The Only Thing that Counts

I've been preaching through Galatians since the first Sunday of the year (with a break for vacation, Palm Sunday, Easter & a guest missionary preacher). We're up to the first part of chapter 5 (vv.1-15) for next Sunday.

The last few sections I've been preaching on have really challenged me, and I believe our congregation, in our understanding of what it means to be a Christian, what it means to be a follower of Jesus. The point that Paul makes over and over again, in different ways is that it is not possible to be a follower of Jesus and follower the law at the same time. He is telling us that we can't be under both the new covenant and the old covenant. There is no compromise between them. As soon as we try to add a little bit of Old Testament law to grace, it stops being grace.

This is really shocking. I'll tell you why.

The Deception of Legalism and Moralism 

In many in the North American churches (and in many churches far outside North America) there is a tacit assumption that the way we make people more moral is to make sure they understand and follow the will of God as expressed in the Bible. That is to say a central purpose of Christianity, after "getting people saved," is to make them behave by teaching them rules.

So we tell them: no sex outside of marriage, don't do drugs, dress modestly, use decent language, etc. We're also told to read our Bibles, pray, go to church, be nice to each other, tithe and give money to good causes, and try to help people in need (among other things). For many, many people this is what it means to be a Christian: doing all the right things and not doing any of the wrong things.

Here's the problem: This is not what Jesus taught, nor not what the New Testament teaches. Here's another problem with that approach to making people behave: it doesn't work.

Legalism and moralism are immensely appealing to people - especially to religious people (I'm not using the word "religious" in a merely pejorative sense.). People who want to get right with God and stay right with God, want to know what to do to achieve that goal. So they either take on this legalistic/moralistic approach themselves, or they are taught this by those who have some skill in linking this impulse with selected Biblical passages. The more sophisticated ones will say that they are saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, but still live as if it's still all up to them!

Paul refers to following the Old Covenant (the law of Moses) as slavery under the elemental spiritual forces* of the world (Galatians 4:3). What does he mean by that? Taking this in context in Galatians and in Colossians where the term is also used, Paul is (basically--sort of) telling us that the law of Moses is based on the way this world works. The law of Moses is structured to take into account the spiritual nature and the spiritual powers of this world, to restrain evil and promote goodness. (It would take a whole other and quite technical blog-length post to explain that in greater detail.)

The problem with the law of Moses, particularly the way the Judiaizers were teaching it in the Galatian churches, and the way the Pharisees were teaching it in Judea at the time of Christ, is that law-keeping is all about what people can do in their own strength. Legalism and moralism are no different, even if they don't hang specifically on the law given through Moses: it's still all about following the rules to get right or stay right with God.

If you aren't shocked enough yet by this total rejection of the Old Testament laws (along with legalism and moralism), a little later in the same chapter, Paul says that following these laws is no better than paganism! In verse Galatians 4:8, Paul reminds them that the Galatian Christians used to be pagans, and then asks them in the next vers why they are turning back to those weak and miserable forces (Galatians 4:9 - same Greek term here as in verse 3), by turning to the Old Testament law! This is jaw-dropping to anyone with any sort of theological awareness.

How are paganism and legalism the same? They're the same in this: both put humans in charge of creating and maintaining our relationship with God.

Who's Your Mommy?

There's this sort of strange passage at the end of chapter 4 that has had many people scratching their heads - and for lots of reasons! Paul uses allegory to reinforce his point that the way of the law and the way of grace are diametrically opposed to each other. Let's be clear that Paul is not claiming to have "the correct way" of understanding the stories of Hagar and Sarah. He's using the story as a sort of symbol of what he's talking about.

Paul's message here is clear (even if his methodology isn't): we have an "either/or" situation here, not a "both/and" situation.

Paul has already talked about the law of Moses as something that enslaves (Galatians 3:23; 4:1, 7). He uses the story of Ishmael and Isaac's birth to point out the differences between following the law and following the Holy Spirit (a point he develops more in chapter 5).

The son of the slave woman was born according to the flesh (Galatians 4:23). If you know the story in Genesis 16 you know what Paul is talking about. (In fact, I think it's why Paul uses this story to make his point.) Abram and Sarai were sitting around the camp fire one night and Sarai suggests to Abram that he should sleep with her slave girl Hagar so she could have a family through her. Abram, being the selfless husband he is [clears throat], agrees and Ishmael is born. They saw their problem, looked at their resources and created a solution (that turned out to be another problem later). They didn't consult the Lord, they just acted. (To be fair, the Lord had not yet told Abram that Sarai would be the one through whom He would fulfill His promise to make him a great nation.)

