David Bahn – Reflections

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Luke 2:21-35

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
    according to your word;
³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation
³¹     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and for glory to your people Israel.”

³³ And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Tree Fungus-2 | Charlottetown, CA | October 2023

The great salvation event of the Old Testament was the Exodus. God sent Moses to Egypt to confront Pharaoh, saying to him, “Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me.’” Ultimately Israel is released from their bondage in Egypt, passing through the Red Sea on dry ground. They celebrated this deliverance every year: The Passover.

Can you imagine being there? Watching Moses lift his staff and feeling the wind, and watching the water pile up, making a path through the sea. Seeing the walls of water on both sides of them as they walked through dry shod. Watching Pharaoh’s army being drowned rather than being overtaken and slaughtered by them.

We know that was superseded by the birth of Jesus. All the promises from Adam to Abraham. From Eve to Sarah. From David to Isaiah. From Ruth to Isaiah’s virgin. From Eden to Bethlehem. From Genesis to Malachi. All this was wrapped up in an 8-day-old boy’s presentation in the temple.

Simeon is praising God for he had been told that he would see God’s salvation before he died. Now he is literally holding the baby boy – the fulfillment of all that God intended and promised – in his arms. God had fulfilled his promises and Simeon had seen it. Touched him. Held him in his arms. Simeon saw it for himself.

Thirty-three years later Jesus would be nailed to a cross, die and be buried in a borrowed tomb. Three days later that tomb would be empty. This is our great salvation event, that surpasses every Old Testament miracle, and even the miracles of Jesus (a subset of the fullness of Jesus’ work to save us).

For centuries the people of Israel remembered the Exodus and celebrated God’s salvation. We’ve had centuries to remember and rejoice in God’s salvation. We can look in our mind’s eye at the cross and the empty tomb. We can experience a foretaste of the Great Wedding Feast to come at the communion rail. We can feel the weight of sin, guilt and shame lifted when we hear Jesus’ word of forgiveness and his promise that whoever comes to him will never be turned away” (John 6:37).

An urgent prayer answered. A weight of guilt and shame lifted. A new hope when all seemed lost. The peace that passes all understanding at the communion rail. The joy of seeing your grandchild baptized. All these are pale reflections of God’s salvation. We’ve seen God’s work in our lives. We can live in peace.

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Luke 2:21

And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus! Name of Wondrous Love

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Name all other names above,
Unto which must ev’ry knee
Bow in deep humility.

Jesus! Name decreed of old,
To the maiden mother told,
Kneeling in her lowly cell,
By the angel Gabriel.

Jesus! Name of priceless worth
To the fallen of the earth
For the promise that it gave,
“Jesus shall His people save.”

Jesus! Name of mercy mild,
Given to the holy Child
When the cup of human woe
First He tasted here below.

Jesus! Only name that’s giv’n
Under all the mighty heav’n
Whereby those to sin enslaved
Burst their fetters and are saved.

Jesus! Name of wondrous love,
Human name of God above;
Pleading only this, we flee
Helpless, O our God, to Thee.

[Public domain]

His name in Hebrew is Yeshua. The Greek equivalent is Joshua. His name means, “The Lord Saves.” And that is why he came. The hymn above beautifully expresses the significance of Jesus’ name. His name is the name of wondrous love, mercy, priceless worth, and above all other names.

His name is so precious to me that I had to stop watching at least two TV programs. Ted Lasso: No more. Top Gear (the original one): Off. Too tritely using Jesus’ name. Too easily using it to mock or swear. Too often a throw-away. But Jesus’ name is no throw-away. Not to those who treasure his gifts.

