I’ve heard many adults, particularly older adults without children or ones whose children are adults, say, “Christmas is just for the kids.” I hear many sounds in there voices as people say this. It may be well disguised, but I often hear a dispare or a quiet longing and sometimes a hint of bitterness.
Are they wrong? Let’s face it, many if not a lot, of the stuff we do at Christmas are geared around fun for kids. If we don’t want to face that its likely because we have kids and we have to do all the kid things with them and it’s easy to feel some of that fun. (Well, as long as nothing goes wrong.)
I’m gonna put forth a something that feels harsh to write—whomever feels that “Christmas is just for the kids” hasn’t really observed Christmas. Or at least they aren’t observing it now. Advent is a time to remember the the anticipation of the promise of Christ’s coming since the Fall of Man. Advent is an intentional time to prepare ones heart for worship during Christ Mass. It’s not meant to be 4 weeks of party and food. In fact in some traditions there were fasts and no dances.
Christmas is absolutely for adults. It’s a time to reflect on the humble estate of man, to recognize the pain and suffering of this world is full of tragedy and woe. It’s meant for those who morn. For the hope of Christmas points us to the hope we have in Christ’s return. And we are in a bigger picture of Advent that may not have all happiness and joy in it yet, but will very likely have stress, and burnout, and trauma. He is the light in the darkness. Christmas meant for those who dispare, or feel a quiet longing, even if its tinted with bitterness.
Our families advent tonight:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…….And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1-5, 14 NASB
(Though I suggest reading the entire passage, it beautiful and feels like a poem to me.)
Hymn: Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee;
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be Glory giv’n;
Word of the Father;
Now in flesh appearing;
O come let us adore Him;
O come let us adore Him;
O come let us adore Him;
Christ the Lord!
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
Please like , share, and comment what your thoughts and questions are.
Modern Christmas season often feels exhausting, hollow, and meaningless. It can be stressful on tight budgets. It is often a list of one fun party or celebration or excitement after another.
The weeks before Christmas were never meant to be a time of celebration. It was more solem time for looking forward to celebrating.
What we refer to as the Christmas season was originally called advent. The meaning of advent is derived from Latin “adventus” it means “to come” or “arrival.” The idea was to spend the time leading up to Christmas looking forward in a more contemplative way not by starting celebrations. After Christmas day there was 12 days of celebration ending in a feast of Epiphany.
Christmas is not in the Bible. Christ’s birth and events leading up to it are of course, but the concept of Advent and Christmas were invented by the Catholic church. As far as I can tell or guess (I’m not a historian) the Protestants didn’t entirely give up Christmas probably because of tradition or a desire to look forward to something good in the darkest, coldest part of the year. Eventually there came a switch of celebrating first and a little bit of reflection on Christ’s birth near the end.
I know people who refuse to celebrate Christmas because it’s not in the Bible. If Christmas follows the more modern pattern I tend to agree. I have often felt an unsettling hollow meaninglessness in December. However as I discovered the more original intentions behind Advent, the solemness of it, I feel drawn to the discipline of taking time for Advent, to allow for the quiet solemn moments to drive my heart and mind to the second Advent of Christ.
Advent and Christmas are now a reminder to me of the future of Christ’s return when there will be great rejoicing with great joy. Until then we may move along in our life with the pressure to create a heaven on earth. If we quit trying to aim at heaven on earth, then the hardships of life, the pain, the suffering aren’t meaningless and hollow but are part of the life we have now as we look forward to a time when the sorrow and tears wiped away. By trying to put the Christmas celebration before the Advent, the celebration has less meaning. And when things go wrong, the pain and trouble also has no meaning. If everything is supposed to be all good and happy and perfect, then when something terrible happens it makes all the good things have less meaning because they never allowed for the bad to exist. Attempting Heaven on earth creates the same vain and meaningless hedonism that turns nihilistic when tragedy strikes.
If you feel like Christmas has no real excitement or meaning to you this year, try a time of quiet reflection or advent.
Tonight’s verse in our family Advent is
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
–Revelation 22:13
Hymn–
Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the Source, the Ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore!
Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans
Please like , share, and comment what your thoughts and questions are.
I love questions but that one sounds a little funny.
No, you can’t but you just did so—yes.
I joke but questions are important and sometimes people don’t always feel welcome to ask them. This is the 3rd in a 3 part series on asking questions (Part 1, Part 2).
Some act as though questions about faith equal doubt at best or hearsay at the worst. I discussed the “at worst” part in my first post: Here I believe that asking questions is necessary part of all learning, which I discussed : Here. Asking questions may very well indicate a lack of faith or doubt. Yet, what does the Bible say about questioning and is there a difference between examining and doubting? Is there are better way to question and is there a better way to treat those asking questions?