The point Paul is making is that Abram and Sarai acted according to the flesh: they did it themselves, in their own strength, without God's help. If we want to know what Paul means by "the flesh" this is a key passage to help us understand that.

Whenever I do something on my own, because I have the skills, resources and strength to do it, and do it in a way that I don't need God to do it, I'm living out of the flesh. The flesh is that part of me that acts without God. I might do good things, I might even do those things for God, but if I do it without His help, His strength, His guidance and away from (or just not needing) His presence, I'm acting out of the flesh.

In 1Peter 4:11 Peter says ...if anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides. We not supposed to serve in our own strength, even if we know how to do it, and know it's something God wants us to do. No, we are only to serve with the strength God provides. We sometimes serve merely in "yesterday's strength," (competence) and like the Israelites in the desert find that yesterday's manna has gone bad. (It's okay. God will help us fix it later.)

What Paul is telling us is that law-keeping, legalism and moralism are all living according to the flesh - that is, in our own strength and without God's help.  Even if all our rules come straight out of the Bible, it is a deadly form of spirituality, because it puts us in charge of creating or maintaining our relationship with God. We have to do it ourselves, and whenever we fail we believe that we are automatically out of God's favor. Theologically speaking, we see ourselves as being in Christ only if we can "keep up the good work," and separated from Him every time we sin. This, my friends is a lie from hell.

In contrast to the child born out of, and into slavery, is the one born of the free woman and into freedom.  Paul identifies her as the Jerusalem that is above (Galatians 4:26). That is, our mother is heaven, and we are born, not according to the flesh, but through the Spirit (Galatians 4:29). If we are children of the free woman, then we are free just by who we are. We don't have to try to be children of heaven, because we already are (see also Galatians 4:6-7). If we are sons and daughters of heaven--sons and daughters of God--we are always in God's favor, because our sins are all covered by the blood of Jesus. They're covered all the time, not just when we're doing "better than average" in our wak with God.

The slave woman and her offspring are opposed to the free woman and her offspring (Galatians 4:29), and so we who are free are to get rid of the slave woman and her son (Galatians 4:30). I take this to mean rejecting legalism as a way of life, not the people who were teaching or following it. There are legalists and moralists who oppose living by the Spirit, and see it as dangerous. I've heard them say so. But there's also a legalist and moralist inside me that thinks so too: it's my flesh trying to look spiritual without giving up being my flesh.

So, How Do We Live Christian Lives, If Not by Rules?

Paul answers this question in many ways throughout Galatians, and I'm not going to recount all of them here. One of those answers is in Galatians 2:20 ...it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Another is something Paul says of us who are in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ (Galatians 3:27). And there are other answers he gives to this question, though a legalist or moralist would pass them over as not being a real answer.

I want to take a look at this astounding statement by Paul in Galatians 5:6 - The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Really? The only thing that counts?

In Romans 13:10 Paul says, Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. What he tells us there is what Jesus told us: all law-keeping boils down to loving God above all and our neighbor as ourselves. If we simply love God and people, we're in the will of God. To follow the law means we have to stay focused on the hundreds of rules. To follow the way of Jesus, the way of love means we focus on God and people.

Paul will go on to explain further how to do this: ...walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Through the Spirit we are made more loving toward God and each other. Through the Spirit, all in us that legalism and moralism seeks to restrain is instead transformed.

In as much as we are following the Holy Spirit (who we receive by grace, not by being perfect!), we are not under the law of Moses, or any other religious rules (Galatians 5:18). This is because the Spirit only leads us to good places and in good ways. So pay attention to the Spirit Who already lives in us!

As we live by faith in and in faithfulness to the three Persons of the Godhead, and express that in our love relationship with them and the people in our lives, we are living the Christian life. It's not always easy, but it really is this simple.

The question this all turns on is this: Do we trust the Spirit to do His job in us - including helping us know how to keep in step with Him?

If not, we'll take charge of our own spiritual walk through rules. If we do, we'll seek to deepen our understanding of Him and our relationship with Him so that our life in Christ tomorrow will be better than our life today, and our life the day after, better than tomorrow.

Legalism would have us walk a tightrope. Living by faith expressing itself in love is walking a path wider than our feet. If we stumble on the tightrope, we're doomed. If we stumble on the path, we get up, dust ourselves off, and follow the Spirit in taking our next step.

We're already loved. Stop living as if we still have to earn it.

-------------------------
*elemental spiritual forces: NIV 2011. NIV 1984 has "basic principles" (see also Galatians 4:9 and Colossians 2:8, 20). There is a great deal of difficulty in handling the Greek phrase here (τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου - ta stoichea tou kosmou). The term "stoichea" had a wide range of meaning at the time Paul wrote this, and so there is a wide range of understand about precisely what Paul meant in using the term, and what the Galatians would have understood him to mean. I encourage you to do your own research, if you're led to do so. I explain how I understand that phrase as I continue.

