed to be the most common response. The inconvenience to a plane full of passengers is inexcusable whether you are a celebrity or not. For frequent fliers the explanation seemed a bit illogical.

 Her side of the story is that she left the plane on her own accord. Hard to believe. In fact, impossible to believe.

…the woman caused enough problems on an airplane that she was deemed unsafe to fly. Rather than admit her mistakes and apologize, she’s argues with the FBI’s version of the story? What about accountability?

I regularly upgrade to first class because I have flown so many miles. After logging six million miles I have never witnessed one incident that caused the plane to be pulled back in and a passenger removed. I also found it hard to comprehend how a minor incident could generate these actions. Airlines are not in the habit of returning airplanes to the gate. The schedules are then fouled up, passengers are angry, connections missed, and flight crew hours are wasted. But the cold logical evaluation of the issue is being debated alongside a spiritual one. Do we have any right to criticize Mrs. Osteen? One blogger shouted his dire warning with his ALL CAP headlines. I have copied the blog exactly as it appeared on the site.

1) YOU ARE NO ONE TO JUDGE ANYONE! Who are you to judge for someone for what they have done? Better yet we al have done something in our lives that was wrong, and do you see the whole US talking about your falts? NO you don’t. The second thing wrong with all this gossip about the Osteen family is

Sorry about the cliff-hanger. I wanted to address number one. This blogger is correct. I am no one to judge anyone. In fact I think there is a pretty clear Biblical mandate that we have to prayerfully consider from the gospel of Matthew.

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I think we have so broadly applied this teaching that we have ceased to hold ourselves, and others, accountable in how all of us represent Christ. Remember that Jesus was addressing the religious people who talked about godliness but acted entirely differently. I am to evaluate myself by the standards of God’s Word, and yes, the standard should be higher for me because I have publicly identified myself as a follower of Christ. I want others to hold me accountable. In fact, I was confronted a couple of years ago by a person who informed me that my actions did not match my public testimony. I was grateful because I was able to repent and ask forgiveness of that person and others. That is the standard we set for ourselves as Christians. I cannot judge the motives or heart of Mrs. Osteen or anyone else. I can, I believe, honestly and gracefully judge actions that are unbiblical. And now for the conclusion of the earlier cliff-hanger blog…

2) YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE’S IDOL. Someone’s inspiration. Someone’s “oak tree”. Let me go to your place of worship and critize your pastor, or what ever it is. How would you feel? Not very happy, so why do it to other people? Do unto Other as you would have them do unto you. The third problem with all this non-sence is 3) IT IS NONE OF YOUR %$#@ BUSINESS!!! It is none of anybody’s business what the Osteen family does. If Victoria wants to have her seat cleaned because there is something liquid in it, IN FIRST CLASS, then she should have her seat cleaned. I could understand if she was in coach and ask acting like that but when you are in first-class you should get your seat cleaned if asked to, no matter what. Coach is different than First-class, and there is a difference in between how they are treated and “getting a seat cleaned because there is something liquid in it” shouldn’t be a problem for either coach of First-class. It is called First -Class for a reason. But my question to you all naviie, inarticulate, pucillanimous people, WHAT CONCERN IS IT TO YOU?

What a gold mine this is! Let’s go point by point. Joel Osteen should not be anyone’s idol. Nor should I nor anyone else I know. I can respect and admire people but I realize that they are simply people. Most of us know that. My point in the first blog was that if Mrs.Osteen humbly sought forgiveness the incident would go away. The respect for her and Mr.Osteen would only grow had such a humble response been forthcoming.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto me? I would hope that I would never put my self interest above a plane full of other people. That seems like a fair application of the Golden Rule.

In his blog…uhh…letter to the Colossians Paul wrote to “let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”  Following that would have likely diffused the entire situation.

As for the first class issue let me point out that first class is simply a more comfortable seating area. The flight attendants are there to make sure the plane is safe for take off, the baggage is secured, the doors are properly closed, the passengers seat belted and the safety instructions communicated. The people in first class have no more privilege than anyone else when the crew is doing their primary function. I am far more concerned about safety checks than anyone having a damp tush.

The concern to me is that any incident like this gives ammo to the critics and doubt to the seekers. Any time the name of Christ is tarnished it is a concern to me, and yes, I hold myself to that standard. If I do anything that discredits my Lord Jesus Christ I want you to challenge me (I would prefer gracefully) and I will seek to repent and repair the damage.