Jesus’ name is much more than a moniker. It’s not just a way that his Shabbat School teacher could call on him. It wasn’t only the way his friends chose him for their ball team. Mary and Joseph didn’t consult a list of popular names for boys born in Bethlehem. If anything, they might have named him David, for he was born there. Remember, Joseph had to go the the City of David, for he was of the house and lineage of David. But just as the angel had told them, they named him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

His name is so important  to me that I am inclined to use “Jesus” rather than “Christ” when referring to our Lord. So I pray in Jesus’ name. I call on Jesus in my prayers. I speak of Jesus’ love. I call myself a Jesus-follower. Jesus is my Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and Friend.

I hope he is all that and more for you, Dear Reader.

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Luke 2:4-7

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Where else are we to seek mercy

for all our betrayals, all our weak faith,

all our failures,

but in the lowliness of God in the manger?

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I don’t know that I would have drawn the conclusion that Bonhoeffer did in regard to finding mercy, forgiveness, and redemption only in God in the manger. But I love that he offers this question. Where else, indeed?

God could have come into the world in much more respectable circumstances. Allowed Mary and Joseph to have been married before conceiving the Christ Child by the Holy Spirit other than through Joseph. He could have worked out details such that Jesus would have been born of a virgin. He didn’t have to put Mary and Joseph through all that. And how about the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem? And why not just a regular bed? Surely none of these were essential to the birth of the Savior, were they?

But then I think about how all these things line up as a show of utter humility on God’s part. His complete abandonment of his glorious majesty. His utter humility in taking on human flesh in the first place. We might imagine Jesus born in a refugee clamp, or to migrant peasants, or being laid in some other common make-do crib. But that was not God’s choice.

We are to learn something here. I wonder whether it’s more about looking to God wherever he may be found in order to find grace, mercy, forgiveness, and redemption. Isaiah spoke to Israel 750 years before Christ’s birth,

“Seek the LORD while he may be found;
    call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. – Isaiah 55:6-7

Today Jesus may be found in the Church – the gathering of God’s people in Jesus’ name. Jesus has promised wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he is in their midst (Matthew 18:19). He is to be found in his word, the Old and New Testament inspired, infallible, inerrant writings of the prophets, apostles, and evangelists. He is to be found at the Table of the Lord. He is to be found in the life-giving waters of baptism. For there is forgiveness, redemption, hope and life.

I’ve been binge-watching Suits, the TV series about high powered New York lawyers. And I’ve noticed that most all of them are unforgiving, judgmental, self-protecting, vindictive, power-hungry characters. We may find some relief in seeking such people in the midst of legal battles. But what a breath of fresh air it is when one becomes gracious, compassionate, and even forgiving!

Perhaps that’s why God’s people are urged to clothe themselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12). We’re not high-powered New York attorneys. We are children of the almighty God. Jesus’ swaddling cloths and manger ought to inspire us to that same kind of humility, mercy, love, and grace that we find in God in a manger.

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Luke 2:4-7

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

We have to become clear

in the presence of the manger in the stable of Bethlehem

how we want to think, from this point on,

about what is high and low in human life

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I wish I had thought more fully in anticipation of a point I wanted to make in a message I shared recently. The point had to do with how the shepherds of the Christmas event were likely just common shepherds. Though they could have had charge of sheep intended for temple sacrifices, there is no proof they were. And in any case, they were shepherds, not priests. Theirs was not a high and lofty occupation. They were the salt of the earth not necessarily the cream of the crop.

And, I said, so are we – most of us. I didn’t think to say, “I didn’t see any of you arrive to church in a limousine. When I have seen limos at church, they show up at funerals or weddings. Otherwise we drive ourselves in ordinary cars. Some are nicer than others. But I don’t see many Bugattis or Lamborghinis in church parking lots. The paparazzi don’t chase us down. We don’t worry about being accosted by signature-seeking fans when we go out to eat.

It’s all relative, though. For 90% or more of the world’s population would consider us quite high in the social-economic pecking order. But we’re not among the super-rich, super-famous, or super-stars. At least as far as we’re concerned.