Trees

There are (at least) two ways people are like trees. The first way is pretty simple: 

Trees are always growing, unless they're dying. 

[The person whose delight is in God's ways, and who is constantly thinking about His ways] is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:3)

People are always growing, unless they're dying. Obviously, I'm not talking about getting taller or growing around the middle (although we could have some fun with that, I suppose). I mean that we keep growing as people, as believers, as friends, as a married couple, as parents, and in every other part of who we are.

As I was thinking about that this morning, I also thought about Bonsai trees. Bonsai trees can be alive but are kept small by constant and careful pruning. Their growth is continually being cut off. Abuse does this to people: it keeps cutting them down, cutting them off, refusing to let them flourish. When it's spiritual abuse it keeps us from growing in our relationship with God, because the spiritual abuser's primary goal is to have people around that make them look good. Bonsai trees are ornamental. They serve no other purpose than to display the skill of the cultivator.

For people to grow we need the stability of a place to be planted and the water of the Holy Spirit in constant supply. We also need to be free to grow, in the ways trees grow.

We have a lot of trees around our house: firs, spruce, cedar, alder, maple and a some vine maple (plus a few other varieties). No two trees look the same. Some have similarities; alder all look like alder, etc.. But not a single tree is perfectly symmetrical, free of scars, or has branches that all grow straight and true. Every tree grows and finds its way as it grows. Someone once said, "No tree is perfect, but every tree is beautiful."

People are like that too. Their lives have had some strange twists and turns, they grow more on one side than another. Some have been hit by storms that missed others and though bent, still turn toward the light. Every person (like ever tree) is unique and has its own strengths, it's own vulnerabilities, it's own story, it's own unique sort of beauty.

The second way people are like trees is this:

At least half of the tree can't be seen.

Honor one another above yourselves. (from Romans 12:10)

If you know anything about trees, you know they have roots. Some trees have shallower roots, some trees push their roots deep into the ground. The kind of soil has everything to do with the root system. Essentially the tree is held up, supported and largely nourished by its roots - something we can't directly observe (at least those of us who don't have the specialized training and equipment of a botanist).

When you meet someone, even someone you think you know well, remember that there is more to this person than meets the eye. The "above ground" part may look like a person is supposed to look, or that part may look to be not quite right somehow. Yet what we have to remember about that person is that their root system may be wrapped around jagged rocks, dry or hard-packed soil, and tangled up with other roots that may be pulling on them from below in ways that are not healthy. Too often families that look good in their "Sunday best" behavior are hiding ugly secrets at home, and people who appear confident and at ease, are in inner turmoil about something in their past.

People, like trees, are really good at surviving wherever they're planted and no matter what has assaulted them. Some of them are good at hiding their "challenges," others not so much. Some of them you or I may have hurt, completely unaware of how our words, or actions (or neglect of either), have done some of the hurting.

One really rotten thing about people is that we tend to judge the actions of others, based on what sort of thing would make us do something like that. That is, we judge others based on our root system. Guessing others motives is actually a violent sport, that violates one of the ten commandments--the one about not giving false testimony (Exodus 20:16). The falseness is in implying, assuming motives that are hidden from all of us who can't read minds. One could also say that this violates the command against murder, since this is a form of character assassination.

To honor one another above ourselves means that we get in the habit of assuming the best in people, assuming that God is already at work in them. It means always giving the benefit of the doubt, when trying to understand what a person has done and why. Sometimes people are mean and bitter because they've been beaten up so many times that it's become their best defense against being beaten up again. Sometimes people volunteer because they want someone - anyone - to like them. Sometimes people ignore you because they don't know how to handle the pain you're going through, and don't want to hurt you by saying something they shouldn't.

(If someone has already violated our trust, through gossip or other abuse, we will find this more difficult, and I would not suggest that giving someone the benefit of the doubt means that we put ourselves back into a place of vulnerability where trust is still broken. That's actually violating ourselves and poor self-stewardship. To say much more would require a whole other blog entry.)

The thing is, you and I really can't see into someone's heart. We don't know the burdens they carry, the sharp rocks that cut into their roots. We don't know their desperation for friendship, for being known, for connection; the hard, dry soil their roots have found themselves in, or the tangle of other roots around theirs that are strangling theirs. We don't know where and how the Spirit is working in them. We have to consider that He is working on other areas of their life than the one(s) we would be working on, if we were the Holy Spirit. ;-)

Trees and people need to be planted by a stream, where the soil is constantly being fed with water, which symbolizes the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit works in the "underground" part of us, not just the visible part. Let's just assume that when we meet one of God's people, that the Spirit is at work in them and honor both what God is doing in them and that He is doing something.

