Author: Dave Burchett

Today’s Dallas Morning News was a little tiptoe through a minefield of bad news and bad behavior.

Dateline Houston…

• The pastor of the nation’s largest church and his family were asked to leave a plane after his wife failed to comply with a flight attendant’s instructions, the FBI said Tuesday. Houston Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen, his wife Victoria Osteen, and their two children boarded a flight from Houston to Vail, Colo., Monday. The plane’s door had been closed when Victoria Osteen and a flight attendant had a disagreement.

I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how justified Mrs. Osteen was to be unhappy with the service from the flight attendants. I don’t know what kind of attitude the flight attendant displayed toward the Osteens. I do know that this unfortunate act will be the fodder of jokes and ridicule and demeaning of Christianity, and by extension, of Christ. When we take the awesome responsibility of calling ourselves Christians we raise the bar on our personal behavior. Whether we like it or not does not change the truth of that fact. For those who witnessed the incident and for those who were inconvenienced by having to wait an hour for the Osteen’s luggage to be removed the message of the gospel may have been damaged. Is that unfair to Mrs. Osteen? Perhaps. But when you are a visible and vocal representative of Jesus, whether it’s at a megachurch or a mini mart, you are representing Jesus everyday and every moment. I can guarantee you that if I display unseemly behavior the first thing that will pop into the minds of those who know who I am will be  “I wonder if that is in his wonderful little Christian books?”. One of my biggest fears in writing books was that I knew I had put myself on the line for the rest of my life.

But the reality is that simply announcing  “I am a Christian” does exactly the same thing. Your failures likely won’t make the news but they may do just as much damage. I pray that the Osteens will handle this in a way that demonstrates the humility and grace of Jesus. We all make mistakes. It is how we respond to them that can make a difference. Repenting and repairing by asking forgiveness is a very good way to practice damage control.

Dateline Harrisburg, Pa….

•  In one of the biggest courtroom clashes between faith and evolution since the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a federal judge barred a Pennsylvania public school district Tuesday from teaching “intelligent design” in biology class, saying the concept is creationism in disguise. Others criticised it as an attack on scientists who believe in God. U.S. District Judge John Jones delivered a stinging attack on the Dover Area School Board, saying its first-in-the-nation decision in October 2004 to insert intelligent design into the science curriculum violated the constitutional separation of church and state.

No surprise here. This was a very poor test case because of circumstances surrounding the lawsuit. I am not discouraged by the ruling because I am convinced of the truth of a Creator. Brilliant men and women will continue to seek the clues of the mystery of life. I am confidant to let that process unfold. I do intend to challenge some of the blatantly unfair stereotypes and assumptions made about those who hold to the idea of a Creator in future blogs.

Dateline somewhere in the Target Department stores offices….

• Countdown to Christmas (from Target full page ad)

I noted that Target got some of that “old time bottom line religion” and added Christmas to their TV and print ads. Nervous executives may believe that Christians are stupid and narrow minded but we do have some fat cash. Merry Christmas.

Dateline Ft. Worth…

• Kirk Franklin won’t hide his past, including the porn. Some people are upset about a confession Mr. Franklin made on The Oprah Winfrey Show last month.  “I’ve been around all the fakes and, you know, all the church folk that were super-spiritual, but you saw them doing dirt, and I didn’t want to be a hypocrite,” he told Ms. Winfrey. “I didn’t want to be a fake church dude. You know what I’m saying?” Mr. Franklin does not regret doing the interview. He only wishes he could have spoken for longer. “I didn’t get a chance to talk about what my motives were,” his mission to help other men recognize how sexual compulsions could hurt their marriages, to explain how God could help, he says. 

For reasons beyond my comprehension Kirk Franklin is being criticized for being honest, real, and offering the hope of redemption in Christ. He is being starkly candid about the damage pornography does to relationships and to the soul. I was a fan of Mr.Franklin before. I am more so now. Observers are looking for authenticity and it won’t be found in “fake church dudes”.

Dateline Jerusalem (from the archives)

• Headline: Jesus addresses fake church dudes in temple harangue. “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony.”  The Message

The message hasn’t changed in the last 2,000 years. It is easy to clean up and shine up our “Christian” exterior to sparkle. The hard work of cleaning up the maggoty insides will make the eternal difference. Live like an ambassador for Jesus during this Christmas season and into the New Year. And if you screw up…repent, reconcile, and repair.

Merry Christmas.

One of my contributions with this modest little blog is to continually ask the tough questions.

