Top Brass

A person who has a high ranking position in office, or in society— that’s the definition of dignitary. I recently heard someone talking about a parade that featured a large number of dignitaries. A dignitary is important, someone who is esteemed, and revered. I have known a few dignitaries. The Lt. Governor of North Carolina is a member of our church. A Supreme Court Judge and a few other high ranking state officials are also members. We have only been members of our church for ten months, and as far as I can tell there seems to be several very important people in our church. They are really nice people who are making a difference in Raleigh and North Carolina.

I guess the world needs dignitaries, the good ones. Not all dignitaries are good. Some misuse the trust given them by the people who elected them, hired them and depend on them. Dignitaries have a great responsibility and a tough job to do. Dignitaries work long, laborious hours if they do their job well. Very often when they do exceptional work, representing their people well, they are not appreciated. Not appreciated for what they do, and who they are. Sounds familiar doesn’t it.

Who else was not appreciated for the great work he did? He was not considered to be a dignitary, but maybe he should have been. He wasn’t educated. He wasn’t rich, in fact he was very poor. He didn’t have anything. He worked countless hours because he loved those whom he served. He worked so hard to make a difference in the lives of those he served that it killed him. He gave his very life to fulfill the plan of the one who sent him to do his work.

We know that this man is greater than any governor or a lieutenant governor. He is a King. He is the King of Kings. We know that he is a more capable judge than any Supreme Court Judge because his judgment is perfect and all inclusive. No dignitary has ever held such responsibility as that of the Suffering Servant. No dignitary has ever given so much of themselves as has the sacrificial Lamb of God. No dignitary has ever made the difference in society as the Savior of the world has made in the lives of men, women, boys and girls. Jesus was never considered to be a dignitary, but then he was not born to become a dignitary. He was born to be God incarnate, Emmanuel, something that no dignitary could ever be.

Do Bullies Rule

If you think that bullies are found only in the school setting you need to think again. Just about everyone has been bullied. Even as adults we have had experiences where someone may have tried to bully us. On the playground a bully might try to do physical harm to someone weaker than themselves. But as we get older bullying takes on a different persona. The adult bully tries to belittle another person to hurt them emotionally, psychologically, socially, or even to the extent of damaging their reputation. Most ministers I know who have served for a few years have been the target of a bully. I’m sure bullying occurs in every profession.

What does an adult bully look like? An adult bully is a person who never grew up. It is someone who is very immature. They don’t like to be wrong. They always want to get their way. They want to be the king or queen who rules in whatever situation they find themselves. Deep down they don’t have a very good self image. They may even loathe themselves although they they appear to have it altogether. They are liars. They are manipulative. They are abusive. They are much more dangerous than the playground bully.

Something I’ve noticed is that there are bullies on social media sites. There is a difference in disagreeing with something that another person posts on their site and attacking that person because of their opinion. I think this happens most often when the subject has to do with politics or one's faith. We have all seen really hateful, cutting remarks made by those who disagree with another person's thoughts about a topic. Those snide remarks which are seemingly innocently made are nothing but the childish bullie’s manipulative intent to make someone look bad and hurt them.

We may not be able to do a lot about the adult bully in the workplace or a social setting, but on social media we don’t have to put up with those who try to bully us. We can do something about that problem. All you have to do is go to settings and with a couple of checks that bully can be extinguished, so to speak. In the end bullies do not rule.

It Ain’t the Same As it Was

When did it change? This season of craziness, this time of blinking lights, and bows on pretty boxes, parties, dinners, rushing to sales to buy things, lots of things to put under a tree. Then a candlelight service, get the kids home, and to bed so they can rise early on the morning to open gifts, lots of gifts, and more family comes knocking at the door, more food, more gift giving, and its over, everybody leaves, and it’s over. It’s over until next year when it is repeated just like it has been repeated year after year. When did it change this time when God became man?

I am told a Jewish merchant in my hometown said years ago during Christmas gift buying time that he wished Jesus had had a brother born in August. I don’t know if that is true, but I would think from what I’ve seen happening in the last 50 years there are many merchants who would say the same thing. We have seen Christmas take a back seat to commercialism. Most people born since the 1960’s have no idea what Christmas really is.

I saw a reporter interviewing a man who was heading up an effort to collect toys for kids who would not have a Christmas unless people brought in gifts or donated money so gifts could be bought. Isn’t it sad that children will not have Christmas unless they get gifts? The two of them were in a huge warehouse, and it was absolutely full of toys. There were rows of new bicycles. Boxes of video games, and things I’m too old to understand. All of these items are going to provide Christmas for children who actually will celebrate commercialism, not Christmas.