Some indicated the comments were from jealous and envious people who love to bring down successful celebrities. We will do another blog on celebrity Christianity but let me give you one example of a pastor’s wife who has dealt with fame. As one blogger succinctly argued…

 I don’t recall any incidents with Ruth Graham..

Defense rests, your honor.

Perhaps feeling a bit sorry for Victoria Osteen some bloggers posted the following thoughts…

 …thankfully, God’s grace extends toward us even when we demonstrate  our unworthiness. amazing grace they call it.

 God’s grace is truly amazing. He extends it to all of us when we act up — publicly or privately.

Amen to that. I identify with the t-shirt that says “I am the wretch the song is talking about.” But we do have a responsibility as the body of Christ to hold one another accountable in love.

“Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”  Luke 17 – The Message

Fortunately, for Mrs. Osteen (who might still be in the learning process) she has the loving Body of Christ to gently help her correct herself when she messes up. Come on folks, leave her alone.

I hope the body of Christ is doing just that. But I believe that a little humility and repentance would have covered a multitude of sins. I don’t want to be left alone. I want to be accountable. Because the last thing I want to do is cause anyone to view Jesus unfavorably. All of us fall short in our lives. But all of us should seek to live humbly, repent, seek forgiveness, and walk kindly. That kind of life will get noticed.

The December 18th Doonesbury comic strip might have been clever but it was deceptive and dishonest in it’s content. The strip begins with a doctor looking at an x-ray image. He is thinking to himself that “he hopes he (the patient) is only a Sunday creationist.” In the next frame the patient finds out he has TB. The doctor is better looking and looks more intelligent than the poor “creationist”. The doctor reassures him that they have caught the disease early.

Patient: “So my prognosis is good?”

Doctor: “Depends. Are you a creationist?”

Patient: “Why yes I am. Why do you ask?”

Doctor: “Because I want to know if you want me treat the TB bug as it was before antibiotics? Or the multiple drug resistant strain it has since evolved into.”

Patient: “Evolved?”

Doctor: “Your choice. If you go with the Noah’s Ark version, I’ll just give you Streptomycin.”

Patient: “Ummm…what are the newer drugs like?”

Doctor: “They’re intelligently designed.”

First of all, I understand the fundamentals of humor. I know that Trudeau was trying to exaggerate to make a humorous point. But my concern is that this is how intellectually bankrupt the average Christian is portrayed in the media. Gary Trudeau is a smart man. I presume he is smart enough to know that his comic strip does not represent the Intelligent Design position. And if he does realize this is not the position of the ID proponents then he is being intellectually dishonest for the sake of a laugh.

Not a single advocate of Intelligent Design that I am aware of discounts the “change over time” that happens within a species or organism. My friend Dr.Ray Bohlin writes this at the Probe website (www.probe.org).

“Much of the reason for evolution’s privileged status has been due to confusion over just what people mean when they use the word evolution. Evolution is a slippery term. If evolution simply means “change over time,” this is non-controversial. Peppered moths, Hawaiian drosophila fruit flies, and even Galapagos finches are clear examples of change over time. If you say that this form of evolution is a fact, well, so be it. But many scientists extrapolate beyond this meaning. Because “change over time” is a fact, the argument goes, it is also a fact that moths, fruit flies, and finches all evolved from a remote common ancestor.”

No thinking person could dispute the “change over time” component of evolution. When the word evolution is tossed about are we speaking of microevolution, small changes within a species over time, or are we talking about macroevolution, major mutations from one type of organism to another? I willingly concede the microevolution. Macroevolution is still quite debatable.

I believe in a Creator God. But I will aggressively seek the latest medications to fend off the microevolution of a disease. I see no intellectual dishonesty in that position. In Paul’s letter to Timothy he wrote…

God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.  2 Timothy 1:7 The Message

God has given us a mind and the freedom to use it.

 

 

As I surveyed the annual end of the year summaries I came across the Ig Nobels, an annual ceremony that honors seemingly inane research projects. “

Marc Abrahams, creator of the Ig Nobels and editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, the science humor magazine that coordinates the prizes said that,  “The point [of the awards] is to expose people to things they might not come across.” 

