Christmas isn’t the time of year when our thoughts naturally turn to the Last Supper—or what the Jews called Passover. But that particular Passover is critical to Christmas. After breaking bread and giving it to His disciples, Jesus said, “Take, eat; this is My body” (Matt. 26:26). Breaking bread was a traditional part of Passover, but adding “this is my body” was a striking departure from the familiar liturgy. The disciples must have been bewildered.
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When Christmas displays go up before Halloween displays come down, I long for the days when people didn’t think about Christmas until after Thanksgiving. However, there may be a legitimate reason to celebrate Christmas in October.
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In Jewish legend, the ushpizzin are guests who visit the pious at Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. They are supposedly the great Old Testament heroes who come offering comfort and encouragement to the faithful.
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In his historical novel Chesapeake, James Michener tells the story of multiple generations living near a marsh. One character, Chris Pflaum, is introduced as a restless 13-year-old sitting in class waiting for summer break. But when the teacher reads a poem by Sidney Lanier, the boy’s heart is stirred.
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In a report in USA Today, Rick Hampson wrote: “The young generally don’t have the old-time political religion. They look at voting and see a quaint, irrational act.” One graduate was quoted as saying, “I don’t care enough to care about why I don’t care.” I wonder if this is how we as Jesus-followers sometimes view our civic responsibility!
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God gave us an incredible gift—the beautiful world in which we live. Naturally, though, as we share this planet with so many others, we run the risk of seeing its beauty diminished and its resources depleted.
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On a teaching trip at a Bible institute in another country, my colleague and I were saddened to hear of legislation before the parliament that sought to outlaw the evangelical church. We shared our fears with our students that though we had come to train a generation of pastors, we might instead witness a new wave of persecution. We then joined with the students in prayer and worship to God about the matter.
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The theory of evolution is not without its problems. One scientist says this about life starting on its own: “Amino acids would have to be arranged in an exact sequence to form a protein . . . just like the letters in a sentence. Mere laws of chemistry and physics cannot do that. The probability of a protein forming by chance would be 1064 [10 with 64 zeros after it] to 1!”
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Whenever I see the ocean (which is not often enough), I am awed by its sheer volume and beauty and power. Great ships loaded with oil or food or merchandise make long journeys across its vast surface. Fishing vessels, working near the shore or hundreds of miles at sea, harvest its rich provisions: lobster and crab, tuna and swordfish. Beneath its churning surface is a storehouse of wealth of all kinds, some still undiscovered.
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A friend told me that he feels closest to God when he’s the busiest. He explained that when demands are the greatest, he finds himself most reliant on the Lord’s strength. He pointed out, however, that unless he takes time for daily worship, his work can quickly become an escape.
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