Light in the Midst of Darkness

December of 2020.  What a year it’s been!  As we look at the Christmas season – normally so full of busyness and shopping, of packed calendars and traveling to family and friends– sometimes it’s easy to wonder about how to celebrate the joy of Christmas in a year with such turmoil, upheaval, confusion and sadness.  

But the truth about Christmas has not changed. 

It is still about Light shining out of darkness.

It is still about a God who sees people in their pain and remembers His promises.

The promise of Jesus the Messiah coming has always brought joy to the people who waited for Him.  But it wasn’t until this morning that I put myself in the place of the people who would have first heard the prophecies.      

Let’s set the stage and talk about King Ahaz.  Not Ahab, the evil Israelite king who married Jezebel and threw a pity party over Naboth’s vineyard.  This is Ahaz, who ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah for 16 years.  (But he wasn’t much better than Ahab.)

Here’s what life was like during his reign (2 Kings 16; 2 Chronicles 28):

            1.       It was a time of war (with the king of Aram and the king of Israel). (2 Chronicles 28:5-8)

            2.       It was a time of unholy alliances (with the king of Assyria) that cost precious things. (2 Chronicles 28:16)

            3.       It was a time of misguided/evil worship.

a.       God’s temple was destroyed:

                                                               i.      The temple of the Lord was broken apart (2 Kings 16:17-19);

                                                             ii.      Silver and gold from God’s temple were offered to Assyria (2 Kings 16:8; 2 Chronicles 28:21)

                                                           iii.      The doors of the Lords temple were shut (2 Chronicles 28:24)

b.       False gods were promoted:

                                                               i.      Various idols were cast and set up for worship (2 Chronicles 28:2-4)

                                                             ii.      Altars were built designed off of the pagan deities of Aram, to try to win the favor of the “gods” who defeated them (2 Kings 16:10-14; 2 Chronicles 28:23-25)

                                                           iii.      Altars and high places were set up in “every town” and on “every street corner” (2 Chronicles 28:24-25)

                                                           iv.      Ahaz even offered his own children as sacrifices to other gods (2 Kings 16:3-4; 2 Chronicles 28:3).

Ahaz was described by these two phrases: 

        1.       “He had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.”  (2 Chronicles 28:19b)   

        2.       “In his time of trouble, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.”  (2 Chronicles 28:22)

Whew.  Wicked and unfaithful.

And when he died, Ahaz was not placed in the tombs of the kings.  He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs (most likely because of his unfaithfulness).

Now I couldn’t help but imagine being a faithful Jew living during the reign of Ahaz.  Talk about turmoil, upheaval, confusion and sadness!  How discouraging would it have been to watch the nation crumble and leadership refuse to be faithful to the God you knew to be true?

And in the midst of this chaos and evil, some of the most beloved prophecies proclaiming the Messiah’s birth were penned.  We still sing some of them today.

        1.       When talking with Ahaz, Isaiah the prophet said:  “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14).  Immanuel.  God with us. 

        2.       A few chapters later, in the midst of describing the darkness and gloom that results from looking away from the LORD God, Isaiah talked about the promise of a future great light.  And as Handel so famously put to music in the masterpiece, the Messiah, Isaiah said:  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”  (9:6-7)

        3.       Around this same time, Micah the prophet penned:  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.  Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.  He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the LORD his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  And he will be their peace.”  (Micah 5:2-5).

At the time of these prophecies, the nations of Israel and Judah were DARK. 

But the promise of an Eternal, Undefeatable, Peaceful Ruler broke light a beam of light through the darkness.

That beam of light still shines.   

I’m not here to argue about the current political climate or whether 2020 is more or less dark than the time of Ahaz.  I don’t think that anyone would would argue that we’re living in darkness right now.  But I’d rather focus on remembering the God that chooses to remember us. 

This Christmas we get to celebrate that He came 2000 years ago.  The promise of His first coming from the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah was fulfilled!  Yet, we also get to look forward to when He comes again soon to make all things right – to wipe away every tear from our eyes, and to bring us to a place that will have no more sadness or mourning or pain.

Until that time, we wait. 

In the waiting, may we believers (especially me!) be searching our own hearts and asking for God to do a work in us so that we can share that light with others.   May we seek to spend time with Him so that we can see His movements in the midst of what is visibly happening in our world.  It could be that the time is ripe for many people to turn towards Him and find Him!  I want to be a part of telling the world this good news…this hopeful beam of light in the midst of darkness…that a good King, a humble King, a selfless King is coming one day to rule. 

2020 doesn’t have the last word.  And neither will COVID restrictions, political turmoil, wars, or whatever comes in 2021. 

Jesus will.  And the Bible fittingly ends with:

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.

Am I Ready?

According to the dictionary, the adjective “ready” has a few meanings:

          1. In a suitable state for an activity, action, or situation; fully prepared.

a.       (of a thing) made suitable and ready for immediate use

b.       keen or quick to give

c.       in need of or having a desire for

d.       eager, inclined, or willing to do something

e.       in such a condition as to be likely to do something

       2.  Easily available or obtained; within reach

Am I ready?