Recently I listened to  “Away in a Manger” at a Christmas program. You likely know verse three of the song.

The cattle are lowing
The poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes

As I listened an important series of inquiries popped into my head. What noise were the cattle making when they started lowing? Was this normal cow talk? Did lowing just sound better than mooing in the lyric? And then the most important question came to mind…what is wrong with me?

I can’t answer the last question but I can help with the others. Lowing is in fact defined as…

The characteristic sound uttered by cattle; a moo.   –  dictionary.com

So Jesus was awakened by the characteristic sound uttered by a cow. The next part of the lyric is disturbing to those of us who are parents. If any of the babies who grew up in our household were awakened by cattle lowing they would be squalling (the characteristic sound uttered by a ticked off baby; a scream).  I also discovered that this verse was not original to the song. It was added in the early 1900’s by a Methodist minister named John T. McFarland for a children’s program.

I remember as a child singing “Away in a Manger” and picturing the baby Jesus with this beatific smile on his face and a little halo hovering over his head. The animals were swaying and smiling like the campfire scene from the movie “Three Amigos”. Mary and Joseph were awed spectators as the baby Jesus acknowledged the shepherds and welcomed them to his place (the earlier lyrics told us he didn’t have a crib).

My images of the baby Jesus were indeed childish. But I wonder if we don’t carry a little of that into our adult Christian journey. This Christmas I have taken time to think about the implications of the incarnation.

C.S. Lewis called the incarnation “the Grand Miracle.” He wrote: “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation…. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this…. It was the central event in the history of the Earth–the very thing that the whole story has been about” (Miracles, chapter 14).

By a miracle that passes human comprehension, the Creator entered his creation, the Eternal entered time, God became human–in order to die and rise again for the salvation of all people. “He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still … (to) the womb … down to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him” (Miracles, chapter 14).

Take a moment to meditate on the mystery of that. Fully God and fully man. I am sure the little Lord Jesus had the normal response to being awakened by cattle. His swaddling clothes had to be changed just like any baby. Chuck Swindoll described Him as diety in diapers.

How does that affect me this Christmas? When I suffer Jesus understands. He has been there. When I am lonely or feeling betrayed He understands. When I am joyful and laughing He understands. By becoming like me Jesus can empathize with me. He gets it.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.   I John 2

The miracle in the manger was not Jesus ignoring stupid cows. The miracle was God becoming flesh.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

I love Dave Barry. As long as he is alive I will not have the weirdest brain on the planet. Here is his take on the secularizing of Christmas greetings.

      Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time
that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his
choice.

    In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians
called it “Christmas” and went to church; the Jews called it “Hanukkah” and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say “Merry Christmas!” or “Happy Hanukkah!”or (to the atheists) “Look out for the wall!”

    These days, people say “Season’s Greetings,” which, when you think
about it, means nothing. It’s like walking up to somebody and saying
“Appropriate Remark” in a loud, cheerful voice. But “Season’s Greetings”
is safer, because it does not refer to any actual religion. Some day, I
imagine, even “Season’s Greetings” will be considered too religious, and
we’ll celebrate the Holiday Season by saying “Have a nice day.”

There is a lot of humor and an uncomfortable amount of truth in those paragraphs. And while I will be going to the mall of my choice today with my beloved this is also a deeply religious time for me. For me this is a time to celebrate and marvel at the concept of God becoming man. The past two posts have offered some gift ideas to give Jesus on His upcoming birthday. It is an odd concept indeed that we generally give Christmas gifts to everyone but the one who is having a birthday. So if you are a late arriver we have been looking at the gifts of the Magi (wisemen) to see if we can get some last minute ideas. The first gift was gold and the second gift was frankincense. The third gift given by the magi to Christ child was myrrh. 
 
Myrrh is an aromatic gum produced from a thorn bush and it is obtained in the same manner as frankincense. The bush is gashed and the resin bleeds out and is collected. However, if frankincense represents sweetness, myrrh represents bitterness, at least to the taste. Myrrh was used chiefly in embalming the dead, (John 19:39) Nicodemus brought Myrrh and aloes to wrap the body of Jesus. 

Myrrh was a commodity of great value for early commerce.

As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded \with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. (Genesis 37:25) 

The Psalms tell us that myrrh was a valued perfume.

All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; 
from palaces adorned with ivory 
the music of the strings makes you glad.  .(Psalms 45:8).

Myrrh kept its fragrance for several hundred years when stored in an alabaster pot. Myrrh also had medicinal qualities, sometimes mingled with wine to form a painkilling drink. That was offered to Jesus on the cross to ease His suffering. 

Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. (Mark 15:23)

So the Magi brought myrrh as a gift of great value but also as a foreshadowing of the human suffering that Jesus took upon Himself when He came into our world. So what can we give to Jesus in response to His willingness and love to take on suffering and death on our behalf? How about giving the gift of being willing to die to our self…our selfish desires…our own agenda? It is a daily choice that followers of Jesus make to live like that. We ought to consider others as more important than ourselves (see Rom. 12:10). We can’t do that unless we first learn to die to ourselves. The Message has an interesting take on Colossions 3.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ–that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life–even though invisible to spectators–is with Christ in God. He is your life.

He is my life. And I want to be serious about living this resurrection life in 2006 and beyond. During the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season I need to take time to remember that. So let’s review our potential shopping list for Jesus on His birthday. Perhaps you would like to give Jesus the gift of more time with Him.  How about the gift of really believing that Jesus is Lord over all…not Lord over what you and I select? Perhaps you are ready to take the faith step of being willing and ready to die to your desires so that you can serve the needs of others.

There are just six days until we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. He gave us a gift that we cannot repay when He surprised earth by bringing Heaven to this planet on Christmas Day. So it seems appropriate to wrap a little something for Jesus and present it to Him this year. Merry Christmas!

 

As a public service I am providing a shopping guide for things you can give to Jesus on His upcoming birthday. Let’s be honest…giving the King of Kings and Lord of Lords a unique gift is really tough. Yesterday’s post examined the gifts brought to the young Christ child over 2,000 years by the three wise men, I had hoped that examining what the Magi brought might jump start our gift giving ideas.  By the way, there is a plaque that is available in catalogs this year with the title “What if They Had Been 3 Wise Women?” Here is the conclusion….

They would have asked directions.
 Brought practical gifts
 Made a casserole
 Cleaned the stable
‘ Changed the baby
 And there would be peace on earth.

Alert readers from yesterday remember that the first gift was gold. That is always a lovely gift. But now it gets a little tougher.

Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. Matt 2:11 (MsgB)

The second gift brought out of the luggage by the Magi was frankincense. Frankincense is a very costly and fragrant incense. It is a gum distilled from a tree found in the Middle East. It is a white resin or gum, and is obtained by slitting the bark of the “Arbor Thurisfrom”, allowing the gum to flow out (there will be a test). The word actually means “whiteness”, referring to the white colored juice which flows out of the wound in the tree. This gum hardens for three months, and is gathered at the end of the summer, and sold in the form of “tears”, or clumps of hardened resin. Frankincense is highly fragrant when burned, and was, therefore, used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God. It is interesting to note that this sweet smelling resin comes as the result of the tree’s woundedness and pain. It is cut open and bleeds to give us the sweet smelling scent. The spiritual parallel is interesting. When we can worship God in the midst of our sorrow, our brokenness, then it is a sweet smelling offering to our Lord. 

King David wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalms 51:17 )

Much emphasis in worship today is on “celebration”. No time for agonizing and tears, only for shouts of joy and victory. While joyful praise is acceptable and pleasing to God, tears, like frankincense resin, oozing out of our hurts, broken hearts, and tears of repentance are especially pleasing – a sweet smelling sacrifice to the Lord. Anyone can dance and shout when blessings are flowing, and everything is going their way. But true worship happens when we must overcome feelings of self-pity, fear and doubt. So how can we offer a pleasing aroma to God?

How about giving Jesus the gift of belief for His birthday? You believe that Jesus is the Son of God…that He came to earth as a little baby over 2,000 years ago. That he lived a Holy life and died on a cross as perfect sacrifice for my sin and your sin. I would guess that most of the people who stumble onto this blog believe that. But what I am talking about is really believing God in every circumstance.

Think about giving the gift of really believing in Jesus for every need this coming year.

Believing that you are an amazing one of a kind creation whom God has placed where you are and with gifts that can be uniquely used where you are.

“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are-no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. Matthew 5:5 (MsgB) 

Later in the gospel of Matthew we find this…If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty. Matthew 23:12 (MsgB)

I believe that comparison is one of Satan’s primary strategies to cause despair. You are wonderfully made by the Creator of the Universe and you are valuable. Michelangelo made a nearly perfect sculpture of David. The statue’s muscular tension is precisely rendered down to the muscle contraction on his forehead as David is poised to go into battle. It is perhaps the most important sculpture in the world and it was carved from one large block of marble. Why is that unique? Two other artists rejected the block of marble because of imperfections. Michelangelo saw the beauty in that block of marble that others did not. Jesus sees the beauty in you that others might not. Can you believe in a Jesus that can take you, even if you feel like a rejected block of marble, and then lovingly chip away until you become a beautiful work of art? Can you give Jesus the gift of believing that He is really there with you…as your Good Shepherd…ready to bind up your wounds and lead you to still waters.

