Be of Good Cheer

The 2014 Christmas season is coming to an end. After a marvelous week with the kids, they are all gone and things are approaching as normal as they get around Jubilee Acres.

On Christmas Eve we were driving to Salt Lake City to see Amy (our daughter) and Derek and grandson Soren. With us on the drive were Nathan and Amy (our daughter in law) and we were having a grand old time singing along with Nathan’s collection of Christmas music.

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” was playing. You know the words.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

With the kids jingle-belling

And everyone telling you

Be of good cheer

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I couldn’t remember anyone ever telling me, “be of good cheer.” Can you? I adopted that as my Christmas greeting. Every time someone said to me, “Merry Christmas,” I answered, “Merry Christmas, be of good cheer.” The result. A lot of blank stares.

I am not discouraged. I want you to be of good cheer.

I Love You! ... Ditto.

The Wedding Site

Omen of things to come.

Ashley was a beautiful bride on the verge of a miserable experience. Her wedding day will be memorable, a day to be talked about for decades. Taking real care in her walk up to San Sophia overlook where she will make the brides grand entrance, her first clue she is nearing the wedding site is the Woodwind Trio’s canopy cover rolling by, end over end, with her brother, who is to be her escort chasing it.  

Meanwhile, the groom and I are standing on the wedding platform our backs to a very cold wind that is right in the face of the gathered congregation. The wedding must go on, full steam ahead.

The Trio, who haven’t missed a beat, even as their canopy went flying off of them switches to the brides song and she and her escort, heads bowed into the fierce wind, come down the grassy aisle. As they arrive, and we are all on the platform I look into three very cold faces. It is not my nature to watch a lady freezing when I have a coat on and I have to fight the urge to put my suit coat over the brides bare arms and shoulders. Looking into the grooms eyes I ask, “Josh, do you want me to condense this ceremony?”

“Please, as short as possible!” was his reply.

“Ashley, are you ok with a shortened ceremony?” Through bluing lips and chattering teeth she said, “Please, please, do!”

And then, if the cold wind wasn’t enough, it began to sleet, little pellets of ice, driven by the wind. The grooms father, my good friend David McConkey, jumped up from his seat and brought an umbrella and for the rest of the service stood behind the bride keeping the sleet, well, attempting to keep the sleet off Ashley.

I am going through my, “I am going to give her my coat thoughts” again, when out of the audience someone braves the cold and places a nice warm shawl over her shoulders.

We prayed, a very short prayer, I asked, ‘Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” whereupon her brother shouts into the wind, “I DO!”

How short did I condense it? I said, “I have some biblical advice regarding keeping your love strong, I will send you an e-mail.”

“Oh thank you,!” Ashley said.

We rapidly went through the vows. I asked for the rings. The bride beat me to the ring bearer to get them.

“Josh put the ring on Ashley’s finger and repeat after me.” I condensed the ring ceremony and he repeated. I looked at Ashley, she was shivering, sleet was on her face where most brides have tears of joy. David was struggling to keep the umbrella from collapsing in the wind, incidentally just like the trio’s tent had totally collapsed.

Misery pushing Joy aside

The large vases holding the flowers suddenly blow off the platform onto the ground. Looking past the couple into the congregation all I could see was row after row of clear plastic umbrella tops pointed at us. “They can’t hear a word that I am saying,” I thought.

“Ashley,” I hurried, “just say “ditto.”

“Ditto!” she replied.

Prayer. Again very short. “Lord please bless this message. Amen.”

“I pronounce you husband and wife.” Ashley immediately turned and was ready to head out! Josh reached over and took her arm, if nothing else, he didn’t intend to be denied this wedding kiss. She responded, but without much enthusiasm.

NOTE to Groom: “Josh, Just the first of many times you will have to chase her for a kiss.”

The crowd erupts into applause; everybody jumps up and runs for cover, so much for our carefully planned exits.

The thunder began to explode around us and although I never saw lightening, I was ready for all of these folks to be off the mountain top. I couldn’t keep them there if I wanted. They were dashing for the gondola.

Mountain top weddings are beautiful. The views from the marriage site were awesome in every direction. If you choose such a site for your wedding, just know that no one, not even a fantastic wedding director can control the afternoon thunderstorms.   

In the evening at the reception, Bride and Groom, and the wedding party were all laughing and happy about the way things turned out. I only hope their lasting memories are good ones.

Of Super Bowls, Life, and Perspective

        Watching the end of the not-so-Super Bowl Sunday night I was in a funk. I was looking for the Broncos to show up, not the imposters wearing the orange jerseys. As soon as it was over, and I watched it to the last tick of the clock, I opened Facebook, turned on my phone for messages, and checked my email. (Because I went to church on Sunday night I was watching on about a two hour delay and I didn’t want any spoilers coming in.)

         I read what everyone was saying, trash talking if you will. I laughed at the good ones, 

was disappointed in the old worn out ones. (Any joke referencing OJ Simpson’s Bronco) I changed my Facebook profile picture to a black ribbon and went to my desk to finish preparing for teaching my class on Monday morning. I tuned the television to a Denver channel but the game was over; no more mourning. 