I love Bonhoeffer’s thought in this regard. How do we want to think about what is high and what is low in human life? The manger anchors us at one end of Jesus’ life on earth. The cross holds us on the other. Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the Word Made Flesh. And he is found at his birth in a manger and at his death on a cross. Now he has a name that is above all other names. At his name every knee will bow in heaven and on earth. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – to the glory of God the Father.

Mary sang of this in her song of praise when she visited Elizabeth.

For he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵² he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty. – Luke 1:49-53

I have my favorite celebrities. I look up to certain powerful and successful people. But I am truly impressed with people who presume nothing, graciously give what they can, never try to brag. Perhaps I learned that by looking into the manger and standing at the foot of the cross. Will you join me there?

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Luke 2:4-7

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Where God Wants To Be – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

        Where the understanding is outraged,
where human nature rebels,
where our piety keeps a nervous distance:
there, precisely there, God loves to be;
there he baffles the wisdom of the wise;
there he vexes our nature, our religious instincts.
There he wants to be, and no one can prevent him.
Only the humble believe him and rejoice
that God is so free and grand,
that he works wonders where man loses heart,
that he makes splendid what is slight and lowly.
Indeed, this is the wonder of wonders,
that God loves the lowly.
“God has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.”
God in lowliness–
that is the revolutionary, the passionate word of Advent.

When we put up our Christmas decorations we have some decisions to make. Shall we put the tree here or there? Should the VBS nativity go on the front hall table or under the family pictures? What about the Christmas pyramids: shall we light the candles at all, or not?

The shepherds had decisions to make as well. Shall we leave our flocks and go to Bethlehem and “see this thing that has come to pass?” How close should we get to this child? Do we even believe the angels?

Mary and Joseph had few decisions to make. This corner or that for the place of birth? The manger or a space on the floor for his crib? Should we let the shepherds come in and see the child?

God had some decisions to make as well – though his decisions were made before the foundation of time. He would rescue his lost and broken creation. He would redeem lost sinners. He would take on human flesh. He would be born in a stable. Those decisions were made so that we could be saved. His reach would be extreme, in order to assure us that there is no one beyond the pale of his redeeming love.

God wanted to be in the places of abandoned hope, lost dreams, distressed fears, abject disappointment, and crushed pride. For that is where we all are. Some people hide that well – at least from other people – but never from God. Some people refuse to believe God would come to them in their brokenness and shame – but he does. Some people yearn to know his grace and mercy – and God yearns for them to believe. Trust. Hope. Receive his gift of faith.

Where do I want to be? I want to be with God. And receive his tender comfort. And enjoy his compassionate grace. And live in his kingdom of power, grace, and glory. Forever.

Come, Lord Jesus!

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Luke 2:19

Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 

Jesse Tree

Nativity from Germany

Christmas Tree with Many Memorable Ornaments

Snowman & Train Gift

A Moravian Star hangs in a high window of our dining room | Cypress, Texas | December 2023

Nativity Inside a Star

Willow Tree Nativity

Family VBS Project Nativity from 1980

Wreath on our Front Door

I took some quick snapshots today of several Christmas decorations at our house. Each of them has a significant memory attached. A departing gift to Diane from her music people at Holy Cross, Arlington. A Christmas tree adorned with ornaments more sentimental than valuable (though there are a few semi-valuable ones, like the Swarovski crystal star). Our family VBS project nativity set.

I’ve not often had the margins that allowed me to spend more time in reflection and meditation as I’ve had this year. Yesterday I read through a collection of Bonhoeffer’s Christmas poetry and meditations. I relished a poem on Grace and Truth offered by our Texas District President – even sharing it in my Christmas Day message at St. John.

I had the luxury of time and comfort to reflect in this manner. Mary did not. Time is the great equalizer. We all have same number of minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, etc. The wealthy have no more time than the poor. The foolish have no less than the wise. Margin falls differently, however, on different people at different times. Mary had little margin, I imagine. She had a child to care for and few conveniences to help. She had swaddling cloths. Nothing more is mentioned. In the midst of this, she took the time to meditate in her heart the things that had happened.