Mission accomplished. Here are the real 2005 winners of Ig Noble awards. My Ig Noramus Award winning commentary is italicized.

Claire Rind and Peter Simmons of Newcastle University in England nabbed the 2005 Ig Nobel Peace prize for their work electronically monitoring the brain cells of locusts as the insects watched selected scenes from Star Wars.

“The reason I did the research was curiosity. I had to know,” Rind said in jest. On a serious note, her research studies the way that locusts avoid predators. She hopes the information will lead to new tools that will help cars avoid collisions.

I have begun my own studies by monitoring the brain cells of roaches as they watch selected TV pastors. I hope that by studying when the roaches are drawn to the television I can help gullible viewers avoid bad theology.

The winners of the Ig Nobel Fluid Dynamics prize—hailing from universities in Finland, Germany, and Hungary—won for calculating the pressure that builds up inside a penguin’s bowels before it defecates. But none of the honored penguin researchers were able to attend the ceremony because the U.S. denied them visas.

Who says Homeland Security isn’t doing their jobs?

Yoshihiro Nakamats of Tokyo, who won the Nutrition prize for his meticulous photographing of every meal he has eaten during the past 34 years.

The research value of this would be?????

A large team of international researchers won the Ig Nobel in Biology for their paper in the February 2004 issue of the journal Applied Herpetology. Their research, which catalogued frogs that smell like vanilla and others like flowers, may result in new perfumes or lead to frog-skin-based biopharmaceuticals. The team studied and catalogued different scents emitted by more than 100 species of frogs under stress. Some smelled like cashews, while others smelled like licorice, mint or rotting fish.

My prediction for next year’s hot new men’s scent: Kermit. Or you might hear something like this next Christmas…

“Love your perfume”!

“Oh thank you. It’s Eau de Tree Frog”.

Anonymous Internet entrepreneurs of Nigeria, who won the Literature prize for writing compelling short stories that are then sent to millions of people around the globe via the Internet, accompanied by pleas for cash.

I have had numerous opportunities to become rich by helping these poor folk. I hope when they do get those lost riches they will invest in a spell check.

And may I suggest that every one double check all of these email stories before you hit the forward button. I probably receive a half dozen inaccurate email forwards a week.  A friend of mine sent a tongue in cheek email thanking everyone for warning him about various health scares and internet viruses and on and on.

Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now
return the favor!

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7
minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of diarrhea will land on your
head at 5:00 p.m. (PDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it
actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s
second husband’s cousin’s beautician.

I am forwarding this message to everyone on my list. I mean…what if it is true? And I really hate pigeons.

 

Greeting cards have all been sent
The Christmas rush is through
But I still have one wish to make
A special one for you     Lyrics from ‘Merry Christmas Darling’ – The Carpenters

Yesterday I braved the day after Christmas shopping throngs with the lovely Mrs. Burchett in search of sale priced Christmas ornaments and other half-priced treasures. Actually I found the frenzy at Crate and Barrel to be only slightly less dangerous than the Running of the Bulls in Spain. So I spent a fair amount of time in a nearby Starbucks while she braved the frothing throngs. But I was with her in spirit.

My caffinated quiet time gave me an opportunity to reflect on the odd way we celebrate Christmas. The build up to Christmas goes on for weeks and then, before you can file a lawsuit, it is over. We rush pell mell to Christmas Day with intensity that would make Coach Bobby Knight proud. The day itself, like the average Super Bowl,  cannot live up to the hype.

So I sat listening to ‘Winter Wonderland’ in the seventy degree temperatures of Dallas and I felt a little melancholy. Somehow I had managed to let another Christmas sneak up on me and pass me by while I was busy shopping, wrapping, buying, and rushing. I have a calendar. How does this happen? Christmas is my favorite time of the year and now I sat wondering where it had gone. How did I miss it? I suddenly felt like I was in the middle of a Peanuts Christmas special…

• Charlie Brown: I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed. 
  
• Lucy Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.

I hope I haven’t turned Christmas into a problem but I really do want it to last more than a day. Maybe the idea of the Twelve Days of Christmas is a good one. That would give me some time to settle in a bit before the holiday goes whizzing by. The 12 days of Christmas were traditionally the 12 days that separate December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Some believed that was the date that the wise men visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.

