joy – Hope Walking

Katie’s Cookies

When my sons were very little I brought home from the grocery story a Sesame Street book that held a recipe for Cookie Monster cookies. The recipe page had cute illustrations of Cookie Monster throwing all the ingredients in a large bowl and stirring them up with a huge fork. We followed his lead and thus began a family tradition of Cookie Monster cookies for Christmas.

Year after year we bought more and more cookie cutters and thrust them into rolled out dough – tin soldiers, doves, Santa’s sleigh, snow men, Christmas trees and such. Icing, sprinkles and edible silver balls completed the sweet joys.

And then came the year Katie died. We knew she was struggling health-wise, but her death just before Christmas and her 11th birthday, shook us with unexpected grief. Her parents chose to receive Katie’s mourners in their home. And so, with beautiful Katie’s still body resting in the living room, we were going to gather in the kitchen to share tears and food.

What should I bring? I peered in the fridge and saw the bowl of cookie dough. Inspiration hit and I started rolling dough and cutting out crosses and angels.

Arriving at Katie’s house I handed the plate of cookies to her mom and said, “These are resurrection cookies.”

Every Christmas since we have baked crosses and angels to celebrate Katie’s life and coming resurrection.

I wonder if the same angel who went to the shepherds with the news of great joy also greeted Jesus’s mourners.

Maybe the angel who told young Mary she would bear a son also told her,“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.”

“Do not be afraid.”

“Do not be afraid,” the angels say again and again.

Do not be afraid because there was a cross, and Jesus did die and live again.

“Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

A Savior was born for Katie.

A Savior was born for you.

If you roll out some cookie dough this week, I hope you make crosses and angels,

because Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Do you believe this? Then rejoice and do not be afraid.

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Scripture references: Luke 2:10,11; Matthew 28:5,6

What Do You Want for Christmas?

What do you really want for Christmas?

We are coming to the end of a very weary year. I am sure peace, rest, and perhaps simply quiet are at the top of many lists. What’s at the top of yours?

If we traveled back in time to the year Jesus was born and asked Mary’s neighbors what they wanted most, their answers would’ve been very similar. They lived under brutal Roman rule, and the news stories of the year were as horrendous as ours. The Jewish people longed for peace, quiet and rest. And they had different ideas of how to get them.

The Zealots were a party of revolutionaries intent on throwing the Romans out of Palestine. This group attracted patriots and bandits, but the means to their goal was the same – force. Physical force would bring the rest they longed for.

Another party we all know was the Pharisees. They often argued with Jesus, but the group had begun with good intentions. When they read the prophets, they had concluded God would send the Messiah to help them when all the people were fastidiously obeying God’s Laws. Their good intentions turned into a holier-than-thou attitude that brought anything but rest to the weary.

Getting away from it all were the Essenes. They took very seriously the prophet Isaiah’s instructions to prepare a highway in the desert, making a road for the Messiah to come (Isaiah 40:3.) Moving into the desert they did get away from the noise and stress of city life in Jerusalem. But their lives were hard and bare, with not much rest.

As Joseph and his pregnant wife Mary walked from Nazareth to Bethlehem, they undoubtably passed members of all these parties. Unknown to them, the Messiah, the mighty king they all longed for, rocked gently in Mary’s womb as she passed by.

When it came time to announce Jesus’ birth the angel was not sent to the hideout caves of the Zealots, the desert homes of the Essenes or the scroll rooms of the Pharisees. The angel was sent to a field filled with sheep and shepherds.

Why God picked these shepherds to first hear the great news is beyond me. But I can guess why he did not pick the parties I listed. I think they would have been quite prone to argue with the angel. “No way!” I imagine them saying. “A baby in a manger in Bethlehem is not strong enough, not pure enough, not mystical enough. He can’t be what we are looking for.”

But he was exactly what they were looking for. And he is exactly what we are looking for when we wish for peace, quiet and rest.

Stop and listen again to what the angel told the shepherds. Listen with all your heart and let the truth sink in:

“Do not be afraid! Listen carefully, for I proclaim to you good news that brings great joy to all the people: Today your Savior is born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom he is pleased!”

The prophet Isaiah said, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

May Jesus be first on your list this Christmas.