Remember, it's not our job to prune them, but help them find the Water. If there is pruning to be done, it's the Father that's supposed to do it, not a fellow tree (cf. John 15:1-2).

From Confusion to Clarity

As I was soaking today, thinking about writing another blog, it seemed to me that the Lord wanted me to write about confusion. Why write on confusion? That was confusing to me.

So I got out Logos and started looking at the word confusion in the Bible. This is the result of a rather quick word study and some reflections on it.

Understanding Confusion

The first time we find the world “confusion” in the English Bible is in Genesis 11:7-9, when God comes to confuse the languages of the people so that they would fill the earth (Genesis 1:28; 9:1), as God had originally intended. Interestingly, the same word translated confusion here (Hebrew: בלל - balal), is also used in some of the “recipes” in Leviticus (Lev. 2:4, for example) where the oil is poured in and mixed with flour to make different kinds of breads.

The first time we find the word “confusion” in the English New Testament varies by translation (sometimes synonyms are used), but in Acts 2:6 we read about the crowd at Pentecost that came together in "confusion" (NRSV) or "bewilderment" (NIV) (Greek: συγχέω - suncheo). In this case as well the term originally meant to pour together, to mix. (It would be really interesting to explore the reversal of the role of confusion in both the Babel and Pentecost stories – in the first confusion disperses them, in the second confusion brings them together – but that would be a whole other blog post.)

Interestingly the English word “confusion” comes to us from French, where it is derived from the past participle of the Latin word “confundere” (from where we also get the word “confound”), which means to pour together. Sometimes in English when we are confused we might say that we are “mixed up.” The connection between mixing and confusion is common to all three languages!

Confusion happens when things are poured together and mixed. Generally speaking, confusion happens not when we don’t have enough information, but when we have information we can’t sort out properly.

What Confusion Looks Like

In Galatians 1:7 and 5:10 Paul addresses a problem in the churches in the province of Galatia saying that some were throwing them into confusion by trying to stir into the mix what didn’t belong. They were trying to mix Christianity with traditional Jewish practices, which was based on a traditional Jewish way of understanding how our relationship with God works.

Paul has a very strong term for describing this enemy of Christianity. He calls it the basic principles of this world (NIV84), or the elemental spiritual forces of the world (NIV11). [The Greek term is stoichea (στοιχεῖα).] According to Paul what’s going on is that unchristian spirits are bringing in foreign spiritual principles, and trying to mix them with the Gospel.

In Colossians he names some of these things these elemental spirits are trying to do. They bring in judgment about what people eat, religious festivals, new moon celebrations and Sabbath observance (Col.2:16) – all of which were Jewish religious practices. More specifically, he describes these elemental spirits as enforcing rules about what people should hold, or taste, or even touch. Apparently these things were being taught there and in the Galatian churches as ways to restrain the flesh. Paul knows it doesn’t work that way (Col. 2:23, see also Romans 7:7-25).

Out of Confusion

Paul’s remedy for this confusion is to remind us of who we are, and how we are supposed to live.

We are God’s sons and daughters (Gal. 3:26-27; 4:6-7). Specifically, we are not God’s slaves (see also Romans 8:15-16). That means that God is more like a Father to us than a task master. As a Father, He is a good Father who gives good gifts to His children (for example, see Matt.7:11). Our heavenly Father loves those people who are His enemies (Matt.5:44-45). He gives good and perfect gifts to His children (James 1:17). Our relationship with Him is not to be governed by fear of punishment (Rom. 8:15; 1John 4:18).

If we already are God’s children, His very own sons and daughters, we do not have to position ourselves for blessing by doing certain things in a certain way, probably using certain words, accompanied by certain gestures. Those who suggest that we can only approach God that way, are promoting a false Christianity. That is what Paul is saying in Galatians and Colossians. Through Jesus, the unapproachable God becomes approachable; we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness, without a need to hide anything of who we are (Heb 4:16).

But what about behavior? Aren’t Christians supposed to do certain things and not do others?

  

How are Christians supposed to live, if we aren’t afraid of being punished for doing something wrong? The answer is simple: love God; love people. I don’t mean that as a parody of an answer. That really is the answer. It's simple, but it's not easy.

In Romans 13:8-10 Paul says three times in three verses that living in a way that loves others, is actually what the Old Testament law was really all about. In fact, he says something astounding: “Love does no harm to its neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). In Galatians he says something that is just as shocking: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6).