I notice that her meditation is mentioned by Luke after noting that the shepherds had visited the Christ child, and told her and Joseph all that had happened. Angel hosts singing praises to God. The announcement that the Savior had been born. The promise that the child would be found wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Mary must have pondered the confirmation of the angels’ earlier messages to her and Joseph. This child is the Savior, Christ, the Lord. She must have pondered Jesus’ name, which means the Lord saves. She must have pondered the shepherds’ excitement and wonder. She kept these ponderings, thoughts, and meditations in her heart. Enclosed within her soul.

She would need these thoughts in years to come. Perhaps this was also a beautiful moment to ponder the amazing grace of God. In the moment. In the quiet. In the stable. In her heart.

I hope you had the opportunity to ponder the wonders of Christmas yesterday. And…Good news: Christmas lasts for 12 days. The celebration by church calendar timing runs until January 6, Epiphany Sunday, the Christmas of the Gentiles. 

NOTE: I’ll be taking a break from Acts for these 12 days, pondering with Mary the meaning of the incarnation. Then, as is so appropriate to the season of Epiphany, I’ll pick back up with Acts after that time. 

Merry Christmas, and Peaceful Christmas Ponderings!

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John 1:14-16

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

You may or may not love ballet. But there is a beautiful dance between grace and truth that centers in the birth of Jesus, the Word made Flesh. This will be the point of my message today at St. John Lutheran Church. You are welcome to join in person or via St. John’s website. Here’s a sketch of what I will share:

Texas District President Michael Newman shared this beautiful poem this Christmas:

Grace and truth—how could the two ever meet?
How could generosity, love, and life our sin and sadness greet?
Shining in the darkness, but rejected and not received,
The light of life appeared, unrecognized and unbelieved.

But with determined grace God sent the Creator Word,
Entering the cosmos, with steadfast love His heart was stirred.
Taking the form of a servant to make us all children of God,
Grace and truth descended to a path that was yet untrod.

Truth without grace would accuse us and heap upon us shame;
It would lay bare our souls, revealing all our sin and blame;
Grace without truth would be uncaring, making justice and righteousness cheap;
Overlooking the cost of sin would keep us mired in transgressions deep.

Grace makes truth bearable.

Let’s celebrate God’s Grace today!

God took on human flesh.

Like Undercover Boss but even better.

In each episode, the executives work as entry-level employees in their own company’s stores or headquarters for about a week.

To stay undercover, the executives are given false hair, makeup, and sometimes facial prosthetics. The makeup is used to make their faces look like they’ve been outside for long periods of time, making it harder for the employees to recognize them.

At the end of the undercover week, the boss returns to his or her true identity and calls in the selected employees to the corporate headquarters. The boss rewards hardworking employees through promotion, material, or financial rewards. Other employees are given training or better working conditions.

The Word Became Flesh

Jesus is even better: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Not in disguise, but in the flesh. Challenging, teaching, calling us to repent and believe the Good News, lighting the world with his love. He became flesh so that his hands could be nailed to a cross.

Grace is as beautiful thing.

• Kindness | Mercy | Love | Unmerited favor
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Romans 5:21 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more. More sin? More grace. That’s God’s gift to us in Jesus.

But what about truth? Without grace we cannot handle the truth. But by God’s grace the truth is the path to freedom.

God’s truth will set you free (John 8:31)

We need a Savior

• “He came to his own and his own did not receive him.”
• “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
• “If we say we’re without sin, we deceive ourselves…”
• “The soul that sins will die.”
• This is the hard edge of truth. We must confront it. We must not dodge it. We cannot dodge it.

Truth is that Jesus is the Word made Flesh. The incarnation: Jesus is God in the flesh.