This has been the question I’ve been pondering since last week – when, yet again, a story struck me with the truth I needed to be reminded of.  There is something so poignant about stories, isn’t there?  Stories have a unique ability to not just tell us truth – but also to develop a love for the truth in us. 

On my 9 hour road trip just a few days ago, I listened (yet again :)) to the Chronicles of Narnia.  The interactions of people and creatures with Aslan, the Great Lion, nearly always bring me to tears.  These fictional books, written by C.S. Lewis, are meant to be in part an analogy to the Christian life – and Aslan is meant to represent Jesus Christ. 

This trip, I listened to the book, The Magician’s Nephew.  And as I drove in the darkness and thought of the things ahead of me and behind me (literally and figuratively :)), this following scene struck me. 

“Son of Adam,” said Aslan.  “Are you ready to undo the wrong that you have done to my sweet country of Narnia on the very day of its birth?”

“Well, I don’t see what I can do,” said Digory.  “You see, the Queen ran away and – “

“I asked, are you ready?” said the Lion.

“Yes,” said Digory.  He had had for a second some wild idea of saying, “I’ll try to help you if you’ll promise to help my Mother,” but he realized in time that the Lion was not at all the sort of person one could try to make bargains with.  But when he had said, “Yes”, he thought of his Mother, and he thought of the great hopes he had had, and how they were all dying away, and a lump came into his throat and tears in his eyes and he blurted out:

“But please, please – won’t you – can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?”  Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face.  What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life.  For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes.  They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

“My son, my son,” said Aslan.  “I know.  Grief is great.  Only you and I in this land know that yet.  Let us be good to one another.  But I have to think of hundreds of years in the life of Narnia.  The Witch whom you have brought into this world will come back to Narnia again.  But it need not be yet.  It is my wish to plant in Narnia a tree that she will not dare to approach, and that tree will protect Narnia from her for many years.  So this land shall have a long, bright morning before any clouds of doubt come over the sun.  You must get me the seed from which that tree is to grow.”

“Yes, sir,” said Digory.  He didn’t know how it was to be done, but he felt quite sure now that he would be able to do it.  The Lion drew a deep breath, stooped its head even lower and gave him a Lion’s kiss.  And at once Digory felt that new strength and courage had gone into him.

“Dear son,” said Aslan, “I will tell you what you must do…”

Aslan - painted by the talented Lauren Kunkle! Etsy or willowbranchstudio.com

Dear friends – we live in a world of brokenness.  It has been so evident in the past months.  All of us are broken and have a part in the brokenness.

Like Digory, we may be unsure of what we can do.  How do I love people around me?  Will heartbreak never end?  How can I reach outside of myself when I inwardly struggle with sorrow and hurt?  Does God even see me?  What could I possibly do to help the world?

God doesn’t ask us if we are strong enough. 

He asks us if we are READY.

For, you see, like Digory, if we look into the face of Jesus, we will find compassion.  We will find Someone who not only knows our sorrows, but weeps with us in them.  John 11 tells us the story of Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, a man whom He was about to raise from the dead.  The Author of Life, even as He is in the process of renewal, takes time to meet us in sorrow and let us know that we are not alone. 

But, also, like Digory, if we look into the face of Jesus, we will find strength.  We find Someone who is strong enough to help us overcome.  This Defeater of Death is not unaware of what we are walking through…He is more than a conqueror, just as we can be (Romans 8:37).  We will find strength and courage when we spend time looking at Jesus, realizing what He has already done for the world...allowing ourselves to dwell on His unimaginable love for us.  We, too, like Digory, can experience the "kiss" of the Lion when we see the cross.  

We just have to remember that the strength we seek doesn’t come from us.  There are moments when we will be unsure what to say, how to respond, what next steps to take, etc.

I don’t know what is on your horizon.  I am about to start another school year as a teacher – and after 10+ years of teaching, the unknowns are greater than the knowns.  I’m not sure what to expect in my job, in my country, in the world.

But, God doesn’t ask me to understand everything.

He asks me to be spending enough time with Him so that I will hear what He asks me to do.  I can be fully prepared and within reach of the Master’s hand even as I struggle with the brokenness both inside me and around me.

He asks me to be ready.

And with His help, I know I can be.

We all can.

Orpheus & Hope

It’s been awhile since I typed on this blog.  I have a bit more time now…as school is on hiatus because of the Coronavirus.  I’ve been gardening and reading, grading and planning for online school, practicing “Sweet Home Alabama” on the guitar and working out with Heather Robinson’s free 12 week challenge (you should join me :)).  I’ve been trying to learn new things – and tonight as I watched another TED-Ed video on “Myths from Around the World”, I saw the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. 

Let’s be real for a moment.

Greek myths are RIDICULOUS.  (We can be glad that Greek gods are myths and not real beings). 

But as with any story, we can learn.

Here’s the myth in short:  Orpheus falls in love with Eurydice.  Right before they get married, she dies.  Orpheus decides to go get her back from the underworld and uses his amazing ability to sing to get past the 3-headed dog, over the river Styx, and ultimately to convince Hades to let her go.  The catch?  He has to walk out of the underworld without looking back, trusting that Eurydice is following.  And just before he makes his final steps…he looks back.