To follow Jesus means we know who we are, as He did (two of the three temptations by the devil had to do with his identity: “If you are the Son of God…”), and love people as He loved them (John 13:34).

As long as we don’t allow anything to be added to these two things, as long as we don’t let anything get mixed in with our identity as sons and daughters, and the simple call to love God and people, we at least won’t be confused about what it means to be a Christian. Yes, working that all out takes time and there is a maturing process that goes on. For example, loving people living a life of sin, while not enabling them in their sin, isn’t always a simple thing for us to figure out. We can get it wrong from time to time and probably will, but if we know who we are, and if we’re following Jesus in applying that, what else is there?

Our identity is sons and daughters, our assignment is: love God and people.

Empowered for Freedom

Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to help us remember who we are, and empower us to love as Jesus loved. We couldn’t do it without Him, and aren’t even supposed to try. Only legalists and those live by other forms of religiosity believe it’s really all up to them to “get right with God.” Christians know that Jesus already made us right with God, and as Paul said, the only thing that counts now is faith expressing itself in love.

Politics and the Evangelical

How do we who hold to an Evangelical understanding of the Bible deal with politics? I want to write today about a few things that I think are important for us as we think about how we view our nation, how to vote, and how we talk about those with whom we disagree.

Evangelical Nationalism

There is a tendency among some Evangelicals (and in some other Christian groups), to view the United States as some sort of ultimate expression of God's will for the nations of the world. In these churches one may hear the US national anthem sung on or near July 4th, and perhaps that other patriotic song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (...of thee I sing). The worship of God is placed along side of, if not temporarily displaced by the worship..., er, uh... adoration..., no I meant... Well, what is it to sing "of thee I sing" in the context of worship, if not worship of what we're singing about.

I wouldn't say that every kind of patriotism is incompatible with Christianity, or that it's incompatible in every way with it, but whenever patriotism trumps the concerns I raise above, or dismisses them as unpatriotic, left wing, or (gasp) liberal, then there actually is a problem. A big problem.

Jesus said we can only serve one master. It's true that he said that about God and money, but it is just as true about God and [fill in the blank]. Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:20 that our citizenship is in heaven. That citizenship has everything to do with how we behave in a world that has different alliances.

This sort of (what I call) blind nationalism, expresses itself far too often in the rhetoric of Christians in the political sphere, or as non-politicians comment on politicians and policies.

Something is out of alignment.

(Thankfully, the above is not true of all Evangelicals, perhaps not even a majority--though I don't have any specific data.)

The Politics of Protection (for/from whom?)

What I'm also seeing is that many Evangelical voters are flocking to the rhetoric, if not the policies of protectionism. I don't mean merely economic protectionism (although that is being promoted too), but how we need to protect ourselves from our own government, from illegal immigration, from gun laws, from health policies (or from those who would seek to overturn them), from big business, from the 1%, from corruption, from [fill in the blank again]. It seems we have a big problem in this country, and obviously someone else is to blame.

There is a Christian value to protect. In 1Corinthians 13:7, it says "Love protects" (among other things). But who does love seek to protect? 

Maybe you've already heard about the Greek word for love most often used in the Bible: agape. That word does not have the same breadth of meaning as the English word for love. In English I may say that "I love that car." If I did, I might mean that I want to own, to possess that car. But the Greek word for love (agape), as it's used in Scripture, never means that I want to possess, let alone control someone. It means I want the object of my love to flourish, to excel, to be the best they can be, to be the person God created them to be. New Testament Biblical love is always more concerned about the other than it is about oneself.

Jesus tells us that whatever we do to the least, we do to Him (Matthew 25:40). As we look at the candidates for President of the US, who is looking out for the least? Who is protecting those who cannot protect themselves? On the one hand we have Republicans (allegedly) protecting the unborn, on the other we have the Democrats (allegedly) protecting the poor and the foreigner. 

Do we vote for self-protection and out of self-interest, or out of the kind of selfless love Jesus exemplified: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34)? What's it going to be folks?

Slander

Paul tells Titus this: "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone"(Titus 3:1–2, emphasis mine). That word "slander" there doesn't mean merely to bring false charges (as the English word usually does). Other versions translate this more accurately (IMHO). The NRSV (followed by the ESV) translates this "speak evil of no one." My lexicon (Greek-English dictionary) defines this word (generally) this way: "to speak in a disrespectful way that demeans, denigrates, maligns." (BDAG). It can mean slander, in the sense of speaking lies. But anyone who's been through junior high knows that there are folks who speak the truth in ways designed to inflict the most damage.