Most stories have an ending. Stories without ending or resolve are unsettling. I remember growing up watching live television and whenever there was a two part episode I groaned. My mind always thought through those stories in the week(s) that followed, I think subconsciously I was trying to work out the unresolved questions in the story because I would sometimes forget that it was a “To be continued.” I would think through the story to the most unresolved, scene cut short, left hanging…
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite series. At the end of the last book in the series the Narnia that readers fell in love with ended. The entire book feels out of sorts, it never quite feels like the other books because just when they think they have come to the turning point and everything will be set right again it isn’t. This continues time and again until they all face death. At first they don’t really know or think they have died, but they certainly have passed into a different world or realm. Since they have done this whenever they have moved from our world into Narnia and back this doesn’t seem that unexpected. Then they watch Narnia itself pass away. There is the sense of sadness and grief at first but then they look around to where they have been which appears to be a beautiful land. Very much like in the beginning when the children stepped through the Wardrobe, the heroes pass into a stable and instead of a tiny wardrobe or a stinky stable they find another world another. The other world turns out to be much like the old Narnia but more beautiful. However, they soon see that the Old Narnia was actually like the new one. The new Narnia is really THE Narnia and the Narnia they had known was a representation of the Real Narnia. The present Narnia is more real than the old one. Aslan calls them to come further up and further in. The adventures to come are better than all there old ones. They were like a cover story to the real one much like the first Narnia was a preview or a shadow lands of the Real Narnia. All the Chronicles of Narnia were just a preview of the stories to come. While nothing really bad could happen to them each story was better than the last. I love the ending. However, I am always a little unsettled because its hard to imagine a better story. Even so, I hope long for the sense of adventure and joy that C.S. Lewis portrays. The story resolves but it doesn’t end.
Just like no one likes a story that doesn’t have an end. I don’t think people like questions with out answers. Questions tend to resolve themselves like stories and we really don’t like the stories to change and we really don’t like our answer to change. Once a story is accepted, any change often bothers a lot of fans of the original. For example: Han shot first. But I digress. I think this might be the key reason why a questioner can bother people so much. It can make them feel unsettled if they are unsure of the reason for the accepted answer. They can feel that someone is trying to convince them their answers are wrong, they might feel they are trying to convince anyone listening as well. I don’t like it when movies change my favorite books. So I understand this to some degree but how should we respond to someone who is asking questions like this?
There are many places in Scripture I could point to, yet I want to point to three People(s). The first are the Beroeans, the 2nd is Zechariah and the 3rd is Mary. The Beroeans were a group of Christians that were praised for their searching out the Scriptures to see if what Paul said matched. None of their questions were recorded but they searched each thing they were taught to see if it was true.
Acts 17:10-12 10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so. 12 Many of them became believers, as did not a few of the influential Greek women and men.
Paul the Apsotle wrote a large portion of what is now called the New Testament. If what Paul says can be questioned by the Beroeans and they get praised for it, I’m pretty sure that anything us present day Christians say about the Scriptures can also be questioned. The response is obvious, we should encourage anyone to do so.
Now does it matter how we question? The Beroeans were described as fair-minded. They weren’t trying to destroy Paul which is much like what those in Thessalonica were doing. When Zechairah was a chief priest in Israel. His wife Elizabeth was past child bearing years and they had not ever had children. An angel comes to him while he is in the Holy of Holies. (If you are unfamiliar with the Holy of Holies check out What is the Holy of Holies? ) What is important is, if a High Priest met someone in the Holy of Holies that someone is not another human and is a divine being sent from God or possibly God himself. The angel promises Zechairah that Elizabeth will have a baby and that they are supposed to name the child John and proclaims how he will turn people to the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. This was a big announcement. Zechariah questions the angel.
Luke 1:18 18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 20 But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
His question, was not answered and was met with rebuke because he did not believe the message sent from God.
Immediately after the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary is told by the same angel, Gabriel, that she will have a baby. You are likely more familiar with this story if you have been to almost a church Christmas program. Mary also questions the Angel.
Luke 34-38 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
The Angel just answers her question and there is no rebuke. Putting there questions side by side they are very similar.
“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ~ Zechairah
“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” ~ Mary
They both have a question, that is backed with a reason for the question. They both have very logical reasons for their question. There is a slight difference in Zechariah, he wishes for confirmation, and Mary asks for the process. Luke explains as he tells the stories that Zechariah asked out of doubt (I wonder if it was even out of a little bit of bitterness) and Mary asks out of wonder. Zechariah was the high priest he wasn’t just young peasant with little knowledge God and no position. He should have known that the way he would KNOW this was because Gaberial who sees God came and told him in the Holy of Holies.
Luke careful researched what he wrote in his Gospel as well as the Book of Acts and I don’t think that these two stories put side by side like this is an accident. I think it is clear we are to compare these two stories. I think that most significant difference is there attitude when they questioned.