         After class on Monday I received this message from a good friend, one who likes to razz me about my sports team choices. But it got me to thinking.

         Some time this week I will go sit in the home of a woman whose husband died during heart surgery in Colorado Springs on Saturday. She hasn’t come home yet.

         Two of my classmates recently lost their husbands, one to a heart attack, one to an accident.

         These are the people my heart aches for, not John Elway, Peyton Manning, or Champ Bailey. They are not in mourning. They know it was just a game, or just a bad day at the office for them.

         While Bronco fans were mourning, and Bronco haters were piling on, Peyton Manning was in the Seattle post game interview room talking to Richard Sherman, congratulating him on the win and asking about the extent of his leg injury. See the article here.

         While fans were wondering how they would face their co-workers tomorrow, the Bronco players, coaches, executives, and families were at a party back at the hotel. The Denver news station reported that the room was the same, the drinks were the same, the food was the same as it would have been had they won. The atmosphere was less festive, but they weren’t out crying in their beer, they were partying with champagne.  

         

      I wish they would have won. But almost every season, in every sport, at sometime, my favorite team goes down to defeat before the final championship. None of my teams have won championships since the 2010 Lakers. In 2009 both the Lakers and the Yankees were champions. In 1998 and 1999 both the Yankees and the Broncos were champions. The Lobos have never won it all. The good years are far apart. I have been a Yankee fan since childhood. I have been a Laker fan since they traded for my favorite player, Kareem. I have been a Bronco fan since 1976 when I moved to Utah and Craig Morton became a Bronco.

         Lets keep things in perspective. Sports are just that, sports. And if the players and coaches don’t take things personally, why should we?

It is 2014 for Pete's sake.

   On the highway between Shiprock, New Mexico and Tuba City, Arizona my Ford F250 rumbled across Navajo country. It is the heart of the reservation and about 25 miles east of Kayenta I stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. He is standing by the highway in the absolute middle of nowhere, no kind of structure in sight anywhere, the wind is blowing, it is January and he looks very cold. I have no idea how cold it was because my pick up is plain Jane, no frills, and knowing the temp would be extra.

 His name is Luke. He was on his way to Monument Valley where he lives. Today he was hoping to find out why his 85 Ford pick up won't run. He was on his way back from delivering his truck that did run to his mother. He said he gave it to her as a gift.
 
We had a good conversation. After I finally got him to talking he told me about his family. He is born to the Folding Arms Clan of the Navajo nation and  to the Many Goats Clan. The first is his mother's clan the second his Father's. His 2 grandfather's clans are the Mexican Clan and the Big Water Clan. I find that fascinating.
 
   I let Luke out at the McDonalds in Kayenta. Not 100 yards further down the highway I picked up Donald. Donald was an older Navajo, probably close to my age. He was only going 9 miles, and unlike most Navajos I know he talked the whole 10 minutes. He was pretty excited. He showed me where they were working in a water line from Kayenta toward the west. He said it would go close enough to his house that they would have running water by summer, and maybe sometime in 2015 they would get electric service.

  2014, and they still live like it was 1914. Made me feel pretty small that Jen and I thought we were really toughing it out these last 18 months living in a RV. We did have running water and electricity.

  I am drawn to the Navajo people. I enjoy listening to their stories. Luke is a 7th day Adventist. I asked him if was a vegetarian. His reply, "Nope, I still eat mutton." I didn't tell him one of my life long ambitions, ever since my first taste of Mutton stew back in the 60's is to never let the meat of the sheep pass my lips again.

  As he was getting out of the truck I asked Donald if his wife was excited to be getting water. He looked at me with a wide grin and said, "we are all pretty excited about it."

SWEET HOUR OF WORSHIP

SWEET HOUR OF WORSHIP

As the church service was ending last Sunday I thought to myself, “I have really been blessed this morning.” What was it about the service that made me feel that way, because honestly, it doesn’t happen very often? Like the majority of worshippers, many who have quit attending regularly, I am usually just grateful that I have endured to the end, and it is the end.

In a disclaimer I will admit to being from the baby boomer generation. One of our shared values has been excellence in worship. This service was very well done. Every leader, speaker, usher, deacon and deaconess, and musician was ready and prepared when it was their time on stage.

There were several things I identified that made the service. First, there was a full house of worshippers. It was in a building made for worship, and pretty much every seat was taken with people of all ages, many colors, and a pretty equal amount of men and women.

Partly as a result of the full house, partly because of the quality of the musicians, music filled the house. If you chose to sing, and I usually do, you didn’t feel like you were the only one. Some of the songs were ones I didn’t know; others were very familiar; it was a good music service.

Part of the excellence was of the technical kind. The audio was loud enough that you could hear without blaring, and every one participating had a microphone and were not timid about speaking into it. I plainly heard every word. The lighting was such that I could see the expressions on the faces of speakers. When a speaker’s face is in the shadows they lose a part of their communication ability. Churches really should pay more attention to simple lights.