Rats.

Now, you may be thinking…I know this story!  Isn’t there a newer Broadway musical about it?  Well, you are more with it than me, because as I scrolled down to see the comments on this YouTube video – Hadestown was all anyone was talking about.  So, like any good internet user, I did some searching. 

I now have read the Wikipedia synopsis and listened to quite a few of the songs.  And, I would have to say that Orpheus and Hadestown put some things into perspective for me.  Like any good story, they took me deeper into life and reminded me of truth.

Hadestown does not follow the original myth exactly, but it does still have that shocking ending.  Instead of the hopeful reunion of Orpheus and Eurydice, it ends with a gasp and a separation as Orpheus turns at the last moment and dooms Eurydice back to Hades.

In the song, Road to Hell (Reprise), the cast slowly sings:

It’s an old song

It’s an old tale from way back when

It’s an old song

And that is how it ends

That’s how it goes.

Don’t ask why, brother, don’t ask how

He could have come so close

The song was written long ago

And that is how it goes

It’s a sad song

It’s a sad tale

It’s a tragedy

It’s a sad song

But we sing it anyway

Cause here’s the thing

To know how it ends

And still begin to sing it again

As if it might turn out this time

I learned that from a friend of mine:

See, Orpheus was a poor boy

But he had a gift to give

He could make you see how the world could be

In spite of the way that it is

Ooh.  What a line.  He could make you see how the world could be in spite of the way it is. 

Our world can be so beautiful.  But, sometimes, what we see around us is tragedy.  I’m not just talking about deaths from COVID-19 or the potential economic consequence of social distancing and government shut-downs.  I’m talking about broken relationships, broken homes, devasting natural disasters, uncertainty, fear, confusion, etc. 

But what if, my friends, there is more to the world than what we see?  Is this sadness all there is?

To quote some other fictional stories:

What if Samwise Gamgee was right when he said: 

“Gandalf!  I thought you were dead!  But then I thought I was dead myself.  Is everything sad going to come untrue?  What’s happened to the world?”  

(Tolkien, The Return of the King)

What if Emily was right? 

“It had always seemed to Emily, ever since she could remember, that she was very, very near to a world of wonderful beauty.  Between it and herself hung only a thin curtain; she could never draw the curtain aside – but sometimes, just for a moment, a wind fluttered it and then it was as if she caught a glimpse of the enchanting realm beyond – only a glimpse – and heard a note of unearthly music.”

(LM Montgomery, Emily of New Moon)

I believe the fictional stories of Orpheus & Eurydice, Sam, and Emily all strike a chord in me because they are a hint of a Greater Story.

In that Story, a powerful God created a perfect world.  Being a gentleman, He allowed his creatures to choose to follow Him or not.  When they chose to reject Him and rebel, the world became broken.  That brokenness showed up in a myriad of ways (broken relationships, natural disasters, horrible diseases).  However, this God refused to watch His creatures suffer without doing something about it.  He ENTERED His created world, took on His creatures’ form and consequences for their own rebellion, and made a way for all the sad things to be made untrue.  Simply by re-submitting to His Lordship and accepting His gift, His creatures could be restored to relationship with Him!  This God ultimately defeated death so that death was no longer the end! Yet, this God did not completely destroy all evil right away.  He knew that some of His creatures (who themselves were evil) would choose Him in time.  So, currently, His followers are left waiting to be united with the God of infinite beauty and kindness.  While they wait, they sing His songs, in the hope that others may choose to follow Him as well.

If this story is true, fictional Sam’s wish is granted – sadness will be defeated.

If this story is true, fictional Emily has sensed what is REAL – beauty beyond this world that she one day gets to join.

If this story is true, fictional Orpheus could bring people hope by singing  - not of a world he wished was true, but of world where each story can have an happy ending.

My friends, I believe with all my heart that this Great Story is not fictional at all.  It is found in the Bible and gives us HOPE in the midst of tragedy and uncertainty.  The hero of this story is not some narcissistic Greek god, but the Son of God:  Jesus Christ. 

The very last song of Hadestown is called “We Raise Our Cups”

“…some birds sing when the sun shines bright – our praise is not for them.

But the one who sings in the dead of night – we raise our cups to them.

Some flowers bloom where the green grass grows – our praise is not for them.

But the ones who bloom in the bitter snow – we raise our cups to them.”

It’s hard to sing in the dead of night and the bitter snow...unless you have hope.

Orpheus, for all his beautiful singing, failed to save Eurydice and was left to live life without her.

It doesn’t matter how many times we sing this song or watch Hadestown…Orpheus will still turn back.

But in the Greater Story, Jesus takes on the cross and wins back those He loves!

If you know Jesus as your Savior – may you be like Orpheus, singing with a song more beautiful than any earthly stain of music – so that other people seek to know the Great Story.

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior – may I implore you to read His story and see if it’s true?  I’d love to talk to you about the hope it can bring you.

Because it’s not a myth about a failing hero.

It’s a story about forgiveness and love.

And it’s TRUE.