August 11 – Hanging up the harps?

Psalm 137:2-4, 6: “There on the poplars, we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs....How can we sing the songs of Yahweh while in a foreign land?....May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth....if I don't consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”

        This Psalm was definitely written or edited after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC and after some of the people were taken captive to Babylon. To them it must have felt like a death sentence, to be ripped out of one's homeland by force and taken far away to live the rest of one's life. We don't know if this writer was one of the “righteous” ones living in Judah, or whether he was one of the wicked ones. Nonetheless, we can learn a few things from this Psalm as they pertain to the body of Christ.

        How can we sing the songs of Yahweh while in a foreign land? All of us believers are in a foreign land. 1 Peter 2:11 and Hebrews 11:13 mention believers and the ancients as spiritually being aliens and strangers. Jesus even mentions in John 18:36 that his kingdom is not of this world. Our citizenship is a heavenly one (Philippians 3:20). When our earthly kingdoms and comforts are crushed, how can we sing praises to our God? Hebrews 13:14, 15 has the answer, even as it continues this theme. “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” It takes discipline to sing praises during times of difficulty. However, this can be made a little easier by obeying Ephesians 5:19, 20 as we do these things with other believers: “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to Yahweh, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our master Jesus Christ.”

        And speaking of psalms, it is interesting to note that the compiling and unofficial numbering of the Psalms has put 136 right before the woes of the captives in 137. Psalm 136 is a retelling of the wonders God did when he brought the people of Israel out of Egypt, with each line of description ending in “His kindness endures forever” – 26 times total. If we can keep our eyes on that fact, that God's kindness endures toward his children, then we can certainly put our trust in that kindness, no matter in what circumstance we find ourselves.

       As a further note, I have a question about Psalm 137:6. Can I infer that the city of Jerusalem was the captives' highest joy (as stated), instead of God himself? Could this have been part of the downfall of the inhabitants of Judah, turning God's residence and regulations into idols themselves, instead of worshiping in spirit the One who gave these objects to his chosen people? That concept sounds very eerily like the environment of Israel when Jesus was revealed. Caiaphas, the high priest at that time, predicted that one person should die in order to preserve the physical nation – which is exactly what happened when Jesus was killed...except that forty years later, the 2^nd temple was ruined again, and the occupied Jews were once again scattered away from the city of Jerusalem (deja vu).

        Let's remember that we as believers have come to a new Jerusalem, the city of the living God. We have joined the body of Christ, where God now dwells (Hebrews 12:22-24). Let's rejoice, because in that city, we are not aliens, but supernatural-born citizens.

 Can We Skip Christmas? (2023)

       Romans 14:4-5 — "Who are you to judge someone else's servant?  To his own master, he stands or falls.  And he will stand, for Yahweh will make him stand."  

       Let me preface this blog with a few comments.  I have been called an idealist and a cynic as it relates to my views on Christmas.  I readily admit that I am an idealist and a misfit in the Kingdom of God, cynical about many things. The views below are my personal views; they are not meant to put anyone down for their personal practice of any human tradition.  After all, there is precedence for having a joyous feast and exchanging presents - for a SPECIFIC reason (Esther 9:18-28).  Some will also call me a hypocrite for not obeying Romans 14:22 (which states to keep my views to myself).  Don't we all tacitly disobey this verse when we turn on the outside Christmas lights?  (Romans 14 is a rather complicated chapter, when applied to largely-followed cultural traditions; it is much simpler when taking it at its face value.) Nonetheless, I believe that there is wisdom and freedom in my views; if you can glean a nugget of truth from them, then, "more power to ya".  If not, then you will at least have read an explanation of a "complicated mind", (another endearing epithet given to me).  The goal in everything we do, however, should be to "follow Christ", as Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 11:1.  

       It seems that each year, I feel more stress when December arrives. It is hard for me to find anything positive with this time of year. Christmas is looming, with all of its personal history and hundreds of years of Western cultural history. It's the time of year in which it is starting to get colder, which only slightly contributes to the stress. The hours of daylight are coming to their nadir, which does contribute greatly to my mood. I love spending time outside in general, so the double combination of dark and cold is disheartening. It is also the time of the year when I try to get the most wood cut and/or split for myself and for others, before snow ends that endeavor for the season.

        Christmas (the Christ Mass) was started by the Roman Catholic church in 336 A.D., as an "alternative" to the pagan celebrations, which were held around the winter solstice. The very fact that the "church" felt the need to resort to a cultural "alternative" can mean two things. It could have been a legitimate attempt to pull pagans into a sincere form of worship to Jesus. Or it could have been a desperate attempt to change the culture (apart from changing the individual heart), in the hopes that people would eventually give up their pagan practices. The latter sounds like what happened to America, with its form of cultural Christianity lasting until the end of the 20^th century; following Jesus was relegated to cultural morality, without the incentive to personally follow him. Having said that, it is basically irrelevant whether one has any cultural traditions related to Christmas. Paul gave us general instructions about how we think about observing special days. Romans 14:5-8 allows us all equal standing in treating certain days as we like. Colossians 2:16-17 also complements that sentiment in regard to special religious days. Not even the Jewish festivals are sacred any longer. Therefore, if one wants to consider the whole month of December as special or just Dec. 25, that is fine. If one doesn't care at all about those days, that is also fine.