One of the problems in the Evangelical world is also seen in the way that these folks embrace disrespect and character assassination for all those they disagree with. Even setting aside the distortion of what their opponents actually said, or did, even if they are totally (and technically) correct, the truths are not spoken in love (cf. Ephesians 4:15), but with vitriol. 

But such behavior, such talk is plainly and completely unchristian regardless of its motives. Paul encouraged the Roman Christians, sometimes persecuted by their own government, to remember that "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling agaisnt what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves" (from Romans 13:1-2). He finishes his teaching on dealing with the horrid, corrupt and idolatrous government of his day by saying this: "Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor" (Romans 13:7). In other words, we pay our taxes and respect and honor those to whom God has given places of respect and honor - even if they are 100% wrong, as they were when Paul wrote this.

Be a Christian in the Political Sphere too!

I won't tell you who to vote for, or who to vote against. I haven't made up my mind yet either. But that's not the point of today's blog. I just want to remind us Christians to keep our Christian values in the realm of politics too. Whatever happens next November, remember God is still in charge, and our citizenship is still in Heaven.

Once in Royal David's City

I'll continue blogging about lesser known Advent and Christmas hymns, turning to one of my favorites: "Once in Royal David's City." You can listen to a beautiful version from King's College, Cambridge by clicking here. The music was composed by Henry Gauntlett in 1858, and the lyrics by Cecil Alexander in 1848 (also the author of the lyrics to the hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful").

Here are the lyrics to this wonderful hymn:

Once in royal Davids city,

Stood a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her Baby,

In a manger for His bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And His shelter was a stable,

And His cradle was a stall:

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Savior holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;

Day by day, like us, He grew;

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles, like us He knew;

And He feels for all our sadness,

And he shares in all our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,

Through His own redeeming love;

For that Child so dear and gentle,

Is our Lord in heaven above:

And He leads His children on,

To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable

With the oxen standing by

We shall see Him, but in heaven,

Set at God's right hand on high:

There His children gather round

Bright like stars, with glory crowned.

What I love about this hymn, besides the music (which is beautiful and stirring, without being sentimental), is the simple way in which the humanity and deity of Christ are put together. Christmas hymns usually emphasize one of these aspects of Christ

Notice in the second verse: "He comes down to earth from heaven, Who is God and Lord of all" emphasizing His pre-incarnate divinity. Yet the rest of that verse goes like this: "And his shelter was a stable, and His cradle was a stall. With the poor and meek and lowly, Lived on earth our Savior holy."*

The juxtaposition of His divinity and humanity continues in the next two verses (3 & 4), one beautifully emphasizes His humanity, the other His divinity. Verse 3 notes (among other things) that He was "little, weak, and helpless." We more often prefer to reflect on Jesus' power and strength, His majesty and authority - all of which He certainly has! But there was a time when He became very little, very weak, and completely helpless. Philippians 2:6-7 emphasizes this point, which sends some Christian thinkers and theologians squirming for reinterpretation. How can this be!

Yet if He became one of us, truly one of us, He had to grow up "Day by day, like us..." He had to learn to speak, to eat, to dress Himself, to take care of His bodily needs. Even at 12, when He was at least beginning to understand something about Who He was, He was still growing in favor with God and people (Luke 2:52 - the Greek imperfect tense emphasizes that His growing up took place over time).

Did He shed tears and did He smile? Yes He did! In Luke 10:21 we read that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit." This joy was noticed by those who reported it to Luke. It's likely that His facial expression was much more than a mild grin! He wasn't just happy, He was "full of joy!" He also shed tears next to the grave of His friend Lazarus. The shortest verse in the Bible records that "Jesus wept" (John 11:35). Unlike the perhaps sentimentalistic "No crying He makes" of Silent Night, Jesus probably cried as an infant too. How else does an infant let its mother know that its hungry, or needing a diaper change, or needs to be burped, or is in some other way in need of something?

Do I even need to mention Hebrews 4:15-16?

That third verse needs to be set along side the fourth, where this same dear and gentle Jesus is now our Lord in heaven above. For those who prefer their Jesus merely human, Mrs. Alexander re-emphasizes His divinity. She reminds us that this very same Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us, and will return to take us there (John 14:2-3).

The last verse (lamentably absent in some versions of this hymn), points us to the whole purpose of the incarnation: the family reunion of God the Father with His children. Not only that, but God's intention and plan is that we will be crowned with a never fading glory (1Peter 5:4). Like the prodigal son returning home to be a slave, the Father will greet us with joy, welcome us as His children, clothe us with righteousness and crown us with glory and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6)!

He came down and became one of us, to lift us up to be with Him and the Father and the Holy Spirit, and all the heavenly hosts in never ending bliss and glory!