I am not against helping those who are really needy. Every child should have some gifts to open. But I know that many who receive this help take advantage of the system. Parents who know how to beat the system go every place that helps children, receiving much more than they really need, and they turn this into their own financial advantage. Too much emphasis on getting the gift, not enough emphasis on worshiping the real Gift.

Here are some questions for us to ponder. When did Christmas change? Why did Christmas change? What child is this who was sent from heaven's glory to live in a sinful world? Why did God send us such a special Gift? Why don’t we worship the real Gift, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior?

A Christmas Memory

My mother was born in 1916 on a farm in Sharon Grove Kentucky. She had 7 brothers and sisters. They were very poor just like everybody else around that area. She said for Christmas children might get some fruit, a little candy and maybe one other gift. She said when she was little she would get something like a small doll. Christmas was the only time they would get a toy.

I was born in 1948. I looked forward to Christmas. Christmas and my birthday were the two times during the year that I got toys, games or what I considered really special gifts. We rarely got gifts that I considered worthy of Christmas at other times during the year. I remember getting two Mattel fake pearl handle cap pistols with a fake leather holster, a cowboy hat and a Roy Rogers denim jacket one year. Every little boy got cap pistols at Christmas. So far I haven’t heard that any of my friend have committed a crime because they got a cap pistol for Christmas.

When I got older and learned that Santa didn't exist I realized that my parents hid what we were getting for Christmas somewhere in the house. I would snoop around and try to find what they got me. I rarely found anything. My mother got very excited about Christmas. She couldn't wait for Mike and me to see what Santa was going to bring us. When Mike still believed in Santa my Mom would tell me what he was getting, but made me promise not to tell him. I knew she told him some of the things I would be getting.

One year I made a deal with Mike. If he would tell me what I was getting I would tell him what he was getting. Now Mike was still young and would believe anything. I told him he was getting some really fantastic gifts that were just too good to be true. They were too good to be true; I don't think I told him one thing that he was actually getting. He was so excited about what he thought he was getting that he told me everything he knew I was getting. I think poor Mike was a little disappointed when he opened his gifts that Christmas. He still got more than he deserved.

His Light In Us

There are light bulbs which are advertised as lasting up to 25 years. I have bought a couple of those bulbs. I since have wondered how the manufacturer knows they will last that long. These bulbs are new products. Obviously, they have not been tested to see if they can actually endure for 25 years. They could just as easily have said they would last for 50 years. Adults who buy a bulb like that probably won’t live twenty five more years, certainly not 50 years. If you are like me you would probably forget which bulbs have that guarantee anyway, and who is going to keep a receipt for 25 years. I am surprised there are not more products that make that same claim.

The thing about light, even if it burns for 50 years, is it will eventually go out. Our battery powered Christmas lights at some point begin to dim and then stop shining. Even the eternal flames, as they are called, will be extinguished some day. The huge forest fires out west that burn for weeks finally burn themselves out. Many stars like our sun have ceased to burn over the years. There is no light that lasts forever, except one. What light never goes out?  What is the Eternal Light who shines brightly forever and ever?

We know that Jesus Christ is the Everlasting Light.  His light shines in our world even today. Those of us who have asked him to come into our lives have his light in us. Jesus, incarnate, lives in us and shines in us. Each of us have become a source of the glorious light of Jesus. One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard is His Light in Us. Our choir is singing that song in our Christmas concert this weekend.

The song says to us when we were lost, “His cry is here, the crying of a Child...I know Christ’s call is hidden flame...it makes my spirit flame with hope. Renewed his hope, his light in us, incarnate, fragile our Lord appears...Eternal, so perfect, his cry of changeless love.” Jesus calls our name because he loves us, and he wants to save us from sin. He gives the sinner eternal hope.

I have gotten chills every time we have practiced this wonderful song. It is so moving to those who have the light of Christ shining in them. Just to think that our Lord Jesus the Son of the living God would dare to give me the responsibility of bearing the eternal flame of his glorious love is awesome. We who claim the name of Jesus Christ do have the responsibility to be his light to a dark world that is perishing. May our hope in the Light of the world be renewed this Christmas, and may his glorious light shine bright in our lives.

Too Sentimental? Maybe

Christmas trees have always fascinated me. I can remember as a little boy helping my mother decorate our Christmas tree. My daddy cut a cedar tree, and secured it in some kind of container so the tree could be watered. That was his only contribution to our family Christmas tree. My mother made some of the decorations, and each year she bought a few. Our tree was not fancy. There was always the gold or silver roping, the tinsel, colored lights and the decorations. When we finished decorating we would turn out all the lights except those on the tree. That was a fantastic moment for me. I thought we had the most beautiful tree in the world. Even as a child I enjoyed just sitting and looking at the finished product of my mother’s and my creation. I could remember every single ornament that I placed on the tree.