On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. Matthew  2  NIV

Obviously Mary and Joseph had located a place to stay since the birth of Jesus. The Magi came to the house (not the stable) and saw the child. Traditionally there has been the custom of giving gifts throughout the 12 days, rather than the frenetic frenzy on the morning of December 25. That tradition has never really caught on in instant gratification America! The most difficult fruit of the spirit to successfully cultivate in this culture is patience. Apparently our American soil does not allow the patience fruit to mature.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5 NIV

But I suspect our society could kidnap the spirit of the 12 Days of Christmas tradition as well. We would simply increase the angst and sale papers and overall frenzy. If you can’t find one perfect gift imagine how crazy trying to buy twelve would make you!  

Perhaps thoughtful Christians could co-opt the 12 Days of Christmas and make it a time of reflection on the incarnation of a Savior. Maybe we could spend a little extra time meditating on the miracle of God becoming man and yet remaining God.

I find it interesting that epiphany has become an “in” word and is defined at dictionary.com as  “a sudden manifestation of the meaning of something.” How appropriate that by reflecting for the next few days on the arrival of Jesus you can have an epiphany just in time for Epiphany! The original Christmas epiphany happened in the fields outside of Bethlehem.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 “Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

Rewind to the beginning of this blog. I do have one wish…make that prayer…for you during this Christmas season. I pray that you have found the One that the shepherds hurried to see. And that you will spread the word of what you have been told about Him.

Merry Third Day of Christmas! (French Hen Day…if you are keeping score)
 

 

 

 

I have removed this post because I am tired of people spectacularly missing the point. I simply raised the point that we are accountable for our actions as representatives of Christ. I will accept no further comments on this topic.

 

There has been quite a spirited battle over Christmas this year. Earlier this month I posted a remarkable Christmas story and I have received great feedback. If you missed it…enjoy. If you caught the first post it might be worth a Christmas meditation and reread. To everyone who visits this blog, reads my books, and takes the time to bless me with your comments…Merry Christmas!

On December 9th I posted a story about the decision by a Wisconsin elementary school to rewrite the lyrics of “Silent Night” to make it acceptable for the winter program. The unfortunate choice for a new title was “Cold in the Night”. Some things just shouldn’t be done. It is like the old Jim Croce song…”you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t rewrite Silent Night” (New Revised Version).

Writing that post brought to mind a legend I had heard involving the song “Silent Night” and a wartime Christmas truce. I researched the story and found that it actually happened. Here is a nice Christmas story for your Christmas season to share at Christmas gatherings this Christmas Day (was that too obvious?).

The year was 1914 and soldiers were having to spend Christmas Eve night on the battlefields of France during World War I — the Great War, as it was called. After only four months of fighting, more than a million men had already perished in the bloody conflict. The bodies of dead soldiers were scattered between the trenches. Enemy troops were dug-in so close that they could easily exchange shouts.

On December 24, 1914, in the middle of a freezing battlefield in France, a miracle happened.

The British troops watched in amazement as candle-lit Christmas trees began to appear above the German trenches. The glowing trees soon appeared along the length of the German front.

Henry Williamson, a young soldier with the London Regiment wrote in his diary: “From the German parapet, a rich baritone voice had begun to sing a song I remembered my German nurse singing to me…. The grave and tender voice rose out of the frozen mist. It was all so strange… like being in another world — to which one had come through a nightmare.”

Silent Night

Holy Night

A man named John John McCutcheon recently wrote a song about the nearly unknown incident. These lyrics are from his work called “Christmas in the Trenches”.

The cannon rested silent, the gas clouds rolled no more,

As Christmas brought us respite from the war….

“They finished their carol and we thought that we ought to retaliate,” another British soldier wrote, “So we sang The First Noël and when we finished, they all began clapping. And they struck up O Tannebaum and on it went… until we started up O Come All Ye Faithful [and] the Germans immediately joined in …. this was really a most extraordinary thing — two nations both singing the same carol in the middle of a war.”

McCutcheon’s lyrics continue…

“There’s someone coming towards us!” the front-line sentry cried.

All sights were fixed on one lone figure trudging from their side.

His truce flag, like a Christmas star, shone on that plain so bright

As he, bravely, strode unarmed into the night.

It is recorded that enemy soldiers greeted each other in the no man’s land that was a killing zone on December 23rd. The soldiers wished each other Merry Christmas and agreed not to fire their rifles on Christmas Day. The spontaneous cease-fire eventually embraced much of a 500-mile stretch of the Western Front. According to the reports of soldiers at the scene, hundreds of thousands of soldiers celebrated the birth of the Prince of Peace among the bodies of their dead.

