Jeremiah and Christmas Trees

When I was a student at UCLA (many moons ago), I took a very literal approach to the reading of scripture. We might today describe this as a "fundamentalist" way of reading the Bible. Such an approach says that, if I can read the words and they mean something in my current life situation, then there is no further reason to study. The choice is simply to obey it.

That is how I used to read Jeremiah 10: 3-5:
"For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.'"

I read this and, since it sounded somewhat like the description of a Christmas Tree, I knew that I must simply obey. I stopped participating in this tradition. And the feeling of spiritual superiority that came from taking such a stand was self-authenticating. I didn't have a Christmas Tree for about seven years.

The problem was that my understanding of Jeremiah was based on bad exegesis. (Exegesis is the science of interpreting what the writer meant when he wrote so that we can draw proper conclusions.)

George Eldon Ladd, former professor of New Testament Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena describes the Bible as "the Word of God written in the words of men (people) in history."

The Word of God...
We know that the scriptures are "God-breathed" (2 Tim. 3:16), and therefore, the Bible is God's authoritative and unique Word to us and is His faithful guide for all faith and practice. We do not look to tradition or church hierarchy or new words of prophecy in the same way that we look to the Word of God. This is perhaps the key distinguishing feature of the Protestant Reformation--sola scripture--meaning that we depend solely on the Bible for our authority.

...written in the words of people...
Yet, God did not write the words in the Bible directly (except the Ten Commandments and the words on the walls of Babylon). He used people--apostles and prophets--to write the 66 books. Therefore, we talk about the five books "of Moses." Jesus talks about Moses and David writing material. That is why we can tell the difference between Luke and Paul's writing styles--because God used human vessels to write the actual words, even though they reflect His Word to us.

...in history.
Finally, those words were written at a time in history. Moses wrote his books to a nation delivered from slavery, needing to understand their own history and national identity and unique calling to be the People of God. Paul wrote letters to specific churches who were going through struggles. For instance, 1st Corinthians is obviously written in response to oral reports and a letter describing specific ethical and theological problems in Corinth--lawsuits, incest, eating meat offered to idols, etc.

So, let's look at Jeremiah. The tradition of the Christmas Tree came out of Germany in the 15th or 16th century. And Christ was not born for hundreds of years after Jeremiah. So, what was he thinking about when he wrote this verse?

Idols were figures that were carved out of wood and then covered in gold or silver leaf. Then, they were nailed in place on a family altar or temple altar. Sometimes they would be paraded through the streets. They represented gods that were worshiped by the pagans or even the spirits of departed relatives.

So, Jeremiah was obviously mocking the ludicrous practice of worshiping something made by human hands. I don't know about you, but I have never worshiped a Christmas Tree. It might be more likely that people are worshiping their new car than their tree. Instead, our tree has a decorative purpose for the holidays. And, topped with a star, it becomes a reminder of the Christmas story and the blessing of the incarnation of the Son of God over 2000 years ago.

So--enjoy your Christmas Tree this year. But always use it as a way to remember the glorious and blessed arrival of Immanuel, God-With-Us.

Manger and Cross

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in [swaddling] cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2: 6-7).


My Italian grandmother came to America when she was 20 years old, so her English was very broken. At Christmastime, we would sit down to a great dinner and she would say, "Mangia! Mangia! Y'eat! Y'eat!"

The English word for a feeding trough is "manger" which comes from the French manger, which means "to eat."

On the surface, the story seems to simply tell us the humble facts of the incarnation of the Son of God. The poor and desperate couple, traveling under great duress, must make do with whatever is at hand to accommodate the new baby. I have heard modern stories of parents using shoe-boxes or dresser drawers in a pinch for the same purpose. Whether the manger was a crude wooden crib, or a stone trough carved into a cave wall, the point is that the parents needed to improvise with what was at hand.

But every time I gaze on the nativity scene that I set up every year in my living room, I think of the profound truth that is conveyed to us in this simple word "manger." And I am sure that our loving God was painting a living picture that conveys so much more than Mary and Joseph could have intended or even known at the time.

Jesus, in John's gospel, tells us: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6: 51). This important passage is John's commentary on the Eucharist. Jesus' body is the manna from heaven which is given to sustain the life of the world, a truth that is re-enacted every time that Christians eat the communion bread.

And it is no coincidence that the city of David, where the Holy Child was born, is called Beth-lechem, which literally means "house of bread."

Paul, in the earliest "words of institution" for commemorating "the Lord's Supper," says, "'This is my body, which is for you...'" (1 Cor. 11: 24). So often we mentally insert the word "broken" or, as in Luke's gospel, "given." But these are notably absent here.