From that time to now I have made sure we have a tree. Even now when very few people see it or care about our tree I continue to put it up. I used to have two or three trees, big trees, but now because our house is smaller we have only one very skinny tree, and a very small one that goes on the shelving of a bay window. Our trees are not real, they are artificial. Family members with allergies put a stop to those beautiful fir trees, and I miss that. Another thing I miss is having someone help me decorate my trees. My daughter, Susan, helped me when she was still at home. Then after we started having grandchildren they would help if they were around. Sherri used to help some. One year she got a lady from a flower shop to come in and put fancy bows and ribbons all over our tree. It was very pretty, but not my kind of tree.

I like my ornaments, and colored lights, nothing fancy, just good old ornaments with memories. I enjoy looking at ornaments we have been given over the years by students, teachers, and church members. I have a few old ornaments that my mother and I placed on the trees of my childhood. They are really special even though they are faded and show their wear. Sherri and I painted some wooden ornaments for the first Christmas we were together, and they are also extremely special. Others from when our daughters were little bring back fond memories. There is one that Susan made and the S is backwards. She says her teacher did that backward S. So many keepsakes to hang on these two small trees.

I think about leaving some in the boxes, and storing them away. I almost did that this time. Today as I was looking at those old relics I got a bit emotional. I thought, I can’t betray my old friends whom I only see for a brief time each year. They are inanimate objects of plastic, paint, cracked and scratched from years of use, but they are a part of me, they are my friends from many years past. So all of them now hang somewhere on one of the small trees, or placed on a shelf for display. Some may say my trees are tacky or too cluttered, but that’s fine. I’m about the only one who sees them any way. Am I too sentimental? I guess I am. But as long as I can decorate my tree, turn out all the lights but the ones on the tree, and see it with the wonder of a child I will continue to decorate my tree. It’s the most beautiful tree in the world.

Teens Are Necessary or Not

If something happened that prevented teenagers from working, our nation would come to a halt. That may be stretching the matter a bit, but many businesses would have a hard time providing timely service to their customers. Who would seat patrons eating at restaurants? Who would wait on tables, bus tables, deliver pizza, sack groceries, stock shelves, mow lawns, wash cars and...well, you get the idea. We depend on teenagers at just about every place we go to spend our money. That is scary if you think about it. My grandson, Brady, got a job frying chicken at PDQ. The only thing he knew about chicken was that rubber chicken that he took on every overnight church outing and church camp he attended. He might not bring home most of his clothes, but he always brought that rubber chicken home. Most teenage boys are somewhat like Brady, and those are the people working with the food we eat.

I got upset today with a teen boy when I took my car to have it washed. He took his time coming over to take my money, and then before he rang  up my ticket he just walked off without saying a word. He was gone for at least 5 minutes. I had gone back to my car to wait for him. He did remember that he had started to wait on me, and when he saw where I was, he acted like I had done something wrong.  I walked back over to him to pay. He muttered something about what I owed. I gave him a twenty. He took it and handed me my change not saying thank you, come back again or kiss my...nothing! Before my car was finished I found out that he was the manager.

The funniest thing that happened with a teenager this week was when Sherri and I went to a movie. We decided on a 2:20 movie because movies are cheaper in the afternoon, and we still get the senior discount. We walked up to the window to pay. Nobody was in line. Selling the tickets was a young, tall, skinny kid wearing black rimmed glasses. He looked smart, and he was very business like. We told him which movie we wanted to see. There was a seating chart hanging on the glass in front of where he was sitting. All of a sudden it lit up. He said, “Choose where you want to sit.”

Now this was the first time we had been asked to pick our seats. He could tell we were puzzled, so he explained that the theater had been remodeled, new seats had been installed, and the seats were being reserved to prevent over booking.  We looked at the seating chart. Every seat was vacant, and the movie was going to start in 5 minutes. I said, “You mean that with every seat available we still have to pick our seats?” He told us we did. Sherri said, “Then we will have to sit in the seat we choose, and we can’t switch seats if we decide we had rather sit somewhere else? He replied, “That’s right. You can pick any seat except these.” Pointing to a small row of seats, he told us they were for the handicapped.

We chose our seats, walked into the theater, and found our two seats. We were the only ones in there, and furthermore no one else showed up. Just the two of us sitting in our reserved seats daring not to move to another seat lest we get a seat belonging to someone else. We enjoyed the movie. The seats were great. They were very comfortable leather and reclined with a foot rest that extended out in front of us. Just like sitting in my recliner at home. I tried to make a move on Sherri, but she wouldn’t let me. Said her daddy didn’t allow stuff like that.

What would we do without our teenagers?