Soon one by one on either side walked into No Man’s Land.

With neither gun nor bayonet, we met there hand to hand.

Other soldiers told of how the “enemies” exchanged badges and buttons from their uniforms. Others shared photos of wives and children and some even exchanged addresses and promised to write after the war ended. The German troops rolled out barrels of dark beer and the British reciprocated with offerings of plum pudding. Some soldiers produced soccer balls and a spirited match broke out as fellow soldiers shouted encouragement.

At one location along the front the men who just the day before sought to kill one another now gathered together to bury their dead. Together, with heads uncovered, they held a service to memorialize their fallen comrades. A solitary voice began to sing Silent Night, in French. He was joined by another voice — this one singing in German — the words of a Christmas song known and beloved by all.

But the miracle of peace was temporary. Slowly, under threats from their officers, the troops returned to the trenches and the recoils of rifles split the temporary “Silent Night.” Some soldiers admitted aiming so their bullets flew well above the heads of the “enemy.”

Soon daylight stole upon us and France was France once more.

With sad farewells, we each prepared to settle back to war.

But the question haunted every heart that lived that wondrous night:

“Whose family have I fixed within my sight?”

My name is Francis Tolliver, in Liverpool I dwell.

Each Christmas come since World War I, I’ve learned its lesson well:

That the ones who call the shots won’t be among the dead and lame,

And on each end of the rifle, we’re the same.

That is the message the Prince of Peace brought to us on Christmas long ago. Perhaps those of us who celebrate the birth of the Saviour could learn a lesson from this Christmas miracle. Those on the other side of the cultural trenches are not unlike us. We are the same. The message delivered in Bethlehem was peace and goodwill toward men. When we fight the cultural war remember that the whole purpose of Jesus invading our space and time was to love and ultimately die for those on both sides of the battle.

 

 

Hopefully the secularists and people of faith can sheath their subpoenas long enough to declare a truce for Christmas Day. No day of the year has generated more written material than Christmas. I thought I would collect a few thoughts from people with bigger brains than me to share as a Christmas gift to you.

• Those who know me realize that I must start with humorous thoughts on the day. The first comes from one of the greatest comic strips ever produced.

Oh look, yet another Christmas TV special!  How touching to have the meaning of Christmas brought to us by cola, fast food, and beer…. Who’d have ever guessed that product consumption, popular entertainment, and spirituality would mix so harmoniously?  ~ Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes

There is a remarkable breakdown of taste and intelligence at Christmastime.  Mature, responsible grown men wear neckties made of holly leaves and drink alcoholic beverages with raw egg yolks and cottage cheese in them.  ~P.J. O’Rourke

Christmas is the season when you buy this year’s gifts with next year’s money.  ~Author Unknown

Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.  ~Author Unknown

I think the author remained unknown so the credit card companies couldn’t them.

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall.  We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.  ~Dave Barry

The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C.  This wasn’t for any religious reasons.  They couldn’t find three wise men.  ~Jay Leno

• Many thoughts about Christmas are sentimental…

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.  ~Roy L. Smith

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.  ~Burton Hillis

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.  ~W.T. Ellis

Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.  ~Author Unknown

There’s nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.  ~Erma Bombeck, I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression

Christmas is for children.  But it is for grown-ups too.  Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.  ~Lenora Mattingly Weber

• Some Christmas reflections challenge us to maintain the spirit of the season past December 25th.

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  ~Charles Dickens

Next to a circus there ain’t nothing that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit.  ~Kin Hubbard

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.  ~Harlan Miller

• But my favorite Christmas thoughts focus me on the miracle of God intentionally seeking a relationship with me.

For the spirit of Christmas fulfils the greatest hunger of mankind.  ~Loring A. Schuler

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!  ~Hamilton Wright Mabie

Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked “No Entrance” and left through a door marked “No Exit.” ~ Peter Larson, Prism (Jan/Feb 2001)

There has been only one Christmas – the rest are anniversaries.  ~W.J. Cameron

• The best news of all on this anniversary was a little quote recorded outside of Bethlehem….

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ~ Angel to the shepherds…as quoted by Luke

Merry Christmas!