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*For the purposes of this blog, I'll disregard the likely inaccuracy of a cattle shed, a stable and stall (verse 2). He was laid in a manger, but there is no other indication that this birth took place in anything we would recognize as a barn or cattle shed (regardless of the traditional manger scenes so familiar this time of year). It's very unlikely that it was a "shed," since wood is very scarce in the region. Most homes were built of stone (limestone, basalt, and similar indigenous material). Even the manger was likely hewn from a block of limestone, rather than built of wood (many of these mangers, dating from even before this time, have been excavated in the holy land). Certainly the Biblical account does emphasize the poverty into which Jesus was born and these cultural reinterpretations certainly don't damage that important part of the message.

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

I'd like to reflect on another Christmas hymn that isn't full of smiles and denials. Okay. I'm not trying to say anything negative about joyful Christmas hymns. Really. I love them and enjoy singing them. My only problem with the hymns we usually sing, is that what they evoke from our hearts and our spirits is pretty much the same thing: joy, happiness, and other up-beat sorts of emotions and attitudes. I'm not objecting to that per se, Only to the monotone happy-clappy expectations and experiences of the Advent and Christmas seasons, which too often become a mask for those emotions and attitudes not quite so welcome this time of year.

So here's another hymn that draws out other parts of us as we contemplate the amazing event of the incarnation of Jesus.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand,
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.

That's a little different than Joy to the World, or Go Tell it on the Mountain, isn't it? Remember: I've got nothing against those songs and hope we all sing them with gusto! But notice how different it is: keep silence, stand with fear and trembling, stop thinking as earthly minded... As we sing it, the hymn pulls out of things we didn't know we wanted to say until we sang them.

Here's a version of this sung by Fernando Ortega: Click here.

Hymn History

This Christmas hymn wasn't originally a Christmas hymn at all. The lyrics were translated from an ancient Greek and Syrian Orthodox liturgy that traces possibly as far back as James the Lesser, bishop of Jerusalem. The Greek text could be as old as the 2nd Century, though some date it as late as the 5th. Either way, it's a very old song!* Originally, the words were chanted as part of the Eucharist (Lord's Supper) liturgy, and as far as I know, still are in parts of the Orthodox world. This connection is evident in the second stanza (see below).

In 1864 the words were translated (paraphrased really) into English and set to poetic meter (8.7.8.7.8.7), by Gerard Moultrie, It was more than 40 years later that Ralph Vaughan-Williams connected the lyrics of Moultrie with the French tune "Picardy" in 1906, revising the harmony of that tune in the beautiful way we have it today.

Comments on the Hymn

The opening line takes it's cue from Habakkuk 2:20 But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” The connection to the birth of Jesus is in the fact that when Jesus became incarnate, his body was the temple (John 2:21). He was the place where the presence of God was among His people. 

The fact of the incarnation is such an astounding doctrine, that it would be blasphemy to suggest it, if Scripture did not reveal it to be true. Imagine this: God is born. This truth is so astounding, theologies have been developed which avoided the mind-whirling truth it proclaims. Very early, some began to suggest that Jesus wasn't born Divine, but became Divine through his obedience. Others suggested he wasn't really in the flesh at all, but only seemed to be. Both of those doctrines were challenged and declared heresy by the early church. 

We accept the truth of the incarnation (God made flesh) without pondering it much. Which is one of the reasons I love this hymn: ponder nothing earthly minded as we stand before our incarnate God. Ponder heavenly things. 

Ponder the truth of God made flesh. A God who could be seen with human eyes, be touched with human hands, be heard with human ears (1John 1:1-4). The same God who created the universe (John 1:1-3) emptied himself and took on human form (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-8). 

John 1:14 hints at something our English versions tend to gloss over in their translations. The first part of that verse literally says "The Word became flesh and pitched His tent among us." If we wanted to use an Old Testament term, we could translate that verse this way "The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." 

That's right. When Jesus was walking around on this planet, he was the tabernacle of God: the place where the presence of God dwelt with His people.

Let me give you the other verses:

King of kings, yet born of Mary,
As of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
In the body and the blood;
He will give to all the faithful
His own self for heavenly food.

Rank on rank the host of heaven
Spreads its vanguard on the way,
As the Light of light descendeth
From the realms of endless day,
That the powers of hell may vanish
As the darkness clears away.

At His feet the six winged seraph,
Cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence,
As with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Let me comment briefly on the Biblical background for these verses:

In the second verse we remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 58), who as incarnate, will give himself for us ultimately on the cross. The third and fourth verses take their cue not only from Luke 2, but also from Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, the actual throne-room of God. There angels surround the throne, attend the King of kings and sing constantly in His presence.