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He’s only in it for the money. The sheep don’t matter to him. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They’ll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father.” John 10:11-18 (MsgB)

The Good Shepherd had the choice and chose to give us the marvelous gift of laying down His life and then taking it up again. Believing Him…really believing Him…would make a lovely gift to Jesus on His birthday.

 

We are just over a week from the hardest day of the year for most men. Many of us men give gifts to our significant others with fear and trembling. Humor columnist Dave Barry relates the confusion most men deal with when giving a gift to their wife.

He could tell by her reaction to the gift that she had not been dreaming of getting an auto emergency kit, even though it was the deluxe model with booster cables and an air compressor. Clearly, this violated an important rule, but the man had idea what the rule was, and his wife was too upset to tell him.

Barry continues his thoughtful treatise…

So why is the Christmas season so difficult for men? There are many complex reasons, by which I mean: women. The problem goes back to the very first Christmas. We know from the Bible that the Wise Men showed up in Bethlehem and gave the baby Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Now Gold is always a nice gift, but frankincense and myrrh – at least according to my dictionary – are gum resins.

 Barry asks the vital question…

Who gives gum resins to a baby? The answer is…Men. The three wise men…being men, didn’t even start shopping for gifts until the last minute, when most of the stores in the greater Bethlehem area were closed for Christmas Eve. The only place still open was Big Stu’s House of Myrrh.

Even though Barry’s interpretation of the Gospels might be a little suspect…I do think he is correct about the difficulty in finding the right gift to give to Jesus on his birthday. Eldest son Matt told me about a Christmas card  with Jesus partying on the front of the card and singing Happy Birthday to me.

On December 24th or 25th most of us will exchange gifts on Jesus birthday. Suppose you had a big party for me to celebrate my humble birthday this April. All of my close friends and acquaintances show up and you all start exchanging gifts on my birthday. But there is nothing for me. Oh, someone might mention my name now and then. But I just sit and I sit and I watch others open gifts. Then someone mentions how grateful they are for Dave’s birthday so we could all be together. I become hopeful. But then someone else yells that the refreshments are ready so everyone rolls into the kitchen and I am left sitting there….no gifts on my birthday. I wonder if we don’t do that exact thing to Jesus. We have reason for the season signs and all of that. But it is so easy to get all caught up and not even think of a gift for the guest of honor at our Christmas celebrations.
  
So what can you give the Lord of the Universe? If you think your mother-in-law is tough to buy for what do buy for the Saviour who has everything? Believe it or not…I decided to go back to the Three Wise Men and see if there was more to their gifts than first appears. What is the story behind these gum resin gifts? What is up with the gifts presented by the Magi? The simplest meaning is that these men brought items which, in their experience, represented the greatest worth. All of these gifts were rare, precious and expensive. Whatever else we may learn from this story, we know that they gave their best in honor to the One they believed to be the King, the Messiah. It’s interesting that we don’t know the names of the Magi but we know what they gave. We don’t know where they came from but we know that they worshipped the  Christ child.
                     
They entered the house and saw the child in the arms of Mary, his mother. Overcome, they kneeled and worshipped him.

The gifts were a part of their worship. They bowed down before Him, and they offered Him gifts. What an amazing spirit that must have surrounded that child that caused men of importance, wealth and education to fall down before Him!

The miracle of God becoming man… He became what we are so that He might make us what He is.
Then they opened their luggage and presented gifts: gold, frankincense, myrrh. Matt 2:11 (MsgB)

The first gift mentioned is gold.

Gold was the usual offering presented to kings by their subjects, or those wanting to pay respect. Gold has always held extremely high value – as long ago as 2,500 BC, gold was especially prized, and used as a medium of exchange. Even today when investments get shaky you start hearing about buying gold as a hedge against economic downturns. The value of gold seems to be a constant in our civilization.
In both the Old Testament Tabernacle and the Temple, gold was used plentifully and was clearly associated with worship.

So should we give Jesus gold on His birthday? But most of us have a rather limited supply of gold. I am going to suggest that we give Jesus a commodity that is as valuable in today’s culture as gold was in the time of the Magi. That commodity of great value is time. When I think of gifts that we can give to Jesus…is there anything more precious than our time?