So what does that mean for us? When we do question we need to be careful to be asking with humble and honesty not as a challenge. When we are questioned I think we need to encourage the questioner. How do we know for sure what motives are behind the questions? We do not have the same kind of knowledge or authority of the angel Gabriel, who stands before God, who was proclaiming a direct message from God. We have a message from God in the Scriptures but the Bible tells us that right now we see as like in a mirror darkly but one day we will see fully. For we will see him face to face.
I am left with more questions about questions. I hope I have inspired you to ask questions and search out answers like the Beroeans. I wonder though, when we see him face to face, will he just tell us everything we ever wanted to know like some kind of cosmic download? Or will he call us, in a similar manner of “further up and further in?” Oh yes I think we will see clearly but what will that next adventure be? Will each question we had be just a shadow of the ones we will ask then and that each new question will be the next adventure and challenge to face. Will each answer be more inspiring and beautiful and more real that the one before?
I love questions but that one sounds a little funny.
No, you can’t but you just did so—yes.
I joke but questions are important and sometimes people don’t always feel welcome to ask them. This is the 2nd in a 3 part series on asking questions.
Facing the students the teacher does stand, The student facing the front raises her hand,
The answer not known, the teacher must learn, To the front of the classroom she too does turn,
In humility she does lead learning’s way,
By heading into the unknown path and the fray,
Let us search out together the why,
From the dark unknown let us not shy,
The classroom now in shadow does fade,
“Further up and further in!’ she does bade.”
Some act as though questions about faith equal doubt at best or hearsay at the worst. I discussed the “at worst” part in my last post: Here I believe that asking questions is necessary part of all learning. There is a philosophy of education, called Classical Education, that suggestions there are three stages of all learning.
The first stage is the Who, What, When, Where Stage. It is the stage of basic facts and rules. It is the memorization stage. Small children are often very good with this stage and can learn all manner of facts without understanding the information they are reciting. This early stage of acquiring facts is typically called the Grammar Stage.
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When I first learned how to play chess, I was able to quickly learn all the pieces and their moves. Yet I didn’t know how to play the pieces together with any kind of strategy.
The 2nd stage of learning is the Why Stage. It is when the person begins to put things together, make connections between the facts, and challenge. Ever been around a preteen or teen who starts to argue with you about everything? That’s this stage. As even as an adult when we are presented to new information we do tend to ask question details fit the new information with what we already know. This is called the Dialectic stage. This stage is when you are synthesizing what you know. You see two facts and understand why they fit. No longer is it good enough to know both facts, but now you question WHY are these to facts able to both be true.
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At some point I looked at the chess board and instead of seeing individual pieces I saw that each piece depended on the others. I realized needed to use there individual traits together in order to win.
The last stage of learning is the HOW? It’s the put it into practice stage. It’s when a person can teach it, explain it or do it. It’s when you have made a recipe so many times you know how to change it when you don’t have all the ingredients, it is knowing how to play a game so well you can strategize, it’s the you know it so well you can use it to create something new. This stage is the Rhetorical stage. It’s the sage of learning that we all want to get to when we start out. It is when the learning of something finally gets to be fun because you can really do it! Before you were just practicing for the race, now you get to race.
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As far as chess goes, I really haven’t ever gotten to this place. I of course can explain the rules and I can play and still have fun, but far less experienced players are able to beat me.
Do you see the pattern Knowledge, Understanding then Wisdom? You can’t start with basic knowledge and skip right to wisdom, there HAS to be a place for gaining understanding and questioning the WHY? Push the limits—playing chess? Loose a few key pieces and lose the game; Cooking a recipe—add a new ingredient—and it tastes terrible. You’re a kid questioning rules—its possible you break a few – and get yourself in a great deal of trouble. There is just no replacement for this important stage. And its no good staying in the first one forever.
In the context of religion, what kind of faith is that? In the context of any human being, what kind of adult is that?
I picture it like this. Say you had to repel off a cliff. It doesn’t matter if you are afraid of heights or not; you probably are going to check all the straps and all the gear. You must make sure it is strong and secure and make sure it isn’t going to slip or snap or break.
Does this mean you doubt? It might, it might also be an important part of checking the gear.
If you are the teacher being asked all the difficult questions it might be little uncomfortable. However, maybe the student is just testing the gear. Asking questions is a vital part of learning anything and it is a vital part of growth spiritually. Without it, we are stuck back in the first stage with a lot of knowledge that we really won’t know how to use, or how to apply it.
This Philosophy of Learning or Education may help explain human learning, but it does not inform on a topic, it only gives us a frame work for learning about that topic. In order to learn about theological questions we will need to look at Spiritual texts on faith and God. In my next post I will discuss this topic from a few passages from the Bible.
“Further up and Further in” is a reference from C. S. Lewis’ The Last Battle.
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