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Scripture references:

Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Luke 2:10-14 (NET))

Choose Your King

Jerusalem, 30 AD. An itinerant teacher from Galilee borrows a donkey and rides downtown followed by a cheering crowd. He goes into the temple and starts acting like he owns the place. Today, 1991 years later, we are still talking about it.

Overturning tables and chairs, spilling coins, driving out dealers of pigeons, Jesus clears the temple court of merchants and money changers. He accuses the authorities of turning this place of prayer into a den of thieves. They, in turn, are indignant and plot to eliminate the troublemaker.

The dispute here runs much deeper than disagreement about the use of the courtyard. The question is really about who is king.

The chief priests were ruling like kings, backed by the Roman Empire. The were interlopers, having neither the right to the office of chief priest or claim to be rulers. But they had power and wealth, so they didn’t care about rightful succession – at least not until the rightful heir to the throne and the temple showed up riding a donkey.

A courtyard filled with children yelling “Hosanna to the Son of David!” was too much truth for them.

If you recall the Christmas story you know that Jesus was born into the House of David. King David, before he died, prepared stones, timber and hardware for the building of the temple. His son King Solomon built the temple. Their descendant King Hezekiah cleansed the temple after a period of neglect. And his descendent, King Zerubbabel, returned to Jerusalem from exile and rebuilt the temple the Babylonians had torn down. Now their descendent Jesus walks in and claims the place. He also claims standing as the son of God.

Five days later Jesus is under arrest. His hands are tied and he is on trial before Pilate, the Roman proconsul, having been handed over by the chief priests.

Pilate asks him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Outside a crowd, stirred up by the chief priests, is yelling, “We have no king but Caesar.”

You know what happens next. Pilate finds Jesus innocent but orders crucifixion; he is afraid of the king in Rome, Caesar. The priests go celebrate their holiday, thinking their status with Caesar is secure. Those who have chosen Jesus as king, shocked and confused, go home and mourn.

Had you been there in Jerusalem, whom would you have chosen, Jesus or Caesar?

Every day, whether we think about it or not, we choose our king. High priests of our culture are demanding your obedience. They might use their wealth and power of influence to cancel and destroy you if you choose Jesus. Click here if you don’t know what I am talking about.

Before his arrest Jesus made a promise to his friends: “Your sorrow will turn into joy.” He kept that promise. When Sunday came he rose from death and the world changed forever.

Choose your king wisely. All the rulers and priests who tried to cancel Jesus are gone, as today’s soon will be.

Jesus is alive and looking for you. Choose wisely.

Why Pray?

How many persons can you name whose prayers are recorded in the Bible? Stop now and make a list. Then note where and why they prayed.

STOP NOW and make your list.

Did anything about your list surprise you? Maybe you are surprised by how few prayers you can remember.

I can help you. In the Bible the first person who prayed was Adam: then the man (Adam) said, “This at last is bone of my bones!” Prayer is talking to God, and Adam is expressing his delight with Eve to God. I am sure Adam is talking to God, because there is no one else there. Our prayers, too, can be spontaneous exclamations of joy or sorrow.

Here’s another famous prayer story: Daniel in the lions den. Did you know Daniel was thrown in the den of hungry lions because he was praying and giving thanks to God? Then it was the King, who threw Daniel in, who prayed the lions wouldn’t eat Daniel! You can read it in Daniel chapter 6.

See if you can guess who prayed this: “In my distress, O LORD, I called to you, and you answered me. From deep in the world of the dead I cried for help, and you heard me.”

Give up? Here’s another hint: “The water came over me and choked me; the sea covered me completely, and seaweed wrapped around my head.” That’s right; it’s Jonah. Who else would be praying with seaweed around his head?

As you can see, we can pray any time and our prayers can express, joy, thankfulness, desperation and terror.

And we can pray anywhere. Jesus prayed publicly and he prayed alone. (see my blog on praying in secret.) Even in our noisy world we can get with God and talk. Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles, John and a bunch of other kids, was known for praying with her apron thrown over her head so she could be alone with God and pray.

Pray because you are thankful. Pray because you are loved.

Pray because you are lonely; God always listens.

Pray because God invites you to: “Call to me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise me.”

Pray because God cares for you. ”Praise him, you servants of the LORD!……He does not neglect the poor or ignore their suffering; he does not turn away from them, but answers when they call for help.”

Scripture references: Genesis 2:23, Jonah 2:2, Psalms 50:15, Psalm 22:23