If Jesus is not God in the flesh he must be rejected outright…

He’s offering something that is not true. But this is most certainly true: The Word Became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld his glory, as of the only Son of God, full of grace and truth.

The Word is true; to be trusted. Jesus himself is the way, the truth, and the life.

He sets us free: If you continue in my word…you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

And his word is to be trusted; reliable. Infallible.

This Advent and Christmas we rejoice,
Awed by grace and truth made one;
For the Word made flesh we lift our voice,
Giving humble thanks for Jesus, our Savior, God’s beloved Son. – Michael Newman

From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. – Glory to God in the highest! Amen

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Luke 2:16

And the shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

Walter Wangerin tells a story about an empty manger at his church’s Christmas Eve service. His daughter played the part of Mary in the pageant, and came to the conclusion about way that Jesus came down from heaven to a manger and back up to heaven on the first Easter. If that was so, a beloved shut-in lady to whom the children had sung and who had died the day before, would also go back to God in heaven. Mary had taken the baby doll out of the manger to make the point that just as the manger is empty, so will our tombs be one day.

Thankfully on that first Christmas, the manger was not empty. When the shepherds went to see the thing that has happened that the Lord had made known to them Jesus was very much in the manger. It wouldn’t be Christmas without the baby in Bethlehem’s manger.

My Blue Christmas image is two images in one. One is of our Willow Tree nativity set’s Mary and her child. The other is the exterior of a downtown Houston skyscraper. It reflected the beautiful blue sky on the day I took the photo. By putting it as an overlay (with the lines of the windows becoming a sort of cage, keeping Jesus from us) I was trying to convey the idea that the world does its best to keep Jesus from us and us from Jesus.

But just as Jesus shines through that particular image, so Jesus comes to us. He is not bound. Nor are we prevented from coming to him. As we celebrate Christmas, may the joy, peace, hope, and love of God fill our hearts.

Even if the manger is empty today, it wasn’t empty that first Christmas. God came to us. He is Christ the Lord. Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth and good will toward those with whom he is well pleased. Joy to the world! Christ the Savior is born.

A video of Walter Wangerin telling The Manger is Empty story in full:

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Acts 12:18-25

Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

²⁰ Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. ²¹ On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. ²² And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” ²³ Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

²⁴ But the word of God increased and multiplied.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

Comeuppance: an informal noun that means a deserved punishment or fate. It’s not often seen, but once in a while the guilty party will be convicted and sent to jail. Occasionally the bully will be caught and punished. Sometimes the office gossip has his secrets exposed.

When that happens, I’m inclined to feel pretty good about it. I want the guilty to be punished. I want the thieves to be caught and sent to jail. I like it when the tyrant is toppled. I was happy when the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down. I feel safer when drug dealers and pimps are busted.

So when Herod felt the immediate blow of the angel of God I’m thinking there were quite a few people who were glad. The tyrant had been toppled. The man had ordered the death of the senteries who had been in charge of Peter when he had escaped prison. They were put to death. Just like that. Now he’s dead. He lived by the sword, and he died by it too.

Some would call it Old Testament judgment. Others might say it was karma. Clearly, however, this was more than judgment or karma. This was a lesson. This was an example. This would allow the continued growth of the Christian church. Luke shows us that by his very next report: “But the word of God increased and multiplied.”

I have to be cautious about this smug delight in Herod’s sudden demise. It’s not like I don’t have my own failures. I’ve not killed anyone. But there are things I’ve done or failed to do, that if God were to be retributive toward me I would be in deep trouble.

Sometimes I wish I would get what I deserve. A pat on the back. Fair treatment from a merchant. Value for what I’ve paid. Promises kept. A word of kindness. None of that is wrong in itself. But if, before God, we were to receive what we deserve, we would have no hope. We’re all broken, sinful, rebellious creatures. We deserve to be abandoned by God.

God has a sword as well.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. – Hebrews 4:12-16

Thankfully our King does not reign by the sword of retribution, but rather from a throne of grace!