Jesus' body IS for us. That is, the incarnation itself, the en-flesh-ment of God the Son, was accomplished for our sakes. The manna from God that we needed to give us real life was totally for our sakes. And God showed us this reality by placing the Bread of Life in a manger, the place of eating.

Of course, the bread is only half of the Eucharist. There are two elements: bread AND wine. This baby, laid in a feeding trough, is destined to spill His blood in order to reconcile the world to God. And so, Christmas is the first part of the frame. The picture will not be complete until the second frame is completed, the pouring out of the blood of the new covenant on the cross.

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink...This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever" (John 6: 54-55, 58).

And that is the picture of our salvation. Bread and wine. Body and blood. Manger and cross.

The Cut-Flower Syndrome

Will Herberg was an American Jewish sociologist and theologian who turned from his Communist roots to join the Conservative movement during the days of William F. Buckley, Jr.

In Judaism and Modern Man he wrote:
"The attempt made in recent decades by secularist thinkers to disengage the moral principles of western civilization from their scripturally based religious context, in the assurance that they could live a life of their own as "humanistic" ethics, has resulted in our "cut flower culture." Cut flowers retain their original beauty and fragrance, but only so long as they retain the vitality that they have drawn from their now-severed roots; after that is exhausted, they wither and die. So with freedom, brotherhood, justice, and personal dignity — the values that form the moral foundation of our civilization. Without the life-giving power of the faith out of which they have sprung, they possess neither meaning nor vitality."

In other words, flowers still look like flowers when they are cut and put in a vase. But they are doomed to wither and die. So it is with Western ethics. Germinated from a Judeo-Christian foundation, the flower is beautiful. But now, severed from the roots of faith, it is destined to wither and die.

In my opinion, we are in the withering phase of "cut flower culture" in the USA and following hard after the almost completely dead phase being experienced in much of Western Europe. There is a thinning veneer of Christian ethics being replaced by an ethics based on relativism and humanistic philosophy devoid of God.

But my purpose with this blog is not to whine and complain about the post-Christian culture emerging in the West. Instead, I want to look at the danger of the "cut-flower syndrome" in the church.

The church is always one generation away from extinction. Vital Christian faith is not passed genetically like hair color. We cannot simply assume that our children will "catch" it because they are our kids or because they go to church with us. We must introduce them to Jesus and call them to a vital and life-long discipleship to Him.

In the same way, we cannot assume that building a wonderful worship-center and Christian education building in a great location will ensure the passing on of the baton to the next generation. Buildings and endowments keep the flower going, but are not necessarily connecting it to the roots.

Israel demonstrated the same cut-flower syndrome throughout its history. David and Solomon raised the country to world-prominence and glory with the building of palace and temple and the conquering of foes. The Queen of Sheba made the long trip to marvel at the glory of it all.

"She said to the king, 'The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness'" (1 Kings 10: 6-9).

The external glory of palace, temple, priesthood, army, precious articles of worship, etc.--these can be mistaken for the important elements of national identity. But it was the Presence of God that descended on the Temple at its dedication that made it holy. Just as the dusty old Tabernacle in the wilderness, as crude and unimpressive as it must have looked from the outside, had been filled with the cloud of God's Presence in the desert. 

And so, when Ezekiel observes the departure of the Presence of God from the Temple, it is the cut-flower principle from then on. The Temple remains, but the Presence is gone.

That is why Jesus responds to his disciples' expressions of awe over the impressive Temple of Herod: "'Do you see all these things?,' he asked. 'I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down'" (Matt. 24: 2). 

The People of God had fallen in love with the buildings, and the rituals, and the external forms--but had been cut-off from the roots--the very Presence of God. And as somebody who has toured many churches and cathedrals in Europe, I can say that many of them stand like withering flowers--still beautiful but devoid of life.

Let us learn a lesson from Israel. It's okay to enjoy prosperity and to build impressive church facilities. But let us never become so enamored with those externals that we get disconnected from the roots of a vibrant and life-giving faith in Jesus Himself--and let us not settle for anything that substitutes for His Presence among us. Even if you're meeting Him in a tent in the desert, His Presence makes all the difference.

The Examined Life

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Thus Plato quotes his teacher, Socrates.

Of course Socrates is talking about the need for the moral person to examine his life in light of "virtue" so that he or she can live a good life. The life that seeks to live ethically pure results in the greatest good.

Certainly for the Christian, the concept is also true. Only by looking into our own hearts and examining our own behaviors can we hope to change. Not only is it important that our behavior come under scrutiny, but the motives behind our behavior must also be judged. Thus Jesus says, it is not just sinful to commit adultery, but it is sinful to give in to lustful thoughts. It is not just sinful to murder my brother, it is sinful to live with hatred towards my brother.

But the examination of our hearts is not left solely to our own conscience. In other words, just because I am not feeling convicted, it does not justify my behavior.