       My Foundational Mindset —  The early church did not consider the birth day of Jesus to be special; what is of immensely greater import to the early church was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. That day became of higher importance, not because the body of Christ needed a yearly day of observance, but because it was the very foundation of the Christian faith. In my opinion, the yearly observance of Easter also diminishes the import of the resurrection of Jesus. If you need a holiday to remind you of the foundation of our faith, you are probably not living that faith in a daily fashion.

        There are many beautiful things associated with Christmas traditions. Houses in the western world are often decorated with special items and colorful lights. There are many great hymns and songs that are, unfortunately, only sung during the month of December. How sad for us in general! We could use them year-round. People generally bake and imbibe too many confections, along with the rich egg nog. This is probably a negative thing overall, even though the enjoyment of such is wonderful at the moment.

        Santa Claus and the surrounding myth is given precedence during this time. The idea of Santa Claus is rather stupid however, especially in reference to witholding gifts to "bad" kids. Why should we "deserve" any gifts whatsoever? How did we even get to a cultural tradition of spending money on gifts for friends and family for no apparent reason whatsoever, except that it happens to be the Christmas season? There is nothing wrong with giving gifts to people in general, but our culture wastes money because we feel that we "have" to give gifts. That is one cultural constraint that I have completely rejected. The culture-at-large also tells us that December is the season for giving, especially giving to the underprivileged. Once again, why should the month of December be special for giving? If you are not giving to the poor, as Jesus commanded, during the whole year; or if you are not regularly giving to advance the kingdom of God, then your giving in December will not make up for your lazy selfishness the rest of the year.

        Some people, even Christians, turn the "celebration" of Christmas into a form of worship to the Christmas culture itself. Jesus, and his birth, are relegated to the display of relics, but rarely talked about. Some of these folks, some subtly, and some not-so-subtly, make me feel that I need to join them in their celebration of the "Christmas idol". This simply adds to my stress and anger at not being left alone. Furthermore, certain family members make me feel like a little child, when they feel the need to watch me open their gifts – presents which I don't need, half of which I will give away, half of which have strings attached, all of which they cannot afford in their limited annual budget.  (Could you feel my frustrated hyperbolic perception in that last sentence? :>)

        A certain Christian even told me one time (2022), that a Christmas tree displayed in a hospital waiting room, was symbolic of the birth of Jesus. It meant that there was still some cultural affinity to God, and that the holiday was not relegated yet to just being a pagan winter festival. I would argue that it already is a pagan winter festival in the western world, because relatively few people care about Jesus anyway.

        Today, no one says "Merry Christmas!" anymore. It's simply "Happy Holidays!" Whenever I hear that phrase, I want to shout, "For what holidays are you wishing me happiness? Hanukkah? Jewish people make up a tiny minority of people. Kwanzaa? I'm not black. Some nebulous, inexplicable celebration?  New Year's Day? All of the above?  None of the above?  I find it absurd, that one can't decide, but instead throws out some generic term that could be used for any annual holiday that one is expected to observe.

        I don't mind when my wife decorates the house for Christmas (although it is over-the-top). I let her treat this holiday as she wishes. After all, it is an individual choice to make the day (or month) special or not. I get endearingly called "The Grinch" or "Ebenezer" or a curmudgeon, but I don't mind; I know that I don't want to steal someone else's gifts; and I know that I am not stingy toward the poor. I will also pull out Michael Sweet's rendition of "O Holy Night" in July and thoroughly enjoy it.

       I used to work on Christmas day when I was a front desk associate at a hotel. It made my day with family that much shorter, which was fine with me, since they pushed their sacredness of the day upon me. All I really wanted was peace of mind and to be left alone. One year I went to the beach by myself and did not talk with a single soul on Christmas Day. The nice weather made that day a                          perfectly-normal perfect day!

      On a different note, I support a full-time American Christian worker in Thailand, who uses the traditional trappings of Christmas to introduce people to Jesus. (Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist nation, but very much follows Western Christmas traditions, especially in the cities, where there is commercial activity.  I think it is the lights and decorations that are alluring.) Thais in general have no clue why the western world includes Jesus in the traditions. This gives my friend an opportunity to tell of the greater story of Jesus coming into our world to save us. The Thais have no pre-conceived idea of Christmas, based upon hundreds of years of faulty thinking and a myriad of traditions, (except what the commercial world portrays). Even God can use the well-intentioned, but stupid, plans of man, including all the history related thereto, to draw people closer to Him, and to open their eyes to truth.     

  Sometimes I think that ignorance is bliss, and that blindness is a blessing. However, one cannot unlearn what has been learned, or undo what one has experienced. We can only change our minds about how to live with unpleasant surroundings, trusting in God to provide joy in the midst of depression. For all you misfits out there, you are not alone in your own measure of disdain for contemporary Christmas.  Have yourself a normal month of December, as you strive to live and surrender daily to our Master, Jesus Christ!  And remember to be patient with all.  There is no need to argue about any of the ideas mentioned above.  Live at peace with one another, if it is in your power to do so (Romans 14:19). And may your good attitude be evident to all, even as you ignore the season.