We also see in these verses that one of the reasons Jesus came is to destroy the powers of hell (1John 3:8), as the light overcomes the darkness (John 1:5).

The song begins in contemplative silence and ends in  joy-filled, angelic praise! But as it does so, it draws that praise out of us from a deeper place than we often find it. The hymn also pairs joy and adoration in a way rarely found in any hymn, or other song of worship.

I don't know what the wind is blowing through your life during this Advent and Christmas season. Maybe it's the sort of stuff that makes joy easy to find. Maybe not. Either way, stop. Quiet yourself to contemplate until you gasp at the staggering truth of the incarnation: God made flesh. Because when we find our joy in Him, in Who He is and what He has done, rather than our always changing life circumstances, that joy can never be taken from us.

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*If you're interested, the original opening line in Greek is this: Σιγησάτω πᾶσα σάρξ βροτεία (literally: "Let keep silent all flesh mortal").

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

In all the razzle and dazzle of the North American Christmas season--with the lights, the songs on the radio, the red and green decorations, the shopping, a large man with a white beard and funny clothes., etc.--it's not hard to see how the Christ of Christmas often gets forgotten, or simply assigned an important seat among many.

I don't want to be a Scrooge or a Grinch, and I'm not calling for a ban on Christmas, as the Puritans did. Although it could be argued that the secularized Christmas they objected to, isn't all that different from the secularized Christmas observed in our day.

What I do want to do is call to mind that Christmas isn't all about nice feelings, family and presents. It's not even simply about Christ being born. It's also about our need for Christ to be born--our need for a Savior.

Somewhere around or before 1100 A.D. an anonymous poet created a metrical version of an even older song, which was later set to the tune we now know as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." Strangely, this hymn, more than any other, is subject to a great amount of variation. I've not yet found two hymn books that agree on the lyrics! Searching the internet finds multiple versions that include different verses, or variations on verses. Still there is one common theme in all of them: Come, O Come Emmanuel, because things are really bad without You, and You are our only hope.

Maybe you missed that about this familiar hymn (if it is familiar to you). You can listen to a traditional choral version of this here. Here are the lyrics (at least one version of them) to the verses:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

O come, Desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,

And be Thyself our King of Peace.

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse's stem

Unto Thine own and rescue them!

From depths of hell Thy people save,

And give them vict'ry o'er the grave.

There's also a chorus, but let's consider the verses on their own for a moment. Do you see the words: captive, mourns and lonely in the first verse? How about gloomy clouds of night and death's dark shadow in the second? Now take a look at the other verses. What do you see there?

Now, there are other, less mournful verses sometimes associated with this song, but did you ever notice the desperate pleading in this hymn before (assuming you've heard it)?

One of the reasons I love this old hymn is that it reminds us of how much we need a Savior: our situation actually is overwhelming; we cannot save ourselves; without a Savior, we are doomed. Few Christmas hymns capture that desperation, let alone celebrate it!

But we do have a Savior and He has come to us and He will come again!

Here is the chorus to that same hymn (to be sung after each verse):

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

These days, it's becoming more popular in some circles to once again embrace the Biblical concept of lament. We find Psalms of lament (Psalm 5, 102, for example), and poems of lament in some of the prophets (the whole book of Lamentations, for example). In lament we give voice to our pain, our loss, our desperation and neediness. Lament is entirely proper.

Yet, I would argue that lament that doesn't resolve to or point toward hope at some point, isn't Christian lament. Lament that merely wallows in self-pity is ultimately a self-centered lament; it is the selfishness of Jacob losing Joseph and refusing to be comforted (Genesis 37:35). Christian lament must yield to faith and trust in God, it must go beyond experience to the Truth that puts experience in its proper place. 

This hymn captures that well. Even while Israel is captive, mourning and lonely, even when the gloomy clouds of night feel like death's dark shadow, even while our sad divisions are not ceasing, or when hell and the grave seem to claim more victories than they ought, even then "Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee...!"

This is what faith in a good God looks like when things aren't good. We rejoice, knowing--knowing!--that Emmanuel (God with us) shall come to us. He will! Standing in faith, we re-align our emotions with the Truth of Who God is. Truth, that first piece of the armor of God--the belt that is placed over our guts (where we feel emotion!). We turn our face from our pain, our loss, our desperation, and our neediness, toward the One Who heals, Who blesses, Who comforts, and Who is Emmanuel, God with us.

During this advent season, my wife is going through chemotherapy. It's not all razzle-dazzle, blinking lights and happy songs in our house. But there is rejoicing. Emmanuel has come! Emmanuel is with us now! Emmanuel will come again! Of this we have no doubt.

Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus!