ABC Messenger

December 22, 2008

“So Hallow’d and So Gracious Is That Time”
by Pastor George Van Alstine

I’m no expert on Shakespeare, so I’ll have to take the word of those who are. They say that, surprisingly, there is only one reference to Christmas in all of Shakespear’s plays. This is it:

“Some say that ever ‘gainst the season comes, Wherein our Savior’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, or witch hath power to charm, So hallow’d and so gracious is that time.” (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 1)

This shows that, though he didn’t profess or express a deep commitment to Christianity, Shakespeare saw in Christmas some mystical power beyond words that was able to drive away dark thoughts, shadows, threats and evil powers.

The Christmas message comes “‘gainst the season,” that is, in opposition to the darkness, coldness and death winter symbolizes. “The bird of dawning singeth all night long”—hope and light are in the air even in the middle of the night.

Of course, in the darkest night, in the coldest season, all sorts of superstitions come to the surface: Shakespeare mentions spirits that “stir abroad,” planets that “strike” through astrological portents, fairies (not cute ones, but dangerous ones) that “take” things from people when they’re sleeping, witches that “charm” with curses. Because it is Christmas, all of these mysterious threats seem powerless to harm believers. This is why “the nights are wholesome,” “so hallow’d and so gracious is that time.”

Shakespeare was noticing the power of the Christmas spirit, even over those who don’t believe the Christmas message. The words sung by the angelic choir, “Peace on earth, good will toward men,” have come to describe the atmosphere that surrounds Christmas, which seems to make people do things that express their higher potential to love and share and help others, rather than their own darker side expressed in Scrooge-like, grasping self-interest at the expense of others.

One of the professional football players who was victorious this past weekend created a good example of this. I can’t remember which was the game or who was the player, but as with several of the games played this late in the season, the drama took place on a field covered with a thin layer of fresh snow.

Our hero made a very athletic catch in the end-zone for a touchdown. It’s characteristic for a player in this situation to do a little celebrating, often at the expense of the defensive player he has out-hustled to make the catch. This can create bad feelings, and, if it’s overdone, can result in a penalty for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”

But this player expressed his joy in another way. He lay down on his back and waved his arms and legs to create a snow angel. Right there on TV! Clearly, this very competitive professional athlete was caught up in the Christmas spirit, “‘gainst the season,” in the face of the cold and snow.

I like to think this sort of thing is part of the aura of Christmas. It is not the true message, but it points to the true message. People who are ready will be led to the Baby in the manger and all he means for our salvation.

December 15, 2008

Christmas at Wartime
by Pastor George Van Alstine

There is a heartwarming story that comes out of World War I’s worst days. As Christmas Day dawned in 1915, German and English troops were dug in on the Western Front struggling in a bloody, dirty war of attrition. In the afternoon, some German troops from Saxony laid down their rifles and crawled into the no-man’s land between the forces. They spread out food for their Christmas “feast” and began singing Christmas carols.

The English troops didn’t understand the words, but the tunes were familiar to them. Soon they were singing along in their own language. Reportedly, some of the English troops actually joined the Germans in the no-man’s land and shared their food. The officers on both sides stepped in and ended this fraternization between solders who, the day before and the day after, were bent on killing each other. The spirit of Christmas had, for a time, overcome the sense of national enmity the two armies had toward each other.

The Christmas Day Battle of Trenton was pivotal in the American Revolutionary War. Things looked bleak in December of 1776, and General Washington’s leadership of the troops was in jeopardy. Many of us are aware of the winning strategy Washington settled on—to attack the mercenary Hessian troops while they were celebrating their Christmas holiday. Totally unprepared for this audacious move on the day that commemorated Jesus’ birth, the Hessians were defeated, and the tide of the war was turned.

What I had never realized before recently rereading the events of that attack was that the Americans were successful also because they didn’t celebrate Christmas. The Puritans refused to treat that day as more important than the Sabbath. They also argued that the actual birthday of Jesus was unknown, and that December 25 was originally a pagan holiday. The Puritan influence was still strong in the Colonies, and Christmas Day was not treated as a holiday, except by some recent European immigrants. So the American army was free to treat this as any other fighting day. Ironically, it’s quite possible that the first Christmas tree in America was set up by those Hessians and also quite possible that it was destroyed by the attacking American soldiers.

I don’t know what point to make of all this, except that we should be careful not to promote our way of celebrating Christmas as the only way; that we should not defend to the death any particular Christmas tradition. The enigmatic Baby in the manger is the only unchangeable Christmas truth. Only he can bring “Peace on earth.”