When you love someone you want to spend time with them.
If you say you love your wife but you go several days or weeks without talking to her she might be suspicious.
When we say we love our children but we can’t work them into the schedule they begin to have doubts…
When a young couple falls in love they want to spend every moment together. When they are apart they think of each other.

Percy Sledge sang that when a man loves a woman he can’t keep his mind on nothing else….

So we say we love Jesus. But we probably have little difficulty thinking of something else. We tell others that He is the center of our universe…but we can’t carve out the time to spend with Jesus. I am confessing here that I have been guilty of this far too often in my journey with Jesus. My lips confess my commitment to Him but my time with Him reveals my true priorities. The uncomfortable truth for me as a husband…as a father…and as a follower of Christ is that my Daytimer reveals my heart. I make time for the things that are most important to me.

Gift suggestion number one for Jesus on His birthday…give Him a little time or maybe a little more of your. Sit down with Him…talk to Him…enjoy His company.

And join us tomorrow for another last minute gift idea for Jesus. 

This is the time of the year when it gets a little crazy. The shopping list always includes some that are nearly impossible to buy for. And of course you have the concern that you will forget someone. Or the biggest  fear might be that a person who delivers a gift to you and you have a big bag of nothing for them. I was thinking this morning about someone that we (Christians) almost always acknowledge at Christmas but often neglect to think about what we are giving him. That person is the birthday boy himself…Jesus.

I was thinking about what I could give Jesus in the middle of the brouhaha over his birthday. I wondered how the Lord would react to some of the tactics that are being used in his name?  I came across some quotes from Barry Lynn, the Executive Director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State in an open letter to Jerry Falwell.

“Since I debated you (Jerry Falwell) about the Christmas issue on Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor,” I have received 66 nasty e-mails, including two death threats. Observed one of my correspondents, “Hope you die soon. Merry Christmas.”

Lynn also noted that after a public school in New York made news for its holiday observance policies, “some education officials there received hateful mail of all sorts. One e-mail said “You are either bigoted Jews who hate Christians or mindless secularists.”

Barry Lynn and I disagree on many, if not most, issues. But I do not wish any ill to befall him. I don’t assume (as I mentioned in my December 9th post) that educators have any evil agendas when they set policies for Christmas.

I wish I could develop a grace check software program for any Christian who sends out a letter or email. Any ugly names or phrases or stereotypes would be rejected. The grace check feature would allow Biblical truth to be communicated clearly and forcefully but would remove all vindictive and insensitive language. I would love to add an intelligence module that would help writers have a point, use actual grammar, and make sure the spelling was better than the Chik-fil-a cow billboards.

Mr.Lynn notes writes in his letter to Mr.Falwell…

“The First Amendment of our Constitution ensures every American’s right to observe religious holidays or to refrain from doing so. We can wish each other a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” and it’s really none of your business which term we choose. We can call our decorated tree a “Christmas tree” or a “holiday tree,” and that’s our right. (We can observe the holidays of other traditions as well.)”

You certainly can. I don’t think that is the issue. But I also have a right to spend my money at a store that calls the tree a “Christmas” tree and notes that it is Christmas in their advertising and signage. That is my right of free expression as an American. Perhaps we have two different debates going here. One is my rights as an American, the other revolves around my responsibility as a follower of Christ. As a Christian my rules of engagement should be clear.

Every person has value in the eyes of the one who’s birthday is being debated. No one should be condemned or judged by me. I should represent the love of Christ to those I disagree with and demonstrate His amazing grace when they turn less than civil. It is supernatural responses that draw people to Jesus. When Christians respond with angry and ugly diatribes the message is lost and the cause is damaged.

Mr.Lynn continues…

“I think we all know what’s really going on with your campaign. You (Falwell) want an America where there is no separation of church and state and where your rather narrow interpretation of Christianity is forced on everyone. If you can convince Americans that their cherished Christmas traditions are under fire, you think maybe they will join your nefarious crusade to tear down the protective church-state wall that guarantees our freedoms.”

I can’t speak for Mr.Falwell and I certainly wish that people would quit assuming that he speaks for me. But I can tell you that I do not want an America where my interpretation of Christianity is forced on everyone. You see, my interpretation of Christianity cannot be forced on anyone. I gladly share the Jesus that has changed my life. What you do with that is up to you. A relationship like that cannot be forced. 

Sorry for getting a bit sidetracked. Tomorrow I will give you my gift list for Jesus on His birthday. There are still plenty of shopping days left.

 

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 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.