On Sunday, January 19, Adult Sunday School restarts. We are going to use this time over the next few months to talk about a Christian view of government.
Talking about this issue is risky; after all, few things divide Americans more than politics, and sometimes it is safer to just steer clear of the whole conversation. But if we can’t talk about an important issue at church, how can we learn how to think about the issue in a specifically Christian manner?
The series will actually focus on a Christian view of government, not politics. There is a subtle difference—in other words, this is not going to be a time where we parse the specific political issues Americans fight about. Instead, we are going to step back and ask, “What is our relationship to government itself, based on the Bible? What is the purpose of government—any government—in the plan of God? How should we think about ourselves, as Christians, in relationship to the state?”
I hope that you are at least a little intrigued. And I hope that you show up! Our first session (January 19) will be a time to examine the Biblical foundations for this conversation. This will lay the groundwork for the rest of the series, so make certain that you come. As always, childcare for younger children and Sunday School for the upper elementary students will be available. (The middle and high school students will be at Booyah Brrr this weekend.)
In Christ,
Steven+
The Gifts of the Magi
One of the recurring prophecies about the restoration of Israel and the inauguration of God’s kingdom is that the nations will bring their treasures to Jerusalem and to the throne of God. In Isaiah 60, we hear, “The wealth of the nations shall come to you … They shall bring gold and frankincense.” In Revelation 21, we are told, “The kings of the earth will bring their glory into [the new Jerusalem] … They will bring into it the glory and honor of the nations.” When the New Jerusalem descends, when God’s kingdom comes, when creation is finally set free of bondage to sin and death, the nations of the earth will arrive in the presence of God with treasures in their arms, ready to worship.
In that light, it is not surprising that the early church saw in the visit of the Magi to Jesus, complete with gifts and worship, more than just a handful of interesting converts. They saw the beginning of the fulfillment of God’s promises, the first fruits of the nations bringing their treasures to the throne of God. Others have followed behind them, but those Magi had the privilege of being the first ones to fulfill the prophecies. When they arrived at the feet of the King, offering their treasures as they bowed in adoration, something shifted in the cosmos—God’s kingdom was coming; the nations were bringing their treasures!
Most of us probably don’t think about our own giving as continuing what the Magi began, and most of us probably don’t think about it as a fulfillment of prophecy. But if you are a Gentile (i.e., the nations) bringing your treasure to the throne of God in worship, that is exactly what it is! It is easy to forget the significance of giving, and easy to think about it as just “funding the church” or just “doing my duty.” Instead, this humble act of worship points to the fact that God’s kingdom is here, is coming, and one day, will arrive in fulness. In that moment, all of the nations will bring their treasures to the throne, just as the Magi did.
In Christ,
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
I was given an amazing gift a few weeks ago. I was walking our puppy and came to a favorite spot where you can see out over the rooftops of Shymkent to the mountains in the east. When I arrived, the light of the rising sun was just appearing over the mountains, and as I watched, the sun in all its glory rose from behind their peaks. It was awesome, and completely unexpected. The Lord had ushered me into my spot just in time to view this glory of his making. Since that morning I have been in my spot in time for the sunrise most days, but sometimes it’s only by the lightening of the sky and the testimony of the birds that I can tell the sun is rising, its face and brilliance being hidden by clouds, even “thick darkness” as described in Isaiah 60:2. As Annie Dilliard has famously said in Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek, “I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam.”
The 25th of December until January 5th are, in our church calendar, the 12 days of Christmas which lead up to Epiphany on January 6th. These days of feasting and celebration are a gift, an opportunity to prepare--though in a different way than during Advent--for the second coming of our Lord. After all, the first thing he has planned for us in the new heavens and the new earth is a huge feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb (Revelations 19:6-9)! And more than feasting, when our Lord comes in his glory, he will come to be with us, even as he came at Christmas as Emmanuel, God with us. In a sermon from the beginning of Advent, Steven+ made a passing reference to the “third advent”: Christ has come, Christ will come again -- and daily, Christ comes to us. In her book Sacred Seasons, Danielle Hitchin says, “In acknowledging that Jesus has already come and will come again, his coming is made present in our own lives.” Celebrating Christmas through these last 4 days or so could mean putting off that New Year’s diet and keeping up your tree until after Epiphany; it is a great time to invite neighbors over to help you finish the Christmas cookies and candy and sing a few carols together—have you sung “Go Tell It on the Mountains” yet?? But more than anything else, I hope it is a time to remember and even, as in the beam of the rising sun, bask in his presence with you. He truly delights in you, even rejoices over you (Isaiah 60:4-5).
In this dark midwinter time, even though it may be hidden by clouds, the sun is rising every morning. In your life, as in mine, our Savior is also shining on us day by day, even when the darkness of this world or of our own hearts makes it hard to see him. As we heard from the reading of John 1 this past Sunday, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This is our hope, as it is the hope of the whole world! How can we put ourselves in the way of his light today? We can be in Scripture and in prayer, and we can come together with the saints to worship on our Lord’s Day. There is still one more Sunday of Christmas! Come fellowship, and be encouraged.
“‘Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.’”
(Ephesians 5:14)
Hannah