December 8, 2008

“12 Worrying Days ‘Till Christmas”
by Pastor George Van Alstine

When I was a kid in New Jersey, we had the Paterson Evening News delivered to our home. Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, each day the newspaper printed a box on the front page announcing “12 Shopping Days ‛Til Christmas.” Since stores were closed on Sunday back then, the “12 Shopping Days” included only weekdays and Saturdays. Each day I’d anxiously look at the box for reassurance that we were actually one more day closer to the Christmas celebration.

My current newspaper, the LA Times, does not print a “Shopping Days” box. If that isn’t bad enough, yesterday it was announced that the parent company of the newspaper had gone into bankruptcy. These are hard economic times.

Our family is being pretty cautious about gift-giving this year. We’re nervous about job-security and other areas in which the national economic recession might hit us. Some of our friends have even more serious concerns, such as heavy mortgage payments, maxed-out credit cards, and layoff notices. We think the newspaper should start printing a daily box: “12 Worrying Days ‛Til Christmas.”

Actually, this might help us get into the true spirit of the holiday this year. As they counted down to their encounter with the Baby Jesus, the familiar characters of the Christmas story, were all full of worries. Mary, like all expectant mothers, worried about her child’s safe delivery, as well as her own health. She also puzzled over the prophetic words of the angel, who indicated her baby would have a special place in God’s plan. Would this mean he would suffer, as most of God’s messengers in the past had suffered?

Joseph had lots to worry about. Here he was with a pregnant wife carrying a baby that wasn’t his. This brought whispers and even scorn from people around him. Now, as her delivery time was close, he had to travel with her to another town so that he could pay some of the heavy taxes the Romans had laid on his people. And, when he went to find shelter at the Bethlehem Bed and Breakfast, he was sent instead to a dirty stable, where he could only offer his wife a mat of straw. Yes, Joseph was a worrying man.

King Herod was also worried. He was worried about his throne and his power. There were rumors that the newborn baby was some kind of a king, and the insecure Herod couldn’t tolerate such a threat. He was so worried that he did his best to kill the child.

Those Wise Men from the East were worried that something was not normal in the heavens. They had spent their lives studying the courses of the stars, and anything that wasn’t predictable made them nervous. They traveled hundreds of miles to find out what was up. Then, after their meeting with King Herod, they worried about what he might do. Had they triggered an international incident? Or genocide?

Yes, these people would have identified with our pre-Christmas worries. It was into a sea of worries that Jesus came. Into a frail body and inadequate shelter. Into a threatening world of powerful, but insecure rulers. Into the care of inexperienced parents who did not have the support of many in their extended families.

So, as we count down the “12 Worrying Days ‛Til Christmas”—“11…,”  “10…,”  “9…”—we’ll be in good company. The true Christmas has always been a worrying time. Pray that the Lord will use the unique financial pressure of these days to bring you into closer contact with the worriers of that first Christmas—and with the God who worried so much about us that he sent his Son into the world.

December 1, 2008

“Paying for Christmas”
by Pastor George Van Alstine

I guess we all get a bit starry-eyed as we look forward to Christmas.  The little child in each of us holds onto those “visions of sugarplums” we experienced as the wonderful day approached (even though most of us have never had sugarplums).  Now that we’re adults, we still feel the building excitement as we count down to December 25.

But if we were starry-eyed before Christmas, we are likely to get bleary-eyed a few days after Christmas, when we begin to look at the bills from all the gifts, decorations and holiday foods we’ve bought.  This year, with the reality of an economic recession weighing down all of us, the starry-eyed phase may give way to the bleary-eyed phase more quickly than usual.  Some of us may still be paying off large purchases made last Christmas, and now our financial burden will become even heavier.

Yes, there is a cost to Christmas.  The jolly fat man with the white beard will not bail us out.  Whether we’re naughty or nice, we’ll have to pay the bills.

Let me tell you who must pay for Christmas more than all of us.  The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world as an energetic, lively Baby, full of the hope that comes with every newborn.  Of course, in his case the anticipation was far greater, being expressed by prophets throughout Old Testament history. And the gifts he brought would potentially mean the eternal salvation of every human person on earth. This is why the angels and shepherds and wise men were so full of joy.

But what a price he had to pay after Christmas!  For the three years of his ministry, his lofty message of hope and renewal fell, for the most part, on deaf ears.  Then there was a period of open rejection, ridicule and abuse by leaders and people alike.  Finally, the crowds turned him over to the Roman torturers and executioners.  The cross is our symbol to remind us of the price Jesus had to pay.

You see, on Christmas he entered into a human body to be close to us.  But by becoming a human, he made himself vulnerable to all the hurts and heartaches humans experience.  That’s the price he paid for Christmas.  For his Christmas and ours.

Say a word of thanks that Jesus has fully paid for Christmas.  His credit with the Father is absolutely perfect.

Note: The Messenger was not sent out last week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.