Every part of the service carried with it an explanation. The pastor began by telling us when we would be through, or at least when the invitation would begin. He missed by 2 minutes. The musical selections, both congregational and special, were explained and we were told why we were using them. There was an explanation of the offering and no apology for collecting it. There was a special missions part of the service and missions was explained. Basically, even a visitor like me knew what was going on at all times.

Then to top it all off, the sermon was excellent. The speaker wasn’t what I would call dynamic but he was well spoken. His sermon appealed to both my head and my heart. It was an excellent blending of thinking and emotion. (It wasn’t until the next day I learned that the Pastor of the church is a Theology professor at the seminary.)

They closed the worship service with a joint reading of the church covenant which was pasted into the front of each hymnbook. I have never seen that done before. It was not a standardized covenant, it was well written and thought out and described the covenant that each church member was making with other members and with God.

 I can’t help but think that if current day church leaders would put the same effort into their Sunday service, they might experience more full houses of worship.

Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?

            Today I read an article dissing Christmas. It is making its annual  appearance “explaining” the origins of Christmas, attributing them to pagan festivals around the world all through history. The articles also the claim that Christmas is not Biblical because it cannot be found that the disciples celebrated it, and there is no mention in the Bible of Christmas Trees, Santa Claus, holly wreaths, nor mistletoe. Furthermore there is no evidence in the Bible that Jesus was born on December 25. In fact, probably he wasn’t born then because Shepherds would not have been in the fields at that time. Christmas, it is claimed, is descended from Pagan celebrations and Christians have no business celebrating something that is not found in the Bible.  

What about it? Is all that true? As usual, there is a mixture of truth, error, misinterpretation, and misrepresentation.

1. Was Jesus born on December 25?

            It is true, the Bible does not tell us when Jesus was born. There is a 1 in 365 chance December 25 was the date. The argument about the Shepherds not being in the fields is bogus though. The sheep still have to be fed and watered. The wolves, lions, and sheep thieves are still active They don’t take the winter months off. So if the sheep are in the fields, the shepherds must have been with them. I was in Israel in December/January and there were shepherds in the fields with their flocks. Until I went to Israel in winter I assumed these naysayers knew what they were talking about.

2. Is Christmas descended from Pagan rituals? One of the tactics of Christmas debunkers is to tie the date, December 25 to all the other festivals, celebrations, and holidays around the world. Let us at least be honest. Mid December is a great time to have a celebration. My wife commented to me just yesterday (December 18) that there were only a few days left and the days would start getting longer. I am ready for longer days and I have electricity that serves to light and heat my home. I am sick of the long hours of darkness. In the most difficult times, a good celebration is a mood lifter. Is that why December 25 was chosen for Christmas? Was it because it was a time the people already celebrated something so the Church tried to change the pagan holiday to a Christian one? Who knows?

            (By the way, the same critics make the same claims about Easter and the date Christians celebrate. The date of the resurrection is much better attested, but that doesn’t keep them from claiming pagan roots.)

3. What about the pagan roots of all the Christmas traditions? Christmas trees, holly wreaths, yule logs, mistletoe, can all be traced to pagan roots. Oh really? What about eating, procreation, drinking, singing, dancing, talking, running. The pagans did all those things too. Does that mean we should avoid them? Most of our traditions have a Christian meaning. If you have never participated in a hanging of the greens service, perhaps it would be enlightening for you to know that the Christian use of those items is not Pagan.

4.   As followers of Christ, should we observe an event that is not mentioned in scripture?

            I disagree that Christmas is not mentioned in scripture. While the word Christmas may not be there, the story of Christmas is in three of the four Gospels. Mark is the only Gospel writer not to mention the birth of Jesus. He begins his story with the Baptism of Jesus. Matthew and Luke tell the physical story of the birth of Jesus and John gives the Theological implications of the Lord’s birth. John 1:14 has no meaning apart from Jesus’ birth.

            I am at a loss to explain why a person, reading the scripture and not finding Santa Claus or Christmas trees would come to the conclusion that we should not remember the Birthday of the Savior. Unless, that is, they were looking for some reason to dismiss Christmas.

5. Should Christians make a big deal of Christmas?

            For me, this one is a no brainer. God was the first to make a big deal about the birth of Christ. He sent angels to the participants to explain what was going to happen. He sent a chorus of angels to announce the birthday to shepherds in the field. He sent them to the manger where He had prepared a place for the shepherds to worship him. Can you imagine the mess if those shepherds had tried to squeeze into a room at the inn? They had the whole stable to congregate in.        

            In addition, God made the announcement of the birthday of Jesus in the heavens, so Magi from the east would know about it and come to celebrate. Sure, they might have gotten there a few years late, but they came, and they brought expensive gifts.

            God made a really big deal about the birth of Jesus. A really big deal! I don’t think we can make a bigger deal out of Christmas than God did if we tried.

            The Christmas story,

            “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; (The Message)