For example, a disturbing trend in our digital age is that many young people do not think that sharing pirated copies of music with their friends is wrong. It doesn't feel wrong to share with my friends. And besides, the music industry is rich and can afford it. The idea of piracy being wrong does not intrude on my personal behavior.

And so, we need external and objective standards by which to evaluate our own hearts. That is why the Bible is so important.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).

Paul says that the Word is "useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2Tim. 3:16).

But if it was just a matter of changing my mind, Christian transformation would be easy. But as soon as our minds are convinced of God's ethical way and we want to change from walking according to the "flesh," we find that a "war" is going on between the "law of sin in my members" and the "law of my mind." (Read Rom. 7). We need a power greater than ourselves in order to truly change.

It is the Holy Spirit who takes the Word of God and empowers us to apply it so that it has a transformative affect in our lives. The scriptures are "God-breathed." You could say that the Breath-of-God, who is the Holy Spirit, wrote them. And so the Holy Spirit resonates within us when we read His own words in a way that applies to us personally. "You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know the truth...His anointing teaches you about all things..." (1John 2:20, 27).

The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to be "renewed in the Spirit of our minds" (Eph. 4:23) so that we are "transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Rom. 12:2).

The point of all this? In order to truly change into the people that God intends us to be, we need not only to be students of the Word, but we also must be filled with the Spirit who makes us holy. And so the formula goes: one part Bible + one part self-examination + one part Holy Spirit = transformed life.

How's your journey of transformation going?

Living in Exile

Dave Kinnaman, in his excellent book, You Lost Me, explains three categories of Young Adults (18-29 year-olds) who are leaving the church in higher numbers than previous generations. One of the categories he describes is "exiles." And his description resonates with a lot of my experience, not just with young people, but with people of all ages.

Kinnaman defines exiles as "those who grew up in the church and are now physically or emotionally disconnected in some way, but who also remain energized to pursue God-honoring lives...They feel lost, yet hopeful" (p. 75).

There are many examples of exiles in the scriptures. Daniel stands out.

"The king...brought in young men...to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service" (Dan. 1: 3-5)

Here was a pious Jewish boy, plucked out of his sheltered religious world and plopped down in Babylon. In fact, he is selected for an upwardly-mobile career in the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar. Sounds like so many sheltered Christian kids, home-schooled, or raised in Christian schools, or living in families whose lives revolve around the weekly church calendar (Sunday School, Youth Group, outreaches, missions trips, etc).  Then they are sent off to college, never to darken the door of the church again, perhaps visiting only when they are on holiday with their family--but somehow emotionally distant from church.

Yet, Daniel remains devoted to the worship of Yahweh even in his new pagan surroundings.

"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine...To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning" (Dan. 1: 8, 17).

Not only that, but Daniel is highly talented and full of favor. So much so that he and his friends rise to the top of their new profession.

"Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds...The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom" (Dan. 1: 17, 19-20).

But I wonder what the Jewish separatists thought of them working alongside magicians and enchanters? What message does the church send to artists, academics, scientists and musicians as they seek to live out their giftedness in the world? Do we encourage them or cast aspersions on their profession? At least we know that Daniel had three other friends who shared his calling and they could encourage one another.

I remember how important it was to have the support of my fellow Christian students as I attended UCLA (many years ago). How was I to integrate the professional but secular teaching I was receiving with my growing faith? The problem for many young people is that they may be given the subtle message that only a Christianized profession is acceptable. Anything else is suspect.

With that in mind, it is interesting to watch Daniel walk the line of maintaining the integrity of his faith while living out his calling as a "magus" in the Babylonian court.

In John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples who were being sent into the world, just like He had been sent by the Father. But not so that they would come out of the world or hunker down in a Christian ghetto trying to survive this life, waiting for the rapture. Instead, Jesus prayed that they would be "sanctified" or set apart as holy while they walked out their call IN the world.

Young people need our encouragement as they seek to live as a Christian IN but not OF the world. Rather than hiding their talent in the ground of Christian culture, they want to invest it in the world so that it bears the kind of interest that God intends.

In the world but not of the world. That is the line we all must walk. Daniel did it. Jesus did it. And we are called to do the same.

Is the church helping young people to live out their calling in the world like good disciples of Jesus Christ?

Worship Like a Dog

My dog loves me unconditionally.

How do I know that? No matter what mood I'm in, she comes to me for affection. No matter whether I'm good to her, or mad at her, or even indifferent to her, she wants to be near me. Even when I express anger towards her, rather than running away from me she presses in to me for affection.

In his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus says, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kinds of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4: 23-24).

Worship is the central activity of the child of God. Not only are we called upon to worship now in this life, but notice that this is the preoccupation of the 24 elders in the book of Revelation. Every time something happens, they fall on their faces in worship before the Lamb.

The primary word in the New Testament that is translated "worship" is proskuneo. By the time of the writing of the New Testament, it had the primary idea of a supplicant approaching their superior and making obeisance. That is, kneeling and then prostrating with forehead touching the ground. Think of devout Muslims on their prayer rugs bowing in reverence.

But the roots of the word convey something more intimate. The word means literally "draw near to kiss." So, the vassal would kneel, take the hand of the superior and kiss it. Imagine the supplicant kissing the Pope's ring.

But if we go even farther back than this, the word is derived from kuon which literally means to kiss the hand like when a dog licks the hand of his master. You see my dog worships me.

From this I derive three ideas:

First, true worship involves our whole being including our bodies. It is not enough to think worshipful thoughts in our heads, we must express it through our bodies. We in the West, often forget that faith is not just lived out in our beliefs divorced from our actions. "Faith without works (deeds, actions) is dead (lifeless, frozen)" (James 2: 26). So, if the song you are singing says, "I lift up my hands...", why not lift up your hands? If you sing, "I bow before you...", why not bow before Him? If you sing, "I kneel down...", why not kneel down?

Second, God loves it when we worship Him. He is actively seeking for those who will give themselves to spiritual and truthful worship. We can expect to experience God's loving Presence in our midst when we give ourselves to real worship.

Third, worship is an expression of our unconditional love for God. Just like a dog licking her master's hand--we are called to eagerly love God through worship. Not because we always "feel loving" towards God (see my last blog entry titled, "Love God") but because He is our Master and we are His people and that is what the relationship is all about.

Worship in many ways is simply bringing all things into proper alignment. He's the Creator and I'm the creature--and worship reflects that reality. He's God and I'm not--and worship reflects that reality. He's the source of all grace and I'm the recipient of all heavenly blessings--and worship reflects that reality.

So, why not learn to worship like a dog?

Love God

In the second episode of the last (seventh) season of the TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Picard is rescued after crash-landing on a planet by a beautiful woman who presents herself to be the 7-year survivor of a cargo ship crash. There seems to be a real possibility for romance, except that Picard starts to get suspicious. So, when he does not seem to be taking the bait, she screams at him, "Love me! Oh, why won't you love me?!"

It turns out that she is actually the transformed male ambassador, Voval, who is trying to experience the human concept of "love" firsthand. What he doesn't understand is that love does not happen "on command."

When Jesus was asked in Matthew 22: 36, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?", without hesitation he says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (vs. 35). Of course he is quoting from the "Shema" of Deuteronomy 6.

When I read that, it is hard not to hear an insistent God saying: "LOVE ME!" Can we choose to love someone as an act of our will--especially when it is accompanied by the commandment to do so?

The answer is an emphatic "YES!"

God is not commanding us to "fall in love" with Him. Falling in love is a very modern preoccupation, beginning with the "strum und drang" movement of the nineteenth century. Romanticism places passions, intuition and feelings above rationalism. Romanticism led to pervasive Nationalism in the West that, in turn, led to the rise of Fascism and other totalitarian "isms". The effects of Romanticism are still widely felt today in a pervasive relativism. "If it feels good, do it."

But that is not really a biblical concept. The Bible posits that the truth is an objective reality rooted in God. Thus Jesus says that He Himself is the Truth. He is the Word of God, spoken in a way that cannot be mistaken. Therefore, our faith rests upon something that is eternally true. It does not rest upon  the shifting sands of emotion.

To love God in the way that the Bible teaches is more of an action of the whole being than merely the fleeting surge of dopamines that accompany the feeling of love or infatuation.

To love God as the Bible commands is to reverence and serve Him as the true Lord and Savior. Loving God is primarily an act of our will, based upon our submission to His Lordship. All of this flows from the truth that "He's God--and I'm not" (a John Wimber-ism).

Since our emotions are a part of our own internal reality, we should feel loving towards God as we choose to love Him. But, just as in our other relationships, our feelings may shift. Even when we are not feeling "in love", yet we choose "to love".

My wife and I have owned German Shepherds throughout our marriage. One of them, I'll call "Shep", was a lovable galoot. But if he heard a loud noise like thunder, he would panic and do things like jump the fence. I would feel intensely angry with him because I was afraid of losing him like I lost his mother who disappeared from our yard a few years earlier. But just because I felt angry did not mean I did not love him. In fact, we tend to feel more intensely for those who are closest to us.

We may feel apathetic towards God. We may feel guilty. We may even feel angry. It does not necessarily mean we do not love God.

Whether or not we feel loving towards God at the moment, God is calling us to love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind. If we do, we will also probably feel loving towards God more and more frequently.